Two Doms For Angel (3 page)

Except for the female in the picture,
it was…fucked-up gay shit. So why did his dick stir at the image?
Because he was fucked-up and gay, he thought to himself. No, not
gay but definitely fucked-up.

He read the information provided.
Nathaniel Monroe was highly praised as a renowned bondage artist.
There were more pictures. What the hell would this man want with
Zack?

He clicked the back arrow
and clicked on
Rare sighting.
The picture was grainy but the profile was a face
Zach would never forget.

It was him: the man with the knives,
the man who saved his life.

Chapter Six

Zach stood up from the table and, when
he grabbed the card, he noticed his hand was shaking. Walking to
the kitchen wall phone, he dialed the number.

The voice from Zachery’s memory
answered on the second ring.

“
Hello, Zachery.”

“
Hello…Nathanial.”

“
I’m sure you’re wondering
why I’ve contacted you?”

“
Yes, that’s a mild
understatement.”

“
I would like you to be my
guest for a week here at my estate. I have need of a man like you,
and I was hoping we could discuss a proposition.”

“
A proposition?” Zach’s
voice was bordering on insolence. What did this fucker mean by a
“man like you” anyway?

Deep rich laughter sounded over the
phone. The voice was no less arresting than it had been when Monroe
had placed a knife in his hand. “I assure you that you will be safe
and my intentions are entirely above-board.”

“
Why now?” Zach
asked.
And why do you talk like you’ve got
a stick up your ass, Nathanial?

“
You’ll be going to the
police academy in three months but at the moment, you find yourself
at loose ends.” Hard steel had crept into the voice. “I would like
some of your time.”

“
How do you know what’s
going on in my life?”

“
I’ve kept track of you. And
now I wish for a small amount of your time.”

Zach wanted to deny the voice but it
was compelling. More than that, he owed Monroe his life.

“
There’s no
address.”

Monroe gave him the address and
directions. Zach would be on the road for six hours.

He left the following day and almost
turned back several times. The prison-like iron gates which opened
when he pulled up made him wish he had. He followed the long
circular drive and stopped in front of the “estate.”

The term fit the mansion as well as any
other: white columns, red brick, and at least three stories tall.
The building was the size of Zach’s entire forty-unit apartment
complex.

Nathaniel Monroe came down the steps
followed by the man who had delivered the invitation. Monroe shook
his hand.

“
It’s good to see you again,
Zachery. You look fit and healthy, unlike when I saw you
last.”

“
Yes,” he said
uncomfortably. “No extensive damage.”

Zach had no idea what to expect here,
but he found himself mesmerized by the man to whom he owed his
life. Every nuance, every small movement of Monroe’s tall frame
showed lethal strength.

“
Stevens will take your
bag,” Monroe smiled. “I want you to tell me about your
car.”

The Mustang was a high school
graduation gift from his parents, though Zach spent his own money
on the restoration. As Zach explained the painstaking work involved
—from finding the parts to painting it in model- and year-specific
colors — he felt himself beginning to relax a little.

“
You’ve kept the integrity
of the original. I like that,” Monroe said. “This is a real work of
art and Zachery, I know my art.”

“
That’s what I
read.”

“
Did you now? Then I’m sure
you saw my picture as well. It’s caused endless problems in my
other line of work. You would think with my connections, the
picture would disappear but the powers that be thought it would
cause more of a red flag if it did. It hit a few newspapers too.
Unfortunately, the beautiful woman on my arm was edited out of most
of the news releases. It’s shameful that my ordinary mug would draw
more attention than Nessia’s. She wasn’t happy either.”

“
Nessia?”

“
Yes, she’s one of my models
and also an occasional partner when I have a function to attend.
She’ll be here tomorrow with two other models. But enough, let’s go
inside and get you situated. I’ll admire the engine later. You may
leave her parked here during your visit or Stevens can put her in
the garage.”

Zach followed his host up the steps,
through the white columns, and inside the front door. Zach tried
not to stare around the large circular room with marble floors,
ornately framed art on the walls, and antique furniture discreetly
displaying African pottery and statues.

“
Come into my den and have a
drink with me, Zach. You need to loosen up a bit. You are my guest
and I’ve thought about you over the past year. I want to hear what
made you decide on the Atlanta police department.”

Zach followed. He felt like he stepped
into Oz. This entire scenario was messed up somehow. The den had a
mahogany desk and bookcases lining the walls. One entire case was
taken up with erotic art books, the large coffee-table
variety.

“
Do you appreciate
art?”

Monroe’s eyes seemed to take in
everything and made Zach wonder if the man could read his
mind.

“
It was forced on me by my
mother,” Zach said. “I don’t think there’s a museum in the country
I wasn’t dragged to as a child.”

“
Have you ever been
captivated by Shibari?”

“
No, looking you up online
was my first introduction.”

“
Have a seat. What would you
like to drink?”

“
Beer in a bottle, if you
have it.”

Monroe laughed, “You can take the boy
out of the Marines, but you can’t take the Marines out of the boy.
A bottle of beer it is. Will Budweiser work for you?”

“
Yes, sir, it
will.”

Monroe’s eyes met his and Zach felt the
other man was looking deep into his soul. It was only when Monroe
glanced towards the door that Zach realized Stevens had returned
and was waiting for orders. With a slight nod of his head, Stevens
left the room.

He returned a few minutes later and
placed two ice-cold beers on the side table between the two men.
Without a word, Stevens retreated from the room once more, leaving
them alone.

Monroe opened the first bottle and
handed it to Zach. Then he opened his own.

They both took a long pull.

