Make Me Soar (40 page)

Then Alan sank back into the driver’s seat with a smile.

“Let’s go home.”

“A
RE
YOU
sure you don’t want me to meet up with you?”

“I’m sure. Besides, Shawn is coming round. I called him before I called you.” Justin sounded a little calmer than when he’d first spoken on the phone. “Sorry to have disturbed you when you’re working.”

Dorian stretched. “I’m just bringing Alan’s website up-to-date and publishing his latest blog post. And you’re not disturbing me.” It wasn’t as if he’d been concentrating all that hard anyway. The noises drifting up the stairs from the cellar had seen to that.
What is Alan
doing
down there?
He’d disappeared about an hour ago, and Dorian had assumed he was working out, until Alan had shouted up that he was to stay out of the cellar. Dorian was
dying
to know what he was up to.

He pushed aside his curiosity and focused on Justin. His friend had run into his ex the night before in Manchester, words had been exchanged, and the incident had left him shaken. Luckily Justin had been with friends who’d supported him, by the sound of things.

“
Anyway
, changing the subject…. Want to tell me what’s made you so happy?”

“What do you mean?”

Justin chuckled. “I can hear it in your voice, so don’t deny it.” There was a pause. “Is it Alan?”

Dorian leaned back, something deep in his belly fluttering.
He’s right—I
am
happy
.
And how long has it been since I could say
that
?
He thought for a moment on what felt so good about his life right then and realized Justin had hit the nail on the head. Dorian was happy, and it was down to Alan.

“Yeah,” he admitted softly. No use denying it. Justin already knew him too well for that.

“Oh, Dor, I’m so glad. It sounds like he’s really good for you.” Dorian could hear the genuine note of joy in Justin’s voice. “So do you think this will be a permanent thing?”

Dorian gave a wry smile. Justin could read him like a book. In the last few days his thoughts had turned to their contract. Another month and it would be time to discuss what happened next. Dorian knew what he wanted to happen—a permanent contract—but as yet Alan had given no clue as to what
he
wanted.

That fluttery sensation was back with a vengeance.

“It’s still early days.” Dorian wasn’t about to tempt fate by giving voice to his desires.

“But you’re hoping, right?”

Dorian sighed. “All right, you mind reader. Time for me to get back to work.”

Another chuckle. “Okay, I can take a hint. Let’s meet up on Friday as usual, yeah?”

“Agreed.” He said his good-byes and disconnected the call. Dorian stared at the laptop screen, unable to focus on the images before him. Inside his head was a jumble of thoughts and emotions and all of it good.

Life
was good. For the first time Dorian had a career goal, something he cared about. He was more at peace than ever before. The old saying that if you couldn’t love yourself, how could you love others, finally made sense to him. He wouldn’t go so far as to say he
loved
himself, but he could certainly see himself through different eyes now and was more accepting of what made him uniquely
Dorian
. In fact these days, he didn’t recognize himself.

That was all down to Alan, who’d opened his eyes to a whole new world. He’d walked in and flipped
everything
Dorian had believed on its head. Not only that—he couldn’t believe how much he’d changed in such a short time. He couldn’t imagine a day without Alan’s touch, his kisses, even the soft stroke of fingers across his brand.

Oh, God, when he touches me there….
He’d never have believed the effect that sensual caress was to have on him. Dorian got hard—
very
hard—every fucking time. It was like flipping a switch. The gentle tracing of Alan’s fingertips over the letters took him back to that hot scene, Alan inside him, slowly thrusting up into him. It was partly because of this shift in perception that Dorian had come to a decision, one which he’d shared with Alan a few days ago.

Dorian was ready to push his boundaries.

Enough introspection
. Dorian let out a sigh and went back to his task. He’d improved the look of the website in just a few sessions: new graphics, social media buttons, links, reviews…. Alan had been delighted, judging by his beaming smile.

I love making him smile
.

“Get up, take off your clothes, and come down to the cellar.”

At the sound of that authoritative voice, Dorian twisted in his chair to look at Alan—and lost the power of speech.

Holy
.
Fuck
.

