At His Throat, a Promise (6 page)

Finally, he said, “Come here, Harte,” and Harte jumped up in one smooth move and threw his arms around his master. He waited for William to initiate the kiss, but only just.

Ellis watched with a strange detachment as the two kissed. He knew firsthand how amazingly William kissed, and he also knew the unbridled enthusiasm of Harte. His knees felt very sore, but he didn"t move, not even to shift his weight.

“Ellis?” William said, and Ellis realised he"d been staring. He rose when William beckoned. The discomfort in his stomach diminished slightly when William kissed him on the lips. He yearned to kiss back freely like Harte had, but he restrained himself. His place was uncertain.

“Come with me,” William said. “I have something for you.”

“Shall I come, too, Master?” Harte asked eagerly.

But William shook his head, to Harte"s palpable disappointment. “Just us for now. Why don"t you go get your texts ready, and we"ll be right down for the lesson?” William led Ellis to his study, and Ellis looked around greedily.

It was a large room, every wall covered floor-to-ceiling with books. He"d never seen so many in the same room in his life. He wondered if William had read them all, but that seemed impossible.

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AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

Perching on the edge of his desk, William waved his hand a little, and Ellis, not exactly sure what he wanted, knelt in front of him. When William sighed, he knew he"d done something wrong.

He lowered his head.

“On the chair, if you would,” William said. He put the two bags he"d carried with him onto the desk as Ellis settled a little awkwardly in one of the chairs before the desk, pulse racing a little from his error.

“First things first… ” William handed Ellis one of the bags, and Ellis put it carefully on his lap, thinking he was to hold it while William spoke. But a blush threatened when William, a moment later, said, “It"s for you.”

He reached inside the bag and pulled out a pile of white cloth.

Picking up the first piece, it almost slipped through his hands, the fabric was so soft.

“That"s for everyday,” William explained, taking the first sheath and putting it aside.

The next three were the same, each with different detailing but the same shape and fit. There was a linen sheath, almost sheer, which William said was for when he was punished. He explained it was less expensive and therefore could be thrown out if it was ruined.

The last was white silk, the finest thing he"d ever touched, let alone owned. The fit was more tailored than the other ones, a little longer, and it had silver threading that shimmered. Ellis could barely touch it, he was so afraid to ruin it.

“That"s for when we go out. We won"t do that often, but I suspect I will enjoy showing off the two of you from time to time.

It"s nearly identical to Harte"s, but his has golden thread.”

“Sir, I… ” Ellis"s hands clenched on the fabric, but he loosened 43

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

them when William gently tugged the material away. “Thank you.”

“You"re welcome. Now, I have two more things for you.

Here.” He held out a black leather collar, and Ellis"s heart almost burst until he saw the silver lock that adorned it, signifying that he was a sponsored slave.
Stupid,
he berated himself.
Of course he
wouldn’t want to own you permanently!

The leather was buttery smooth, much different than how it looked at first glance. “Should I put it on now?”

“No, no,” William said airily. “Even Harte only wears his when we go out. I prefer not to be reminded—” But he stopped abruptly and looked at Ellis with sharp eyes.

Ellis couldn"t help thinking that if he had a collar like Harte"s—with no lock—he"d surely never take it off. The lock meant he wasn"t owned—that another master could “unlock” it, so to speak, and take him away. He was glad he didn"t have to wear it, though it would be a hundred times better than the unofficial sponsor tag they had lied and said he"d worn the night before.

“Thank you, Sir,” Ellis said again, handing the collar back and hoping he didn"t look unhappy with it.

“This last thing… I"m not sure about. Harte told me about the contraption you wear to keep yourself soft. Was that something your previous master insisted upon?”

Ellis"s mouth fell open as his mind rushed to explain. “I… no, he… but I don"t—I didn"t.” Ellis heaved a sigh. “I like it, Sir.” William frowned. “The problem I have with it, Ellis, is that I want to know what you"re feeling, what you want, what you need.

