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Love in Chains

By: Nephylim



The boy was numb. There had been pain. In his wrists, his arms, his shoulders, everywhere. He remembered it... but it was gone now, long gone and all that was left was a creeping numbness that was beginning to seep into his head.

It had been easier when he could stand, but his legs had given way some time ago, buckling at the knees, and all of his weight was now hanging from his wrists which were shackled and threaded onto a hook in the ceiling above. At first, the pain had been intense, but now it was gone, it was all gone.

He hadn't cried at the pain. He hadn't made a sound. He'd made a promise to himself that he wouldn't and so far he'd kept it.

It was dark in his world, dark and cold. He was shivering, but didn't feel cold, not anymore. The darkness had been oppressive at first. That was mainly because it came from a silk hood that covered his head and rested on his shoulders, effectively shutting him off from the outside world in a cloying, stifling world of his own. It was hard to breathe, as there were no holes in the cloth and it was tucked into the collar that encircled his neck. 

The collar was chafing. Sweat pooled under it and ran down his chest and back. It was partially choking him now that he couldn't hold his head up anymore... maybe that was why the darkness in his head was growing so thick.

He didn't know if his eyes were open or closed. He didn't mind either way, it was an irrelevancy when it was impossible to see anyway. He could hear well enough... or at least he had been able to until... until... The sound of his heart was very loud in his head as was his breathing, which was harsh and rasping. Both were getting slower now, slower and more distant.

At least the pain was gone... well almost. His arms and shoulders were numb but there were still other pains. His back, for example, had lost the initial sharp, stinging pain from the kiss of the lash and had faded to a dull ache, as had his buttocks from the paddling but there was a nagging, insistent pain in his rear end that he really didn't want to think about.

Something was trickling down his back, over his buttocks, down between his legs. It could have been sweat, it could have been blood, it could have been many things. He didn't want to think about that either.

The pounding throb inside his head was drowning out the other sounds, the sounds from the room around him; moans and cries, the slick slapping of flesh on flesh, the harsher slap of wood, metal and leather. Somewhere someone was crying, someone was screaming, someone was begging. There was a smell of sweat and blood which permeated through the silk screen that covered his face and into the darkness that swirled inside him, sucking him down.

It occurred to him that he was going to pass out but, by this point, he didn't really care. Once he'd prayed for it... when they were whipping him, when his arms were screaming, when they... the thought made his buttocks clench and pain shot through his guts, shocking the darkness away. He bit his lip to stifle a moan. A promise was a promise after all.

His body had risen with the pain, unconsciously and painfully and his arms were screaming again, bringing tears to his eyes, which he blinked away impatiently. He was NOT going to cry. With a sickening wrench to his guts and his shoulders his trembling legs gave way again making his body swing slightly and bringing the darkness crowding back into his mind, dulling his thoughts and numbing his body again. Sweet oblivion.

At least they were leaving him alone now. From what he'd seen before they put the mask on, he was getting away lightly. There was a long low moan from somewhere behind him, followed by a series of gasping groans that were accompanied by harsh guttural laughter and a voice urging... 'Harder... harder... harder... he can take it... make him bleed... make him beg.' The voice was gleeful and the boy was glad they weren't talking about him... not anymore.

Trying to swallow was agony, the collar was too tight. It was cutting into him and constricting his throat. He tried anyway and gagged, struggling for a moment, afraid he was going to choke. For a short while his heartbeat speeded up and thudded painfully in his chest and in his head but then it slowed again and he began to sink in earnest. Briefly he struggled against it, afraid, truly afraid that this time he was going to die, but there was no energy left for fighting, nothing he could do but wonder briefly why... why... why?

"Adam! What the fuck did you think you were doing? For the Love of God be careful. Shit! Shit Adam...what have you done?"

The voice stabbed into his battered consciousness, not quite enough to bring him to the surface but enough to bring other things into sharper focus. Like the fact that there were bodies close, the smell of perfume and sweat, the touch of a hand on his back. It hurt, but not much, not enough to shock him back awake. He began to sink again.

"Shut up Miriam. He's alright. He's fine. It was his choice, you know."

"Not this Adam. Fuck what have you done to him?"

"Get the fuck out of here, Miriam. No one invited you to the party."

"Adam... Just get him down."

"He's fine Miriam. I told you..." 

The voices faded out. 

A strange sensation caught his attention, one he could not at first recognise. It wasn't until his head came to rest on the shoulder of whoever was behind him that he realised it had been moving. He hissed as hands tugged the cloth free of the collar and then his closed eyes were flooded with light. Sucking in a deep breath of clear air he shuddered and gasped, choking again as the collar bit into his throat.

There were voices again but they were just buzzing in his head. He could hear them but not make out what they were saying. Whoever was standing behind him ran their hands down over his buttocks, and he had the feeling that somehow they were hiding the movement. Fingers probed between his butt cheeks and there was a tugging sensation followed by a ripping, tearing pain that made his body convulse and jerk, almost knocking over the person who was holding him and bringing the pain in his arms back to screaming life.

As he spiralled into the darkness he heard someone screaming... 'Get him down. For God's sake Adam, get him down. You're going to kill him."... and then there was nothing.

"Nye... Nye, are you alright? Nye, speak to me. Say something. Nye... Oh fuck Adam, fuck what have you done?"

"Shut UP Miriam. I told you, he's okay."

"How can you say that? He's fucking unconscious, Adam."

"Will someone please get her the FUCK out of here? Who let her in anyway?"

"Lay a hand on me and I'll have the police here faster than you can say 'fuckwit'."

The sounds washed over him as the bickering continued. It was entirely external to him, meaningless. The pain was, unfortunately not so meaningless now that it was beginning to make itself felt again.

With some surprise, he realised that he was no longer upright. His arms were no longer stretched over his head and they were no longer bound. The pain was still there though, especially now that the numbness seemed to have gone. It was everywhere, crawling over his back, pounding into his shoulders, slicing through his abdomen, sending thousands of burning hot needles into his arms. Swallowing moans he tried to force his eyes open.

At first the light only added to the pain, stabbing into his eyes and burning his mind with it's intensity after so long in the dark.

A face swam into view. 'Wow', he thought. The face was very beautiful. It was framed by longish black hair and held the most beautiful pair of deep blue eyes, familiar eyes, beloved eyes.

"Adam." The word was strangled by the constriction in his throat and the confusion in his mind and came out as a croak but it got the beautiful man's attention.

"Hey, Nye. You ok babe? Look... I'm sorry. I got carried away. I think maybe I left you up there too long, huh?"

The boy, Nye, couldn't process the information and so he just stared blankly upwards, lost in the beauty, the sense of... rightness.

***

There are no words I could use to describe how shocked I was when I saw my brother lying naked and unconscious in the arms of that... monster. I'd been shocked enough to find out from his room-mate that he had finally given in and gone to the club with Adam. I knew he hadn't wanted to, but Adam had kept chipping away and there was never any doubt that he would give in...he always did.

When Lee rang me hours later to say he was worried that Nye hadn't got back yet, I started to worry too... but it had still taken me three more hours to get up the courage to go and look for him.

The club was infamous. It was nondescript from the outside, fitting in with the other red brick buildings on the corner of a street that was full of clubs of various kinds... most of which would have, I believe, earned the term 'seedy'. There were strip clubs and pole dancing clubs and then there was 'The Club'. 

My heart was pounding when I entered the door. It was filled with people dressed in leather and tattooed skin. They terrified me. Suspended above the booths and dance floors were cages in which young men and women writhed, sometimes alone, sometimes...not.

I went straight to the bar and asked for Adam. Everyone knew Adam and here was no exception, he was the boss after all, the owner. The bored seeming bar tender looked me up and down, gave me a feral grin and told me he'd taken the 'new meat' to the dungeon. I shuddered. 'New meat'? Was that Nye?

I really didn't want to go to the dungeon and I was incredibly naive, after seeing what was upstairs, not to expect what was waiting for me downstairs. I tried not to look at the writhing bodies, the whips, the chains, the... implements. The smell of sweat and blood was overpowering and I was almost sick... but Nye was in there somewhere.

I didn't know where to start. Most of the 'participants' wore hoods or masks of various kinds. It was his paleness that attracted my attention. We're all pale, the whole family, with ash blonde hair and skin that doesn't take kindly to the kiss of the sun. We're all tall, all willowy and all beautiful... it's a curse and none of us suffered more because of it than Nye.

My feet dragged me across the floor, feeling sick to my stomach. I was sure it was him, even though I couldn't see his face. Seeing the curling tattoo that caressed his hip and licked at the silvery hair at the base of his flaccid penis was merely confirmation, but as soon as I saw it I flipped and started freaking out. 

Even so, I wasn't as shocked then as I was after they'd taken him down and removed the hood. He was naked, apart from a thick, studded leather collar around his neck and similar cuffs on his wrists and ankles, which had been linked with silver chains. The chains were gone now but he still seemed bound.

He was unconscious and bleeding and that monster Adam was kneeling on the floor holding him in his arms, as if he cared. Nye's beautiful, pale blonde hair was darkened by sweat and blood and plastered to his head and shoulders. He'd always been slender but he'd lost weight since I last saw him and he looked like a wraith, a living wraith... and only barely so.

I couldn't believe that Adam was being so calm, so blasé about the whole thing. He had a huge grin on his face and the circle of gawping freaks, most of whom had removed their hoods to better enjoy the drama, looked hungry and feral. At least someone had turned the lights on; the red tinted gloom I'd walked into had given the place the feel of the deepest circles of hell... I suppose that was the intention.

Relief flooded me when Nye opened his eyes, but it was short lived because he didn't seem to have any idea where he was. He'd always been a bit heavy on the eye make up and it had run, making it look as if he was weeping black blood. Above this, the clear emerald green of his eyes was diminished by the enormously dilated pupils. He was all black and white and red.

Adam smiled at him, with a parody of concern on his face and I wanted to hit him, to pound on his face until it wasn't beautiful anymore. His eyes flicked up at me and he grinned, almost as if he'd read my mind. He knew I wouldn't try anything. Not that I was afraid of him, oh no, not anymore, not of any of them; the protectiveness I felt about my brother went far deeper than fear ever could - but I knew that if I tried to hurt him then I would hurt Nye and he looked as if he really couldn't take being hurt anymore.

Nye shuddered and his body started to shake. He raised one arm, as if it was almost too heavy for him to lift, and draped it over Adam's shoulder, turning in his arms to bury his face in his chest. Adam tightened his hold, pulling him in to his body. 

The sight of my baby brother in Adam's arms sickened me. Oh, not because I had any problem with the fact that Nye was gay, that was something I'd always known. It was as much a part of him as the colour of his eyes, or the sound of his voice. No, it was partly because of the fact that I hated Adam so much, that I could see the monster he truly was even if my brother was not able to; and partly because then I could clearly see his back... the angry wheals and long ragged slashes, oozing blood.

"Nye." I couldn't keep silent any longer and I crouched down, touching his shoulder gently. Adam tightened his hold possessively and Nye couldn't have pulled away if he'd wanted to.

Forcing myself to keep my voice calm and the accusation out of it, I looked Adam directly in the eyes. "He's freezing Adam. Can't we at least get him somewhere warm and private?"

"Stop babying him, Miriam. He's not a child anymore. Are you Nye?"

Adam relaxed his hold enough to allow my brother to half turn and look up at me. "Miriam?"

"Tell your sister you're alright, babe. Tell her you don't need her mothering and that I'm taking care of you just fine."

"I..." He still looked less than half conscious, his eyes wide and dazed. He looked from me to Adam, deeply confused, not knowing what was expected of him.

"Tell her, Nye." There was a note in his voice that chilled me, but Nye didn't seem to notice.

"What?"

"Tell her you're fine with me and she should go."

"I... I'm not sure..." He shuddered again, his jaw clenching. I knew he was in pain and refusing to admit it. He was stubborn. He'd always been stubborn; stubborn and proud. 

"Nye." He looked at me again, slightly less dazed, but more confused. "You're cold darling, very cold. Don't you want to get out of here, to get warm?"

He looked around and his eyes widened again; he shuddered, seeming to come to himself, to realise where he was and the condition he was in.

"Fuck!" 

He jerked out of Adam's arms, sitting up too suddenly, and immediately slumped back over Adam's knees barely conscious again.

"Adam, stop being so stubborn and think of Nye. You're supposed to love him, remember?"

Adam's eyes narrowed and he gave me a look which hinted that retribution would be swift and final. I smiled and shrugged, like I cared if he threatened me, as long as he took care of Nye.

"Of course. It's not as if I wasn't going to anyway. I just didn't want to embarrass Nye in front of our friends, who will now think he is tied to his sister's apron strings."

"Whatever."

Adam didn't so much climb to his feet as unfold upwards, dragging Nye up with him. He couldn't stand and, after a few minutes trying to get him to support his own weight, Adam gave a sigh of irritation and swept him up in his arms. He gave me a look of pure venom and hissed.

"Go upstairs and get a drink. Clearly, you can't trust me to take care of this so I'll bring him up when he's dressed. You'd better get a stiff one in for me too, you owe me."

"I owe you nothing, Adam and neither does my brother."

I wasn't happy about Adam taking Nye off again but the realities of where I was and what had happened were beginning to dawn on me and I took a look around and decided that, as intimidating as the bar was, it was nothing compared to that hellish place. I didn't feel safe and I didn't want to be there a moment longer.

I was sorely tempted to knock back a strong shot of something extremely alcoholic, but I had no desire to have to walk out of that district, given that it was, by now almost six and the traditional transition time of day life to night life would be beginning very soon. I shuddered at the thought of encountering those who frequented these parts at night, the ones who came here during the day were bad enough.

Therefore, I ordered a red wine to steady my nerves and then begrudgingly ordered two double brandies. Nye would need one and, if I didn't get Adam one too he would only take Nye's from him.

As I waited, I thought back over the last six months and shuddered at the thought of how much my brother had changed. He really did have terrible taste in men... and this time he'd surpassed himself.

Nye had never been what one might call lucky in love. He'd never made a mistake as bad as this though. I'd never liked Adam, not from the first moment I met him. He made me uneasy, although at the time I didn't know why. He was older, a lot older, but it wasn't that, it was the way he looked at me, the way he looked at Nye, as if he was a possession. There'd never been love in his eyes, only, sometimes a parody of it that fooled Nye but not me, never me.

Slowly, over the past six months Adam had drawn Nye away from his family and friends. No one saw him anymore, not even Lee, his room mate. He was hardly ever home; staying over with Adam more and more frequently. And he was changing. 

Nye had never been particularly gregarious but he'd always been surrounded by friends and family. He was a happy boy, spending a lot of his time in a world of his own it was true, but it was a happy world, at least it had been. He was a talented writer who could reduce people to tears of joy or sorrow within half a page, could make you think deeply of matters never before thought of. He could play emotions like a musician plays his instrument, plucking the heart strings then soothing them to pluck them again in a different chord.

He was at university now, finishing his final year... or at least he had been. From what I could gather he hadn't been near the place in weeks and was in danger of failing what had looked as if it was going to be a first class degree. Everyone was worried about him, everyone had tried to talk to him, but it was all to no avail. It was as if Adam had cast a spell over him and he listened to no one but him now.

I'd been at my wits end for some time, almost from the very first time I heard Adam's name. It was killing me to watch the bright flame that had been my brother dwindling and growing dark. He'd been so strong, so full of life. He was a fighter, a campaigner, a fearless warrior for justice. And now...

I sighed and twirled my glass between my fingers, waiting.

I waited for almost half an hour and was fighting the urge to storm back down and drag him out by force, if I had to. And then I saw them. They emerged from the dark passage that housed the stairs down to the 'dungeon'. I was glad that, at least they'd got dressed. They walked close together and, as they drew near I could see that Adam had his arm around Nye's waist. Whether it was to support him or convey a message I didn't know, although I guessed it was both.

They threaded their way through the crowds and tables, pausing now and again to speak to someone or other. I noticed that it was always Adam who did the talking. Occasionally Nye smiled briefly and added a word or two, before lifting his head again to stare vacantly into the distance.

Every eye in the room was on them as they moved. They made a striking pair. Both of them were tall, slender and graceful, Adam as dark as Nye was fair and they were both beautiful, but in very different ways. Adam was sophisticated, slick, dressed in designer labels from head to foot and, at least on the surface was the epitome of the successful business man. His skin was always tanned, no matter what time of the year and the words best used to describe him would have been 'well groomed', except to me... to me the word was sleazy.


Love in Chains



Nye, on the other hand was wild. His platinum blonde hair reached almost to his waist and, although it was usually sleek and smooth, it was fine and almost seemed to float out from his head so that it gave the impression he was walking in a breeze. He was usually dressed in black leather and white linen and he wore make up. He was not groomed, he was not slick... he was elemental, truly and astonishingly beautiful.

It seemed to me that Adam was taking perverse pleasure in taking as long as possible to get to me but I don't know if that was really the case.

Finally they were there. Adam released Nye and he slid into the booth, across the table from me and sat, head down, silent. I wondered if he was embarrassed. He'd taken a shower and I was glad for that. His hair was still damp, standing out around his head like the mane of a snow lion. He rested his hands and forearms on the table in front of him and I could see they were still shaking. Adam artfully threw himself into the chair, his long legs stretched out, reaching for the glass.

"Are you alright?"

Nye looked up. He'd re applied his make up and it made him look better, hiding the shadows, but I could still see them, they were there in his eyes.

"Yes."

"See, I told you." Adam's voice was like rich chocolate but it was chocolate laced with poison and I wanted to grab him by the throat and choke him until the voice and its owner died. I ignored him.

"What were you thinking? How could you come here? Did he make you? Did he force you to go to that awful place?"

"No." The reaction was instant and scornful. Nye's lip curled and for a moment there was a light in his eyes. "I wanted to come. I wanted to see for myself."

"And now you've seen? Will you come again?"

His eyes flicked to Adam who simply watched him, impassive. He bowed his head. "Maybe."

"Oh Gods Nye, you're a fool."

"Whatever." He sounded exhausted and I wanted to reach out to him but, with Adam there that was impossible.

"Drink your brandy." I sounded tetchy, defeated, and I was. They both knew I'd never raise the subject again, not with them, not with anyone. I wanted to shout at him, to tell him how appalled I was, how angry, how frightened; to tell him how ridiculous it had been, how dangerous. I wanted to, but I didn't, I wouldn't, because I knew that if I did it would drive Nye away even faster than he was already being stolen from me.

Nye looked up and smiled. It was a pale smile but a smile and therefore precious.

"Thanks Mir."

I smiled back, pouring everything I felt for him, everything we'd ever been through together, everything we meant to each other, into the one look, and covered his hand with mine. He didn't pull away. He was very cold.

"You were very brave." Adam's rich voice cut into our moment and ended it instantly. He too reached out to Nye and touched, with one finger, the angry band around his wrist, visible between the cuff of his leather jacket and the fingerless glove he wore on that hand. It was still slightly oozing blood.

Nye's smile for him was not pale, it was blinding, and envy stabbed me like a knife. I pushed it angrily aside. There was no room for that; it would only make things worse.

"Some of it was good."

"I'm sorry Nye. I really am sorry. I... got carried away. I should never have left you there for so long."

"You should never have left him there at all."

Nye flashed me a 'look' and opened his mouth to speak but, surprisingly Adam cut in.

"No, she's right Nye. She's absolutely right. I promised you that I'd take care of you, that I would be with you every step and I wasn't. She's right to be angry. I failed you and I'm sorry about that. You'll never know how sorry I am. I should never have let you talk me into bringing you. I thought you were ready but you weren't, you're nowhere near it."

"But I am. I am ready. Please Adam, please give me another chance." He was more animated than I'd seen him for a long time, his eyes fever bright, pleading with his lover.

"We'll see. In time."

"Adam please... it was my fault, all my fault. I should have told you, I should have called out. You told me to, but I was stubborn. I was just too stubborn. I won't do that again, I promise. Give me another chance. Please."

"We'll see. Rest for a few days, get your strength back and we'll see."

"I won't let you down again, Adam, I promise."

I could see what Adam was doing. I could see it as plain as I could see the glass of brandy that he knocked back in one swallow, flashing me a look of triumph as he slammed it back down on the table. I could see it but I was helpless to stop it. There's nothing I could have said that would have made Nye see it and, in fact, anything I said would only have made it worse.

"Drink your drink, it's time to go. There's no point trying to have any fun tonight, you'd only flake out half way through it."

Nye flinched as though he'd hit him, although the tone of his voice was superficially playful. I wondered, not for the first time, whether he'd actually hit him. I wouldn't have been surprised, not at all.

Swallowing his brandy Nye, gave me an apologetic look and smoothed his hands on his trousers, tugging the cuffs of his jacket down to hide the livid red marks on his wrists. Just as they were about to leave, someone appeared at Adam's shoulder and bent to murmur something in his ear. His face went dark and he glanced over at Nye, then he nodded once and waved a hand, dismissing the man.

"There's something I have to take care of. I won't be long. Try not to pass out before I get back." Again the tone was light, but there was a dark undercurrent that made Nye flinch. He bowed his head, nodding.

At last we were alone, but do you think I could think of one single thing to say to him?

"You haven't been around in a while."

"I've been busy."

"With what? Lee says you haven't been to classes for weeks; that you've barely been home."

"Since when has Lee been my nursemaid?" He sounded annoyed, even angry but he didn't have the energy to sustain it.

"Lee's just worried about you, that's all. He knows how hard you worked and he's concerned that you're going to throw it all away and end up failing."

"I won't fail. I've already turned in my final examination projects."

"You have?"

"Yes."

"Then there's no reason for you not to come visit. We miss you. Mam doesn't say much, you know she never would, but she misses you, we all do. The boys are on about you all the time."

He remained silent, twirling the empty glass between long slender fingers. I was struggling. I had to find a way to reach him... something... and I didn't have much time.

"I was talking to Kane the other day. He was asking about you."

That got his attention, but all he said was, "Oh?"

"What happened to you two? You used to be so close. Sometimes, it seemed that he was at our house more than he was at his own."

Nye smiled but it died swiftly. "He doesn't like Adam."

I bit back a retort. I wasn't surprised. Kane was Nye's best friend, for a long time we were all convinced it was more than that but, if it had been they'd never showed it. Kane was cut from the same cloth as Nye; tall, willowy, fair... although in the tanned, gold blonde, blue eyed way... not pale and fey like Nye. He was a lot more outgoing too, American by birth and with a cocky attitude and cute accent, he'd always been popular with girls and boys alike. 

They complimented each other perfectly. Nye kept Kane level, curbing some of his wildness, calming his fiery temper and somewhat extreme views on life and everything. In turn Kane brought Nye out of himself, ignoring his shy nature and dragging him along on adventures, giving him experiences he never otherwise would have had.

For the best part of fifteen years they'd been inseparable, even after they went to different universities... until Adam. No wonder Kane hated Adam... he was an excellent judge of character.

"Is he... okay?"

"He's fine. He's just come back from visiting relatives in California and he's tanned and glowing."

"Is he... is he...?"

"Is he what?"

Nye shook his head. "Never mind."

"He's not with anyone. In fact he made a point of mentioning it. He seemed rather sad actually." Nye looked up at me sharply and something flared behind his eyes. For a moment I held my breath, my heart pounding with hope.

"Tell him... tell him..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Nye, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

He frowned. "I don't know what you mean."

I didn't say anything but reached out my hand and touched his wrist. He shivered and tugged his hand away, pulling down the sleeve to cover it. He sat back in the seat wrapping his arms around himself. He looked like a lost boy... he was.

As an awkward silence fell I cast around for something to say to break it.

"You've lost weight."

"Have I?"

"You know you have. Aren't you eating?"

"Adam's a great cook." The arms tightened. He was on the defensive and my hope crumbled to dust.

"I'm sure he is. That's not what I asked."

"I'm eating alright."

"Are you ill then? Is there something we should know?"

He looked up, annoyed again. "I'm a big boy now Mir, not a child. I'm twenty one and I can look after myself. I'm not ill and I'm not failing my course and I'm not doing anything wrong. Why are you always so critical of me these days? And you wonder why I don't come to visit."

"I'm not critical, Nye. I just love you. You used to tell me everything. You used to..."

"I used to be a child. Now I'm a man, a man with a life of his own and the right to live it as I please."

I was taken aback. That didn't sound like Nye, it didn't sound like him at all.

"Of course you are. Of course you do. But that doesn't mean you have to shut us out of your life."

"I know. I'm not." He was back to his confused, lost, self and I was left with a terrible certainty that his isolation was deliberate, as was the change in him. Adam was doing more than influencing him; he was manipulating and controlling him. But what could I do about it? The more I tried to get him away from Adam, the more Adam would dig his claws in and the more chance there was that Nye would get hurt. And there was no way, no way at all that Nye would listen to me if I tried to tell him.

"Come and visit us, Nye, please. Just now and again. And contact Kane. He misses you more than we do."

"I will. I promise."

"Soon?"

"Maybe."

"Promise me, Nye... please. Promise me you'll come soon."

He gave me a long cool stare, but I could see there was a lot going on behind and beneath. He was fighting with himself and it scared me. Why would he have to struggle with the idea of visiting his family now and again or catching up with old friends? I knew why.

Finally he nodded and smiled, the first genuine, warm smile he'd given me. "Alright. I promise. Soon."

"Promise what?" Nye jumped as Adam flopped down into the chair, he looked guilty.

"I... I... Just to keep in touch with my family, that's all."

"Really? Well, I've never stopped you. Haven't I always told you that I'd take you whenever you like?"

Now wasn't that a telling statement?

"Of course you haven't... stopped me I mean. It's just... I've been so busy."

"And you're going to be busier. We've had a problem with one of our employees and we're going to have to let him go. Until we can find someone to replace him, it would be very helpful to me if you would take some shifts behind the bar."

Nye looked uncertain and plucked at a loose thread on his jacket. "I... I don't know. You know I don't like working behind the bar...not here. It scares me."

Adam leaned across the table and stroked Nye's cheek. The action and Nye's reaction made me squirm.

"Baby... what have I told you about facing up to your fears? You're such a little mouse, so fearful of everything. You have to be strong, to be brave... remember what we've been talking about? You're too soft, too fearful, too gentle and shy. It isn't that I don't love that in you, but you're just not safe being that way. You need to toughen up a bit, especially if you ever want to be fit for the dungeon. You said you wanted another chance, well this is it. Do a good job upstairs and I'll let you come play downstairs."

Nye lit up like a candle and grinned at him, his eyes glowing. "I won't let you down."

Adam leaned closer and kissed him. Nye melted. "I know you won't."

I hated him then. I hated him with every fibre of my being and I was afraid. I was going to lose Nye. I was going to lose my brother, one way or another and there wasn't a single thing I could do to stop it. I felt sick. 

Lifting his head and stroking his cheek on Nye's hair to make sure his face was turned away from me Adam smiled. It was the smile of a big cat who was about to feed on its prey. I snarled at him but it only made the smile widen. He knew I was helpless. He knew Nye was his. He knew he'd won. I hated him.



Love in Chains Ch. 02



The events at The Club... all of them, including the meeting with Miriam, had badly shaken Nye. It wasn't until he was standing under the hot water in the shower of one of the changing rooms adjacent to the dungeon that the enormity of what had happened hit him. Not what had happened to him as such but the fact that he had been seen in the way he had by his sister. He had burned with embarrassment and continued to burn all through their meeting and beyond.

It was all he could think of in the car on the way home, that and... and... He wondered whether there was any chance that he could sneak away for a time to see Kane. Adam had never precisely said that he didn't want him to but Kane hated Adam. He made no attempt to hide it and it had made Adam very uncomfortable to the point that the very mention of his name set him on edge. The fact that he had admitted to Adam he had once been in love with Kane, that they had been together for a while, hadn't helped. He smiled about the fact that Adam was jealous.

"What are you smiling about? You've been very quiet."

"I'm sorry. I was smiling because I realised how far I've come, how lucky I am to have you."

Adam smiled and put his hand on Nye's thigh. "I'm the lucky one Nye. You are a very special person."

"No I'm not. I'm just an ordinary person who is made special by being with you."

Adam laughed with genuine pleasure and Nye's heart soared. "You are special Nye, more special than you will ever know. I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. You've stolen my heart. You are so incredibly beautiful, sometimes I can barely believe you are real."

Nye laughed too. "Oh, I'm real. Of course I am. And I'm not as beautiful as you."

"Well, let's not get into the 'who is most beautiful' argument." He fell silent and the smile slipped from his face. "Your sister caused me a great deal of embarrassment today. I lost face in front of clients and staff."

"I'm sorry about that. I have no idea how she knew where I was and why she came looking for me. Although..." He stopped looking up at Adam, startled.

"Although?"

"Well... it was... lucky that she came when she did. I was... It was..."

"I told you I was sorry. Are you going to keep beating me up about that?"

"No, of course not. I... It's just..."

"It was out of line Nye. I was careless. I didn't take care of you as I should have but the fact remains your sister had no business being there."

"I know." It was barely a whisper.

"You know what's going to happen now don't you?"

"What?" He looked up again, startled.

"She has never liked me, none of them have. For some reason, and heaven knows why, your family and friends seem to have taken against me."

"I..."

"Let me finish Nye." He subsided immediately, mumbling apologies. "Your family and friends have a very low opinion of me as it is and now your sister is going to be bad talking me for what she saw and what she thinks she saw... You know how people on the outside feel about what we do... they just don't understand. And now everyone is going to be thinking that we are both freaks."

"No. They wouldn't..."

"You don't know people like I do Nye. I have been in this business for more than fifteen years and in that time I have seen a lot of things. One thing I have seen plenty of is the way that we are viewed by so called 'normal' people. They fear anything and anyone who is different to them and they turn on it. They turn on us. It's only a matter of time."

"Then I should go and speak to them."

"I think that would be a very bad idea. Miriam is all fired up and she is going to get everyone else in the same state. I think it would be a much better idea if you let everything die down for a few weeks and then go and speak to them, when it's all calmed down. By then you will have done a couple of weeks behind the bar at The Club and, hopefully, if you have been a good boy, you will have been down to the dungeon a couple of times and you will have more experience to speak from."

Nye's heart plummeted. He had all but decided to go and see both his sister and Kane very soon but he saw the truth and logic in Adam's words... he always did. Adam was so much older than him, and so much wiser. He was teaching him so much, more than he could ever have imagined. If he had thought Kane had broadened his horizons it was nothing to what Adam had already taught him in so much shorter a period of time.

"That makes sense."

"I always do."

Nye smiled and nodded, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted. Adam patted his leg.

"Are you very tired sweetheart?"

"Very."

"When we get home you can take a nice long bath to ease your muscles and warm up properly and then you can go to bed. I think an early night will do you the world of good."

"What about you?"

"I have work to do."

"You're always working. You know what they say... all work and no play makes Adam a dull boy."

Adam laughed, pulling in to the side of the road outside his well appointed home. Before he got out of the car he leaned over and ran his hands through Nye's hair glorying, not for the first time, at how soft and fine it was, running through his fingers, turned metallic silver by the moonlight.

Burying his hand in the softness he pulled Nye towards him and kissed him. Although he tried hard not to Nye hissed with pain and Adam, after kissing him soundly for a good five minutes pulled away and smiled. "Right. Bath for you. Right now."

"Can I get out of the car first?"

"Carry on giving me that look and the answer to that question will be a 'no'." His voice was almost a growl, husky with desire. Nye smiled, then winced.

"I had better stop then because, whatever I might have said to my sister, I feel like crap and I am really not up to any hanky panky tonight."

He didn't see the look that Adam gave him as he turned to get out of the car. It wasn't a nice one.

***

Adam sat on his black leather sofa, his long elegant legs crossed, one hand twirling a fine crystal goblet containing a generous measure of a very good whisky. He was smiling.

There had been times when he had doubted his choice in Nye. True he was probably the most strikingly beautiful boy he had ever come across but he had been surprisingly resistant to all attempts to introduce him to the world in which he lived, the world of pleasure and pain. He was a good enough fuck, if somewhat inexperienced but Adam had had his fill of straight sex a long time ago. It bored him now... he needed more, and he knew that Nye could provide him with everything he desired, longed for, if only he would let go of his narrow preconceptions and allow himself to feel the true pleasure to be found in pain.

Adam had been surprisingly patient with him, wanting him to come to it freely and willingly, to encompass it wholeheartedly without having to be broken in the process. He had done that too many times; achieved too many willing slaves, who were... open but docile and unimaginative. He wanted a challenge, someone to stimulate him as well as pleasure him.

He was getting on for thirty five and it had been years since he'd had any kind of meaningful relationship. There had been a succession of pretty boys who started out as Nye had, impressed by his wealth and status, drawn into his web of darkness only to panic when they got down to real business, to the point when he had to take drastic measures, to break them, to coerce them, to turn them into docile willing slaves prepared to do his bidding, to cater to his every whim, to subject themselves to whatever depravity might take his fancy... they still would, they still did. But where was the challenge in that?

He could buy slaves if he wanted to. He had done so many times. They serviced his clients in the dungeon and in the more conventional atmosphere of the upstairs themed rooms. He could make them too; train them in any way he pleased, to do anything he wanted to whoever paid the most. But he had become bored and weary with the process. Where was the challenge? Where was the stimulation? Mindless slaves were just no fun anymore. Beautiful bodies faded with time and use. He wanted a beautiful mind too, someone who would be in it for the long haul, who would eventually become his partner, his equal, his mate.

He believed he had found him in Nye but the process was too slow. Nye was too much of an innocent, too much of a moralist. Yes, he had been very patient, but lately his patience had been wearing thin.

Tonight had been an experiment and he was immensely pleased with the results. He had deliberately subjected Nye to far more than he would ordinarily have done with new meat. He had pushed him, tested him, and he had come through with flying colours. Of course, he hadn't been too hard on him, not for the first time. It wouldn't do to frighten him too much. No, this time fear wasn't his friend. Nye was fearful enough as it was. Well... a few months working behind the bar at The Club would cure him of that. He had trained his bar staff well and they knew what to do to ensure success.

This time he had been testing his resolve, his stamina, his endurance, his heart. He had become concerned that Nye appeared so fragile. He was prone to dark moods and depressions and the pressure he had been put under by Adam to surrender to the darker side of his nature had driven him into himself. He hadn't been sleeping or eating properly and had lost weight and condition. Adam was afraid he would be too fragile to cope with what was coming.

He had no such fear now. Nye had done well, far better than he had ever expected, taking everything that was thrown at him without a murmur. The pleasure, the pain, everything. And he had endured to the point of foolishness. His stubborn nature was a natural bonus and his desire to please was already becoming a conditioned response; and he hadn't had to hurt him very much at all to enforce it. Nye loved him. He almost laughed aloud. Nye loved him with an adoring abandon that made it easy to make him desperate to please. Punishment and reward on only the most superficial level had already brought him to the point where he would have done almost anything for his lover; for his attention, his approval, his love.

And he did love him, in his way. He was used to people who feared him, who adored him because of what he had conditioned them to feel not because of what they spontaneously and genuinely felt. This time there was genuine feeling, genuine love, a genuine relationship and he intended it to remain that way. Yes, he loved him well enough, in his own way.

Nye had been in the bath for almost an hour. He'd had to be helped out of his clothes and into the warm scented water. The perfumed oils had hurt him, burned the wounds and chafed skin but he had submitted because he had thought that Adam had put them in out of love, not realising the pain they would cause. Adam smiled again. He had realised alright, although pain had not been his deliberate intention this time. He had realised but he hadn't cared because he wanted Nye to be clean and fragrant tonight. Tonight was going to be a special night, not that Nye knew it yet, not that he would ever know it.

After taking a few sips of the whisky he put the glass down and unfolded from the sofa, stretching to work out some kinks and then strode towards the bathroom, pausing to look out of the enormous floor to ceiling windows over the rooftops of the City below. He smiled.

Nye was asleep, lulled by the warm water which had turned pink. The image was surreal. The bath was a large whirlpool, although Nye had turned off the jets as they hurt too much, and he had slipped down so that only his head and the top of his shoulders were un submerged. His glorious hair was spread out around him, floating on the water, taking on the pink tinge, and the orange gold of the candle light supplied by the dozens of thick white candles that flickered all around what would otherwise have been a stark white room.

He looked like a faery, some kind of water sprite and his beauty was such that it made Adam's breath catch and his stomach contract. He longed to take off his clothes and slip in there with him. Any other night he would have but tonight he did not want to dilute the pleasure that was to come. Let the boy think he was being considerate of his condition. He would make sure he felt cherished and went to sleep with a smile on his lips.

Adam allowed himself another five minutes of unashamed voyeurism, drinking in the beauty, the paleness of the flawless skin, the eerie quality of the long pale hair, the delicate features and long straight limbs, visible beneath the surface. That was the essence of Nye, the beauty beneath the surface, something he wanted to preserve if at all possible, if he had the patience, the self control. In a way it was his own test.

Nye jumped when Adam sat on the edge of the bath and started combing his fingers through his hair.

"You startled me. I was asleep."

"I know, I was watching you."

Nye settled back with a sigh, his head resting on Adam's thigh. "Watching me sleep? Weren't you bored?"

"Bored? How could I ever be bored drinking in such sublime beauty? Besides, I had to make sure you didn't drown yourself."

Nye smiled a lazy, satisfied smile, glowing from the compliment. Adam put his hand on Nye's shoulder and he reached up to cover it with his own. Not for the first time Adam was struck by the grace and beauty of the long slender fingers and the seemingly delicate wrists. He had the hands of a true artist. Adam was of Mediterranean origin and his skin never lost its tan, even in the middle of winter. The fingers that rested on his looked like they were made of fine china in comparison.

Adam leaned forward slightly and touched the livid marks, standing out even more starkly against the pale skin. Nye winced slightly but did not pull away as Adam traced them with his finger. The light touch turned into a caress as Adam became excited by the marks of submission, the bruised and bloodied flesh a mark of his devotion. Realising that his control was slipping Adam drew back his hand and stroked Nye's hair instead.

"Are you ready to get out? The water must be cold by now."

"Yes, it is... but it is so nice just lying here. I'm very tired."

"Then the sooner you get into bed the better. You'll feel better after a good night sleep."

Nye sighed. "Alright."

"Wait there a moment."

Adam went to the airing cupboard and took out a huge soft fluffy bath sheet which he had previously placed on the warming rack. Shaking it out and draping it over the towel rack he turned back to the bath. Nye was dozing again already, his eyes closed, a smile on his lips. Adam watched him for a moment before calling softly. "Nye."

Sleepily he blinked open his eyes and smiled upwards. Adam held out his hands and Nye took them. After helping Nye out of the bath Adam wrapped the towel around him and the soft sigh he gave as he snuggled into the fluffy warmth made him twitch. Nye was just so goddamned beautiful in every way.

"Come here." Very gently Adam took Nye into his arms and, just as gently kissed him. Usually Adam liked to play hard and fast and Nye was taken by surprise by this uncharacteristic tenderness. When Adam broke the kiss he remained immobile looking into his face, slightly dazed.

"What was that for?"

"Because I love you. Because, you are so beautiful, so special. Because I was a fool today and because the thought that there was the remotest chance I might have lost you scared me more than anything ever has."

"It's alright Adam. It wasn't that bad. It was my fault anyway." He frowned and Adam lifted his chin so he could look deeply into his eyes.

"No. It was my fault. I know what you are like. I know how strong you are, how brave. I should have known that you would have taken it all, would never have asked me to stop. I am so incredibly proud of you. I have never been so proud of anyone in all my life. I am a lucky man."

Nye lit up like a candle and melted into his arms as Adam kissed him again. It wasn't his usual hungry kiss but a gentle, cleansing one that washed away all the pain from Nye's day and left only the glow of achievement, of having pleased the lover he adored, having made him proud.

Scooping him up in his arms Adam carried Nye into the bedroom and laid him on the huge wooden four poster bed, which had intimidated him at first but which he was now so used to he barely noticed. Gently rolling him off the towel he took a moment to blatantly stare at the stunning glory of his naked body. Nye blushed and Adam laughed, pulling the heavy quilt in its velvet cover, over him and tucking it carefully around him.

Climbing up onto the bed Adam sat with his back to the headboard and stroked Nye's hair.

"I thought you had work to do."

"I do. I'll get to it in a moment; when I'm ready. At the moment I have far, far better things to do."

"I'm not very good company."

"You're not meant to be, I am. Now close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll stay with you until you're sleeping and I'll be here when you wake."

"And you don't mind that I'm not...?"

"I'm not a monster Nye. You know I would never force you, never demand anything you are not willing to give. You've had a hard day and you need to rest. I'll watch over you tonight and you'll be much better tomorrow. Although you had better be prepared for the fact that I am going to be taking some time off to look after you for a few days. You deserve to be spoiled and I was thinking maybe we could take a little trip, a few days away just the two of us."

Nye could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was worth the pain and fear and even the embarrassment. It was worth it all because it had brought them closer together and given him this wonderful gift of time alone with the man he loved, time and attention of the best kind. He sighed. All thoughts of visiting his family and friends had long since departed.

Adam sat and watched him fall asleep with a smile on his face, stroking his hair and forehead the whole time. He almost fell asleep himself but eventually he stirred and called softly. "Nye?" There was no answer, Nye was fast asleep. Smiling with satisfaction Adam went back into the living room to finish his whisky.

After about an hour, when his work and whisky were finished Adam stretched and sighed. He had been desperate to go to bed for a long time but he had postponed it, first to ensure that Nye was deeply asleep and secondly as an exercise in self control, to raise the tension, prolong the agony, enhance the ultimate satisfaction.

Turning off the laptop on which he had been working, and all of the lights he went into the bathroom, showered, oiled himself with fragrant oils and then blew out all of the candles.

In the bedroom he threw open the curtains and was gratified when the room was flooded with moonlight. Now he would not have to turn on the light and Nye was even more beautiful by moonlight, pale as a ghost, his own living wraith.

He slipped underneath the duvet, although it was not cold in the bedroom, far from it... he had made sure of that too. Nye was curled on his side, one hand under his cheek and the other lying across his belly, on top of the covers. Taking something out of the carved wooden box on the table next to the bed Adam slipped it under the pillow and then he slid in close to Nye and gently stroked his shoulder and arm. Nye sighed and stirred.

"Adam?" He murmured.

"It's alright baby. It's me. It's just me."

Nye sighed again and snuggled in to him. Adam slipped his hand under the duvet and stroked his side and hip then cupped his buttock in his hand and squeezed gently. Nye moaned softly and stirred again.

"Don't Adam. It hurts."

"I would never hurt you baby... not unless I was trying to."




Love in Chains Ch. 02



Nye smiled absently and settled down again, only to jump when Adam slipped his finger between his buttocks to rest against his sore and swollen butt hole.

"Adam, don't. You said..."

"I'm sorry baby. It's just that you look so beautiful and I am just a poor weak man, captivated by your loveliness. I just can't help myself."

"Adam... I'm not up to playing around tonight. Please go to sleep."

His eyes were closed and so he didn't see Adam frown, or the look that the frown turned in to. It was just as well.

"Alright sweet thing. Whatever you want. Come here. Let me at least hold you and watch you fall asleep. It's my favourite thing in the whole world."

Smiling Nye turned over and Adam slipped one arm under him so his head was nestled on his shoulder. He stroked Nye's face with featherlight strokes and then kissed him very gently and watched him sink back into sleep.

When he was sure that Nye was deeply asleep again Adam slid his hand under the pillow and brought out the slim glass phial. Very carefully so as not to wake him Adam moved his arm so that Nye's head was tilted back. He broke the tip off the phial and placed it on Nye's lips, applying careful pressure to part them and then tipped the contents into his mouth.

Nye swallowed reflexively and coughed a little but didn't wake. Adam repositioned his head so that it was nestled in the crook of his arm and smiled, tossing the glass onto the floor to be disposed of later. He was practically throbbing with anticipation and it was sweet, so sweet to prolong it just a little and then just a little more.

He pondered his next step. Should he just wait or indulge himself. Ah well... this was the night for indulgence. He had already indulged Nye and now it was his turn.

After waiting for a few minutes to let the drug begin to take effect Adam gently shook Nye awake, or as close to awake as he was going to get at that point. Sliding his arm out from under him he lay Nye flat and threw off the quilt and pillows. Then he threw one leg over the still, pale body and gently slapped his face until he opened his eyes, staring upwards with unfocussed eyes.

"Wh... wha...?"

"Ssh. It's alright Nye. It's just that I do so love to watch you fall asleep... especially when you have no choice in the matter."

Nye sighed and tried to close his eyes but Adam slapped him again, and kept on doing so until his cheeks were pink and his eyelids fluttering frantically. 

"Come on baby, just a little more. Don't fade on me just yet. This is almost my favourite part. I just love to watch the light fade."

Pressing a finger to Nye's lips he parted them and then slipped the finger past his teeth. "Suck me baby. Come on, you can do it. Hold on just a little longer. Take me in baby."

Nye obediently opened his mouth and Adam inserted his finger as far as it would go. Nye closed his mouth and Adam smiled slowly drawing the finger back out. For a moment there was resistance but then Nye sighed and released him letting his eyes close. Adam slapped him again.

"Wake up baby, wake up and let me see those beautiful eyes." Nye groaned and his eyes fluttered open but he simply couldn't keep his eyelids up and this time, before they fell his eyes rolled back and Adam knew there was nothing he could do to rouse him now. He stroked his face anyway, closing his eyes as he ran his fingers over the exquisite features.

"Time to play baby. It's a shame you won't be enjoying this as much as I will but this is just for me. I'm sick and tired of pussyfooting around you and I want it my way for once. Soon... soon we will be playing together but you're not ready yet and I want you more than you can imagine. So sleep on sweetheart and you'll never know how much pleasure you gave your daddy this evening.

Climbing off the bed Adam stood for a moment staring down at the sleeping boy, his naked body shining slightly in the pale moonlight. Then he turned to the bedside cabinet. Carefully searching on the floor for the glass phial he found it and put it back in the box to nestle among all the others, which were full. 

Opening the door of the cabinet Adam took out a number of items and laid them on the bed. First he snapped cuffs lined with sheepskin around Nye's wrists and one ankle and fastened them to the corner posts of the bed where there were solid sunken hooks just for this purpose.

Carefully he turned Nye onto his side and stroked his buttocks. He got no reaction and neither did he expect one. Nye was so far out of it now he could have cut off his fingers and he wouldn't have been aware of it. Technically there would be no need for restraints as Nye would be unconscious for hours ... but that was all part of the fun.

Of course, being so deeply unconscious it would have been difficult to get Nye to achieve and sustain an erection... difficult but not impossible. However that was an irrelevancy this evening. He wasn't here to please Nye and he had no interest in being penetrated by him so there was no need for him to be anything but passive. Adam smiled and, for a moment rested his hand on the perfect curve of his hip, letting his eyes wander over the flawless skin and well defined muscles. He was utterly content. This was his perfect boy, the one he had been searching for all his life, the one whom he would groom and train to be his perfect partner.

Adam found himself unconsciously caressing Nye's buttocks, the silky feel of the soft skin under his hands sending shivers through him that made his cock twitch. It was already semi erect just from looking, just from touching. Closing his eyes he sought out Nye's entrance and pressed against the seal. It was tight and took some effort to get even one finger in. He didn't bother with lubricant, that would be a waste of time as Nye wouldn't feel a thing anyway, and it would leave evidence of tonight's liaison, which he didn't want, not yet.

He cursed slightly. He had made sure that Nye had been fitted with a butt plug early in their play today and kept it in right to the end. It had been a large one too. It had hurt, he knew that, more than was necessary for their adventures this afternoon but its purpose had been to stretch him for tonight, so that he wouldn't have to be so careful not to leave any obvious signs of entry. But the boy was young and practically a virgin and his body was tight and supple and so had regained its natural shape very quickly.

Never mind, that was easily remedied. He would just have to put it in again and amuse himself in other ways until it had done its work.

Working with one finger to massage and relax the tight muscles of the sphincter Adam managed to ease in a second one and continued his ministrations, careful not to stretch to far or too fast. The last thing he wanted was to tear or bruise. That would be too difficult to explain away.

When he was satisfied he eased in the plug with extreme care and persistence. When it was in place he sat back and smiled. Then he turned Nye back onto his back and secured his free ankle to the last bed post. Kneeling between his legs Adam was again struck by the perfection of form and the shocking abandon of the almost white hair. He let his fingers play with the silvery pubes and stroke the velvet shaft that did not so much as twitch under his caresses. Ah well... he couldn't have everything, at least not all at once.

Over the next two hours Adam used the equipment he had set out mainly on himself to stimulate with pleasure and pain and to maintain the pleasure for as long as possible. There was no point in using anything on Nye as he would not have felt it although Adam did get a considerable amount of pleasure from stroking his chest with the feathered strands of his favourite flail. Not hard enough to mark but just brushing the skin in long sweeping strokes that almost brought him to the edge of climax before he threw it aside and fell across Nye taking vicious possession of his mouth. He didn't care about the fact that the lips were slack and the tongue still; he didn't care about anything except taking his pleasure in any and every way he could.

At last Adam was trembling so much from suppressed desire he simply couldn't stand it any longer and, after removing the plug and unrolling a condom over his painfully throbbing erection, more in order to conceal evidence than for any other reason, he plunged into Nye, raising his hips for deeper penetration. Too late he realised that, although the plug had stretched him somewhat he was still tight, and he was not able to pull back in time when he felt the resistance. Shit... had he torn him? Ah well... the boy had been in a daze since they cut him down anyway, and he was going to hurt all over in the morning so... fuck it... he'd explain it away, he always did. Nye would accept any crap he fed him. The kid was so gullible. If that's what love did to you Adam was glad he was immune.

