The Merchant and the Clergyman (12 page)

Stepping away from the rumpled curate, Declan
examined James’s flushed face. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” James nodded vigorously. “Please don’t
ask me to stop and consider. I’m so tired of thinking. Just…show me
what comes next. Please.”

Declan gazed into those desperate, eager eyes
and felt himself begin to melt. “You and Kip never…?”

“I, er, did things for him. Whenever he asked
me to, I’m ashamed to say. I thought that was enough, even though I
never felt very satisfied afterward.” James shook his head. “But
no, we never did
that
. Kip believed that so long as I only
orally pleasured him, he wasn’t a pervert. Since it wasn’t sodomy,
it proved he was a normal man. In fact, he liked to boast to his
friends that he was a ladies’ man. He once made me dress up in a
frock and…” James rubbed a hand over his face, which had grown
redder with every word of his explanation. “No,” he repeated. “We
never did
that
.

“But I’d like to,” he added in a small voice
that broke Declan’s heart for all the pleasures James had been
denied and all the humiliations he’d been subjected to.

Declan wanted to make up for all that nearly
as much as he simply craved the man. “Then we shall. Come.” He
extended his hand, and James took it.

Though it wasn’t his house, Declan easily
found the way to the bedroom, still leading James by the hand. The
neat and cozy cottage reminded him of something from a fairy tale.
A cobbler and elves might live here, or perhaps three shaggy bears.
It would be a pleasant home, he thought.

The bedchamber was only large enough for a
very narrow bed and a battered wardrobe. Hooks on the wall held the
rest of James’s clothing. Everything neat as a pin and in its
proper place, just as Declan expected. Not a wrinkle disturbed the
blue counterpane covering the mattress. Not a hair flecked the
pristine pillowcase.

“Time to muss this up,” he muttered, more to
himself than to James. He faced the curate, whose clothing was
already askew. “Will you strip for me, James? Now, please.”

James sprang to obey. His hands shook as he
loosened the layers he’d only just buttoned a few minutes before.
Was it eagerness or fear that made him tremble? Maybe a little of
both.

Declan considered how to proceed. His natural
inclination was to take control, and he could tell James was eager
to bend to his will. Just the thought of mastering the man made his
breath stutter—but only so far as James enjoyed it, and he
certainly didn’t intend to leave James feeling disgusted or ashamed
afterward. He imagined them both exhilarated and replete.

“James, I want you to know you can stop
things at any time. I may give you direction, but the power is
equally in your hands. You can refuse to comply. I might choose
to…um,
punish
you for noncompliance, and perhaps you’ll
enjoy it.”

James froze in the midst of shedding his
shirt and swallowed hard.

Declan grinned. “But you may stop me at any
time.”

“And how will I do that?” He cocked his head
and studied Declan with an intensity that sent a fresh wave of
desire flooding through him. “I mean, if I’m meant to be”—he sucked
in a breath—“disciplined, how will you know my protests aren’t
simply another sign of my, um, misbehaving and deserving of even
more stringent measures?”

Declan’s mouth went so dry, he could hardly
speak. Every part of him went rigid at the thought of paddlings,
perhaps even holding James still with the help of restraints, and
then the lovely time he’d have afterward soothing reddened flesh
and kissing away the marks of bondage. He cleared his throat. “We
can set a signal. Say ‘enough,’ and I will stop whatever I’m doing
that displeases you.”

He stepped closer and cupped James’s cheek in
one hand. “For I do want to please you, not simply force you. God,
James, how I want this—
mutual
pleasure.” He wanted to grab
at James, who had frozen in place. Declan forced himself to ask,
“Does that seem…good to you? Will you say
enough
if I go too
far?” The two seconds he waited for an answer seemed to last two
full minutes.

James nodded once. He let his shirt drop down
his arms to land on the floor.

The weight of something much more than he’d
ever felt before settled on Declan’s shoulders. Responsibility. He
recognized the feeling from years of seeing to his family’s
business interests, but to connect it to playtime was a new
thing.

“Good. Let’s begin,” he whispered.

