Although Sean suggested Rob put his bike in the back of Sean’s pickup, he decided to leave it locked at the bookstore. “I can walk around the corner,” he explained. “And I really can’t afford to lose that bike. It’s all the transportation I have for now.”
Sean knew their destination well enough, too. Although he’d only been in Dellview about two months, he’d managed to look around some and had stopped in the coffee shop on one of his days off. He liked the atmosphere—very casual and laid back. Although most of the patrons were probably students, they didn’t seem to be the loud and rowdy sorts. He’d seen enough of that in the military from the younger troops he’d served with.
Just inside the main door, they stopped. Sean turned to Rob. “Are you in the mood for a craft beer or would you prefer coffee?”
“I can do either one,” Rob replied. “Whatever you prefer will be fine.”
Once again Rob’s deferential manner struck Sean as odd. What in the world had the other man been through to become so unassertive? He seemed almost timid, as if he feared to offend or step one pace beyond his safe, shadowy world. It was as if he hid within a Harry Potter style cloak of invisibility. He didn’t want to be noticed.
“No, I insist you choose,” Sean said. He was going to start breaking Rob out of his strange prison and he wouldn’t quit until he had the job done!
Rob hesitated a moment, took a breath and let it out. “They make a wonderful latte,” he said at last. “All the flavors are good but I’m partial to the caramel.”
“Works for me,” Sean replied. They placed their orders, collected the steaming cups and made their way to a quiet table in an out-of-the-way corner. By this hour, most of the patrons were in the beer garden, which was now much busier and noisier.
“Until the other night, I didn’t realize how much I missed being a part of a coven. I was raised in a Wiccan family so it was almost a homecoming for me. The only thing that didn’t feel totally comfortable was Daniel, your leader. Our old circle never had anyone like that. There really wasn’t a leader at all. People tended to take turns guiding the rituals.”
Rob looked at him with surprise. “Really? You say all covens are not like ours?
This is my first experience with Wicca. My parents, especially my stepfather, were Evangelical Christians and very strict. I didn’t want to continue in that life when I left home. Then Daniel took me under his wing—almost literally with that cape…” He paused and laughed, then looked embarrassed for the minor levity. “Anyway, that’s how it’s been as long as I have been here. People have left and I just began to realize that perhaps some of them didn’t want that brand of leadership. Oh my…”
Rob looked intently at Sean then, a mixture of emotions painting his expressive face. Sean reached out and put one hand over Rob’s. He had clenched them together on the table and now twisted them. “Wait, I didn’t mean to criticize or upset you. There’s probably no one ‘right’ way. It’s what each group wants, needs, and accepts.”
After a moment, Rob looked down at their hands, a sadness slipping over his face. “You’ve made me think, though. I—well, Daniel can be somewhat overbearing, actually quite harsh at times. I thought it was just me, my many failings and his efforts to make me grow, but he’s been close to that severe to others at times. I just chose not to notice or thought it was my imagination. I think I wanted to see him as perfect…”
“I don’t imagine he encourages you to have other friends, does he?”
Rob looked up, his gaze flying to meet Sean’s. “How did you know that?”
“Just a guess. You had to think before you agreed to come here with me this evening. Will he be upset with you when you get home?”
“Not unless I’m very late. Then he’d worry. The crime rate has been going up recently, and the streets can be dangerous at night.”
Sean could see Rob hedged, but he caught the flash of worry in the other man’s expression. “We’ll make sure not to be very late, then. I’ll drive you home. That’ll save some time.”
They turned the conversation to more casual topics then as they sipped the lattes.
Sean kept an eye on the clock above the cashier’s station. A bit before ten, he suggested they leave. He walked back to the bookstore with Rob and waited while he unlocked the bike. It was a nice ten-speed, and Sean could understand why Rob didn’t want to lose it. He reached to help heft it into the bed of his pickup. Their hands collided and they almost dropped it, both suddenly clumsy and unsure.
Sean set the bike down and reached, putting a hand on each of Rob’s shoulders.
“Calm down,” he said. “We’re going to be friends. I don’t care whether Daniel likes it or not. Don’t let him browbeat you. You’re too fine a person to endure that. It’s not like you have nowhere else to go. Not really. In fact, there’s space in my house if you ever need somewhere to crash.”
