Ricochet (66 page)

that, Matty."

"Then yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Matt launched

himself into Rick's arms, and Rick picked him up

bodily and swung him around, and the entire room

erupted into a thunderous round of applause,

clapping and cheering.

Rick put Matt down, and the room went

deathly quiet as Matt stood in front of him, gazing

up at him. His eyes were shining as Rick carefully

wrapped the collar around his neck and fastened it.

Then Rick dipped his head and pressed his

mouth to Matt's, his head spinning as he kissed his

collared sub for the first time. He'd collared a sub.

For the first time in his life, he'd actually collared

a sub for real, not for a night, or a joke, or as part

of an acting job.

The dom in him flared into life, causing a

sudden surge of desire in the pit of his belly. "I

can't wait to get you home," he whispered into

Matt's ear. "I need to make you mine - really mine

this time. No playacting."

Matt's eyes were still shining as he nodded

eagerly.

"Oh, thank fuck for that," a voice said, over to

one side, and Estelle strode onto the set, closely

followed by Daniel and the twins. They swarmed

around Matt and Rick, laughing and hugging them.

"We've been waiting ages for this," Karl said,

joining them.

"It was driving us all nuts!" the twins added.

"Watching you go off with that horrible dom was

torture, Matt! We knew you belonged to Rick, but

we didn't know what to do to make you see sense.

Oh Rick! Oh Matt!" They enveloped them both in a

big twin hug.

"Congratulations. I'm glad someone finally

tamed you. It's been a long time coming, and you

need someone sensible to help you get your act

together," Daniel said, shaking Rick's hand.

"You do know that Matt won't let you get

away with any of your shit, don't you?" Karl said.

"I'm counting on it!" Rick said happily,

hugging Matt close.

He looked up to see Petra coming towards

them, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Is this what you meant by staying out of

trouble?" she demanded.

Rick winced. "Sorry, Petra. I realize we

probably just lost the show a big contract, but -"

"Oh, shut up, Rick." She enveloped him and

Matt in a big hug of her own. "It was killing me

watching that bastard sinking his claws into Matt -

or should I say 'pincers'?" She grinned at him.

"Yes, we'll lose the contract, but we're the highest

rated scripted drama on TV. We'll get by."

"Hey guys," Chang said. "Just to let you know

that I didn't stop filming, so we've got everything

on tape." He jerked his head at the camera. "If that

shithead ever tries to threaten you, then tell him

you'll put the whole fucking thing up on YouTube."

He gave a sly grin.

"It'll go viral in seconds!" Karl whooped.

"Rule will never live down the humiliation of

being smacked in the gob by his own sub."

"My sub," Rick corrected him, and he felt a

surge of possessive pride. "My collared sub," he

repeated, as he realized he'd never said those

words before. "Mine."

"Yes, dear." Karl rolled his eyes. "We know.

You just collared a sub for the first time and now

you're coming over all toppy on us. I think we

should finish up the scene, so you can drag Matt

back to your cave and do all the things newly

collared couples like doing to each other." He

winked at them knowingly.

"Forget it," Chang said. "There's no way we'll

get any decent work out of either of them now, and

the first take was good."

Rick glanced at Petra, and she sighed. "All

right then - go home. Shoo. We'll see you in a

couple of months."

Rick looked at Matt and held out his hand.

Matt smiled at him and took it, and they ran for the

door together.

Matt buried his face in Rick's leather jacket

as they rode back to Rick's house on his Harley.

His entire life had changed in an instant, and while

he usually hated surprises, this time he felt an

overwhelming sense of relief, combined with a

giddy happiness.

The plain black collar around his throat fitted

far more comfortably than Rule's restrictive gold

cuff had fit around his wrist. He loved that it was

the collar Rick had been wearing every day at

work for months; that somehow made it more

personal.

They sped through the wrought iron gates to

Rick's house, and Rick got off the bike, turned, and

swung Matt up in his arms, all in one quick move.

"Hey! Oh shit…" Matt flung his arms around

Rick's neck. "I can walk, you know."

"I know… I just need to hold you." Rick

grinned down on him.

"You're lucky you're so damn big. I mean, I'm

not small, and most doms wouldn't be able to do

this, and - mmmfh!" Rick silenced him by kissing

him, and Matt laughed up into the kiss.

Rick carried Matt into the house and up the

stairs, kissing him repeatedly as he walked. Matt

was surprised when they walked past the

playroom, but Rick shook his head.

"Not the playroom - the bedroom. There's

plenty of time for the playroom later, but right now

we're just us. No games, no scene, no acting, no

master/slave scenario - just a dom and his newly

collared sub."

He kicked open a door, swept Matt into a big,

white room, leaned in for another kiss… and then

paused. "I can still smell that bastard on you; his

fucking cologne. It makes me feel ill."

Without missing a beat he swung around,

carried Matt into the en suite, and put him down in

the shower. He yanked Matt's jacket off, and his

own, then got in beside him and turned on the

faucet. They both laughed as they stood there, fully

clothed, under the spray of warm water, getting

soaking wet.

Rick grabbed the soap and lathered it in his

hands, then scrubbed them over Matt's still clothed

body. "I don't want to smell him; I only want to

smell you," he said as he worked.