Chapter Eleven

With each piece of clothing James removed,
each bit of skin revealed, the rate of the humming in Declan’s body
grew more intense. His cock throbbed in time to the beats of his
heart:
need, need, need
, until very little logical thought
remained. It wasn’t merely the pale, spare form that aroused him
so, although James’s body was a marvel of compact lean muscle and
beautiful lines. No. What compounded Declan’s desire was the
subservient
way
James removed his clothing, the little looks
he shot at Declan’s face as if asking
Am I doing this all right?
Does it please you?
Could anything be more erotic?

Not to mention the curate’s virginal state,
an untapped playground for Declan’s exclusive exploration, aroused
an overwhelming desire to plow the virgin soil, so to speak.

“Very good, James.” He rewarded the blushing
man with praise. “You are beautiful to look upon. Now come, kneel
at my feet and take off my shoes.”

James practically dove for the floor, his
knees hitting the rug so hard he would have burns on them later.
His hands scrabbled over the laces of Declan’s shoes, eagerly
untying them. Declan rested a hand on James’s head for balance,
lifting one foot then the other for his naked servant to remove his
shoes.

James sat back on his heels, awaiting further
instruction. Declan simply gazed at him for a moment or two, so
lovely in his subservience, so eager to please and worthy to
be
pleased in return. What would he do with this handsome
virgin next?

“Pull down the covers on the bed and lie on
your back,” Declan instructed, as he removed his jacket and
unfastened his cuffs. He would have had James finish undressing
him, but honestly, if the man remained near, Declan might lose
control and simply grab him and fuck him fast and hard, the whole
experience over in seconds. Better to put a little distance between
them and regain his composure, while enjoying the sight of James
reclining on the bed. Too bad there weren’t four posts to tie his
wrists and ankles to, but it was a plain bed with a flat headboard
and no footboard at all.

Extemporize
. Declan pulled off his
waistcoat. He slowly unbuttoned his leather braces from his
trousers and approached the limp figure on the bed. No, not at all
limp. James vibrated with energy, his body rigid with anticipation.
All
of his body, including his cock, which jutted up like an
eager finger—if a finger were as thick as a tree branch.

“Raise your arms above your head.”

James obeyed, and Declan cinched the braces
around both wrists and pressed James’s cupped hands to the
headboard.

“Keep them there for the duration. You are my
captive and must remain as I have placed you.” A beautiful pose it
was, with James’s arms stretched and his hands lightly clasped
together, the brown leather a stark line looped multiple times
around his wrists. Declan ran his hands down the twitching arms all
the way to the tufts in James’s armpits. The scent of lye soap and
earthy man wafted to him as he bent over and followed the same path
with his tongue, licking the length of one straining arm.

James began to squirm and made a choked sound
at the tickling sensation.

“No moving. You must hold still,” Declan
scolded him. He pinched one rosy nipple quite hard in
punishment.

James squeaked, and his body arched partway
off the bed. But he quickly settled back into place, holding
perfectly still as Declan had bid.

“Do you like this?” Declan rubbed his hands
up James’s body from hips to shoulders.

James nodded. “Yes.”

“And this?” His palms continued to travel
over naked flesh, mapping every curve and angle. After every new
part Declan touched, he would ask James again to express his
enjoyment. Important for the man to understand he had a voice, and
Declan relished the delightful breathy gusts of desire.

By the time Declan finally grasped that
delicious erect cock and pulled hard from base to tip, James had
moved from whispering his responses to nearly crying out.

“Yes! God, yes,
of course
I like it!
Go on. Please, go on.” His hips lifted off the bed as he strained
for more of Declan’s touch.

Declan didn’t discipline him for moving this
time, but slipped a hand behind James’s balls and along the
sensitive stretch of skin to his hole. He teased the tip of a
finger around the clenching muscle, and James sobbed in
frustration.

“More! Please, just do it!”

Declan straightened, moved back from the edge
of the bed, and considered. He could carry on this way for much
longer. He could make James vibrate with unfinished pleasure, keep
him panting and sweating and begging for release. But his own cock
already ached and yearned and dripped with desire. Delayed
gratification was delightful, but perhaps this had gone on long
enough, at least for this first time.