After years of practice Adam knew exactly how to hold back his climax... by clenching, pinching underneath his balls, visualising etc and he managed to make it past thirty minutes before he decided it was time for release and, with a few last deep thrust he tipped over the edge and ejaculated powerfully before collapsing across Nye, lying replete with his face pressed against the tight belly, licking salt from the skin, and smiling to himself at the fact that the body beneath him was trembling. Even deeply unconscious Nye was not immune to the attentions of his lover.

Nye moaned very softly and Adam's head jerked up. Was he waking already? Impossible. It was too soon. Actually, he wasn't and, after that soft sound there were no more, no sign of life at all. Adam breathed a sigh of relief but the moment had been broken and he had no more interest in pleasuring himself with Nye.

As quickly as he could he cleared up, storing the items, some in a plastic bag for later cleansing, disposed of the condom, and cleaned Nye with scented wipes, carefully wiping the blood that leaked from him until it stopped. Bugger. He really had to learn to be more careful when he needed to be. Finally he released the restraints and threw them into the cupboard then he climbed into bed.

Relaxing back against mounded pillows with a deep, satisfied sigh Adam lifted the deeply unconscious Nye into his arms and cradled him across his lap, breathing in the scent of lemon and musk, stroking the soft skin and rubbing his cheek against the silky hair. After a time he fell asleep.



Love in Chains Ch. 03



I was very disturbed when I left Adam and Nye. It wasn't just what I had seen in the dungeon. It was the way Nye was. He had changed so much I hardly recognised him. Apart from the fact that he had lost weight... he also seemed to have lost his spark, his soul. He was lost and empty and he didn't even know it.

Adam was a bad man. I knew that with absolute certainty. The way he treated Nye, the way he had looked at me. He was an evil manipulating monster. And the way he had behaved in the dungeon... He hadn't been concerned about Nye at all... no, more than that, he hadn't seemed surprised. Had he done that deliberately? What was he trying to achieve? Was he trying to kill him? My blood ran cold and for a moment I completely seized up, frozen. But no, that was just silly. Why would he do that? All he had to do was send Nye away if he was tired of him... but it didn't seem he was tired of him, quite the reverse. Adam was the bloated fat spider at the centre of the web and he was only just beginning to wrap him in the sticky threads.

So what to do? I couldn't keep this to myself, couldn't bear the weight of it. I had to tell someone, to talk it through and get some perspective. But who? I couldn't talk to Mam... she was freaking out about Nye enough as it was... and not the boys, they were too young... no, none of the family, they were too close, they would want to rush in there to save him and the sad truth was... he didn't want to be saved.

In the end I found that I was driving down a familiar street, even though I had not intended to go there. I sighed, giving way to the inevitable. It was fitting after all. No one else outside the family cared for Nye more.

"Miriam! What a surprise! You look wonderful darling. Where's that brother of yours? I haven't seen Aneurin for simply ages. You tell him he's gotta come visit soon."

"Of course I will Mrs Taylor. Is Kane in?"

"Sure thing honey. He's not back at school for a couple of weeks. Go right on up... you know where."

"Thank you."

Kane practically threw himself on me when I stepped through the door. He's like that.

"Miri, Miri, Miri. Where you bin girl? You and that brother of yours. Ain't seen hide nor hair of either of you in weeks."

"I've been around. Busy with work. As for Nye..."

Being a perceptive boy I didn't have to say another word for Kane to pick up on my discomfort and concern.

"What's up? Is he still with that loser Adam?"

"Loser's right. I'm worried about him Kane."

"He made his choice Mir." He turned and stared out of the window, the set of his shoulders filling in all the things he didn't say.

"Hardly. Adam got him in his sights, decided he wanted him and what Nye wanted didn't come into it. He overwhelmed him. Once he got his claws in Nye didn't stand a chance."

"Well, just because we hate him and want to rip out his heart..." He turned and gave a poor imitation of his usual smile. "It's his life Mir. He chose Adam and as much as we think that is a really, really bad idea it's still his decision and we can't interfere."

"That's what I thought... until today."

"What do you mean? What happened today?"

As I told him he flopped down in a chair and got paler and paler. When I had finished he remained silent, staring at the floor.

"You're fucking joking right?"

"Would I do something like that about something like this? Look... I'm sorry Kane. I probably shouldn't have come to you but I didn't know what else to do. I had to tell SOMEONE and... I just couldn't think of anyone else who..."

"No... you did the right thing... absolutely. I would have killed you if you hadn't told me. It's just... Fuck!! That Nye would do something like that... that he would get involved in that scene... I mean if it had been me...!" He tried to smile but failed miserably.

"It would never have been you Kane. You wouldn't have fallen for that..." I couldn't bear to say his name and I couldn't find a word bad enough to put in its place. "I still can't believe that Nye did. I can't believe how much he has changed. It's as if that man has brainwashed him, squeezed all the life out of him and replaced it with..." I had no words. "I'm scared for him. You should have seen what they did to him... and Adam... he didn't even care. I... I... Look this might sound crazy but it... he wasn't surprised. He wasn't fazed at all. I think he did it deliberately. He wanted to hurt Nye."

"I'm not surprised that he changed Mir. In fact it all makes so much more sense now."

"What do you mean?"

"I know about people like that... that scene. They take people and they 'train' them. They groom them like child molesters, make them dependent then introduce techniques, slowly at first, getting them more and more enmeshed and then when the reality hits they can't get out."

My heart was thudding, my stomach roiling and I was cold, oh so cold. "The reality of what?"

Kane shrugged. "It depends what he wants him for. I've done my own digging around and I've heard things about that club."

"What? What have you heard about it? What do you think he might do to Nye? What might he 'want him for'?"

"A whore, a slave, an enforcer..."

"Woah... what do you mean? I don't know..."

"The Club has a number of very exclusive 'members only' sections. One of them goes on upstairs where they offer the... services of certain young men for the entertainment of the guests. In short it's a high class whorehouse. As for the downstairs... there are two kinds of people who go there... people who want to give pain and those who want to receive it. The enforcers are trained to apply various forms of punishment and pain... whips, clamps, cattle prods... you know the thing..."

"And slaves?"

"Slaves are trained to be absolutely obedient no matter what. They are not allowed to show their faces and they are never addressed by name. They are always kept hooded and bound and usually led around on a leash. They take the punishment, anything that the clients want to do to them. Of course the clients more often than not 'do it' to each other but there are always a couple of enforcers and a couple of slaves around at any one time."

"How do you know all this?"

"When I met that Adam guy I got a bad vibe and I did some digging about. It's easy enough to find superficial stuff about The Club and ... stuff... but as for the rest, it took a little more... subversive activity."

"Have you been there? To The Club? Have you been to the dungeon?"

Kane laughed. "Hell no. Oh, I've been to The Club, that's where Nye introduced me to Adam, and I've been back once since, hoping..." he looked into the distance for a moment then shook his head. "But I didn't go downstairs. No one goes downstairs without an invitation... and I wouldn't have dared anyway. I've heard stories about that place."

"I got down there easily enough." 

"You are clearly related to the boss's current favourite. No one was going to deny you anything. I would be surprised if you found it so easy next time though."

I shuddered at the thought. "There is never going to BE another time. Shit Kane. The things I saw..."

"Yeah." He frowned and stared at his shoes.

"What do you think... what do you think he wants with Nye?"

"It could be that he has genuinely fallen for him. I mean who wouldn't?" He laughed and flushed, embarrassed. "But even so... Adam's an addict. Everyone knows about it, everyone who knows him. He hasn't been able to enjoy straight sex in years... and by 'straight' I don't mean heterosexual."

"So whatever happens he's going to get Nye deeply involved with that... stuff."

"It seems like he already is."

"I don't know. He didn't seem... I mean... he looked lost Kane. You should have seen him. Even after he was showered and dressed and more himself he was... he was..." I gave up trying to think what he was. "He wasn't Nye."

For the first time Kane raised his head and looked me straight in the eye. "That must have been hard for you Mir... to have seen him like that."

"It was unbearable."

"I'm glad you told me about it but I really don't see there's anything we can do. He's twenty one years old... he's not a child, he's not mentally ill, he isn't doing anything illegal. What can we do? If we try to talk to him he won't listen."

"He's not doing anything illegal but Adam is. We could go to the police... about the brothel he's running."

"And do you think that Nye will thank us for that?"

"Who cares if it gets him away from Adam?"

"I care." He said softly. "He'd hate us Mir. You know how stubborn he is. He would never ever forgive us. And do you really believe that it would get him away from Adam? Or at least from the world he now lives in. Even if Adam went to prison, and knowing him I seriously doubt he would Nye would stand by him. He'd be 'taken care of' until Adam got out and, believe it or not there are worse people than Adam out there and they'd take care of him real well."

"So what are we going to do? We can't just leave him there, with that man."

"I don't know. I don't know whether there is anything we can do."

"But..."

"Look Mir... I'll think on it okay? I'll see what I can find out, what I can do. But I'm not promising anything. At the end of the day it's Nye's life. Okay we think he's making bad choices but it's still his life. We can't interfere with that, we have no right to."

I knew he was right... but that didn't mean I had to like it.

***

Nye woke in agony the next day. Every part of him hurt and his head felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton wool during the night... cotton wool laced with razor blades. Considering that he had slept like a log he felt surprisingly un rested and, after glancing at the clock to see it was already past noon he simply groaned and turned over, pulling the duvet up around his ears.

Adam, of course, wasn't there. Adam had NEVER slept past noon. He was up at 6.30 every morning and went for a run before breakfast, then he showered, ate and drank two cups of coffee... then he went to The Club. Sometimes he only spent a couple of hours there and sometimes he was there all day. He took his business very seriously.

Today Nye was glad Adam wasn't there. He felt strangely ashamed for being in so much pain, for being so weak. He had been desperate to make a good impression on Adam, to not show him up in front of his employees and clients. He had tried so hard... had done everything that was asked of him and took it without murmur of complaint. And still... still he had somehow failed. Not that Adam had ever said that, in fact he had been incredibly gracious about it. For the first time Nye smiled. Adam had felt so guilty about what had happened, even though it wasn't his fault. He had tried hard to make it up when all the time it should have been Nye who was making it up to HIM. He was so generous.

Nye felt himself sliding into sleep again when he heard the bedroom door open. He knew it was Adam but he didn't have the energy to acknowledge him. He was so tired.

Adam sat on the bed and stroked his hair. It was delicious. He sighed. "Are you awake?"

"No."

The stroking continued. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like crap. Everything hurts."

"It will feel better if you'd get up and moving, work out the kinks."

"I don't want to. I hurt."

"Well... whether you want to or not you are going to. I have a surprise for you. Go take a shower and meet me in the lounge."

"Don't want to."

Nye resisted as Adam tried to tug the duvet away but Adam simply yanked harder until the duvet was on the floor. Nye groaned and curled into a ball. 

"Come on Nye. I am not going to fight with you. Get your ass in the shower and make it quick."

"No."

Nye jerked awake with a shock as Adam's hand connected with his buttock... hard. "Up."

"Aw... that hurt."

"Don't be a baby. It was only a slap. Get up."

Rubbing his stinging butt cheek Nye sat up and groaned, hugging himself. "Why are you being so fucking cruel?"

Adam laughed. "Because you are being such a drama queen." He planted a gentle kiss on Nye's head and tilted his face up for a tender kiss. "And because I need you to get up... because I have a surprise for you and I can't wait one more minute to give it to you."

Nye laughed, forgetting the pain of the slap in the pleasure of the kiss. "Alright. I get the message. I'm getting up."

"Good. I have a couple of things to deal with. Meet me in the lounge, and don't be long."

Nye yawned and stretched, wincing as it hurt. "Okay, okay, I'm doing it."

Half an hour later Nye emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a large fluffy bathrobe. Adam was staring out of the window and he turned irritably. 

"What the hell have you been doing in there... and you're not even dressed!"

"So? We're not going anywhere today. Why would I want to dress when I feel so...? Did you know I'm bleeding?"

"Nye..." He sighed with irritation. "Go and get dressed."

"No." Nye threw himself down on the sofa, immediately regretting it when his back exploded in pain... and he didn't even want to THINK about his rear.

"Nye... stop being a Diva and get dressed."

"Why is it so important to you that I get dressed?"

"Because we're going out."

"Where? I don't want to go out." The thought of pulling pants over his ruined bottom and a shirt on his throbbing back was appalling to Nye. He could barely walk and his limbs were like lead. "I really don't want to go out."

"It's not just out, it's away. I've arranged time off from The Club and we're driving up to The Lakes. I have a hotel booked and reservations for dinner tonight."

Nye stared at Adam, who was standing his head up and the biggest grin ever on his face. He had done this for him. He had made these arrangements just for him and he felt crap that he really didn't want to go.

Adam looked a little uncertain. "It's what you've been wanting isn't it?"

"Yes... yes of course, it would be wonderful but... Adam I'm really hurting. My... my back is killing me and... and... well the thought of sitting in a car for hours... I can't Adam, not today. Maybe tomorrow."

Adam's face turned dark. "I've taken a lot of time and trouble over this Nye. Everything's arranged."

"I'm sorry Adam. Couldn't we go tomorrow? I'm sure that one more day..."

"No! We cannot go tomorrow. I have made all the arrangements for today. Now get dressed and pack a weekend case. We're leaving in an hour."

"I don't want to go."

Nye shrank back, pressing his sore back into the sofa, despite the pain. Adam's eyes were like chips of black glass. "I did this for you. I went to a lot of trouble for you. I cancelled appointments for you. I paid a lot of money for a very nice hotel for you." Through clenched teeth he growled. "Now get your ungrateful ass of that sofa and get ready."

Nye was washed with a sense of guilt for having caused Adam so much trouble and ordinarily he would have been scuttling off to the bedroom, feeling bad for being so unreasonable. But he really wasn't feeling well. His head felt strange and his body was full of pain.

"Adam. It's not that I'm not grateful, I am. I just don't feel well and..." Before he could finish Adam had crossed the room and grabbed him by the wrist, yanking him bodily to his feet. Nye yelped in pain as Adam's fingers crushed the tender skin that had been abraded by the cuffs. Adam ignored him and put his other arm around his waist, pulling him close. His face inches away, he hissed.

"I TOLD you to get dressed. I will not waste all this time and effort so that you can brush me off being a precious baby. Life is pain Nye, get used to it. Now... I will say it one more time and then I'll do it myself and I WON'T be gentle. Go and get dressed."

He released Nye's waist and flung him toward the bedroom, still holding his wrist until the last moment. Nye never knew whether the blow to the side of his face was deliberate or whether Adam was simply intending to push him in the direction of the bedroom. Whatever was the case, the blow hurt, it hurt a lot and sent him crashing to the floor by way of the coffee table.

Nye lay still, stunned and unbelieving. When Adam's hand touched his shoulder he jumped and scrabbled away.

"Nye... Nye I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to push you so hard. Are you alright? I'm so sorry."

Nye stared at him, his head pounding and the side of his face, where the back of Adam's hand had connected with it, stinging and sore. Adam reached out with his hand and touched the place, his eyes wide with horror. Nye flinched. 

"Oh my god, baby... it was an accident. I swear it was an accident. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Completely dazed Nye allowed Adam to help him up off the floor and guide him into the bedroom. He tried to lie down on the bed but Adam wouldn't let him so he sat complacent and numbed as Adam dressed him and threw clothes for both of them into a suitcase. Within minutes of being strapped into the car seat by Adam, he was asleep.

The weekend was not the most successful Nye had ever experienced. He was stiff and sore but Adam wouldn't let him rest, although he was considerate in other ways. He kept telling him that he was being cruel to be kind as he was too soft and delicate and had to toughen up. He tried to believe it, he really did but something had changed inside him when Adam had hit him, a fragile barrier had fractured and now it was threatening to shatter.

On the last night Nye was in a foul mood. He was still sore, very sore and had a stinking headache. He had picked at his food and tried his best to keep up with Adam's conversation but he was tired and all he wanted was to go to bed and sleep.

It was with enormous relief that he finally stepped into the shower and allowed the hot water to wash over him. The pain in his back was almost gone and his shoulders were no more than a tugging throb when he twisted them in certain ways. The marks on his wrists and ankles had faded and generally he was feeling stronger and less sore but his backside was still painful and his head... it seemed he woke every morning feeling more tired than when he went to sleep, with a splitting headache and as much focus as a cross eyed rattlesnake.

Standing under the warm water the headache that had had his head in a vice began to release its grip and at one point he almost fell asleep there and then. He leaned his hands on the wall behind the shower head and bent his head watching the water drip off the ends of the long pale ropes of hair. He sighed; partly with pleasure and partly with weariness.

"Nye... hurry up. What do you DO in there?"

Sighing again Nye turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He gazed into the mirror and didn't recognise the person who gazed back. Rest and good food had gone some way to fill out the hollow cheeks but the eyes were haunted.

While Adam was taking care of business Nye climbed into bed, laying his hot cheek against the cool pillow with a deep sigh. The coolness of the linen sheets seeped into him, calming and relaxing him. He began almost immediately to slide towards sleep.

He had almost reached the bottom of the slide when he became aware of hands on his body, stroking, probing. He jolted awake and turned onto his back. Adam smiled down at him and bent to kiss him. Nye turned his face away.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

"I'm tired Adam. I'm really tired, and I'm still in pain."

"You've been tired all weekend. I've been very patient with you but I'm not prepared to wait any longer."

"Adam... I..."

Adam put a finger to his lips and then tilted it to slide past his teeth into his mouth. Nye tried to turn his head away but Adam trapped it with his other hand.

Slowly finger fucking his mouth Adam caressed Nye's cheek with his other thumb. "You see... the thing is... I have been too indulgent with you. You have to toughen up my sweet little flower. If you don't press through the pain you will never get hardened to it... and to survive in the dungeon you have to."




Love in Chains Ch. 03



Still with his finger in Nye's mouth he shifted, nudging Nye's legs apart and reaching between them with the other hand.

"No... Adam..." Nye tried to push Adam's hand away from his mouth to speak.

"Hush now little one. You have a long way to go and a lot of lessons to learn. This is the first. If you want me at all you have to have me all. I have been very patient with you but you have to learn that when I want sex, I get it... and I don't do it straight. I never do it straight. So... savour the moment... feel privileged beyond measure and value what I give you. Only for you my darling, only for you."

"Adam... please."

"Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?" He growled and then his face softened and his voice purred. "You must learn to be obedient Nye. I will show you wonders and give you anything your heart desires. I will give you power and influence and I will give you my love. All I ask in return is that you obey me. Is that really too much to ask? I have already given you so much and there is so much more to give."

His hand caressed Nye's balls expertly, making him squirm uncomfortably. He bent down and kissed him then raised his head less than an inch to whisper. "I will take you all over the world." He gently bit his lip. "I will buy you anything you want, anything you desire." He grazed his lips with his teeth. "I will introduce you to kings and queens, people of influence and power. The Club is more than just the building you have seen... much, much more and I will share it all with you. All of it. Because I love you Nye, just because I love you."

Nye gasped as pain flared through him when Adam's finger pressed into him. Biting his lip he blinked back tears as the finger slid deeper and began to rotate. He swallowed a cry and focussed everything he had on trying not to tense against the pain.

"Does that hurt my darling? I am so sorry that I have to hurt you. It will only be for a while. Soon you'll be used to it and it will go away . But I can't let you stop every time it hurts, or you will never get used to it... it will always hurt. You understand that don't you?"

Nye stared up at him, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. Adam stroked his cheek and wiped the tears away.

"You are beautiful Nye, so very beautiful and I love you so much. I don't want to hurt you. It hurts me to see you in pain. But I know so much more about these things than you do. I know how it works, how it goes. To stop the pain you have to work through it. You can't stop when it hurts my love... you can't. I am the expert, I am the teacher. Surrender yourself to me and I will make you a god. Relax now. I know you are not well and I am not expecting full participation. Just relax and I will help you. Are you ready?"

Numbly Nye nodded his head, still crying. What was the point of resisting? Adam always got what he wanted when he was like this and, after all, he could see the sense of it... if he thought about it he knew that he had to toughen up, that he was weak and delicate and that he needed strength and endurance. He had told Adam weeks ago that he wanted to be trained, that he was prepared to submit to him for that training, to acquire the strength and stamina. It wasn't Adam's fault that he hadn't understood exactly what that had meant.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think of the pain. When Adam withdrew and his weight lifted from his body he knew better than to hope that he had changed his mind and he simply lay still, willing the pain to go away, waiting for what came next.

When it was over, Nye lay face down, his face pressed into the pillow and tried to cry quietly, without showing any outward signs of his distress. Adam wasn't asleep and he was still absently stroking his back and buttocks. He jumped when a finger, still slick with lubricant slid across his entrance. Despite himself he hissed.

"Does that hurt?"

"Like fire." Although he tried he could not keep his voice level.

When the stroking continued he could not help but tense, the pain was fierce. He prayed that Adam would not try to enter him again. He couldn't bear it, not now.

"You're bleeding again. You are so tender. Such a child." Nye sniffed, feeling pain not only on the outside now. The last thing he wanted was for Adam to think of him as a child. The humiliation burned and he forced himself to lie still, allowing Adam to do what he wanted. Adam, recognising his submission massaged his rosebud making him whimper. "Push through the pain Nye. It's the only way. It's always been the only way. Push." Nye bucked and whimpered as, with infinite and agonising slowness Adam pushed against the entrance; the puffy, red, weeping hole that twitched and clenched despite Nye's best efforts to relax it.

Slowly, slowly, slowly he penetrated deeper and deeper, watching the muscles slowly relax and let him in. Before he had the finger in to the first knuckle he withdrew it and rubbed it up and down against the swollen nub. A pink liquid leaked from the hole, a mix of blood and sperm as he had not bothered to use a condom this time. He scooped it up and rubbed it into the hot, inflamed skin. No wonder it looked so sore, he had been fucking it every night while Nye lay in drugged oblivion. It should have started hardening up by now. Maybe he should have let the tears heal first.

Nye's hips were moving under his hand, trying to get away from him without being obvious about it.

"Am I hurting you very much?"

"Yes." The voice was a whisper, hissed through clenched teeth.

Smiling Adam got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back Nye was curled on his side crying softly. A strange feeling washed over him; a kind of desperate protective tenderness. He had to do this, right? He had to toughen the kid up, right? He had to make him safe in the world he inhabited, right?

He climbed into bed and curled up behind Nye stroking him everywhere. He whispered into his hair.

"I'm sorry Nye. I don't want to hurt you. You know I don't want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you, but this is a harsh world and often a cruel one and I have to make sure you are safe. If you are going to stay with me you have to be part of my world and to be part of my world you have to be strong and tough. You do want to stay with me don't you?"

Nye turned abruptly so he could look up into Adam's face. "You can ask that? After everything I have been through, everything I have put myself through for you? Of course I want to be with you. I do appreciate all you have done for me and I love you more than I can say. Of course I want to be with you, of course."

Adam smiled and kissed him. "Then everything is going to be alright, my love. Everything is all right."

Adam took him into his arms and let him cry against his shoulder. Usually this kind of display of emotion would at the very least have irritated him. But somehow tonight it made him feel good, it made him feel strong... to be comforting Nye, to be protecting him and watching over him. It was a feeling he was not familiar with, a feeling of pride and protectiveness that was good, very good.

When Nye went quiet Adam continued to hold him for a while and then laid him gently on the pillows and stroked the damp hair out of his face. It was such a beautiful face. He lay staring at it for a while before he snapped off the light and went to sleep.



Love in Chains Ch. 04



Unsurprisingly Nye felt better the next morning as it was the first morning in days he was free of drugs, not that he knew that of course. Without the dampening fog of drugs the pain was sharper but he soon forgot it because Adam was in top form. He was attentive, complimentary and charming. This was what had attracted Nye in the first place and he found himself falling all over again, despite the pain and the nagging sensation that this was wrong, all wrong.

After breakfast they went on a drive through the lakes and had lunch at a very exclusive restaurant. Nye was feeling more relaxed and happy than he had for weeks. The hours of driving, encased by the soft leather of Adam's very expensive sports car and the feeling of the wind through his hair had lifted his spirits and wiped away all the doubts that had been haunting him.

As they were sipping coffee Nye became aware of Adam watching him with a strange expression on his face. He began to feel uneasy.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Yes there is. Why are you looking at me like that? Have I done something to upset you?"

"Upset me? What could you possibly have done to upset me?"

"I don't know it's just..." Adam smiled, his smile lighting up his whole face.

"Nye... I wish I could tell you how beautiful you are, how special, how much you mean to me, but there are no words, nothing special enough to convey the depth of my feeling.

Nye's eyes widened and his lips gaped. "I..."

"No... don't say anything, not yet. There's something I want to say to you, to ask of you." Nye's stomach dropped. There was something wrong... something terribly wrong. Adam's face was so stern, so serious. Was he going to say that it was over? Was it because of last night? He knew he had been a baby, he had doubted and he had been a precious brat. Had he made Adam change his mind, to stop loving him? He couldn't bear it if he had.

"Adam, I know I was a baby last night... I was stupid... I... I'm sorry..."

"Nye... you have nothing to be sorry for. There is nothing wrong. Please just listen to me. Believe it or not this is hard for me. I have never done this before."

"Done what?" Nye's voice was tiny, forced out through a tight, constricted throat. His eyes were wide and Adam's heart jumped. He was just so fucking beautiful, so sweet.

"Look, I'm getting you wound up and upset and that is the last thing I ever intended. So I am just going to say this. I love you Nye. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone and I..." He licked dry lips and put his hand into his pocket putting something on the table and sliding it over towards Nye. "I want you to have this."

Nye looked at the object, puzzled. It was a silver ring, not a finger ring, more like a keyring and from it hung a charm. It was made of gold in the form of two capital letter 'A's intertwined, encrusted with gems which Nye suspected were diamonds. He reached out for it and stared hard at it.

"I... don't understand."

"It's us. A for Adam and A for Aneurin."

"Yeah... I got that but why? Why a keyring?"

Adam smiled and ducked his head, looking coy. "It's so you can have somewhere to keep these." He slid more objects over the counter. Four keys. Nye raised his head a puzzled frown on his face.

Adam touched each of the keys in turn and named them, pushing them closed to Nye one by one as he did so. "The Club, the dungeon, the car and...." his fingers lingered over the last one before he slid it over to join the others, "the flat."

He looked up sharply but Nye's face was still blank. Suddenly he grinned.

"Do you still not understand?" Nye shook his head. "I'm giving them to you Nye, all of them... not just the keys. You've become part of me and I want you to be part of my life, my partner in every sense."

Nye's mouth fell open as the full impact of Adam's words hit him. "You.., you mean... are you sure? Are you really sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I love you and I want you to be with me forever, part of my life. I want you to be more than just a lover, more than just another in a long line of pretty boys who have pleased me for a time and then moved on. I'm not asking you to marry me... that's not my style and maybe it will never come to that but... I am making a commitment to you, more than I ever have to anyone before.

"Will you move in with me? Help me run The Club? Be my partner not just my lover?"

"Yes... yes of course I will."

Adam shook his head. "Before you say yes there are some things you need to understand first. This is a two way commitment. You can't just step in and help me manage The Club... first you have to learn, that means starting at the bottom. You're going to have to work hard. I will expect you to spend time behind the bar, getting to know the staff, the clients and..." he paused and bit his lip, looking so uncertain that Nye's heart dropped.

"You're going to have to spent time in the dungeon. If you are going to help me run it you are going to have to experience it, all of it." He grasped Nye's stunned hands and stared deeply into his eyes. "I want to train you, properly, so that you will be able to take a full active role in it all. That kind of thing does not come with knowledge, only with experience. I swear to you that what happened last time will never happen again. I will take better care for you than I do of myself."

Nye stared at him, waiting for the fear, the doubt, the misgivings... but they never came. They were overwhelmed by the fact that Adam, the man he loved with all his heart was offering him more than he could ever have hoped for, have even imagined. 

"Yes Adam... of course I understand that I have to start at the bottom and be trained. I would never have expected to be handed it all on a plate. I will work hard I swear it. I will make you proud. You won't regret this."

"And... and you're okay with the dungeon?"

"I... I won't lie to you. It's not my favourite place. It scares me and I... the things... but I love you Adam. I know how important it is to you and I know that it is an important part of the business and that I need to gain the respect of the staff and clients so..." He tilted his head back, sticking out his chin. "I'll do whatever it takes. I'd do anything for you... even getting to like the dungeon."

Adam leaned forwards and stroked his cheek. "Nye you are the most incredible person I have ever met. I didn't think it was possible to love you more... but I was wrong."

Nye had never been happier. He felt that his heart was going to burst and all the doubts and fears he had been harbouring for the last few days vanished. They were no more... there was nothing more... nothing that was important in his life but Adam.

But Adam was frowning again. "There is one more thing."

"Anything."

"I have my own... commitments and obligations. No one comes to this business automatically in charge, in control. Everyone has to learn from the bottom up, just like you are... even me. I was once exactly where you are now, except that I wasn't in love with the man who trained me... my Master. That relationship is a special one, a lifelong one. You can't go through with this kind of training without forming some kind of connection with the trainer.

"I don't have to ask his permission to train you. I have never submitted to anyone to that extent. But I would like to have his blessing. I want you to meet him, to be approved by him."

"Of course Adam. I want to meet your friends, to be accepted by them."

Adam looked uncomfortable. "Not 'approved of' Nye, 'approved by'."

Nye was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Lian was the one who trained me. He taught me all the things that I am teaching you. He approved me as a trainer and ... although technically I don't have to have his seal of approval on anyone I train for them to be accepted I want you to be special. There is... sometimes trainers develop a deeper relationship with those they train... they become... more than just master and slave, trainer and trainee. In those cases it is traditional to have the trainer approve the coupling."

"That's fine. I... I want to be approved, to have our relationship recognised in whatever way it can be. Don't you understand I would do anything for you? I love you."

"Even if it means..." He paused looking down and Nye started to feel uncomfortable.

"Means what? What are you thinking about?"

"The kind of 'approval' I'm thinking of is... not what you are thinking. He would have to... test you."

"Test me? What kind of test?" Adam looked up and Nye saw the truth in his eyes. "Oh."

"You don't have to Nye. Like I said I'm not obligated and this is not a condition. This is just something I want for myself, for us. I want our relationship to be properly marked, recognised in my world."

"Adam... I said anything and I mean it. If this is what it takes to make you happy... bring it on."

The way that Adam's face lit up swept away any doubts or fears that Nye might have had. When Adam got up out of his seat and drew him into his arms, kissing him right there and then in the middle of the restaurant, with every eye in the house on them, some disapproving but many envious, Nye thought he was going to faint, his heart was so full and so light.

After lunch they drove back to London and all the way they talked and made plans. Adam had never seen Nye to excited, so bright and open and Nye had never seen Adam so relaxed and openly affectionate.

Not one to let the grass grow under his feet Adam took Nye straight to his house to collect his belongings. Whatever could not be easily fitted into the car, which was a lot considering the car was a typical sports car, was packed into boxes.

Lee came in as they were finishing.

"Hey Nye. I've been worried. Where the hell have you been? Everyone's looking for you."

"Everyone?"

"Mir's rung like a hundred times and Kane's been round..."

"Kane?"

"Yeah... he's looking good man, I mean really good. He's all tanned and buffed from surfing and his accent's gone all cute again since he went to the states."

"How is he?" Nye was surprised by the effect that the mention of Kane's name had on him. Before he had met Adam he had been sure that he would be spending the rest of his life with Kane. But since they were at different universities they hadn't really seen that much of each other and Nye was lonely and then Adam had come along and... His last meeting with Kane had not gone well. He'd hated Adam at first sight and Nye was sure it was only because he was jealous.

Kane had tried to convince him that Adam was using him; that he was a bad man with unhealthy designs on a kid... and because Nye was harbouring the same suspicions he fought him harder than he should have. Hard words were exchanged and Kane had thrown a drink in his face before he stormed off. Nye smiled to himself. That was Kane all over... impulsive and uninhibited.

"I told you... he's good."

"And he was looking for me?"

"Yeah...he said he'd been talking to your sister and was worried about you."

"Talking to my sister? To Mir?" Oh god... she wouldn't have told him... surely she wouldn't... she couldn't... "Did he tell you what she said?"

Lee gave him and odd look but shook his head. "No, only that she was worried about you."

"Oh."

"You should go round." Lee looked around and saw the boxes for the first time. "What are you doing?"

"Moving out."

"What? Since when?"

Nye grinned. "Since this morning when Adam asked me to move in with him."

"Nye... are you sure about this? I mean it's... he's..."

"Don't worry Lee. I'm working now. I'll pay my half of the rent until you find someone else to share with."

"Don't worry about that. There's always someone looking for a place but... Hell... I'm going to miss you Nye."

Nye felt a pang which could have been doubt and could have been fear, and could have been something else. He impulsively hugged Lee.

"I'm going to miss you too. Thank you... for everything. You should come visit The Club some time. I'll buy you a drink or two."

"Yes, why don't you? Nye never has any friends over; it would be good for him to have someone familiar round now and again." Lee jumped startled as Adam came out of the bedroom carrying a box. "Let me know when you're free and I'll make arrangements with the door so there's no problem getting in."

"Oh... Okay. Yeah... sure... sure, of course I will."

"We'll pick up the rest of the boxes as soon as we can, if that's okay."

"Of course. Whatever man."

"Come on Nye. We have a lot to do this afternoon and I've just had a call from The Club. There's a staffing problem so tonight's the night for your first shift. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end."

Lee saw Nye's eyes widen slightly and the look of discomfort that he immediately disguised, and he wondered.

Nye embraced Lee again, more hesitantly now that Adam was there. "Come soon Lee. Maybe... maybe you could... Maybe Kane could come..."

"I'll be there for sure and... I'll see what I can do about Kane."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

There was a strange sense of something ending as Nye walked out of the door for the last time... a childhood, a life phase, a period of innocence.

He was very quiet in the car and for once Adam showed rare understanding and left him to his thoughts.

They didn't really have time to unpack much because almost as soon as they got back to the apartment the phone rang calling Adam to The Club.

"You may as well come with me. It will be quiet now and you can have a chance to meet everyone and go over the ropes before it gets busy."

Nye's stomach dropped and it must have shown on his face because Adam took him tenderly into his arms and kissed him. "Don't worry babe, you're going to be fine. I'll make sure that it is clearly known who you are, that you are mine and are to be treated in the same way that they would treat me. That will keep the clients at bay and as for the staff... they are all half in love with you already so..."

"I've never worked in a bar before."

"It's not hard. There are plenty of staff on tonight and it's Sunday so it won't be busy. You'll do fine."

"I'll do my best."

"I know you will."

There were only half a dozen customers in The Club when they arrived. All the cages were empty and the music was piped and low. Nye already knew most of the people behind the bar and smiled nervously when they were approached by Jon, the bar manager.

"Adam's told me the news Nye, congratulations." He kissed Nye's cheek and smiled at him

"Um... thanks." He responded hesitantly.

"Adam, Mr Johanssen is waiting in your office. We've tried to explain the problem but he won't speak to anyone but you."

Adam sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll handle it. Take care of Nye. I've told you the score."

"Yes sir. We'll take good care of him."

Adam kissed Nye and then he was gone leaving him feeling lost and out of his depth.

"Don't look so scared. You've been downstairs... working behind the bar is nothing compared to that."

Nye looked up sharply and saw such understanding in Jon's eyes he caught his breath. "I..."

"Look Nye... you're a nice kid... a good kid and what you're doing with someone like Adam I'll never know but that's your business. Just remember you have friends here. Okay?"

"I... er yeah... thanks." He was confused, surprised by strange expression and what seemed to be a deeper meaning Jon was trying to convey with his words but he was lost.

Jon smiled gently. "Come on. I'll introduce you to the staff and get you started with mixing cocktails and finding your way around behind the bar."

Nye didn't see Adam again until late that evening. He hadn't missed him... he'd been too busy. Surprisingly he had enjoyed himself enormously. He was a quick learner with an easy manner, sharp mind and dextrous fingers who took to juggling bottles with as much ease and aplomb as calculating bills and memorising names and prices. Above all he was pleasant and polite and all this, added to his stunning looks and natural charm very quickly made him a favourite of staff and customers alike.

Before the end of his shift he had made new friends, mastered new skills and had acquired a level of self confidence he had never had before. He had surprised himself by how easily he had fitted in and how quickly the cheeky banter that he had so admired from the staff, poured from his lips once he had overcome his initial shyness. He was, after all a crafter of words, and this was just a new application to an old skill.

The first time he noticed Adam it was almost one in the morning and the bar was beginning to empty at last. Adam was speaking to Jon and, when he caught Nye's eye he waved and beckoned him over. Nye was exhausted but bouncing, buoyed by the excitement of his evening. 

Adam directed him to come out from behind the bar and put his arm around his waist as he rested his head on Adam's shoulder.

"Jon tells me you've done an amazing job."

Nye grinned at Jon and literally glowed. "I did my best."

"He's a natural Adam. More than that he's a charmer. Had the staff and the customers eating out of his hand."

"That's what I like to hear." He ruffled Nye's hair. "Tired hun?"

"Yeah."

"Ready for home?"

"Oh yeah."

"Come on then. He won't be working tomorrow Jon, we're having a visitor."

Jon raised his eyebrow and Nye's ears perked up. A visitor?

"Lian."

Was it his imagination or was there a strange flatness to Adam's tone? And why did Jon's eyes go wide? Surely he was stifling a frown.

"Do you want me to make arrangements?"

"Not tomorrow... the day after."

"When?"

"Keep it clear all day although it will probably be just the afternoon."

"Anyone particular you want on?"

"Lucas, Ben... and yourself if you're willing."

"Of course." He glanced at Nye. "I'll... take care of it."

"Thanks Jon."

On the way home Adam was strangely silent and Nye bore it as long as he could. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? What do you mean?"

"You're very quiet and it sounded as if you were not entirely happy about Lian coming tomorrow. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes... yes it is but..."

"But?"

Suddenly Adam grinned. "Don't worry about it hun. It's just that I had forgotten what a bastard he could be until I spoke to him. He's a complete twat but don't hold that against him. His personality might be skewed but he's the best."

"O...kay. I'll try to remember that."

"You have to hun. He's powerful in my world. He could cause a lot of trouble for me if we don't keep him sweet."

"Then I'll certainly remember it. I won't let you down."

By then they had pulled up outside the flat and Adam turned to him and gave him a long look that made him shiver. It was the most open and most loving look he had ever received. "I know you won't."

As soon as they were inside the door Adam took Nye into his arms and kissed him. Taken by surprise Nye responded pressing himself against his lover, returning the kiss with fervour. His blood was still hot from the excitement of the evening and he was breathless by the time Adam broke the kiss. He was laughing.

"Slow down there. Isn't it me who is supposed to be the eager one? Last night..."

"Last night I was a silly child. I know you're right... you're always right. I love you Adam and I would do anything for you. I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me and I want to show you that over and over and over."

Adam's face lit up then darkened. He gently disentangled Nye's arms and pushed him away. "Maybe you should save your energy for tomorrow."

Nye frowned "For Lian?"

"He... he's not happy with me. He thinks I've spoiled you, that I've not been hard enough on you. He doesn't realise. I'm sure that when he meets you he'll see that he's wrong but he's... unpredictable. I want you to be on your best form... I want you to impress him so that he can see what I see... the true glory of you."




Love in Chains Ch. 04



Nye smiled again, ducking his head and looking up at Adam though it in a way he knew drove Adam wild. 

"Then we'll take it slow and easy. What time is Lian coming?"

"About three. I am going to meet him and show him around The Club and then pick you up for dinner at six. If that's alright."

"Sounds wonderful... we get to have breakfast in bed."

Adam groaned and pulled him into a hard embrace. "Give me that look again and I'll take you here and now."

"Why not?"

Laughing now, Adam pushed him away again and slapped his arse. "Go run a bath and I'll join you in a moment."

Throwing looks over his shoulder Nye scurried off to the bathroom and turned on the taps. He poured a concoction of oils and salts into the running water making the room smell of lavender, rose and ylang ylang and then set about lighting all the candles, replacing those which were more than half burned down with new ones from the box in the corner. He made a mental note that the box needed replenishing then he snapped off the lights, turned off the taps and sank into the steaming water.

A few minutes later Adam slipped inside the room. He inhaled deeply and sighed with appreciation. Dropping his clothes where he stood he stepped into the tub and eased himself down on top of Nye who opened his arms to receive him.

Stroking the long, damp strands of Nye's glorious hair Adam sighed with pleasure as Nye stroked his back.

"You're incredible Nye. You are so strong, so beautiful, so... I don't deserve you. Why are you here? Why are you having anything to do with an old man like me when there have so many beautiful young men out there who would be more than happy to have you in their bed?"

"You're not old. You're mature and strong and utterly gorgeous. Who wants a gauche inexperienced child when they could have a polished, confident, madly experienced young adult? I wonder that every day about you."

"You're inexperienced Nye but you're not gauche, never and you're no child. You are the strongest person I have ever met and that innocence and sweetness is the best part of you. I hope you never lose that."

Nye laughed. "I thought you wanted me to toughen up."

Adam frowned. "There's tough and then tough. To survive in my world you have to be physically hardened but that doesn't mean you have to harden your heart or your soul. Don't ever do that Nye, don't ever lose that sweetness."

"I'll try."

"I know." 

After that Nye lost his concentration and desire to speak as Adam lowered his head and licked scented water from his collarbone as his fingers quested beneath the water to cup and gently squeeze his balls and the only thing that made it past his lips were soft moans and sighs.

After an hour of play in the bath when Adam gently but thoroughly prepared Nye for what was to come later they moved to the bedroom. In actual fact Adam burst out of the water like a god and scooped up a laughing Nye and carried him bodily into the bedroom throwing him onto the bed. There for the first time in a very long time they did not have sex... they made love.

A long time later Adam lay in the pale glow of moonlight and watched Nye sleep. Absently he fingered the flaxen hair that spilled across the pillow and half of Nye's chest, which rose and fell softly. The lovely face was alabaster pale in the moonlight, a half smile on the full lips. 

Adam felt strangely disquieted. He wondered if he had done the right thing involving Lian in this. He had been working hard to condition Nye through trust and manipulation, using his love and natural desire to please to achieve what was usually effected through pain and pleasure, control and humiliation. Lian had not understood that, not in the slightest. 

There were stories that Lian had been abducted by a child slavery ring when he was only thirteen and had been treated appallingly by his captors before becoming so proficient at the arts they taught him that when he was eventually sold he impressed his masters to the degree that he rose to become a free man and a trainer within an unprecedentedly short time.

Adam had never truly believed this as he could never imagine Lian submitting to anyone, no matter what they did to him. Nevertheless, however attained, his methods were highly effective but brutal. He couldn't understand how powerful love was when skilfully manipulated and he couldn't accept that gentle handling could achieve even more than brutalisation given the right circumstances.

He could hardly blame him. Until recently he had been very much of the same mind himself. He had broken dozens of boys, all of them willing and over age, by the methods he had been taught. And then he had come across Jacob. Jacob had been an experiment. Jacob had fallen hopelessly in love with him and it was with him that Adam had first started to experiment with serious manipulation.

Jacob was very different to Nye. Possibly a rival in the looks department but with a less endearing personality and certain weaknesses that had ultimately resulted in his undoing. His curiosity had led him to explore areas of the building he had been thoroughly warned to stay out of. He had found the rooms upstairs and there had been someone waiting for him, or at least for someone. He'd been lucky and stumbled on one of The Club's more eminent and less... demanding clients and had made more money in one evening than he had seen in his life.

Although Adam had been angry and had him beaten and punished for his impropriety and made him give up half the money to the boy who should have been servicing that particular client that night, he had been unrepentant. He had begged to be allowed to go back, and he had... again and again and again. It became like a drug to him. He moved from one client to another becoming more and more involved in their fantasies... until the day that one of them killed him.

It wasn't violence or anything particularly dangerous that had been the end of him. It had been something as innocent as a ball gag. The client had insisted on Jacob getting drunk with him before they started to play. Jacob had broken the golden rule... alcohol was strictly forbidden in the dungeon for a reason... extreme drunkenness and those kind of games don't mix, at least not when the dominator was the one who was drunk.

After plying Jacob with alcohol the client had got drunk himself and passed out half way through the evening leaving Jacob bound and gagged. At some time during the time between the client passing out and the usual discrete staff checks at midnight Jacob had choked to death on his own vomit.

If that hadn't been bad enough, given the nature of the business certain steps had to be taken with regard to the disposal of the body and it had to be set up to look as if Jacob had died somewhere else; alone, naked, and pumped full of drugs. Adam had bitterly regretted the whole experience and had promised never to let another man get close to him again.

And he hadn't. Although he had taken lovers into his bed, taken on boys to train as both slaves and dominators, Adam had never allowed himself to get emotionally close to anyone... until Nye.

Adam smiled and ran his hand over the soft skin on Nye's chest. It had been impossible not to fall for Nye. He was so beautiful inside and out. He was special, unique in a world such as his and he blessed the day he had met him. He was like a cool cloth on a fevered brow, an unexpected oasis in the desert and he would have done anything to keep him in his life... anything but change the way he lived it.

Adam could no more live with straight sex than he could live without air and water. He enjoyed it occasionally, when he was tired or in a particularly mellow mood... especially with Nye who demanded sweetness and gentle handling by nothing more than his nature... but he would not be able to cope without the pain and excitement for long.

He sighed. He was, frankly worried. He was afraid of what Lian was going to say, afraid of what he was going to do to Nye.

With a sigh he lay down and fell asleep with his fingers still playing with Nye's hair and hearing his soft sighs close to his ear.



Love in Chains Ch. 05



The next morning Adam slipped out of bed while Nye was still asleep and took a shower. He sat in his favourite chair staring out of the window, watching the world wake. He was still sitting there when Nye emerged naked from the bedroom hours later.

Rubbing his eyes and yawning Nye came up behind him and put his hands on his shoulders. Adam tilted his head to lay his cheek on one smooth, cool hand and kissed it before covering it with his own. Nye absently played with his hair, saying nothing.

"Are you sorry?"

"Sorry?"

"Sorry that you asked me to move in, that you asked Lian to test me?"

"To the one, no, never; to the other... maybe."

"Why are you so worried about it? Don't you think I'll make a good impression? Do you think I'll let you down?"

"Oh no, no Nye. I know you would never let me down. It's not that."

"Then what?"

"Lian has very fixed ideas. He thinks... he thinks that trainees need to be broken, that they need to be treated with coldness and violence so that they learn their place. He doesn't understand love."

"But this is different isn't it? This isn't just about training me. It's about sharing things with me. You're training me for something different."

Adam looked up and smiled at him. "Yes... yes I am, something quite different. Maybe... maybe he will understand that." He seemed to mentally shake himself. "Anyway, that's not your problem, it's mine. Lian will be very polite to you, he always is. It's me who is going to get an ear bashing... and so what? I can put up with that for a day when I am going to have you for the rest of my life."

"Is he only staying for a day?"

"Yes. He's coming at three this afternoon and leaving at about the same time tomorrow."

"Where is he going to stay?"

Adam gave him a strange look. "I thought you understood. He's staying here."

"Oh. Oh right. Is he sleeping with us?"

"No." Nye mentally heaved a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. "He's sleeping with you."

"With me?"

"It's part of the test."

"Oh. I see."

"Are you having second thoughts? You can change your mind if you like. I can make arrangements for him to sleep in a hotel and he will go home straight after breakfast in the morning. It won't really make any difference."

Nye leaned down to kiss him softly. "Yes it will. It will make a difference to you. I didn't understand, and I still don't, not really but I know how much it means to you and I want to do this for you... really I do."

Adam looked up with a look of such tenderness that all of Nye's doubts evaporated and he glowed.

Both Adam and Nye were nervous when Adam left at two o clock to pick Lian up from the airport. Nye spent the next four hours tidying the flat, putting clean sheets on the bed, bathing and dressing carefully in new clothes Adam had bought him for the occasion. They were spectacular. All black leather and silk, showing off his fairness to stunning effect. He was surprised to note that his fingers were trembling when he did up the buttons on his shirt.

At six o'clock he was ready and waiting. At seven he was pacing and at seven thirty he phoned The Club. It wasn't like Adam to be late. He was surprised to say the least when he was told that Adam and Lian were still in the dungeon. He wondered what on earth they were doing down there... and then thought better of it.

They finally arrived home at nine fifteen. Adam looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes and from the way he was walking it was pretty obvious what they had been doing. For an instant Nye felt a stab of envy but it died swiftly, quenched by the look in Adam's eyes which, from the moment they rested on him held a look that spoke of a man seeing a feast after almost starving to death.

Nye was smiling when he eventually turned his eyes to Adam's companion. Lian was not what he had expected. He was small and dark skinned, maybe Pilipino or even Polynesian. He was not ugly but he was certainly not beautiful, not in the way that he and Adam were. However, there was something about him, suggested by the way he walked, the expensive suit he wore, the casual understatement of his discrete jewelry, that spoke of power and wealth. That, along with his easy confidence and dazzling smile, more than made up for his lack of physical beauty.

While Adam took a shower Nye poured Lian a drink and then sat demurely on the sofa, watching him as he wandered around the apartment, lifting and examining items at random before finishing up staring out of the window.

He set his drink down on the coffee table. "Come here boy."

Nye rose and went to his side. He towered over the small man, who looked up at him, unblinking with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Adam has been training you."

