My Forever (2 page)

Not past trauma. Present.

How could he have missed the signs? All this time, he’d thought that Kyle was dealing with post-traumatic stress. He should have taken into account the fact that the young man lived with his older brother and boyfriend. With two sources of support, a victim should show signs of improvement, not the increasing skittishness Kyle had been exhibiting over the past several months.

Lucas cursed himself for being so blind as he hauled his ass home. Thoughts of Kyle preoccupied his mind, as they did every night after working with the man, throughout his preparations for bed. By the time he finished drying off from his shower and crawling naked onto his bed, his cock was standing at full mast. Knowing he would find no rest until he took care of it, he gripped his member in hand and began stroking himself slowly, from base to tip.

Thinking of the earlier occurrence with Kyle, it somehow seemed wrong now to use the main star in his fantasies to fuel his arousal. He forced his mind away from images of the young man and pulled up memories of the last sub he’d had the pleasure of domming. In the private room of a club, he’d granted the boy’s desires to be spanked and caned.

Watching the firm body cuffed to a St Andrew’s cross writhe under his steady hand, then sag limply in surrender to the pain and pleasure, had been a powerful aphrodisiac. After taking the boy in hand and jerking him off to a fast and racking release, the sub had been so grateful that he’d wanted to return the favour.

Lucas had allowed him to worship his cock. A moist tongue laved at his balls then slid up his member in long, languorous swipes. Wide lips encircled his head and sucked down until they reached the nest of his pubes. The boy had stayed there for several seconds, angling his head so that the tip rubbed against the back of his throat before sliding up again. Brown eyes filled with gratitude had gazed up at him as his cock was swallowed from hilt to tip over and over again.

Lucas quickened his strokes, using the drops of pre-cum to slick his straining shaft. He recalled gripping the boy’s head in his hands and taking control. Small moans had vibrated around his cock, urging his hips forwards each time he pulled that hot mouth onto him. His balls tightened and his member throbbed with every pulse of his heart.

The mental image shifted. When he looked down at the sub again, green eyes stared adoringly upwards through golden strands of hair. Full lips were fastened to his thickness and ignited a fire that boiled his blood. Kyle’s beautiful face offered him the power to take complete domination over the scene. And he took it.

Pumping himself furiously, his orgasm ripped through him with an intensity that took his breath away. He came in a profusion of spurting semen, groaning out his pleasure until he’d milked the last of his stores from his still swollen cock. When sense finally returned, he wiped himself off and threw the tissues into the trash beside his bed. That night he fell asleep to haunting dreams of that single tear escaping from Kyle’s thick eyelashes.

* * * *

“What are you doing?”

Kyle jumped at the deep voice behind him. He swallowed his heart back down and turned around, making sure to keep his eyes at Craig’s feet, which were haloed by the hem of a black robe.

“I’m sorry if I woke you up, Sir. You said I could eat breakfast before I left for work.”

Craig approached swiftly and Kyle cringed to the side in anticipation of a strike, but it never came. A thumb caressed his cheek and his boyfriend’s malicious chuckle floated down to his ears.

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

He remained still, knowing it was a rhetorical question.

“I don’t think this job is good for you. You work too many hours.”

Kyle felt his breath catch in fear. His job was his only independence. It had taken him years of begging to talk Craig into allowing him to work. If his boyfriend took that away from him, he didn’t think he could survive the demands of total confinement again.

“It’s just for the wine-tasting, Sir, and only because two of the workers called in. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Craig leaned in close, his stale cigarette breath fanning over Kyle’s cheek before he took possession of his mouth. Kyle opened himself to the invasion, trying to match the sweeps of his boyfriend’s tongue to prove his sincerity, but that wasn’t what Craig was after. He swallowed a gasp as the larger man wrapped one hand around his throat while clenching his hip in
 
a bruising grip with the other. Craig backed him roughly against the countertop and ground his hard cock into Kyle’s belly.