Rob drew a shaky breath. “Thank you for that. I won’t forget.” Lightning fast, he turned his head and brushed his lips across the fingers of Sean’s left hand, curled over his right shoulder. Then he twisted away. “We’d better go. Do you know where it is?”
“I looked Daniel Cousteau up in the phone book,” Sean admitted. “I presume it’s the same guy. He’s listed on 233 Elm. That’s an older and well-established area of town.
He must be quite well to do.”
“That’s correct,” Rob said. “It’s a nice house but older and a bit run down, to be totally honest. I think he inherited the place. I’m not sure if it was his family home or not. Really I know very little about him, about his past.”
“He probably wants it that way,” Sean muttered to himself. He was glad Rob didn’t ask him to repeat it.
The drive up to Elm only took a few minutes. Rob scrambled out as soon as Sean pulled in at the curb. “Thanks for the lift,” he said. “You don’t need to get out. I’ll just grab my bike and you can be on your way.”
Rob was clearly flustered, but not wanting to upset him anymore, Sean complied. “Thanks for joining me. I’ll see you Saturday.”
As Sean drove away he saw Rob, holding the bike, looking almost like a lost and frightened little kid. The troubling impression stuck with him. Something was very wrong with this whole picture. Although it should be none of his business, something seemed to insist he make it his business. Already, he found Rob too special a man to abandon.
* * * *
Rob watched Sean drive away, a sinking feeling of sadness in his belly. It would be so good to have a friend like Sean—maybe even a lover! He wasn’t sure where that idea came from because Sean hadn’t said or done anything to indicate he was gay, much less interested in Rob that way. Still, a guy could dream.
Despite dreams, though, he had to go in and face whatever Daniel might feel he deserved. It wasn’t very late. Perhaps it would be okay. He locked his bike to the porch rail and let himself in as quietly as he could. Maybe Daniel had been reading or meditating and not noticed the time. No such luck.
“Robbie, is that you—finally? You’d better come here and explain what took you so long.”
Despite a twinge of guilt, which he really shouldn’t have to feel, the preemptory tone grated. The harsh words scraped his nerves even more than they normally did. He started toward the door into the room Daniel called his study. Still, he paused at the portal. “Damn it, my name is Rob. Why do you insist on calling me Robbie?”
“I call you Robbie because you insist on acting more like a child than a man.
Robbie is a child’s name. I let you take the job at the bookstore in hopes it would help you learn more responsibility. I thought Steve and Melinda might get through to you in ways I can’t seem to. Ye gods, man, you’re twenty-three, not thirteen!”
Rob tried to find his backbone but it seemed to have turned to a well-cooked noodle. “I’m sorry. I’m really not very late. I closed tonight and…”
“That took more than an extra hour?”
“No, I closed, like I started to say, and then went around to the coffee shop with a customer to chat for a few minutes. I watched the time and came straight home from there.”
Daniel rose from his chair, tossed the book he’d been reading onto the side table and strode to where Rob had stopped, just inside the room. Rob forced himself to stand, stiffening his back and holding his head up. He couldn’t quite meet Daniel’s cold onyx gaze but he looked just past the other man; perhaps that was close enough. He had no idea what was coming. So far there had been no mention of the dragon. His arms still ached, and his cock and balls twinged when he remembered that past incident. His knees wobbled.
Daniel simply looked at him for a timeless interval. Finally he made a sound somewhat like a snort. “Oh fuck it. Go upstairs and get undressed. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Just in case your ‘customer’ was male, I intend to refresh your memory as to who you lover is as well as your mentor, benefactor and protector. Remember, you were homeless, starving and living like a scared rat when I took you in. You could be back there again.”
No, I won’t. If you decide to throw me out I could at least go to Sean’s place until I find something else. He said I could. Rob didn’t speak that thought but he held it close and repeated it like a mantra as he turned his back and took the stairs, two by two. For the first time he wondered if Daniel’s professed love was sincere or simply a sop thrown to him to help maintain control. His stepfather had sometimes professed to love him, too, despite the sinner and screw up he endlessly reminded Rob that he was.
After Rob undressed, he drew the heavy spread back and folded it neatly along the foot of Daniel’s king sized bed. Then he lay down. He hesitated for a few seconds but decided to position himself face down. Daniel always said he found Rob’s ass most attractive and perhaps that would please him. It also conveyed a degree of submission which again Rob knew Daniel wanted.