It wasn't a question but he responded "Yes sir."

Lian nodded. "Are you enjoying the training?"

"Enjoying? I... wouldn't call it enjoyment sir, but I am grateful for it."

Again Lian nodded. "You have been told what is expected of you during my visit?"

"Only that you will be participating in my training and that I should treat you as though you were my master."

"Good. Take off your clothes."

Nye was taken aback. "But... I thought we were going out."

"It is not for those in training to think, or to question their masters. Take off your clothes."

"Yes sir."

Confused Nye did as he was told and stood naked before the windows as Lian stared at him with a cold look and calculating eyes that seemed to scour him with their gaze. 

"Turn around."

Nye complied. 

"Spread your legs, bend over and put your hands on the window."

Although puzzled Nye complied without a word. It was very dark outside and he could see his face staring back at him, a pale blur in the glass.

Nye was unsurprised when he felt Lian's hands on him and he forced himself not to flinch as they ran over his back, his buttocks, reaching forwards to squeeze his cock and balls none too gently. He felt like a horse at a horse fair... just a piece of meat being examined by a prospective buyer. Swallowing pride and humiliation he forced himself to remain still and submit to whatever Lian wanted to do to him.

Lian's hands withdrew and Nye straightened from the cramped, uncomfortable position. "Did I say you could move?"

As Nye resumed his previous position Lian slapped his buttocks with a vicious swipe that almost knocked him through the glass. "Do nothing until you are told to do so."

"Yes sir." Gritting his teeth against the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes Nye stared into the glass; the blank blurred oval stared back.

"What the hell...?"

Adam. It would be alright now because Adam was here. Nye heaved a sigh of relief which turned into a gasp when Lian, entirely ignoring Adam plunged a finger, slick with lubricant, into him without any preliminaries or warning. Although he jumped and tensed he forced himself not to move anymore than he had to, even when Lian thrust in viciously.

"Lian what the fuck are you doing? This wasn't..."

"Be silent."

"Yes sir." There was an almost vicious edge to Adam's response which made Nye feel at the same time, grateful to him but hopeless for his own situation.

Lian worked him for a while, until two fingers were comfortably accommodated and then he withdrew. Nye breathed a sight of relief, hoping it was over now... but it wasn't. He heard Adam gasp as though he were inhaling to say something... but he never said it and a moment later Lian rammed a plug into his hole. 

It wasn't the biggest one he had taken but Lian wasn't being gentle and he was still sore from the assaults over the weekend. Swallowing a groan he blinked away tears that were as much from anger and humiliation than pain.

"You may rise and get dressed."

Confused Nye stood slowly, wincing as the plug shifted with his movement. Was he seriously expecting him to get dressed leaving that 'thing' inside him?

"But..." Suddenly a vicious jolt emanated from the plug and ripped through his guts causing him to gasp and his legs almost gave under him. Suddenly Adam was there, supporting him, smiling into his shocked eyes, massaging his shoulder in an encouraging way.

"Leave him." Adam hesitated then stepped back, but Nye was feeling better by then. Lian removed his hand from his pocket and showed Nye a flat remote control box. "Disobey me or displease me and you will get another shock. Please me and I will please you." He flicked another switch and an intense vibration flowed through him, turning his guts to liquid and making his cock jump and partially harden. Nye shivered and blinked. "It's your choice boy."

"Yes sir."

The vibration pulsed through him again and he almost fell. Then Lian turned away, seemingly losing interest, leaving him to dress. Adam hurried to help him.

"Is he seriously expecting me to go out to dinner with this... this thing inside me?"

"It seems so."

"But Adam..."

Adam hung his head. "I'm sorry Nye. There's nothing I can do about it. It'll be alright."

"Adam." Lian's call was harsh, commanding. Adam turned but Nye put a hand on his arm. 

"Please Adam. I don't know if I can do this. And after..."

"We'll deal with after when it comes."

"Adam!"

"I have to go Nye."

"Please..." 

"I don't expect to be kept waiting Adam." Lian's voice was smooth as chocolate and Nye fell to his knees as the shock stabbed into him again. He was sure it was more fierce this time than before.

When he was dressed Lian took him by the arm and led him out of the flat, ignoring the tears in his eyes and leaving Adam to follow as he would. 

The sports car was too small for all three of them so Lian had called a taxi. He directed Adam to sit in the front while he sat in the back with Nye. It was agony to get into the car and sitting on the hard seat brought tears to his eyes again. Lian sweetened the pill with a blast from the vibrator. When they were settled Lian moved close to Nye and opened the front of his trousers. Nye's eyes widened but he said nothing and did not move.

Adam said something to the driver of the taxi and the glass partition darkened. Lian immediately leaned forwards and rapped sharply on the glass. A small square slid back. "Keep it open." The glass lightened again and Nye caught Adam's eyes. He turned away.

Expertly Lian released Nye's cock from his pants and began to stroke it. Nye tensed and Lian smiled flicking a switch in his pocket. As the vibrations spread through his loins Nye arched against the seat and let his head fall back. This time the vibration didn't stop after a moment but continued and seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. 

He was barely aware of Lian moving his body, repositioning his hips until the plug touched his prostate. He knew when he had found the right position because Nye shuddered and moaned out loud. When he had Nye in a semi conscious fever of panting pleasure he resumed his assault on his cock and it was not very long before Nye started to feel a new kind of vibration building deep within him, causing all of his muscles to tremble and his hips to move of their own accord. 

Nye was completely oblivious to everything that was going on around him and he moaned and whimpered, his breathing growing faster as the vibration went up a notch and he found himself gripped by an orgasm so intense that he was paralysed by it and found it completely impossible to breathe. He consciously felt the enormous rush of blood into his already engorged cock and he faded out as his balls contracted almost painfully and he pumped powerful jets of hot cum, then slumped unconscious.

When he regained consciousness only a few minutes later he was dressed again and the vibration had stopped.

"Clean up."

Lian indicated to the dazed boy where his cum had shot across the cab and was running down the glass partition.

"With what?"

"With your mouth."

"But..." Nye groaned as the shock practically raised him off the seat then he obediently got up and began to lick the salty liquid from the cool glass. His stomach turned and not just from the taste and feel of the cum. He closed his eyes so he could not see Adam or the driver, who was grinning.

When he was done he carefully sat back down and wondered what was next. Fortunately they arrived at the restaurant shortly after and there was no more opportunity for anything else.

Lian ordered meals for all three of them and, although it was something that he was not so keen on, Nye made sure he ate every scrap. Although he tried to keep up with the conversation Nye was soon lost and his attention wandered. It was brought sharply back by a blast from the plug which made him jump so much that he knocked his wine glass onto the floor. 

As he bent down to pick it up his clumsiness was punished by another, sharper shock and by the time he sat down again he was pale and in pain. Nevertheless he didn't say a word, merely continued with his meal even though he felt nauseous.

He had two more shocks during the course of the meal but fortunately Lian did not see fit to impose any further public humiliation and the rest of the evening was fairly uneventful. On the journey back to the apartment Lian made him suck his cock and rewarded him as he was doing it with more vibration that brought his own cock back to life despite the fact that it left him feeling humiliated and dirty.

Lian did not climax, pushing him away and zipping up before that could happen. Nye surreptitiously sneaked a look at his face trying to decide if he was pleased or not. This was certainly not what he had been expecting.

As soon as they got back into the flat Lian ordered Nye to strip which he did. He then took off his own clothes and directed Nye to kneel in front of him and continue where he had left off in the car. He was not allowed to use his hands and he found it quite difficult especially when Lian started sending regular shocks through him. By the time Lian ejaculated into his mouth Nye's legs were trembling uncontrollably and he had to struggle to keep them pressed together and locked at the hip so they did not collapse completely.

"Get up."

Nye tried. He really tried but he simply couldn't get his twitching muscles to respond. In the end he crawled to the sofa and clawed his way up.

"Bring him here Adam." Lian's voice sounded bored and, while Adam put his arm around Nye and helped him stand, trembling and walk over to the dining table, he swept the table clear. Roughly throwing Nye face first, bending over his body he grabbed Nye's cock and began to jerk it while sending both shocks and vibrations thorough his body. Almost instantly Nye's legs gave way altogether and it was only the pressure of Lian's body pressing him against the table that kept him upright.

By varying the intensity of the pulses from the plug and the rhythm of his beating Lian kept Nye on the edge for what seemed like a very long time. Reality faded and he was lost in a world that was simultaneously pleasure and pain. He barely noticed when the plug was removed and was replaced by a penis which pounded into him while Lian continued to masturbate him.

When the orgasm finally came it was painful, very painful and, again sent him over the edge into unconsciousness for a moment. When he came too he was on the floor. Adam crouched next to him. He was naked and his penis was slick.

"Was it you?"

Adam had tears in his eyes. He stroked Nye's hair and nodded.

"Leave him Adam. Come to bed."

"What about Nye?"

"He stays here."

"All night?"

Nye felt his head jerked sharply up by the hair and found himself looking into Lian's impassive, even bored face. "Listen to me boy. The floor is you bed tonight. I will be checking on you and if I find you in a bed, chair or sofa I will make you wish you had never been born. Do you understand?"

Nye nodded and Lian shook his head viciously. "I said... do you understand?"

"Yes sir." He gasped.

"Good boy. Come Adam." He let go of Nye and vanished into the bedroom leaving Nye naked and shocked on the floor.

After a time the tears came and then the realisation that he was cold, so cold his shivering was rattling his teeth and breaking through the veil of sheer misery that had fallen on him. 

Carefully, using the chair as support, he found that he was able to stand although his legs felt weak and his guts loose and sore. Defiantly he walked to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a drink. Lian had told him where he could and couldn't sleep. He hadn't given him any instructions about not getting drunk or anything else other than that.

After knocking back two large whiskies he went quietly into the spare room and pulled the duvet from the bed. Then he turned on the fire and, wrapping the duvet around him, curled up in front of it like a cat. Warm and reasonably comfortable he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

When he woke the next morning he was still alone and wondered if he would be expected to make breakfast. Whilst he was pondering Lian strolled out of the shower stark naked. He stood looking down at Nye for a while. Then he smiled and held out his hand. Somewhat reluctantly Nye took it and stood up. His legs were quite back to normal now, if a little stiff.

"You did well last night boy. Are you ready to do better today?"

"Yes sir."

"You know what is expected of you, what we are going to do today for the second part of your testing?"

"The dungeon sir."

"Yes. I hear that the last time you went there you showed unusual endurance. This will not be expected of you today." Nye knew better than to allow himself to feel relief at this.

"Are you prepared to submit to my will utterly?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Go to Adam, fuck him, submit to his instructions without question then shower dress and return to me."

"Excuse me?" Did he say 'fuck Adam'? His curiosity was quenched by a stinging blow across the face that brought the taste of blood to his mouth.

"No questions."

"Yes sir."

"Be back here by twelve o'clock. We are on a tight schedule. I leave at two."

"Yes sir."

Nye glanced at the clock as he turned. It was quarter to eleven. His heart soared with relief. Only two more hours in the presence of that man.

Adam was lying on the bed face down, naked and shackled wrist and ankle to the posts.

"Adam. Are you...?"

"Be quiet Nye. You can't release me until you have fucked me. If you don't do what he wants he'll know."

"But..."

"Come here."

Nye sat down on the bed and brushed the hair out of Adam's face. He was pale and looked tired. Nye wondered what Lian had been doing to him. There didn't seem to be any marks on him.

"It's almost over darling. A couple of hours he'll be gone. Be strong and he'll have no choice but to give formal approval."

"Are you alright?" 

Adam laughed. "Me? I'm fine. I was worried about you."

"I'm okay."

"Were you cold?"

"No. I took the duvet off the spare bed and drank a couple of glasses of whisky. I was out like a light. Only just woke up."

Adam grinned. "I knew it. I knew you would be alright."

"Of course I'm alright. Don't worry babe. I'll make this good for you."

"I know you will." Adam whispered as Nye started to stroke his back. 

Nye worked hard to make the experience as good as he could for Adam. He knew that he hated to take this position, hated to be restrained, hated to not be in control. He had no way of knowing that Adam also hated his gentleness and consideration. He wanted pain. He wanted a hard vicious pounding to drive the humiliation from his mind but he said nothing, growing frustrated and angry as Nye's gentle ministrations continued.

"For fuck sake Nye... stop pussyfooting about. Get this done. Fuck me he said so fuck me. Make it hard baby. I need it hard and fast."

Surprised Nye complied and soon the bed was rocking, smacking against the wall with the power of his thrusts. Adam moaned appreciatively spurring him on further until he experienced one of the most powerful orgasms he had ever had... except for the night before. Thankfully this time he didn't pass out and he reached round to grab Adam's cock but Adam jerked his hips away.




Love in Chains Ch. 05



"No. That's not on the agenda today."

"Lian's orders?"

"Yes. Later, when it's just the two of us..."

Nye leaned forwards and kissed his back, his long hair trailing over his buttocks and driving him wild with desire. "Whatever you say my love. Can I release you now?"

"Yes. Please."

"When he was released Adam took Nye into his arms. Nye was surprised to find that he was trembling."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Long night."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this today? You don't have to."

"After everything I've gone through already? Are you crazy? There's only two hours left, less than that if you take out travel time. I can manage two hours."

"Two hours can seem like a very long time."

"I know... but after that we have a lifetime which really is a very long time."

"You're amazing Nye."

"What can I say... I know."

He grinned at Adam but he did not return the smile.

"What's wrong?"

"I have instructions."

"Oh yes, that's right. Lian mentioned it. He said that I have to submit to your instructions. What do I have to do?"

"It's what I have to do." Adam hung his head and Nye became uneasy at his actions.

"What do you have to do?" he asked suspiciously.

"I have to drug you."

"What? Drug me. Why?"

"Because that is what Lian told me to do."

"Oh. With what?"

"I don't know. Lian gave it to me."

"What will it do to me?" Despite his efforts his voice shook.

"I don't know."

"Fuck. I didn't expect that."

"Do you still want to do it?" Nye looked at Adam. He looked... different... less in control, less confident. He smiled. If Adam could go through this— Adam who so hated to lose control, to be anything other than dominant, to be ordered about and supplanted as the one in control— if Adam could do it then so could he.

"I'm sure Adam. Do what you have to do." He hesitated. "It's not poison is it?"

Adam smiled and shook his head.

"No. I swear to you it's not poison. Lian is a good trainer, a good dominator. He is harsh and sometimes cruel but there would be no reason for him to poison you." He grinned. "Beside I made him swear it wouldn't hurt you."

"You 'made' him?"

"Lian is my teacher, my master, but -- despite evidence to the contrary— he is also my friend. He is being hard on you because that is his way and he thinks it should also be my way. He is angry with me for allowing myself to get too close to you before your training is complete and that's why he's punishing me... both of us... but he's still my friend and he has promised he wouldn't hurt you, at least not in this way."

"Then why...?"

"It's not for us to ask. It is a lesson. It is all a lesson in unquestioning obedience."

"I... see... Alright then. Give it to me."

"It's not that simple. There are... other instructions."

"There are?" Nye was nervous, very nervous but he tried not to let it show.

"We have to do things in a certain way at certain times. I am not allowed to tell you what is going to happen and you have to do exactly as you are told without question. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can. It's you Adam. I trust you."

Adam smiled and kissed him. He checked the clock. "Right. It's twenty past eleven. We have to go and shower now, be back here and dressed by quarter to."

"Lead on." Adam gave him a strange look. 

"From now on you have to do exactly what I say without question, alright?"

"Alright."

Adam took something from the bedside cabinet. It was a strip of black cloth. He tied it around Nye's eyes making sure it was secure and he couldn't see anything. Then he took him by the hand and led him out of the bedroom and across the corridor into the shower. 

Adam stood him against the wall and told him to stay where he was. Nye listened carefully and heard Adam moving about in the room, opening cupboards and turning on water. It wasn't the shower though.

In a while Nye heard Adam walk back across the room. He still jumped when he felt his hands on his arms.

"Come. Just do what I tell you and keep relaxed."

"Why? What are you going to do to me?"

"Don't worry. It won't hurt, just... feel strange."

"What will?"

"I can't tell you. But it's alright Nye. I swear to you it's alright. I won't hurt you. It's a good thing."

"It doesn't involve a knife does it?" he asked nervously.

Adam laughed "No. No knives. No blood. No pain."

"Ok."

Nye allowed himself to be led to the other end of the bathroom. "Kneel down on all fours." Puzzling Nye complied.

Adam stroked his buttocks and leaned down to kiss his back. "It's alright Nye. Don't be afraid. It's alright."

A flicker of fear shot through him at Adam's words and he tensed when his finger probed between his buttocks and touched his entrance.

"What...?"

"Hush... no questions. I can't give you answers."

Nye shut his mouth with a snap as Adam entered him. Why was he doing this? Was he going to fuck him? Was he going to put one of those awful things inside him? If so why the secrecy? He wouldn't have liked it but he would have done it willingly so why....

Nye gasped as Adam withdrew and replaced his finger with something else, something that almost felt like a cock. Was it? Was Adam inside him... but no... there had been no lubricant and it hadn't hurt that much. It was too small. What was it?

"Relax now Nye. This will feel very strange but you have to hold it until I tell you."

"Hold what? Oh..." Suddenly he understood. He didn't like it but he understood. "It's alright Adam, I know what you're doing. I've done it before. I know what to do."

"You have?"

"Yes. Once or twice."

Nye could almost feel the tension dissipate from Adam's body and he caressed his back and buttocks as the warm solution flooded him. 

It seemed as though the liquid continued to run into him for a very long time. It was more than he had ever done before. He knew that this much liquid was not required. Yet another test. Well, he was damned well going to pass this one just like all the others.

After Adam withdrew the nozzle Nye clenched and gritted his teeth determined to hold for as long as needed. Adam continued to stroke him although he found it more of a distraction than a help.

Finally, just when he thought he was going to have to release or explode Adam put his arms around him and helped him upright and onto the toilet where he relaxed with a sigh of relief, letting the water gush from him.

"That was... interesting."

"I am so glad you had done that before. Lian deliberately made me put more that usual in there and have you hold it for slightly too long for a first time."

"He wanted me to humiliate myself?"

"My darling nothing that you did could have humiliated you. I love you too much for that to be possible. Whatever you do with me is precious, holy."

"Even farting?"

Adam laughed softly. "Even when you are horrendously sick and vomit down the front of me."

"Eeewww."

When Nye had finished expelling the water Adam turned on the shower and, still wearing the blindfold he stepped under the warm water with a sigh. With no trouble at all he allowed himself to be thoroughly soaped and washed by Adam then finally emerged feeling clean inside and out.

Adam gently dried him with one of the enormous fluffy towels and then led him back across the hall to the bedroom. Once there he laid him on the bed and began to rub a scented ointment into his skin. His hands were warm and, after his experience in the shower he almost fell asleep. In the middle of it Adam turned him over and continued on his back and down his legs and arms.

When he was done he sat on the bed and stroked his face and throat.

"Are you all done? You can keep on with that one if you like." Nye could almost feel Adam smile.

"Almost done. You can get dressed now."

Adam handed him one piece of clothing after another and he dressed. When he was done Adam directed him to lie down again, which he did.

"What time is it?"

"Almost twelve."

"Shouldn't we be going out then?"

"In a moment."

"Oh... oh yes... I forgot. Are you going to drug me now?"

"Yes." There was a tightness in Adam's voice and Nye knew he was really unhappy about this. He lifted his hand, reaching out to him blindly and Adam grasped it.

"It's alright Adam. Get it over with. Do I have to drink it?"

"No."

"Oh... oh well then. Come on Adam. If you're going to do it just do it. Lian will be angry if we are late."

Adam released his hand and, instead took his arm, turning it palm upwards. Even though he was expecting it Nye twitched and gasped at the sharp sting of the needle in his arm and the sharper, colder burn of the drug entering his vein.

When the needle withdrew Adam took his hand again. "Don't be afraid Nye. I am going to be with you every step of the way. I won't let him hurt you, not unnecessarily and when it's over I'll look after you."

"Will I need to be looked after? What's he going to do to me?"

"Nothing worse than you've already had."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

Nye reached out his arms and Adam bent to embrace him, kissing him gently and lovingly.

"We have to go."

"Yes. I suppose we do. Never mind.., only two hours."

"Yes, only two hours."



Love in Chains Ch. 07



Nye woke up in a bed. It wasn't his bed but it was soft and comfortable and he wasn't alone in it. He sighed and stirred, groaning as the movement caused pain. The person who was lying next to him stirred and threw an arm over him. He groaned again because it hurt. He was lying on his stomach and his back was raw.

"Nye?"

"Adam?"

"Thank God. Are you okay?"

"Define okay."

Adam laughed, I am so sorry about what happened Nye. If I had known..."

"If I thought you had known I would be kicking your arse right now... no matter how painful it was."

"Does it hurt a lot?" Adam stroked his back and he sucked his breath in sharply. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Slowly Nye turned over, ignoring the pain that wracked almost every part of his battered body and screamed in his head. He lay panting, staring up into Adam's face and thought that the look of love and concern it contained was almost worth it... almost.

"I know. Why did he do that to me?"

"He..." Adam looked away and then back. "In a way he was right Nye. It's true that if you are going to make it in this business you have to know the rules and obey them. It's true that you have to have first hand experience of how everything feels before you can apply it to the clients. It's true that I have been treating you too gently and it's true that I overstepped the mark with Lian. I should have got his approval before I started training you my way."

"Training me?"

There was something in Nye's voice that caught Adam unaware. The look he was giving him was harder than his usual too. He had to be careful. Nye was a sweet innocent boy but he had strength too and if he started using it, questioning too much, he might just slip the silken noose Adam had been tightening around his neck for some time. This was why he had acted as he had, this was why he hadn't wanted to have Lian involved from the start. If Nye started fighting him he would have two choices... let him go or break him; either way he would lose.

He forced himself to smile and gently stroke the lovely face that remained immobile and unsmiling. 

"Maybe that was the wrong word to use at this time, especially after what you have been through. I meant training in the usual sense of the word. Showing you the ropes, so to speak. You are no one's slave Nye, never will be."

"Not even yours?"

"Not unless you want to be."

"Why would I want to be a slave?"

"Because sometimes it's easier. You don't have to think, don't have to worry about anything but pleasing your master. By giving up your freedom you gain a different kind of freedom. You have no control but you have absolute protection, absolute loyalty and devotion."

"I... don't think..."

"No. Don't think. Not now. You need to rest and heal and get strong again. A couple of days and you'll be back to full strength and we can talk. The commitment I made to you still holds. You're approved now so your position here, in The Club, the business, the organisation, is assured. You did well my love."

Nye frowned. "Does everyone have to go through that? You; Jon: the rest of the staff?"

"Something like it, yes."

"And what Lian said... about it being unacceptable to be exclusive... what does that mean?"

"It means nothing, not to you. It means that a slave has to be prepared to service others at the whim of his master, but you never have to fear that from me."

"Unless it's Lian."

Adam flinched and turned his face away. "That... and..."

"And?"

"And anyone that Lian appoints."

"Might he?"

There was a tone of bitterness in his voice when he replied. "He might... but in that case we both have the option to decline."

"Is it a real option?"

"Mostly."

"Adam. I think we need to talk."

"Yes... but not tonight. Not when you are so..."

"Adam?" Nye's voice was soft but hid...something... something that made Adam almost reluctant to look at him.

"Yes?"

"I could have died. I was poisoned and I could have died."

"Yes, yes you could have. But you didn't."

"Does that happen often? Do people die?"

"Nye..." He pulled away, rolled over. Nye didn't move, but his voice, although still soft was demanding.

"Do they Adam? Do people die in there?"

Adam was a maelstrom of raging emotion. He was angry with Nye for putting him in this position, for questioning him like this. He was angry with Lian for possibly ruining all the hard work he had put in these last few months and, especially this last week. He was shaken and upset by what had been done to Nye and even more so by what had been done to him. He was humiliated, embarrassed and sore. He wanted to hit out at someone and he gritted his teeth against the impulse to turn and slap Nye for not being cowed, for not being a quivering wreck clinging to him in pain and fear, seeking reassurance. That was how it was supposed to have been.

Getting himself under control he turned and stared down at the beautiful boy. The sight of his calm green eyes soothed him, as it always did and he sighed.

"Yes Nye. Sometimes people die. Sometimes things go wrong, or go too far; people get hurt and they die. It doesn't happen often and it hasn't happened for a long time, not here, not with me. I am a good master and I am careful with all my people. The last time someone died here it was a terrible accident, a tragedy and I have mourned him ever since. I swore that I would never allow it to happen again and I haven't. 

"How long?"

"Almost four years." He gently caressed Nye's hair and his expression softened. "That was mostly his fault Nye. He wandered into territory he wasn't equipped to traverse. He broke the rules... no he flouted the rules and he paid the price. That will never happen to you. I will never let that happen to you."

"You almost did."

His voice was still soft, as were his eyes. There was no accusation but the fear that he had felt when he thought Nye was dying created its own.

"Nye, I told you. I had no idea. I would never have let him do that to you if I had known. For God's sake do you think I'm a monster? Are you so unsure about my feelings for you that you would think I would deliberately poison you?"

Nye flinched and looked uncertain. "No of course I'm not. Of course I don't think that but... I mean... It happened. He didn't even flinch... and all those things he did to me..." He shuddered. "And you let him."

"I had no choice."

"Maybe. But now, neither do I."

"Nye... it isn't like that. Things like this don't happen all the time."

"But they do happen."

Adam's patience snapped, helped by his own emotional condition and frustration. "You knew what you were getting yourself into Nye. I have never hidden anything from you. You knew the nature of the business I am in, the kind of people involved. You knew what I do, what I expected you to do."

"I thought I did." He said softly and turned his head away, tears pooling under his closed eyelids and running down his face.

'Fuck!' Adam thought desperately. 'Fuck, I'm losing him'. His anger gave way to a fierce desperation. He needed Nye. He hadn't realised how much until today. When he thought he was going to lose him he had felt a desperate, urgent feeling that was as close to real love as he had ever come. 'Careful', he cautioned himself. This was a crucial moment. He had to deal with this one carefully or he would lose Nye and that, he was not prepared to do.

Gently he cupped Nye's cheek and turned his face back towards him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so blunt but... I thought I was going to lose you today my love and I was more frightened than I have ever been. I have tried my very best to shield you from the darkest side of this world and I succeeded too well.

"What happened was mostly my fault. I should have been more careful. I should not have made this commitment until I had brought you more fully into my world. I shouldn't have shown Lian how much you mean to me until you were ready to face the consequences and so was I. I didn't think."

Nye opened his eyes and looked up at him. God they were beautiful. Someone could get lost in those eyes and never get out with their sanity intact.

"I made a mistake and it cost you dearly but... in a way... I don't regret it. I know that's easy for me to say when it wasn't me who went through it... although you should know that I didn't have an easy time of it either... but..." He smiled wanly and bit his lip endeavouring to look uncertain and vulnerable, to reach Nye in the way he knew he best responded to. "I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone and I couldn't help myself. I need you Nye. I need you in my life, in my heart, in my bed." He smiled trying to lighten the mood a little and was rewarded by the ghost of a smile.

"I meant every word I said to you in the restaurant and I promise you this. I will never, ever allow what happened to you today to happen again. Even if I have to break my connection with Lian. It's... complicated but... He's a very important and powerful man. Clients come to me because of him and he has influence over the business in a hundred small ways. Without his endorsement I can't keep the business going. For one thing it wouldn't be safe and for another no one important would come to me.

"But for you I would give it up. I would hand over The Club to someone else and walk away."

Nye's eyes went wide. "But The Club is your life."

"If that is what it takes to keep you by my side then so be it."

Nye shook his head. "No Adam, that's not what I want. I don't want you to walk away from The Club, from your life, not for me."

"I would do it Nye. For you and no one else I would do it. If you're not up to it..."

"It's not that Adam." Adam smiled inwardly at the speed and vehemence with which he had spoken. "I am up to it. It's just... today..."

"Today will never happen again. I swear it."

"I..." He crumbled and Adam's inward smile turned into a grin. "I'm sorry. It's been too much. I was scared Adam. I thought I was going to die... and they hurt me... they hurt me so much."

He began to cry and Adam took him into his arms, gently so as not to hurt him anymore than he could help. This was right... this was the way it was supposed to be... this was what he had wanted from the start.

"Hush now. It's over. It's all over. Don't cry. I'm here and I am going to look after you and protect you and no one is going to lay a hand on you again unless you want them to. I promise."

For a while Nye sobbed and then grew quiet and still. Adam still held him close, stroking his hair and whispering empty promises and words of blind comfort until the trembling stopped and Nye's body relaxed against him.

When Adam laid him back onto the pillows he was asleep and Adam smiled down at him. 'Got you' he thought with a self satisfied smirk. If Nye could have seen his face in that moment he would have run from him, but Nye was fast asleep, ignorant to it all.

Adam brushed the hair from his face and caressed his cheek, provoking a soft sigh which made his loins tighten. Following the silky hair along its length he stroked Nye's collar bone and chest running his hands over the smooth muscles down to his belly. Nye shuddered and stirred, murmuring in his sleep but did not wake.

Thinking about what he had witnessed in the dungeon that afternoon Adam felt his cock hardening. His eyes were burning and hungry as he devoured Nye's naked body with his eyes, remembering how it had shuddered and bucked in the throes of ecstasy and how it had writhed and convulsed in the midst of pain. Touching the now flaccid penis he thought about how it had felt when it had ploughed into him that morning, so much sweeter that Lian's uncaring member and his thumb ran over the tip as he closed his eyes and imagined the catheter and the electrode sliding into it. 

Nye shuddered and moaned, turning his head from side to side on the pillow and Adam stared at his parted lips remembering how it had felt to plunge his cock into the sweet cavity of his mouth. He touched them with his finger and they trembled. Wanting so badly to take him, here and now, and knowing that it would be a very bad idea Adam slipped from the bed and quickly dressed.

Outside the door of the room one of the attendants was standing, head bowed, still but alert.

"I'm going down to the dungeon. See that no one disturbs him and if you hear movement from in there send for me immediately."

"Yes sir."

***

The next time Nye awoke it was morning. The sun was streaming through an unfamiliar window and he was alone. He stretched and immediately regretted it as he felt that someone had kicked him in the stomach. Turning on his side he curled into a tight ball wrapping his arms around himself and drawing up his knees. That hurt too but he needed to do it.

He couldn't help his mind wandering to everything that had happened over the last couple of days. He had been higher and lower that he had ever been before. It was a lot to take in, to process.

It was hard to believe that Adam had been part of the nightmare, that he had allowed it to happen to him, although he supposed that he hadn't really had a lot of choice. The memory of Adam bound, gagged and swinging from the hook with Lian pawing him, came suddenly to his mind and made him shudder. Adam would have hated that, really hated it. Thinking on it he supposed that Adam had paid as high a price as he had for Lian's continued patronage.

Fuck... he had poisoned him. Adam had poisoned him. Okay he hadn't know at the time he was doing it but still... Fuck! He could have died. He was minutes away from it. If Lian hadn't given him the antidote in time... He shuddered and hugged himself tighter.

And what the fuck had they done to him at the end. The rest hadn't been so bad... and he had to admit that he had had some pretty fucking amazing orgasms. He had never passed out from sheer pleasure before and now he had done it twice... or was it three times? Some parts of what had happened were kind of blurred and he had no idea exactly what had been done to him, only how it had felt and even then... 

Rolling on to his back Nye groaned and ran his hands over his body checking for damage. He felt as if he had been punched repeatedly in the stomach... which, now he came to think of it, he had...only from the inside. Raising his head to look down at himself he was a little surprised to find that there was no outward sign of the violence to which his body had been subjected. He had expected at least bruises.

Somewhat nervously he reached down and felt around his cock and balls. They were a little sore but everything seemed to be in order and not too badly battered. With a sigh he lay back and rested his hand on his belly. It was a strange thing but, even after everything that had happened he didn't regret a thing, not really.

Oh, he wished that it had never happened, that he had never met Lian, but in a way it was almost worth it to know that he had been approved, was truly becoming a part of Adam's world. True he would have preferred it if Adam's world was a little less scary and... painful, but wasn't that what it meant to become a man? To face the harsh realities of the world head on? To undertake your rite of passage and emerge on the other side stronger, more at peace with your life and being?

That had been a right of passage alright... and his passage was still bitterly complaining about it but... hell he had made it, he had come through and he WAS stronger, or at least he damn well was going to be once he got his stupid childish emotions under control. Feeling somewhat ungrateful he remembered why all this had happened in the first place. Adam had given him a commitment, more than he ever had to anyone, he had given him the keys to The Club, the apartment, everything. He had made him his equal, his partner.

Nye smiled and relaxed...until a frantic rumbling from his stomach reminded him that he had not had anything to eat for... well by the look of it for more than twenty four hours. No wonder he suddenly felt absolutely starving. He sat up and looked around for his clothes. They were folded neatly on a chair beside the bed... with the keys on top. Nye smiled.

Slowly sitting up he realised two things... firstly he hurt, really hurt and second he was stiff and sticky from his head to his thighs. Looking around the room and wondering for the first time where he was he spotted a door which looked likely to lead to a bathroom.

Nye got to his feet using the foot of the bed to haul himself up, and found that it hurt but was bearable to stand. He staggered slightly but managed to get to the door without mishap. Using the toilet was no picnic and hurt in every way imaginable but, again it was bearable and he didn't seem to be bleeding so that had to be good...didn't it?

When he was done he turned on the shower and stood for far too long under the warm water, soaking his hair and body, washing away the memory of the previous day. At one point he almost fell asleep and jerked awake as he started to slide down the wall. He slipped and grunted aloud as he caught himself and hauled himself up again.

With a sigh he climbed out of the shower and rubbed himself dry in the slightly rough towel. He looked at it curiously and found the logo of The Club sewn into one corner. He was still in The Club then. He hadn't been aware that there were any bedrooms here. He wasn't in the dungeon that was for sure.

Still puzzled he slowly pulled on his clothes, blanching when he had to bend to tie up his shoe laces. God that hurt.

When he opened the door of the room Nye was surprised to see the attendant leaning against the wall outside. Was he a guard? If so was he meant to keep him in or someone else out? Nye frowned and the guard bowed his head.

"Master Adam bade me apologise for having been called away. He suggests that you have the kitchen make you something to eat. If you would prefer I can have it brought to your room."

"This isn't my room. How long has Adam been gone?"

"About an hour, Sir. He expects to return before the end of the afternoon and would quite understand if you felt that you needed to go home. You can either take a taxi or the car."

Nye was quite taken aback by the deferential manner of the attendant.

"Where is Adam?"

"Attending to business downstairs, Sir."

"Down...? Oh, I see. Thank you. I'll go down to the bar to eat and then I'll think about going home."

"Would you like me to organise a meal, Sir?"

"Um... yes, yes alright. That would be kind. Thank you."

"Is there anything you would prefer?"

"No thank you, just something light... and quick. I'm very hungry."

"As you say, Sir."

The man hesitated and Nye realised that he was expecting him to precede him down to the bar. He narrowed his eyes slightly. Clearly Adam had not wanted him to be wandering around alone up here. His curiosity was piqued but not enough tempt him into a conflict with the attendant today... and he had the distinct impression that if he tried to look around he would be gently but firmly diverted.

Turning, Nye made for the stairs. He stumbled and caught himself with a grunt of pain to find the attendant at his elbow slipping an arm carefully around his waist to support him.

"Are you sure you're alright to go downstairs?"

The deferential tone had gone to be replaced by one that actually sounded concerned. Startled Nye looked at him and found himself staring into a pair of amber eyes in a very pretty face. The man was barely older than he was. Why did he think that all the attendants were old? He shuddered at the thought of how old this one had been when he had been 'trained'. He had known that some of Adam's previous lovers had been very young but he had never had the courage to ask how young.





Love in Chains Ch. 07



Nervously Nye smiled and the man smiled back, a more open and friendly smile than he had ever yet seen on the face of an attendant.

"Yes." He sounded a little breathless in his own ears. "I'm alright."

Straightening he pulled away from the other man who allowed his hand to drop from his waist.

"If you're sure." He smiled. "It would be no bother to bring you a meal up here if you want to rest."

"No, I want company."

"That could be arranged." 

Nye's eyes widened picking up the implication. "No. No thank you. Not... that kind of company."

The man smiled and shook his head. "I was thinking maybe you might need a friend."

Nye opened and closed his mouth and eventually just shook his head and turned to walk down the stairs. He was very stiff and it was quite painful but he was determined not to show weakness, not to anyone, not to himself.

The Club was not busy but there were quite a few customers in, mainly couples having lunch in the booths around the outside. People liked to come here and be themselves at all times, for all occasions, and whilst The Club was no restaurant they liked to cater for all their clients tastes in any way they could.

Nye made his way to the bar, shadowed by the attendant. By the time he got there he was tired and ached all over, especially his head. The music, which was not particularly loud seemed to be pounding into his head and making his very bones vibrate.

Jon was working and he took one look at Nye, slouched with his forearms on the bar and his head bowed spilling his still damp hair all over the counter, and poured a brandy sliding it over without a word.

The attendant touched his arm and he looked up startled.

"I'll get you something to eat. My name is Kyle." 

Nye watched his back as he disappeared around the bar towards the kitchen. He was aware that he was staring, aware that he was trembling, aware that his shell was cracking and all because of a kind word and a name. Aware though he was, he was helpless to do anything about it anymore than the tears that were burning his eyes.

Suddenly he became aware that Jon was talking to him and he forced himself to look at the bar manager and focus on what he was saying.

"Sorry Jon. I wasn't paying attention."

"I was saying that we didn't expect to see you down here today. Adam said you weren't feeling very well and you shouldn't be disturbed."

"Oh."

Jon leaned over and lay a hand over Nye's which were clutching each other, shaking. "Are you alright?"

There was something in his tone that made Nye frown. He knew. He knew it all. At first he felt acutely embarrassed but then he was relieved.

"Thank you. I'm fine." Jon gave him a piercing look and he crumbled. "No, no I'm not fine. I'm freaked out; I hurt like hell and... fuck Jon I was poisoned. I almost died."

Jon ducked out from under the bar and put his arm around Nye's shoulders drawing him away from the bar and into a booth. Nye sat down breathing a sigh of relief. A look of intense pain passed across his face as spiking agony shot up through his guts making him feel nauseous and weak.

"Adam told me what happened."

Nye looked up, his eyes wide. For a moment the embarrassment washed over him again but then he slumped and simply nodded.

"Lian's a bastard Nye, he's always been a bastard. Adam's done his best to distance himself from him but he's so influential it's impossible. This was nothing personal."

"Oh that makes all the difference Jon."

Jon smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at the 'giving good advice' thing. Most of the advice I give turns out to be disastrously bad."

Nye smiled.

"So how do you really feel?"

"Sick as a pig. I feel like someone has put my guts and brain in a blender and poured them back into my body while beating me repeatedly with large sticks."

Jon laughed. "A very... graphic description."

"Yeah well... words are what I do."

Jon frowned and looked as if he was about to say something but shook his head. "Let me get you something for the pain. We always keep some pain killers behind the bar. They won't do much but they'll take the edge off."

"Thanks Jon."

Jon brought him the pills at the same time as Kyle arrived with a plate of steaming pasta carbonara. Nye smiled and they both emptied their hands and left him, both with very similar looks over their shoulders as if they were reluctant to leave him or that they wanted to say something.

After swallowing the pills Nye turned his attention to the pasta. As hungry as he was he managed only a few mouthfuls before his stomach began to feel uncomfortably bloated and nausea swept over him. For a while he poked the rest of the food around on his plate then he leaned back and pushed it away.

Leaning against the high leather seats, he lifted his hands to massage his temples. His head was spinning and his stomach cramping uncomfortably. He was tired, very tired and suddenly he really didn't want to be here. Pushing the food away from him he decided that his desire for company had just been overridden by a desire to have a long soak in a hot bath and then lie down in a dark room for many hours.

Nye was about to slide out of the booth when he saw one of the attendants, who usually worked the front desk moving towards him. He looked up expectantly.

"There is someone at the front desk asking for you, Sir."

"Asking for me?"

"They say they are a friend of yours." 

Nye's stomach lurched. Could it be that Lee had actually come to see him? If so he couldn't have picked a worst time. He really didn't feel up to catching up with Lee and even less to explaining why.

"Is he about my age, spiky red hair and scar on his cheek here?" He indicated the place on his own cheek, his heart hammering. The attendant shook his head and Nye's heart plunged.

"It's some American kid. Cocky as hell. He's very... persistent, Sir."

"A... American?" Nye's heart, which had been hammering at the thought of Lee all but stopped.

"Yes, Sir."

"My height? Blonde hair? Blue eyes? Tanned?"

"Sounds like him."

"Fuck." He was trembling and ran a shaking hand through his hair.

"Shall I tell him to go away Sir? Perhaps to come back another time?"

"Yes." Nye looked up eagerly, nodding. "Tell him to come back."

The man turned and began to walk away.

"Wait."

"Sir?"

"No. Don't tell him to go away. I... I want to see him. Show him in and get Jon to bring over a whisky and dry ginger for him and a large... no make that VERY large brandy for me."

"Is that wise Sir?"

"Wise?"

"To be drinking after..." Fuck! Did everyone know?

"After what?" His voice was cold and the man flinched.

"Nothing Sir. I'm sorry Sir. I'll have the drinks brought over."



Love in Chains Ch. 08



Nye watched the retreating back with wide eyes, unconsciously plucking at his sleeve. He felt... numb. Excitement, nervousness, eagerness, fear and, yes desire warred within him to the extent that, given his already fragile state, the net result was nothing, a deep empty numbness. He did pull himself up a little straighter in the seat, made an effort, despite the pain, to straighten his spine and he nervously ran his hands through his hair, wishing he had had opportunity to put on his usual cosmetic mask. Now, with his face naked he had nothing to hide behind.

The first moment he saw him, head and shoulders above everyone else, his blonde hair, longer than Nye remembered, catching the light from the two enormous circular windows which surmounted the door, he audibly gasped.

"Your drinks."

Nye jumped guiltily and looked up into Jon's face. The hand that took the glasses from the tray was visibly shaking.

"A friend?"

"Yes, I... um..." He swallowed a mouthful of brandy. "I haven't seen him for a while." Did he imagine a slight tightening of Jon's lips even though his face remained impassive?

"Enjoy your afternoon. Adam will be busy until at least three." Nye's eyes widened and Jon smiled, taking the mainly untouched plate from the table in front of him. He gulped down more brandy to cover his confusion. "Watch that brandy. It's a killer on an empty stomach."

With another friendly smile Jon whirled and was gone to be replaced moments later by someone very, very different.

"Hey dude. This place is like Fort Knox to get into. Are they keeping us out or you in? Whassa guy gotta do to get a drink around here?"

Nye stared as Kane slid into the seat opposite him. As he did so their knees touched briefly and Nye jumped, immediately regretting it as it sent pain stabbing up through his stomach. Feeling nauseous for a number of reasons, only some of them physical he took a swig of his brandy and slid the whisky across the table to Kane.

Closing his eyes as he sipped Kane broke into a broad smile that made Nye shiver. He took another gulp and realised with surprise that his glass was empty.

"Do you want another drink?" Surprised that his voice was steady despite everything, he followed with a smile.

"Woah. Hold on there buddy. I only just started this one. A guy could get the impression that you were trying to get him drunk."

"Why would I do that?"

Kane laughed out loud and drained the glass. "Go on then. Never let it be said that I fell behind in drinking contest with you. Never have; never will."

The soft American accent was doing strange things to his libido and his equilibrium but he found himself relaxing despite himself, whether through Kane's easy friendly manner or the effects of the brandy or both.

"So it's a competition now is it?"

Kane laughed again. "If it had been midnight and not noon I would have taken ya up on it but I have a hot date tonight and I need to remain reasonably sober."

Nye's heart plummeted but he tried to stay nonchalant. "Hot date?"

"Yeah. I'm taking Vicky up The Eye."

Nye's eyes widened for a moment then he laughed out loud. Vicky was Kane's cousin; an all American cheerleader type from California, who Nye had a real soft spot for. His eyes turned wistful for a moment.

"Is she still with that football player, meat head, jock, bastard?"

Kane's smile faded. Nye thought it was because of his concern for Vicky, but that was only part of the reason. Although Nye didn't realise it Kane had been quick to note the wince, and the hand pressed against his belly, not to mention the dark shadows around his sunken, glassy eyes.

"Yeah. He's a bully. I swear he hits her and if I ever find out for sure I'm gonna knock his ugly jock head right off his shoulders."

"That's a bit harsh from a peace loving dude like you."

"Harsh isn't the word. Vicky's changed. It's as if he has crushed the life right out of her. I'm sure he's hitting her but she swears he isn't. He was none too pleased about her coming here at all. Thank god he couldn't come because if he had I think I would have hit him the minute I saw her." He frowned again and shook his head. "You should see her Nye."

"I'm sorry about that Kane. It's a real shame. She's a great girl."

"Yes, yes she is."

Nye turned away for a moment to call over one of the attendants who was clearing a table nearby. "Can we get some more drinks please? Could you tell Jon I'll revert to my usual? Thanks." When he turned back Kane was watching him with a strange expression on his face.

"You should come over. Vicky likes you. She keeps asking about you. She wanted to come this afternoon but Mom has her doing some shopping so I'm not likely to see them for hours."

"I... maybe. How long is she over here for?"

"I'm going back up North next Saturday. She's staying on a couple of days with Mom and then going home."

"I was wondering what you were still doing around here."

"Well... I've been away, to the States, and I made sure I handed in all my assignments before I went so all I'm needed there for are the actual exams." Nye nodded. "Lee says you haven't been going in either."

"Same situation. All the assignments are done and handed in."

"But you will be going back for the exams." 

Nye bowed his head, picking at a thread in his cuff. He shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You've worked bloody hard on this course. Why would you throw it all in at the last hurdle?"

"I... It's complicated." 

Kane looked as if he was about to say something but he closed his mouth with a snap and leaned back crossing his arms in front of him.

"What's going on?"

Nye looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I spoke to Mir." 

Nye blushed turning his head away. Fuck! Did everyone know? "Mir should learn to keep her mouth shut... and not to go bursting into things that are private and none of her business."

"You are her business. You always have been. You can lie to me and bullshit me as much as you want Nye but I know you. I know you better than anyone, even Mir. You've turned away from your family and friends, you've dropped out of uni and thrown away the future you always dreamed of, you look like crap and you're obviously hurt. So... what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on." His voice was soft, so soft that Kane barely heard it. He leaned across the table and put his hand over Nye's. He noted how cold it was before Nye pulled away.

"Please Nye. Talk to me."

Nye looked up and was caught by the big blue eyes. He had never been able to look into those eyes and be anything but honest, feel anything but safe. Kane's face was so familiar, so open, so dear. It reminded him of a time in his life when everything had been so simple, when his future had seemed exciting and safe and assured. Kane reminded him what it was like to feel cherished, to feel safe.

"I..." He was interrupted by Jon who stood respectfully waiting with the tray of drinks. Nye looked up and the moment was broken.

"Your drinks, Sir."

"Thanks Jon." Nye smiled, leaning back and Kane, frowning did the same. Jon placed the drinks on the table and withdrew.

"Sir is it now?" There was a hint of a sneer in Kane's voice that irritated Nye.

"He's just being polite."

"Yeah... impressing the boss's..." He caught himself and looked down, taking his drink.

"Go on." There was an edge to Nye's voice, a hint of ice and Kane shook his head.

"No Kane. Finish what you were going to say... the Boss's what? Whore?" Both of them were surprised by the bitterness in his voice. Kane looked up, his eyes shocked, and shook his head.

"No. That is not what I was going to say. That is nowhere near what I was going to say. Why the hell would I say something like that? Is that what you feel?"

"No. No of course it isn't. Of course... I... I just..."

"Oh Nye. How did we get to this? Where did it all go wrong? We were going to be together forever, to take over the world, just the two of us. What happened?"

Nye shook his head, tears burning his eyes. "I don't know." The words were very soft and Kane very nearly went to take him in his arms. He could feel the pain in his friend and he wanted to make it better in any way he could. He loved him. He had always loved him. He would always love him. Somehow, somewhere along the way he had taken his eyes off the ball, taken Nye for granted and in that blink of an eye he had lost him, had let him slip away.

And now... Now he looked across the table at the only person he had ever really loved and saw a pale ghost of what he used to be. He was someone who was hurt and sad and fading away and it all but broke his heart.

"Is he good to you?"

"What?"

"Adam. Is he good to you?"

"I don't... It's not... You've no right..." He sighed and took a deep drink. "Yes. In his way he is."

"What do you mean? In his way? Is he good to you or not?" Kane's voice was harsher that he had intended, roughened by concern and fear for his friend.

"Yes. I said he was didn't I?" Nye snapped back draining his glass. The brandy was having an effect on him now and he felt light headed, slightly nauseous and very emotional. Everything that had happened to him was causing a maelstrom of conflicting emotion and setting it bubbling very close to the surface... and it was the last thing he wanted Kane to see.

"Okay. Keep your nuts in your trousers. I didn't mean to hit a nerve."

"You didn't. Don't be stupid." Nye shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "Yes Kane. Adam is good to me. He... he's different to anyone I ever met before and it's taken time to... to 'get' him. He's... strong and certain and confident and... different to us. All this..." he waved his hand to encompass The Club and both of them knew that he meant more than was on display around them. "It's taking some getting used to."

"Does he hurt you?"

