Sauron's Castle

Author's Note: Stark_black and I have been working on an original series called "Silver and Black". It's about how these two meet. This story is set nearly six or seven months later, after they've gotten to know each other better. If folks want I think I can also post the original story here as well; but we're still kind of in the process of finishing it. This particular story is finished.

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It had been more than fifteen years since David had gone to Sauron's Dungeon. It was a private club dungeon on the northeast side of Seattle. He'd gotten too busy with work, and soccer had managed to take care of the worst of his need to get his brain off work. So he hadn't needed the outlet of hard Play.

But after they'd gotten involved, Chris had mentioned that the place still existed, was still members-only, still needed the screenings, and still had the public Play areas that he'd remembered when he'd been in his twenties and early thirties. With the way his knee now was, David no longer had the solid physical outlet of a 90 minute run, something he needed, or especially craved when work ate his brain alive.

While the two of them could have private scenes in David's condo or Chris' apartment, both of them were far too aware of the other people living all around them, and it really limited the extent of what they could do. They enjoyed the scenes they'd put together for each other, but as David's tensions built over the longer project, and, after having to help with a layoff that saw off some friends he'd worked with for over ten years, he needed something more.

So one night, David talked it over with Chris.

They took all their free time over the next few days to hammer out not just all the details, but to handle every qualm David came up with. Chris was especially careful to ask David questions on what he wanted and gave him the time to think it all through. Together, they worked through what to do in cases of problems, and how to handle certain situations that made David uncomfortable and wary. They talked through both their histories in the Scene, why and what they'd come to it for, and why they'd both left.

One of Chris' stories had shaken David to the point of near tears, and some part of him wanted to give Chris back what had been taken. It took David even longer to tell his story to Chris and that night David had lain in the shelter of Chris' arms, held so close he had no doubts left.

Chris had plays, runway shows, and announcer's work most weekends, so David took the Thursday and Friday off, so that they could go to the club on a Wednesday night. That afternoon they put together the equipment, as both of them had some idea of what Sauron's offered, and what they really wanted to use of their own things.

Then they dressed up.

David whistled softly at seeing Chris in his fishnet shirt, showing the tats all down his arms, black leather pants that looked painted onto his muscular build, heavy boots, and, the kicker for David was the thick studded collar wrapped around Chris throat and the heavy cuffs wrapped about Chris' wrists. He felt his cock twitch and start to firm just at the sight.

He used a bit of talcum and slid carefully into his skin tight leather pants as well. He didn't bother with a shirt of any kind, as it would just need cleaning afterwards, but he slid on silver embossed black vest that had wings spread on the back. He added boots that made him at eye-level with Chris and he walked back and forth a bit to get used to the feeling of them.

"You're looking hot, love," Chris said, moving in close and slid his hands along David's bare stomach. David arched into the touch, loving the fact that Chris couldn't keep his hands off him. He smiled and kissed Chris.

"Thanks. It's simple and I like the lines."

David drove to the ex-warehouse in the old industrial part of town. He had a severe case of déjà vu as they pulled into the parking lot under I-5. He had to rest his head on the steering wheel for a moment and close his eyes, a hollowness in his stomach from not being here with Morgan. Morgan. How long had it been since he'd thought of Morgan?

A warm touch on his shoulder brought David back out of his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay." David straightened up, brushed the hair from his eyes, and stopped a reflexive push of his glasses onto his nose as he was wearing his contacts for their activities. "Can we put the leash and weights on now?"

"Sure. I was wondering when you'd want to."

David clipped the leash to Chris' collar and swallowed hard on the jolt of desire that ran through him. Chris leaned forward and kissed David hard, and David moaned softly.

"You all right with doing this?" Chris rubbed comforting circles against his back.

"I'd better be, we've talked this through so many times, I…"

"No, I've got no expectations here. You can back out now. You should if you're uncertain." Chris had gotten the tone down, after half a year with David, making absolutely sure that the slender engineer knew that it would be okay to decline, to not do what he might have thought was expected of him.

David took a deep breath. "I want to do this. To have this. To take what you can give."

Chris grinned. "Clear enough, then... can you clip these on? I'm having a hell of a time..."

David took the jeweled weights, leaned forward and licked and gently nibbled on Chris' pierced nipples. The younger man bit his lip, silent at first, but eventually he groaned and arched, his cock visibly hardening under the revealing layer of the leather pants. His nipples got good and hard, and David carefully clamped the jeweled weights onto the horizontal bar through the cross-piercings on Chris' nipples. He grinned and tugged, very gently, on the left weight and got a growl from Chris.

"If you want me to just flip you and fuck you right here, keep doing that."

David laughed softly. "You're so not going to make a convincing sub with language like that."

Chris got a few choice curse words and then. "Right, right. I'll behave."