Alan stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest, which was adorned by a black leather harness. Wide straps passed over his shoulders and around his chest, with a central strap fitted snugly over his taut belly, leading down to a thick cock ring around his balls and the base of his heavy, full dick. Thick and curved, it jutted out from his body, framed by black chaps that laced up the sides, the leather shiny, stretched tight across those hard thighs and firm calves. Alan’s black boots shone.

Dorian swallowed hard.
Oh my fucking God
.

Alan crooked his eyebrows. “Now, boy.” His eyes gleamed. He turned and headed down the stairs to the cellar.

Dorian shot out of his chair and hurriedly undressed, his fingers fumbling with the zipper on his jeans. He left his clothes in a pile on the kitchen chair and then descended the narrow staircase into the brightly lit cellar. He got a look at what had been occupying Alan’s time that morning: he’d put up a sling. It had a nice wide black bed with chains at each corner, stirrups hanging from them at one end. Alan stood beside it, hand wrapped around one of the chains.

Then Dorian’s gaze drifted to the floor, or rather what was standing on it. On either side of the sling was a raised wooden platform, about a foot off the floor.

He couldn’t hold back the huge grin. “My, you’ve been busy.”

Alan patted the sling bed. “Get that arse in here, now.” His lips twitched.

Dorian moved swiftly. He held on to the chains and shifted on the leather bed until he was comfortable. Alan fastened his ankles into the stirrups, making sure he was secure. Dorian couldn’t take his eyes off the Dom. He’d never seen Alan look so… deliciously
dominant
. It seemed an odd choice of word, but in all the scenes Dorian had witnessed at the club, Alan had never looked like this.

Dorian’s cock plainly felt the same way. It stood upright, hard and aching. He lay there, clutching the chains above his head, legs spread wide to reveal his hole. Alan’s gaze traveled up and down his body, smiling.

He looked Dorian in the eye. “Safewords.”

“Thunder to stop, Sir, and Lightning to go slow.” Dorian’s heart pounded in anticipation, the muscles in his abs jumping.

“You’re not about to go anywhere, not now I’ve restrained you.”

“No, Sir.”

Alan grinned. “Just making sure you’re safe before we continue.”

Something in that grin had Dorian’s stomach doing a slow roll. His breathing quickened when Alan walked around the sling, inspecting him. He moved to stand a few feet away from Dorian, who craned his neck to see him.

“You asked me to push you. Well, this scene is all about trust.” He tilted his head to one side. “And you’re probably lying there saying to yourself that it’s not exactly the first time you’ve been in a sling, right?” His eyes twinkled, and he gave a half smile.

Dorian smiled in return. Alan really
did
know him. “Yes, Sir.”

Alan nodded, moving farther away from him, until he reached the door. He pulled it shut and stood there, eyes focused on Dorian. “Therefore I must have something different in mind.” There was an evil glint in his eyes. “Which would be this.” He raised his hand, and suddenly the cellar was plunged into inky blackness.

Fuck
. Dorian gripped the chains, holding his breath, his heart racing. He knew his fear was illogical, that he was perfectly safe, but his brain seemed to be functioning on autopilot. He couldn’t see a fucking thing.

“You’re safe, Dorian. I’m here.” Alan had moved closer.

Dorian gulped. “Sir.” His heart was still hammering wildly.

“I know you said there were to be no blindfolds. At the time I said nothing, but I knew I’d have to do something at
some
point.” The words crept quietly out of the darkness, and Dorian struggled to take them in. “I knew, sooner or later, we’d have to explore that limit. Your fear, your self-loathing, your anger at what they did to you and your perceived failure to prevent them—you were giving all these things
power
over you. I couldn’t let that continue. You’re
stronger
than that, Dorian.”

Alan’s voice brimmed with quiet confidence, and Dorian found himself relaxing, his tension easing, his grip on the chains loosening.

“
You’re
the one in control here, remember?” Closer now. “That’s the power of your safeword. You say the word and everything stops.” Closer. “You’ve always known that, but I think for a while you lost that belief. Berlin stole it from you—and I am giving it back to you.”

