“Then I will have strong words for them.” I drop one fist into my palm.
“You can’t do that. I’d have to take care of it myself.”
“But I could go with you, to provide a menacing presence.”
“What if the other students think I’m strange? What if they make fun of me?”
“I imagine there will be others just like you, those who are passionate about the same topics. Besides, you shouldn’t let what other people think prevent you from pursuing your dreams.”
“There are just so many things…” His eyes glaze over in panic, and I squeeze his hip.
“Giovanni, do not worry about the things that have not yet happened. Just let yourself imagine it. Picture your Sir dressing you in the morning for school, packing your lunch for you, dropping you off to spend time in that beautiful library, reading very thick books with tiny print, sharing your thoughts and ideas with others who can match your intellect.”
“Sir, you are very smart.”
“I know a lot about olives and sailing, but not as much about your slutty gods or your music or all those languages you speak.”
He lies down again with his head against my chest, fingertips dancing across my pecs, tickling the hair and subtly arousing me. “I appreciate your confidence in me. I promise I will think about it.”
“Ah, that reminds me, there is something else I have for you.” I sit up in bed and reach over to the night table drawer. “If I could have, I would have given this to you before I left. It is your reminder that I am always with you, always watching over you, and you are always mine. It is also your reminder of my rules, and that I care whether you follow them. But even if you break them, I will always be here to correct you.”
I pass the slender box over to him and he draws his fingers along the edges.
“Is this what I think it is?” he asks with the hint of a smile.
“Something for my beautiful baby. I hope you will like it.”
He removes the lid and stares for a moment at the collar nestled inside, a delicately woven, black silk choker with a gold ring at its center. “It’s made from the fibers of our very first rope,” I tell him.
“That’s… really special.”
“A special collar for my special boy. I know you are attached to your Master’s collar, but I wanted something more delicate, something for you to wear all the time, not only for special occasions.”
“I love it,” he says with a smile, the light dancing in his eyes. “Will you put it on me, Sir?”
He hands me his collar and holds the hair off his neck. I carefully fasten it around his throat, pressing at its center. He climbs out of bed to admire himself in the mirror, fingertips brushing over the silk.
“Show it to your Master,” I say.
He pivots toward the portrait, reaching out to touch Valentin’s hand. “He approves,” Giovanni says, and I find myself breathing a sigh of relief. “I’ll never take it off, I promise,” he says with quiet reverence, then rejoins me in bed.
“That’s good because you know what will happen if you do?”
“No, what?”
“Your head will fall off.”
He laughs, one of those unexpected eruptions that always takes me by surprise.
“Thank you for this gift, Sir, and everything it entails. I promise to be adventurous, mouthy, and open with you. And I’ll do my very best to follow your rules.”
“I promise to pursue my beautiful baby to the ends of the earth and ravish you with the strength of ten thousand gods.”
Nestled in my arms again, fingering his new collar he says, “I love you, Silvio.”
“I love you too, Giovanni.”
13