"You're insane!" Matt laughed. "And your

boots are ruined." They both looked down at

Rick's boots, which were the thick leather ones

that Alex Tanner always wore as they were both

still in costume.

"I don't give a fuck." Rick pulled him close,

and they shared a long, wet kiss, their clothes

sticking to their bodies as the warm water

drenched them.

Then Rick snapped off the faucet and leaned

in to sniff Matt again.

"Better?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"Much better." Rick grabbed a towel and

rubbed it through Matt's hair and then his own, and

then he took hold of Matt's hand and led him back

into the bedroom. Matt took the towel with him,

rubbing himself dry as they went, and he was about

to hand it to Rick with another joke about their wet

clothes when he stopped in his tracks.

Rick had turned to look at him, and there was

had an expression of total shock on his face. His

gaze alternated between Matt's eyes and the collar

around his neck, in disbelief.

"I… shit…"

His eyes were glistening, and he looked

suddenly vulnerable. "Hey - it's okay," Matt said

throwing the towel onto the floor and going to his

dom. He caressed Rick's cheek with his hand, and

Rick shook his head, looking down. Matt put his

arms around him to find that he was trembling.

"Hey - ssh, it's fine. I'm here," he said soothingly,

wondering what was going on for his new dom.

"I know." Rick leaned into him. "But you so

nearly weren't. I almost lost you."

"But you didn't. It all turned out okay."

"I collared a sub. Me." Rick looked up, his

eyes wet. "I never thought that this was something

that could ever happen to me. You… you are so

perfect, and I love you so much."

"I love you too." Matt pulled him in close and

kissed him again, and Rick responded like a

starving man, thrusting his tongue into Matt's mouth

and kissing him back hungrily. Matt couldn't

remember ever feeling any kind of passion in his

short-lived relationship with Rule; it had all been

very neat and tidy but lacking any kind of heat.

"I need you," Rick said urgently when they

finally broke apart. "I need to know that you're

really mine."

"I am yours."

"I know, but it still hurts." Rick drew in a

ragged breath. "The thought of that bastard

touching you, kissing you, and hurting you…" He

picked up Matt's arm and bestowed a gentle kiss

on his chafed wrist. "Damn it, that hurts."

"He isn't here. He'll never touch me again,

Rick."

Rick's eyes were dark, and he was shaking

almost uncontrollably. "Shit… what's happening to

me?" he whispered.

Matt took hold of his face, noticing how his

touch seemed to calm him. "It's okay; I think you're

just going into your top-space."

"It's never felt like this before." Rick rested

his forehead against Matt's. "I feel like I'm burning

up. I need to touch you, to claim you, to be inside

you. It's killing me."

He grabbed a handful of Matt's wet shirt and

ripped it open, startling him. He splayed his hand

over Matt's bare chest and when Matt moved to try

and strip off the tattered remains of his shirt, Rick

grabbed his hand. "No! No, Matt. Don't move or

try to do anything. This time, this first time, what I

want - what I need - is your complete surrender.

Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Matt said quickly. Rick had taken him

on a journey a few weeks ago, in the playroom

down the hallway. Now Rick was going on an

equally profound journey of his own, and Matt

wanted to be there for him in return. "Whatever

you want from me, I can do it."

"Trust me," Rick said hoarsely. "Do as I ask,

immediately. Let me own you - all of you. Don't

hold back. Come down with me. We'll go down

together."

His breath rasped his throat, and he spoke in

short, staccato sentences as if he was having

trouble saying the words, his gaze raking hungrily

over Matt's body the whole time.

"I do trust you," Matt said quietly. "I'm

wearing your collar." He reached up to touch it,

and Rick's eyes flashed.

"No… don't…" His chest was rising and

falling heavily, and he brushed Matt's fingers

away, holding his hand tight. "Don't touch yourself

- the only hands I want to see on your body are

mine," he growled. "You're mine now."

Matt gazed at him, transfixed. This was a

Rick he'd only seen glimpses of before. He had an

air of tightly controlled danger that Matt found

highly arousing, but he had no experience of

handling passionate doms. He hoped he was sub

enough to handle Rick in this new, highly dominant

headspace, and he decided that there was only one

way to find out.

"Then show me," Matt challenged, tilting his

chin up. "You scrubbed Rule's scent off me - now

mark me with your own. Show me who I belong to

and make me believe it."

Rick pounced on him with a low growl. He

tore the remainder of Matt's shirt off his back,

tossed it to one side, and then stripped the rest of

his damp clothes from his body like a whirlwind,

throwing them across the room in a frenzy of

activity.

When Matt was completely naked, Rick took

a few steps back and stood there, his chest

heaving, as he studied his sub's nude body intently.

Matt stayed still, trying not to wilt under his dom's

scrutiny, waiting to find out what would happen

next.

Just when Matt was sure he couldn't stand it

anymore, Rick prowled back towards him, his

eyes dark, looking like a panther anticipating a

good meal. Matt held his breath, expecting to be

thrown to the floor and fucked within an inch of his

life.

So he was taken aback when Rick slowly,

almost reverently, got down on his knees in front

of him.

His sub was beautiful. His skin was pale, his