Ricochet (62 page)

Rick frowned. "What are you talking about,

Matty? What price?"

"Nothing. It's fine. Look, we're having a big

collaring ceremony and that's that." Matt's cheeks

were flushing furiously, but Rick couldn't figure

out if he was angry or anxious.

"Why are you agreeing to this, Matt?" he

asked quietly.

"Because it's what he wants!"

"Is it what you want?" Rick asked urgently,

grabbing hold of Matt's arm and drawing him back

into the building, out of sight of Rule's steely gaze.

"Yes! I mean - he's perfect, he really is," Matt

gabbled. "And his life is so together and organized

and there's a place for me in it." He angled his

head up and looked Rick straight in the eye. "He

wants me, Rick. He wants to put his collar around

my neck and commit to me. He's a good dom, like

you told me to go and find."

Rick let go of Matt's arm as if stung. "Then

I'm very happy for you, Matty." He leaned forward

and brushed a kiss on Matt's cheek, and then he

strode off back to his trailer without looking back,

locking the door behind him.

So that was it. Matt really had moved on. He

should be pleased for him - he tried to be pleased

for him - but he wasn't. It hurt too much.

First his father had betrayed him, selling his

story to the press while fleecing him out of

hundreds of thousands of dollars at the same time,

and now this. It might, very possibly, be the worst

day of his life.

A knock on the door roused him, and he

opened it a fraction to see the twins standing on his

trailer steps. He opened it fully to see that Daniel,

Estelle and Karl were standing behind them.

"We heard the news," Daniel said quietly.

"And we wanted to come and offer our support."

"Sorry, mate," Karl said. "This whole thing

sucks. How are you holding up?"

"You should go out and find yourself a nice

young sub to fuck - it'll help you take your mind off

it," Estelle advised.

"Rick, don't be sad," the twins said, throwing

themselves at him.

Rick smiled as they surged into his trailer,

hugging him and commiserating with him. "I'm

sorry you had to hear this way. I should have told

you guys about it before," he said tiredly. "Just - it

was a long time ago, and I wanted to start over, to

be someone new, and to forget."

"We understand." Daniel patted him on the

shoulder. "And you don't owe us any explanations.

I'm sure we all did things when we were young

which we regret now."

"Not as bad as this," Rick said, shaking his

head. "I was a nasty little shit back then."

"But you're not anymore," Daniel told him

firmly. "You have made every day working on this

set a huge pleasure for all of us." He glanced

around at the cast, and they all nodded their

agreement. "I've been on many sets, Rick, and none

of them have been as happy as this one. That's in

large part due to you. You've shown us that you

have a generous heart, and you're a kind, loving

person. That's the Rick we all know. You need to

forgive yourself for the past, Rick."

Rick shook his head, thinking of all the

people he'd hurt. "I wish it was that easy."

The next couple of weeks were hectic, with

interviews, chat shows, and climatic scenes to

shoot for the season finale. Matt barely had time to

think about his imminent collaring in the midst of it

all, and before he knew it, the penultimate day of

shooting was over. He had one more scene to film

the next day, which he was excited about as it was

the resolution to Ben's season long story arc with

Jason Jarvis.

"Just one more day," Rule told Matt as they

sat in the limousine on their way to the wrap party.

For various scheduling reasons, it was taking

place the day before the final day's shooting. "I

can't wait to whisk you off to your new life, as my

collared sub," Rule added.

"Sebastian Rule's collared sub; I can hardly

believe it." Matt shook his head. "It's crazy! If

anyone had told me a few months ago that I'd end

the season as your sub, I'd have told them they

were nuts."

"I'm a very lucky dom." Rule placed his hand

on Matt's gold cuff and squeezed.

Matt winced and drew away. "Sorry," he

said. "The bracelet is a little too tight. I should

have told you before; maybe we could get it made

bigger?"

Rule gave a little smile and placed his hand

back on the cuff. "No, it's perfect just as it is. I

spoke to your wardrobe department before getting

it made and got your precise wrist measurement

from them, darling."

"They why does it chafe?" Matt stared at him

blankly.

"It's supposed to be a little too tight - so you

always know it's there. I wanted it to serve as a

constant reminder of me and my place in your life."

Rule leaned across and pressed a kiss to Matt's

temple. "Now, let's go to your little party, shall

we? I'm looking forward to meeting all your

friends properly this time - as your dom."

"Wait - you got my wrist measurements…

before we'd even met?"

"You know me - I always like to plan ahead

meticulously. I had a suspicion our date would turn

out well, and if not, there was no harm done. I only

decided to give you the bracelet once I was sure

we had a future together." Rule caressed his face.

"I can't wait until your filming is over tomorrow. I

thought I'd come and watch you film your final

scene, and then I'll whisk you off in my helicopter

to my ranch. We have so much planning to do for

the collaring ceremony. Talking of which, I've

scheduled it for next weekend."

"So soon?" Matt felt his heart thud in his

chest.

"Yes - I absolutely can't wait any longer. You

must know how much I'm dying to take you to my

bed and make you my own, darling. Look - I got

you this." Rule took a little silver instrument out of

his pocket and held it up.