He was looking for proof of submission, and Kyle played his part as always before things could escalate out of his tenuous control. With a mewling whimper, he forced his muscles to relax and bent beneath Craig’s show of dominance. Fortunately, it worked this time. Once the man sensed his prostration, he sucked in Kyle’s tongue and bit down hard enough to draw tears, but backed off afterwards.

“Get to work, then. Jake will pick you up at ten tonight.”

Craig pinched the tendon just above his elbow and manoeuvred him to the front door. Kyle twisted his head around and took one last, longing look at the eggs he’d been cooking as he was dragged from the room.

“But, Sir…you said I could eat.”

The hold on his arm tightened, fingers burrowing mercilessly into muscle until Kyle cried out.

“If you would rather work all day than spend time with me, you have to suffer the consequences.”

Gulping back tears of futility, he stopped himself just in time from chewing on his already bleeding tongue. He hadn’t been allowed dinner last night since he’d got in so late, and chances were he wouldn’t have the luxury of eating tonight.

His brother, Jake, stumbled out after them, still half-asleep, and climbed into the driver’s seat while Craig shoved him into the passenger’s side. His jaw was encased in a bruising grip as his boyfriend gave him one last, devouring kiss.

“Ten o’clock. Don’t forget.”

Kyle nodded his head and held his breath, eager to get away from his prison as soon as possible. As Jake pulled out of the long driveway of Craig’s mansion, he raked Kyle with his customary, repulsed sneer.

“Gah, you disgust me. Why the hell would you want to work when you have everything you could possibly want here? No wonder Dad threw you out.”

Kyle faced the window and did his best to ignore the ensuing string of insults from his brother.

This was not happening. This was not his life.

One day he would wake up and everything would be right in the world again. The way it had been when his mother was alive. He could still hear her lilting, country accent in the songs she used to sing to him at night. Still smell her perfume in the air every time he took fresh linens out of the dryer. Her memory was his one true possession, and he clung to it with everything he had.

Kyle got out of the car the moment it came to a stop behind the store. A gust of frigid wind reminded him that he’d forgotten his coat at home and he rushed to the back entrance. With a quick wave to Lucas once inside, he headed for the cooler and silently begged for his boss to have forgotten about yesterday’s fiasco.

His luck, for once, held out.
 

Amanda joined them shortly, mumbling something about hanging her kids by their toenails if they didn’t start behaving. His mood gradually lightened as the day progressed. The shop buzzed with life that helped to keep his mind off the cramps in his stomach for the most part. He declined another one of Amanda’s offers of food and was saved from her mounting argument by a customer wanting to know the difference between merlot and cabernet.

If Craig found out that he’d eaten without permission, there would be hell to pay.

Sometime in the late afternoon, when business started slowing, Kyle was putting the last few bottles of Chianti on a shelf when he felt a shove from behind. Beefy arms wrapped around him to stop his forward momentum, allowing him to save the bottle in his hands from crashing into the others.

“Thanks.” He turned while taking a step back but the customer wouldn’t let go. Kyle recognised him as a member of the wine-tasting club in town. A mop of grey-flecked, brown hair, obviously a toupee, topped his rounded face. His bloated gut pressed into Kyle’s flat stomach, despite the foot and a half of distance between their faces. Up until now, the older gentleman had kept his contact with Kyle to furtive glances and the occasional greeting.

“You’re welcome. What’s your name, gorgeous?”

“Kyle. And I’m taken.” He flashed what he knew to be a charming grin to take the sting out of his words. “If there’s something you’d like me to help you with, just let me know.” He tried again to twist away but the man crowded in closer, moving his hands from Kyle’s arms to his hips.

“Actually, there is something you can help me with.” The guy took a step forwards and Kyle stumbled back until he hit the shelf behind him. “Are you free tonight?”

“Please don’t touch me,” Kyle breathed in a rush.