Declan swiftly removed the rest of his
clothes, well aware of James’s gaze burning into him, studying
every detail of his anatomy. “Ohhh,” James breathed when the
trousers and smalls came off and Declan’s erection surged
forth.

That sigh of admiration and delight couldn’t
help but whip Declan’s need into a greater frenzy. He would love to
push James’s legs up and thrust into him in one violent drive. He
guessed James wouldn’t mind the pain, would perhaps embrace it. But
Declan was determined to treat his new friend more gently than
that.

“You have any sort of ointment in the house?”
he asked. “An unguent for burns or some such?”

“Kitchen.” James blurted, gripping his hands
together so hard, his knuckles were white. His arms trembled as he
continued to keep them stretched overhead, resting against the
headboard. He held still as Declan had instructed, but his hips
lifted and fell slightly as if he couldn’t resist the lust pulsing
through his body.

Declan had finished his stripping. He padded
barefoot from the room, rummaged through the kitchen pantry, and
ended up with a container of cooking grease. Not the fragrant oils
he’d used with his most recent lover, but it would do in a
pinch.

Returning to the bedroom and lovely James all
tied up in knots of anticipation, Declan scooped a little grease
onto his fingers and slid his hand once more between James’s
legs.

“This won’t hurt much, but you must relax.
Can you do that?”

“Yes,” James promised as his body tensed even
more.

And when Declan probed him with a slippery
finger, he cried out and came, white streamers landing on his belly
and chest.

James stared at Declan with horrified eyes.
“I didn’t mean… That wasn’t what I meant to…”

Declan smiled at him. “It’s all right. Every
man has a quick trigger now and then. It won’t take away from what
comes next. Now hold still and, for God’s sake, relax!” He pushed
his fingers into tight heat.

James’s head pounded. Not with a headache but
with a rush of blood from his thundering heart. Sheer disbelief at
the astonishing turn his evening had taken made this entire
encounter seem dreamlike, impossible, outrageous. He wasn’t
himself, James Phillip Fletcher, polite, well-mannered, agreeable
country curate. He’d lost control and allowed the
other
James Fletcher to be awakened after years in hibernation. The man
who craved subjugation and pain. All his hard work overthrown in a
moment’s rash impulsiveness. The wall he’d built brick by careful
brick to close off the unwanted part of himself blown apart by a
grenade of powerful lust.

But at the moment, he couldn’t regret it. He
didn’t. How could he feel any regret with Declan’s beautiful eyes
peering down at him and the man’s skillful hands first stroking his
body like a blessing, then preparing him for the thing James had
longed for nearly all his life. Even before he’d know what
it
was, what sex meant, some part of him had always yearned
for such a physical, visceral connection. And for more than that,
for a close friend who would understand his secret desires and not
judge him for them. Someone he could talk to about anything and
everything. Ah, but that was too much to hope for and must remain a
fantasy.

When Declan’s fingers pierced him, the
forbidden wrongness of it sent a thunderbolt of pure lust raging
through him. He couldn’t hold back the tide. But Declan didn’t curl
his lip in disgust at his lack of control as Kip would have done.
He merely smiled and carried on with his exploration of James’s
arse.

James expected Declan would soon tell him to
turn over, get up on all fours, present his rear so Declan could
fuck him. From the little information he’d gathered about sodomy,
that was how he expected it was done. But Declan merely pushed
James’s legs farther apart and moved between them. He gripped
James’s knees to tilt his pelvis higher.

James stared at the other man’s engorged
cock, flushed dark red, with the foreskin retracted and the head
fully exposed. He exhaled a shaky breath and gasped another as the
tip penetrated him. When Declan pushed inside, James’s eyelids
fluttered and closed. Oh, the feeling of stretching and
stretching
, beyond what his body could bear. Declan’s cock
filled him so full, and still his hole stretched wider to
accommodate more girth. Surely the massive cock would split him.
But it didn’t. The burning sensation eased, and his mounting
excitement made James’s own cock stiffen feebly.