"A chastity device?" Matt took it and

examined it.

"You like it?"

"Sure… but do I need it? I haven't touched

myself since we started dating - which is kind of

driving me nuts." Matt grinned.

"Oh, I know that! I don't want you to wear it

until after I've collared you. I'll put it on you on

your collaring night, when we're alone in my

bedroom."

"I won't get to… you know… come, on my

collaring night?" Matt asked, in an agonized

whisper.

"Of course not." Rule smiled at him benignly.

"You have to earn the right to orgasm, darling. I'll

insist that you wear it for the first couple of weeks,

while you're learning what it really means to be my

submissive. It will help you understand that your

body is no longer your own and is subject to my

wishes and desires once you are collared. If you're

good, willing, obedient and compliant, then I'll

reward you by allowing you an orgasm but that's

likely to take some time. I do believe in proper

training where my subs are concerned, right from

the outset. It saves so many problems later on."

"Right." Matt stared at the device. Some of

what Rule was saying turned him on, so he wasn't

sure why his stomach felt a little queasy. Maybe it

was nerves. The idea of the collaring ceremony

still troubled him. Being stripped naked in front of

all those people and led around on a leash at the

party afterwards, in deep submission, forbidden

from speaking… he shivered.

Maybe if he were a more experienced sub,

he'd enjoy the idea more. Rick was right - he was

so new to finding his own sub-space, and he wasn't

sure how to get there. Rick had known how to get

him there but would Rule be able to do it? If they

could at least try first… if only Rule wasn't so

dead set against them having sex before the

collaring.

The wrap party was being held in a classy LA

restaurant, and Matt could tell people were

impressed as they walked around the party, and he

introduced Rule to the cast and crew as his dom. It

was a thrill to be able to show off such a famous

dom; he still found it hard to believe that Rule was

interested in him, of all people. He was just the

little temple born kid from a modest home. It blew

his mind to think he was soon going to take the

collar of a high status dom like Sebastian Rule.

Yet he couldn't shake his feeling of unease.

While Rule was scaring the twins to death, Matt

made a beeline for Daniel.

"Hey - do you have a moment?"

"Sure. What's up, Matt?" Daniel grabbed a

canapé off a passing waiter's tray and sniffed at it

suspiciously.

Matt paused - this was a difficult subject to

broach with a man as intensely private as Daniel.

"Uh… I wanted to ask you something. See, you

were married to Susannah for twenty years, and

everyone knows you were deeply in love with

each other. So, I was wondering… how did you

know that she was the right one?"

Daniel took a thoughtful bite out of his

canapé.

"You don't mind me asking, do you?" Matt

said anxiously.

"No. Most people are too scared of upsetting

me to talk to me about her, but I like talking about

her. It makes it seem like she hasn't gone," Daniel

told him softly. He gently touched the elegant,

understated collar around his neck, which he still

wore, in her memory.

"So, how did you know it was the right thing

to accept her collar?" Matt asked.

Daniel shrugged. "There was no question in

my mind that she was the right one for me. The

minute she opened the box with the collar in it, I

got down on my knees and offered her my neck -

and it was the best thing I ever did." He gave a soft

little smile, full of memories.

"But how did you know?" Matt persisted.

"It felt right." Daniel looked at him steadily.

"Look Matt, if it doesn't feel right, if you've got any

doubts at all, then don't do it."

"I don't know," Matt said helplessly. "I don't

know if I've got doubts or if I'm being stupid."

"You've got time, haven't you? You don't have

to rush into anything."

"That's just it. Sebastian isn't the kind of dom

you ask to wait," Matt said, glancing across the

room at where Sebastian was deep in conversation

with Petra now.

"Ah. No." Daniel gave a wry shake of his

head. "A dom like Sebastian Rule is used to getting

everything his own way, I think. Question is - are

you happy with that situation, or not?"

"Well, I think I am. We have the same

interests and values. He's clear, and firm, and…

okay, a little strict, but that's just his manner. He's

entertaining, and he tells these amazing stories.

He's straightforward and direct and says what he

means. He lives a calm, ordered life. He's perfect

really."

Daniel was gazing at him, nodding his head as

Matt spoke. "Well then," he said, when Matt

finished. "That's it. He's perfect; you said it

yourself."

"Yes. Absolutely. Thanks, Daniel." Matt

turned to go. "You've been a great help."

"But do you love him?" Daniel asked quietly.

Matt turned back. "What?"

"Well, you've told me all the ways in which

he's perfect, but you missed out the most important

one: Do you love him?"

Matt glanced back at Rule uncertainly.

"Or do you just think you should because he's

'perfect'?" Daniel said.

Matt found himself counting the number of

canapés on the waiter's tray. "It's just… he ticks all

the boxes. He's really kind of the ideal dom."

"He does seem to have stepped straight out of

one of those romantic novels aimed at the sillier

kinds of subs, yes." Daniel shrugged.

"Are you saying that's what I am? That I've

got my head turned by his money or some stupid

romantic notion of what love is?"

"No." Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm not

saying that, Matt. I'm saying - he might be

considered perfect, and maybe he is, but is he the