Lying quietly, he listened. He heard Daniel walk around the lower floor checking to see everything was locked securely. Then he turned on the stereo, wired so there were speakers in almost every room. The music might give a clue to his mood.
Thankfully it was mellow, a mixture of instrumentals and gentle vocals in Celtic traditional and more recent pagan-themed tunes. Next he started up the stairs, each step firm and precise. Rob knew the instant the other man entered, heard the steps pause and Daniel’s indrawn breath. He wished he could see the older man’s face but that wasn’t possible without moving too much.
“Ah, that’s a good boy. I do love that ass of yours. It’s the one thing about you that’s almost perfect.” Daniel’s steps now hushed in the room’s thick carpet, Rob barely heard him approach the bed. Still he readied himself for the customary slaps, one on each cheek. Hard enough to sting, but actually more arousing than painful. Crack, crack.
“There, you’re nicely branded. A perfect red handprint on each white cheek.
Beautiful. You must remember now that you are mine. Mine!” Each ‘mine’ was underlined with yet another slap, the final one quite hard. “Slide down now until your legs hang off while I prepare myself.”
Fears forgotten for the moment, since it seemed Daniel’s mood had softened, Rob complied. He wiggled back until only his torso rested on the bed while he bent at the hips to let his legs drop. The smooth texture of the silken sheets on his cock and balls as he moved added to his excitement, chill, slippery, enticing. His heartbeat speeded up and he clenched his hands into fists, nails biting into his palms to help maintain control.
He had to wait, not a sound or a motion for Daniel was the master and he was the most humble of slaves. He’d grown used to this game over the past months. Most of the time it seemed right, even enjoyable. Still, this time he couldn’t help wishing for a breath or two that it was Sean who stood behind him, Sean’s touch he would soon feel on his skin and perhaps Sean’s cock claiming him. Lovely, guilty dream…
Daniel grasped Rob at the flanks, strong hands kneading the flesh, fingers biting into the tender skin. Then the tip of his cock probed, sliding up and down the crack of Rob’s ass, pausing and finally driving into him. Daniel was big. At times the invasion hurt. That was also part of the game. Dragons and masters were not gentle. Rob pushed up against the pressure, trying to open a passageway for Daniel’s big dick, letting him go in so far his balls slapped against Rob’s ass.
It never took very long. Daniel humped and thrust and groaned. He seemed to grow even bigger and much harder until with a final savage drive, he erupted.
Sometimes he hit Rob’s sweet spot and when that happened, the pain didn’t matter.
That didn’t happen this time.
Daniel straightened, pulled out and then delivered two more strong smacks to Rob’s ass. “You’re a good fuck, Robbie. I’ll have to grant you that. For a near-worthless piece of human debris, you’re a damn fine fuck. You can jack yourself off now if you want to.”
Rob waited until he heard the shower come on in the adjacent bathroom before he did just that. Again, he thought of Sean. It made him feel shivery and blazing hot, all at the same time. As he neared his climax, he went almost dizzy with the wonder of it, picturing himself in Sean’s hands or even in his mouth! If only. Did he dare hope that maybe someday?
By the time Daniel came back, freshly bathed, Rob almost hated to move but he knew he’d better shower too. Daniel didn’t like anything messy, no odors or residue to upset his perfect and orderly existence. Once it was over, he wanted no reminders. The older man slid between the sheets and cuffed a pillow into place.
“You can stay the night if you wish or go back to your room. I really don’t care.
Just so long as you remember this is the only bed you share.”
“Yes, sir. I won’t forget.” Still, Rob almost smiled to himself as he collected his clothes. He would go. Wide awake now, his drowsy comfort had faded. With the chill of the evening air on his skin, he felt no afterglow. And for the first time ever, he knew he was lying through his teeth with his declaration. While it might be true in reality, in his heart it would never be true again.
He had no sense of punishment or regret as he padded down the stairs to the narrow bedroom he’d called his since shortly after his arrival. In the past he had often felt hurt that Daniel so rarely wanted him to remain through the night, to cuddle close or fall asleep in an embrace. He had cherished such contact as a sign of love, something he had missed since his mother remarried just after his sixth birthday. His stepfather insisted boys should not be coddled and petted lest it make them sissies and weaklings.
From then on, a tender touch had been a rarity, growing fewer as time passed. His whole being had thirsted for simple human contact. This time, though, leaving Daniel’s room felt more like freedom.