They'd had a talk about what words to use for and with each other in the club. Chris was really uncomfortable with the word "Sir" in all situations because he associated it with commissioned officers, whom, to a man, had been idiots or scum while he'd been enlisted in the army. David, on the other hand, had been very uncomfortable with using "Master" as he'd had a master, and that relationship had been unlike anything else he'd ever experienced since. So, in the end, they both decided against any titles at all, trusting in their own feelings for where the power lay.

They got out of the TT, David pulled the duffle with all their stuff in it out of the trunk, and locked the car up. Even after 8 pm the summer sunlight was bright this far north. He breathed deep of the warm air, and then walked over to Chris.

He fastened Chris's hands behind him with a quick release bolt. "Try it," he said quietly.

Chris pulled the latch and there was a thunk as the bolt released. "It works. I still feel weird in this. But... it works."

David nodded and fastened the bolt again and kissed Chris between his shoulder blades. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Then David picked up the handle of the leash, and walked to the pool of bright light by the door to the ex-warehouse that was now Sauron's Dungeon.

The doorman took one look at them, and pulled out a little PDA and said, "Club names please?"

"Rommalb," David said, and, to his surprise, lived through the deluge of memories.

"Asura," Chris said calmly.

David blinked at the name. He'd been calling Chris a fallen angel for so long, that it surprised him to find out that Chris had called himself after the deeply flawed, but powerful entities of Hindu and Buddhist lore well before their relationship.

The doorman's eyes widened, and he nodded to both of them. "Welcome back. Since you're returning regulars, I can offer you a discounted entry fee and rental of one of the Display Floors...." The little PDA beeped insistently and the man frowned at what he read there. "Holy smokes... this..." He looked up at David. "You, sir. This... Max overrode the usual gift item. You can use any of the display floors you want, as well as one of the deluxe aftercare suites. You just have to request it and you're in the queue."

"Really?" David almost purred in the face of that surprise. "I think I'd like the... is it still the Diamond room, the one with the central frame? No blood play, right?"

"Y... yes, sir."

"Good. I want a place in the queue for that one."

"It'll be about an hour, sir. It comes with a suite attached."

"With a hot tub and an ice machine, right?" The doorman's nod made David smile. "Perfect. We need to take a look around to... reacquaint ourselves, I believe."

David gave a small tug on the leash and Chris came without a stumble. David was the one that stumbled when he went over the threshold. The entrance hall had been completely remodeled. Now it had vaulted ceilings, marble floors, gold toned railings along the side with mostly naked people leashed to them.

They walked across the big room, seeing pockets of people here and there. Some cuddled on the love seats, many knelt at the feet of others, and a few even crawled after their owners. Most looked like nothing more than ordinary people, more scantily or tightly dressed ordinary people, but fat, thin, thick, plain, ugly, and beautiful all.

"Just like before," David said softly. "It's almost the same."

Chris grinned. "Yeah, it's not like only the beautiful can take their pain."

Suddenly a deep voice boomed out, "Rommalb!! I cannot believe it's you!"

Huge arms wrapped around David and threatened to press his lungs so hard he couldn't take a breath. Memory had him reflexively wrapping his arms around the huge body before him and he squeezed as tight as he was able.

"Max!" he said as soon as he could take a breath again. David leaned back and took in the big man.

His hair was whiter than David remembered, wrinkles coming in all around his eyes. He was more fat than solid, but smiled that same smile, with that same undercurrent of assurance and power behind the thickness. Those ice blue eyes studied him as intently as David studied the manager of this place.

"You don't look at all different, you got a portrait somewhere in the back I should know about?"

"I must have hidden it up in the attic." David grinned at the reference, and then added, "It's been too long, I guess."

"Yes, indeed. How the hell did you get to keep your complexion?"

"Good clean living?" David quipped.

Max rolled his eyes. "You heard about Flam Blanc?"

"No, what?" David braced himself to find another of his friends dead.

"His partner, Grendel, died of a heart attack two years ago."

David frowned. "Grendel was twenty years younger, what the hell happened?"

Max shrugged, fatalistic. "No one knows, they weren't even testing him for heart problems 'cause he was too young. The world these days."

"Who else has died?"

"Not so many. Just... I think Astrella, Danube, and Scars."

"Scars? Too bad, I liked his style." David sighed. "Crap. Now I really feel old. Astrella taught me how to handle a cane."

Max punched him in the shoulder. "Not too old, my friend, to bring this one in on a leash."

"Oh, you know...?"

Max bowed gently to Chris. It was bad manners to handle anyone else's sub, and David grinned at the familiar formality. It was good to be back, now that he'd gotten his first good shot of adrenaline, the exchange was doing him good.

Gently Max said, "It is good to see your beauty again, Asura, though in a rather different state than I'm accustomed."

Chris bowed back, the jeweled weights glittering as green as his eyes in this light. David could have sworn the younger man was blushing at the compliment. But he was entirely silent and the David remembered the old rules.

"Asura, feel free to speak, if you wish."