"What?" He looked up and Kane was staring at him steadily. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, he wanted to beat on Kane's chest and scream in his face, he wanted to throw himself into his arms and feel safe again. He couldn't tear his eyes away; he couldn't move; he couldn't speak.

Kane leaned across the table again and put his hand over Nye's while never breaking eye contact. This time Nye did not pull away.

"Does he hurt you Nye? Does Adam ever hurt you?"

Nye opened and closed his mouth a few times, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights and Kane could feel his hands shaking. He looked so fragile and so beautiful. Kane leaned closer and Nye found himself unable to do anything but mirror his movement. In the end they were inches apart.

"Does he?"

Nye closed his eyes and licked his lips. "Sometimes."

"Why? Why do you let him do that to you? Nye... I know that... that I haven't been the best friend to you and god knows I was a lousy boyfriend... but I loved you... I still do. You were always the strong one, the one who kept me flying straight. Without you I'm lost. I wanna help you. I wanna take care of you. Please Nye... I... I know it's too late for us to be anything but friends but please let me be that. I can't bear the thought of that... that man hurting you."

Abruptly Nye pulled away. His eyes went dead and flat. "'That man' is my boyfriend, my partner. He only hurts me when he has to, when I want him to."

"Nye, don't give me that. That's ridiculous. Why would you want someone to hurt you?"

"Because sometimes it's necessary. And at least with Adam I'm in control of the pain."

"In control of the pain? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that... that..." Nye shook his head, trying to clear his mind, to calm his senses. "I don't know what it means."

"He shouldn't hurt you Nye. If he loves you he shouldn't hurt you."

"Who the hell are you to say that?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's not as if you didn't hurt me."

"I... I would never hurt you, not like this."

"But you did hurt me. You hurt me more than Adam ever has. You swore you never would but you did. You stopped coming back. I waited for you but you stopped calling, stopped writing, stopped coming home."

Kane's face twisted with pain and he turned his face away. "I know. I was a fool; a stupid, selfish, arrogant fool. I thought... I thought you would always be here and I was so busy... there were so many things to do and I..."

"You forgot me." Nye's voice was still soft and so full of pain Kane could hardly bear it.

"I never forgot you, not for a moment."

"But that's what it felt like. It felt like you left me behind and I was so lonely. And then Adam came and he was... he... For the first time ever I felt... He made me feel... I don't know. He was just there... and you weren't."

"I know. I was a super stupid fool. I know it. But I never, ever stopped thinking of you Nye. I never stopped loving you. I still haven't. It's killing me to see you like this... to know that in a way it was my fault."

"I'm alright Kane. Really...I'm alright."

"Alright? Fuck Nye have you seen yourself? I don't know what's been going on but... I'm scared for you."

"There's no need. I'm fine."

Kane leaned forwards and took Nye's unresisting hand. Pushing up his sleeve he traced the red mark on his wrist. "Really?"

Nye looked up and met his eyes. There was so much pain there... in both of them. Kane reached out and caressed his face and Nye closed his eyes, shivering.

"Can you really tell me that you feel nothing for me? That it's all dead? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you don't love me?" There was a breathlessness in his voice, a desperation that tore at Nye. The emotions that were roiling inside him were threatening to completely overwhelm him and he felt utterly exhausted. It would have been so easy to fall into those eyes, and into those arms... so familiar and so safe.

"No. I can't do that. I can't tell you that. I do love you. I always have."

"Then..." The hope flared and he couldn't let it.

"I love you Kane. I will always love you... but I love Adam too. And I am with Adam now. I am with Adam, and not you." Carefully he pulled his hand free, his fingers lingering in Kane's for as long as possible.

"But Nye... Adam is no good for you. Adam..."

"Adam is my boyfriend." He tried to sound firm and succeeded... to a degree. "Whatever you think about Adam he is my boyfriend and I love him and I intend to stay with him."

"Please Nye... think about this. He's not good for you. He's crushing you. I can see it... everyone can see it. You're not yourself. Please don't do this."

"It's done Kane. I am glad you came, glad I got to tell you how I feel but now we both need to move on. I'm Adam's now, not yours."

"I don't want you to be mine. You shouldn't belong to anyone Nye. You were meant to be free and you're not. Please..."

"Don't Kane. Please don't. A few days ago Adam... we... we made a commitment. He's given me half The Club, the apartment...everything. I'm not his possession; I'm his partner."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that anything has changed? He's manipulating you." Kane's eye burned and his voice rose. "For fuck sake Nye... he's HURTING you."

"Maybe you had better go Kane."

"Nye... please... I'm begging ya dude... please get away from here, far away. I don't care if you don't come back to me... just get away from here before it kills you."

A cold shiver passed down Nye's spine. If only he knew how close it had come to doing just that. "Nothing is going to happen to me Kane. Adam loves me and he takes good care of me."

"Does he? Does he really?"

Their eyes locked again and Nye felt as if Kane's eyes were boring into his head, rooting out all the worries, the fears, the uncertainties. He shuddered, struggling to keep a clear head and to control the emotions that were screaming at him to throw himself into Kane's arms and beg him to take him away, to make him safe.

"I'm not leaving Adam, Kane. I'm sorry. That's the way it is."

Kane continued to stare at him for a moment, a hot searching stare then he sagged, defeated. He ran his hands repeatedly through his hair and knocked back his drink. Nye's glass had been empty for a long time.

"I think you'd better go." He said softly. Kane nodded but made no move.

"I do love you Nye."

"I know, and I love you too in my own way. I would never have... but you... and now..." The treacherous tears that had been threatening for a while burned his eyes and he dashed them away impatiently. "Just go."

"Alright." Still he made no move. "Look... I'm going back to college next Saturday and we're having a bit of a farewell party on the Friday night. Lee will be there, Mir too and a couple of others. Please will you come?"

Nye shook his head, biting his lip. He so wanted to say that he would go but he was afraid.

"It's not a big deal but it would mean a lot to me if you came. No strings. I swear I won't even mention Adam. Just a few drinks with some old friends. Please."

"I'll try."

"No. Not try Nye... promise... please."

"I... I..." He looked up and, seeing the look in Kane's eyes, crumbled. It would be good to see his friends again, his sister, to have time away from all this. He desperately wanted to make it work with Adam, to prove to him that he was up to being a full partner, an asset. He wanted Adam to be proud of him but sometimes it was hard... sometimes it was too hard and it would be so good to put that all aside and just... just be himself for a while.

"Go on Nye... it'll be fun."

"Fun?" How long was it since he last had fun, just fun for the sake of it with no pressure and no string?. "Alright. I'll do it. I'll be there."

"Promise."

"Yeah. I promise. I promise Kane. I will be there."

Kane's eyes lit up and to Nye it felt like the sun coming out from behind a cloud and he almost felt that everything was going to be alright now... almost.

"Look... I have to go. I have to meet Vicky and Mom. Do you wanna come?"

Nye thought about it but the lack of food, the alcohol and the lingering effects of the poison were taking their toll and he knew he wasn't up to the exuberance he knew he would meet, with the three Americans together, so he shook his head.

"No... thank you. I'm really tired. I need to go home and rest."

"Hard night last night?" Nye looked at him sharply but there was a half smile on his face and he mirrored it.

"You could say that. You could say it was murder... almost." 

For a moment Kane looked confused, uncertain. Then he brightened and smiled at Nye. Slipping out of the booth he unfolded and stretched to ease some kinks. Nye also got to his feet, more slowly and reached out his hand to be shaken. Kane looked at it for a moment then pulled him into a rough embrace that earned a gasp and brought tears to his eyes.

Kane pulled away and looked at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded, biting his lip against the nausea and pain.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Go now."

"See you next Friday?" 

Nye smiled. "Yes. See you next Friday. Promise."

Kane reluctantly let him go and turned to walk away. After a few steps he turned and waved. Nye smiled and waved back even though inside he was screaming. "Come back, please don't leave me. Please come back." Of course Kane didn't hear, or he would have come back. As it was he turned again and disappeared.

For a moment Nye stood staring after him then he closed his eyes. There was a buzzing in his ears that had been there for some time and it was getting stronger, maybe it was the alcohol. Thinking perhaps it was time to have a soft drink Nye turned with the intention of going to the bar. Fortunately Jon had seen the parting exchange between him and Kane and was already on his way over, because he was pretty much at his side when his knees started to buckle.




Love in Chains Ch. 08



"Steady on."

Nye found himself in Jon's arms, with his face pressed against his chest. 'Just as well' he thought. At least now he wouldn't be able to see how red his face was.

"I'm alright." He tried to push away but as soon as he lifted his head the room began to spin violently. "Fuck."

"I warned you about that brandy."

"Yeah... the brandy."

Jon eased him into the seat and he rested his arms on the table letting his head fall forwards. He was washed by wave after wave of emotion and there was no way he could stop the tears spilling over so there was no way he was going to lift his head any time soon.

"I think it might be best if you went home. Shall I arrange a taxi?"

"Yeah," Nye mumbled, "best if I don't drive."

Nye felt surprisingly bereft when Jon's hand disappeared from his shoulder but, other than that he didn't really register him leaving, or anything else that was going on around him. Kane loved him. He'd said so. He said he loved him. And Nye had said he loved him back. Fuck. This was getting messed up. But Kane had said he loved him. Despite the pain and confusion a warm glow began to spread through him and he smiled. Kane loved him.

Shaking himself metaphorically he told himself sternly that it was cruel and pointless to let himself think that way. He was with Adam now. He had a great future with a powerful and beautiful man who was teaching him so much about the world, so much more than Kane ever could. But Kane loved him.

No... no he couldn't think like that. He was with Adam. Adam who had given him so much. Hell he had given him The Club, the apartment, the car. He had given him financial security, an assured future with someone who loved him. But Kane loved him.

Adam was rich and powerful and strong. Adam could protect him and take care of him... and allow him to be beaten and abused and poisoned. But that wasn't his fault. He hadn't know... had he? He was going through his own trials... wasn't he? Adam was strong and uncompromising and that's what Nye wanted, what he needed, someone he could rely on, who wouldn't leave him alone. But he wanted him to be a slave. 

Could he do that? Could he really submerge everything he was in another person? Could he give up some of the things that made him what he was? Could he completely submit to someone... to that extent? Hadn't he already done it? The things he had done to Lian and had done to him... wasn't that slavery, wasn't that...? What was that? Why had he done that? Could he do it again?

He was confused; very confused. A lot had gone on in a very short time and he had allowed himself to be just swept up in it without question. Should he have questioned? Hell he had almost died... and for what? For the approval of a man he hated, for the sake of a man he loved? Did Adam love him? Could he have allowed that to happen to someone he loved? He thought about Kane being in the position he had been in and anger suffused him. No! He would be damned thrice over before he would have seen that happen to Kane. Kane loved him.

So did that mean that Adam didn't love him? Or did it just mean that Adam was different? Yes, that was true. Adam WAS different, very different to anyone else he had ever known. Adam was strong and certain and powerful but there was something else. He fed off pain, his own as much as anyone else's. He had always known that, hadn't he? Adam had never kept secrets from him. He had always been up front, told him what he expected, what lay beneath. But did he love him?

Nye knew he was beautiful. It would have been a conceit to deny it. Although he had hidden from it in the past he had no reason to do that anymore. Here it was, gloried in, valued, cherished. But did Adam love him... or was he just using him because he was beautiful, because his beauty attracted important clients?

Adam had told him once, not long ago that his looks had earned him a real reputation among the more powerful clients who attended The Club. His beauty had been commented on, become almost legendary on the scene. People came to The Club just to see him, even when he was working behind the bar. The thought occurred to him that perhaps that was WHY he was working behind the bar. At the time it had given him a warm glow, to think that Adam was proud of him, that he was somehow helping Adam and the business. 

Now he wondered. Was he just a symbol, an attraction? Was he nothing more than a toy to be used until his beauty faded...and then what? Would he be cast aside for another, more beautiful boy? He wasn't so vain as to imagine that there would be no other more beautiful. There was always someone out there who was more... more beautiful, more desirable, more skilled, more... So did Adam love him?

He had made the commitment, given him half... but what did that MEAN. He hadn't really given him anything other that a key. Sure the staff were deferential to him, calling him Sir... but they had done that anyway, before... they had done that because they knew of his relationship with Adam, not because he had any authority himself. So did that commitment really mean anything? Did it mean that Adam loved him? Kane loved him.

Nye sighed. He was going round in circles. His head was throbbing painfully along with the rest of him and all he really wanted was to sleep. Shivering and sick, he angrily wiped tears from his face and tried to pull himself together. His hands were shaking so much he could barely get them to do what he wanted. He noticed with some surprise that his hands were not the only things that were shaking, everything was.

Sitting up he leaned back and took a deep breath. Thankfully breathing was one of the few things he could accomplish without pain. The room still jumped and spun when he moved but as long as he stayed perfectly still he was okay. Closing his eyes he allowed the ordinary everyday sounds of the bar wash over him. He almost fell asleep.



Love in Chains Ch. 09



Nye almost jumped out of his skin when someone touched his shoulder. It was Jon. There was a strange look on his face... almost tender, almost angry, almost sad.

"I thought it might be better if I took you. I've brought the car round to the door. Can you stand?"

"I'm not that drunk."

"No... but you're not that well either."

"I'm okay."

He did manage to stand, although he swayed, and he eschewed Jon's arm as he made his way through the bar towards the back entrance. He was damned if he was going to have someone tell Adam that he had to be supported by Jon.

A thought struck him so hard that it almost brought him to his knees again and he had to grab the bar to stop himself from falling. Damn! Someone was bound to tell Adam about Kane. They wouldn't know who he was but Adam had met him. How many Americans did he know? Adam would recognise the description and know it was Kane. More than that he would be told of the conversation, the hug... damn and double damn.

It occurred to him to wonder why it should dismay him so much. Why should he feel guilty that he had been visited by a friend? Damn, he would have to tell Adam about the party on Friday. He wasn't going to be happy.

Suddenly a wave of anger washed over him. Fuck that! He was NOT going to let himself get into the position where he had to be afraid of speaking to his friends and family. He was NOT going to have to ask permission to go to a party. Maybe the slave thing was not a good idea after all. He smiled as he straightened and shook off Jon's hand to walk more steadily to the car.

For a time Jon was silent but as they approached the flat he asked.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Yes. Thank you. I'm okay now."

"I know that's not true but... well to be honest Nye that is not exactly what I was asking."

"What do you mean?" Nye was surprised. Jon had always been friendly but they had rarely spoken other than regarding matters relating to the bar and the business.

"Don't take this wrongly Nye but I have been... concerned about you." Nye looked up puzzled.

"Concerned?"

"Look... maybe you don't want to hear this but..." He paused, gathering himself. "I may well be overstepping the mark here but I have to get it off my chest. When I'm done I will be more than happy for you to tell me to mind my own business... or even to sack my arse but... You're not the first person that Adam has got... attached to. He has a liking for beautiful boys and he has had a succession of them. None lasted long and he has never made a commitment to any of them like he has with you but...

"All of Adam's previous lovers have been... different to you. They came to him with full knowledge of what he did, what he was. They came to him Nye. They wanted the...discipline, the lifestyle. They sought it out. You're different. You are... gentler, sweeter. Some of the others were... gentle like you, delicate even and they were broken... he sent them away in pieces." Nye gasped, shocked by the unexpected turn of the conversation.

"Jon..."

"Please Nye. Let me speak. If, at the end you feel the need to take action I will understand but I can't go on watching you go down. This life is a harsh one and only those with a certain... attitude survive. You've seen what goes on and I have never witnessed anyone go through what you have. That you have done it at all shows you have far more stamina and endurance that you appear to but... Adam is... he's not what he seems Nye. He breaks people."

Jon turned to look at him and was struck, not for the first time, by how young he looked, far younger than his 21 years. He looked like a boy, a stunningly beautiful boy, just as Adam liked them. Even though he was beginning to realise that he had an inner strength that was not apparent on the surface he was still concerned by the apparent fragility of the fine boned face with its enormous wide eyes. Part of the thing that made him look so fragile was the innocence that shone from those eyes.

Jon was not naive, nor was he easily fooled or moved by apparent innocence on a face that had clearly seen more than enough to shatter innocence. However, even though he knew full well what Nye had seen, heard and experienced he was also sure that it had somehow failed to touch him. Somehow he had kept that purity and innocence despite everything that had happened. It was that which made him so appealing, and what put him in so much danger.

"You are very beautiful Nye, you know that, but there is something more... an innocence, a kind of naivety about you that is very, very attractive. The people who come to The Club like that... they like it a lot. You are a great asset to Adam... you bring a lot of good business his way, simply by the way you look... and on top of that..." He paused. "You're a really good person Nye. It shines out of you and that is even more rare than physical beauty in this game. People flock to you and in this kind of life that's dangerous.

"At the moment Adam is besotted with you. You have no idea how hard he is working to protect you from the darkest sides of the business, and the people who lurk there. But I have seen that before. There have been others he has tried to love. There was one in particular that he... maybe he did love. That ended badly and for a long time it made him hard and cruel.

"When he met you it was as if he came alive again. He changed, became more of what he used to be but he has changed. Something died in him that has never fully come alive, not even when he is with you. I'm not saying that he doesn't love you, in his way... what I am saying is that even though he does love you he's dangerous.

"Adam doesn't understand weakness. Pain and suffering are tools to achieve an end. Sickness is something he has no time for and weariness doesn't exist for him. He is strong and he expects everyone around him to be strong too... sometimes unreasonably so."

He paused again as they pulled up outside the flat. Turning to look at Nye he frowned. "It's not that I think you're weak Nye... truly it isn't that. I've seen your strength and it has surprised me over and over. But... you are a good person, a nice person... and good people don't last in this business. Adam is being far more gentle with you than he has ever been with anyone before, but I don't know if that's a kindness.

"I know you probably hate Lian but he had a point to make and he made it. This is a harsh and brutal business and that's why 'new meat' is treated so harshly... so that if they don't have what it takes they find out and leave before they get in too deep."

"Are you trying to tell me I don't have what it takes?" Nye spoke softly but there was an edge that Jon had not heard before and he wondered if he really had signed his own death warrant so to speak.

"I don't think you have any idea of 'what it takes'. You've only scratched the surface. Has Adam asked you to be his slave yet?"

Nye's eyes widened and he bit back a retort along the lines of 'Mind your own fucking business'.

"Yes."

"Have you accepted?"

"I'm sorry Jon but what does this have to do with you?"

"Has he explained to you exactly what it would mean? Have you thought about what it would mean? You've seen the other slaves. You know what they do, what is done to them. Are you really sure you want to do that?"

"No. I'm not sure. I'm not at all sure... and I've told Adam that. He isn't putting any pressure on me."

"Not yet."

"Look Jon... I'm very grateful that you brought me home, that you care enough about me to speak like this... but what goes on between Adam and I really isn't any of your business. My choices are my own."

"Are they? Are they really? When was the last time you visited your family Nye? I'm sure you've wanted to, meant to even... but there is always a reason not to isn't there, something that comes up to make it impossible, or to make you forget. And how many of your old friends do you see now?" he paused and then looked Nye right in the eye. "Are you going to tell Adam about your friend's visit today?"

Nye felt as if he had been slapped in the face. His eyes went even wider and he vacillated between anger, outrage and fear.

"Thank you... but that's enough. I've made my decision. I won't tell Adam about this conversation. It never happened. But don't do it again. I want to be your friend. It's important to me because I trust you, not only with regard to the business but in every way. Even more so now. So please don't make me have to avoid you and shut you out of my life. 

"I've listened to what you said and I've taken it on board. Now I will make my own decisions and I would expect you to respect them. The only reason I would speak to Adam about letting you go would be if you failed to respect me."

"I will never do that Nye. You are more deserving of respect than anyone I have ever met. I will do what I can to protect you but I beg you. If nothing else comes of this conversation, nothing at all... make sure that you get Adam to spell out exactly what is expected of you before you agree to anything."

"I will. I would always have done that. In fact... I... I had pretty much made up my mind to say no. I am a stubborn, obstinate spoiled creature and I don't like being told what to do. I don't think I'm slave material."

Although Nye smiled when he said this Jon frowned. "Be careful Nye. Please be careful. Adam is a very persuasive man and he always finds a way to get what he wants. There is nowhere he is not prepared to go in pursuit of that."

"Are you suggesting that he might hurt me if I say no?"

"He hurts you anyway... but no... that's not his style, not in the way you think. I don't think he would hurt you... not you... but he will make life very difficult for you."

"Well life with Adam has never been easy." Again he tried to smile and, after a hesitation Jon returned it.

"Just be careful." Metaphorically shaking himself Jon looked up at the house and back. "Do you need a hand getting inside?"

"No thank you. I'm fine." And that was true... right up to the point when he tried to get out of the car and first the pain hit and then the dizziness... but it was not until he was sitting on his arse in the road that he conceded and allowed Jon to put his arm around his waist and support him as he climbed the steps to the front door and then rode the lift up to the apartment.

To his enormous embarrassment Jon insisted that he help him get undressed and into bed. When he saw his blushes Jon laughed.

"Do you see? This is why I worry about you. Can you imagine anyone else who ever sets foot in the dungeon blushing just because another man saw them naked?"

Nye thought and couldn't. He shook his head and smiled. "I'm not like anyone else."

Jon's smile faded and he went still. "I know Nye. I know you're not. You're unique, special... and I don't want to see you lose that."

"I won't. I can't... it's the way I am."

Jon shook his head again and smiled. "You know where I am Nye. If you need me, you know where I am."

"Sure thing."

"Did you get that phrase from your American friend?"

Nye froze and Jon was quick to see the smile fade. "Don't worry Nye... Adam won't hear of that from me... or from any of the other staff. You have friends in that bar Nye...more than you know."

"Thank you." It was barely more than a whisper and Jon felt strangely protective of this seemingly fragile, vulnerable boy as he tucked the duvet around him. He smiled and awkwardly patted Nye's hand. As he turned to leave Nye grabbed his hand.

"Will you stay with me? Just for a while. I don't want to be alone."

"Of course I will. Shall I put some music on? Maybe that will help you get to sleep. That's what you need most right now."

Nye nodded and watched Jon as he moved around the room, selecting a CD and putting it into the stereo. Soft strains of an old Celtic lullaby filled the room and Nye relaxed immediately. This was one of his own CD's. He didn't think Adam had ever heard it yet. He knew that Adam wouldn't like it.

Jon sat down on the bed and directed him to turn onto his stomach and close his eyes. Giving him a quick uneasy look Nye complied, but he needn't have worried. Sweeping his hair to one side Jon rubbed his palms together to warm his hands and then began to massage the tense muscles in Nye's shoulders and upper back. Within five minutes Nye was sound asleep. 

When he was sure that he was asleep Jon stopped the massage and sat for a while longer stroking the long silky hair. There was a deep unease in his heart whenever he looked at the boy. Nye was so open and so bright he hated the fact that the brightness was already being polluted and that one day it would be extinguished.

Although he knew that Nye was different to all the rest; although he knew he had an incredible inner strength he also knew the truth about the business... the darkness that ran to it's heart and swallowed any soul it might ever have had. Once that darkness took Nye he would succumb or be broken. He had seen it too many times to believe that it would be in any way different this time.

Sighing Jon got to his feet and pulled the duvet up over Nye's shoulders. He considered turning off the music but there was something very right about it. Somehow it fitted the sleeping boy, and so he left it playing.

***

Adam was unsurprised to find that Nye had gone home when he emerged into the bar. Spying Jon behind the bar he wandered over.

"Did Nye get home alright?"

"Yes. I took him myself."

"How was he?"

"Unwell." Adam nodded frowning.

"Did he eat anything?"

"Not much."

"Damn. I should have stayed with him but this opportunity was really too good to pass."

"Did your 'meeting' go well?"

Adam beamed. "Better than I ever expected. It would have been better if Nye was there...he would have had them eating out of his hand... literally... but it went well. I got exactly what I wanted."

'You always do' thought Jon. Aloud he said, "Are you going to go straight home? I can take care of things here. I'm not expecting it to be busy tonight and there's no one special booked in."

"I was thinking of going somewhere nice for lunch. Nye will probably sleep for a couple of hours so there's little point in going home."

"He was pretty much out of it."

Adam frowned darkly. "Sometimes I want to kill Lian. He's such a bastard when he wants to be. To be honest I can't believe Nye took it so well. Although..." he paused, thinking of what had transpired the day before; maybe Nye hadn't taken it so well after all, "he's stubborn and often doesn't show what he's feeling."

Jon nodded, misunderstanding Adam's concern for consideration towards Nye. "He is very stubborn. He all but passed out a couple of times but there was no way he was going to show it or accept help from me until he absolutely had to."

Adam smiled proprietarily. "He's strong. I had no idea when I first met him that he would turn out like this." He smiled again, almost wistfully. "I thought he was just another pretty boy who could grace my arm and my bed. I found out pretty quickly how wrong I was. He's special. By the time I'm done with him he is going to be a fucking legend, a god."

"Are you sure he can take it?"

Adam looked up confused. "Sorry?"

"He was pretty sick today Adam. I was concerned for him. He's not like the rest. He seems delicate. He has an incredible strength but I think that comes from his will... break that and he'll crumble."

"What makes you think I am going to break his will?"

Jon looked at Adam wondering if he was hearing what he thought he was hearing. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Adam truly did care for Nye and he would change, would treat him with more compassion than he had treated the others. His hope was dashed by Adam's next words.

"I don't need to break his will. I can make him believe anything I want him to believe. I just have to find the right words, the right pressure points and I won't have to break anything... he'll walk willingly to whatever I want him to do; he proved that yesterday. Lian was wrong. Training does not have to be done with a heavy hand, you do not have to break the body or soul to achieve complete obedience. I know the buttons to press with Nye. I can play him like a finely tuned instrument and it's only a matter of time before he is completely under my control."

His face darkened and he glowered at Jon. "That's why I could just fucking KILL Lian. He's got Nye questioning. Yesterday he was questioning me; questioning whether I love him, why I would have let Lian do the things he did if I loved him. Fuck it Jon... I've worked too hard on him to have it all ruined because Lian's pissed that I didn't let him fuck Nye sooner."

He put a leather pouch on the bar and patted it affectionately. "Fortunately I now have the means to bring it all back on track." Smiling in a self satisfied way he picked up the glass of whisky Jon had habitually poured for him and sipped with a sigh. "No more questions, no more fighting. I think that Nye is going to find himself becoming a lot more malleable in the near future. By the end of next week he'll agree to anything I ask of him."

Jon's eyes flicked from Adam to the pouch. "You're going to drug him?"

"For a while. Until he's more... malleable."

"Is that wise?"

Adam looked up sharply. "Are you questioning my wisdom Jon?"

"No. It's just that I thought the point of the exercise was train Nye consciously and willingly, without the usual methods."

"Ah... well, yes it was, and until Lian interfered it was working. Now... I'm not so sure that Nye won't start thinking for himself again if I let him. It's a regrettable development but only a temporary one after all. Once I'm sure he's back on track I'll stop. Besides..." Adam drained his glass and slid off the seat flashing Jon a feral grin, "if I leave him to his own devices he's going to be no fun at all for days. With this..." he tapped the case, "he won't deny me anything... he won't be able to."

For the first time in a very long time Jon was truly shocked. There had never been any illusions in his mind as to what his boss was capable of but this was low even for him. Nye had been through so much, he had almost died for God's sake, and Adam was going to drug him senseless so he wouldn't ask questions or deny him sex.

Adam, catching the look that Jon was unable to suppress, frowned. He reached over the bar and caressed Jon's cheek. It was all he could do not to pull away.

"You are an exemplary employee Jon. I couldn't wish for a better 'right hand man' but you are not expendable. Be careful not to overstep the mark... you know full well what's on the other side. Do not presume to question me... especially when it comes to Nye. He's mine. Body and soul to do with as I please... mine. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Sir."

"Good." Adam slapped Jon's face lightly then turned and walked away. It was just as well he didn't see the look on Jon's face as he did so.

When Adam got home Nye was still fast asleep, curled on his side with the duvet clutched tight about him. Adam stood looking down on him for a while with a smile on his face. Having taken his time over lunch he was feeling mellow and calm. When he'd left The Club he had fully intended to give Nye the first dose of the drug as soon as he got back in preparation for an evening of fun, but looking down at him now, so open and vulnerable in sleep with the signs of what he had gone through written so clearly on his face, that same strange wave of protectiveness had washed over him and he couldn't quite bring himself to.

Instead he stored the pouch safely in his private cabinet and left the bedroom. In an uncharacteristically thoughtful act he went into the kitchen to make something for Nye to eat.

Walking back into the bedroom with a tray containing a bowl of chicken soup, a chunk of warm bread and a glass of watered wine he smiled as Nye stirred and blinked open sleepy eyes. Setting the tray down on the bedside cabinet he sat down on the bed as Nye rolled over onto his back, and gently stroked the hair from his face.




Love in Chains Ch. 09



"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Truth."

Nye smiled, his drowsy eyes glowing making Adam's stomach tighten. "Okay... I feel like crap. How did the meeting go?"

"Very well... but I have no intention of discussing business with you now. Jon said you didn't eat so I am here to make sure you do."

Nye glanced at the tray, inhaling the aroma of the soup, and his smile widened. "I'm liking your bedside manners."

"Good. So sit up and take your medicine like a good patient and it might just continue."

Still smiling Nye hauled himself into a sitting position, unable to stifle a moan as he sat up. Adam made him sit still while he mounded the pillows behind him and eased him back against them. The scent of his hair made Adam feel dizzy with desire but it was easy to control himself when he looked into eyes that were, at the same time, adoring and filled with pain and confusion.

When he was settled Adam insisted on feeding him the soup and bread. Although he objected he was very grateful to be able to just lie back against the cool soft pillows and allow himself to be cosseted. He began to regret his misgivings and berated himself for ever having doubted Adam's love. He was so gentle, so thoughtful.

Nye managed to finish most of the soup before his stomach began to rebel. When Adam tried to raise the spoon to his lips he pushed it away and shook his head.

"I've had enough... unless you want to find out what chicken soup looks like when projectile vomited across a room."

"You paint such a lovely picture but I think I will pass on that right now. Do you want some wine?"

"No. I had a brandy at The Club and regretted it afterwards."

"Oh well then... it's your fault and have no one to blame but yourself." He smiled and Nye closed his eyes with a sigh. "Are you okay?"

"I feel... I don't feel very well."

"I'm sure you don't. Why don't you try and get some more sleep. Now that you've eaten you should feel a lot better when you wake up."

"Adam..."

"What?" He was strangely disquieted by the tone of Nye's voice and also felt a stab of annoyance deep within wondering what he was going to stay and thinking it had better not be anything too challenging.

"I'm scared."

Adam was genuinely surprised. "Scared? What are you scared of?"

"I feel so ill. I'm scared that the antidote wasn't effective and I'm still dying."

Adam smiled, stopping himself from laughing aloud. "You're such a drama queen. I've looked up the poison and believe me, if you were going to die you'd be dead by now."

"You looked it up?"

"Of course I did. I trust Lian slightly less than I would trust a viper in my pants. I wasn't taking any chances."

Nye's smile was genuinely warm. "That's not a surprise."

"But the fact that I cared enough to check things out, to make sure you're safe is?"

Nye's smile slipped and he looked anxious. Adam found it charming and so he was prepared to be generous. "I'm sorry Nye. I shouldn't have said that. Of course you are feeling unsettled and scared and it's hardly surprising you doubt me. I was a fool. I should have known better. I allowed your life to be put at risk and I will always regret that. You have to believe me that I would never have allowed Lian anywhere near you if I had known what he was going to do and I will never let anyone hurt you like that again."

"I do believe you Adam." He frowned and raised his eyes to meet Adam's. "Do you love me?"

"What?"

"Do you love me Adam?"

"Do really have to ask that? After everything I have done, everything I just said?"

"Please Adam... just tell me."

Adam was irritated again. Why the hell did Nye have to be so needy all the time? For fuck sake what did he have to do to convince him? Forcing a smile onto his face he leaned forwards and kissed his lover lightly on the lips.

"Yes I love you Nye. Of course I love you. Now close those exquisite eyes and go to sleep."

Nye closed his eyes, smiling and snuggled down in the pillows. Adam tucked the duvet around him and took the tray back into the kitchen. He was unaccountably angry, with Nye for demanding emotion from him which, in his mind he saw as manipulation to which he did NOT take kindly... and with himself for not having followed through with his original plan.

Pouring himself a drink Adam went to stand at the window, looking out over the city beneath. People were on their way home from work and the traffic was gridlocked, so far below they looked like toys. The apartment was a good one; well positioned and comfortably furnished. Adam was surrounded by material comforts but they barely registered on his list of what was important in his life.

Until recently The Club had been his life. It was everything, it was enough. What with the various businesses that were centred there and the pleasure he was able to gain from using the facilities, the power, the status. But lately it had felt... somehow empty. He had tried to fill up the emptiness with his lovers and he had succeeded... for a little while with each... but the pleasure had faded after a while as his interest waned.

With Nye it was different. Nye was different; he was everything Adam could ever have wished for in a man, a lover and a life partner. Undeniably beautiful yet unconscious of its effect, he was sweet natured and eager to please; malleable and easy to control without the need for force or compulsion. He was decorative, easy to be with, useful for impressing clients, and when he was on form he was a fucking great lover. 

No, he wasn't tiring of Nye. His interest was, if anything increasing as he got to know the intricacies of his personality, the strengths that lay below the soft exterior. Did he love him? Maybe. Was he prepared to compromise, to let the relationship develop naturally, to work with Nye to make a strong and stable partnership encompassing Nye's personality, accepting his friends and family? Hell no!

Feeling tense and restless he went to the bathroom and took a shower and then sat down at the laptop to work. He was still there, absorbed, hours later when Nye finally emerged from the bedroom looking sleepy but better.

Adam looked up and smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Much. It was the magic soup."

""I'm glad the magic worked." He put aside the laptop and held out his arms to Nye. Willingly he folded himself into the arms, on Adam's lap and wrapped his own arms around his neck. For a while they were both content to cuddle and savour the closeness and the peace.

"If you feel up to it I thought we would order in Chinese."

"Yes, that would be good, shall I get the menu?"

"Don't bother. Why don't you go and take a bath and I'll order?"

"I'm not sure what I want."

"I know what you like."

"But I might not want what you order."

"You will."

Nye pulled back and looked at Adam, a strange look on his face and Adam's irritation returned. "Adam... I don't think the being a slave thing is going to work."

"What? What has that got to do with ordering Chinese?"

"Everything. I don't like being told what to do Adam. I want to please you and I think I do, most of the time. But a relationship is about compromise and I don't want to be in a position where everything is always what you want and what you think. I want an equal partnership, not a master slave relationship. I want to feel that I get a say in what we do... not just the big things but all the little things too. Is that really to much to ask?"

Adam looked down, so that Nye could not see the look in his eyes, the look that spoke of the raw anger that was flaring within. So much work, so much effort and all wiped away in one fell swoop. He hated Lian, blamed this all on him. With a considerable amount of effort he looked up and smiled at Nye, his eyes carefully blank.

"No Nye. It isn't too much to ask... or to give." The smile almost killed him. "I tell you what... go and have your bath and I'll find the menu and when you come out we'll order. How does that sound?"

Nye grinned, glowing and kissed him before he slid off his lap and headed towards the bathroom. Adam watched him go, an inscrutable look on his face, until he disappeared when he allowed his features to show the rage he felt inside. 

How dare he? How dare Nye make him feel like this? Well... it stopped here and now. He was going to get this relationship back on track and before the end of the day Nye was going to be completely and utterly under his control... one way or another.



Love in Chains Ch. 10



Nye was utterly relaxed and content when he heard Adam enter the bathroom. His eyes were closed and he didn't open them as he listened to him walk across the room or when he sat down on the edge of the bath. Hearing the soft chink of glass being set down on the side he sighed, thinking of the cold wine on his lips and sliding down his throat, cooling him after the hot bath.

Handing Nye a glass Adam buried his hands in his hair, massaging his temples. Sighing more deeply he sank further into the sweet smelling water and tilted his head back.

"You're going to spill your wine."

Nye was pleased to note that Adam's voice was completely relaxed, the only tone one of light amusement. After their last conversation he had been a little worried that Adam was annoyed with him.

"Who cares?"

"If you're not going to drink it, give it here. I'll put it on the side until you're ready for it."

After taking a long drink, Nye handed over his glass and rested his head against Adam's leg as he gently stroked his face.

"Happy?"

"Oh yes. Absolutely."

Adam was entranced by the flickering candlelight as it washed over the perfect features of the boy and shimmered on the water in the bath. Beneath the rippling surface he could see Nye's body, lithe and perfect and he wanted to touch. He so wanted to touch.

"You look better."

"Mmmm."

Slipping his hands under Nye's hair Adam began to massage his neck and shoulders earning an appreciative moan.

"You feel tense." Adam removed his hands and ruffled the damp hair. "Get yourself into the bedroom and I'll give you a proper massage."

"Oh, that sounds good."

"You better believe it. I did a course in therapeutic massage and I have been told I have magic hands."

"And why not? You have magic everything else."

There was a tone in Nye's voice that always made Adam shiver. It was the tone that suggested that Nye was in the mood for a different kind of massage. Adam smiled and wondered whether perhaps he might delay his plans until the morning after all.

Adam was about to get up and leave when Nye, feeling relaxed, happy and confident decided that this might be a good time to broach the subject of the party and to tell Adam about Kane before someone else did.

"Kane came to The Club today."

Fortunately Nye had his eyes closed and didn't see the look on Adam's face.

"Kane?"

"Yeah. You remember, my American friend."

"I remember him."

"Well, he spoke to Mir and wanted to check I was okay. He's asked me to a party on Friday. He's leaving, going back to university and it's kind of a farewell."

"Oh really? I'm not sure what we're doing Friday. We'll see..."

Nye looked up at him a strange look in his eyes. "No Adam. There's no 'we'll see', not this time. I have already decided that I am going to go. I promised Kane."

Adam stared at him for a moment, his face unreadable. "I might not be able to get away. I may have a meeting Friday evening."

"That's alright Adam. The thing is... I... Kane is my friend and the party is going to be full of my other friends and my sister. I want to do this on my own." This time Adam couldn't hide the look. "Adam, I know you don't like Mir and you don't like Kane and I wouldn't want to put either you or them in a difficult position."

"Then don't go."

"Adam." Nye's voice was gentle. "I haven't seen my friends or my family for a long time. I'm not complaining about that but seeing Kane today... It's not that you're not enough for me, or that I want to be anywhere or with anyone but you... but I've known some of these guys for most of my life... and Mir for all of it. I don't want to go back to where I was before I met you and I am not going to be talking about you to anyone at the party. I just need to go Adam. I really need to go."

Grinding his teeth Adam simmered, then relaxed and smiled, nodding. "Alright. I can see this is important to you. I'll arrange for someone to drive you."

Nye rose from the bath, the water sloughing off him as he reached out and pulled Adam into an exuberant embrace. "Thank you Adam. I was so afraid you would try and stop me and it's really important. Kane is my best friend and I have missed him. I want to say goodbye properly."

"I thought I was your best friend."

Nye laughed. "You're too old to pout Adam. You are so much more than my best friend. You are my lover, my light, my life. You are my everything."

Despite himself Adam smiled and hugged him back. "Dry off and I'll go and prepare for the massage."

"Prepare?"

"Hmmm... you've never had an experience like this before, I can guarantee you that."

"Promises, promises."

When Nye walked into the bedroom five minutes later he was very surprised to find the curtains closed and candles giving the room a soft pink glow. Adam was naked and busy laying things out on the little wheeled table that had various functions in the bedroom. He could see rows of glass bottles and jars and a sweet scent tickled his nose.

"What are those?"

Adam turned and smiled. "Aromatherapy oils. If I'm going to do it I may as well do it properly."

"Oh wow." 

Nye's eyes were wide with excitement and Adam licked his lips with anticipation.

"What about the Chinese?"

"To hell with the Chinese. We'll have cheese on toast."

"Sounds good to me."

Dropping the towel which he had wrapped around him Nye lay down on the bed.

"Turn over and let me start on your back. That way I won't lose concentration half way through."

Grinning Nye complied. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply as Adam began to stroke his shoulders and back with hands slick with oil. Adam then began to massage his muscles causing a moan of pleasure to escape his lips.

Slowly and sensuously, pausing occasionally to pour and mix the oils, Adam worked his way down Nye's body, glorying in its perfection as he did so. When he reached his buttocks Adam slicked the scented oils over the taut skin and kneaded the muscles before allowing his finger to slide into the sweet valley between. Nye shivered and sighed.

Encouraged by the fact that he hadn't tried to stop him Adam ran his finger up and down a few times, liberally coating the whole area with oil. Nye moaned and arched his back, raising his hips. When Adam touched his entrance he winced and grunted.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes but don't stop. Please."

Adam continued to gently rub Nye occasionally allowing the very tip of his finger to probe the hole. Each time Nye shuddered and groaned and Adam withdrew. After a while, as Adam became more excited, his impatience got the better of him and slipped his finger in up to the knuckle. Nye went stiff and cried out.

"Ah... that hurts."

Leaving his finger in place Adam gently stroked Nye's back, soothing him. Slowly his muscles relaxed and Adam waited, still stroking his back until his finger was released and then he pushed in further. Whimpering Nye tensed again and clenched reflexively. Adam smiled at the fact he had not uttered a word or asked him to stop.

Again he waited until Nye was relaxed and again he pressed in. This time Nye gasped and cried out.

"Please Adam, please stop. I... I can't. It hurts so much. Please I... I can't. I can't bear it."

"It's alright babe. Just give it a minute. It's done now. The pain will ease in a minute. This is as bad as it gets."

"Adam, you don't know... I feel... I feel as if ... as if someone has been punching me on the inside." He squirmed then froze. "Please Adam it hurts. It really hurts."

"Just relax Nye. It's worse because you are all tensed up. It isn't as if you are torn or anything. There's no blood."

"It's not that. It's not like that. It's not like when I was torn... this is worse. It's deep... right inside... it hurts Adam." Nye whimpered again and squirmed, clearly in a lot of pain. 

Adam stroked his back. "Ssssh. It's alright. It's alright babe. Just relax and I'll withdraw. It's alright sweetheart. Just relax."

Very slowly and carefully Adam withdrew his finger, every millimetre filling Nye with liquid fire. He was sobbing quietly by the time Adam had withdrawn completely. Adam sat for a while stroking his back until he was quiet. Finally he turned on his side and looked up at Adam through tears.

"I'm sorry Adam. I'm really sorry. I so wanted to do this for you. You've been so wonderful but it hurts so much. I'm so sorry."

"Hush. It's alright. I should have known better. You've never been very good with pain and you've had a hard few days."

"It's not that I'm not good with pain... Adam that's not fair. This is... this is... I just can't. It's awful. If I could I would, I swear it."

"What if you could?"

"I can't Adam... I just told you. Oh please don't make me feel bad, not when I was feeling so good. I'll do anything else, anything. Just don't make me do that."

"Relax sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you. I wouldn't hurt you for the world."

Nye relaxed slightly but his face was still anxious. Adam stroked his hair, looking into his eyes. "I want to make love you to Nye. I want to wipe all that pain from your mind. We've both been through a lot and I need to be able to express my love to you in the way I know best. I need it babe."

Nye frowned. "I know but... Couldn't we do it another way?"

"Another way?"

Nye smiled seductively and ran his hand over Adam's chest and lightly over his cock, which twitched under his fingers. "I'm sure I could find other ways to please you."

Adam smiled. "I'm sure you could, and you will, but... we need this Nye... we both need it."

Nye recognised the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes and his heart sank. "You said you wouldn't hurt me."

"And I won't babe. There's no need." Nye's brow raised quizzically. "I picked up a little something in the meeting this afternoon and brought it home. I knew that this would be hard for you so I wanted to make it easy."

"I don't understand. What 'little something'? Some anaesthetic lube or something?"

"No, not quite." Going to the tray of glass bottles he picked up one and held it between his fingers. "One shot of this and the pain goes away."

"Drugs? After what happened you want to drug me?"

"No... babe you've got it all wrong. It isn't a drug, not like you think. It's a mild muscle relaxant with a pain blocker. I got it for the dungeon. It's used for acclimatising newcomers to the equipment. It's standard in the business. You won't be 'drugged'. It won't make you sleepy or take away any sensation, only the pain."

Nye looked at the bottle suspiciously. "Can't you just be satisfied with something else until I'm healed?"

"And when will that be? I know you're hurt Nye but the physical pain is only a very small part of it. It isn't a question of being 'satisfied'. It's a question of knowing what's best for you and wanting to see you well and whole and further along the road."

"'Further along the road?' What's that supposed to mean? The truth is... you want to punish me don't you? For wanting to go to the party. That's what this is really all about."

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous. As if I would ever be that petty." Adam looked outraged but Nye knew better. With steady eyes he stared at Adam who sighed with irritation and put the bottle back on the tray. "Think what you want."

They were both silent as Adam began to clear away the aromatherapy oils and put the bottles back into a large deep wooden box on the chest of drawers. After a time he stopped and turned to Nye.

"I'm sorry Nye. I truly wasn't trying to punish you. I just thought... I wanted... I needed you. Yes, I was being selfish but... you don't realise how much what happened with Lian affected me too. I needed to be close to you and I needed to fuck you. You know me. You know what I'm like. Fooling about isn't enough for me. It isn't ever enough. I need to fuck. Please Nye. Won't you even consider it? I wouldn't have suggested it if I thought it was going to hurt you."

Nye stared at him impassively, his face a complete blank. Adam would have given anything to know what was going on behind his eyes, and he wouldn't have liked it.

"Nye..."

"No Adam. I'm sorry but this time the answer is no. No I am not going to let you fuck me. No I am not going to let you drug me. No I am not going to agree to not go to the party. No I am not going to stop seeing my family and friends. I'm sorry that I am being so blunt about it but I need you to understand. I love you. I love you with all my heart and I want to be with you but I won't... I can't become just another part of you... or a plaything to be used when you want and sit in a corner when you don't. I won't ever be anything but me. I'm sorry if that shocks or upsets you but that's the way it is."

Before a stunned Adam could say anything Nye rolled off the bed and stalked out of the bedroom. For a moment Adam stared after him and then he threw the bottle of oil he was holding in his hand at the wall so hard that it shattered.

***

Nye was sitting on the sofa nervously drinking whisky when Adam emerged from the bedroom. He looked up with anxious eyes. Walking slowly across the room Adam handed him the bathrobe he was carrying, as Nye was still naked. Cautiously Nye took it, scanning Adam's face for signs of his mood. With a sigh Adam sat down.

"I was a jerk. I'm sorry." Nye's eyes widened and a grin broke over his face. "Yeah yeah, don't get too used to it. You won't hear it that often. But you were right. It's what I want too... only I'm too stubborn and set in my ways to realise it." He extended his hand. "Partners?"

Nye laughed, took the hand and then pulled Adam into an embrace. "Partners."

After a while Adam pulled back and smiled up at Nye. "Well now that's sorted out, I don't know about you but I'm starving. Shall we order that Chinese now?"

"That's the best thing you've said all night. Shall I get the menu?" Adam reached into the pocket of his robe and took out a folded menu, handing it to Nye. 

"Why don't you order for both of us?"

"Really?"

"I'll go and open some wine."

Nye reached for the phone while pouring over the menu. As Adam reached for a bottle of full bodied red wine from the rack he could hear him placing the order enthusiastically. He hoped that Nye would order things he liked... after all he would be eating it all... by the time it came Nye wouldn't be feeling very hungry at all.

Reaching into his pocket he took out a slim glass tube and emptied the contents into one of the glasses of wine. He surreptitiously stuck a tiny yellow dot sticker on the bottom of the glass so he would not accidentally drink from the wrong one.

Taking the glasses and bottle he headed back into the lounge and held one out to Nye who took it and sipped smiling happily, then he made a face and looked at the glass. 

"Not the best wine you've ever had? Well... I can't be completely unselfish all at once can I? We almost always have white because you like it so I thought I would force feed you Shiraz tonight as a bit of petty revenge."

Nye smiled and sipped again. "It's not so bad." But he said it while making a face.

Adam sighed rolling his eyes. "Alright... I'll make a deal with you. Drink ONE glass and I'll go get you some of that wishy washy white crap you like."

"It is not 'wishy washy white crap'. It's really nice."

"Yeah well, whatever." 

Nye laughed and drained his glass holding it out triumphantly while screwing up his face and trying not to choke. "Anyone who actually likes this has a serious deficiency in the taste department."

"Some people might argue that a fine Shiraz that costs as much as that bottle did, constitutes not a deficiency in the taste department, as you so eloquently put it, but rather the epitome of good taste, a liberating and almost orgasmic experience."

Nye laughed. "Well some people are strange... we both know that."

Smiling Adam left him and went back into the kitchen. Putting Nye's glass in the dishwasher he selected another and grabbed a random bottle of white wine out of the rack.

Nye beamed when he saw it. "Now that's better."

After pouring a glass of white wine for Nye Adam picked up his own glass and walked over to the window staring out into the gathering darkness. "God I love this apartment. I never get tired of this view, especially at night."

Nye wandered over to stand at his side and rested his head against his shoulder as they watched the lights moving past below.

"I wish we could see the stars."

"Too much light pollution."

"True. It's a shame though. I like stars."

Adam tightened his arm around his waist and kissed the top of his head. "How are you feeling now? Nice and relaxed?"

"Oh yes, very relaxed. In fact..." he yawned, "I could sleep again. That's all I seem to be doing lately."

