A second later, Scott found his hand going to his new collar. Joe was still wrapped all the way around him. Scott’s heart rate slowed. It became easier for him to breathe. The whole world was, in fact, a much better place.
Joe smiled, caught hold of Scott’s free hand, and led him from the club. Scott followed, somewhat in awe of his own newfound confidence. In Joe’s car, he relaxed back in his seat. He’d made his decision. Joe had accepted his decision. He belonged to Joe. And now, they were going back to Joe’s place. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the rest behind him.
The only part of Scott not one hundred percent happy with events was his cock; and that was only because he really wanted to come and his erection saw no reason why he should have to wait until they reached Joe’s flat.
But, even though his shaft pressed more painfully against the front of those overly tight leather trousers by the minute, Scott found that he was neither disappointed nor relieved when Joe failed to pull over and jump him at any point on their journey across the city.
It was Joe’s choice. Everything was Joe’s choice now. Scott smiled to himself. He only opened his eyes and lifted his head when the noise from the engine suddenly disappeared. They were outside the block of flats where Joe lived. Scott blinked and tried to push his brain into something like a sensible thought process, but it wasn’t easy. He was drunk on relief.
Joe undid both their belts, exited the car, and walked around to open Scott’s door.
“Th-thank you, sir.”
Joe wrapped his arm around Scott’s shoulders and guided every step he took, all the way up to his flat. Without even a drop of alcohol in his system, Scott was as incapable of looking out for himself as any sloshed partygoer had ever been.
Three yards from their destination, Scott tensed, all his happy sleepiness vanishing. He came to a complete stop just a few feet away from Joe’s front door, bringing Joe to a halt alongside him.
The lights in the public hallway were dimmed in deference to the late hour, and Joe hadn’t bothered to power them up when he obviously knew every step of their journey off by heart. A thin strip of brighter light was visible beneath the base of Joe’s door.
“D-d-did you leave the l-l-light on when you l-left, s-sir?” Scott asked. His voice sounded hollow, even to his own ears.
Joe gave him a strange look. “Why would I?”
Exactly, Scott thought. He never remembered there being a light on in Joe’s flat when he was out.
Why tonight?The question rolled around in Scott’s mind, but no answer came with it.
Scott’s blood grew colder, until it was barely fluid enough to flow through his veins. “I th-think…” he finally managed to say. “I th-think you might have been r-r-robbed while we were at the c-club, s-sir.”
* * * * *
Joe stared down at Scott for several seconds, wondering where the hell that had come from. He’d known for months that Scott was the type to worry about anything and everything in the universe. But really, panicking about the possibly inadequate security in a flat that he hadn’t even moved into yet was…
Joe thoughts died a very slow painful death as he traced Scott’s line of sight and spotted the light shining beneath the front door. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know enough swear words to fit the situation.
“Everything’s fine,” Joe said first, in an instinctive effort to comfort Scott.
Scott’s shoulders remained tensed. Even in the dim hallway light, it was easy to see the worry in his eyes.
Joe reached out and rattled the door handle. “See, it’s still locked. I must have just forgotten to switch off the light when I left. No big deal.”
Scott followed him into the flat without a word, but his gaze darted into every corner; checking for missing items, or perhaps for lingering intruders.
Joe led the way straight to the bedroom, determined to get the sequence of events he’d planned out back on track as soon as possible. Scott’s footsteps followed Joe’s for a little way, but suddenly fell silent halfway to the bedroom. Joe turned just in time to see Scott reach for the handle on the living room door.
“No!”
Scott froze, his hand hovering mid-air. He looked toward Joe, but quickly dropped his gaze. “May I just ch-check very quickly, s-sir?” he asked.
Joe kept his face expressionless through sheer force of will. “There’s no need.”
Scott didn’t move his hand toward the door, but he didn’t snatch it away either.
“What do you think I’ve got that’s worth stealing, anyway?” Joe asked. He aimed for a light-hearted tone, but he wasn’t sure he succeeded. Tonight was important, damn it, and he had a plan.
Scott made no reply. He’d back down if Joe ordered him to—Joe was certain of it. And, at the same time, Scott would learn that he’d been wrong to trust his master with a request that was obviously important to him.
Shit!