Max's eyebrow went up at the last phrase, and he looked at David. "Getting soft in our old age, are we?"

David rolled his eyes. "No, Max. I've always liked 'em polite, but not particularly obedient. I've never been great at giving orders."

Chris watched them like watching a ping-pong match, green eyes bright with amusement.

"Just great at getting old Snaggletooth to lay down and cry at your feet with nothing but a whisper, or getting Bianca so that she begged for you at the front desk, or... huh... do you remember Big Charlie? Speaking of which, you might still be getting slips at the desk."

"Charlie, is Charlie still working here?"

"No, he retired, but he still remembers you fondly."

"I remember him very fondly as well. He's doing well?"

"Quite well. Do you want a tour of the place as it is now? My assistant, Richard here, can show you two around if you like. I need to get back to keeping an eye on things."

A silent young man with brown hair, brown eyes, and a neutral tan suit stepped forward with a bow. David almost swore there was a click of his heels.

David laughed at Max. "Is there a good scene going on somewhere?"

Max chuckled. "You know me too well, old friend. Have Richard take you to the Ruby room at the end of your tour. I'll see you." He gave them a small salute and then walked away much more quickly than one might expect from such a big man.

David shook his head a little and then looked at the abandoned assistant. "Hello, Richard."

"Good evening Mr. Rommalb and Mr. Asura. Shall we start at the front desk? That will be the central information conduit for you when I am not available, so it is good to know it well."

David gestured for Richard to take the lead.

It was cleaner than he'd remembered, better lit on the most part. There were quite a few people, very fit people, in suits like Richard's walking from area to area looking alert and ready for trouble.

"New security?" he asked.

Richard looked surprised. "It's been at these levels for the past five years, Mr. Rommalb."

"Oh."

"I think that since you were last here, the security force has been quadrupled, and there are now cameras in every suite."

"Wow."

"We take the consent aspects of this venue very seriously."

"Good."

Winding side passages lead away from the main hall, turning quickly so that the eye couldn't follow the way to the more private rooms and areas. The big Display floors were right off the main foyer.

Richard took them to the big desk in the middle of the foyer area, and David and Chris walked up to the desk. The woman behind the desk had raspberry hair, more piercings than David could even count.

When she looked up from her papers her eyes widened and she shrieked, "Asura!!"

She leaped over the counter and then stopped. She eyed the lead from Chris' collar to David's hand. David saw heads turn towards them.

"What the fuck?" she said and then covered her mouth. "Oh. Uhm... Sorry about that, I... uhm..."

"You okay with her hugging you?" David asked quietly and leaned in close to hear whatever Chris said.

Chris closed his eyes and murmured softly against David's ear. "I'm yours, love. Do what you want."

Desire for Chris spiked so hard through David he almost lost his breath. "Crap, you know what that does to me."

Chris opened his eyes, smiled, licked the rim of David's ear, and said only for him. "Yes. I do."

He slid his hand down Chris' side to cover his own shudder. David then looked the girl in the eyes and said, very pleasantly, "He's mine. Thank you for keeping your hands to yourself."

Her eyes got big and she huffed a breath, "But we've known each other for years."

David shrugged. "Does he have any messages? I'd like to see them."

Her eyes, if possible got any bigger, and her gaze swung towards Chris who simply looked at the ground.

"Miss. Really, he's mine. I would like to see his messages and my own as well, if there are any for a Rommalb."

She finally moved and went back around the counter, through the gate, and back behind her computer. "Rommel? What the... you mean like the German panzer guy?" She asked flustered.

"No. Ar-oh-em-em-aie-el-be, not ee-el." He said patiently and tugged gently on Chris' leash so that he could just lean against the bigger man. He was already feeling tired from all the conversations, and they hadn't even done anything yet. Chris rubbed his chin gently against David's hair, and David sighed quietly.

"Wow. There's over a hundred for you, sir, and forty-eight for your sub. I can provide you the information to access your message box from any Internet connection, would you prefer that or print outs?" At the very last her eyes flickered toward Chris.

"I think I'd prefer you printed out my sub's messages, but yes, I'd like access information for mine." David caught the faintest of smiles in the girl's eyes. Yes, she did know Chris pretty well, then, if she knew about his dislike of dealing with machines. "We'll pick them up when we head out."

Richard stepped smoothly in. "That is entirely possible. Would you like a map to follow along with as we go through the grounds?"

"Yes, please," David said, and took one.

The warehouse had been divided up, part of it for the front desk and open social area where little play was done: a place where folk could see and be seen. There were six main branches off the main room that went through public display areas and into warrens of smaller, private rooms at the back. He showed the map to Chris as well, who simply nodded.

"The six big display rooms are set up to handle different things. Amethyst is for public sex and fetish play. Emerald is for mild bondage and toys. Ruby is set up for fire and blood. Diamond displays pain play without blood cleanup requirements. Topaz is setup to make golden showers or scat play easier to clean. Sapphire is the public display of sex in conjunction with bondage, pain, and special setups. The rooms behind those main display areas contain equipment pertaining to what is in the main room at the front."

