The Gift (7 page)

Nicky nodded.

"And if I were to open them all now?"

Nicky glanced at him. "It is not my place to tell my master what he may or may not do."

Charles tapped the little slip of paper on the arm of his chair. Nicky sat on his knee, trying not to look worried by the prospect. As the days of the month went on he'd added a lot of things he wasn't quite so sure he would enjoy. If Charles opened them all now then he could reasonably expect Nicky to do all those things. Not that Nicky wouldn't have done whatever his master suggested regardless of the tree but ...

he bit his lip.

"Come on, pet."

Charles set the tree down on the little table next to his chair and led Nicky out of the room and up the stairs. Nicky followed, not sure what Charles intended them to do but very glad Charles hadn't opened the others yet.

"Fetch what you bought for the occasion."

Nicky hesitated.

"You wouldn't offer what you were not willing and able to provide. I assume there will some sort of massage oil involved in the process." Charles began to slip out of his 59

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clothes. Nicky went quickly into the en-suite and retrieved the massage oil he'd bought when he'd compiled the final advent list.

Charles held out his hand. Nicky handed him the oil for his approval. Charles looked him up and down. Nicky got the message. His master was naked and he was still dressed.

That was the wrong way around. He slipped quickly out of his clothes, folding them and putting them neatly on a chair.

Charles made his way to the bed. Nicky stopped in the middle of the room to pick up Charles's clothes.

"If they bothered me on the floor, I wouldn't drop them there."

Nicky glanced up at his master. He knew there was a limit to how far Charles would indulge his desire to serve and be useful. Charles would rarely let him clean up after him, but right then, off balance, Nicky needed to feel useful so badly.

Nicky caught Charles's eye. He put his shirt back on the floor, where his master dropped it.

Charles hadn't got into the bed yet, Nicky knelt next to the bed to wait until he was ready for him.

"Up in the middle."

Nicky hesitated. "Maybe if you lie down then..."

"You should have been more specific, pet." Charles got onto the bed and knelt on the far side. He raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't say who would give the massage and who would receive it."

Nicky shook his head. "You don't have to. I wasn't asking for anything."

"Up in the middle," Charles repeated.

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Nicky looked from Charles to the bed like he'd never seen it before. "I..."

"Come to your master, pet."

It was an easy order to follow. Nicky crawled up on the bed to his master's side. Charles guided him to lie face down in the middle of the bed.

"My master wouldn't prefer me to..."

"No, pet, your master wouldn't prefer at all."

Nicky heard Charles move about for a few moments. He jumped when Charles put his hands on his shoulders.

"Relax, pet," Charles chided.

Nicky tried, he really tried, but just lying there while his master did all the work was inherently dominant and he didn't like it at all. He could feel himself getting more and more tense under his master's touch.

Charles's hands left Nicky's body. Charles left the bed. He didn't give Nicky permission to move, so he stayed where he was, wondering why Charles left and if he was coming back.

He heard his master walk across to the wardrobe.

He returned a moment later. Charles took hold of Nicky's right wrist and wrapped a leather cuff around it. Looping a chain through the rails on the head board, he put the other cuff around Nicky's left wrist.

Nicky pulled against the restraints. He felt the strength of the leather and metal. He felt the reassurance of his master's strength surround him.

The mattress dipped when Charles got back on the bed. "I am your master, Nicky. I have the right to touch you any way I want, don't I?"

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"Yes, master," Nicky said automatically. He arched his back, pushing his body against the bed sheet as the restraints did their work and caused him to harden against the bed.

"Tonight it pleases me it run my hands all over your skin.

I'm going to play with your entire body until I've worked every ounce of tension out of you and you are slick and sleepy all over. You are going to lie very still and let your master do as he pleases, aren't you?"

"Yes, master." Nicky relaxed. The difference between what his master wanted to do and a massage should be obvious to anyone. He was tied up and doing what pleased his master, it was as submissive as anyone could get.

Charles was true to his word. His hands went everywhere.

They strayed over every muscle in his back, time and time again. Charles paid special attention to his buttocks, working the firm muscles for what felt like forever. His fingers slipped between Nicky's cheeks, across his hole.

Nicky arched his back further. Spreading his knees, he blatantly offered himself to his master. Charles slipped one, then two fingers past the tight ring of muscle. Nicky pushed eagerly back against them.

Charles took his fingers away. Nicky whimpered his disapproval at the loss. Then Charles leaned over him, lining his body up against Nicky's back.

Nicky understood why he'd lost Charles's fingers. He murmured his apology for the earlier protest.

"You're not allowed to come, pet. Understand?"

Nicky nodded.

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Charles slid inside him in one smooth motion. Holding half his weight off Nicky's body, he still presented a solid mass pressing down against him. His body slid marvellously against Nicky's oil slicked skin.

Nicky tried to think about nothing but the fact he couldn't come. It was too important to please his master, especially after everything they'd talked about that evening. He couldn't bear to fail at the one simple task Charles set for him.

He waited Charles out, unable to ignore the pleasure building inside him but trying anyway. When Charles finally came, collapsing against him, Nicky felt all the tension rush out of his own body. He hardly ever managed to outlast Charles, no matter how hard he tried. Nicky smiled as he dropped his head on to the pillow.

"Turn over pet."

Nicky rolled onto his back. The cuffs pulled tighter as the twist in the chain tugged him an inch or two closer to the head board. His erection pointed straight up to the ceiling, begging for stimulation.

He turned his head and looked at his master. Charles sprawled out on the bed next to him, just looking at him for a while when he recovered. He seemed content and quite pleased with his pet. Gradually pushing himself back into motion, Charles poured some massage oil onto his palms and rubbed his hands together.

