Ricochet (83 page)

stunning blonde dom in tow who had to be at least

thirty years her junior.

"She doesn't say much, but she fucks like an

alley cat!" Estelle announced cheerily. Matt was

glad his mom was no longer in earshot to hear that

news.

A waiter approached them, with a single

glass of champagne on his tray. He offered it to

Rick, who took it… and then frowned. "What's

this…?"

There was a magazine on the tray underneath

the champagne glass, and Rick gave a bellow of

amusement as he picked it up.

Matt glanced over his shoulder to see the

headline,
Sizzling Subs of Summer
, above a

picture of Rick, himself and the twins, toasting

marshmallows over a barbecue. Rick's tight denim

shorts looked ridiculous on someone his size, even

if they did show off his long legs and firm ass to

perfection, and the denim collar with red plaid

bow tie feature was ludicrously cheesy.

"Daniel!" Rick roared, and Daniel waved

from where he was leaning casually against a wall

nearby, watching.

"It just came out, so I thought I'd bring along a

copy for you to enjoy," Daniel said, coming over, a

shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

Take a look at
Collar Crime's
sexy summer

sizzlers as you've never seen them before,
the

magazine promised.

"
Sexy summer sizzlers
?" Rick groaned.

"Oh yeah!" Daniel laughed. "I'm a hot tub

hottie and now you're a sexy summer sizzler - I'm

going to have some fun with this. Nice shorts by

the way." He pointed at the photo.

"Oh, this is war!" Rick proclaimed, and the

entire cast laughed and gathered around to look at

the magazine.

They moved into the ballroom a few minutes

later to sit at their table. Matt took his place beside

Rick, his stomach churning nervously, and began

counting the flowers in the vase at the center of the

table.

Their waiter arrived and began placing plates

in front of them. He missed Matt out completely

and moved onto Rick, placing a larger sized plate

in front of him.

"What…?" Matt looked at his dom, open-

mouthed, and Rick grinned at him.

"I called ahead and requested it - I wanted to

surprise you."

"We're sharing a plate?" Matt looked at the

waiter and then back at Rick.

"I think it's time, don't you?" Rick asked.

"Yes!" Matt leaned over and kissed him,

grinning idiotically. "Oh shit - we're sharing a

plate!"

"That is so romantic," the twins cooed.

"I've never been crazy about that sharing a

plate shit. I don't like anyone fucking with my

food," Estelle commented.

"You two are moving fast. Next thing we

know you'll be announcing you've life-bonded,"

Karl said.

Matt exchanged a glance with Rick. "We

might," he said softly. "We found out we could

recently, and we're looking into it."

His mom stared at him, open-mouthed. "Don't

be ridiculous, Matt! You've only been collared a

few weeks. This whole thing with Richard is

probably a flash in the pan. You're just a silly

young sub with a head full of stupid romantic

notions - sharing a plate, life-bonding…" She

shook her head disapprovingly.

"You wouldn't mind if I was talking about

life-bonding with Sebastian Rule," Matt shot back

at her. "You're only saying that because it's Rick."

She put her napkin down sharply and got up.

"Excuse me; I need the bathroom," she said tightly.

Matt watched her go, his heart sinking. This

was turning into a very mixed evening.

"Life-bonding is a huge step," Daniel

murmured.

"That's why we're taking our time." Rick

rested his hand on Matt's thigh where he was

restlessly jiggling it under the table. His touch

calmed Matt instantly, and he shot his dom a

grateful smile.

"Have you felt the kaeira?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, we have," Matt replied. They'd

experienced the exchange of energy known as

'kaeira' several times since that night, and their

lovemaking had taken on a whole new dimension

as a result.

"I felt it with Suzanna," Daniel said wistfully.

"We talked about undergoing the ritual and

becoming fully life-bonded; we were just waiting

for the kids to grow up. Before we got that far, she

was diagnosed with cancer. I begged her to go

through the ritual with me anyway - I thought it

would at least delay her death if we shared the

illness, and I was happy to die with her, but she

refused."

It was the most personal thing Daniel had

ever said to them, and he flushed. "Sorry - I'm just

so pleased for you. I know how amazing it is to

feel the kaeira. So many people never experience

it, and I was so lucky to know it with Suzanna. I

envy you, starting out on your journey together, but

it couldn't happen to a nicer couple."

Karl murmured something and got up and left

the room. Matt watched him for a moment, and then

got up and followed his cast mate out onto the

terrace.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked softly, putting his

hand on Karl's shoulder.

"You heard him - he and his wife were about

to fucking life-bond! And she's been dead for

years, but he still wears her damn collar." Karl ran

a hand through his hair, laughing bitterly. "I don't

stand a fucking chance, do I, Matt? How the hell

do I compete with a ghost? Oh, don't look at me

like that; you know I'm crazy about him."

"Yes, I do." Matt rested his arms on the

balustrade. "Have you tried just asking him out on

a date?"

"He's the legendary Daniel Mayfield! He was

the star of the biggest action movie franchise of all

time. He's been voted the sexiest sub on the planet

more times than even you can count!" Karl said

despairingly. "You don't just ask him out!"