"If you need to, you need to. You can go back to bed after dinner if you like. I'll come and rub your shoulders and promise I won't try to rape you."

He could feel Nye smile against his shoulder. "You know that I'm not saying no to everything. I am happy to fool around a little."

"Are you sure you won't fall asleep on me?"

"I promise I'll try not to." Adam smiled and ruffled his hair. Nye responded by pulling away and putting his drink down on the table. He then turned and reaching up laced his hands behind Adam's head and kissed him. Slightly taken by surprise Adam kissed him back and for a while they stood in front of the window pressed against each other, breathing in the scent of each other. At some point both robes fell open and they were skin to skin.

Adam slipped his hands under Nye's robe and caressed his body. Nye responded by grinding his hips into Adam, who moaned and plunged his tongue deeper into Nye's mouth.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Neither made a move to answer it. The knock came again.

"I'd better go."

"Mhm."

"Nye..."

Reluctantly Nye released Adam and looked up at him smiling. Adam noticed that his eyes were huge and bright, the pupils widely dilated. "Keep my place warm."

Hastily belting his robe and collecting his wallet from the table, Adam opened the door and paid for the Chinese. The delivery man looked a little stunned, but went away with a smile on his face when he gave him a large tip.

He deposited the Chinese on the table near the sofa and then went back to Nye who was still staring out of the window. Sliding his hands around his waist he whispered. "Now where were we?"

Nye turned in his embrace and looked up at him. He wasn't smiling and looked a little... blurred.

"I don't know if I want... to eat."

"Why not? You chose everything. What's wrong?"

Nye blinked slowly and opened his eyes wider, trying to focus. "I think..." he licked his lips. "I think I might be..."

Adam tightened his grip and braced himself as Nye's eyes rolled up and his full weight fell against him.

"Yes... I really think you might."

Sweeping Nye up in his arms Adam carried him to the sofa and let him fall, sprawled across it. He lay still and didn't stir. Adam reached into his pocket and took out the glass bottle he had been urging on Nye earlier and a small syringe. Smiling to himself he filled the syringe and then put it between his teeth as he hauled Nye to lie full out on the sofa. Dropping his robe he climbed up to sit astride Nye, opening his robe and slipping his arms out, so that they were both naked.

For a moment he paused and stroked Nye's face. "It was nice knowing the old you Nye... but unfortunately he is about to meet with a fatal accident. I look forward to getting to know the new you."

Obviously Nye didn't respond, neither did he stir as Adam carefully injected the drug and put the syringe on the coffee table. Although Adam would have preferred to have made love to a Nye who was at least responding, even if not in a fully conscious way, he was unable to wait for the sedative to wear off and so he got down to it straight away.




Love in Chains Ch. 10



After the frustrations of the day he fucked Nye viciously and when he was done the pale form under him was bruised and bleeding. This gave Adam some satisfaction and he smiled to himself as he sat down and started to eat the Chinese meal.



Love in Chains Ch. 11



For the next three days Nye lived in a twilight world of half awareness. Adam kept him at the flat, injecting him with regular doses of the drug. He had, of course, lied about the effect of the drug which was psychoactive.

For most of the time he was in a semi conscious, trance like state, reacting automatically to simple commands and reflexes. Adam fed him small meals regularly to prevent him vomiting and used water as a reward to slake his constant thirst when he complied and pleased him.

Hour after hour Adam sat, stroking Nye's hair and fondling his body, talking to him; implanting and reinforcing the belief that Adam loved him, that he loved Adam and that he would do anything for Adam. Adam was the master and Nye was the slave. He was happy to be the slave. He lived to serve and it was his pleasure to obey. Over and over and over.

Nye rarely responded to the constant stream of instruction and command, but then he was not, at this stage, intended or expected to.

In between the instruction sessions Nye slept, except when Adam invaded his body in every way he could think of. All the time he was doing it he told Nye that this was good, that this is what he wanted, that this was the way he could show his love for Adam and Adam could show his love for him.

Sometimes during those first few days he hurt Nye so badly he screamed and Adam found that it excited him and so he made him do it again and again, even when it wasn't necessary. On one particular day he had already fucked Nye twice, once on waking and once when he got back from The Club, where he had told everyone that Nye's experiences with Lian had made him ill and he was recovering at home. No one disbelieved him, or at least no one told him so.

Adam ate his dinner and then took a bowl of the same meal liquidised to Nye. Nye was asleep but he woke when Adam sat down on the bed and slapped his face, looking up at him with empty, half closed eyes.

"And how was your day, my dear? Mine was nice. I had a lot of work to do but it was very successful. I could have fucked my brains out but I saved myself for you. I always save myself for you. Does that make you feel good Nye? Does it? Do you feel good that I save myself for you, that I only want to fuck you?"

Nye did not respond and Adam slapped him again. "Does it make you feel good Nye?"

After the third slap which caused blood to trickle from the corner of his mouth Nye responded, "Yes."

"Are you hungry my darling?"

Again Nye didn't respond and lay passive in Adam's arms as he propped him up against the pillows and spooned food into his mouth. Obediently Nye opened his mouth and swallowed when the food entered it.

As he fed Nye Adam stroked him; his hair, his face, his body, awaking his senses, if not his mind. "You are very beautiful Nye, so very beautiful. You must use that. It is your greatest asset. People will throng to you; will want to be your friend; will do anything for you. And if you fuck them they will die for you. Your body is your power Nye. Your body and your face will get you anything you want, anything. You must use them. You must use your assets in any way you can. Your body is not your temple, it is your tool. You must use it, in any way you can."

Nye lay completely still and passive his eyes staring, but not at Adam, and he had no way of knowing if he was actually hearing him or not but he kept on talking. He had received clear instructions from the men who had sold him the drug and swore to its effectiveness.

When Nye had finished eating Adam laid him down again and took the dirty dishes to the kitchen, leaving them there. Back in the bedroom he drew up one of the three daily doses of the drug and sat down on the bed stroking Nye. Nye watched him impassively, his bright eyes dull and uninterested.

"Time for your medicine, and then we are going to have some fun. You would like that wouldn't you Nye? You would like to please me. You would like to give me pleasure and to have fun with me." There was no response but that didn't put him off... there never was, not consciously. There would be plenty of reaction when he got started.

Nye's arm looked sore where he had already received a number of injections and so he switched to the other one. It had always given him a thrill to administer an intra venous injection. There was something about sliding the needle into the vein that was very phallic and erotic to him, and pressing the plunger knowing that he was flooding the unresisting body with substances that were going to overpower it utterly, was exciting.

Nye moaned softly when the drug entered his arm. He always did that. Adam wondered if it hurt. The thought excited him.

When he had finished he shackled Nye to the bed and began to scour his body with a flail while instructing him over and over again to enjoy it, how much he wanted to please Adam by submitting and telling him how much he enjoyed it. The chore might have been onerous because of all the repetition and constant dialogue but Adam found that it excited him more than he had ever imagined it would have. He had a real lust for power and control that far surmounted his lust for sex and this was giving him such a power trip, the thrill at a deep primal level.

"Tell me Nye. Tell me you enjoy this. Tell me you want more. Tell me you want me to whip you some more."

"Yes." The voice was soft and distant, barely recognisable as the Nye he had known. 

"Tell me Nye," He ordered.

"I want you to." It was an automatic, conditioned response but it excited him nevertheless, and spurred him on to more and more until Nye was bleeding, trembling and whimpering, and tears were pouring from his eyes.

"Aw darling, don't cry. It's alright now. You liked that didn't you? Tell me you liked it."

"I liked it."

"Good boy. Tell me you love Nye. Tell me that. Tell me you love me."

"I love you."

Even though there was no emotion in the voice Adam grinned at the sound of the words. "Good boy Nye, good boy. You believe that don't you? And you believe that I love you."

"Yes."

Throwing aside the flail Adam contemplated what to do next but was overcome with desire. In his utterly helpless condition Nye was even more alluring, even more beautiful and he just couldn't wait any longer.

"Do you want me to fuck you Nye? Do you? Do you want to feel my cock inside you?"

"Yes."

"I knew you did. Because you love me don't you? You want to please me because you love me."

"Yes."

"Do you want me to fuck you now?"

"Yes."

Straddling Nye, Adam leaned forward and kissed him. Although Nye opened his mouth, allowing Adam entrance he did not respond in any way. For some reason today this bothered Adam.

"Kiss me Nye. You want to kiss me. You need to kiss me. Kiss me now."

Nye opened his mouth wider but made no other move. Angry Adam slapped him hard across the face. There was no reaction other than a small whimper and another trickle of blood.

"I told you to kiss me. You are supposed to follow my instruction remember? Kiss me Nye."

He had his hand raised to strike again when he caught himself and stopped short. Nye couldn't respond. There was no point in getting angry about it. It was his fault after all, not Nye's. Instead he stroked his face, wiping the blood with this thumb, smearing it over his lips. "I'm sorry Nye. That was foolish. You are doing your best. I know you are doing your best."

"Yes."

Adam frowned. There was something about the conditioned responses, the trance like lack of emotion or consciousness that suddenly made him feel... bad.

Angry at himself Adam raised Nye's hips and pressed into him, without bothering with lube. The resistance was instant as Nye's body tensed against the pain.

"Don't resist me Nye. Don't deny me entry. Your body is mine. You cannot and will not and don't want to ever deny me. Your body is mine, your heart is mine, your soul is mine."

Nye tried to comply but his body could not help but respond to the pain and as soon as Adam started to push in again he tensed. Because of his semi comatose state he was not able to deliberately relax and so he had no choice but to do what his body wanted to do even though it intensely irritated Adam, who simply ignored the writhing and harsh cries and thrust into him all the harder.

Once he was inside Nye his control slipped altogether. Forgetting even to keep up his steady stream of indoctrination he began to pump strongly. Nye was still hurting from his original ordeal and all the things that Adam had put him through since. Initially he yelled and then moaned, whimpering and crying out constantly. The cries only excited Adam and made him pump harder, ramming into Nye who writhed and gasped, moaning and crying uncontrollably.

"Be quiet Nye. You are putting me off. You are displeasing me. You don't want to displease me do you?"

"No" he whispered.

"You want to please me don't you? You want to make me happy."

"Yes...yes....ah" Nye was breathing hard and harshly, wriggling under him, trying desperately to escape the pain, hyperventilating. Adam ignored him and pressed on getting more and more oblivious as his own excitement built.

Harder and harder, deeper and deeper, ignoring the cries, the tears, the moans. Nye's writhing body only excited him more and it was not long before the orgasm began to build. "Oh yes... yes... my beautiful boy, my beautiful, beautiful boy. You love me don't you? You love me so much... just as I love you. Tell me... tell me you love me."

Nye didn't respond. He didn't even hear. He was lost in the pain and there was nothing that Adam could have done to him at that point which would have elicited a response. The truth was that Adam didn't care. He was too far gone and there was no stopping him until he was done.

Hammering into Nye's twisting body one last time Adam ejaculated and threw back his head, howling. Thrusting a few more times to milk his load Adam collapsed across Nye, shuddering in the aftershock. Nye was still writhing under him, his chest heaving.

Finally it got through to Adam that Nye was in extreme distress. He climbed off him and suddenly it hit him. Nye was his lover. He had come to mean more to him than anyone ever had and how was he being rewarded... with pain. Carefully he released the shackled but Nye didn't move.

As he stared down at him Nye's whole body convulsed and the turned on his side and vomited the contents of his stomach violently onto the floor. Adam was horrified. He knew that he had done this... either with the drugs or the pain. Nye had taken so much, and had done so willingly but it hadn't been enough, none of it had been enough.

"Shit!" Adam began to shake as the enormity of what he had done hit him. He had begun to get addicted to the power and the pain... he had always had a strong desire for them which he had slaked with others but not with Nye... Nye was different, Nye was his lover, his friend. He had to stop before it went any further.

Carefully he raised Nye into a sitting position leaning against him and fed him sips of water. He was shivering and moaning softly. Adam stroked his head and rocked him like a child.

"I'm sorry Nye. I'm so sorry. I'm a fuckwit. I always go too far, always. I had to take a good thing and push it and push it until I went too far. It's alright baby, it's alright. Everything is going to be alright now. I love you baby. I love you so much and I am going to take care of you. I swear it. I am going to take care of you now."

Nye did not respond and when he eventually laid him back on the pillows his eyes were closed and there was no colour in his face anywhere.

***

Adam never gave Nye anymore of that drug... but he didn't stop drugging him altogether. He had purchased a two stage programme and the next day, more than four days early, he moved on to the second stage.

The new drugs made Nye regularly sick for the first day and a half and Adam seriously considered stopping them altogether. After everything he had been through Nye really had very little reserves left and the sickness left him gaunt and ill. However, by the end of the second day he had settled down and emerged from his semi coma. Although he was far from being his old self he was able to get up and walk around, feed himself and hold simple conversations.

Adam was pleased to see the old Nye beginning to emerge and he treated him with nothing but gentleness and kindness. He told him that he had been ill and Nye accepted everything unquestioningly. He was far more compliant and subservient, following instructions without question. He was quiet and withdrawn but Adam didn't care about that. All he cared about was that he was obedient.

On the third day, being the Wednesday of the party week Nye went back to work. Everyone noticed the difference but accepted that it was down to the fact that he had been ill and was recovering. And he did recover. The easy banter at The Club, the focus of working the bar, the friendship and the careful attention of Jon gradually teased out the old Nye more and more until by the end of the day he was getting back to normal.

If he were entirely honest Adam was relieved to see Nye returning, his personality and energy coming back. If he were entirely honest he would admit that he had scared himself with the lengths to which he had been prepared to go, the things he had done to Nye and how ill he had made him. But, being Adam, he was never entirely honest with himself and he was annoyed that the programme had not worked as he had expected. 

Oh Nye was more obedient and pliable than he had been. He never refused sex. He never complained about pain. He never refused anything but... one thing that really annoyed him, that stuck in his craw and would not budge no matter what he did, what arguments he raised, what punishments he threatened... was Nye's determination to attend the party that Friday. Although he tried every way he could think of for the whole week, it seemed that, in a strange paradox, one of the things that had been implanted irrevocably in Nye's brain was an unshakable desire to attend the party and there was nothing he could do about it.

The problem was that he could not let Nye go to the party, no matter what. He just couldn't. Not only was it a matter of principle but it was also a threat to his whole design. Nye's friends would be able to tell immediately that something had happened and his sister was bound to interfere. If they took it into their heads, they could entice him away from him, especially that American arsehole Kane, whose name Nye sometimes moaned in the midst of fever dreams. No, there was no way he was going to that party...but if he didn't let him go and Nye fought against him then it would set everything back again.

When nothing had been able to budge Nye by Thursday evening Adam decided that it was a 'back against the wall situation'. Either he drugged Nye again; which he was frankly afraid to do, both because he didn't trust himself not to take things too far again and because Nye was still reacting badly physiologically and physically to the drugs he had already been given and was still being given; or he take matters into his own hands.

***

Kane was singing in the shower. He always did. Pushing the soap heavy hair out of his face he lifted it to the warm water and sighed with pleasure. He was excited about the party the following day and even more so about seeing Nye again. The last meeting had shaken him more than he would care to admit.

Talking to Mir about it afterwards he had to acknowledge that she had been right about Adam's hold over Nye and how unhealthy it was. Nye was not himself... not at all. He was sick, lost and frightened and Kane wanted to kill Adam. What puzzled him was how Nye had ever got himself into that situation in the first place. 

Shaking his head, sending water flying all around Kane thought about the Nye he used to know, the one who had still come through in flashes during the conversation. Nye who was so vivid and bright, so strong and full of energy, who was quick to speak his mind and never backed away from injustice or challenge. Sure Nye had been shy and introvert when he first knew him, still was to an extent with others but with Kane he had been... exuberant, energetic, blazing like a white star. And now...

Stepping out of the shower Kane was angry. He had not lied when he told Nye he still loved him. He had kicked himself a hundred times over that he had neglected him so badly and created the situation that led him to Adam. He had tried so hard to backpedal but it was too late. Until that day in The Club he had never managed to see or speak to Nye without Adam being around and there was no way he could speak candidly in front of that man. He hated him so much...

The front door bell sounded when he was drying off and he ignored it. His mother should be around somewhere. Pulling on his jeans he left the bathroom towelling his hair. The doorbell sounded again.

"Mom! Door!"

There was no answer and no sign of his mother. Going into his bedroom he picked up his mobile phone and slipped it into his pocket and dropped the towel onto the floor in the corner, running his hands though his hair.

The doorbell sounded again. "Mom! The DOOR! Ah crap, never mind. I'll get it."

Walking down the stairs he noticed that his mother's coat was gone and when he reached the hall he could see that her keys were not in the bowl on the coat stand. Well, now he knew why she hadn't answered the door.

Still running his hands through his damp hair he opened the door and froze. It was the last person he had expected.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Now, now Kane. No need to be rude. Just a little social visit. Can't a man come visit his boyfriend's best friend without being abused on the doorstep?"

"You think that was abuse, stick around and I'll show you different."

Adam smiled, his eyes running appreciatively over Kane's naked chest.

"Fuck off Adam."

"If you insist. I thought you would want to know what's been happening to Nye. I thought you cared. Clearly I was wrong. Goodbye."

Kane's eyes widened as Adam turned away. "Wait. What do you mean? What's been happening to Nye? Is he alright?"

Adam turned and looked him in the eye, his face serious, all the mocking arrogance gone. "No."

"What's happened?"

"I am not going to discuss it on the doorstep."

Kane was torn. The last thing he wanted was this man in his home... but he was desperate to know what had happened to Nye. It must have been something bad to have brought Adam here. What if he was...? What if...?

Finally he stepped aside and motioned Adam into the house, closing the door behind him. Showing him into the living room he rounded on him before he had a chance to sit... which he did anyway.

"So what the fuck is going on? What's happened to Nye? Is he... Is he... alright?"

"I'd be lying if I said he was. He's been very ill... after that day you came to see him at The Club. For a few days I thought... I was afraid..." Running his hands through his hair Adam looked more vulnerable and, he had to admit, more human that Kane had ever seen him. It confused him. Did this mean he really did care about Nye after all?

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. You know Nye... he's stubborn. He wouldn't go to a doctor. I've been taking care of him the best I can and he is getting better but... He insisted on going back to work at The Club, said he was going mad cooped up at home. It was a bad move and he's going downhill again. He's constantly exhausted and sick. I'm at my wits end."

Kane's heart contracted. It was unbearable to think of Nye ill like that. "Do you want me to come and speak to him?"

Adam shook his head. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. It really upset him when he saw you the other day. He... he's been... having dreams." Adam looked up at Kane, his face stricken, his eyes shadowed. "Dreams about you."




Love in Chains Ch. 11



"About me?"

"I don't know what you said to him but it really upset his equilibrium. I'm not saying that seeing you made him ill... it didn't, he was ill already... maybe that's why it hit him so hard. It's just... He has... fevers when he... he doesn't know me. He thinks I'm you and he says he loves you, clings to me... to you. Then when he recovers he's mortified... so guilty and upset. He clings to me and sobs his heart out. It's tearing him apart."

"Shit. I... I didn't realise. What can I do?"

"He's got it into his head that he has to come to your party tomorrow at all costs. I know that you think I'm controlling and that I don't want him to come because I am jealous but, honestly Kane... he's not well enough to come... physically or mentally. I'm scared for him Kane. I would come with him, to take care of him but he won't let me. He says he wants to come alone because he doesn't want to spoil your party with an atmosphere as everyone doesn't like me."

"Well... I'm not gonna lie to yer and tell you that he's wrong."

"I'm not expecting platitudes Kane... I just need your help."

Kane frowned. "In what way?"

"I want you to tell Nye the party's off."

"What?" Anger bubbled in Kane as a nasty little suspicion crept into his mind. From the very beginning there had been something about this situation that had just felt wrong. Adam seemed sincere, and Kane had seen with his own eyes that Nye had not been well, and he HAD told him he loved him but...

"Think about it Kane. If he comes to the party it's going to make everything a hundred times worse. He's half convinced he's in love with you and hating himself for it. It would destroy him to spend time in your company now."

"Really?" Kane sneered. "And who are you to make that decision? Do you know what I think? I think you are terrified that if Nye comes to the party and gets with his friends again he will begin to realise what a manipulative bastard you are and will slip the noose you have been tying around his neck.

"I think that you know full well that left to his own devices he would soon see through your glamour to the arrogant, shallow manipulative lying shit that you are. That's why you never leave him alone for a minute, that's why he's fucked up... because you have been playing with his head for so long.

"I think that you came here today full of all that cock and bull trying to twist me around your finger and get me to do your dirty work in putting Nye off the party. 

"I think that it was a nice try but I have known Nye for a lot longer than you have... and I have known assholes like you too. He's too good for you and if there is any chance... any chance at all that I can get him to see that, to get his ass away from you as fast as he can... then I am going to take it and there is not a damned thing you can do about it."

Adam stood, his face dark and his eyes flashing. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah... I'm sure. Glare all you want dude, you're scary eyes don't work on me. I don't give a fuck how much of a big shot you are in that seedy little world you like to pretend is worth crap... you're in my world now and here you're nothing... less than nothing." 

Adam took a step forward menacingly and Kane laughed. He was a good four or five inches taller than Adam and more powerfully built. If it came down to a fight he was more than confident that he would come off the better.

"Don't try and scare me. I'm a big boy and I can take care of myself." The cocky smile faded from his face and he looked at the same time, sad and angry. He said softly. "I'm not Nye."

Suddenly Adam grinned. "No, you're right. You're not Nye. You're arrogant and cocky and brutish, whereas he is sweet and gentle and kind. He's worth a hundred of you and he's all mine."

"Yours... hah. We'll see. One of these days Nye is going to wake up and realise what a bag of shit you are and then you won't see his ass for dust. He's not a fool, not by any means and sooner or later you are going to slip up and he's gonna see right through you."

Adam smiled, almost pleasantly. It disturbed Kane to see how quickly he changed moods. "Oh no... no, that's where you're wrong. Nye is not going to wake up to anything at all... I'll see to that. I wasn't joking when I told you he is ill and messed up... I've been very careful to keep him right on the edge for a while now. One wrong move and he'll tip over. Do you really want to be responsible for what happens to him then?"

Kane stared at him, trying to work out what he was saying, what he was implying, what he was trying to do. In the end he laughed shortly and turned away.

"Fuck off Adam. Your crass manipulation is never gonna work on me. Nye's his own man. I don't believe you're capable of bringing him down that far."

"Really? Well... let's say I had help."

Kane spun round. Adam was grinning and twirling a syringe between his fingers. Very deliberately he put it down on the table and walked past Kane towards the door. Kane stared at the needle, his heart pounding, his mouth suddenly dry.

"What have you done?"

Adam paused very close to Kane and moved his face closer still, so close that Kane could smell the stale alcohol on his breath.

"Cancel the party Kane. It would be very, very bad for Nye to come."

Icy fingers gripped Kane's heart and he stared at Adam for a moment... then he shook his head.

"If you are here that means that you have not been able to persuade Nye not to come, and that means that whatever you have been doing to him there is enough of himself left to defy you and to want to come to me. I am not going to turn him away and if I have anything to do with it, anything at all... once he's here he won't be leaving again."

Adam smiled a tight, mirthless smile. "I was afraid you would say that. I had hoped to be able to make you see sense... for Nye's sake. I don't want to hurt you, either of you... but Nye is almost mine and I have been through a lot to ensure that. I am not about to let a two bit Yankee whore get in my way, do you understand?"

"Yeah... I understand. But now you understand. I am not afraid of you. There is nothing you can do to me because I am not part of your world. You have no hold over me and I won't let you use Nye as one. So fuck off out of my house and if you do anything... anything at all to hurt my friend... I'll cut off your balls and stuff them down your throat then shove your severed dick up your ass."

"Big talk; little boy."

"Not so little. Now get the fuck out of here."

For a moment it seemed as if Adam was going to say something, to put up a fight... but he didn't. Instead he unexpectedly slapped Kane lightly on the face and then strode past him and out of the house without looking back.

Kane watched him go, his heart pounding. What the fuck was he going to do now? Looking down at the needle Adam had left on the table he shivered.

The doorbell rang, making him jump. "Who the fuck...?"

He should have stayed put. He shouldn't have answered it... but he did. As soon as the door began to clear the frame a heavy weight slammed into it, throwing Kane backwards. Shocked and disoriented he barely registered the large men dressed all in black who streamed through, before a black silk hood was rammed down over his head and his arms were grabbed and viciously dragged behind his back.

Kane struggled like a mad man but it was no good. The hood was disorienting and the men were strong. He heard the click of the handcuffs closing around his wrists and a fist drove into his stomach bringing him to his knees. Coughing and gasping for breath he was barely aware that there was someone standing in front of him until Adam's voice spoke, softly.

"I think I may have left something here. You don't mind if I get it do you? I need it."

Confused Kane struggled again and hands grabbed his arms, pulling them back so hard they almost dislocated his shoulders whilst at the same time other hands pressed his head forwards and down so he was effectively immobilised. Now he could not move a muscle without excruciating pain.

It didn't surprise him to feel the sharp stab of the needle in his arm and Adam whispered in his ear. "Got it."

The men hauled him to his feet and forced him to walk forwards, stumbling because he was blind. They took him out of the door and as soon as his feet hit the street they were snatched from under him and he was lifted bodily and thrown head first into what felt like the back of a van. The floor of the van was covered with rough cloth, like sacking and as soon as he hit it there were hands all over him. When the hands withdrew he was completely unable to move, apparently strapped down. He was aware of something covering him and assumed that it was the sacking, concealing him from any prying eyes which might take a peep inside.

Kane was blazingly angry. As he lay helpless on the floor of the van he swore to himself that whatever happened he would make Adam pay, somehow he would make him pay.

Suddenly and unexpectedly the sacking was removed from over his head and the hood was yanked off. Adam's smiling face was very close, just visible in the dim light.

"I just thought I would welcome you to our little family Kane." Adam stroked his face and Kane jerked it away. "Oooh spirit... I like it. I do so love breaking in boys with spirit. Don't worry... it won't all be hell."

"Fuck you."

"Oh no dear... you won't be having that luxury. In fact you won't have the luxury of fucking anyone for a long while...slaves don't fuck... they are fucked."

Kane did not respond, instead he spat in Adam's face. Wiping the spittle Adam grinned. "Enjoy yourself while you can boy."

Kane stiffened as Adam ran his hands over his lower body, wondering what he was going to do. In the end it was as simple as removing his mobile phone from his pocket. Kane watched as Adam flipped the phone and started punching buttons.

"What are you doing?"

"Cancelling the party."

"Cancelling it?"

"To everyone but Nye you are cancelling because you have just spoken to Nye and you are going to meet up with him and spend your last night with him. I've just text Nye's lovely sister and asked her to let everyone know. Unfortunately Nye is not going to get off so easily." Adam grinned. "Poor Nye is going to be so hurt when he gets your text telling him that you have been thinking hard about what was said at your meeting and you feel that it would be better if he didn't come to the party because you really have nothing to say to him and don't want to see him again. It was all a huge mistake and it's better if we both... just...move...on."

"No! You bastard. That will destroy him."

"That's the plan."

"Please... please don't do that to him."

"Please now is it? Not so cocky now are you? Not so full of yourself. Fuck you."

Adam nodded to someone and hands pulled back his head and shoved something that felt like a large rubber ball into his mouth, fastening it in place at the back with a buckle. Try as he might Kane could not speak any words that made sense and his struggling only made his head throb. Already he was feeling light headed and slightly sick as the van began to move and he was afraid that if he really was sick it would be the end of him. He couldn't see Adam caring much... he would sit and watch him choke to death.

Closing his eyes he swallowed nausea as the world seemed to spin around him. The last thing he heard before he sank into unconsciousness was Adam's laugh.



Love in Chains Ch. 12



Nye was working behind the bar when he saw Adam weaving his way towards him. It was early and there were few people in. He felt his stomach knot as usual but this time the usual mix of emotions he felt when ever he saw Adam was flavoured with something different – fear.

Adam slid onto a stool and grinned. "Hey babe. You look great. I have a huge surprise for you."

Nye smiled despite the psychotic butterflies that were demolishing his stomach. "A surprise?"

"Yeah. It's downstairs. Come on."

Adam noticed with displeasure the way his face fell and he froze. "Downstairs?"

"Yes, come on. I've gone to a lot of trouble to set this up for you." Nye noted the petulance in his tone as he reached out and brushed the floating wisps from his face. He bit his lip.

"I'm working."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I know the boss, I'm sure I can persuade him to give you the night off.

There was no escape. Swallowing his fear Nye forced a smile and looked for the bar manager. Jon nodded to him, although his face was grim, and he slipped out under the gate.

He was shivering as Adam put his arm around his waist and guided him towards the corridor. What horrors awaited in the dungeon today?

As usual they took separate changing rooms and Nye took a shower before rubbing himself vigorously with the harsh rough towels provided. Today he had not been given any equipment or clothing to wear and so he simply sat, naked and scared, waiting for his fate.

Within a few minutes Adam opened the door. He never knocked, never paused, not at any door in the building. There was nothing going on here that Adam didn't know about, he made sure of it.

Today he was wearing leather chaps which encased his long legs and attached to a wide leather belt but left his genitals and bottom uncovered. For some reason Nye found the sight of his curling black hair and semi erect penis intimidating.

"So what's this surprise? His heart was pounding and his mouth was dry. He didn't really want to know.

"I thought it was about time you found out what it's like to have the shoe on the other foot so to speak."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to teach you to be dominant, to take the enforcer's role."

Nye's eyes widened. This was unexpected. "With you?"

Adam grinned and snorted. "Hardly. I don't do sub, you know that. No, I have someone else picked out and primed ready for you. A sweet little virgin, at least to this game."

"You want me to have sex with another man?" he asked incredulously.

"If you want to. My objective is more to introduce you to the techniques and give you practice in fitting and handling the equipment. The sex is strictly optional."

Nye blushed. "I... I don't... I'm not..." Adam laughed.

"Relax babe, you'll enjoy it, for sure. It's a liberating experience."

"But I don't know what to do. I have no idea how."

"Which is exactly why I am going to be training you. No one comes to this with experience, and there is no book knowledge to be had. You just have to learn."

"I'm afraid I'll mess up."

Adam stared at the wide innocent eyes filled with uncertainty and a desire to please and he smiled. Nye was his, wholly and entirely his. Time to start reeling in.

"Don't worry beautiful. There is nothing you can do today that won't please me. Just having you near pleases me and your uncertainty and inexperience is refreshing. Relax and enjoy."

Nye glowed, a pink flush colouring the pale cheeks. Although he still felt unsettled and fearful, sick to his stomach as he always was in this place, the unexpected and exuberant praise sent warmth spreading through him.

Adam raised him to his feet and pressed himself against him. "Everyone needs training my love and you can't achieve your full potential in any position until you have seen it from the other's point of view."

"I'll try Adam. I'll do my best, I really will."

The dungeon was surprisingly deserted, apart from three members of staff who respectfully bowed their heads as they entered.

Adam nodded to one of the attendants who bowed again and departed. The other two hovered attentively close by.

"I think we'll use the prayer table. It will give us the best level of access and control, always a good thing for beginners."

The 'prayer table' was the contraption Nye had been strapped to on his last visit to the dungeon and he shuddered at the sight of it and the equipment that surrounded it.

Adam bent down and checked over the straps on the 'table' legs. "Always begin by checking the equipment carefully It always gets cleaned and checked by the attendants after every session but something could have been missed, Safety is very important and the first thing to check is that there are no sharp edges or anything sticking out that could damage the skin."

As Adam began to run through safety checks and the correct way to buckle and fasten the restraints, harnesses, collars etc. Nye found himself drawn in, becoming interested despite himself. Adam watched him out of the corner of his eye and smiled. It was not a nice smile.

Nye shuddered slightly when Adam went on to explain the properties and uses of the range of cock rings, harnesses and butt plugs, having had first hand experience of them all himself.

"There are generally two distinct functions for the plugs," Adam was speaking and he forced himself to look up and smile attentively, "and the one you choose depends on the size of the recipient, his experience and the function you require. If the function is to pleasure the recipient you would choose one of these." He indicated the long and sometimes bizarrely shaped objects. "And if your purpose is to stretch the entrance or keep it open for later penetration by another piece of equipment or a cock then you would use the shorter, wider ones."

Nye nodded, becoming fascinated again despite the vaguely nauseous feeling that still gripped him. He felt... wrong, disjointed, but then he always felt like that these days. He was headachy and vaguely feverish, and it seemed to have been a very long time since he had last felt truly well and clear headed. He didn't seem to have any energy, any will left. He smiled, trying to appear interested and alert, although in truth this was only half true right then.

"The attendants are all very well trained and on hand with advice if you need it but it is always wise to have as much knowledge and expertise as you can yourself. Remember. When using a plug, for whatever purpose and whichever type, always consider the safety and comfort of the recipient first. It is inevitable that there will be discomfort, even pain, especially at first and more so if the person is young or new to this. If the purpose is to stretch then this is an even greater concern because pain and discomfort are inevitable because the plug has to be bigger than the comfortably achievable circumference to do its job at all. However, there are things you can do to minimise the pain and discomfort.

"First and most importantly choose the right size. If you have someone who is new to the game, young or very slender, do not go for one of the big boys or you will split him and may even cause permanent damage. Second make sure that you use plenty of lubricant and that you can get at least two fingers inside him before you even begin to work in the plug. And thirdly when you're inserting the plug do it slowly and carefully. I'll show you how."

Nye was spellbound by Adam's teaching manner, which was methodical and precise. He had had no idea there was so much knowledge and skill involved and he was becoming impressed despite himself, and found to his surprise that he was actually quite excited to be finally getting some real understanding of the mysterious equipment and items which had previously frightened him so much.

Adam had moved on to discuss cock rings when the door opened and the attendant returned accompanying another man. Adam looked up as they paused in the doorway. Nye also looked up and his heart thudded in his chest. Getting interested and absorbed in the theory was one thing but the practice was something else entirely.

"Ah, excellent, excellent. Bring him in. Stand him over here where I can get a look at him."

The room was usually dim and lit with red lights which gave it a sinister but warm atmosphere. Today, it was brightly lit and seemed cold, clinical but less mysterious and frightening. As the attendant led him forwards the man stumbled and almost fell. His ankles were circled by leather cuffs which were joined by a silver chain only allowing him to take small shuffling steps. His wrists bore cuffs too and they were also linked but without the chain, effectively pinning his arms behind his back. He had a collar around his neck and a plain black silk hood with no eye or mouth holes over his head. Apart from this he was naked.

Adam strolled up to the man and circled him looking him over appreciatively. Nye had to agree that he was very beautiful. Tall and slender with honey gold tanned skin tone and a light scattering of curly golden hair over his chest, siphoning down to a nest of gold around a cock which, although limp and flaccid was clearly well shaped and, frankly pretty.

He was a couple of inches taller than Adam which would make him around the same height as Nye who stood almost 6'4'' in bare feet. Although he was slender he had excellent muscle tone with a smooth, clearly defined musculature and very tight abs. Nye shivered as he was swept by an unexpected surge of desire and he wanted to touch, touch, touch. It was impossible, not being able to see his face, to tell accurately how old he was but he looked young.

"Come over here." Adam beckoned to Nye and he complied readily, even eagerly. "Everyone who comes here is nervous at first. They don't know what to expect and they need reassurance. That is why we always start with skin to skin contact in order to heighten awareness and make a physical connection engendering trust."

As he spoke he ran his hands over the boy's chest and belly, pausing to allow his fingers to play with the soft curls at his groin. The boy stiffened but made no other move.

"Take over."

Now that it came to it Nye was strangely reluctant to touch the boy but he didn't want to annoy Adam who had been surprisingly mellow so far and so he obediently reached out to touch the soft silky skin on the boy's back. It was warm and smooth and trembled slightly under his hand. Shivering himself he moved closer and ran his hands all over the back, appreciating the curves and then down past the tapering waist and hips to cup the firm buttocks.

"Well done. Keep going."

Pressing himself against the boy and feeling his own pleasure growing as his penis rubbed against the protruding bottom he reached around the boy's waist to stroke the smooth flat belly. The boy sighed and leaned into him, slightly arching his back and letting his head fall onto Nye's shoulder. Encouraged he moved his hands downwards getting even more excited by the musky smell of the warm skin under his hands and near his cheek. On impulse he licked the skin nearest his lips and it was deliciously salty.

"Okay, that's enough."

Did he detect a note of envy in Adam's voice? Oh he hoped so, he really hoped so.

Nye stepped back, dropping his arms and the boy, not expecting the withdrawal of support staggered and would have fallen if the ever hovering attendant hadn't caught and steadied him.

Nye narrowed his eyes. "Is he drugged?"

"Of course. You are very new and inexperienced Nye and you are going to hurt him, no matter how careful you are. Whilst some pain goes with the territory and is expected and even welcomed, you are still learning and it would be too much for anyone if they are fully aware. It's for his own protection and comfort. If he was too tense it could be very dangerous to him."

"Oh... well if you put it like that."

"I put it the way it is Nye. This boy is young and inexperienced too and I am not a cruel man."

"No, no of course not. How much is he aware of what's going on?" 

"He's aware. He can hear, he can feel... every touch. That's enough."

Nye thought of his own experience, the confusion, the fear, the overwhelming feeling of being consumed by sensation and being unable to make any sense of what was happening or why. On impulse he asked;

"Can I see his face?" His hand was already reaching for the mask but Adam stopped him.

"You know the rules Nye. All newcomers and slaves must have their faces covered at all times."

"Is he a slave then?"

"Not yet. That depends on you."

"Me?" Nye was surprised and somewhat horrified at the thought.

"He is my gift to you. The best. You can either keep him and train him as your own personal slave for your pleasure alone; or you can free him. That's the rules... find a master or a sponsor... or leave. You can be either or both to him... or you can send him away."

"I... I don't..."

"Don't worry. You don't have to decide right now. Let's see how it goes first."

Numbly Nye nodded, overwhelmed, his mouth suddenly dry. "What's his name?"

"Nye, do you ever listen to me? I have explained the rules to you. Slaves have no name and no identity. Until he is freed he is a slave – no name."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Adam smiled indulgently and caressed Nye's cheek. "You'll learn my love."

At a nod from Adam the attendants took the boy by the arm and led him, stumbling, over to the prayer table, pressing him to his knees and then bending him forward at the waist. At first he resisted but the pressure of the hands on his shoulders and back was calm, gentle but relentless and in the end he didn't have the strength to resist. 

He resisted again when his legs were positioned and strapped to the legs of the table while, at the same time, his hands were released from behind his back and stretched over his head so that his wrist cuffs could be fastened to hooks on solid posts at the far end of the table. His struggles were frantic for a while but subsided quickly, presumably when either he realised he was securely restrained or his strength ran out.

Adam, ignoring the struggles, accompanied the attendants' actions by a commentary on how to buckle the restraints, how tight to pull the straps, how to position the legs and body and Nye tried his very best to listen but he was distracted by the way the boy was struggling. It was almost as if he really didn't want to be there at all. If that was the case he sympathised. He imagined that it was yet another poor innocent that had been dazzled by Adam and talked into doing something he didn't understand and didn't really want. He almost gasped when the realisation hit him that he had been one of them himself. Was that what he was to Adam? A conquest? New meat to train and pass on? 

For some reason the realisation shook him. Adam was his world, he was everything. All he wanted, all he had ever wanted, was to please him, to be accepted by him, to be loved. The thought that he might be something less than that to Adam was shocking. But no, if that was true he would not have given him everything he had. There had never been anyone else he had given so much to. And he treated him so well, mostly.

The very fact that he was thinking these strangely negative things scared him, made his stomach churn. He had the uneasy feeling that Adam knew, that he could see into his mind where all the doubts flashed their treachery. Adam would be so mad at him and he really, really didn't want Adam to be mad. It was of the utmost importance that he pleased Adam, that he didn't displease him. He didn't quite know why it was so important, not that important, but it was and he didn't have the clarity or the energy to either question or fight it.

"Are you paying attention?"

"Of course I am Adam."

"Carry on then. Continue with the settling in process." He guided Nye to stand between the spread legs of the now quiescent boy. Nye looked at him, uncertain how to proceed. "I mean carry on touching him."

Trying to remember how he had felt when he had been in this position – without feeling too nauseous at the idea and the images it was evoking in his memory – he leaned forwards, shuddering slightly when this brought his own equipment into contact with the boy's buttocks, he began to stroke the taut shoulders with firm, smooth strokes. The boy jerked at the touch and Nye drew back slightly as the movement caused his bum to rub against him.

Bending forwards again to caress the boy's shoulders, Nye could see curling strands of golden hair flicking out from under the hood and, for some reason it made him think of Kane. He was momentarily distracted, surprised by the stab of pain and guilt this provoked. He was still raw and hurting about Kane's rejection but still ridiculously guilty. Why should he feel that he was somehow letting down not only his friend but himself in doing this? It wasn't even as if Kane was interested in being his friend anymore...he had rejected him hadn't he; cast him off without a moment's thought.

When the boy started to struggle again he was taken completely by surprise and jumped back. He looked up at Adam fearing disapproval. Surprisingly Adam simply smiled indulgently.

"Why don't you take a break? Go and get a drink of water and I'll finish up the preparation myself. Come back in ten minutes."

"But... What's wrong with him? If he doesn't want to be here..."

"Don't worry about that Nye. They are often like this to begin with. He is confused and disoriented by the preparation he has already undergone."

"Like being drugged?"

"You seem to have an issue with that Nye."

"No, not really. I understand why... it's just... it doesn't feel right to be doing this to him when he doesn't really want it."

"What makes you think he doesn't want it?"

"He... he doesn't seem to be... compliant."

"You've been in that position yourself Nye... and that was with someone you knew and trusted, with a very different kind of preparation. You were not new to the scene, you knew everyone involved, and if I recall you were still... reluctant, until you got into it." Nye squirmed at the memory but struggled to keep his face carefully neutral.

"Trust me... this is not unusual. If you stop now you will deprive him of his chance of ever being accepted here. Is that what you want?"

Nye shook his head, startled and ashamed. Adam laughed and took him into a full embrace, kissing him in a way that stole his breath and his reservations.

"I am very pleased with you Nye. Most people are drawn naturally to one role or the other, there are not that many who are completely comfortable with both and even fewer who are really good at both. You are showing great promise and all you need is confidence. This is a very useful skill to acquire and you have an excellent teacher. Just relax and stop being so worried and uptight and you will find it a very liberating experience."

"I'm sorry Adam."

Adam kissed him again and pressed against him grinding their hips together. "I forgive you," he whispered into his ear, and then slapped him soundly on the bottom and sent him skittering for the door.

Sipping from a bottle of cold water from the fridge in one of the changing rooms Nye pondered his position and concluded that it wasn't so bad. Being on this side of the whip was definitely better than the other side... but just as disturbing. Would he ever get used to this, be as easy with it as Adam? 

He told himself that Adam had been doing it a lot longer than he had and, as owner of The Club and instigator of the dungeon he was completely in control. Maybe one day he would have the respect and control that Adam did and it would be different then... wouldn't it? 

Unbidden his mind turned again to Kane. He hadn't thought about him for such a long time and he felt guilty about that. But... He had thought Kane was his best friend, the one person, outside of his family, who would stand by him no matter what. So why had he just dumped him, with no explanation, no reason, no consideration... when he knew how important friends were to him right now?




Love in Chains Ch. 12



Maybe he hadn't. Maybe there was a reason for what he had done. Maybe Kane was in trouble and he was so immersed in his own misery that he hadn't picked up the signs, hadn't been open to listen to his. 

Waves of guilt washed over him again and he wanted to curl up in a corner. Kane had never liked Adam and yet he was prepared to put his feelings aside to be a friend to Nye when he so badly needed one... hadn't he? What if he hadn't? What if he had just said that? What if he had deceived him from the start, pretended to be concerned, always intending to cruelly abandon him? 

But why? Why would he have done that? Because he was angry with Nye for abandoning him? Maybe. But he hadn't abandoned him... had he? It had been Kane who had abandoned him by going so far away and coming back less and less. True, since Adam had come along Nye hadn't made any effort to contact him... but he had meant to. It's just that time had passed so fast and he had been so busy. So busy that he had no time for his friends... his family? What if they all hated him too? What if Mir had been so disgusted by what he had done, what she had seen...?

Mentally shaking himself Nye got up and started to pace. He had been bad. He should have made time for those who were close to him. He would do that. He would make it all right. He would go and see his mother and siblings soon... tomorrow, and he would go and talk to Kane too, find out for sure why he had bailed on him.

But what if he wouldn't see him? What if he told him he didn't like him anymore? What if they were no longer friends, if there was no one there for him anymore? What if he was all alone?

Frustrated Nye threw the plastic bottle into the bin. He wasn't alone... he had Adam. Adam was enough for him... wasn't he? Maybe he shouldn't go back. But if he didn't he would never know. Maybe they did still love him. He would go and find out. If his fears were founded then he would turn his back and leave them all behind. He would focus on Adam, make him proud and make his life revolve around him. He would work hard, conquer his fear, and fully immerse himself in Adam's world. He would damn well ensure there was one person who was proud of him, who was there for him.

If only he could be clear about this, about anything. He sat down and rubbed his temples with his fingers. Ever since Lian's visit he had not felt himself, not at all. He had been so ill... it had shocked him and then... Somehow he had never quite recovered. Adam told him that it was understandable, that he understood and he had taken care of him, better than he could ever have hoped. Most of the time Adam was attentive and considerate, kind and gentle, and he had been so proud, so happy and yet... He closed his eyes, shivering. If only he could think. If only he could get rid of this fog that seemed to perpetually cloud his mind. The only thing that was clear was that he loved Adam and wanted to please him in any way he could. If he focussed on that everything would be alright... he just knew it.

A respectful tap on the door startled him. He opened it to find one of the attendants, head bowed in respect.

"Master Adam is ready for you now Sir."

Sir? Yes, he liked that. He liked the respect, he liked the acceptance, he liked the fact that someone was bowing their head to him. Screw them... he was going to get good at this. He was going to make them all respect him, not because he was Adam's play thing but because he was good and because he had earned their respect in his own right.

Everything was the same when he re entered the dungeon. Adam was talking quietly to one of the attendants, handing him something which he quickly slipped into his pocket. Attendants always wore the same uniform of black leather trousers, high leather boots and red shirts. That was how they were recognised. No one else was fully clothed in here... ever... except sometimes Adam.

"Feeling better?"

Nye met his eye, his new resolve lifting his chin and adding weight to his steps. Adam grinned, his eyes gleaming and Nye's heart lifted further. There was something hungry in Adam's eyes and Nye played to it, swinging his hips as he walked and flicking his long hair back behind his shoulder, deliberately teasing. Adam's grin widened and, as he approached he slipped his arms around his waist from behind and rubbed himself against him.

"Power suits you." Adam whispered into his ear as he let his head fall back onto his shoulder and turned his head to nuzzle into his neck.

"You ain't seen nothing yet." He murmured and Adam laughed. Pulling away he slapped his arse playfully.

"Let's get on with our lesson or you'll have me too distracted to think let alone teach. When did you get to be such a tease?"

"When I realised how much you mean to me and what I was prepared to do to please you."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes? And what's that?"

"Anything." Nye's voice was husky and he thrilled at the flicker in Adam's eyes. Very slowly Adam sashayed into place in front of him. Burying his hand in his hair he kissed him tenderly but with an underlying fire that Nye had not sensed for a long time. His whole body was burning with it.

"Fuck, you are beautiful, and you keep on surprising me. When we finish here I am going to fuck you like you have never been fucked before." Nye grinned and turned away.

"Then we had better get on with it hadn't we. What's next?"

Adam picked something up from the table and threw it at him. Catching it deftly Nye looked down and his newfound confidence flickered slightly when he saw the tube of lubricant. Oh well.

Keeping his face carefully neutral he opened the tube and squeezed some of the cool gel onto his finger. He looked up to Adam for instruction and Adam grinned.

"Let's see what you can do."

Although his stomach flipped nervously Nye lifted his chin and resumed his previous position confidently. Wracking his brain to remember all the things Adam had told him and done to him he laid one hand on the boy's back, massaging the area over the bottom of his spine and top of his buttocks. The boy was completely still now and didn't struggle at all when he slid his finger, slick with lubricant down into the crevice between his buttocks and rubbed slowly up and down, sliding over the button which twitched at each stroke.

After doing this for a few moments he reached for the tube and applied more lubricant. This time he rubbed the tip of his finger around the entrance, massaging more and more firmly, testing the muscle which tensed against his touch.

He increased the pressure of both hands and began to knead the flesh, digging in his fingers. The boy twitched under him and when he pushed the very tip of his finger into him he jerked and gasped but he did not struggle. Feeling the muscles clench around him Nye waited for a moment until they relaxed a little and then slid his finger in to the first knuckle. The boy jerked and gasped again, tensing once more.

Little by little, taking his time Nye worked in the whole finger and then began to slide it in and out as slowly as he could. It felt incredible, amazing. His own body responded to the sensations and he grew semi hard as he finger fucked the boy who arched his back and hissed. The response from him added to Nye's excitement and he almost got carried away, but remembered where he was and slid the finger out again. 

Applying more lube he began to work in a second finger and this time the boy groaned and strained against him. Even more excited Nye pushed harder than he had intended and his fingers seemed to 'pop' into him as they thrust past the muscle ring. The boy moaned and bucked and Nye stopped, remaining motionless, stroking his back until he was quiet again. 