David nodded at Richard's explanation. "That's pretty much how it was setup before. Is there anything in particular I need to know about how to call or use security?"

"An excellent question. As you well know, common words that indicate coercion can't work for security any more than they can always work in a scene for a top, and we can't know everyone's safewords. So we're reserving one phrase for calling security at any time. It's '911'. Yell that and a security person will come immediately, it is one of the services that comes with your entry fee."

David considered that and then took a breath and barked, "911!"

And a woman in one of the tan suits appeared, eyes wide on finding Richard right there. "Sir?" she asked.

Richard indicated David.

"I needed to see just how well it worked. Thank you, Ma'am." David nodded at Richard. "I take it you're actually the head of security, not just Mad Max's assistant?"

Richard nodded and grinned. "He pays me the management wages and gives me the power to do as I need with security, so I'll take the money and his method of introducing me with a grain of salt."

They started walking around the main public rooms, and ended up at the Ruby room as Max had suggested. A dozen people lounged in the observation room for Ruby, and David took a good hard look around before he settled on a seat. Chris gracefully knelt beside him.

That was when one of the younger guests said, "That can not be Asura, he's on a damned leash. Asura would never be caught dead on someone else's leash."

A different voice answered the first, "But... those tats are right, and who else has those piercings? What if it is Asura? Then who the fuck is that holding the leash?"

"Can I talk to them?" Chris asked quietly.

"No," David said softly. At the look Chris gave him, he said, "Trust me."

A glance behind him showed two beautiful men, one blond and the other with hair as raven black as Chris'. Both were in leathers, collars, cuffs, and one had on a body harness. Behind them sat a man that looked like a walking scarecrow. Chris started on seeing him and David laughed softly.

"You know him, don't you?"

Chris nodded.

David ran a hand gently down Chris' back. When the rasping voice spoke up David felt just how steady Chris was. It shouldn't have surprised David, given how strong and sure Chris was, but it felt good having a partner who knew and didn't give the Patchman any fear.

"Who the fuck is holding that leash? You boys don't know who that is?"

"No... sir... no, we've never seen him around before."

"Guy I knew that looked like that should be forty-five if he's a day. That one looks too young, but he's..."

David shook his head in exasperation. "Idiot," he murmured. Chris' left eyebrow quirked up.

"Ah. Nope, that's him." The rasping laughter turned into a cough and then approached them. "Hey, you, still kissing the boys?"

"You still makin' 'em cry?" David answered as he stood up at the approach.

"Hell, yeah." The Patchman pulled David into a hug that he returned solid and sure.

"Good to see you."

"Likewise. These youngsters were wondering who you were."

Patch was known for being an expert in the Ruby room, blood and cutting and making people into patchwork dolls. He was really into the heavy play, and would take anyone. Some people called him the Torturer behind his back. David had gone with him once, and come out of it with Patch's respect, a new understanding of just how much he could take and a new knowledge of just what it was he would never do again.

"What were you going to tell them?" David asked, grinning.

"About how the Blammor made Hollowblade cry after just ten minutes on a cross and using just his hands."

David growled softly. "Are you invoking that name?"

"No no... well, yes." Patchman's grin was sharp. "You gonna magic me here, old man?"

David's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward and whispered into the worn ear under straw white hair, "And how is Ravenna doing?"

Patch's eyes went wide and his nostrils flared as he went pale. Then he frowned and carefully got up and made a neat little bow and walked away.

The two pretty boys looked at David, and then carefully moved away as well.

"What did you say?" Chris asked.

David shook his head. "I can't tell you, it wouldn't make any sense to you anyway."

"And what was that he did? Was that... was that your nickname backwards?"

David nodded tightly. "Yeah. There's a reason my handle is Rommalb, don't use the other one."

Chris took a close look at David's face. "You're kinda sexy when you’re that intense."

David flicked a look at Chris's face and then shook his own head. "I used to like being that way. I could I listen well, some people would say, and use it to do what they really needed me to do, even if it wasn't what they said they wanted. As the other edge to that, also know exactly what it was that they didn't want me to do or say as well. I'm really good at reading the things people don't say and giving it back to them. I'm a great mirror. Problem is, I don't usually have the room to know what it is that I want."

Chris cocked his head a little. "But you know you want me, right?"

David grinned. "Yes. I do know that. You've made sure to leave me the room to choose. That's..." David quirked a grin and leaned down to kiss Chris slow and warm. "That's one of the reasons why I love you."

Chris laughed softly, eyes bright. "Good."

David grinned and nodded before turning back to the display floor.

The scene on the floor of the Ruby room was beautiful. A man was being pierced and laced to a frame. The piercings were being done by another man, rows of gleaming needles right out of their sterile packaging, all along the tops of his shoulders and arms, along the sides of his thighs and hips. The lacing was being done by a woman. Both tops were moving with sure, quick motions. The face of the man was rolling in sweat, as the man was nearly done with the last set of needles.

