The world lost meaning.Deprived of sight, voice muffled, and noise dampened, all Lucian had left to rely on was the feedback fromhisbody.
Pain, low-burning and constant, became like white noise—it faded into the back of Lucian’s mind and narrowed his attention to the pleasures his body was subjected to. There were people watching—he knew it—but it didn’t stop Lucian from responding to the pleasure in the only way heknewhow.
He bucked and twisted his hips, sinking back against Marcus as Marcus thrust upintohim.
The pleasure was greedy and unpredictable. The highs chased shrieks of delight from deep inside Lucian’s gut while the lows made him moan with regret. He felt Marcus inside of him, pushing, pressing, and stretching. Lucian’s body tightened for him, wanting to feel every second of the intrusion. He’d never wanted something sobadly.
“You’re dripping.” Marcus’ voice cut through the haze, the clarity startling. “You’re so hot for me your cock is dripping. You’re making a mess on the floor, fledgling. Am I going to have to make you cleanitup?”
Excitement burst in Lucian’s chest like a firework in the night sky. It dazzled him, blinding him to the clarity he’d so recently found. All that was left were the bass notes of Marcus’ voice and the pleasure that twisted through Lucian like a corkscrew. He’d just come, but he already longed to shootagain.
“You’ll clean it up while everyone watches,” Marcus uttered. “On your knees, nose to theground…”
Another explosion rocked Lucian from the inside, and he strained to push back against Marcus. The dull throbbing of his palms as they chafed against the O rings vanished. Only pleasureremained.
“… Cum dripping fromyourass.”
Every ounce of gunpowder in Lucian’s soul ignited at once, the grand finale unexpected and show-stopping. Lucian’s shaft pulsed again and again as it shot, his load thicker and more plentiful than it had ever been before. His balls drew up tight against his body, and the same tension that brought on his ejaculation caused his hole to flutter against Marcus’ cock, begging it for what Marcus hadpromised.
Marcusdelivered.
With a low grunt, he pushed inward. Lucian felthimcome.
“Knot me.” Lucian didn’t realize the words were his until he noticed how his jaw strained against the hood. “Knot me. Knot me.Knotme.”
No knot came. Instead, Marcus eased out of Lucian’s body, then left him. Lucian’s legs fell, meeting the floor once more. The full burden of his weight was restored to hisshoulders.
Luciansobbed.
His distress wasn’t brought on by pain, but by a sudden, crippling fear of abandonment. Too many times he’d shared a bed with a man, only for that man to leave his side the second sex was over. Lucian couldn’t put up with it—not now that he’d found a man who meant so muchtohim.
“Marcus,” he sobbed. “Marcus, no,pleasecome back.Please.”
It didn’t matter if he got in trouble, and it didn’t matter if Marcus decided to punish him for acting out. Lucianneededhim. He needed to feel Marcus’ gentle touch and to hear Marcus’ loving, reassuring words. He needed to be held close while Marcus stroked his hair. He needed to know that he’d done agoodjob.
A metallic noise was rapidly followed by the sound of moving chain, and the force holding Lucian’s arms above his head went slack. Lucian dropped his arms, the sudden relief comforting, but not what he needed. Desperation built and was about to boil over when a familiar scent flooded Lucian’s nostrils through his hood and a pair of strong arms locked around him frombehind.
“I’m here, fledgling,” Marcus whispered. He removed the hood and nosed against the side of Lucian’s head to kiss the rim of his ear. “I’m here. You don’t have to worry. I’ve got you.You’resafe.”
The leather cuffs on Lucian’s wrists loosened, then tumbled to the floor. Hands worked the sore skin there, rubbing feeling back into the spots that had lost it and smothering the burn of Lucian’s chafed skin. All the while, Marcus whispered reassuring messages against the back of his ear, sometimes stopping tokisshim.
The relief was overwhelming. Lucian didn’t have to bealone.
“You did such a good job,” Marcus said. “You could never know how happy you’ve made me. I’m so pleased with you.Sopleased.”
“I love you.” The sentence came from a hidden part of Lucian and sprung from his lips without filtering, but he didn’t regret it. “I love you,Marcus.”
“And you know that I love you.” The words melted Lucian from the inside, infusing him with the joy he so desperately needed now that their play had ended. “Everything we did tonight, we did because I love you. I don’t want anyone toquestionit.”
Lucian nodded. Tears beaded in the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t letthemfall.
“Are you ready to go home now?” Marcus asked. His hands trailed up Lucian’s wrists until his arms locked loosely across his chest. “Are you ready to startagain?”
“I’m ready,” Lucian replied, pushing through his insecurities and his delicate emotionalstate.
He’d never been so sure of something inhislife.
For Marcus, he’d quit his job at The Shepherd, and in return, Marcus had said his goodbye to the club he loved. Marcus had validated their relationship to the people who mattered most to him, and he’d driven home a powerful message to the man who thought he could stand in their way. Now they would leave together, more certain in their relationship than everbefore.
