“No! I just thought…” Dominic stuttered into an unhappy silence. Evrain experienced guilt very rarely. This was one such time.
“I’m sorry, I’m being a dick.” Evrain leaned across and placed a hand on Dominic’s thigh. “You’re right. This outfit isn’t very practical, is it?”
Firm muscle clenched beneath his touch and Evrain was sorely tempted to see what would happen if he moved his fingers slightly higher. Wicked thoughts flashed through his mind and he grinned to himself before lifting his hand. There would be plenty of time for that and he’d scared Dominic enough for now. Grandmother dearest had done him a great favor by tying Dominic to him. He was going to enjoy reeling in those invisible cords, but he would take his time. Still, there was no harm in having a bit of fun in the meantime.
“Black suits you,” Dominic whispered.
“Then I’ll be sure to wear it more.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean…”
Evrain gave him a direct look. “I’m interested in what you enjoy, Dominic. What you appreciate. What turns you on.”
“Stop it!” Dominic’s words came out as a gasp. “Tell me where to go.”
“And there it is.” Evrain grinned. “I think that’s what you enjoy the most. Me telling you what to do.” He tapped one finger on his knee. “Me manhandling you probably comes a close second.”
Dominic gripped the steering wheel tightly. He turned on the ignition. “Please, Evrain. Stop teasing me.”
But it’s so much fun!
Evrain decided to be merciful. He gave directions to his apartment building then sat quietly while Dominic followed them. When they reached the entrance to the underground lot beneath Evrain’s building, Evrain gave Dominic the guest code. Dominic drove down the ramp and pulled up in a vacant spot. He turned off the engine, which sputtered a little before cutting out completely.
“I can wait here.” Dominic sounded hopeful.
“No, you won’t, you’ll come up with me. I’m not going to leave you sitting down here in the dark.” Evrain used a challenging tone, daring Dominic to refuse him.
A small sigh signaled his victory. Evrain took it as an excellent sign for the future. Dominic was so clearly submissive it sent a thrill right to Evrain’s core. He would make Dominic his own, and every small concession that Dominic made to Evrain’s dominance was a step in the right direction.
They took the elevator to Evrain’s apartment, soft music playing as they rose to the top floor. They were surrounded by mirrors, which allowed Evrain to watch Dominic’s every movement. He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets and he shuffled from foot to foot as if unable to keep still.
“There’s no need to be nervous,” Evrain said as they reached their destination and the elevator doors slid open. “I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
“Oh… It’s not that. This place is just so…”
Evrain’s block was luxurious to say the least. Dominic gazed at everything, taking in the plush carpets and artwork that decorated the hall.
“This is a really nice place,” Dominic said.
“It is, but it’s not mine,” Evrain felt the need to clarify as he unlocked his front door. “It came with my job. I suppose I’ll have to give it up now and commute from the cabin to the office. Hopefully the company will let me work from home a couple of days each week to save making the journey.” He pushed open the door and led Dominic inside. “Make yourself at home, I won’t be long.” Evrain took off his jacket and threw it across a chair before heading for his bedroom. He stripped down to his underwear and rummaged in the wardrobe for an old pair of jeans. He was about to pull them on then smiled to himself, tossed them onto the bed then strolled back into the lounge instead.
“I should have said—the kitchen’s through there, make yourself a drink if you’d like something.” Evrain walked across the room and collected his discarded jacket.
Dominic’s expression was priceless. He swallowed hard and blushed but didn’t look away. Evrain observed Dominic’s reaction to his state of undress with amusement. That creamy freckled skin did look very pretty with a light flush of color highlighting sharp cheekbones. He could feel himself becoming aroused and smirked as Dominic’s discomfort increased. Dominic’s gaze drifted downward, and Evrain had no doubt what it was fixed on.
“There are sodas in the fridge if you feel the need for something cool.” Evrain waited a few more seconds then turned back into the bedroom. Let Dominic wonder what he was up to. Whatever his imagination conjured up wouldn’t be too far from the truth.
Evrain shoved his shorts down and kicked them away. He strolled to the attached bathroom, his erection bouncing jauntily, begging for attention. Evrain wasn’t one to deny himself. He fumbled in the bathroom cabinet for lube, coated his fingers in slick then tossed the tube away, not caring where it landed. He braced himself with one hand on the sink and took a tight grip of his aching shaft. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. His cheeks bore a hint of pink, his eyes were overly bright. As he jacked himself, his lips parted. His breath sped up. He visualized Dominic on his knees before him, luscious lips pressed around the head of his dick. He jerked his hand faster. His orgasm snuck up on him and a warm gush of fluid coated his palm. His muscles tensed and his throat chorded in a silent scream of release.
“Fuck, if he’s that good when he’s not even present, I can’t wait until he’s actually in the room.” Evrain chuckled. It had been far too long since their brief but hot encounter in Dominic’s tool shed. He was absolutely certain that soon, very soon, his daydreams would become reality again. Dominic belonged on his knees before him. The anticipation of the moment would only make the reality more spectacular.