“Come on, sugar. Take a break and meet me out back. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Kyle turned his head just in time to avoid fat lips making their way to his. He thought about calling out for Lucas when a sharp voice to his left made his blood run cold.

“Kyle!”

The customer immediately released him, but sent one last, leering look his way. “My offer still stands.”

The man shuffled away and Kyle looked up into his brother’s irritated face. If not for a few similar characteristics, it would have been impossible to believe that they came from the same parents. Jake had everything that Kyle lacked. Defined muscles, charm, height, and an air of confidence bordering on narcissism.

“Outside. Now.”

Jake grabbed his wrist and Kyle had just enough time to set the bottle of Chianti on the shelf before he was hauled out of the front door and around to the alley on the side of the building.

“Jake, I…” The stinging slap across his face cut off his defence. Jake bunched the front of his shirt in both hands and slammed him back against the wall.

“What the hell were you doing in there flirting? Do you want to get us kicked out?”

“No. He came up behind me. I don’t even know…” Jake reared back and backhanded him, snapping the side of his face along the bricks.

“I have a sweet ride there and I’m not going to let you ruin it because you’re a spoilt little brat. You better start behaving or your ass will be right back out there on the streets where Dad threw you,” Jake hissed.

“What’s going on here?”

Lucas’ booming voice cut through the alley and Kyle wanted to sink into the concrete below him. Jake shoved him back one more time before letting go.

“I’ll see you tonight,” his brother said ominously, then turned and left, wisely giving Lucas a wide berth.

The sounds of traffic filled the sudden silence. Kyle didn’t hear Lucas walk away as well so assumed he was still near, but he was too afraid to lift the curtain of his bangs to see. Humiliation at home was one thing, but the knowledge that his boss had been witness to it made his insides shrivel. With a not-too-steady hand, he touched his fingers gingerly to his lower lip and winced when they came away red with blood.

“Let’s go inside and get you washed up,” Lucas said in a gentler tone.

Kyle didn’t want to. He wanted to run and hide from his shame. Even if Lucas didn’t fire him, he wasn’t sure if he would have the courage to look the man in the eye every day and be reminded of his cowardice. Lucas came closer and clasped one large hand around his forearm, giving Kyle no choice but to walk back into the store with him and down the far aisle to the employee bathroom beside the office. Lucas closed the door after them and guided Kyle to sit on the lid of the toilet seat.

His boss soaked a few paper towels then knelt down to blot them along his lip. “Is your brother your only ride to and from work?”

Kyle felt uneasy under Lucas’ scrutiny. His pampering and proximity. Up close, the scent of his cologne seeped into Kyle’s lungs, a soothing balm on his frayed nerves. Lucas’ face was angled below his, giving him a clear view of perfectly sculpted, thick arched eyebrows above high cheekbones and lips pursed in concentration. Kyle felt the sudden urge to run his hands through the man’s short hair. It was as black as a starless, midnight sky and appeared as soft as silk.

This man had at least fifty pounds of solid muscle and a couple of inches on Craig, which was saying a lot considering his boyfriend was a big man. But whereas Craig was built like a tank, Lucas was all sinewy strength and long limbs. His boss had also never raised his hand or voice to Kyle. What would it feel like if hands that large touched him in kindness? Kyle had thought he’d known the gentle feel of a man with Craig so many years ago, but now it seemed more of a fantasy than reality.

Irises as blue as the deep ocean flicked up and peered at him questioningly. “Your brother?”

His brother. The asshole. The asshole that…oh right. Work. “Yeah. I don’t have a licence.”

“He lives with you, right?”

He could hardly think straight when Lucas centred his entire focus on Kyle’s mouth. “My boyfriend lets us stay with him.”

Lucas nodded, as if that explained everything, although Kyle still hadn’t a clue as to what Lucas was getting at with his line of questioning. Desperation filled Kyle’s chest as he reviewed the earlier episode.