"Why not?" Matt shrugged. "I mean, maybe

that's why he always wears his wife's collar -

nobody ever asks him out because, like you said,

he's the legendary Daniel Mayfield."

"I can't. I'm just some insignificant Brit dom

who washed up on his shore and fell totally,

stupidly in love with him. I don't have anything to

offer him. Hell, I don't even know if our dynamics

fit together because I wouldn't dare put my hand

around his wrist to try and find out!"

"I don't suppose many doms would dare do

that," Matt said thoughtfully. "I mean, he plays

Chief Christie on
Collar Crime
, and he played

Tom Duke in the
Insubordination
movies. Most

doms would be scared off by that."

"But he's not like that," Karl said fiercely.

"He's a really shy, quiet person. He's not growly

like the chief or tough as nails like Duke, despite

those bulging biceps. He's the complete opposite!"

"You see that but most doms wouldn't."

"You don't suppose he's monosexual, do

you?" Karl asked suddenly. "I mean, maybe there's

no chance for me with him anyway. Maybe he'd

only look at a female dom."

"I doubt that's it." Matt patted Karl's shoulder.

"I think it's exactly how it seems - a sub who was

very much in love with his dom and devastated

when she died."

"And she was - what - about twenty years

older than him? And I'm ten years younger. Maybe

he only goes for older doms. Maybe it's totally

hopeless." Karl gazed at his hands despondently. "I

don't kid myself that I'm a catch for him, anyway;

I'm nothing beside him."

"That's such crap! You're a good person,

Karl; Rick told me what you did for us." Karl

glanced at him, one eyebrow raised. "The short

straw thing?" Matt grinned. "And apparently a ton

of little pep talks to point Rick in the right

direction."

"He needed to hear it from another dom. All

the subs in this cast endlessly indulge him and

stroke his ego; he needed to hear the truth."

"Well, I'm grateful. And uh…" Matt flushed.

"Not just about that, but about what you did

recently too, when Rick asked for your advice."

"Did that work out okay for you?" Karl asked

quietly.

"Yes. More than okay. It sort of took us to a

whole new level. So thank you," Matt said

sincerely.

"I've always been like this." Karl sighed.

"Great at figuring out other people's lives and

totally crap with my own. Right." He straightened

up. "Time to go back in there and put my game face

on again."

Matt watched him go. He thought Karl and

Daniel would make a good couple, and he

resolved to do his best to help make it happen.

Karl had helped bring him and Rick together after

all, so Matt owed him.

He heard a sniff and saw his mom standing at

the far end of the terrace, her shoulders shaking.

He sighed and went over to her.

"Hey, Mom. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have

snapped at you."

"I'm fine." She dabbed her face with her

handkerchief and turned away. He knew she'd die

rather than let anyone see her in a weak moment,

even him.

"Why can't you just be happy for me?" he

asked. "Rule was a bastard, but Rick makes me

happy. Can't you see that?"

"He's not right for you! Sebastian was

perfect."

"No, Sebastian just looked perfect. Rick

might not tick any of the right boxes, but he's the

right dom for me. Love is like that; it's

complicated, and messy, and it doesn't fit neatly

into the right box. Sometimes you have to let go

and stop trying to be in control of it all the time."

Matt gave a wry grin. "I know that's not easy for

people like you and me, but it's a lesson I learned

the hard way."

"I don't understand!"

"I know." Matt put his arm around her. "But

there's something you do have to understand: I love

Rick, Mom, and he's here to stay. I know he's not

what you wanted for me, but he's what I want for

myself."

"But life-bonding?" she wailed. "You do

realize that if he dies, you'll die too!"

"And vice versa."

"But he rides around on that dangerous Harley

- going too fast!"

"And I could die falling down the stairs,"

Matt pointed out. "Life is risky, Mom. You can't

keep building up walls and barriers to keep

yourself safe."

"You think that's how I brought you up, don't

you? I know you blame me for that counting thing

you do."

"Rick's helped me with that - I don't do it so

much anymore; and while I'm not exactly a thrill-

seeker, I've learned that taking some risks isn't so

bad," Matt told her firmly.

"But life-bonding…" She looked completely

baffled.

"It's not just about dying! If either of us is hurt

the other one can share their pain, and any injuries

heal twice as fast. People with long-term

disabilities can survive far longer with a life-bond

than without. So if I got MS or something, then I'd

share it with Rick, and the symptoms would only

be half as bad for each of us."

"But you can never change your mind!" she

blurted. "Once you've life-bonded with him then

you're stuck with him forever."

Matt rolled his eyes. "So that's it. You're

hoping that one day I'll wake up, come to my

senses, and go and find myself a mom-approved

dom?" He shook his head. "It's not going to

happen, Mom. Besides, you can only life-bond

with a person if you're very compatible - the ritual

doesn't work otherwise. You can't get tied forever

to some person who you end up hating; it doesn't

work like that."

"Well, I guess I can't really understand it

because I've never been in love, Matt," she said, in

a small voice. "The only person I ever loved is

you, and now Richard has come along and your

life is moving on, away from me, and I'm losing

you all the time. There now, listen to me - I really

am a very selfish person."

"And hard on yourself - and everyone else -