When he had finished thoroughly exploring the boy, stopping whenever he fought against him, he withdrew and looked up at Adam expectantly. Adam's eyes were bright with a look that made his heart swell.

"Well done Nye. That was perfect, just perfect." Nye could not help but notice that Adam had 'come to life' so to speak, clearly aroused by watching Nye working on the boy.

"Do you think he's ready to move on?"

"Oh yes. As ready as he is going to be... unless you want to play a little longer..."

Smiling up at Adam through his hair in what he knew was a manner Adam found sexy, Nye massaged the boy a little more and slipped his finger in again. Licking his lips he shook his head. "I want more."

Was it his imagination or was Adam shaking slightly? Now it was Adam's turn to lick his lips. "Do you want to choose?"

"Why don't you choose and tell me why?"

Adam talked him through the choice and insertion of the plug which Nye achieved with surprising ease even though there was some resistance and the boy struggled a little again. This time it did not faze Nye and he just stopped what he was doing and stroked his back until he calmed down.

Nye was beginning to get the message that the more he threw himself into this the more excited and attentive Adam got. If he could make a good show now and please him later he would be more receptive to his plans for going to see his family. He would ask him in the afterglow of their lovemaking and there was no way he could refuse him.

Adam took Nye through the techniques for paddling and lashing. Both had a definite and different technique requiring a delicate touch. Nye took to both with surprising ease although he didn't enjoy the paddling except for the fact that it had a surprising effect on the boy who acquired a raging hard on which allowed Adam to show Nye the finer points of selecting and applying cock rings. Nye found himself growing strangely aroused by the activity.

Crouching next to Adam, leaning his head on his shoulder while they both handled a stranger's erect cock and balls, breathing in the scent of Adam's hair and the musky smell of the squirming boy made him dizzy and breathless. His fingers trembled and flared with something that was like an electric shock whenever they touched Adam's.

The flail was next and he gloried in the sense of power it gave him to stand over the prone figure, flexing his arms and flicking his wrist making the silky cords kiss the soft skin turning it pink and then red. He stopped before he drew blood and earned admiring comments from Adam who was impressed by his control and how quickly he picked up the technique.

When he finally laid aside the flail he was erect and excited, his blood burning.

"What's next?"

Adam grinned and caressed his arse. "I have created a monster. What do you want to do next? There are a number of options. Time for some serious arse play I think, but it depends how you want to do it. Do you want to use something or just use you?"

Nye looked up surprised. "Would you be alright with that? Seeing me having sex with another man?"

"Mind? If you only knew how much that thought is turning me on right now."

Nye smiled a slow sexy smile and licked his lips. "Tell you what... how about you come give me a hand?"

Adam's eyes widened. "A monster indeed."

Pressing himself tight against Nye from behind Adam reached around and stroked his belly as Nye leaned back against him and turned his head to be kissed. Adam's hand rose upwards and tweaked his nipples bending him backwards whilst covering his mouth and plunging his tongue in as deeply as possible. Nye shuddered and moaned into him.

Raising his head Adam moaned, "Let me watch you get yourself hard."

Smiling Nye complied while Adam tweaked his nipples and gently bit his shoulder. It didn't take very long.

When he was so full he was aching Nye reached forward and carefully worked out the butt plug, making the boy moan and arch his back. The sight of it made both Nye and Adam even more excited.

While Nye began to caress the boy's buttocks Adam did the same to him, driving him half wild with excitement. One of the attendants appeared at his shoulder and the eyes he turned to him were glazed. With bowed head the attendants pressed something into his hand. It was a condom. His hands were shaking so much it was difficult to get it out of the packet and onto his cock but he managed it.

He then took the lubricant that the attendant had already opened for him and generously coated his hand before stroking his encased cock until it was back to full hardness and ready to go. As he was preparing to enter the boy he jumped as something cold touched his butt crack. Then he smiled as Adam's finger probed him. Bending forward slightly he leaned over the boy with one hand on his back. 

At first there was resistance but it was brief as Nye was very hard and just as his head broke through the ring Adam's finger penetrated him making him gasp. For a moment the twin sensations made him dizzy and his legs turned weak. He thought he might collapse but Adam's body was pressing him hard against the boy and that supported him.

Reaching down with one hand between the boy's spread legs he grasped his cock and began to massage it. Even with the cock ring it had lost most of its hardness now but he felt it twitch and fill almost immediately. As Adam's finger slammed into him he jerked his cock fully into the boy who shuddered and moaned. There was something wrong with the moan but what it was didn't register at all at that time. 

Synchronising his thrusts with Adam's and his own strokes to both, Nye had to concentrate hard not to cum too soon. The sensations assailing him from all directions were almost too much to bear and he was soon moaning and trembling all over. 

"Adam... Adam I... I can't... I..."

"Then don't. I want this session ended so I can have a little one on one time with you. I need to get my cock in you, it's driving me insane."

Nye smiled and then concentrated on driving deeper and deeper as did Adam. The boy was squirming and moaning, sobbing as Nye pounded him harder and harder until suddenly his whole body was possessed by a tremendous orgasm and his head and shoulders slammed back into Adam as his hips thrust forwards. At the height of the orgasm Adam lowered his head and bit him hard sending him spiralling into and even more intense climax. He screamed, all control lost.

Grunting he fell forwards across the boy, noting that his back was hot and slick with sweat. The boy was still shaking with the sobbing groans and Nye, recovering a little resumed his attention to the boy's cock.

Gently nudging him slightly to one side Adam replaced his cock with a dildo and together they brought the boy to a screaming climax in minutes. When they were done he was shaking so badly Nye was concerned for a moment that he was having a seizure but the fit passed quickly and he was left sobbing quietly, tremors still running through his body.

Adam took Nye into his arms and kissed him soundly. They were both trembling.

"So... have you made you decision?"

"What decision?"

"About the boy. Do you want to keep him? Do you want to train him to be your personal slave? If you do then you can do this again, whenever you want."

Nye shivered with delighted anticipation. The answer came out before he had even thought about it. "Yes. Fuck yes."

Adam smiled, his eyes glowing. He turned his head to the attendants. "Leave us. I want no interruptions. Take the boy to one of the changing rooms and get him cleaned up. You know what to do. I'll deal with him later. Tell him he's done a good job."

"What do you mean 'deal with him'?"

"Tell him of your decision and instruct him in the basics of what will be expected of him."

"Oh... right."

The boy was not able to stand and, once they had unstrapped him the attendants had to half carry, half drag him out of the room.

"Is he alright?"

"He's done well."

"That's not what I asked."

"Come, come Nye. He's a slave... he's your slave and he's bloody lucky for that. He's been privileged tonight."

"But... Alright. We'll discuss that another time. Right now I think we have more... interesting things to be occupying us."

Adam stared at Nye. The change was remarkable. He'd made absolutely the right decision. He had been wondering whether stopping the drugs might have been a mistake but Nye had been so upset over Kane's 'betrayal' he had been worried he might have done something foolish if he had not been thinking clearly, which was also why he had insisted he work tonight. But this was so much more than he had ever dreamed of. He smiled to himself. If only he knew... oh if only he knew. Well, maybe he would tell him later. Now that he was sure that Nye was his, all his, what would it matter? Nothing could take him away from him now, nothing at all.



Love in Chains Ch. 13



After an hour of 'play' Adam and Nye stood together under the shower in one of the changing rooms, soaping each other and enjoying each other's bodies without the drive for colouring the simple pleasure of just being together. They were both tired and calm and replete.

"Adam..."

"What?" He nuzzled Nye's shoulder, licking the water from his skin.

"Do you love me?"

"You can ask me that after what we just did?"

"I... I'm not just another plaything for you am I? Something to use up and throw away when you get tired with me."

"Nye, you are not 'just' anything. You are the most amazing creature in existence. I am madly and completely in love with you and I would give you anything you ask of me, anything. I would die for you."

"Really?"

"Really." Adam pressed himself against the deliciously slick slender body, feeling the smooth muscles bunch under his hands, shivering with the delicious beauty of the emerald eyes that gazed adoringly out of the delicate face turned up to his.

"Anything?"

Smiling Adam kissed him gently. "Anything."

"Then you won't mind if I go and visit my family tomorrow."

"What?" Adam looked startled, the smiling slipping from his face. Nye looked a little uncertain but jutted his chin.

"I haven't been for a very long time and I am missing my mother and my brothers, not to mention Mir. We were always so close." There was wistfulness in his voice that was entirely lost on Adam.

"You know I don't think that is a good idea right now. You're fragile Nye. You've been so ill and what happened with Kane hit you hard. I'd be worried about you if you went."

Nye laughed. "You weren't worrying about me being fragile just now." He turned, his soapy body sliding over Adam's and reached up to entwine his hands behind Adam's head. "Please Adam, support me in this. I need it. I need to see my mother and my brothers... please." He pouted and looked up at Adam through lowered lids.

"Why now? Why is this suddenly so important to you?" 

Nye faltered in the face of Adam's frowning censure. "I... it's just... It hurt when Kane told me he didn't want to see me anymore. He's my oldest friend and I can't understand why he would do something like that. I... I really can't understand what I have done to him to make him be so cruel. I... I... was thinking about it and I got so afraid that it would be the same with everyone. I hate to think that my family and friends don't like me anymore."

"You don't need them anymore Nye. It doesn't matter if they like you or not; you're mine now. I will protect you from them, give you everything they could have given you and more. Why do you need to go there?"

"Because... because they are my family and because I need to KNOW."

"You see...?" Adam gently disengaged Nye's hands from behind his neck and pulled back slightly. He took Nye's face between his hands and looked into the beautiful emerald eyes. "It's already disturbing you. Your eyes look feverish and you're shaking. You don't understand how hard it's been for me these past couple of weeks. You were out of it but I wasn't, I had to watch you get more and more ill and be helpless to do anything for you. 

"I couldn't even call a doctor because how would I explain the fact that you were poisoned by a rare Uruguayan nerve toxin? I sat by you every minute and watched you go through it terrified you were going to die and leave me. I did that Nye, not Kane, not your parents... me. And then when you started to get better I took care of you, looked after you in every way I could."

"I know Adam, and I'm grateful, really grateful but..."

Adam touched his finger to Nye's lips silencing his words. "Aren't I enough for you? Don't you love me enough to make all those others not important?"

Nye frowned and shook his head. "It's my mother Adam, my brothers and sister... you'll never be more important than them... no one ever could... as important maybe, but never more. Surely no one could ever be more important to you than your mother."

"You don't know my mother... come to think of it neither do I. I don't have a family Nye. I was brought up in care. I have no family, only you."

"Wow. I didn't know that. I'm sorry Adam. That's harsh. But the fact remains... I do have a family and they are very important to me. I want to see them. I need to see them."

Adam gave him a long strange look, a look that made him shiver and his eyes widen. "I'm sorry Nye, but I can't allow that."

"What do you mean 'can't allow'?"

"You've been ill and you are fragile. If you visit your family now and they reject you then I believe it will break you and I will not allow that to happen."

"But Adam..."

"No, Nye. If your family reject you then you will be hurt too badly... you may feel strong but I know you can't take that hurt right now. If they haven't rejected you then they will be waiting for you when you are strong enough."

"But..."

"I said no Nye."

"But they're my family. You can't stop me seeing my family."

"Yes I can." Adam pulled Nye close to him. "You made a commitment to me. I gave you half of what I have and you gave me all of what you are. You agreed to submit to me, to accept me as your master. If you break that commitment Nye it's over. In this game there is no half measure. You keep to the commitment or you leave."

Nye was confused, his emotions in tatters, his shadowed mind confused and struggling to understand what was being said, being asked of him.

"I... don't understand."

"You accepted me as your master Nye. That is an unbreakable commitment. As long as our relationship continues you are completely under my control. Just like I am with Lian. I am a kinder master and my love for you makes me care for you in the way that no other master has ever done... but the fact remains... your master I remain. If I give you a direct order and you deliberately disobey it then the contract is broken, the commitment reneged and our relationship is over."

"But I... I didn't... I never... we talked about it but I didn't ever agree."

"Yes you did Nye." Adam said quietly. "When you were ill and I was caring for you, you made the commitment more than once. You begged for it so that you would not have to worry anymore, fight anymore, have to deal with the world anymore."

"But I... I don't remember."

"Does the fact that you don't remember make the commitment go away... no, it doesn't. You are mine Nye, whether you like it or not."

"When... when you say... our relationship would be over ... what exactly do you mean?"

"I mean you move out of the apartment, give up your job at The Club, never set foot in it again and never see me again. It's harsh but it's our rules."

Nye blanched and if Adam hadn't been holding him he would have fallen. Adam tightened his arm around him as he started to shake.

"Everything? I have to obey you in everything? And if I don't it's all gone."

Adam stroked the wet hair away from Nye's face and shoulders. He traced his trembling lips with one finger.

"It's not so bad Nye. I have my own commitments and I swear I will never ask you to do something just for spite or in anger or for any reason other than that I truly think it is the best for you."

"And you will stop me seeing my family?"

"Not forever Nye. I would never do that. I swear I will not stop you seeing your family or your friends forever, only for so long as I think that seeing them could hurt you badly."

"I... Can't I change my mind? Can't I stop this?"

"It's done Nye. It was your choice."

"But I was ill. I obviously didn't know what I was doing. I can't do this Adam. I can't."

Adam stroked the side of his face and ran the hand soothingly down over his throat and shoulder. "Don't you want to please me Nye? Don't you want to show your love for me and give me an opportunity to show my love for you? I have given you everything I have to give and you have given the same to me. It's just that with me it is material possessions which you have none of... you have returned the commitment with the only thing you have to offer me... yourself."

"I..."

"Are you so sure that isn't what you want?"

"I didn't say... I..." Nye was lost, confusion raging in his mind. His natural personality warred with the conditioning that he was not even aware had been implanted into his subconscious. Lingering traces of the drugs in his system fogged his senses and made him feel light headed and unable to concentrate, to comprehend.

Adam stroked the other side of Nye's face with the back of his hand, trailing his fingers over the pale cheek while pulling him close with the other hand and grinding their hips together. Nye sighed and closed his eyes, melting into Adam's embrace.

"The fact is that this is all academic Nye. It's done and it can't be undone." He kissed Nye gently. "You're mine." And then his eyes hardened and his voice snarled. "And you had better fucking get used to it."

As he spoke he released Nye and simultaneously hit him as hard as he could across the face with the back of his hand. Nye was unsuspecting and relaxed, liquid in his arms and the blow took him completely by surprise, sending him crashing into the wall face first. Stunned he slid slowly to the floor and curled up, sobbing with shock and pain as Adam walked calmly out.

***

When Nye finally picked himself up off the floor and limped out of the shower, the changing room was empty. He stared at himself in the large mirror, fascinated by the haunted eyes that just didn't seem to belong to him anymore. There was a large bruise already staining the pale skin over his cheek and his lip was split dribbling blood over his chin. Another cut over his eyebrow trickled down his face.

Nye touched the cut gingerly and winced. Pressing his cheek provoked the same automatic response and he was afraid to go near the cut on his lip. Even more afraid to look into his own eyes he forced himself to do so and didn't like what he saw. It was a stranger who looked back at him, a stranger whom he didn't understand and didn't like at all.

With a moan he let himself sink onto the couch and curled up, hugging himself. His head was throbbing and he felt sick and frightened and shaken to his core. How could Adam have hurt him like this?

After a while he realised that he was shaking uncontrollably and was bone achingly cold. Dragging himself off the sofa he dressed, fumbling with trembling fingers. Still shaking he stumbled from the room and made for the bar. Jon looked up and saw him coming. Dropping everything he ducked out from under the counter and caught Nye around the waist. He sagged against him, weeping softly.

Calling to one of the bar staff, Jon supported Nye to a booth and then let him slip from his grip onto the seat. Nye was boneless, no strength, no heart. He let himself slump forward resting his head on his arms. Jon simply sat with him, rubbing his back, letting him cry, shielding him from the rest of the bar.

When the barman came over with the brandy he handed it wordlessly to Jon and then stood for a moment staring at Nye.

"Tell him Jon."

Jon looked up and shook his head.

"He's going to end up killing him. And if he does that I am going rip his heart out with my bare hands."

"You'll be in a queue mate."

"Don't let it happen Jon."

"What do you think will happen if I tell him?"

"He'll escape."

"For how long? Adam will go after him."

"We can stop him."

"How?"

"We'll find a way. I don't know how but we'll find a way. It's what he does Jon... he ruins people." The young man bowed his head, letting shining chestnut hair fall over his face. "He did it to all of us but Nye's different. He'll kill him before he breaks him like he did to us."

Jon's face hardened. "Over my dead body."

The two men's eyes met for a long moment and then Jon nodded. "Make some calls Luke, get Riz over here..." he paused. "Do you have Marco's number?"

Luke's eyes widened slightly, then he nodded and turned away. "Luke..." Luke turned back... "I'm not saying that I am going to do anything. I'm just going to talk to him."

Jon turned back to Nye who had remained entirely oblivious to the conversation. Jon doubted that he had even been aware that Jon was present, let alone another person and certainly not what they had spoken of.

"Nye... here... have this."

Nye lifted his head and looked at him with dull eyes. John was shocked by the state of his face. He very gently touched the cut over his eyebrow. Nye was so numb with shock he didn't even flinch.

"What happened?"

Nye took a deep drink of the brandy. "I... wanted to go and see my mother and Adam thought it was a bad idea."

"Adam hit you?" Nye nodded. "Because you wanted to go and see your mother?" He nodded again.

"I... he said it wouldn't be good for me. He said that he's my master now and I have to do what he says. I... I do love him Jon... of course I love him and I want to make him happy but... I don't know if I can do this. But if I don't..."

"Adam's a hard man to negotiate with Nye... but he's not a monster. He wouldn't make you do something you really didn't want to do. I've never seen him with anyone the way he is with you. He really does love you."

"Maybe but..." Nye ran his tongue over his torn lip and shook his head. "I've never seen him like this. Why is he like this?"

Nye's eyes pleaded with him and Jon flinched away from him. "He does it because he can. The relationship between master and slave is a complicated one and there is room for compromise and friendship and even love but... You're in his world now Nye and in his world there are absolute rules... and slaves absolutely don't say no to their master, not when they insist. This was a lesson, nothing more, at least not to Adam."

"But..." Nye shook his head, unable to even begin to put what he felt into words. 

"Didn't you understand Nye? Didn't Adam explain it to you, the rules, the contract?"

"I don't remember agreeing to it." He licked his lips and swallowed, closing his eyes. "Adam said it was when I was ill. He said I asked for it, begged for it more than once because I didn't want to have to worry anymore."

"And you don't remember that?"

Nye shook his head, staring into Jon's face with such pain in his eyes it was all Jon could do not to flinch. "I must have been out of my mind. It's just not me Jon, you know that. I... I've tried really hard to please him, to... to do whatever he wanted willingly and he..." For a moment his voice broke and he couldn't continue. He took a swig of brandy.

"He... we were... I did everything he said. I did everything, no matter how hard, how much it hurt. I let Lian... I... Why wasn't it enough?"

Jon frowned. For a moment he looked down and when he looked up there was something in his eyes that scared Nye.

"I warned you about this Nye. Do you remember?" Nye nodded, his eyes enormous. He was shivering, looking lost and young and distraught. Jon sighed. "I also told you that you had friends who would do everything they could to help you, to watch out for you... and I am going to do that now. You may not appreciate it. You may not want to hear it but... Nye, what do you remember about when you were ill?"

"I... I don't know what you mean?"

"Think about it Nye. What has Adam told you?"

"Only that the poison made me ill and that he took care of me."

"Do you remember how he took care of you?"

"I... I don't remember very much at all."

"Think about it Nye, think very carefully. What's the last thing you remember before you got ill?"

"I... I was at home... with Adam. We had... we had a fight but... we made it up and I... we ordered Chinese and we had a glass of wine and we were looking out over the city and... and..." He shrugged. "Then I remember... dreams...crazy dreams and... pain and... I remember Adam being... so... kind."

"What kind of dreams Nye?"

"I don't know... crazy ones. Adam... doing things... making me... Just crazy... dreams... and..." he faltered to a halt staring at Jon, chilled by his expression. "They were dreams right? He wasn't... he wasn't really doing those things to me when I was ill. He wouldn't have... not when I was ill."

" 'If' you were ill."

"What do you mean?"

Jon looked away, unable to meet his eyes and took a deep breath. When he turned his face back his eyes were hard... set. "You weren't ill Nye... you were drugged. Adam drugged you. He got the drugs at that meeting he was at the day after Lian left, the day I talked to you. When I got back to the club he told me about it. He told me that... he said that he was afraid your experience with Lian would undo all the hard work he had put into training you, making you compliant, dependent on him and he wasn't prepared to take that risk."

Nye shook his head. "No." The world was a whisper, but Jon could see in his eyes that he knew the truth.

"I tried to argue against him but you know that there is no arguing with Adam."

"Does he really hate me so much?"

"No. He doesn't hate you. He doesn't hate you at all. In his own way he loves you very much."

"In his own way?"

"Adam is not like other men. He lives in a different world with different rules. If you understand the rules and stick to them it's not a bad world, it's safe and close knit and protected. But if you don't understand the rules, or if you can't or don't keep to them." He paused.

"It's because he loves you that it all went to hell. In the beginning he really didn't want to hurt you. He couldn't bring himself to train you in the usual way. He couldn't bear to break you. So he tried a different way... and maybe it might have worked if he had been able to change himself too, to have been able to bend a little but there is no compromise in Adam."

"He's been manipulating me this whole time?"

"Manipulation is a strong word. He's been moulding you, training you."

Nye sagged back against the leather seat, his face blanched, his hand shaking uncontrollably. Jon wondered if he had done the right thing because he thought that Nye was on the verge of collapse.

"So what... what can I do now? I can't... I can't..." He put his hand up to his face and raised his eyes to Jon. There was blank horror in them.

"Nye, there's more."

"More? What do you mean?"

"Nye... I can't tell you this... I can't. You have to find out for yourself. If you want to know the truth?"

"The truth about what?"

"Just the truth Nye."

For a moment Nye scanned Jon's face, his own a picture of shocked confusion. He nodded. "I want to know everything. I want the truth."

"Adam has left. He left word to bring you home when you were ready. You won't be disturbed."

"Disturbed?"

"Go upstairs Nye... to the room you were in before."

"Why? What's there?"

"Go and see. Give me five minutes to distract the goons on the door and then slip up there as quietly as you can. I'll make sure no one disturbs you."

"But..."

"Just do it Nye. Then you'll know for sure."

Nye opened his mouth to speak but, at the look on Jon's face he shut it again and nodded. Jon put a hand on his arm. "Remember... you have friends here, real friends. We won't let you get hurt Nye, not anymore."

Stunned Nye could only nod again and watch as Jon slipped out of the booth and went over to the bar. After a quick conversation with the three bar men he moved towards the door. His mouth dry and his heart pumping Nye got up and walked over to the bar. He was met by Luke.

"Are you going upstairs?"

"Do you all know?"

"Know what?"

"What's been going on."

Luke ducking his head, unable to look at him, and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not angry with you Luke. I know the score. I know Adam."

"Don't let him hurt you anymore Nye, please."

Nye looked up and met his eyes, nodding. "I won't."

Luke smiled and nodded. "Walk over to the steps down to the dungeon. Wait until you get a sign and then head for the stairs as fast as you can."




Love in Chains Ch. 13



Nye smiled at Luke's expression, which was a parody of a bad spy movie but, at the same time, was deadly serious.

"What sign?"

"You'll know."

Reaching out for a moment to squeeze Luke's hand he turned and leaned against the bar. The room was almost empty. Jon was talking to two large men dressed in black near the door and, as he watched they slipped outside. Nye started to walk nonchalantly towards the dungeon and was almost there when he heard an enormous crash behind him. Knowing this was his sign and that every eye in the house was now turned towards the bar he resisted the temptation to look back himself and headed straight for the stairs.

When he got to the top of the stairs he paused, his heart pounding. Now what? He remembered the room alright but did he really want to see what was inside it? And what would happen afterwards. Would he be able to go back to Adam now, to live a life pretending to be compliant, resenting everything, hating him for what he had done? And if he couldn't what then?

When he opened the door he was surprised to see the slave boy that Adam had brought to the dungeon earlier. He was spread-eagled on the bed, shackled to the bedposts by wrists and ankles, the hood still covering his head. Nye was confused. What did this have to do with anything? Was he supposed to speak to the boy?

An uncomfortable feeling began to build in Nye's stomach. It occurred to him to remember the unease he had felt earlier, the suspicions he had had regarding the boy's willingness. Is that was he was meant to find out? That Adam had forced him against his will... that he had...?

Nervously he took a step and then another and then another. The boy did not stir. Nye began to wonder if he were unconscious... drugged probably.

When he reached the side of the bed he looked down. The boy had a very pretty body, long and lean, well toned and tan. The light gold hairs that dusted his body were incandescent in the artificial light. 

Nye remembered with some guilt how he had felt when he had been fondling that body, plunging his cock unmercifully into the hot, tight arse and he shuddered, feeling sick. He was pretty much certain now that the boy had been unwilling. Why else was he here?

Raising his eyes Nye could see a darkening bruise on the inside of the boy's arm, just below the elbow. He didn't have to look closely to know what it was, what it meant. He reached out to touch it, stroking the soft skin very gently. The boy shivered and moaned, turning his head on the pillow but then he was still again. He didn't wake. At least Nye didn't think he was awake. It was hard to tell with the hood over his head.

But what was the need for the hood now? He was already breaking the rules wasn't he? Or was he? Adam had given the boy to him... as if any one human being could own another. 

Slowly and carefully with trembling fingers Nye tugged at the silk hood and it slid off revealing the face beneath.

All the strength went out of Nye's legs and he fell to his knees. Burying his face in his hands he sobbed until he had to run to the toilet and vomit in the bowl. There had been so much... so much... too much. His battered senses were in overload and he just couldn't take anymore.

When his stomach had emptied and his shaking eased he got to his feet and staggered back out into the bedroom. Dragging himself over to the bed he sat down and stared into a face that was almost as familiar as his own.

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. I am so sorry Kane, so sorry."



Love in Chains Ch. 14



Nye sat for a while staring at his friend, until the reality of what had happened and what was happening sank through the numbness in his head. Suddenly he leapt to his feet and frantically freed Kane's hands and feet, unstrapping the restraints and throwing them across the room as hard as he could in a futile attempt to channel the uncontrollable anger that coursed through him.

Adam had let him think that Kane had betrayed him, abandoned him when all the time... fuck... it had probably been Adam who had sent him that text, the one saying he wasn't welcome at the party, that no one wanted him there. Adam had done that. Not Kane.

Despite the awfulness of his situation Nye's heart soared and he found himself smiling. Kane hadn't done that. Kane hadn't betrayed him, hadn't abandoned him again. Then his smile faded.

"Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. What have I done? What have I done to you?"

A realisation began to sink into him and settle in the pit of his stomach. Adam was sick. Adam had set this up, all of it. He had kidnapped Kane, sent Nye a text pretending to be Kane, drugged Kane and set Nye up to violate and abuse him. The thought of what had happened in the dungeon haunted him. What had he done? What the hell had he done?

"Kane... Kane wake up babe. We have to get out of here. We can't stay here anymore. I can't stay here. If we stay here Adam is going to hurt you again... he's going to hurt us both."

Kane moaned and stirred but he did not wake up. Looking around desperately Nye went into the bathroom and soaked a towel. Bringing it back to the bed he bathed Kane's face, wiping the sweat and blood off his chest. Kane stirred again and his eyes fluttered.

"Kane? Kane are you alright?"

"Nye." He whispered, struggling to open his eyes. Nye noticed that his lips were cracked and dry. He squeezed a corner of the wet towel, dripping moisture onto them. The tip of Kane's tongue snaked out and licked reflexively. He moaned.

"Are you thirsty baby? I'll get you something. Hang on. I'll be right back."

In the bathroom he found a glass on the sink and filled it half full with water. When he got back he tried to prop Kane upright and help him to drink, but he was too deeply unconscious, he kept slipping down and when Nye did mange to tip some water into his mouth it just poured out again and only served to make him choke.

"Okay... hang on... there must be... oh right." Dragging over the towel he twisted a corner and soaked it in the water. Then he touched Kane's lips with it and he obediently opened his mouth. Nye slipped the twisted towel between his teeth and Kane sucked automatically, swallowing the water.

"There. Does that feel better now?"

Kane moaned and stirred, licking his lips. Nye stroked his hair and cried, scalding tears of shame, guilt and pain. How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so stupid, so naive, so blind?

"Kane... Kane wake up babe. Please. I'm scared. I need you."

He sat on the bed with Kane, unaware, in his arms. There was nothing his could do and he had never felt so helpless. At that stage he wasn't thinking about what might happen if they were discovered, his attention was focussed entirely on his friend and what had happened to him.

After a little while Kane stirred in his arms and turned his head from side to side, moaning. Nye hugged him close and stroked his face as his eyes fluttered and cracked open.

"Yeah... come on hun... you can do it... wake up. You have to wake up Kane. We've got to get out of here."

"Nye." It was almost a sigh. Kane was a long way from conscious. Feeling desperate Nye looked around for inspiration. What could he do? They were effectively trapped. He couldn't carry Kane out of there and by the time he was fit to walk surely someone would have found them.

As though responding to the thought there was a tap at the door. Nye's heart just about leaped out of his chest and he froze.

"Nye... Nye are you in there? It's okay. It's me... Luke."

Gently laying Kane down on the pillows Nye crept across the floor and opened the door a crack. He almost collapsed from relief when he saw Luke's face. "Luke... oh my God Luke; it's Kane... it's my friend Kane."

"I know." Luke hung his head, ashamed. "Adam told us all about it... he was bragging how easy it had been to fool you and... and to break him."

"Kane's not broken." The angry defensiveness in Nye's voice made Luke flinch. 

"I know Nye. I'm only telling you what Adam said." Nye sighed. 

"I'm sorry Luke. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's all been a bit of a shock. It's a hell of an eye opener. What else did Adam tell you?"

Luke ducked his head. "I..."

"No. It's alright Luke. That wasn't fair. Oh gods what are we going to do?"

Luke raised his head and his eyes were blazing. "We're going to get you out of here, that's what we're going to do... both of you."

Nye looked over at the bed. "I can't wake him. He's out cold."

"I know... but it's okay. He won't be out for long."

"Are you sure?"

Luke hung his head again. "I... yes." There was something in his voice that alerted Nye. He looked at him closely and Luke blushed deeply.

"Did you...?"

"Yes. I had to Nye. I'm not strong like you. I can't disobey a direct order."

Nye smiled gently. "I would guess that you are disobeying all kinds of orders now."

Luke, still blushing gave a small smile. "Not direct ones. No one has ever explicitly told me I am not allowed to help you... in fact, if I recall Adam told me, all of us, to help you in any way we could."

"Thank you Luke."

"I... made sure that your friend wouldn't be out for long and..." he slipped his hand into his pocket brining out a small glass bottle. "I have something that will help."

Nye hovered at his side as he bent over Kane and tipped a small amount of liquid from the bottle into his mouth, carefully stoppering it again and slipping it into his pocket afterwards.

Kane coughed and turned his head from side to side, moaning. Nye stroked his hair but he didn't seem to be aware that he was there. After a while of this Kane's entire body convulsed and he sat bolt upright with a gasp, his eyes wide.

"Kane!"

Before he could even turn his head to look at him Kane collapsed backwards again, closing his eyes but he was clearly more aware, licking his lips and groaning, turning his head towards Nye's touch. Almost forgetting that Luke was even there, Nye sat down on the bed and took Kane's hand, absently stroking the fingers which twitched in his grasp.

His heart soared when Kane's eyes flickered and opened, orienting on his face and blinking in an attempt to clear them and focus.

"Kane?"

"Nye? What... what happened? Where am I?"

"Adam..."

Kane's face hardened. "Fucking bastard," he growled, shivering. "What did he do to me?"

"Do you remember anything?"

"I... was... He came to my house. Fucking bastard. He told me you were too sick to come to the party and I should call you and tell ya not to come. Yeah, like fuck. He... he told me..." his eyes softened and he frowned. "Nye... I know how you feel about him but..."

Nye's face went dark, his glowing eyes filling with shadow and a hard look that Kane had never seen there before. "I know Kane. You might say that my eyes have been opened as far as Adam is concerned. What did he say?"

"He said that he was the one who made you ill... that he was drugging you and would make sure that you left us all behind and be just his."

Although tears sprang to his eyes Nye managed to smile and he nodded. "I know." His voice was tight but steady. "What did he do to you?"

"Bastard! I should have been expecting it. I should have been more alert. I told him that I would die before I told you not to come to the party and then he left. I was so mad I wasn't thinking clearly. I should never have answered the door. I should have realised it was some trick. As soon as I opened the door it slammed in on me and his goons took me down.

"He stuck a needle in me and threw me in the back of a van. Bastard stole my phone and said he was going to text you and tell you I didn't want you at the party. I felt real bad that he would use me to hurt you... but there was fuck all I could do about it at that point."

Nye hung his head, unable to look at him. Kane had looked so wretched at the thought that he had been used to cause pain to Nye... "It wasn't your fault Kane. It did hurt... the thought that you didn't want me at the party, that you didn't want me at all anymore. I hurt like hell..." Nye shook his head at Kane's stricken expression. "... but it kind of shook me up. I think it was then that I started to think clearly again, to think that I just couldn't lose you, any of you. It was the beginning of the end I think and..." Squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath he pressed on. "He used me to hurt you too."

"I... don't understand."

"What do you remember... about after Adam brought you here?"

Kane frowned in concentration. "Not much really. I guess he kept me pretty drugged up. There were some pretty wild dreams but no memories as such."

"What kind of dreams?"

Dragging himself into a more upright position Kane blinked and ran his hands through his hair, making it spike up around his head. He coloured. "Erm... ya know... just dreams."

"Tell me about them Kane."

Giving Kane a strange look he bit his lip. "Well... they were kinda strange. I guess I was well drugged... nothing coherent, just snatches, images. There were... feelings... like I was... like someone was..." He stopped, his eyes widening as he squirmed on the bed, sensations from his body finally arriving in his brain. "Hell that was no dream was it?"

Nye shook his head, his eyes downcast. "No." He said softly.

Closing his eyes Kane shuddered. "Ah shit! Ugh. The thought of it... of that bastard with his hands on me... shit shit shit."

"Kane..." Nye couldn't bring himself to look at him but it was important to him that he told him the truth, the whole truth. If he didn't do it now he wouldn't do it at all and it would hang between them like a dead fish, stinking and poisoning the air for the rest of their lives. "That wasn't Adam... it was me."

Kane opened his eyes, shock showing in every line of his body. "You?"

"I... didn't know it was you. Adam told me... it sometimes happens... I didn't know."

"But fuck Nye, surely you realised I wasn't digging it?"

Nye ducked his head, biting his lip. "I've been a fool Kane, I won't deny it. I listened to Adam. I let myself believe the crap he was telling me. I... I'm sorry."

Kane stared at him for a moment then reached out and pulled him hard against him. Stroking his hair he cradled his head against his shoulder while he sobbed. Kane was not naive enough to believe that all the pain that was pouring from him was just because of what he had done to him.

When Nye finally calmed down Kane pushed him away and smiled into his face. "Feel better now?"

"Yes, thank you." The wan smile faded from his face. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive hun. Like you said... you didn't know. And... let's face it... if I had to be fucked I would much rather it was by you than Adam."

Quite suddenly Nye felt happy, happier than he had for a very long time. Hugging Kane he felt as if a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders.

"Did you mean what you said... last time I saw you?"

Kane took his face between his hands and stared into his eyes.

"You are a fantastic person Nye and so beautiful you make my eyes hurt. What man... no what human being in their right minds wouldn't love you?"

Nye grinned and suddenly he was kissing Kane and it felt like coming home.

"Nye..." Luke's soft voice startled both of them. For a while they had forgotten he was there. They both turned to look at him and he blushed. "It's just... well... we really should be getting out of here."

Suddenly reality crashed in on both of them. 

"Shit! I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't think at all. What the fuck am I going to do now?"

"Don't worry. We have it sorted... at least an interim solution. There's a car waiting for you downstairs."

"A car?"

"Someone we know... Jon and I. It's someone who used to be 'in the game' and provides a safe house for those who are trying to get out of it. He'll put you up for a while until you get your heads together and decide what you want to do next. He'll make sure Adam can't get anywhere near you."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Adam is bound to know someone helped us. Jon is too valuable to him which puts your head on the block."

"It's been there all my life. This is all I know Nye. This is my life. I have nowhere else to go."

For the first time Nye really looked at Luke. He was pretty, not beautiful like Nye and Adam, or even Kane but definitely pretty, with bright chestnut hair and glowing amber eyes. He looked to be in his teens but was a number of years older than Nye and had been 'in the game' for almost half his life. There were signs for those with eyes to see that the life had not been an easy one. Impulsively Nye got off the bed and hugged him.

"Come with us Luke, please. I don't want to leave you here."

"I'm good at what I do Nye. I have never known anything else and if I left here where would I go, what would I do? You have a life to go back to, someone to support you and take care of you. I have nothing. This is all I have ever known. This is my life. In a strange way I like it. I live for the excitement. Sad, I know... but it's the way of it. Don't worry about me, I'll be alright."

"Luke..."

"We don't have time for this Nye. You have to get out of here before Adam comes looking for you."

Nye held on for a moment longer, looking deeply into the glowing eyes, then he pulled away with a sad smile.

"Can you walk Kane? I... don't think that either of us are up to carrying you."

"Sure. I'm fine."

Kane slid his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. "Fuck." He swayed his arms flailing, looking for balance. Nye grabbed his arm to steady him and he sagged against his side.

"Take it easy. You've been out a long time. You'll take a while to get your head together."

Between them Luke and Nye managed to get Kane on his feet. It was then, as they made for the door that they realised he was completely naked.

"Shit! We can't take him downstairs like this."

Luke ran his eyes over Kane's body then grinned. "Wait here. I won't be a moment."

Kane staggered back and sat down heavily on the bed as Luke slipped out of the room. Nye sat next to him and snuggled into his side as Kane's arm rested heavily on his shoulder.

"How the hell did you ever manage to get into this mess in the first place Nye?"

"I was stupid. I have really crap taste in men you know."

"I am not going to argue with you. It's hardly surprising you ended up with Adam when the last guy you fell for was such an ass."

"He was alright. American you know? You can't trust them as far as you can spit."

"I guess you're right about that." Kane sighed and leaned against Nye. "Fuck I'm shagged."

"Your language hasn't improved."

"Yeah well... it's surprising how little I care about that at the moment."

"Not surprising at all. How are you feeling?"

"I just told you... shagged."

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"Fucked up babe. If it weren't for the circumstances I would just curl up and sleep for a week... and talk about sore... No, actually let's not talk about that; let's never, ever talk about that."

Nye sighed and hugged him tighter. He could hear the smile in his voice, through the weariness but he didn't find any humour in the situation, none at all. Fear was creeping into his mind, thrusting aside his initial euphoria at being free and in the arms of the man he should never have left in the first place.

"What's going to happen now?"

"We're going to get the fuck out of here and lie low for a while until we figure out what to do."

"But what then? Adam is a powerful man. He's going to hunt me down... he's going to hurt you..."

"Woah... we are going to deal with the now and worry about the then later."

Despite himself Nye smiled. "Yessir."

"Now don't you go getting subservient on me. I can't be doing with all that crap. I want the old Nye... the argumentative, opinionated, stubborn one."

"I am not argumentative."

"He he. I rest my case."

The door opened and Luke reappeared carrying jeans and a tshirt. The jeans were too big but with the aid of the curtain tie back as an impromptu belt they did well enough. By this time Kane was feeling stronger and able to walk unaided.

Together they slipped down the stair and Luke walked out into the club to check the coast was clear. After about ten minutes he came back and motioned Kane and Nye to follow him. Slipping through the bar room, feeling sinister eyes on their backs the whole time they made their way past the corridor to the dungeon and around the side of the bar to the back door.

Outside the back door was a courtyard where the delivery vans came to unload. There were bins against the wall, a smell of rotting vegetables and stale beer, and a small white car. Luke led them quickly across the courtyard to the car. The door opened and a man got out. He leaned on the roof and grinned at them.

"Heya... thought I had made a wasted journey for a while."

"Never Riz... we don't call you unless we're sure. We know what an important man you are, how precious your time is."

"Shut the fuck up Luke." The man grinned. "Less of your cheek young man. So... who do we have here?"

"This is Nye and Kane."

"Nye? Not 'the' Nye? Not Adam's...?"

"Yeah, yeah... He's famous... now get him the hell out of here before Adam turns up and flays all our arses."

Riz grinned. "You wish. As I remember it you used to like that."

"You speak as if from experience but it's all from your dreams. I wouldn't let your hands near my arse no matter what the reward."

"Charity is its own reward Luke babe."

"Yeah right... Get the hell out of here."

Riz climbed back into the car and started the engine and Nye turned for one last hug with Luke. "Thanks Luke... for everything. I won't forget you, not ever."

"The feeling's mutual. We'll miss having you around. I'd like to say 'keep in touch' but that wouldn't be wise, not for either of us. Adam is going to hit the roof when he finds out you're gone."

"Am I now?"

The sound of the voice from the doorway had all three of them jerking around, their eyes wide and hearts pounding. 

Adam stepped into the courtyard backed by two of his goons. Kane tried to put himself in front of Nye but he wasn't having any of it and impatiently stepped forwards, in front of both Kane and Luke. 

"Get in the car." He said very quietly to them both.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Nye was so frightened he thought his legs were going to give way and dump him on his arse in the middle of the courtyard. He thrust out his chin and straightened his spine.

"I think that's obvious. We're leaving."

"I don't think so."

"I hate to say this Adam but you are not always right... that's life; live with it."

"Oh, I'll live with it Nye, I'll live with it fine. The question is... will you? I have absolutely no intention of letting you get away. I have devoted too much time and effort to you to just let you walk out of my life without so much as a backward glance."

"Oh I can give you that Adam, no problem. But that's all I am prepared to give you now. I can't believe what a fool I have been. I though you loved me. I thought you cared. I thought you were caring for me but all the time it was you who made me ill. I can't believe what you've done to me."

"What I've done to you? What have I done to you? I have given you everything, more than I have ever given to anyone... and that's not just the material things. I have been gentle with you, I've treated you well, I've given you nothing but kindness. Fuck Nye, I even suffered at Lian's hands for you."




Love in Chains Ch. 14



Nye went still and stared at Adam. "You really believe that don't you? You really believe that you were good to me, that you treated me well... don't you?"

"Of course I do. I have. I did. I have given you everything, taught you more than anyone else could have... you could have had it all... why? Why are you throwing it back in my face?"

"Adam... where do I begin? I loved you... I loved you... more than you could ever understand, because I am beginning to think that you are incapable of the emotion. I did everything you asked of me because I loved you and what did you do? You lied to me, manipulated me, isolated me from my family and friends. You drugged me and abused me... and you kidnapped my best friend and tricked me into... into..."

Faltering Nye raised his hands to his head and knotted them in his hair, anger sweeping over him. "Fuck Adam... you almost ruined my life. I almost let you."

"Almost?"

"I'm out of here Adam. It's over."

"I beg to differ. I have told you once and I am telling you for the second and last time. I am not going to let you go. You agreed to accept me as your master. It's done and can't be undone. You are mine and you will stay mine. I will NOT let you go Nye."

"Let me? Let me? I'm not giving you a choice Adam. We're leaving. Right now. All of us."

"I think not."

"And just what do you intend to do about it? How do you think you are going to stop us? Beat the crap out of me again? Drag me back in there kicking and screaming. Keep me in a drugged stupor for another two weeks? Then what? It's over Adam. I have seen you for what you are and you will never have my co operation now."

"That's a shame Nye. It is a great shame but it really isn't necessary. I had hoped that you would be different to all the rest, that we could have had something special, a real relationship, a two way thing. But... it seems that it wasn't to be. That does not mean that I am prepared to let you go. There is more than one way to train a slave... isn't there Luke."

Luke winced and shrank from the look Adam was giving him. 

"I am sure that Luke can tell you what my training techniques are like when there is resistance. You were very resistant weren't you Luke. In fact I lost track of the number of times you told me you hated me and you were going to find a way of killing me one way or another. You changed your mind though, didn't you... or rather I changed it for you. It disappoints me that you seem to be changing it back. I think perhaps a course of re training is in order."

Luke visibly paled but said nothing, keeping silent, his head high.

"Leave Luke out of this. It has nothing to do with him."

"He's here isn't he?"

"He's here because he was trying to convince me not to leave."

Adam smiled. "Nice try Nye. Unfortunately for Luke I heard every word he said."

Luke took a step back and his hand touched the handle of the car.

"I wouldn't if I were you Luke. Make this easier on yourself and just get your arse back over here. If you do it willingly I promise I won't hurt you anymore than I have to. If you don't... I'm going to kill you."

Suddenly time seemed to slow down and everything happened very slowly. Luke yanked open the door of the car and pushed Nye towards it. He saw Kane do the same with the front door and throw himself inside. 

Nye was about to climb inside when there were a number of sharp cracks. Something, flying from the car hit him in the cheek, burning like fire and something hit him hard in the back sending him sprawling against the car which screamed away, the back door still open knocking him sideways to lie sprawling on the concrete.

Winded by the fall Nye tried to move but found that he couldn't. In his dazed state he thought, 'Oh my god I've been shot. I can't move. I'm paralysed', only then he realised that his legs were pinned to the ground by something heavy lying across them. 

With some difficulty he twisted his body and found that the weight was Luke, who was lying face down across him, blood slowly spreading across the shoulder of his shirt.

"Shit! Luke... Luke!"

"If I were you Nye, I would be more worried about myself."

Nye looked up to see Adam looming over him a look on his face that made his blood turn to ice in his veins.

At a signal from Adam one of the men, still sheathing his side arm, lifted Luke as if he weighed nothing and slung him over his shoulder. Nye felt sick at how he simply hung there, lifeless.

"You killed him."

"Stop being a drama queen. He's not dead... yet."

Stunned, Nye was frozen, staring at Adam, at Luke... until Adam, with a sigh of exasperation signalled to the other man to haul him to his feet and hold him, pinned by his arms which were painfully twisted behind his back.

Adam caressed his cheek and Nye jerked his head away hissing in pain. Adam's fingers came away red. He looked at them for a moment and then slowly and with obvious relish, he licked them clean.

"I have been too easy on you Nye. I have tried an experiment and it has failed. No more messing about. You will be trained in the same way as everyone else and, make no mistake about it you WILL succumb... you WILL become obedient to me... I WILL make you my willing slave... or you will die in the trying."

"Then start planning my funeral."

Adam smiled. "Silly little boy. Do you think yours would be the first body to take the long trip into the woods in the boot of the limo? My boys are VERY good at cleaning up after me."

Nye shivered and had to force himself to meet Adam's eyes.

"I don't care. I would rather die than feel your hands on me again. I hate you."

"Passion is a good thing and there is a very fine line between love and hate. Hold on to that Nye. I am going to break you but I don't want you to lose that spirit altogether if I can help it. It's so refreshing. My boys are usually so... compliant. I like a challenge but, bear no misapprehensions, I WILL have you... one way or another and if it means turning you into a blank automaton I will do it. I don't usually enjoy that kind of toy but..." He ran his fingers through the shining silky hair. "You are so very beautiful... in your case I would be prepared to make an exception."

"Fuck you."

"No... my intention is to fuck you."

Adam turned away and for a moment Nye felt a slight relief but it was short lived as, immediately he spun round and his hand connected hard with the side of Nye's head. In the moment before he lost consciousness his last thought was... 'thank god Kane got away."



Love in Chains Ch. 15



For a long time Nye was not aware of anything much at all. There were very brief moments of lucidity in which he became aware that he was... in a car, in a bed, in a... different room. However although there was awareness there was no understanding, no connection between the moments, no stream of consciousness that would allow him to make sense of what was happening.

Sometimes he heard voices around him, the words, heard but not processed, were meaningless and did not touch him. Not so the pain. It came at regular intervals and was sudden, unexpected and intense. Too drugged to process the mechanics he was unable to comprehend where it came from, what caused it or which part of his body was affected by it, he simply lived for the moment it stopped and he could sink again into the blissful darkness.

Having long ago ceased to wonder, to process, to resist, during those rare moments of semi consciousness he followed orders unquestioningly. Until now they had been simple, consisting of brief instructions... to drink, to swallow, to walk... although he was no longer capable of that.

Occasionally he had been aware of being moved, his body lifted and carried, positioned, invaded but none of it mattered, nothing mattered, nothing made sense, nothing existed beside the darkness and the pain. 

Sometimes when he was deep in the darkness he dreamed. The dreams were never of Adam, always of Kane. They were the only times when he felt anything at all and the pervading feeling was sadness. Right now he was rising from one of those dreams and was reluctant to let it go. At least there was no pain... yet.

Nye was numb. As he swam upwards through the layers of consciousness he first became aware of it and then he dismissed it. It simply wasn't important and neither were the voices. The truth was he didn't want to regain consciousness; he wanted to sink again, back into oblivion, back into safety, back into the dreams... but this time there was nothing he could do... he was rising and he couldn't hold on to any of it.

"For God's sake Lian, can't you see the boy's not up to it, he can't take anymore. If you insist on carrying on with this madness you are going to kill him."

"You had better think long and hard Adam, before you seek to offer advice to me about training and what boys can or can't take. For some reason I have lost my faith in your judgement."

"Lian..."

