Nikolas pouted. “You do not say mad then. Let me think.” He laughed at himself. “Insane was right all along, Benjamin. Today, I am a little insane for you. I—” He caught Ben’s chin in a tight grip. “Because I want to do this.” He leant in and kissed him. It was a hard, savage taking without thought, until it wasn’t—until it became soft and seeking and very, very good. Then he drew away to gauge Ben’s reaction.
Ben pulled him back, so close Nikolas would be able to feel Ben’s breath on his lips. “That’s not insane, that is absolutely perfect…” He practically ate Nikolas’s face with his urgent kiss. He was desperate for this—this affirmation, this level of attention. It was sick, and he hated himself for being so weak, but when Nikolas wanted to share the intimacy of kissing with him, it made Ben feel real. It was pathetic to have his existence validated in this way, but that was how it was. Nikolas finally pulled away, wiping his mouth, running his fingers through his hair. He batted away Ben’s attempt to seize him once more. “No, you must shower and change, and then I will tell you a story about badgers.” He laughed at Ben’s expression. “Come, I will indulge my insanity and watch you shower.”
“Err…no, you fucking won’t. Sir.”
“My house, my rules.”
Nikolas leant against the counter in the bathroom, playing idly with Ben’s razor while Ben stood under the shower. He’d made a feeble show of protesting this was kinky and weird, but secretly he was pleased and incredibly turned on knowing he was being watched and enjoyed. As he came out, Nikolas handed him a towel. Ben didn’t take it but stood, arms wide, an expectant look on his face. Nikolas huffed but began to dry him off obediently. “I have to do this for the dogs.”
“I hope you don’t do that to them. I think it’s illegal.”
Nikolas flicked his eyebrow in a quizzical look then caught Ben’s cock once more, giving it light strokes with his hand. “No, I do not. I am not English. I prefer my lovers on two legs.”
“Lovers? That’s not what we’d call us where I come from.”
“On that pseudo-council estate you claim to have grown up on?”
“Hey, no impinging my birthright. Nothing fake about the Monkweir estate. Trust me. And don’t stop.”
“Do not give me orders, Benjamin.”
“Yeah? I don’t notice you complaining at being ordered around when we’re horizontal.”
“Well, we are vertical now, so remember your place.”
Ben leant close to his ear. “Okay. Don’t stop, please,sir.”
Nikolas smiled. “Much better.” He continued to ease Ben’s cock through his fist, his other hand drying Ben’s dark locks with the towel. Ben put his hand down and rested his fingers lightly on his boss’s wrist, his eyes closed, head tipped back, spine melting, legs weak as the glorious sensation of orgasm washed over him once more. This time, his spill fell harmlessly to the floor. Nikolas dropped the towel over it. “Thank God for house staff,” he commented dryly. “Now, get dressed and join me in my study.”
CHAPTER FIVE
There was a crackling fire and a glass of whisky waiting for Ben when he arrived downstairs. He threw himself into a leather armchair, took an appreciative swallow, and murmured ironically, “I’dsomuch rather be slogging around in mud, chasing foxes.”
“I believe it is pheasant this afternoon, but I wholeheartedly agree.”
“I’d have thought you’d go for the hunting thing, sir. Another layer of cover.”
Nikolas regarded him thoughtfully. “You think my life is camouflage?”
Ben held the stare. “Sir, I think everything you do from the moment you wake up to the moment you let yourself sleep is nothing more than a shadow dance.”
“I am not sure whether to be horrified or flattered. And what am I apparently covering up?”
“The day you let us all see that is the day I reckon it all comes tumbling down, and I like this house. I like coming here.” He hesitated then added, “Occasionally, I almost like you.”
Nikolas smiled and took a long sip of his own drink. “And that must be my cue to tell you all about badgers. Are you sitting comfortably?”
Ben felt more asleep than comfortable. He’d left London before dawn, ridden to Devon, been horseback riding, eaten a huge lunch (with copious amounts of wine), had sex (twice), and was now sitting by a warm fire (with more alcohol). Nikolas kicked his ankle. “What is the biggest threat to your—our—national identity, Benjamin?”
“Britain’s Got Talent?”
“Don’t be facetious, child.”
“I don’t know, sir. Al-Queda, I guess.”
“Wrong. It may surprise you, but foreign-born terrorists are not a huge threat to us.”
“Well, they aren’t foreign born now, are they?”
