“I do not care where I am or what I am doing with my sorry self,” he said, gazing deeply into Charlie’s eyes. “As long as I am with you, I will be content.” He paused for a moment, then said with feeling, “I love you, Charlie.”
For a moment, that special moment, they were not master and slave, or whatever twist of that relationship their connection would become. They were two men whose hearts and souls beat in harmony with each other. They had each seen triumph and failure, each been cast out of the lives they’d been born to, and they had landed safely together.
“I love you, too, Jonathan,” Charlie said, resting a hand on the side of Jonathan’s face.
The feelings between them felt strong enough to conquer any evil that came their way, and Charlie was certain they’d found the home that both of them had always longed for, together.
Epilogue
ONE MONTH LATER…
There was nothing quite as good as natural light to bring out the contours and nuances of a naked body in a photograph. Jonathan was lucky that, after days of rain, the sun had finally decided to shine down on the courtyard garden at the heart of The Zagreus Den just as Brutus and Titus needed him to take a series of photographs.
“Perfect, Georgie. Or, sorry, it’s Erastos now,” he said as he stepped back from the chaise where he’d just arranged the eager young man’s limbs in an open and seductive pose. “If this doesn’t entice a gentleman of outstanding care and character to snatch you up, I do not know what will.”
Jonathan winked at the young man, then swept a hand down his chest and stomach to his half-hard cock. He wrapped a hand around it and stroked as the man sucked in a breath. Once Erastos was fully hard, Jonathan stepped back to where his camera waited.
“Everything ready?” he asked Charlie with a wicked look.
Charlie grinned and nodded, then stepped behind the camera to adjust the lens and frame the shot himself.
While Charlie concentrated on the image before him, Jonathan studied Charlie. His beautiful boy had come such a long way in the short month since they’d taken shelter at The Zagreus Den. Jonathan still felt strange calling Charlie his “boy” when, in truth, he had never known such a courageous and mature man in his life. He supposed Charlie looked like a boy, now that his face had filled out a bit from abundant food and all the cares of the world had dropped from his shoulders.
Charlie was happy, and happiness made people appear youthful and carefree. Or perhaps that was the simple, subtly colorful clothing Charlie chose to wear. Or the intricately worked leather collar Charlie had worn around his neck since the ceremony where Jonathan had officially claimed ownership of him two weeks ago.
He still could not believe that he now owned a man. Of course, it wasn’t legally binding in any way, but it was binding within the society he and Charlie now found themselves a part of. No one else who belonged to The Zagreus Den or who set foot within its walls had any right whatsoever to as much as look lustfully at Charlie if Jonathan did not permit it.
They were fully immersed in the world of the Den now, and Jonathan was certain they would never be able to return to the ordinary world. Particularly since, after a quick discussion where options were weighed, Brutus and Titus made certain that two charred skeletons were discovered in the burned-out wreckage of Jonathan’s shop. To all the world, including Jonathan’s father and family, Hammond had succeeded in silencing their voices forever.
Hammond believed that both Jonathan and Charlie were dead as well, as Brutus and Titus’s spies had reported.
The only true escape from the sort of vengeance Hammond had in mind was death, but it did not have to be a true death.
Charlie’s quiet laughter shook Jonathan out of his somber thoughts.
“I beg your pardon?” Jonathan asked with pretend offense over being laughed at.
“I’ve taken the photograph,” Charlie informed him, eyes bright and flashing.
Jonathan had been so absorbed in looking at his boy and counting their blessings for being safe and happy together that he hadn’t paid the least bit of attention to the task at hand.
“Have you now?” he asked saucily, sliding up to Charlie and wrapping his arms around his lover’s waist.
Charlie laughed out loud and slid his hands up Jonathan’s chest. His lips parted in invitation and his cheeks flushed pink.
“Erastos,” Jonathan called out, intent on Charlie. “Unless you want to partake in the aftermath of your session, you’re free to go.”
Erastos chuckled as he relaxed from his pose and rolled off the chaise, reaching for a robe that was draped over a chair to one side. “Yes, sir,” he said, grinning and shaking his head.
In the month since moving into the Den, Jonathan and Charlie had become quick favorites among the inhabitants there. Charlie had been absolutely right about how easily Jonathan would fit into the society of the Den. He’d been right about the members of the Den being the sort of men who would not only accept him, they would embrace him with open arms.
Jonathan still had his reservations about Brutus and Titus themselves, but there was more than enough company within the sprawling house in Tyburnia that he did not need to interact with them closely if he didn’t want to.
“You know how much these sessions arouse me,” he purred to Charlie, backing his lover toward the chaise.
“I do,” Charlie said, gripping Jonathan’s shoulders and moving the way Jonathan wanted him to move.
“I would not be me if I did not take what I wanted after doing my work,” he added as the back of Charlie’s legs bumped against the chaise.