“
I tend to forget how
satisfying a cold beer is,” Monroe said. “Thank you for reminding
me.”

Zach didn’t reply. He wasn’t altogether
sure that Monroe wasn’t making fun of him somehow.

“
Let’s talk about Shibari,
shall we?” Monroe asked, settling back into his deep leather
chair.

“
Okay.” Zach was still
unsure what Shibari had to do with him, or why he was
here.

“
Shibari originated in
Japan,” Monroe began. “In Japanese, ‘shibari’ simply means ‘to tie’
or ‘to bind.’ It actually grew out of something called Hojo-jutsu,
the martial art of restraining captives, from around 1400 to 1700.
Samurai used Hojo-jutsu as a form of torture and imprisonment.
These ancient warriors used different techniques to bind their
prisoners, to show the honor and status of their
captives.”

Monroe’s enthusiasm for his subject was
evident in his voice.

“
Slowly Hojo-jutsu evolved
into something more spiritual and artistic, what we now call
contemporary Shibari. In its simplest form, it’s bondage but the
art itself is quite complex.”

“
I began tying knots in Cub
Scouts when I was a child. Ropes and intricate knots fascinated me.
My mother thought I would be a sailing rigger on the high seas. In
my teenage years I saved my money and bought magazines with sexual
bondage pictures, for the ropes of course.”

He gave Zach a self-depreciating grin
and then continued.

“
Back then, the magazines
were filled with violence which I found distasteful. It wasn’t
until I was older that I learned about the relaxing qualities and
the sexual gratification found in artistic bondage. For me, Shibari
and sex go hand in hand. It’s been many years since I’ve had
unbound vanilla sex.”

Zach didn’t know what to say so he
stayed quiet.

“
You are also aware on some
level what I do outside of our country. I continue to abhor
violence but it is a necessary evil in today’s world. My art calms
me and readjusts my soul from dark to light. The feel of rope
around a beautiful female body is relaxing in its
intensity.”

Zach couldn’t believe the conversation
turned so fast. His hand tightened on his beer bottle but fuck, his
cock stiffened. He kept his eyes level with his host.

“
I’ve made you uncomfortable
and I didn’t mean to. My world is not for everyone but I would like
to give you a demonstration tomorrow and we can talk more then.
We’ll finish these beers and then grab another round. I want to get
under the hood of your car. Next to sex and Shibari, vintage cars
are a passion of mine. I have a garage with several classics I
think you will like. They don’t get driven enough and we can take
one out for a spin.”

He stood. Zach could do nothing but
follow.

Chapter Seven

Heaven. The collection of classic
automobiles was any guy’s wet dream. The only non-vintage vehicle
to draw his attention was a new Porsche 911 GT3. It was no contest
when it came time to take a car out.

“
There’s an old airport
runway a few miles from here. We’ll head there and you can open her
up.”

“
Do you want to drive to the
airport?”

“
No, Zach, this is your
chance, Monroe laughed. “She’s all yours for the next
hour.”

If it was a bribe, it was a damn fine
one.

Zach had asked very few questions but
while he tested the strength of the 911, he bluntly asked Monroe’s
age.

“
I’m thirty-two, not that
much older than you, though my life took a different direction
early on. Do you like to kill, Zach?”

The question was unexpected but it was
easy to answer. “No, I don’t.”

“
You’ll make a great cop.
The government discovered early that I had a knack for killing. The
men I dispose of need killing but it eats away at your soul. I keep
saying I’ll get out but the pull of duty, honor, and all that
fucked-up shit keeps me in.”

“
Were you a
Marine?”

“
Yes. Things progressed from
there. I’m glad you left. Atlanta PD made a wise choice in hiring
you.”

“
Did you have anything to do
with it?”

Laughter filled the confines of the
car.

“
No, Zach. Your decision
actually made me play my hand differently, something I haven’t even
considered for a long time. But, no more talk of this now. I have
two female guests coming for dinner. They’re hoping to get laid,
but I’ll leave the choice to you. Meaning, it’s your choice of
which woman, and what you want to do with her.” Again, Monroe gave
an easy laugh.

“
Are they
hookers?”

Monroe’s laughter rolled
again.

“
No, they attend a local
kink club and I’ve used them as models in the past. The drawer
beside your bed is stocked with condoms and a few other items if
you desire to use them.”

They were heading back to the
estate.

“
Are there cameras in my
room?”

“
You’re so very suspicious,
Zach!” Monroe smiled. “No, no cameras. I’m not into blackmail. A
simple no from you will suffice. But, there are cameras around the
outside of the property. If you decide to explore any sexual urges
out there, you’ve been warned.”

“
Is sex always this casual
for you?”

“
Hmm, I’ve never considered
sex casual but even with your liberal parents and the sixties love
fest they grew up in, your world has been very narrow when it comes
to all the ways you can enjoy women. Both the ladies tonight would
delight in teaching you and I do mean both.”

It was Zach’s turn to laugh, albeit a
little uncomfortably.

“
I don’t think I need to
start with two, thank you. How do you know I don’t have a
girlfriend?”

“
The same way I know about
your new career. There’s an urban legend about saving someone’s
life and then being responsible for it forever. I researched the
philosophy many years ago, and it’s actually only the invention of
some fiction writer’s imagination. The history of the phrase can
only be traced back to the Wookie debt in ‘Star Wars,’ but it’s
stuck with me. How can you not abide by the code of honor in ‘Star
Wars?’” His smile was boyish. “So, that’s the long way around
saying I’ve kept my eye on you and done my research. I’ll explain
more tomorrow.”