If you"re wearing that thing, I won"t know whether you"re enjoying us—Harte or myself. But that goes two ways. It hides your pleasure, yes. But it can also mask your displeasure.” Ellis frowned, and William moved off the desk and went to sit 44

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

on a loveseat against the wall. Ellis had to crane his neck to see him, so instead of that, he followed and was about to kneel before William when he grabbed Ellis"s arm and settled him on the loveseat so they sat close together. He looked exasperated, and Ellis tried to make himself smaller.

“I don"t understand, Sir.”

“Have you ever been spanked, Ellis?”

“Yes, Sir.” Meekly.

“Did you enjoy it?”

Ellis cast back into his memory. “My master found great pleasure in me.”

William laughed mirthlessly. “That"s not at all what I asked.” Recalling the question, Ellis said, “I"m not sure I understand. I was happy to please my master. I enjoyed it, yes.” William touched his cheek softly. “Close your eyes. Good. All right, imagine you"re in your room with Harte, where you"re safe and no on can hurt you, remember?”

Ellis let the master"s words wash over him like water. He could smell the master"s aftershave, feel the soft material of the couch, and hear the gentle cadence of William"s voice. He nodded.

“Now, imagine you"re on your hands and knees and Harte"s there, behind you. He cares about you and your happiness, your arousal. You"re hard, cock heavy and dripping. Harte wants you so badly.” William"s breath was against Ellis"s ear, and some words made his lips touch the shell of it. Ellis knew his body was responding.

“And Harte draws his hand back. You"re not afraid. He spanks you.” William"s hand was on his thigh and tightened at his last words. “And again. And again. Your ass is a pretty pink and so hot, and he just keeps spanking you. Does it feel good?” 45

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

“Yes,” Ellis said immediately, vivid imagination taking over.

He squirmed in his seat.

“You like it when he spanks you?”

“Yes.”

“And not just because it pleases him?”

“For me,” Ellis confirmed in a breathy voice. He wanted that.

“Good boy.” William"s voice was rich and approving, and Ellis revelled in it. “You can open your eyes.” Ellis did, and he immediately took in William"s slightly parted mouth, his dark eyes, and the bulge in his trousers that Ellis could see in his periphery. He knew his own was even more obvious.

“The point of that, delicious though it was, was to find out whether you could enjoy a little pain. If Harte spanked you and you liked it, you"d be hard. Maybe not rock hard, but not soft, either. But if you had that cage on, he wouldn"t know if he was hurting you or turning you on. Do you understand? I
want
to know if you enjoy me, but I
need
to know if you don"t.”

“Oh,” Ellis said in a small voice. He"d never thought about that, and why would he—his previous master hadn"t cared one way or another for the pleasure of his slaves. But William was saying he"d
stop
if Ellis didn"t seem to be enjoying it. “I won"t wear it anymore.”

William kissed him, and Ellis immediately responded, turning into the touch. He was hard from all the attention, and from the things William had said. For a moment, he wished for his cage, but he immediately banished that thought. He didn"t need it.

“I know it makes you feel safe, Ellis, and I won"t make you throw it away. But I"m going to take it, and you can ask me for it whenever you need it, and I will
always
give it to you, no questions asked, all right? With one condition.” He gathered Ellis 46

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

into his arms, and Ellis went pliant in response. “You"ll wear a cock ring the next day for as long as you wore the cage.” Ellis bit his lip. He was familiar with cock rings. He didn"t much like them—they were the opposite of the cage, and they gave him no security at all, making him feel crude and obvious. But it was a deal he could handle. “Thank you, Sir.” William kissed him firmly, chuckling when he pulled back and Ellis desperately tried to follow. “Here,” he whispered, placing a cool metal ring into Ellis"s hand.

Looking at the ring, Ellis decided he wouldn"t use it, which meant he wouldn"t use his cage anymore, either. “Thank you.

You"ve been so kind to me.”

“Less than you deserve, Ellis,” said the master, rather cryptically. “Now go upstairs and give that sheath back to Harte, throw out your old one, and put on one of the new ones. And bring your cage down when you come for your lesson.” As he dressed, Ellis almost wished for the comfort of the cage already. He was too hard to even contemplate it, though; he had to be soft to get it on. And he knew there was no time to relieve himself, if that was even permitted. If it wasn"t, he could only hope that Harte would visit him that night.