"Enough Adam! If you persist I will have no problem having you gagged."

"But this is barbaric! It's pain for the sake of it. What purpose will it achieve?"

"Adam, dear Adam... you have known me for long enough to know that I have never needed a purpose in inflicting pain, over and above the pleasure it gives me to do so. I am a connoisseur so to speak. People come from a long way away to sample my exquisite tortures. I haven't lost anyone yet... not unless I have wanted to."

The coldness in Lian's voice caused Nye's stomach to flip. Who were they talking about? Was it him? What were they going to do to him?

Nye was largely unaware of the attention being given to his body. Although he was no longer entirely numb he just wasn't interested. His entire body was tingling and, when he was first lifted onto the table he struggled, an almost automatic, instinctual reaction to the pins and needles that fired his muscles. All it took was a command from Adam to still him utterly and he gritted his teeth and focussed his mind away from his body until they faded and he was left in a state of almost hyper awareness, sensitive to every touch.

Adam's ministrations were gentle, firm and swift and it was easy to let his mind drift. Trying to sink back into sleep, to recapture his dreams, the sense of Kane being close by, Nye let his eyes slip out of focus and his body relax. He heard Lian laugh.

"Your boy's trying to escape you Adam. Seems like your touch is too gentle... it's sending him off to sleep."

This time the slap to the face registered, sharp and shocking, making him gasp, tasting blood.

"Stay with us, Nye. You're not going anywhere, body or mind."

Nye blinked and stared at him, his eyes hardening as his mind cleared.

"Fuck you."

Lian laughed again. "See how obedient he is Adam? Your methods are so impressive."

"I wouldn't crow too much, Lian... he's been under yours for the past two days."

"Patience my dear boy, patience. I have been too occupied with that other recalcitrant. Luke was an old friend after all and I was busy reacquainting myself with him. I have been saving this one." He stroked Nye's belly noting with pleasure the tremors beneath his hands. "Patience was never one of your strong points, but sometimes waiting, lingering, anticipating... is the greatest part of the pleasure." Nye became aware of him moving, standing near his head. "Look at me boy."

As much as he didn't want to Nye had no choice but to turn his head to look at Lian who was staring at him with cold disinterest. As he watched Lian reached out his hand and cupped his face, stroking the cheek bones with his thumb. Nye compressed his lips and glared with the last ounce of defiance he possessed.

"Oh you are a strong one aren't you? It is going to be such a pleasure to break you, it already has been, and if you think what has happened to you so far had been bad, think again. It is going to get a lot worse for you very quickly. This is different to anything you have ever experienced before. If you survive it then you will be mine... if you survive.

"Bastard."

"Oh dear. Is that anger I see in your eyes, Nye? Or is it fear? It really should be fear you know. I am going to hurt you like you have never been hurt before and I am going to enjoy every minute of it. Be sure to scream nice and loud, it's music to my ears."

"Fuck you."

"Do not speak again."

The strange compulsion was like a blanket to his senses, cutting out his natural reactions and forcing him down different paths. What had they done to him to make him behave like this? Being a stubborn individual Nye hated the fact that he was being forced to do something he didn't want to do and prevented from doing something he did want to do. Struggling with the blanket he forced words out through a throat and lips that were fighting against him.

"Fuck you." The words were choked and very soft but clear enough and shocking to Adam, although Lian laughed delightedly, and raked his hands through Nye's hair.

"Delightful. So much beauty; so much spirit. It is almost a shame to destroy either... if you're lucky I won't destroy both. Think of this as the first lesson. Everything that has gone before has just been a preparation for this. Kindergarten, if you wish. You're playing with the big boys now and the big boys are loving every minute. This is a very special lesson, a lesson in pain. If you learn it well then we can move on. If not we will come back... again and again and again until you do. When you look at me with eyes of fire and beg for more... then I will stop it... only then."

Lian's caresses continued while his eyes remained locked with Nye's. His hands moved down over his throat, shoulders and chest, lingering to tease and twist his nipples making his wince. "Lie still." Lian's voice was like the crack of a whip and Nye's body reacted automatically.

"Close your eyes and focus on your body, the sensations you feel, the pleasure, the pain."

Although he struggled to force his eyes to remain open he simply could not resist and his eyelids fell. He was aware of someone stroking his hair, the sensation soothing and pleasant. He sighed.

"Good boy, Nye. That's the way, now relax and focus. Relax and focus. Do not tense your body. Do not struggle. Do not fight. Relax and focus on the sensations in your body."

Floating on a sea of sensation evoked only by the words Nye felt almost as though he was rising off the table. The restraints and straps of the harnesses were not unpleasant and for a moment his mind almost slipped towards sleep again. Then a very strange sensation almost made him open his eyes in surprise.

"Keep your eyes closed Nye. Keep relaxed."

The strange sensation was like a warmth and fullness in his abdomen and he suddenly felt as though he badly wanted to relieve himself. A small sound escaped him as he tried to tell someone but he was silenced. 

For a moment he thought that his body was taking matters into its own hands only to realise, at the very end that it was the tube sliding out of him. He hissed, both with the soreness of the last inch or so and with the almost unbearable desire to urinate it left him with. 

Before he could do or say anything, the tube was replaced by something cold and hard and rigid. It made him shiver. There was no question of relieving himself now; he was completely blocked. However the need was still there and it was becoming painful.

"Was that strictly necessary?" Adam's voice sounded strained, almost plaintive.

"Strictly? No. But water conducts electricity, don't forget. A full bladder vastly increases the sensations, not just of the shocks through the abdomen but also the stimulation of the rectum. Beside... it wasn't water."

"Then what...?"

"My own creation. Don't worry, it won't cause any lasting harm but oh boy will it hurt."

Already Nye was feeling an unpleasant burning sensation deep inside his body. Not only was he desperate to pee but the pee was burning him. He whimpered.

"Be silent Nye." His throat clamped shut on the little sounds that were creeping out of it.

Hands slid under his buttocks and raised his hips and he choked on a moan as well greased fingers slid into him and began to work him, stretching the muscles around his rim and probing deeply, crushing his prostate against his full bladder and causing the burning pain to intensify.

"Be silent."

Obeying the command Nye's attention turned to trying to twist his hips and arch his back to relieve the pressure, escape the pain.

"Be still."

It was almost physically impossible to obey both commands but his body was compelled to do just that and he silently moaned and writhed inside his mind.

Nye could have cried with relief when, after what seemed like a long time, the fingers withdrew and his body relaxed. The relief did not last long however because the fingers were almost immediately replaced by something else. Nye had no idea what it was. It was not a butt plug, being thinner and longer, less flexible than a finger and pushing far more deeply inside him.

The object was twisted and turned as it inched deeper and deeper inside until he had no choice but to moan aloud from the sensations it was producing, so intense that he could not have distinguished whether they were pleasurable or painful. This time Lian did not order him to be silent, knowing it was impossible and no longer something he could control.

By the time Lian had finished inserting the object into him Nye felt as though the entire contents of his abdomen had been liquidised and turned to fire. His legs were trembling uncontrollably and when the hands that were lifting him lowered him again the change in sensation tore another moan from him and caused the trembling to increase.

Lian and Adam were talking but Nye no longer had the focus to distinguish what they were saying. Trying desperately to escape the pain in his guts he turned his head from side to side, moaning softly as his body writhed, moving entirely without conscious endeavour or control. Almost unnoticed a strange sensation began to creep all over him, like a crawling, prickling itch under his skin. It was not unpleasant but very, very strange.

So gradually that he barely noticed it the sensation grew in intensity until every part of his body was tingling with the creeping, crawling penetrating itch that was not quite an ache.

The feeling remained stable for a time until he was almost used to it and then it increased again, so gradually it was little more than just a reminder to his adapting mind that it was still there.

Very slowly, in a series of minute plateaus the sensation increased until it was no longer an itch but most definitely an ache, concentrated in his head, his chest and his abdomen although, almost as a sideline there was also a niggling cramping ache in his arms, legs and lower back. He was never capable of rationalising that it was caused by a steadily increasing current of electricity passing through his body, the voltage varying according to which part of the body it was directed at.

Nye gasped as a lance of pain shot through his head and was gone. It was followed by another in his stomach and then... he became aware, and solely aware, of his balls contracting and his cock expanding as intense shocks passed through them. He moaned aloud in an agony of ecstasy as the shocks shot through his shaft and balls followed shortly after by similar shocks penetrating deep into his guts from the implement buried in his arse.

Again the sensations, although undeniably painful this time, were insanely pleasurable and excited him in a way nothing ever had before. His entire being was possessed by them and they went on and on with no let up and no relief until he very nearly passed out. Just as he was on the verge of crossing the threshold the arrow of pain again shot through his head clearing his mind and diverting his attention from his groin.

It was then that he realised that his whole body was locked in cramps and trembling quite strongly in every muscle group. That sensation was wholly and undeniably of pain with no pleasure and he groaned through clenched teeth. However, he did not have much time to think about the realisation because almost as soon as he reached it the sensations in his belly gained domination again as they built and possessed him.

And so it went on. Every time he felt that he could not bear the pleasure or pain any longer and was on the verge of losing consciousness the jolt through his head brought him back and made him aware of the rest of his body until his attention was again focussed on the sexual tension.

Slowly all awareness of anything and everything else slipped away. At some point he was commanded to open his eyes and he did so but he had no conscious vision. He saw nothing, he heard nothing, he felt nothing other than the orchestration of pain that was building within him in a slow rising crescendo.

Beyond all capacity to hear or process commands his body writhed and twitched, his limbs jerking and his head shaking from side to side. Strange cries escaped his throat and forced their way past his clenched jaw and compressed lips.

As the strength of the current increased a line was crossed when the pain outweighed the pleasure and he started to scream. He did not feel the hands that prized apart his teeth forcing a ball gag between them, stifling the cries.

Somewhere along the way he lost himself. All sense of who or what he was slipped away and he was nothing but an extension of the pain, the means by which it existed. There was no sense of where it came from, what it meant, what it was... merely the total and utter awareness of its existence as the beginning and end of his universe.

Very soon Nye lost all sense of time and had no idea if it was merely minutes, or hours, days or weeks that he lay helpless in the grip of torment so deep that it seemed to rip away from him every shred of identity leaving behind an empty shell filled with nothing but the constant starbursts of ecstatic agony. And then... and then...

It started with a feeling as though something that had been curled deep within him was unfolding and sliding out of his body, inch by inch, foot by foot, mile by mile in and endless string from his throbbing cock. When it was gone he felt strangely empty and then the intense tingling began, as mindblowing as the pain had been. Deep in his root it built, stimulated by the shocks that caused his balls to retract and his rectal muscles to contract around the foreign body that was still buried deep within him sending its shocks into muscles that were so fatigued they would have continued in much the same way even if it had stopped.

Grunting and writhing Nye felt a pressure build that would have been familiar if he had retained any concept of what 'familiar' was. Someone was speaking close to his ear. Dimly he registered that he could hear what was being said but he had no capacity to understand or make sense of it. His focus was centred entirely on what was going on below.

The pressure built far beyond anything he had ever experienced before, until his entire body was on fire with the screaming need for release and still it held on and still it built. If he had been aware of anything he would have realised that every muscle in his body was in spasm and his chest was heaving with the fight for breath.

Quite suddenly all of the sensations that had been assailing his body, other than those that were going on in his guts cut off and he was aware of hands holding his head still as he fought them, pressing down on his chest and holding his hips. The voices were much clearer although he could not distinguish who they belonged to or what they were saying... and then he tipped over the edge, his whole body convulsing as he climaxed, over and over and over... more than he had ever done before, the intensity of the orgasm played like an organ by the skilful ministrations of Lian and the electrical equipment that was his instrument.

His last moment of awareness was dominated by a vast implosion that ripped through him as if someone had let off a firework inside his head and then everything was abruptly cut off with no slow sink into darkness but a very sudden and final... ending.

***

I was utterly shocked when Kane came calling. There hadn't been a moment since our last conversation when I wasn't thinking of Nye, worrying about him. I wanted to DO something, but what could I do? My brother was right when he said that he was an adult and master of his own destiny. As his sister all I could do was sit helplessly on the sidelines and wait to pick up the pieces. I knew that there would be pieces to pick up. Adam was a bad man and Nye wasn't, so at some point he would wake up and realise that they were not meant to be together... but would it be too late?

It was about three o'clock in the afternoon and I was relaxing after a bath. I had my pyjamas and bath robe on and my hair was tied up in a towel. When I answered the door I was humming and completely unprepared.

Kane was with a man, a stranger I didn't know and to say that my jaw dropped was an understatement. Without waiting to be asked in Kane pushed past me and then turned, grabbing my arms and speaking really fast, so fast that I couldn't understand what he was trying to say. His accent always got stronger when he was wound up and he was very upset. I looked at the other man, who remained silent. He shrugged.

"Alright. Okay. I get the message. You're upset about something but I have no idea what you're trying to say. Come in, calm down and try again."

"Mir, you don't understand. There's no time. There's no time. We have to do something. I have a bad feeling, a real bad feeling. We gotta do something."

"About what? Kane, you're not making sense."

"About Nye, Mir. He's in danger, terrible danger. I know it and no one will listen to me."

"Nye? What's happened to Nye?" He started to babble again and I stopped him. "Kane this is hopeless. You have to calm down and speak more slowly. Start from the beginning, what's been going on?"

With a real effort Kane managed to calm down enough to fill me in rapidly on what had happened. I became more and more horrified when he told me about how he had been kidnapped, what Adam had made Nye do to him, calmed slightly when he explained about Luke and Riz helping them to escape and then almost drown in horror as he described the dramatic events in the courtyard at The Club.




Love in Chains Ch. 15



"There were shots fired Mir, both Luke and Nye fell but I couldn't see. I couldn't see if they'd been hit. This bastard wouldn't stop. He wouldn't take me back."

"This bastard saved your skin, you ungrateful colonial. If I had gone back they'd have got both of us too, then who would even know about it?" The words were resigned, as if they'd been said in similar format many times. However, there was a hint of amusement in them along with more than a hint of affection. 

My stomach had turned to ice and for a moment I thought I was going to be sick. I was trembling so much I could barely speak but I had to... I had to ask... I had to know.

"Nye was shot?"

"I don't know. I told you, I couldn't see. I don't know." His voice rose into a wail of pain.

"Alright... calm down. When was this?"

"Three days ago."

"Three days? Why haven't you come to me before?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My brother could be dead or dying and Kane had waited three days before telling me.

"I couldn't Mir. I wanted to but so much has happened." He glanced at the man. "Riz has been great but it took me twenty four hours to persuade him to do anything at all. I was almost under house arrest. He took me to a safe house, somewhere set up specifically to help escaped slaves."

"Slaves?"

"That's for another time, Mir. You don't know the half. Adam's bloody famous but you don't wanna know what for. Anyway... I eventually persuaded Riz and Marco, he's the guy who runs the safe house, to do something. I couldn't just abandon Nye and... eventually they agreed to let me go to the police. I was there all day, and I mean all day. They took I don't know how many statements and all kinds of people came to talk to me. In the end they told me to go straight back to the house and not speak to anyone." He paused, running a hand through his hair.

"I thought about calling you Mir, honest to god I did but the detective was very clear about not contacting anyone. He said it might put me and them in danger."

"It's alright Kane. Go on. What happened then?"

"Nothing. I mean... yeah... we got told this morning that The Club was raided yesterday and shut down but nothing else. Nye wasn't there and neither was Adam."

"Woah... hang on. The Club was raided? Why? It wasn't illegal or anything was it?"

"Not in itself but it was a front for all sorts of illegal activity. Drugs, prostitution, slavery."

"Slavery? There's that word again. What the hell has Nye got himself into?"

"He didn't know Mir, I swear he didn't know. I don't think he knew anything at all until that day and when he found out he was all set to walk away... but Adam wouldn't let him."

"And neither of them was at The Club?"

Kane shook his head, his eyes wide and burning. "No. There was no trace of either of them at The Club or at Adam's apartment. There were some signs that Adam had packed up quickly but none of Nye's stuff is gone."

His words left me cold. What if... what if...?

"You don't think...?"

It was the man, Riz who answered. "The word is that Adam's gone running to Lian and taken Nye and Luke with him. We know at least one of them was hurt. There was a good deal of blood in the courtyard and in one of the bedrooms upstairs."

"Have they tested it?"

"If they have they're not saying."

"Who's Lian?"

"Lian is Adam's 'Master'."

"Master?"

"The person who trained him?"

"Trained him as what?" Suddenly I didn't want to know. I held up my hand to silence Riz who was on the point of answering. "No... don't tell me. I don't want to know. So..." my mind was racing and I was finding it hard to get anything to make sense. "...Nye was going to leave Adam but there was a confrontation and someone was definitely shot. It could have been Nye, or... someone else..." I looked up at Kane who nodded.

"There was this kid... Luke... he works behind the bar in The Club. Marco tells me he's one of Adam's 'boys'."

"Don't... just don't tell me. I get the picture. So Adam and his goons take Nye and this Luke, one or both of them hurt... upstairs and then goes home and packs up his things, then he takes the boys to... Lian, whoever he is and then the police raid The Club and close it down."

"In a nutshell, yes."

"They find blood in the courtyard and bedroom but we don't know whose it is. And now all three of them... Adam, Luke and Nye, have vanished."

Both men nodded. "Don't the police know where this Lian is?"

"Oh yeah... they know him alright, very well." Riz grimaced. He is the kingpin, the head of the business. They have been after him for years."

"Okay... I don't want to know what 'the business' is, I think I can guess. But if they know where he is and what he does why don't they do something about it?"

"Because he is powerful, very powerful. He has a number of high ranking police officers under his belt... literally, and he's bribing more. He covers his tracks and has a score of very high profile, legitimate businesses."

"Do you know where he is, where Adam might have taken Nye?"

Riz shrugged. "There are any number of places... and even if you knew what are you going to do about it? Talk to him? Beg? Politely request that he releases your brother, the person responsible for bringing Adam down and the police sniffing around Lian?"

"I don't know. I don't know. But at least we could go to the police, tell them where he might be, get them to do something."

"Do you think I haven't tried? They keep telling me that they have things in hand and I should go home and try not to think about it. How can I do that Mir? How can I spend even one moment not thinking about him? He's all I can think about. I don't even know if he is alive and I am terrified that if I just sit back and do nothing he won't be."

Kane started pacing up and down the corridor. "Fuck Mir, this is killing me. It's fucking killing me." He stopped and punched the wall... hard, smearing blood on the wallpaper.

"Kane, calm down. This isn't doing any good. You have to calm down and be rational about this. I presume the police are checking Lian out. If he has Nye they will find him."

Kane looked at me as if I had two heads.

"Not likely. If he knows the police are sniffing around he will be hiding them all very carefully."

"Right. Wait here. And don't do anything stupid like splashing blood on my walls again."

For a moment Kane look confused, then he glanced at the wall where I was pointing and blushed, looking slightly sheepish and rubbed impotently at the stain with a finger.

"Sorry Mir."

My mind was racing as I got dressed. I didn't bother with my hair and it was hanging loose and wet around my shoulders when, a few minutes later I was back in the hall, my bag in my hand. 

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to do something Kane."

First we went to the police but, as Kane had said they were polite but unhelpful. After over an hour of waiting a detective came to talk to us and told us that they had received plenty of information from various people at The Club and elsewhere and they were following up leads. He was young and bright and hopeful... but he didn't reassure me one bit.

I begged him to tell me if they were going to raid any of Lian's establishments but he told me that the details of the investigation were confidential information. I was so frustrated I wanted to punch him.

"This is my brother we're talking about. He's innocent in all this. He had no idea what he was getting involved in and he might be hurt, even dying. They are not going to be making him tea and toast. I want to know what you are doing to get him out of there."

"Are you saying then, that your brother was not willingly involved with Adam Nash?"

"In the beginning he was, yes. He was Adam's boyfriend and he was in love with him, so much in love with him that he was blind to what he was truly like and until recently he had no idea what was going on. As soon as he found out he tried to leave but Adam caught him and took him back."

"Are you really suggesting your brother was so naive that he spent more than six months in the company of Adam Nash, worked behind the bar in his club, was seen openly accompanying him and actually moved in with him, without knowing anything about what was going on right there in that very club or any of Mr Nash's more clandestine business dealings?"

"I am not suggesting it, I am telling you. Nye didn't know anything about any of that. There is no way he would have stayed with Adam if he had. You don't know my brother, you don't know anything about him, the kind of person he is. I do know. And I am telling you that Nye would NEVER be involved in anything like that."

The detective looked at Riz who nodded. The young police officer pursed his lips. "Do you know the kind of business Mr Nash was involved in?"

"No, and I don't want to."

"He has been implicated in an international slave ring that snatches young boys of fourteen and fifteen years old and 'train' them to be willing sex slaves. Their methods are brutal as are the lives of these children afterwards. They are sold to the highest bidder to be used in any way they choose. The best trained and most beautiful slaves can fetch millions. Adam Nash is one of the best trainers there is... his slaves are very much in demand as he has a reputation for breaking their spirit, bending their wills and twisting their minds without damaging them too much."

My stomach threatened to rebel forcefully and I started to shake violently. "Is that...?" My voice was a strangled whisper. I swallowed and tried again. "Is that what they are going to do to Nye?"

"I would be very surprised if that is not what he has been doing to him all along. Unfortunately his methods don't seem to have worked and so he has turned to Lian... who does not have such a good reputation. Lian is a sadist. Do you know what that means?"

"He... he likes hurting people."

"Likes is nowhere near a strong enough word for it. Lian is a master at the creation of pain. He has elevated it to the level of an art. People come from all over the world to sample his delights... either by experiencing it themselves or watching it done to others."

"People pay to be hurt?"

"You'd be surprised. In the hands of someone as skilled as Lian pain is the most exquisite pleasure, or so I have been told."

I could barely take it in. I was shocked numb. It was too much. This... boy was discussing that 'monster' with something almost like respect in his voice. Didn't he realise what he was saying? Didn't he realise that my baby brother was in his hands... that the things he was saying were likely to be happening to him right now?

"No."

I felt a strong arm around my shoulders and looked up into Kane's pale face. He looked at the detective and snarled. "I think you've given us enough information for now thank you very much. Fuck, you cops are heartless bastards. Don't you realise what you're saying you dick? You're talking about the man who is holding her brother."

At first the man looked as though he was going to tear into Kane for his disrespect but he thought better of it at the last moment and just nodded his head.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. I was merely attempting to convey to you that we are very well aware of Lian and his activities. We have been watching him for a very long time and we have agents infiltrating his organisation. We will bring him down but it takes time. This is a very delicate operation which has been underway for a considerable period of time. We area at a crucial stage in our activities. If we move too soon we could ruin years of careful preparation work."

"And if you don't you'll have my brother's blood on your hands."

He gave me a cool look and then got up and walked out of the room without a backward glance.

When he had gone we were effectively dismissed but I was strangely reluctant to leave. As we were milling about in the large lobby a man came out of a door on the far side and began to walk towards the exit, his head down. He looked dishevelled and morose, his hair hanging limply. There was something strangely familiar about him, so much so that as he passed I felt compelled to grab his arm.

The man looked up at me startled and pulled out of my grasp with a startled gasp. When I saw his face I knew immediately who it was. He was the man who came to speak to Adam at The Club, when I went there to find Nye.

"You. You work at The Club don't you? You know Adam... and my brother... you know Nye. Please... please tell me. Do you know what happened to him? Is he alright? Is he alive?"

The man's eyes widened and flicked to Kane and Riz who smiled and said softly. "Hello Jon."

Jon shuddered and lowered his eyes. He looked dreadful, as if he had been in a cell all night... which he probably had. He mumbled something and went to move on, but Kane blocked him.

"If you know where he is tell us."

Jon raised his head and for a moment his eyes blazed, then they faded and he shook his head.

"I can't. Look, you may not believe this but I really did everything I could for him. I tried to talk to him days ago, to tell him, to warn him, but he wouldn't listen. Adam had his claws in him good and proper. And..." He looked up at Kane. "I told him about you. I sent him up to you. At the time I thought it was the right thing to do... now I'm not so sure."

"Thank you... for trying to help but... Please... please can't you help us find him?"

Jon looked at me. He was probably not that much older than me with very pretty eyes but they were dull and dead, as if he had already given up on life.

"Please."

Kane put a hand on his arm and he turned his head to look at him, "Can't you even tell us who was hurt? We know that someone was."

Jon nodded and said dully. "It was Luke."

"Not Nye?"

"No. The last I saw him Nye was okay. Adam was... giving him a hard time and he was pretty drugged up most of the time but... he was okay."

"And Luke?"

"He wasn't hurt too bad. He was getting the same treatment as Nye."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

Jon hesitated then he nodded again. "Look... I can't talk here. Meet me at The Club in half an hour, outside. I'll take you somewhere we can talk."

"Oh thank you. Thank you. You have no idea..."

"Don't get too hopeful. I can't tell you much and most of it you probably won't want to hear but... I suppose it's the least I can do.

Well, there was not really anything we could have done but let him go... and spend the next half hour in hell. 



Love in Chains Ch. 16



We were all nervous when we approached The Club and were very glad to see the dark figure lurking in the doorway of the building next door. As we approached Jon stepped out of the shadows and took Kane by the arm, guiding him around the corner to a door half way along the street, leaving Riz and I to follow.

The door led to a set of stairs which opened out into a surprisingly pleasant flat. There was a large spacious living room with two floor to ceiling windows dominating the far wall. One corner of the living room was an open plan kitchen appointed in black laminate and granite surfaces.

There were a number of miss matched chairs and sofas and colourful rugs on the polished wood floor. It looked as though there were more than one person living here because of the clashing styles, but it was comfortable, warm and welcoming.

Jon motioned them to sit and went into the kitchen to pour himself a shot of brandy. Although he asked, none of us was interested in a drink.

As he was settling himself in a chair in front of the window, facing us, one of the many doors which led off the room opened and a young man entered, his hair tousled from sleep. He was rubbing his eyes and practically naked. Noticing us he froze and raised his eyes to Jon.

"It's okay Ben, just some friend. Go take your shower, we won't be long."

Ben was staring at me, his eyes wide. He glanced up at Jon again and then back at me. He was very young, very sweet and very frightened.

"It's alright Ben. Don't involve yourself. Just shower." Jon's voice was surprisingly gentle but it didn't seem to have any effect on Ben, who still looked terrified, so much so he was starting to shake.

"You... Who... who are you?"

"I'm..."

Ben shook his head as if he was afraid of my answer. "You... you look... you look like..."

A lightbulb went off in my head. Of course; Nye and I look very much alike.

"You know my brother, I suppose. Aneurin... Nye?"

Ben opened and closed his mouth a few times, and shook his head then, almost as if a switch had flicked he seemed to draw himself up.

"Nye is my friend. He's everyone's friend. Are you going to save him? Please... don't let Adam..."

"Ben! That's enough. Go take your shower."

Ben jumped, startled, although Jon's voice was still calm and affectionate. Then he nodded and scuttled off.

"Well that was touching. What was it all about?"

"As Ben said... Nye was everyone's friend."

"Was?"

Jon shook his head, annoyed at himself and at my reaction. "You have to understand that it is... different for us. We live in a different world and it's hard for people on the outside to understand. Most of us are here completely consensually... we do what we do because we want to."

"Most of you?"

"There are always exceptions. In many ways it's a brutal world and it's easy for people to get... lost, especially when our stock in trade is pain. But they really are the exceptions." He turned introspective. "Or so I always thought."

Looking up, directly at me Jon went on, eagerly as if almost desperate for my understanding. "You have to understand that... people come to us for all sorts of reasons... because they are curious, because they want something different, because they have already started walking down this path. Many of them have no real idea what they are getting into until they start training. When they do they often freak and have to be... carefully handled. A lot of the time they 'seem' to be doing things against their will but they keep coming back and in truth they want more.

"Also there are some people who want to be abused, there are those whose fantasies involve violence and rape. We cater to them all and sometimes it's hard to tell if the resistance is real or not."

"How old is Ben?"

Jon looked startled by my question but he answered freely. "He's a couple of weeks short of his eighteenth birthday."

"And he's 'trained'?"

"He's in training. It's not complete."

"And he is tortured and raped and abused?"

"Sometimes."

"How can a seventeen year old truly consent to that? Oh I suppose it's not illegal but... he's a child. How old was he when he started?"

"Sixteen."

"And is that the youngest you take them?"

"Here yes."

"Here?" I shuddered. "Alright. I don't want to know. Just tell me about Nye."

"Look... one thing you should be aware of. These kids are mostly runaways who have been abused most of their lives. They are brought to this life... or worse ones... by people they meet on the streets. Pretty boys are very much in demand out there and one way or another they are going to get fucked.

"Here we offer good training, and not just in how to take a beating, but in all the intricacies of the world including things like aromatherapy, massage, business skills, literacy, computing, electronics... a lot of useful skills. The most important lessons they learn is how to keep themselves safe. They get a warm clean room, plenty of food and there is a strict no drugs policy. They are taught self defence and they are protected."

"From everyone but those who pay well eh?"

"That's different. No one is forced to do anything they don't want to do."

"So how do they pay?"

"What do you mean pay?"

"For the training. If they are street kids with no home, no job, no money how do they pay for the training, the accommodation... how do they pay?"

"They have to work... behind the bar here or in other clubs, driving, cleaning, all sorts of things and yes... if that is what they want, once they are trained enough... they provide sex to clients. But it is safe... they are protected both health wise and with muscle if things go wrong. We pick our clients carefully and we are very careful with hygiene and safe practices. There's no point turning up your nose at this... it happens everywhere and at least here they are well cared for."

"Save me the advertising. Just because they are abused more safely here than elsewhere doesn't make the abuse ok."

"Think what you like. It is what it is. And now that The Club is closed the boys have scattered and gone to new Masters most of whom make Adam look like a pussy cat."

"Well forgive me if my heart ain't bleeding for them. Now cut the BS and tell us about Nye."

"Was he.... being trained?" I hardly dared to ask and Jon must have realised how much I feared the answer because he smiled and bit his lip before he replied.

"I can't honestly say he wasn't but... it was in a different way. I think that Adam genuinely loves him, as much as Adam is capable of loving anyone. He's... flawed. He started off just like the rest of us. He was trained by Lian and he didn't have an easy time of it but he stuck with it and rose through the ranks so to speak so fast and so far that Lian actually gave him a club to run. Not this one, this one is all his but Adam runs five clubs here, three in other cities and two abroad. He is very well known and very well respected but a large part of that respect was earned through fear and with good reason.

"Anyway... there is a strict code of practice with regard to training new boys. Every trainee has to be approved by the Master of the trainer, and the regime of training too. It's negotiable and with Adam it was by and large a formality as everyone, including Lian knows Adam is the best trainer there is. None of his boys break, none of them run away or turn bad and they are always very much in demand.

"This time however, Adam didn't mention anything about Nye to Lian because he was 'training' him in a very different way. He found it very hard to hurt Nye and he was genuinely trying to maintain a proper relationship with him. He actually made a formal commitment to him to make him a partner, in life and in business. The problem is...

"The problem is that Adam can't do relationships. If he had separated off his private life from his business life it would have been fine. If he had not wanted Nye to experience everything he experiences, to be fully part of his world, or if he had been able to accept Nye's strong character and not wanted to mould and manipulate him... but Adam is not good with compromise. He wanted a 'true' relationship but with someone who was compliant and obedient... and fully part of his world. He was never going to have that with Nye, not unless he was trained. 

"So he went about some weird combination of courting and training which, to his mind was working very well. Everyone else could see that it was going to end in disaster, but not him, not even Nye who was so enmeshed in the facade Adam was presenting him that he wouldn't have seen the truth until it hit him in the face... which it did."

Nervously Jon ran his hands through his hair. "When Lian found out about what Adam was doing and what he was planning he went nuts. He came here for the weekend to 'approve' the relationship but in truth it was all about testing Nye and punishing both of them."

Jon hung his head and couldn't look at me. "He hurt Nye, hurt him badly, almost killed him and Adam was furious."

My heart fell and I must have made a sound because Jon winced, but pressed on. "I don't know exactly what happened but the gist of it seems to be that Adam and Nye had a row. Adam was so riled up anyway about what Lian did to him in punishment he pretty much took it out on Nye. He told us that Nye became ill from the poison Lian gave him and..."

"Poison?!"

Kane and I spoke at almost the same moment and, without looking at us he nodded. "It was part of the punishment... Lian made Adam administer poison to Nye. He didn't know what it was at the time."

"Adam gave a drug to Nye without knowing what it was?"

"It happens. Lian is a very experienced practitioner. He regularly uses drugs for various purposes."

"I thought you said there were no drugs."

"No recreational ones."

"Yeah... that makes all the difference."

"Alright Kane. Go on Jon. You said that Nye became ill from the poison."

Jon shook his head. "No I said that Adam told us that Nye was ill because of the poison but I don't believe for one minute that was the case. Lian gave Nye the antidote to the poison and he told Adam that he would be alright. Lian is a bastard but he isn't a liar."

"So what do you think happened?"

"The day that Lian left... you came." He nodded to Kane. "Nye was lit up like a candle, full of spark and energy and that's why I don't believe the poison made him ill."

"You mean the day I came to see him... when I was talking to him... he'd been poisoned?" Jon nodded and Kane turned away, running his hands through his hair. "I knew it. I knew something was terribly wrong with him. I should never have left him there... but he said he was happy he said he loved Adam."

"I'm sure he did, at that time. Lian was gone, he had passed the tests with flying colours, he was notorious throughout our world, Adam was acting as if he was besotted with him and had given him half of everything... at least everything he knew about. Sure he was happy but..."

Jon faltered and took a long drink from his forgotten glass. "Something happened. I don't know what it was but we didn't see Nye for the best part of a week and when we did he was... different."

"What do you mean 'different'?"

"Less focussed, more withdrawn, more compliant, obedient."

"Why?"

"Because Adam had been drugging him. He'd got his hands on some new drugs, potent stuff, mind and personality altering."

"Oh my god. No."

"Wait. They were nasty stuff but... Adam is impatient and... he can be brutal and cruel but he really did love Nye and... I think in the end that he couldn't go through with it, not completely, because Nye was still... well Nye. One thing that really pissed Adam off was that no matter what he did, what he said, what manipulation he tried, Nye kept insisting on going to some party that Adam didn't want him to go to."

"Shit! That was my fault."

"It was no one's fault. It was a perfectly reasonable thing. Adam was very possessive with Nye. He wouldn't let him out of his sight. The only time the poor kid was allowed any space without Adam at his hip was when he was working here... and then he was a different person. He really took to it, was amazing. Ben was right... everyone loved him, he was everyone's friend."

"I can imagine. I know what my brother's like."

"Adam always gets what he wants. When he couldn't stop Nye going to the party he tackled the problem from the other end and took the option away from him."

Kane snarled but said nothing.

"I wasn't involved with that Kane, I swear. I didn't know anything about it until afterwards. But Adam bragged to everyone. We all knew. He was mocking Nye, laughing at him behind his back and we hated it. Nye was devastated. He thought you had rejected him, that you didn't want to know him anymore, any of you.

"After... after they did what they did to you... Nye had another row with Adam...I think it was because he told him that despite what he thought you had done to him he wasn't going to cut ties. Adam hit him, hard. He was in a terrible state and..."

Jon startled them all by suddenly getting to his feet and stalking to the window. "It was my fault. I should have kept my mouth shut but... the boys were getting restless. They didn't like what Adam was doing to Nye. They were putting pressure on me to do something, but what could I do? I'm bar manager but it isn't as if I have any influence on Adam. He's my... he never listens to me."

"What were you going to say Jon? Were you going to say that he is your master?"

Jon did not turn but they could clearly see his shoulders tense. "Yes. It's been a long time since my training, and a long time since I had cause to use it but... yes Adam trained me... he is my master."

"How old were you?"

Jon paused, his whole body singing with tension, then his shoulders slumped and he raised his arm resting his forehead against it pressed against the window. "I was fourteen."

"And did you come willingly."

"It was a long time ago." His voice was wistful and somewhat sad.

"Did you?"

"No... not exactly."

"Were you abused by your family?"

"No. They were good to me, I was happy."

"So you didn't run away?"

"No. I chose my friends unwisely, started hanging round with a group of people who were much older than me. It was exciting. I thought I was so grown up and bit by bit I got drawn in. It was so gradual I never even realised it was happening until it was too late. By then I had got myself in way over my head and when they started talking about payment I had nothing to pay with... except myself."

"Do your family know what happened to you?"

"No. Once they took me I never went back."

"God that's awful. You should look them up. They must be so worried."

Jon laughed shortly. "Look them up and tell them what? That the son they were so proud of allowed himself to be drugged, raped and violated in every way... and had sex with men for money. Yeah... they'd be so proud."

"You could tell them that you were taken and held against your will, forced to do things you weren't proud of but rose above it and managed to become well respected and relied on."

Jon half turned and the look on his face was, for a time, almost hopeful. Then he laughed shortly. "No. That will never happen. Not with my family." He shook himself. "How did we get around to talking about me? That's not relevant. The important thing is that I allowed myself to be pressurised into telling Nye about Kane. I also told him about Adam drugging him. He was... to be honest I don't think he knew what hit him. I distracted Adam's bodyguards while Luke took him upstairs. Adam wasn't supposed to have been back for hours, if at all."

Kane butted in. "You said you 'allowed yourself to be pressurised' into telling Nye about me. Do you regret it?"

Jon faltered. "I... no offence Kane but I don't know you. I had never met you until today and I didn't give a cat's ass about you. But I did and I do care about Nye. If I hadn't told him he would probably still have been safe now."

"He didn't sound too safe."

Jon shrugged and shook his head, then went straight back to telling his story. "I almost had a heart attack when Adam turned up. He saw Nye and Kane sneaking out the back door and went nuts. When he went storming out with his goons in tow we all held our breaths praying you would have got away.

"And then when he came back in carrying two bodies..." He bit his lip. "We didn't have much time to wonder because Adam ripped into all of us like nobody's business. He said that he was not convinced that we didn't all have something to do with it and we were lucky that he wasn't putting us all into re training. It was fortunate for us that he had Luke to take things out of."

"Not so fortunate for him."

"No... and when I was called upstairs later he was in a bad way. He'd been shot on the shoulder, not a bad wound but he'd lost a lot of blood and Adam had clearly been torturing him. I got hold of a doctor we use sometimes, one who is... discrete."

"I'll bet."

"What about Nye? What did he do to Nye?"

"I don't know. When I saw him he was completely out of it... but I know that Adam spent time with him down in the dungeon and that definitely wasn't to watch him sleep. I didn't see him after that so I don't know."

"What do you mean you didn't see him?"

"The day before The Club got raided Lian turned up and took them all away in a limo... Adam, Nye and Luke. I don't know if Adam called Lian or whether Lian just decided to take things into his own hands."

"Do you know where Lian took them?"

Jon hesitated, looking clearly uncomfortable.

"Jon please... please help my brother. Help us to get him out of there. All we want is to know where he is... that's it. Tell us and we'll go away and never come back. Please."

Still he hesitated, his eyes locked with mine, then he just seemed to collapse inwards. "Lian has a big house in the country just outside London, an estate really. He hosts private functions there."

"Functions."

"Yes. It's very well guarded. His ... attendants are practically a private army. It's safe, secure and very private. If I had to guess I would say that is where he would have taken them."

"Thank you Jon. Thank you. Will you come with us to the police? Will you tell them where it is?"

Jon looked startled, no, frightened. "Hang on a minute. I didn't say anything about going to the police. Telling you is one thing but the police..."

"But they are your friends Jon... Nye and Luke. Who knows what might be happening to them by now. Please."

"No. I'm sorry, it's out of the question. I have already done too much, told you too much. Adam will kill me as it is if he finds out. I can't..."

"Please."

"No. Look. I'm sorry for what happened, very sorry. Nye is a wonderful person, I was very fond of him but... No, this is too much to ask. I can't."

"I'll go."

The voice was very soft but it had every eye in the house turning to stare at its source. Ben had showered and was dressed in jeans and a plain black tshirt. His blonde hair hung in damp curls around his baby face and he looked much younger than Jon had said he was. His blue eyes were wide and terrified but his head was erect, the chin jutting.

"Don't be so ridiculous Ben. Remember what I told you. Keep your head low, out of trouble and I'll take care of you. Do something stupid like this and no one is going to be able to protect you."

"Protect me? Is that what you've been doing?"

"Ben..."

"No Jon... don't. I know that you have been taking care of me... as best you can and don't think I'm not grateful...but do you really think that this is how I want to spend my life? Being beaten, drugged and raped; pimped out to sweaty old guys with twisted minds and gross bodies for money? Last time..." He faltered and swallowed and Jon would have interrupted but he stopped him. "Last time they took me to a cellar and tied me to a table. They put a gag in my mouth and fed my drugs with a straw. I though I was going to die. There were four of them and they all went at me together. Pawing me, whipping me, fucking me, twisting my body and... Thank god I was half out of it. There were points when I would have welcomed death. 




Love in Chains Ch. 16



"I don't care if Adam or Lian catches up to me and cuts my throat. I know my days are numbered. I'm pretty now but... it doesn't last Jon, you know that. I'm not clever enough to go into business like you have. I only have my body and when my looks start to fade... if I'm lucky I will get turned out to scratch my own living in the gutters and if not... I know what goes on in that house and others like it. I've known people who go there... and never come back."

"Ben please..."

"I don't want to die in some seedy dungeon being fucked by sweaty old men. I don't want to find myself abandoned and alone selling my body to keep myself alive until the next time. I... want to go back to being what I used to be but I know that can never happen so..."

"That's enough Ben. I am not going to let you do this. If you want out that's fine... I can help you, hell Riz here can help you. If you want to he can take you somewhere safe right now. Marco will help you find a flat, a job, a new identity. But I am not going to let you throw your life away."

For a moment wild hope flared in Ben's dull eyes as he looked at Riz who nodded briefly. Then he shook his head and slumped.

"I can't. Nye and Luke were my friends. Especially Luke. He took care of me when I first came. He bathed my wounds and fed me when I couldn't feed myself. He sat with me in the night when I was scared and he taught me all the things I needed to know to survive. You've done a lot for me Jon, but Luke did more and Nye..." He looked up at me with a very strange expression in his eyes. "I would walk through fire for him."

There was absolute silence, and Ben hung his head, embarrassed. Jon got up and walked to his side and took him in his arms. Ben looked very small there.

"Go and pack your things. Riz can take you to the safe house. No..." He silenced Ben as he raised his head and opened his mouth, "...I'll go to the police. I'll tell them where to find Luke and Nye."

"But... but... what will you do Jon? Where will you go? If you stay here they will know... they will find you and kill you."

"I have money saved. I've been hiding it away for years. I have enough to get by until I'm sorted. I have friends abroad... maybe I will stay with them for a while. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"And I can't?"

"No, you can't, not yet... but with help you will. You are young and you have your whole life ahead. You haven't been completely spoiled yet, you can get past this and move on."

"And you can't?"

"I told you. I'll be alright."

Ben hugged Jon tightly and whispered. "Please be careful Jon. Please don't get killed. I couldn't bear it. You've been like a brother to me."

"And I always will be. One day I will find you, I swear it. I will find you and make sure you are alright. In the meantime you'll be taken care of." He gave Riz a pointed look over Ben's head and Riz nodded gravely. "Go get your stuff."

While they were waiting for Ben Jon went back to stare out of the window. No one said a word. There was nothing to say.



Love in Chains Ch. 17



How long had it been? How long had he been lying here, every muscle in his body trembling, cramped and complaining? Well, alright not every muscle; his heart was a muscle right? And that was okay, except that it hurt. It hurt a lot, a huge crushing pain in his chest that barely rose, as the effort of breathing was just too much. But it was still beating, so that was okay right?

Actually, he didn't care. Something had happened and now it was over. He didn't understand it, couldn't process it so he dismissed it. He felt... blank. It was as if someone had reached inside his head and wiped a cloth over his thoughts and feelings. Most of them were gone or buried deep and those that were left were indistinct and confused.

A voice was speaking close to his ear but he was so disconnected it didn't occur to him that it was speaking to him so he ignored it.

Something touched his hair, smoothing it, lingering to stroke his temples. It felt good and he sighed.

"Nye, are you awake?"

The stroking stopped and he wanted more so he opened his eyes to see what was going on -- except that he couldn't see. No, that was not entirely true. His eyes were working fine but his brain seemed to have lost the ability to interpret the information they provided as all he could see were a nightmarish jumble of shapes and colours that made his head hurt so much he closed his eyes again with a groan.

With agonising slowness his battered brain began to make some connections and the sounds he was hearing resolved themselves into words and then the words began to have meaning.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't know. Well, yes I did know but I didn't think... I didn't believe... Fuck! This is all fucked up. Nye... I'm so sorry. I am going to get you out of here I swear."

Nye sighed, not because he had made any sense of what Adam had said to him, but because the tremors in his body had faded to be replaced by an intense tingling which was not exactly painful if he lay perfectly still. Nevertheless it felt strange.

"Can you hear me, Nye? Can you move?"

Nye understood what was being said by now but had neither the energy nor the inclination to respond.

He felt Adam's hands move over his body, tugging, twisting, moving. Wherever he touched the tingling increased in intensity until it was almost a scream and made him bite hard on the gag in his mouth and hiss. However, by the time he was done it was starting to fade, leaving a body that felt as though it were made of damp putty.

The last thing Adam did was take the gag out of his mouth. He groaned loudly as his teeth snapped together and his jaw cracked. The pain took all his concentration and he missed Adam speaking to him again. He felt Adam lift his hand, the pins and needles almost gone leaving muscles which trembled a little but otherwise just felt heavy and dull.

"Nye... can you hear me babe? Try and squeeze my hand. Show me you can hear me... that you're there."

Nye had no idea what he meant by squeezing his hand but his body seemed to, because the muscles in his arm contracted and Adam grunted in pain, releasing his hand.

"Oh thank God... thank God. Nye... Nye open your eyes. Speak to me."

Reluctantly, Nye opened his eyes and, again his head was stabbed by a lance of pain as the light bit into his eyes. At least this time he could make out shapes and movement.

"Nye?"

Like the tingling sensations, the intense pain in his chest was easing and it was getting easier to breathe. Nye suddenly found that he was incredibly tired. With a deep sigh he closed his eyes and began to sink into the warm comfortable darkness. Somewhere in there was something he badly wanted, something that was waiting for him if only he could...

"Nye! Wake up. You have to wake up. If you are still here when Lian gets back he will hurt you again. It's his way of getting back at me for what has happened. I can take it Nye but I am getting to realise you can't. I have been a fool, a fucking selfish fool and I never realised it until today. Fuck... I never though I would ever let anyone get this close to me and when it happened I couldn't handle it. 

"God this is screwed. I have to get you out of here. I can't let Lian hurt you anymore. He might kill you. I thought he was going to. I thought he had. Come on babe. You can do it. Wake up. Come on."

Adam slapped his face, gently but persistently until he was drawn slowly back from the edge of darkness and forced to acknowledge the light. He moaned and tried to turn his head away.

"Come on babe, please."

Finally giving up all hope of being allowed to go back to sleep Nye opened his eyes and blinked to clear them. He saw a man standing beside him, leaning over him. He was confused. There was a part of him that said he should know this man and a part of him that said he really didn't want to. Part of him felt he loved him and part felt only hatred and anger... but it was all jumbled and muted and he couldn't make sense of any of it.

The voice was still urging him and slowly both his mind and body were coming back to life and beginning to make connections, make sense of what was being said to him.

"Nye, you have to get up. We have to get out of here. Can you do that, baby? Can you sit up? Nye, sit up."

There was note of command in the voice but Nye no longer felt any compulsion to comply. Instead he studied the face. It was a very beautiful face, especially the eyes... the eyes were large and blue and... He felt that he should know the face, that it should mean something to him, should make him feel something, however if he had felt anything at all it would have been confusion. A name floated into his mind and slipped out through his lips.

"A...dam."

"Yes, yes it's Adam, Nye. It's Adam and I am going to take care of you. Now will you please sit up?"

"Sit... up."

"Yes. Come on. Come ON Nye. We have to get out of here."

"Get... out."

Adam shivered, chilled by the blank eyes and flat voice. Nye was simply repeating everything he said with no understanding at all. Well, at least he knew who he was, that was good... right?

Carefully, he slid his arm under Nye's shoulders. Unresisting, Nye shifted to let him. Pressing him tight against his chest Adam lifted Nye up into a sitting position. Nye allowed himself to be raised, closing his eyes against the sudden disorientation and dizziness.

"Are you alright now? Can you sit up on your own?"

This time Nye didn't answer because he was immersed in the sensations that were going on inside his body. They were vaguely unpleasant but he was too disassociated to comprehend what they meant. The sensations intensified and he opened his mouth to say something and was taken completely by surprise when his body convulsed and liquid gushed from his mouth and nose.

Adam, resisting the temptation to pull back held Nye tightly while he vomited repeatedly, retching even after there was nothing else to come up. When he was done his head lolled weakly against Adam's shoulder while he panted and swallowed, trying to speak.

"Ssh. It's alright Nye. It's okay. Don't worry. You're going to be alright. Just take deep breaths and relax. You'll feel better soon."

"Better..." Nye's voice was distant and Adam became alarmed that he might be about to pass out again. Carefully supporting Nye he drew away and brushed the hair out of his face. Remarkably, most of it had escaped the onslaught of vomit and was still fine and silky. For a second Adam got lost in the beauty under his hands and in front of his face. He cupped Nye's cheek gently and looked into the fading eyes.