The woman laced each needle to a hook on the frame, using white thread, and she made him look as if he had translucent white wings. It nearly looked as if some angel had been painstakingly pinned, feather by feather to the frame.

Chris shuddered quietly under David's hand. "That's so awesome… it’s really fucking gorgeous.. But... it's hard to watch when I'm..." He pulled at his cuffs. "When I'm in these."

David nodded. "I'd love it if you did do a piercing scene on me sometime. Not wings, those are more for you, but maybe something more geometric and precise."

Chris huffed a quiet laugh.

David checked his watch, and hefted their bag. "It's time."

Chris rocked back and then forward, up off his knees, and David caught him as he nearly pitched forward. Chris bit his lip to keep from swearing. David didn't say a word, simply supported him until the circulation got back into his legs. Humiliation had never been their thing, and it felt good to have Chris lean against him for just a bit.

Together they headed to the Diamond Room.

There was a crowd when they got there, and it parted when they arrived. Whispers and murmurs surrounded them as they headed for the center of the floor. The two pretty ones perched on chairs in the observation area, looking like birds of pray.

"How much you want bet they've placed bets on how long I'll last?" Chris's tone was bitter.

"Well, then they'll lose their bets, won't they?" David said calmly.

Chris looked at David and then shook his head. "Love you."

David laughed. "Love you, too." With that he reached behind Chris and unhooked the restraining bolt from Chris' cuffs. He pulled the younger man's wrist to him, and he unbuckled the cuff and wrapped it around his own wrist.

Chris grinned, buckled it on for David, and tested it for grip and David's circulation. Then they did the other one, ignoring the fact that the buzzing from the observation areas was even louder. Two different people got up and sprinted away. David stripped off his vest, and got his boots off.

There were murmurs of "Oh my God, Asura's gonna top? But...." and deeper, older voices saying, "Rommalb hasn't bottomed since Morgan was here. Who the heck is that?"

Chris' eyebrow rose. "You haven't bottomed since who?"

David's eyes flickered in the direction of the comment and then back up at him. "Morgan. He and I… he had to leave, his company was bought. I… I fell apart when he left. That was when my company was starting…" He took a deep breath. "That's how I learned to just bury myself in my work."

Chris's eyes narrowed, but then he gave him a nod, and then a soft. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"I need your consent."

David nodded and sank to his knees as gracefully as Chris had earlier. He rested his palms on the floor and then touched his forehead between them, feeling the coolness of the tile in a way he hadn't for nearly ten years. The adrenaline already flooded through his system, tightening muscle, breath, and speeding his heart. "I'm yours to command, Asura."

A hand wrapped in David's shaggy hair and pulled. David's breath caught, and he shuddered, swallowing hard. A hungry kiss devoured his mouth, and he opened to Chris' deep probing, kissing back just as hungrily. The want, need and desire he'd pent up while he'd held the leash suddenly slipped his control and he was crying out softly into Chris' mouth as his hands were fastened behind his back.

Whispers of "so hot", "how did he melt that fast?", "what a gorgeous surrender…" spilled from the crowd about them and David found his face heating with a heavy blush. He kept his eyes down, the feelings of the sudden reversal all the heavier and sweeter.

"Your safewords are Earl Grey to stop what we're doing. Diet Coke for a full stop of the entire scene. Repeat them for me, Rommalb."

David couldn't help his smile before he said, "My safewords are Earl Grey to halt an action and Diet Coke for a full stop. Thank you for the safewords."

Cloth touched David's eyes, and he closed them as Chris wrapped it securely about his eyes before placing a heavier blindfold over the cushioning cloth.

"May… may I please make sounds while you… while you do what you're going to do?" he asked softly.

"Yes."

Then Chris' tongue stroked along the rim of his ear. He gave a low moan at the touch, and as softly as a breeze Chris' whisper floated by. "I live for the sounds I can pull from you."

A strong hand closed against David's throat and pulled up. He shuddered, moaned, and struggled to get to his feet, using that grip as a way to steady himself. Once up he was disoriented, so focused on Chris and his touch that he had no idea which direction he was supposed to go to get mounted on the frame. But Chris must have sensed David's uncertainty and instead of humiliating him and asking him to move to the frame, his lover simply took him by the upper arm and led him there.

The difference meant the world to David.

His cuffs were tied to the frame, stretching him horizontally, so that his arms were not above his head. He felt Chris' hands wrap about his hands, showing him by feel where the release bolts were. He made sure that he could reach them properly before relaxing into the bonds.

Then roughly, hands tugged and pulled at the waistband of David's pants, undoing the button and zippers. A single, forceful stroke of one of those hands along the length of his cock and David's arousal filled full and hard even as he bucked and cried out. He was then summarily stripped, and to soft murmurs from the crowd he felt the cool, slick head of a dildo at his entrance. He concentrated on the sensation, on relaxing as it pressed slowly into him. He groaned softly with it and heard people moaning as well.