He brought the cage and the cock ring—for surely the master would want that back, too, until Ellis needed it—to the dining room table, where Harte was speaking quietly to William.

“… just wanted to be sure we could use fingers.”

“You mean anal penetration with your fingers?”

“Yeah. I really wanted Ellis to earlier, but he refused until we clarified the rules. I figured if you let other people fuck me, you wouldn"t have a problem. I won"t lie—I don"t really understand these rules.”

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William sighed. Ellis moved back a little, so he could see them but unless they turned around, he was hidden from sight. “You may use fingers.”

“What about the rules? Are those ever going to change? You know how I feel about you, Master, but I want to have him inside me. He"s never done that, you know.”

“Harte… ” William said warningly, and Harte closed his mouth.

Ellis almost entered when Harte said, “I just don"t think the rules are fair!”

William"s face darkened, and Ellis quickly walked in, hoping to take the focus off of Harte before William could—however rightly—punish him.

“Sir, pardon me. Here"s the cage and the ring.” William took them and waved his hand at the seat beside Harte.

He seemed to do a lot of that gesturing, and Ellis hoped he"d get used to it. He looked down so much that it seemed likely he would sometimes miss it altogether and get himself into trouble.

“Harte, we will discuss this later,” William said in a tone that suggested there wouldn"t be discussion so much as punishment.

Harte didn"t look very disturbed by this. He just nodded solemnly and looked at the book in front of him.

Only a few moments of silence passed before Harte looked up at Ellis, grinning, and said, “Master says we can finger each other!”

Ellis"s mouth dropped open and William gave a very weary sigh, but Harte looked extremely pleased with himself, beaming at all and sundry.

When Ellis shot a glance at the master a few moments later, he was surprised to see, instead of censure or rebuke, a look of such 48

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

soft fondness directed at Harte that Ellis"s own heart forgot to beat for a few harrowing seconds.

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Harte was stunningly responsive.

It almost wasn"t fair, the sounds he made, the way he trembled, how he begged. If Ellis practised for ten years, he wouldn"t be able to affect half of Harte"s passion.

“Another,” said Harte in a breathy voice, squirming so much that Ellis"s fingers almost slipped out.

On his side with one knee bent to his chest, Harte had one hand gripping his cock and the other buried beneath the pillow. Behind him, Ellis pulled out his fingers and lubricated a third, sliding them all in with hard pressure.

Harte moaned long and low, his body writhing as Ellis finger-fucked him. He placed biting kisses along Harte"s shoulder and 50

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

neck, down his spine. His fingers were rough but teasing, only searching out his prostate every three or so thrusts, keeping Harte on edge. By the clenching around his fingers, Ellis could tell Harte was close.

“Want to come?” he asked softly, already knowing the answer.

Harte didn"t have the stamina for orgasm denial.

“Please, yes.”

Ellis rubbed over his sweet spot more firmly on every penetration of his fingers. A moment later, Harte arched and cried out, always so vocal in his pleasure. His body clamped down around Ellis"s fingers, and he slid them out when the twitches stopped.

Grabbing a flannel, Ellis cleaned his hand as Harte flopped onto his back, a beatific expression on his features.

“Are you excited about Master taking you?” Harte asked, stroking Ellis"s cock with lazy efficiency.

“Yes,” Ellis said, only a half-truth now that he knew Harte"s penchant for telling William everything.

“He"s really good. You don"t have to worry. It doesn"t hurt with him. I was so scared when I first came here. I thought it was going to hurt with him. But it didn"t, and it hasn"t since. Not unless I ask for that, of course. Master does some things that hurt, but the fucking never does. Okay?”

“What does he do that hurts?” Ellis asked, closing his eyes and letting Harte work his body expertly. This mutual pleasure was strange, unfamiliar, but he knew he could grow addicted to it.

“Some of the toys hurt. Like the clamps or the cages. Or the sounds. Sometimes the plugs. But it all feels so good, too. It"s not an all-over pain. It"s only when he punishes you that it doesn"t feel good at all. Everything else, even if it"s scary, still feels good in 51