"Nye, you have to focus baby. You have to do this on your own. I can't carry you. Please... please baby. You have to do this. You have to or... No... you just have to. Come on." 

Adam's voice hardened as he swung Nye's legs over the side of the table and lifted him onto his feet. Nye's eyes went wide at the sensations it evoked. He was not able to bear his weight and sagged in Adam's arms, his eyelids fluttering and rolling.

"Nye... Nye, you can't do this. You have to stay with me. Nye..."

Nye closed his eyes and things seemed to settle a bit although he was still very confused about what was expected of him. Gradually he got the sense of his feet under him and the idea that he had to put weight on them. It took a few false starts but eventually he was able to stand unaided. 

Adam breathed a sigh of relief and put his hands on Nye's shoulders, looking into his eyes, which were still blank and distant.

"Nye. I know you're not feeling yourself. I know you must feel awful but please... We are in a lot of trouble babe. We are in danger. Do you understand that?"

"Danger."

"Oh God... Nye please try... try to understand. Can you...? Can you just...? No, I don't suppose you can... and it's my fault. I'm sorry, Nye... I am so sorry."

Nye frowned. There was something about this man— Adam. He should be feeling something... something... He shook his head. He couldn't remember, but he was remembering other things... like that his body was hurting and his head was filled with confusion. 

He swallowed and looked around, pulling away from Adam.

"Where am I?"

"Nye? Oh... thank God. Can you walk?"

Nye looked at him and frowned again, his eyes more... present but still filled with confusion.

"I... Who...? I feel..."

"I know. I will explain everything to you later. Right now, we have to get out of here. We're in danger Nye, do you understand that?"

"Danger?"

"Yes... I will explain but please... please, we have to get out of here and it has to be now."

Somewhere deep in the body of the house there was a boom, like an explosion and a fine dusting of chalk drifted down from the ceiling.

"What the fuck was that?" Adam looked up and around. Nye barely even registered it, he was watching Adam with that same frown on his face. "Never mind. Come on."

Taking his hand Adam led Nye across the room to the door. Although the deeply confused frown never left his face Nye followed, stumbling but reasonably steady. 

At the door Adam paused and motioned to Nye to wait while he opened it carefully and peered out into the corridor outside. As he did so another explosion rocked the house and more dust fell coating their shoulders and powdering Nye's hair making it even paler than ever. Smoke began to billow down the corridor from the direction of the stairs.

"Damn... what the hell is going on? Come on Nye... we have to get out of here."

Obediently Nye followed when Adam took his hand and drew him out into the corridor. The floor was gritty, littered with debris shaken loose from the ceiling above and shards of glass from the lights which lined the walls of the corridor and which had shattered.

Nye barely registered the pain in his feet until they were more than half way along the corridor and then he paused and stopped, his frown deepening.

"Nye, come on... what's wrong? Why have you stopped?"

"I... My... I hurt."

"I know baby... I know you hurt but we really have to get out of here now. It's not safe. Whatever is going on up there makes it even less safe. We have to get out. Do you understand? We have to get out."

"Yes... get out but..."

"Come on Nye, please..."

Nye stumbled on a few more paces and then stopped again. There were tears streaming down his face.

"What is it? What hurts?"

"I... I..." He looked down. Adam followed his glance and blanched. Nye was standing in a pool of blood and for most of their journey along the corridor his footsteps were clearly seen, puddles of bright red amongst the dust and the rubble.

"Oh fuck!!! I didn't think. Hell, Nye. I'm sorry."

Kneeling carefully on the ground he lifted one of Nye's feet. Shards of glass and rubble were embedded in the soft flesh and the skin was torn to ribbons. Nye shuddered as Adam picked out the glass but he did not make a sound. 

When he was convinced the foot was as clean as he could make it he slipped off his shirt and tore it into shreds. He appreciated that this was not the best thing to bind an injured foot with as it was fouled by Nye's vomit but it was the only thing he had at hand and so he bandaged the foot as carefully as he could and then turned his attention to the other one.

When he was done he lifted Nye into his arms and his heart fluttered when Nye put his arms around his neck and snuggled his face into his hair with a sigh.

"Thank you, Adam."

Adam had to pause and swallow hard before he could respond

"It's nothing, babe. I told you I was going to take care of you from now on and I meant it. As soon as we get out of here I am going to take you somewhere safe and I am going to call your friend Kane. He'll look after you a lot better than I can."

"Kane..."

The dull tone lifted slightly and there was a question in his voice.

"Don't worry Nye. You'll be with him soon. You'll remember then. You'll be alright. I swear you are going to be alright now."

At the end of the corridor there were steps leading upwards to the ground floor of the house. The door at the top was closed and smoke was seeping through, under and around it. Coughing Adam carried Nye to the top and then set him down. He winced when his feet hit the floor but did not complain.

Cautiously Adam opened the door and smoke billowed through, enveloping them in a lung burning, eye watering cloud. Coughing Adam felt his way forwards and his foot struck something, lying on the floor. Bending down he felt carefully along the object to find that it was a man, one of Lian's assistants by the feel of it. 

Following the body up the torso, along the outflung arm and beyond his questing fingers touched something cold and metallic. With a smile of triumph he straightened and tucked it into his waistband.

Taking Nye's hand he led him across the cavernous hall, which was filled with billowing smoke towards the front door. He was confused. Where was all this smoke coming from? What was going on? Was there a fire? Had there been an explosion? What the hell what happening up here?

They were half way across the hall and the smoke was thinning, having been sucked down into the basement when the door had opened. Suddenly Nye's hand was wrenched out of Adam's grip and he spun round at the soft cry that had escaped Nye's lips.

"Going somewhere Adam?"

Lian was standing behind Nye, one arm wrapped around his neck and the other pressing a knife against his ribs.

"Lian. What the hell is going on? I heard an explosion and half the ceiling caved in. What was I supposed to do? Wait down there to be buried alive?"

Lian's eyes narrowed. "You got the boy out of his restraints and on his feet pretty damned quick."

"Alright... I had done that already. I just couldn't bear..."

"Spare me, Adam. I have more pressing matters on my mind right now."

"Like..."

"Like the fact I have the Met's best at my door with their guns aimed at the house and smoke grenades taking out all the windows. It's only a matter of time before they rush the house and when they do I want to have something between me and them."

"The Met? What? Why?"

"Seems like your pretty boy here has friends with influence. Or maybe more of your 'obedient' boys have been talking to the wrong people. I warned you Adam... You've been nothing but trouble to me lately and it's all because of this... boy." He tightened his grip on Nye's throat, which wasn't easy because Nye was so much taller than him.

If Nye had been himself he would have been able to fight his way out of the hold in no time but he was not himself and both Lian and Adam knew it. He remained quiescent as Lian began to choke him and the knife at his ribs drew blood.

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to take your little pet here out the back door with me. I have my boys engaged in a running battle at the front so hopefully they will draw the heat off the back. If we meet any resistance he'll make a nice shield. No one is going to shoot poor innocent little Nye are they?"

"You can't do that, Lian. He'll get hurt."

"Very likely... but that's the point isn't it? One of two things will happen. Either I will get the chance to talk to them, to tell them that if they let me out I'll let him go— or they shoot first and I can claim I was trying to rescue him. Either way, he's useful. The way I see it, I am not going to get out of this without serious consequences and he can shield me from a lot of them... so move very slowly towards the back of the house... you can be the advance party. If you are good at it you can save your boy by convincing the police they should let us pass."

"No. I won't do that. I won't put Nye in danger, not this time."

"I don't know if you have noticed it Adam, but your boy is already in a parcel of danger. He's in no condition to fight me and I could just as easily snap his neck as put this knife between his ribs."

"I don't think so."

Calmly Adam drew the gun from his belt, cocked it and aimed it at Lian's head.

"Oh please, Adam. You know and I know that you'd never pull that trigger. There's too much of a chance you'll hit the kid. No... you won't shoot me."

"Let him go."

"Or what? We've already established you won't shoot me. So what?"

"We haven't established anything. Let him go."

Lian smiled a cold, hard smile and tossed the knife onto the ground. "Happy?"

"Now let go of him. Let him come to me."

"Oh I don't think so. I am getting far too much pleasure from having him right here in my arms. You know I never blamed you for falling for him. He's about as damned perfect as anyone I have ever had my hands on. His body is almost as sweet at his personality although I don't usually have a sweet tooth." As he spoke he ran his hand over Nye's chest and stomach. Adam saw Nye shudder and tense.

"Stop it Lian. Let him go."

"Not a chance, Adam. He's my insurance policy. And like I said... I'm enjoying him."

He slid his hand down further and began to caress Nye's cock. Nye sighed and let his head fall back against Lian's shoulder. Lian purred. "That's right baby. You like that don't you? You like my touch."

Nye didn't respond but moaned softly as Lian massaged his balls.

"Yes baby... you know you like it. Do you want more? Do you want to feel me inside you baby."

Nye shuddered and moaned and Adam's finger tightened on the trigger. "Stop it Lian. I'm not joking. I swear to god if you don't let him go I'll shoot you."

"I don't think so, Adam. If you were going to shoot me you would have done so by now. Relax, have fun... your boy is, aren't you Nye?" He turned his head, keeping his eyes fixed on Adam and kissed Nye's hair. Nye turned his head, his lips parted to speak and Lian took possession of them. The arm which had been choking him lowered and gripped his chest, pulling him hard against Lian's body while his other hand snaked around Nye's hips and between his buttocks.

Nye stiffened and grunted his hips automatically tilting backwards as Lian's fingers entered him. He was a maelstrom of confusion, his battered senses assailed by the overwhelming sensations, especially when Lian gripped his nipple firmly between his finger and thumb and twisted savagely.

"Lian! Stop it! Stop it or I'll..."

"You'll what? We have already established that you are not going to shoot me so why don't you get over here and join in the fun."

"Fun? You have half the Metropolitan police force camped at your door and it's only a matter of time before they break through the pathetic defence being raised by your ... boys. You are insane. We have to get out of here."

"All in good time. Before you go I am going to teach you a lesson you will never forget."

Moving his arm down to hold Nye tight around the waist Lian removed his fingers and unzipped his pants.

"Lian don't..."

Nye gasped and shuddered, his cock twitching despite himself. He didn't really know what was happening to him, except that, even in his dazed and disassociated condition the things that were going on down below felt good, very good. He moaned and rolled his head on Lian's shoulder as the rock strong arm around his waist pulled him in against the thrusts of the lean hips, burying Lian's shaft deep in his body.




Love in Chains Ch. 17



"You're fucking insane. I always suspected it but... fuck Lian... what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Lian slid a hand into his pocket and lifted it, holding it carefully between his finger and thumb. It looked like a glass bead.

"What the...?"

"What do I think I'm doing? What I'm doing is sending your boy out with a bang. And you're loving it aren't you baby?" He turned his head again and kissed Nye's hair, not missing a stroke.

"What...?"

"This is a sweet poison Adam... another one of the rare toxins I found on my travels. Only this time there is no antidote. One drop of this touches his lips and it's game over in twenty minutes."

"Oh fuck! You wouldn't.... you couldn't... Not even you."

"You think?"

Still holding the glass pill between his finger and thumb he stroked Nye's hair, increasing the speed of his thrusts. Nye was fully erect now, his legs trembling under the onslaught and Adam's finger trembled as perspiration ran down his face.

"I'm warning you Lian... don't do this."

"Why not? He'll still be able to fulfil his role. I can haul his arse with me wherever I need to go... and he'll walk... in some fashion... for the next fifteen minutes which will be plenty of time to get to the car."

"You're insane. Let him go."

"Not a chance."

Turning Nye's face towards his neck Lian brushed the hair out of the way so that Adam could see what he was doing. He pressed a finger against Nye's lips and they parted at the touch. Lian touched the glass ball against Nye's lip and looked at Adam.

"One small squeeze and it shatters, then it's all over. Hush now baby, be still. Don't close your mouth or you'll break the glass too soon. I want you to enjoy your last good fuck before the lights go out."

Nye moaned and tried to turn his head. He was trembling all over and Adam was terrified that he would bite down on the glass ball and break it, or that Lian would crush it before he could do anything.

"Stop this Lian... please... please stop. I'll do anything. I swear I'll do anything. Just let him go."

"You're going to do what I want anyway Adam. You have no choice. Either you come with me or you stay here and let the boys in blue take you away. You won't last a day in prison. So just be a good boy and drop the gun, then get over here and start working on your boy. Who knows... if you do a good enough job maybe I will change my mind and take him with us after all."

Hope flared in Adam until he saw the look in Lian's eyes, then he knew. It seemed as if time slowed to a stop and everything kaleidoscoped into the one moment. Adam thought of Nye, his soft voice, his sweet nature, his gentle touch. He thought of all the things that had been done to him, and guilt squirmed in his gut. For the first time ever he looked at what he had done and bitterly regretted it... and none more so that he had delivered this sweet person into the hands of a monster.

He thought of Lian... all their history together, the evil twisted things he had done and made Adam do. He thought of what he was doing right now.

Nye was lost in the throes of pleasure... so why was the look on his face one of pain. His body was responding but only because it was an automatic reaction. His eyes were wide and staring and the look in them was... compared to the look in Lian's eyes which was...

Anger coalesced into a cold certainty, settling into Adam's stomach like a lump of ice. Narrowing his eyes he gave Lian a cold smile, raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

In almost the same instant the front door burst open and the room was sprayed with bullets. Adam felt something slam into his back sending him sprawling onto the floor, the gun spinning from his hand. Gritting his teeth he crawled across the floor, inch by inch towards the two bodies that lay so still. Lian had taken Nye down with him when he fell and Adam didn't know if Nye had been hit by one of the flying bullets or whether he had just been winded by the fall. He was so still. What about the poison pill?

Time speeded up again and came crashing down on him. There were hands on him, turning him over, a dark shape outlined in light.

"Nye... please... please let me. Nye..."

"Just lie still, sir. The paramedics will be with you in a moment."

"Please... Nye... just tell me. Is he... is he alright?"

Adam struggled to sit up and the man let him. There were people kneeling around Lian and Nye. They seemed so far away, so very far away. He couldn't hear what they were saying. He couldn't make sense of what was happening. The numbness he was feeling was spreading and there was darkness at the edges of his vision.

Unable to remain upright he let himself fall back, tears falling from his eyes. Another dark figure knelt at his side and he forced his eyes open. 

"Please. Nye, please."

"Are you Adam?"

"Yes. I... Please..."

"Your friend is alright. He's very confused and disoriented, I assume he's been drugged, but he's not hurt."

"The.., poison. Did he...? Did Lian...?"

"What poison?"

Suddenly it was hard to speak. The darkness was gathering and his body was urging him to let go. His heart was beating very loudly in his chest and in his ears and he knew it was slowing, fading. But he had to hold on. He had to know.

"Lian... he... he had a... a glass... poison... please..."

The figure put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and disappeared. It seemed like forever before he came back.

"Adam? Can you hear me Adam?"

Not realising he had closed his eyes Adam opened them. There was a heavy weight on his chest and his ears were filled with the sound of something wheezing and bubbling. He was too far gone to realise it was his own breathing from lungs that were slowly filling with blood.

"I'm sorry Adam, I can't help you. We didn't find anything. There was no bottle or phial. It could have smashed when Lian fell. If it was small..."

"He... he was holding it... holding it by Nye's mouth. It was... small... small...glass... I couldn't... I had to... I couldn't let him... I... shot... him..."

"You did well Adam. You saved him. You saved Nye."

"But... the poison... no... ant...dote. Please..."

"Alright... take it easy. I'll check again."

This time when the man came back Adam had sunk so far he was unaware of him crouching, unaware of anything until a hand gently tapped his face. When he opened his eyes all he could see was shadows. He took a breath to ask a question but he couldn't and it started him coughing. Blood spurted from his mouth and his body shuddered and twisted with the effort to fill lungs that were awash.

"Take it easy, Adam. It's alright. Everything's okay. Nye is going to be just fine."

"You... you found...?"

"Yes. I found the glass. Lian didn't give Nye the poison."

Adam tried to thank him, tried to speak but the effort was just too much and he closed his eyes and let go with a sigh.

The police officer who'd been talking to him got to his feet and was stopped by his colleague who had a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why did you lie to him?"

"The guy was taking his last breath. He was a complete shit but he really seemed to care about the kid."

"Still..."

"He was dying, Jake. A little bit of charity to a dying man to send him on his way in peace is not a bad thing."

"He didn't deserve it."

"Maybe not... but I would have been a lesser man if I hadn't."

"Can't argue with that, Mick."



Love in Chains Ch. 18



I was at home when I got the call. Kane was there too. Jon had insisted we went home before he went to the police. He said he didn't want us caught up in the backlash. Riz had taken Ben back to the safe house and so it was only the two of us.

The voice on the other end of the phone was cold and clinical. It told me that Nye had been found and that he had been taken to a hospital somewhere and asked if I wanted a car sent to take me to him. As if. The voice would not or could not give me any important information, not even whether Nye was still alive but kept politely repeating that they were 'not at liberty to provide that information'. When I put the phone down I was numb.

Obviously, Kane had gathered the gist of the conversation from my end and he was looking at me with pleading eyes. What could I tell him? I shrugged.

"They wouldn't tell me anything. He's in a hospital somewhere but they wouldn't even tell me if he was alive. What... what am I supposed to think?"

Suddenly Kane's arms were around me and I was sobbing into his shoulder.

"Think that they are not able to tell you anything... that's all babe... that's all. Can we go?"

"They're sending a car to take us."

"Okay... then we should get ready. Do you still have any of Nye's stuff here?"

"Some old stuff... I..."

"Put it in a bag... he might need it."

"But..."

"Mir... it'll give you something to do, something to think about."

I was about to answer when I looked into his eyes and so I just nodded and got on with it. He was right, it did help— for a while.

The car took less than fifteen minutes to get to us but it was the longest fifteen minutes of my life. I'm sure it was the same for Kane.

The driver of the car was just that... an ordinary officer whose job it was to drive and nothing more. He had no information to give and it was pointless questioning him, although of course we did. 

I lost all sense of direction and had no idea where we were heading. It was dark well before we got there.

The hospital was very normal. I don't know what I was expecting but it was just a building full of people going about their business and living out their own personal dramas completely ignorant of ours. Kane put his arm around my shoulder and was practically supporting me by the time we got inside.

In the lobby the police officer spoke to the bored looking woman behind the desk and then escorted us into a room and left us. I sat on a chair and screwed my bag between my hands while Kane paced. He was like a caged lion and I kept expecting to hear him roar. The room was small with little room for pacing and I don't know what would have happened if we had been kept waiting one minute more than we were.

When the door opened we both froze and looked up. The doctor was unsurprised by our reaction, I suppose he saw it all the time. He checked his clipboard and looked at me.

"I take it you are Miriam?"

"Yes, yes I am. Is my brother alright?"

The doctor frowned and perched on the edge of the table. My heart froze and plummeted at the look on his face and I was sure that the next words out of his mouth were going to be that he was sorry...

"Physically, Anurin seems to be generally okay. There are some minor injuries, the most severe being lacerations and bruising to his feet. There was some suggestion that he might have been poisoned but it's been several hours and he is not showing any adverse effects so I would be surprised if that were the case. 

"We have taken blood to run a full toxicology screening and will know more when the results come back but... I think he's going to be fine."

I felt like someone had hit me in the chest. Nye was okay. He wasn't dead. He had sore feet but fuck that was nothing. He was okay.

"But...?"

I had been so overwhelmed with relief at what the doctor had said I hadn't even begun to pick up on what he hadn't said... not so Kane.

The doctor hesitated looking back and forth between Kane and myself. "Physically Aneurin is going to be fine but... mentally it's a different question. The police have told us a little about what was going on in Aneurin's life and it's clear that he has been..." The doctor paused again and frowned. "As I said, we'll know more when the blood tests come back but there's no doubt he has been given drugs of some kind, probably mind altering ones and he's..." For the third time the doctor paused and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm no psychiatrist but it's clear Aneurin is having some problems at the moment. He is very disassociated, doesn't seem to know where he is. He's having difficulty speaking and doesn't seem able to rationalise."

"And that means?"

"He's out of it. He doesn't know who he is, where he is or what happened to him. He can't express himself in anything more than abstract words and phrases and he can't remember anything that happened to him. I'm fairly sure that most of that is the result of drugs but they should be wearing off and they aren't. Although... there may well be an element of shock and PTSD... I understand that when the police broke into the room it was just as the man who was holding him was shot in the head by another. I suppose I don't have to explain what standing in close proximity to someone whose head explodes can do to someone. As I said... we'll know more when we get the results of the blood tests, but until then... "

"I don't understand."

"You will."

"Wait... Kane's voice was commanding, more grounded than mine. "You said someone was shot... who was it? Was it Adam?"

"I believe there were two men killed... one shot by the other and one by the police on entry. I'm afraid I don't have any more information about who they were." He smiled at Kane in a way that suggested his conversation with him was over then turned to me. "Would you like to see your brother Miss Davies?" 

"Yes... yes of course I would."

Kane had to help me to my feet and we followed the doctor through corridors to stop in front of a door that needed a code put into it to allow us access. After that he led us along another corridor and paused outside the door.

"You have understood what I've said haven't you, Miss Davies?"

"I... what do you mean?"

"I mean there's a very good chance your brother won't recognise you. Are you prepared for that?"

"I... how could I ever be prepared for that? I... I'm as ready as I will ever be. Right now all I want is to know that my brother's alright."

"There are many definitions of that word, Miss Davies and I can't in all honesty reassure you that your brother is alright. Go speak to him and we will talk again later. You can stay here tonight if you wish. I would like to keep Aneurin in the hospital for a few days to keep an eye on his feet and after that he can be discharged. Whether that is to home is another matter for another day."

The doctor squeezed my arm and disappeared leaving me feeling unaccountably nervous. Kane put his arm around me and I looked up into his face. Although I'm tall he's a couple of inches taller and I always look up to him. He smiled. He was very pale. Knowing he was as nervous as I was made it easier.

Nye was asleep. He looked so young, so vulnerable lying in the stark white bed in the stark white room. A window was open and a breeze was playing with his hair, as stark and white as any of it.

There was no medical equipment, no beeping machines, no tubes or needles— no anything but my brother, and the window and the breeze.

It was dark outside and the sharp tang of rain blew in with the breeze, it made the curtains flutter and Nye sighed and stirred at its caress. He turned his head towards us and I gasped aloud, feeling Kane's grip on my shoulder tighten. Even though I knew it wasn't his, the sight of Nye's pale hair dyed a deep red by the gory blood that had soaked into it, and seeing the pattern of tiny cuts on his face that I could imagine were caused by flying bone, made me go cold and my legs feel weak.

There was no one else in the room but I felt strangely shy as I approached the bed. Not so Kane. He practically flew across the room and, without pausing sat down on the bench at the side of the bed and took Nye's hand. I was at his shoulder when Nye's eyes fluttered open and stared up at both of us with a strangely empty expression.

"Nye?"

Kane spoke eagerly even as my own voice was trapped in my constricted throat. Nye's eyes wandered to him and then back to me. He didn't seem pleased to see us. Neither did he seem concerned or even remotely curious. He just looked blank.

"Nye?"

Kane looked up at me and I squeezed his shoulder. I forced myself to smile at Nye and he mirrored it with a tiny smile of his own.

"Do you know who we are, Nye?"

He stared at me as if he didn't even understand the question and I began to see what the doctor had been getting at. Kane swore softly.

"Fuck."

Kane was holding tight to Nye's hand and I could see that Nye was gripping back, not just letting himself be held. He wasn't... entirely passive.

I reached out and brushed his hair out of his face. It made me feel sick to see the blood stain his lips when it touched them. Nye sighed with pleasure at my touch and closed his eyes, a smile playing on the blood stained lips. So I carried on stroking his hair until he practically purred.

"Do you feel better now?"

He opened his eyes and looked up at me, still blank but slightly puzzled. After a while he nodded and closed his eyes again with a sigh.

"Nye... what happened to you? What did they do to you? I swear to God if I get my hands on Adam or Lian I will fucking kill them with my bare hands."

Kane's voice was distraught and Nye reacted instantly by sitting bolt upright, staring into the distance. He was completely rigid and when he turned his head to look at Kane, Hell was in his eyes.

"Nye." Kane leaped up and took Nye into his arms, still rigid and held him tight against him while he stammered.

"A...A... Ad...am."

"Ssh baby. it's alright. Adam's gone. It's just you and me now. You're safe."

"Adam."

Kane had his head buried in Nye's shoulder and he couldn't see his face, but I could and what I saw there scared me. His eyes weren't seeing me... they weren't seeing this room and whatever it was they were seeing was not good.

I touched Nye's hair and he raised his eyes to mine. For a long moment they were locked and then he started to shake and collapsed into Kane's arms sobbing.

I climbed up onto the bed and both Kane and I held Nye while he sobbed soundlessly, his whole body shaking and boneless.

After what seemed like a very long time both the sobs and the shaking subsided and we lowered Nye down onto the pillows and smoothed the hair out of his face. There was a box of tissues on the table beside the bed and I used them to wipe the blood and snot. All the while Nye lay passive with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. I though we had lost him again.

"Nye... Please babe... don't hide from us... you're safe now."

"Safe?" Nye let his eyes fall onto Kane and he gave him a long hot stare, then he shook his head and closed his eyes, struggling with the emotions that were swamping him as tears squeezed out from beneath his lids again. After a long pause he said. "Luke's dead."

"Oh God. I'm sorry Nye... I'm so sorry. I wanted to come back but he wouldn't let me. I begged him. I swear. I saw you both fall and I was so scared. I was so scared that you were both dead. Jon told us that Luke was shot... but he said that when he left The Club he was alright. What happened? Did Adam kill him?"

Nye shook his head. "Lian. I... had... to ... watch. They said... they said... my fault."

"You don't believe that do you? You don't believe it was your fault?" When he didn't make a move to answer Kane pressed on. "None of this was your fault Nye, it was Adam's fault. He did this. Him and that man... Lian. They were the ones who hurt you, and Luke. It wasn't your fault. Luke knew what he was doing when he helped you, they all did." When there was no response from Nye he repeated heatedly. "It was not your fault."

After a long time when tears poured down his cheeks Nye gripped Kane's hand and whispered. "I know."

Relief was tangible in the room. It swept over us like a wave of pure energy and I started to shake all over. Kane leaned forward resting his forehead on the hand that held Nye's and sobbed. For a long time Nye didn't move and then, very slowly, he reached over with his free hand and stroked Kane's head.

Kane looked up and their eyes met. For a long moment Nye looked more puzzled and confused than ever and then he smiled. It wasn't the thin, pale smile that had touched his lips earlier, it was a bright, glorious smile that lit his eyes and brought his face to life again.

"Kane. I was scared."

Kane leaped up onto the bed and took him in his arms. They clung together and, although I have to admit I did feel a little embarrassed and pushed out, I was grinning like the village idiot.

"Me too dude... me too. But it's over now. It's all going to be alright now." Kane pulled away slightly so he could look into Nye's face. "I was a super idiot Nye. I let you slip away from me because I neglected you. I am not going to do that again. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. Will you forgive me? Will you give us another go?"

Well, this was news to me but hardly a surprise and I was grinning again. I could feel the tension between them as they stared at each other and Nye frowned deeply. Despite his 'awakening' it was clear that Nye was still struggling to process things, and didn't really understand what Kane was asking him.

"Kane..." He looked up at me startled as if he had forgotten I was even there. "Maybe you need to break it down a little. Nye's... confused right now?"

"Break it down? I don't... Oh..." He turned back to Nye and rested his hand against his cheek. I really should have turned away but the look on Nye's face caught and held me and I couldn't tear my eyes from it. 

Burying his fingers in the fine, soft hair, Kane stroked Nye's cheek and Nye closed his eyes leaning in to the caress.

"You don't have to be scared anymore babe. I'm gonna take care of you now. I'm never gonna leave ya again. Is that okay with you?"

Nye opened his eyes and smiled at Kane. Slowly he nodded his head, then more eagerly he nodded it again.

"Am I yours now?" 

Kane bit his lip and shook his head at Nye's soft words. There were tears in his eyes when he responded... in a whisper to, I suspect because his throat was too constricted for anything more.

"No babe... you're not mine... you're not anyone's. You don't belong to anyone... you never have and you never will. Do you understand that?"

Nye looked puzzled for a minute, his lips trembled as if he was going to say something, then he relaxed and smiled again. "Yes. It... it's hard. I... they..." Nye sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. He looked exhausted and I was about to suggest that we call it a night and just let him get some rest when he took a deep breath and blurted out. "You were right. He... hurt me Kane... he... hurt me and it... it's hard to... to... I can't... I think he broke me."

Kane hugged Nye closer. "He didn't break you babe. He couldn't. You're just hurt and sick and exhausted. You're gonna be okay, I promise. No one is gonna hurt ya anymore. No one. Tomorrow is a new day and you are gonna be free and whole and well. I am gonne sit right here all night and watch over you and make sure of that. Got it?"

For a moment Nye looked uncertain and then he gave Kane the biggest grin ever and hugged him hard. Kane let him hold on for a while and then gently untangled his arms, pressing him back onto the pillows.

"You're tired. You need to sleep. Things will look better in the morning. I promise."

Nye stared up at him with a strange expression on his face for what seemed like a very long time before his eyes started to get heavy and he drifted off to sleep leaving Kane and I feeling shaken but hopeful. We sat in companionable silence as the breeze drifted in through the window.

***

"I want to kill Adam." Kane's voice was flat. It wasn't the usual... 'I want to kill someone', it was a simple statement of fact.

"He's probably in gaol, or dead. Didn't that doctor say that someone got shot? I mean look at the blood."

"No thanks." He made a face. For the first time he noticed that there was blood on him too and he wiped at it absently. "It's too much to hope for that it was Adam who died. It would be a shame if it was... it means I won't get the chance to do it myself."

"You wouldn't kill Adam, Kane." He looked up at me and there was a look in his eyes that chilled me.

"I think you are mistaken there."

I smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You wouldn't kill Adam because you care too much about Nye."

Kane blinked and looked slightly stunned for a moment then he shook his head and looked at my brother and the look changed, softening into a gaze of such adoring tenderness that my heart melted.

"I can't believe that this happened. It was my fault Mir, I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? What for?"

"We were... we were... together... for a time. He loved me and I loved him but I was lazy and stupid. When I went away I really meant to stay close and for the first two years I kinda did. But this last year has been so busy, with college work and I had to have a job to pay the rent, and it was hard to... I just..."

He looked up at me again and I was astonished by the pain in his eyes. If he had thought that the information about he and Nye being a couple would have surprised me he was wrong but the pain came as a shock.

"I let him go. I neglected him. I always thought that... that no matter what happened he would be here when I came back and I stopped working at us. I took him completely for granted and he felt abandoned and alone so that when that... when Adam came along he was already vulnerable and in pain.

"It's not surprising really that Adam was able to wriggle his way into his affections when I had bruised them so much. If I had thought more about him and less about myself this would never have happened." 

I was startled when he started to cry, huge wracking sobs that shook his body. "O God Mir. He could have been killed. He could have died and it would have been my fault."

"Don't be ridiculous. Nye's a big boy. He made his own decisions and it was not your fault. You weren't here and you didn't see what happened but Adam was clever, very clever. He saw what he wanted and he went for it. Nye never stood a chance and it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference if you had been the most attentive boyfriend in the world.

"Adam is a monster. He's evil... but he's clever, and clearly very practised at this kind of thing. I think, if Nye had resisted more he would have been even more hurt. Besides... he didn't die. He's going be alright. He's safe now."

"But what if... I mean... That doctor said that..."

"He's going to be alright Kane. He's hurt, I know that and it is going to take some time for him to heal properly but he will. He is surrounded by people who love him and will support him and I saw the way he looked at you just now. There is nothing that Adam or anyone else could have done to him that would have made him forget the way he feels about you Kane. That will be his beacon and it will steer him home."

"Do you think...?"

"Yes... I think..."

"I am so confused and frightened Mir. I don't know what to do that will make it better."

"You clearly have not been listening to a word I've said. You don't have to do anything, just be here, be yourself, that's what he needs."

"I..."

"Kane, stop beating yourself up. This was not your fault. What happened was awful but it wasn't your fault. Now for goodness sake go to sleep; you're giving me a headache."




Love in Chains Ch. 18



He stared at me, shocked and then his face broke into a smile. "You can be a scary lady; do you know that Mir?"

"You ain't seen nothing yet hun." I said in a truly terrible American accent and he laughed, then yawned broadly.

"I am tired."

"Then why don't you lie down on the bed, it's enormous. There's plenty of room for the two of you and I am sure that it would be comforting for Nye too, if he wakes up in the night, to have some human contact."

"Do you think that's allowed?"

"Do you think I care?"

He grinned again. "Yep... truly scary."

But he obediently got up onto the bed and cuddled close to Nye, who sighed and settled back against him. In five minutes they were both sound asleep.

Kane spent the night curled up next to Nye and at some point they found their way into each other's arms. I sat in the chair and watched them sleep. They looked so right together, not like Nye and Adam had. They had never looked anything other than what they were, not a loving couple but a hunter and his prey.

At some point a nurse came in and made disapproving noises - until I removed her from the room and told her in no uncertain terms why she was not going to interfere. After that no one disturbed us and I fell asleep closer to being at peace than I had for a very long time, more than six months.

When I awoke next morning Nye and Kane were still asleep. Again, a nurse tried to disturb them and this time she was older and a lot more persistent, with a lot of talk about 'hospital policy' and my brother's 'best interests'. I told her that I had known my brother for a lot longer than she had and I knew more about his 'best interests' than she ever would, which of course was a terrible conceit on my part but I was in full blown protection mode and I didn't care.

After a fairly heated argument which attracted a lot of attention the doctor was summoned and tried to take me into a side room to discuss the situation. I refused to leave the door unprotected until I had elicited a solemn promise that no one would disturb the boys while we talked.

The doctor was a different one to the person who had spoken to us the previous day. He was young and initially condescending but I was having none of it.

"Look, I have already heard all the bullshit about 'hospital policy' and 'my brother's best interests' but he is sleeping peacefully with a smile on his face and I think he deserves that unless his life is at risk which, from what I have been told so far, it isn't so..."

"I completely agree with you."

"What?"

"Natural sleep and rest are the best possible medicine for Aneurin at this time."

"What? But then why... why all this?"

"Because I don't appreciate a scene on my ward and it's not fair on the nurses... who have their duties to perform."

"I know but not at all costs. I tried to talk to her, to be reasonable, but that battleaxe was doing a 'jobsworth' on me and..."

The doctor was smiling. "I am sure that nurse Bryant won't be best pleased to be referred to as a 'battleaxe' and she was carrying out her duties entirely appropriately... but she should have called me sooner. I'll have a word."

"Thank you." I felt deflated. I had been spoiling for a fight and he had taken the wind right out of my sails.

"But now that you are here I would like to speak to you about your brother."

That got my attention. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Don't worry. We've had the test results back from the lab and it's pretty much what we expected.

"There are traces of some serious drugs, heavyweight psychotics which have been administered over a period of time... at least a couple of weeks." My heart flipped and my stomach dropped but the doctor smiled kindly.

"Don't worry. Physically there doesn't seem to be any long term harm done. He has a slight heart arrhythmia which I am confident will resolve itself with rest once the drugs are out of his system."

"So he is going to be alright... for sure?"

"Physically yes... Apart from the cuts and bruises on his feet there really isn't much wrong with your brother that good long rest won't cure. But those drugs were powerful stuff and from what I heard from Doctor Myers about how your brother was when he came in yesterday I am very concerned about his mental condition. Something like this could take years to get over. How was he when you spoke to him last night? Did he know who you were?"

"At first he was very confused. He found it hard to form words or make sentences and looked like he didn't really understand what we were saying to him but... he did open up after a while. He told us that his friend, Luke was dead and that he was made to watch and was told it was his fault...then he acknowledged that he knew it wasn't."

The doctor visibly relaxed. "That sounds very promising. I've worked before with kids who have been through this and after a time it literally breaks their minds, separating their personality from their consciousness. They can develop multiple personalities, or severe disassociation disorders or even schizophrenia. The fact that Aneurin is able to talk about what happened, even if it is in a disjointed and hesitant way, and especially to accept that it wasn't his fault despite being told it was... these are all very promising signs. 

"I would still like him to speak to the hospital psychiatrist but my original concern that he might need to be moved to the psychiatric wings seems less pressing."

"What? That was never mentioned. No, that would be very bad for Nye. For fuck sake... he's been a prisoner for long enough."

"Calm down, Miss Davies. Haven't I said that I don't think that is going to be necessary."

"Don't think..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I will arrange for the resident psychiatrist to speak to him this afternoon and we'll take it from there. Okay?"

"Okay... but I am NOT letting you lock Nye away in any secure unit or psychiatric hospital... not even a ward on this one."

"Let's just see how it goes."



Love in Chains Ch. 19



I was feeling very unsettled as I made my way back to Nye's room. When I paused outside and heard voices from within blazing anger flared inside me. How dare they! He'd promised!

I flung the door open, ready to give someone the earbashing of their lives... but all that met me were two startled faces. Nye and Kane were sitting up in bed, resting against the pillows with their arms around each other, Nye's head cradled on Kane's shoulder. I suddenly felt foolish and not a little embarrassed.

"Way to go to scare the shit out of us Mir. Where's the fire?"

"I... er... sorry. I got a little carried away." I smiled at Nye who was still looking startled. "How are you feeling today sweetheart."

He smiled, a little uncertainly. "Can I...? I want... I need... Can I go home?"

"Soon. The doctors have to make sure you are okay first. You hurt your feet remember?"

He frowned and then tears sprang to his eyes. "He carried me."

"Who did honey? Who carried you where?"

"Adam."

Kane and I exchanged glances. Whilst we were both glad that Nye was talking we would both have much preferred if he had not been talking about Adam.

Nye, however was blind to the look, his eyes were seeing another place and another time. His face took on an intensely introverted and pensive look and tears spilled from his eyes.

"There was glass... in the corridor. All over the floor. I... didn't ... didn't feel... He... he carried me and then... and then Lian was there... in the smoke. He... was... he... and then... Adam..." Nye shuddered and his hand went to his head. When he touched the gory hair he pulled strands of it in front of his face and stared at them before lifting shocked eyes to me. "Lian's. It's... Lian's blood. Adam... Adam shot him... and he..." Nye closed his eyes and said in a tiny voice. "Please... I don't want it."

"What don't you want honey?"

Kane was quicker off the mark than I was. "You want to get rid of the blood?"

Nye nodded shuddering and Kane tightened his arms around him. "Do you think it would be alright if he had a shower?"

"I don't know. I'd better ask. Hang on."

The nurse I spoke to who, incidentally was the one with whom I had had the row earlier, was scornful at my suggestion asking me did I realise that my brother had hurt his feet. I asked her if she realised that my brother had his hair full of another man's blood and did she realise he was severely traumatised and did she realise the blood wasn't helping him get over it? Wisely she went straight for the doctor.

He took one look at me and groaned. "Not you again. I only left you five minutes ago. Can't try for at least half an hour without causing trouble?"

"I have no desire to cause trouble. I just want... I want my brother back. I want him to be happy and well. He is starting to come back to me and he's in pain because his hair is full of someone else's blood. Is it really too much to ask for him to take a shower?"

For some reason all the pain and fear came pouring out in a torrent and I found myself sobbing against his shoulder. He patted me on the back in the way that people do when they are taken by surprise and embarrassed and don't quite know what else to do.

"Alright, alright... there's no need to get so emotional about it. I tell you what... I'll come and take a look at his feet and if they are not so bad then he can take his shower."

I sniffed and snuffled and thanked him and then noticed that my make up had run all over the shoulder of his white coat and I wiped at it with the tissue he had handed me but only made it worse. 

The doctor took me kindly by the arm and led me back into the room. Kane was stroking Nye's hair and they were both crying. Both looked up, startled and Nye seemed to be afraid when he saw the doctor. Fortunately he was a kind and perceptive man and put him at his ease although he was still suspicious and 'closed' while the doctor looked at his feet.

I was shocked when I saw the injuries. The underside of both feet were cut and bruised, although they seemed to already be healing well. The doctor frowned.

"I would really prefer if you kept off these feet for a couple of days. It would be very painful for you to put your weight on them now and it might open these wounds again." His eyes went to the gory hair and wide eyes. "I tell you what. I'll get one of the nurses to put a stool in the shower. If your friend can carry you in then you can sit on the stool while he washes your hair. The nurse can re dress your feet afterwards. Is that alright with you?"

Nye stared at him for a few moments then he nodded and said "Yes." It was the first word he had spoken to the doctor and it made him smile.

"How are you feeling today Aneurin? You were very confused yesterday. Are you thinking more clearly now."

Again Nye thought for a while and almost seemed to be struggling with something then eventually he nodded.

"It's... hard. I... don't want to think but... I feel very tired. And a lot of things are... confused and muddled in my head. But... I know it isn't me. Soon it will be alright."

The doctor smiled again, more brightly. "Yes Aneurin. I am sure you're right. Soon it will be alright. Are you ready for that shower now?"

"I want it very much. I feel... sick. Lian was... his head... I don't want to think about it."

"I'm sure you don't." He patted Nye's hand. "I'll send the nurse in straight away."

When the doctor left I noticed that Nye was looking at me with a strange expression on his face. I sat down on the bed and took his hand. He stared at our linked hands and tears began to run down his face.

"What is it darling? What's on your mind?"

"Did I hurt you very much?"

"Hurt me? What do you mean? You haven't hurt me darling, you never would."

Still with lowered eyes he murmured. "I was a fool. I made you angry. I made you cry. I was afraid you would hate me. I didn't come."

The sadness in his voice tore at me and I squeezed his hand. "You never hurt me Nye, you never have. It was seeing what was happening to you that hurt me... knowing I was helpless, that there was nothing I could do to help you. It wasn't you, never you."

"I... loved him. I really did. I never saw... I thought..." He sighed with frustration that he was not able to find the words he wanted.

"I know you loved him Nye. I know you did. And that is what made it so hard. I could see what he was, what he was doing to you but there was nothing I could say because I knew you loved him and when you love it is with all your heart. It is your way and I would never want you to be any other way. You made bad choices but that does not make you bad. I hated the situation you were in but I never hated you. I love with all my heart too, and I love you little brother, no matter what."

He looked up then, his eyes brimming with tears, very bright.

"I'm sorry."

It wasn't me who answered. I didn't have the words... but fortunately someone else did. Kane tightened his arms around Nye and leaned forward to rest his cheek on his hair. "To quote a corny phrase babe... Love is never having to say you're sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about because we love you... we always have and we always will. We love you for who you are, not what we want you to be. We love you... bad choices, good choices, smart, dumb... even though you were a little crazy to fall for that complete lump of shit..."

"He killed for me. He died for me."

"Adam?"

"What do you mean died for you?"

"They killed him... the soldiers... shot him because he had a gun."

"Soldiers? They weren't soldiers babe. It was the police. They rescued you."

"They still killed him. He was protecting me."

I wanted to say that if Adam hadn't got him into that situation in the first place there would have been nothing to protect him from and, when I glanced up and met Kane's eyes I know he was thinking the same thing... but we coulmdn't. Monster though he'd been Nye had loved Adam... and in the end Ada had saved him... so what could we say?

"He did love you then, at least in the end."

"He... saved me. Jon said... he said that... that Adam loved me... in his way... as much as he could, I think that's right. I don't think he could... feel... like us. He wasn't... right. But I did love him."

"I know you did. It's okay that you did. It's okay."

Kane was crying but his voice was steady and his thumb made little unconscious circles on Nye's arm. "I can't blame anyone for loving you, or for wanting to keep you all for themselves. Adam was a lucky man to have had your love... especially when he didn't deserve it. I am grateful to him, more grateful than you will ever know, that he saved you, even though I can't help but hate him for what he did to you. I know you loved him... I know the way you love. I can only hope that you can give half that much love and devotion to me."

Nye looked up, surprised and turned his head to look at Kane. His face held the sweetest, most openly tender look I had ever seen.

"I never stopped loving you. I almost... when you came to The Club to see me... after that... almost... I almost... but I didn't. That's when it all... when everything went... when things changed. But I would have come and... but that's not..." He sighed and shook his head. "I always loved you. I thought you didn't... that you didn't want me... and then it was too late. But now... He closed his eyes and rested his head against Kane's chest. "I love you. Completely."

Kane's face transformed in an instant. Although the tears flowed, even more so, the smile that touched his lips and lit up his eyes was awe inspiring. I felt more than ever as though I was intruding on something intensely personal and made my excuses to leave. The nurse was about to go in and I persuaded to give them a moment.

I am not a religious person but, on a whim I sought out the hospital chapel. It was a very small, sparse room but it was instilled with the sense of peace that all chapels have. I sat on one of the hard wooden chairs and looked up at the plain white cross.

Crosses are symbols of a transition, crossroads, the intersection of the spiritual world with the physical one and it made me think of my own life, the things that were important to me at this time of great change. I knew that my brother had changed, that the sweet innocent child was gone forever and that whoever had replaced him would be a stranger to me for a time.

Surprising myself I offered a prayer for Adam's soul. I still hated him but, in the end he had made the ultimate sacrifice and he had given my brother back to me. I could not let that go unmarked.

I found that I felt unbearably weary and I bowed my head, not to pray but because it just felt too heavy to hold up anymore, and I let myself weep. They were good tears, healing ones and I felt more positive when I left the chapel, silently thanking the spirits or whoever had lifted my burden.

It is strange how, sometimes when things are going badly and everything seems dark and hopeless, something simple lifts our spirits and suddenly everything is different as if a light has gone on somewhere.

When I got back to Nye's room, surprised to find that more than an hour had passed since I left it, I heard laughter through the closed door and when I opened it my heart lifted so fast I felt light headed. Nye looked so different, with his hair clean and soft again, and a life in his eyes I hadn't seen since before Adam.

Kane must have said something to make him laugh because he was all lit up. The sun was shining through the window behind him, turning his hair white and throwing accents of gold onto his pale skin. He is beautiful, my brother, have I mentioned that?

"Mir. Where have you been? I can go outside. The nurse didn't like it but the doctor said I could. They're going to bring a chair and Kane will push me. Will you come? I want to feel the sun."

"Wow. You sound as though you are feeling a lot better. What a change a shower makes."

Nye blushed and glanced at Kane shyly. Kane affected a stance of exaggerated innocence and I had to laugh.

"Maybe I'd rather not know. But I'm glad you are so much better darling. I was worried about you."

Nye's smile softened and he looked a little pensive. "I'm awful confused Mir. There are great big fuzzy holes in my head... especially when I try and remember. I feel... strange and..." Then he smiled and his eyes filled with light. "But it's okay. I feel safe. I'm going to be alright now."

And he was.

Epilogue

It's hard to remember back to that time. I can hardly bear to think how close we came to losing the bright star that is my brother. He and Kane were made for each other and there should never have been room for Adam in between them. Kane learned his lesson well and he has rarely left Nye's side in all the years that have passed since that day.

It took a long time for Nye to fully recover. Sometimes I wonder if he ever truly has, or whether there was a part of him that died or fell asleep and never woke again. There are still times when he retreats within himself and no one can bring him out until he's worked through what he needs to.

Thank the Gods there was never another mention of them putting him in a mental hospital because I would have gone to prison for kidnap or murder before I'd have allowed that. The psychiatrist who came to see him was, thankfully a pragmatist and recognised the healing potential of his relationship with Kane and the love of his family and friends. I don't think Nye ever really appreciated how close he'd come to something that would have ended his life as surely as one of Lian's poisons. He appreciated everything else though, as only Nye can. It was amazing how quickly his energy returned and how fast he and Kane rekindled what had always been there. 

They're in California now. Oh, not permanently, they're staying with Kane's cousin Vicky. She's just got married to a man she met while she was over here visiting Kane. That's a strange story in itself, but for another time. Kane and Nye would never dream of moving away from here, their work is far too important to them. 

The events that took place while Nye was with Adam affected both he and Kane very deeply. I think that for Nye it was possibly Luke's death that hammered home the bone numbing horror of what had happened and what had almost happened. For Kane it was not only what had happened to Nye but his own experiences, both at Adam's hands and while he was staying at the safe house.

Neither one of them could simply let it go and so when they'd finished school they came back, found Riz and Marco and started doing anything and everything they could to root out the darkness and provide safe and nurturing homes for those who were fleeing it.

They're world famous now. They help run a string of safe houses all over the country for those who are fleeing; not just escaped slaves but anyone who's running away from anything. They offer counselling, accommodation, education, and whatever assistance they can. Nye uses his writing skills to great effect and has published novels under his belt as well as scores of articles and pamphlets. He writes for a local newspaper too and uses his connections shamelessly when needs be. 

Kane is more practical. He does all the business side of things. Keeps books, organises schedules... even does repairs on the houses when he has to. They have a lot of help from some very capable people... like me. Yes, their enthusiasm was catching and it didn't take long to infect me. To be honest, it wasn't just Nye. The image of that boy, Ben, haunted me. I couldn't get him out of my mind— so young, so damaged, so scared and yet ready to put himself at risk to save my brother.

He's fine now. He works with the boys at one of the houses. He trained as a counsellor and he's an amazing personality. But there are so many others. So many broken boys, all the time. It's so hard to reach them, to show them there is another way. We only scratch the surface and Nye is coming up with plans all the time that we just can't keep up with but we don't mind. His energy is boundless and infectious and he brings light wherever he goes. 

Life is good.