"Did you see the size of that thing?" It was the voice of the one of the fancy guys from the Ruby room, and David's anus tightened around it even as he half-laughed and half cried out at being so filled.

His knees buckled when Chris pulled it out an inch and then forcefully pushed it back in.

He cried out and felt Chris arm wrap around him, holding him up until he could stand again. Then with quick motions, Chris wrapped a belt about David's waist, attached lines to the ring at the base of the dildo and then pulled them tight to hold it deep within his body. David groaned with the sensation of that being fastened tight.

Chris's tongue then lapped at David's nipples, and he whimpered, writhing. The edge of Chris' teeth made David jump and then gasp as the dildo moved within him at the motion, and his whole body shook again.

"Too… too fast, I'm… I don't know how well I'm going to be able to control myself." David whimpered as he felt the very nipple clamps he'd put on Chris pinch, bite, and then hang from his nipples.

"Then I'll make sure you will. Spread your legs."

David drank in the power, the command and assurance in Chris' steady voice. He did as he was told, spreading his stance. One of the interesting things about male anatomy was that when a man's legs are spread widely enough, he cannot orgasm. It was one of the more intriguing aspects of binding someone spread-eagle on a bed, and now they took advantage of that fact.

Cuffs were slipped over David's ankles, tightened, and something was attached to his right ankle before his left was firmly pushed to spread him a little further. He moved, shuddering at just how helpless this made him feel, and felt the click as the other end of the spreader bar was attached.

A hand pushed at his chest and his lost his precarious balance, swinging from the good, heavy duty suspension cuffs, gasping, before he could use them to pull himself back up onto his feet.

A butterfly's touch ghosted down his cheek and jaw, and David leaned into it, sighing.

"You're so Goddamn fuckable. I want to enjoy the view for a bit."

There was laughter from the audience at that, but David could hear the faint note of envy behind it rather than ridicule.

David was so hard he ached. All thought driven from his head by his circumstances, just as he'd hoped. They'd hoped. Having to keep his balance, deal with the thorough invasion by the dildo, the small pains of the chain swinging from the nipple clamps, and the knowledge that everyone could see him all served to rivet all his attention and thoughts on the sensations and emotions pouring through his body.

He felt more than heard the footsteps that circled him. His head went up a little to follow where he thought Chris was, but there was no touch, no sound. David whimpered softly and then arched against his bindings, letting every muscle tighten, turning just a bit to show himself in a slender, hard curve. Chris' breathing went ragged so that David could actually identify him, and David heard soft swearing from the seats about them.

"Please," he whispered, not above begging, especially begging for something from this man. "Please touch me."

The kiss that landed on David's lips took his breath away. He kissed just as hungrily back, whimpering when the kiss broke and Chris moved away again.

When the slap landed on his ass he jumped and moaned.

When they'd gone through planning the scene, David found that floggers, something of an old mainstay of his, just didn't do much for Chris. The heavier equipment Chris had experience with didn't do that much for David, other than the intriguing aspect of a caning. They'd settled on starting with Chris going old-school and using his hands on David's ass, with the option of exploring the cane if they both felt it would work. David had never much liked spanking, but it had more to do with the connotations of punishment, not the sensation itself. When Chris proved to be very careful about keeping it as just the application of pain, David found that he could really get into it.

Now Chris applied all the knowledge he'd gained of how to push David's endorphin buttons in their private sessions. He started with a warm up and then went on with harder and harder blows on either side of David's ass. Stuffed as it was, he stayed well away from David's anus. Soon David was writhing with the pain, moaning and panting with the build up, giving soft grunts at each one, feeling the skin of his ass starting to burn hotter and hotter with each additional blow.

Chris stopped, and put one hand on each of David's now well bruised ass cheeks and kneaded them. David's knees buckled from the combination of that touch and the pain induced. Chris' arms came up around him from behind, and David tilted his head back so that it rested against Chris' shoulder, even as his breathing shuddered in and out of him in frantic pants.

"More?" ghosted softly against his ear.

He gave a minute nod.

"You think you can take the cane across your shoulders?"

David shuddered and then said, "Yes, please."

The whistle of the cane scared him, tightened him up just as it slashed across his back. He shouted at it, losing his breath, his mind, as he tried to cope, tried wrap himself around the pain. Gentle hands rubbed against his lower back as he trembled and tried to get himself back together again.

"Another?" This time the question was asked so that all could hear.

David nodded and then realized that Chris really needed him to say it out loud. "Yes, please."

Again that mind-blowing pain, this time even worse as Chris had laid it against the other welt. His whole body bucked, yanking against his bindings, as he cried out. There were winces, soft cries, and a few low whistles from the crowd, and David bared his teeth in a grin. He had gone flaccid with the real pain, but it fed something within him that had nothing to do with sex.