Oh
. Dorian pushed down hard on the last remnants of his panic and concentrated on the sound of Alan’s voice, gentler now.

“In Berlin you were in the dark too. You had no power. Here, you do.”

Something in his calm, measured words filtered through. Dorian began to breathe easier.

“You can hear that I’m close to you now. You’re not afraid.”

Dorian inhaled, focusing on the simple truth of Alan’s statement.

“And you’re not afraid because you know this is true. What happened when you safeworded in our scene?”

His heartbeat returned to normal. “You stopped.” Dorian became still, letting the situation sink in. He was restrained and blind, suspended above the ground, but he was
in control
. The tension in his spine, his shoulders, neck, and arms released, and he was momentarily overcome by such a feeling of lightness that it made him catch his breath. From Alan there was no sound; he too was still.

“That’s it, boy. That feels better already, doesn’t it?”

Dorian gave a shaky laugh. “You can’t even see me, yet you
know
.”

“I don’t need to see you.” A chuckle. “My spidey senses tell me what I need to know.”

He laughed. “Ah,
now
I get it. A Dom who’s really a superhero—and hung like one too.”

Alan snorted.

“Hang on a minute—how can you find your way in the dark?” Panic forgotten, he was amazed the Dom hadn’t walked into something by now or injured himself.
Maybe he really
does
have a spidey sense
.

Dorian wouldn’t put
anything
past him.

Alan chuckled. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

Just the request had him smiling. “Go on.”

“I turned out the light and practiced. You wouldn’t believe how many times it took before I stopped walking into the sling.”

Dorian waited all of three seconds before laughing out loud, the image so clear in his head. Alan joined him, becoming louder as he moved closer still, until Dorian could feel the heat from Alan’s body between his spread thighs.

Alan’s laughter died away. “That’s better. I think we get so caught up in scenes and protocols that sometimes we forget this is meant to be fun too.”

Dorian gasped when fingers brushed over the base of his foot.

“Ah,
there
you are.” Another chuckle rebounded around the cellar. Those fingers returned, both hands now, stroking his foot slowly, then massaging it with a firm grip, sliding fingers between his toes.

Dorian shivered, the sensation creating heat in his groin.

“Remember our first scene?”

Dorian shuddered when Alan licked the base of his foot from heel to toes. “Oh God,
yes
,” he said forcefully. “That really turned me on.”

“Oh?” Alan stroked down his leg, moving slowly, so slowly, until he reached Dorian’s erect dick. His fingers wrapped around it, stroking, pulling, squeezing it. He snickered. “Someone’s already awake.”

Dorian let out a whimper and tried to push his cock through the warm tunnel of Alan’s hand, which tightened around it.

“You won’t be coming, no matter how much you beg me.”

Dorian sighed resignedly. “Yes, Sir.” Then a thought occurred to him. “I’m going to be begging, am I?”

Alan laughed softly, and it was then that Dorian knew he was in for it. He moaned at the feel of Alan’s thick dick brushing against his hole as the Dom reached for his nipples, tweaking them, pinching them.

“Oh yes, you’ll be begging, all right. If you’re not, then I’m doing something wrong.”

He could feel Alan’s breath, warm on his belly, his chuckle tickling him. Alan rubbed against him with that hot cock, and then he was gone, his hand trailing lower to cup Dorian’s balls, stroking them, pulling at them lightly.

“Everything is so much more sensual in the dark, isn’t it?”

Alan’s tongue licked at his shaft, fingers stroking across his belly and then back down over his balls to rub his perineum, pressing firmly. Dorian groaned at the stimulation, and Alan’s breath wafted over the head of his dick.

“Of course, I
could
slide a finger into your arse and hit it from both sides. Wonder how that would feel?” He sounded as if he were genuinely contemplating it.

Dorian was squirming, rocking up with his hips, wanting more.

“Oh, I like this.”

He could hear the amusement bubbling in Alan’s voice.

“You don’t have a
clue
what I’ll do next.”

Dorian let out a shriek when Alan tickled his belly. A gleeful giggle filled the air.

“
And
Dorian is ticklish! Amazing, the things I’m still discovering about you.”