Nicky frowned.

"I haven't done your front yet, have I, pet?" Charles began to set the omission right. He ran his hands over Nicky's chest.

Catching his nipples between slick fingers he pinched firmly 63

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as the nubs slipped from his fingers. He ran his hands over Nicky's arms, up to the cuffs and through his hands, then back down over his ribs and the dip of his abs.

Each leg received separate attention. Nicky let his legs fall apart in invitation, although Charles's fingers stroked across the tightly puckered muscle, he didn't linger there.

He was shaved clean the way Charles always preferred him to be. Charles's oil covered hands slid over his smooth sacs, rolling them between his fingers while they pulled up closer to Nicky's body. Nicky held his breath. There was only one part of his body Charles hadn't explored. He tried to be patient.

Without his consent, his hips lifted off the bed. His cock bobbed in the empty air, waving at Charles to get his attention.

Charles wrapped his hand around Nicky's erection. "Is this what you want?"

Nicky bit his lip, trying not to thrust into the loose grip.

"Whatever my master wants," he whispered, his voice rough with desire. He gasped for breath.

Charles stroked his cock very slowly, jacking him with the lightest touch.

"Do you have any idea how much I love this, pet? Knowing you are completely under my control? Knowing you can't do anything, you can't even come without your master's permission? I could touch you like this all night and you wouldn't come until I say the word, would you, pet?"

"I would try not to..." Nicky whispered, sure he would fail in the attempt no matter how hard he tried.

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"Good boy," his master said. "But since you have been so good, I will allow you to come tonight."

Nicky looked up at him.

Charles held his gaze for a long time before he finally nodded his permission. Nicky immediately came over his hand in a series of long spurts. Charles stroked him through it and kept stroking as Nicky softened in his grip.

He left Nicky there, the oil and semen cooling on his skin, when he went and washed his hands. When he came back, Charles undid the cuffs and allowed Nicky to go and clean himself up.

When Nicky came to the bed, he saw the slip of paper on the bed side table. Smoothing out the creases, he slipped it into the drawer.

"It's a good present, pet."

Nicky blushed at the gentle compliment. "Thank you."

"That's my line."

Nicky looked at the bedside cabinet. "I know you don't ... I understand you are just humouring me but," he ran his finger tips along the handle of the drawer while he framed the rest of the thought in his head. "It means a lot to me that you do—that you let me try to make the holidays good for you."

Charles smiled and turned the blankets back on Nicky's side of the bed so he could join him. He kissed him very softly on the lips before spooning tight behind him to fall asleep.

The scene faded out.

"Where are we going now?"

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"There are many presents left for you to open in the
advent. We are moving forward a few weeks to the Christmas
Eve."

Charles nodded. He remembered the tree very well. Nicky
had been very inventive in his suggestions for the different
activities they could add to their sex life. And the Christmas
Eve ticket was the only one Charles hadn't cashed in yet.

Nicky forced himself to sit still and not fidget.

His master had taken to the advent tree far better than Nicky ever hoped. It was now an established part of their routine. Just before bed, Charles would sit by the fire and open the little parcel.

Charles offered half the chocolate treat up to his lips, just as he always did.

Nicky took it from his master's hand. His throat was dry.

He could hardly swallow the toffee down. Charles turned his attention to the offering written on the wrapper.

"A threesome?" Charles asked.

Nicky nodded. He kept his eyes on the fireplace. If he looked up his master would read too much in his eyes.

"Nicky?"

"Yes, master."

"Look at me."

Nicky reluctantly lifted his gaze.

"Do you want this?" Charles asked, with a nod to the slip of paper.

Nicky nodded.

"You like the idea of another man visiting our bed?"

Charles pushed.

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No. Nicky hated the idea. But that wasn't the point. Nicky was well aware Charles loved threesomes—he always had. All his previous lovers seemed to have enjoyed them too. Nicky was the only one who Charles hadn't had that experience with.

As much as he wanted to please his master, he couldn't resist adjusting his plan just a tiny bit. "We could use the guest room?" he suggested tentatively. It would make it easier if their bed was still just theirs.

Charles stroked his hair. He looked at the slip of paper again.

Nicky studied his face, wondering if his master was already picking who should be the first man they added to their sex life. Nicky looked down and closed his eyes. Charles would find it easy to call someone in, half his exes still jumped whenever Charles clicked his fingers. Nicky had already resigned himself to the idea someone might be invited to the house that very night.

Charles handed him the slip of paper. "You can put this in the drawer with the other gifts," he said, "but it won't be cashed in any time soon."

Nicky took it, but hesitated before putting it away as his master said. "You don't like the gift?"

"Your faith in your ability to act is wonderful. But I'm not a fool Nicky—I know you're not interested in this."

Nicky shook his head. "I do want to do this, I just..."

Charles shook his head. "No, you don't. Tell me why you'd offer me a gift you don't want to take part in."

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"A good pet should always do what will please his master.

This gift, a third man, it would please you and..."

"I'm very happy with just the two of us. You are a good pet, Nicky. You don't have to do this, or anything else, to prove that to me."

Nicky looked up at his master, hoping to see the truth on his face. Charles looked sincere. All worry of a third man fading from his expression, he smiled up at his master.

Charles watched his pet smile at the younger version of
himself like the sun rose and set with him. "He is a very good
pet," he agreed.

"A pet who wishes to give his master a Merry Christmas,"

the spirit said behind him.

Charles looked over his shoulder as the view before him
faded away. "He is a good pet, a good man, for twelve
months of the year—no better or worse through the holidays
than he is in the summer or the autumn or any other time."