"Another, please," he got out when he could breathe again.

Another shock and another, and he kept asking for them, even as there was more and more murmuring. All the voices were starting to sound like surf, like seagulls, when he finally registered that Chris was asking him something patiently.

"What are your safewords?"

David swayed, tried to search his mind for the words and for a moment failed completely. He found out that his throat was raw and his mouth drier than he'd thought it should be when he finally spat out, "Diet… Diet Coke for full stop… uhm… gods… oh… right Earl Grey for ending this part of the scene… please, just one… I want just one more…"

Someone oinked. That made David giggle softly, and he suddenly knew he was at his breaking point. "That… that's all… please."

"All right, love. You get one more, and that's it." Chris' voice sounded grim.

David didn't have the time to worry about that tone when the last blow made the whole world go away with the pain. He hung on to his consciousness with every bit of will he had. He wasn't going to pass out here, not and disgrace Chris' control of the situation and of him.

The next thing he knew, his legs were freed. Gentle hands peeled away the blindfold and the cloth away from his eyes. David wasn't surprised to find that he was crying. Soft kisses rained down on his face, his mouth, and he tried to catch one or two of them along with his breath.

Chris' arms came around his body. The hard-muscled man smelled of good sweat, his whole upper body heated by his actions. David buried his face against Chris' throat and was very glad of the support when Chris loosened the quick release bolts. He nearly collapsed, and when Chris' arms tightened around him and his back he cried out, but clung to Chris.

The applause startled him, but it rolled up and then died away gently as folks got up to go on to the next venue, the next scene. He looked up to find the Patchman watching them both.

"Nicely done, Asura," the Patchman said quietly. "Rommalb always had more in him than others expect. Comes of that quiet exterior, I suppose. It's good to see a top not afraid to take him where he needs to go."

Chris' mouth thinned a little, but he nodded. "Thanks." Then he added with mild impatience, "Can you open the door to the suite for me?"

David laughed softly, still shaky, nearly completely supported by Chris' strength. He saw the Patchman look at him. "It's good having a top that can ask you to do something for him."

The Patchman laughed at David's words and swept a mock bow to both of them as he opened the door to the Diamond suite. "Indeed."

Chris grinned, and said, "Thanks," before closing the door in his face.

David couldn't help it, he laughed, shaking, and then groaned as the motion moved the dildo still strapped within him. "Do you have any idea how much I love you for doing that?"

Chris grinned a grin that was more teeth than humor. "Some." Chris' quick fingers, took the nipple clamps from him, and the pain of which was small in comparison. "Now, bend over, David, lean against the bed."

David did so, putting the top of his body on the bed as he didn't trust his legs. The belt came off, and then he groaned deep as the dildo slid from his body. One hand on his sore ass gripped tight and he moaned.

He felt Chris move in behind him. When he heard the sound of a zipper pulled, a condom packet ripped, the top of a lube bottle being opened, and he moaned, "Yes, please take me hard."

"Jesus Christ…" Chris growled, even as he slid deep within David's ready, willing, and wide open entrance.

David collapsed onto the bed, but he'd been pretty close already. It hadn't been his legs holding him up. The intensity of being invaded, of being taken so thoroughly on top of his vulnerability, made David cry out with each and every stroke Chris gave him. His body jolted each time Chris' cock stroked his prostate. The steady friction wouldn't make him come, but he wasn't looking for that kind of release. What he needed was to let go, to be taken.

And take him Chris did, deeply, thoroughly until it felt like that intimate touch filled him all the way to his heart, as Chris came hard within him.

He was gasping for breath by the time they were done, giving soft cries with each breath as Chris gathered him close, pulling him into his lap. That was when David let the cries go deeper and soon he was sobbing within the safety of Chris' arms.

He let himself cry out all the frustration, the stress from the previous months, let the pain within his body finally unleash all the pain, anger, frustration, and sheer despair from having to work on a plan to end the livelihoods of dozens of people all came out.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," he sobbed softly, and he felt Chris' jaw rest against his hair. The arms that held him, the hard body cradled him, and he shook and cried more for being so loved when he was such a complete wreck.

David hated disappointing anyone, and he was brilliant enough that, on the most part, he didn't. But with lovers, it was different. He knew it was a holdover from his childhood, the deep and complete rejection he received every time he disappointed his parents made him try to drive people away from him before they could be disappointed by him, disgusted by some weakness of his.

His masochistic need to show weakness, to be stripped down to nothing was the oddly healthier alternative to destroying his relationships just to prove that he couldn't be loved. To be loved while he was shaking, weakened, and vulnerable, to have his trust in Chris returned by getting exactly what he asked for, exactly what he needed; all of that struck deep against his past. Made it easier to believe that Chris could love him even if he made a mistake, did something wrong, or showed himself to be less capable and strong.

Chris now held him, rocking him gently, making soft soothing sounds that made David breathe and relax against him. Gradually he was only making soft hiccups, and then he laughed softly. That was when he felt Chris relax against him as well.

"Shit, David, you're always so fucking intense."

He simply nodded against Chris' tear dampened throat.

A feather gentle touch slid along the rising bruises of his cane welts. "These are going to be around for weeks, you know. We should get some ice on them."

David simply nodded again, without moving a muscle.

"Say something."

He hiccupped, sighed, and thought a moment. Then he said with his raw throat, "Love you. Thank you for giving all that to me and showing me how much you love me."

Chris arms tightened about him. "Idiot. You don't have to go to these extremes for me."

David shook his head this time. "I didn't." He hiccupped again and then chuckled at that. "It was for me. I needed… needed to show myself that I could trust you, that you'd catch me every time."

Chris' arms closed about him gently.

"Do you have any idea how good it feels to be held by you now?" David whispered about a tight throat, and he felt Chris rub his jaw against David's hair as he started crying very quietly again.

"Naw," Chris drawled softly. "But I do know how good it is to hold you, let you get all that pain out, to have you trust me so much."

David, hiccupped, gave a soft laugh and rubbed up against Chris. "Good enough then."

He felt that small shake of the head again. "David…"

"Hm?"

There was silence for a long moment. "Don't get me wrong. I loved doing this to you, with you… but… it is really intense. And I'm not sure it's healthy to do this very often. Is there any fucking way we can fix… fix your stupid job so you don't have to do this to get all that crap out?"

David couldn't help it, he started laughing. It hurt like hell, but he kept laughing until he finally ran out of breath… and then he hugged Chris hard. "Yeah. There is."

Chris shook him gently. "What the hell?"

"I wonder if this is what a suicide feels like?" David said musingly.

"David…" The growl was real this time.

"Sorry, sorry. I… I was thinking I could just quit."

There it was on the table. Something David had been thinking of during weeks of agony.

Chris looked at him. "I could support us, I think. If I get that next advertisement gig…"

David shook his head, feeling as if some rock wall had been suddenly destroyed, blasted away into nonexistence. Perhaps it had never existed in the first place. Chris had taken it so easily, not only had he taken it, he was offering to support David in his insanity. "You wouldn’t have to."

"Huh?"

"I have plenty to live on, plenty for us to live on if we wanted." David lay back, closing his eyes, feeling like he was in freefall. "Probably 'til you're 100 even… if we're living the way we live now. It doesn't mean you can't aim for being a real super star, as after the market collapse in February I don't have that kind of money anymore, but we wouldn't go hungry."

"Why didn't you already quit then?" Chris asked. "Why are you putting yourself through all this other shit?"

David sighed. "I couldn't let people down. I needed to be sure that the layoff itself wouldn't hurt the core business, and that the folks that are being laid off are the right ones. I couldn't… it wouldn’t have been right for me to just leave while they were still struggling with it."

"But you're going to hand in your resignation on Monday?"

David nodded, amazed at how light he felt. "I wanted to talk with you about it before I did."

"Only you," Chris said fondly, "only you would have to get beaten half to death to just talk with me about quitting your job."

David squirmed at the assessment. "Well… you don't have to give an answer right away…"

"Yes! Hell yes! Fucking shit yes, you idiot." Chris shook David not nearly so gently.

"I love it when you're so passionate," David said a little faintly, the endorphins were working well now, and he really was floating.

"Crap. The ice."

David gave a soft sound of protest as Chris moved away from him, but when the hard, cold ice pack pressed against his welts, the world blurred for a bit. Then he felt the warmth of Chris' fingers gently stroking his hair. He turned toward that touch, like a lodestone to north.

When Chris' slender fingers touched his mouth, he kissed the tips of them, lightly, gently licking when he could. He closed his eyes, and found and hugged Chris' leg to his body as Chris gently stroked the ice over his bruises. He sighed softly, his hands roaming over Chris' well muscled leg, the solidity of his lover never ceased to amaze him.

"You're making me want to just fuck you again, you know," Chris said softly.

"Mmhm…" David said lazily.

"Your bruises are amazing, love…" Chris' hands sliding down David's damaged flesh filled David with longing and he sighed again, shifting as his shaft started to fill. His cock started reminding him that it hadn't had its turn, yet.

"Help me onto my back?" he asked softly. "I want… will you please make love to me?"

Chris' hands shifted, gently moving David so that he could roll onto his back, wincing a little, and then moaning at how good it felt to have the bruises pressed like that into the bed.

"I'm probably going to be turned on every night for the next week," David said ruefully. "Just at the touch of these…"

Chris' hands ran all over David's body, and then he stroked along David's slender shaft, causing David to close his eyes and draw in a long, shaking breath. "Guess I'll have to take advantage of that, huh, love?"

David smiled, and then moaned Chris wrapped his mouth about David's shaft. "I hope you do…"