Evrain cleaned himself up. He splashed some cool water on his cheeks in an effort to calm his heightened color, though he had no problem letting Dominic know that he’d done something about his arousal. Hopefully, it would leave Dominic frustrated and wanting. He retrieved his discarded jeans from the bed and pulled them on. The age-softened fabric caressed his ass and clung to his thighs. He shoved his bare feet into an old, paint-spattered pair of deck shoes, glad that he’d bothered to pack them. His mother had tried to toss them into the trash but he’d rescued them at the last moment and shoved them into the side of his suitcase. A faded university T-shirt under a woolen jumper made up the rest of his outfit. He grabbed the envelope that Angus Pitt had given him and went to find Dominic.
Evrain paused at his bedroom door. Dominic was in the corner of the room, bent over Evrain’s work desk. Evrain took a moment to admire the lines of Dominic’s body. Even beneath slightly baggy clothes, Dominic’s lithe muscles were obvious. There was strength in his slender frame. The fabric of his pants pulled taut across his ass, making Evrain’s mouth water.
“Mmm. Delicious.”
Dominic startled at his words and spun around.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“Nothing that was supposed to be out loud.” Evrain smirked. “What do you think?”
“Of what?” Dominic blinked in confusion.
“My work. That
is
what you were looking at?”
“Oh, sorry… It was laid out here. I didn’t mean to be nosy.”
“It’s not a problem. You’re welcome to view it.” Evrain’s drawing table was covered with story layouts from a superhero comic strip that he was working on for an advertising campaign for a new aftershave, but peeking from beneath the sheets of paper was a hint of something else. He pulled the papers free and spread them out so that Dominic could see them. Dominic spent a moment absorbing the images. He gasped.
The black and white graphic showed a naked young man bound helplessly to his bed by creeping vines, tendrils of the plant curling around his cock and balls. His head was thrown back, his expression one of ecstasy.
“Does the image appeal to you?” Evrain stood at Dominic’s shoulder and whispered close to his ear.
Dominic jumped. “I don’t, I mean… Why would you think…?”
“It appeals to me, Dominic. That’s why I drew it.”
“He looks like me,” Dominic murmured.
“He does, doesn’t he? The likeness is remarkable.” Evrain smirked. “There’s good reason for that.”
Dominic reached out, letting his fingertips brush the drawing. “It’s so realistic. A couple of months ago I had a dream, well, a nightmare I suppose, and it was like this. It was the night after I met you at Aggie’s for the first time.”
Evrain froze. Could he somehow have influenced Dominic’s dreams? He’d still been so new to his power that day—his emotions had been all over the place.
That’s right, try to convince yourself it wasn’t deliberate, Evrain.
He cupped the nape of Dominic’s neck. “Was it a nightmare? Really? Are you sure it wasn’t a fantasy made real?” Dominic’s skin was warm and smooth to his touch.
“No, of course not!”
Dominic’s fake indignation was amusing. Evrain massaged his neck, kneading away Dominic’s tension. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, Dominic. We all have fantasies and kinks. Perhaps you are just discovering yours.”
Dominic leaned into his touch. A little moan escaped his lips. “It was so real. Scary but amazing.”
Evrain threaded his fingers through Dominic’s hair and pressed a light kiss to the side of his neck. “Then perhaps it
was
real.”
Dominic pulled away and stared at him, wide-eyed. “What are you talking about? It couldn’t have been real.”
Evrain gave him a lazy smile. “No, of course not. Now, we should go, don’t you think? There’s a lot to get done.” He didn’t wait for a response, just moved toward the door. “If I wear you out enough, perhaps your dreams tonight will be just as…stimulating.”
Chapter Nine
All the light and laughter that had surrounded Agatha’s cabin had gone, or so it seemed to Evrain as he and Dominic walked down the path toward the rustic building. Storm clouds loomed, promising rain.
“I still can’t believe she’s not around anymore,” Dominic said. “Have the police told you anything more about how the investigation is going?”
On the drive from Portland, Dominic had barely spoken a word, so Evrain welcomed the question, difficult though it was. He understood that Dominic had cared about Agatha just as much as he had.
“No, I haven’t heard anything new. The investigating detective, O’Shea, gives me a courtesy call every now and again, but I doubt they will catch anyone. The trail’s gone cold by now and they don’t seem to have any leads to go on at all.” Evrain’s tone was sharper than he had intended. “Sorry, talking about it just gets me frustrated and angry.” This was his first visit to the cabin since his grandmother’s funeral and the memories of discovering her body were still horrifyingly fresh.
“I thought she was just sleeping when I found her.” He paused on the path, kicking at fallen leaves. “I’d brought her shopping as usual. I wandered around, unpacking, talking to her. She didn’t answer and I assumed she’d dozed off. Normally she’d be telling me off about something less than five minutes after I arrived. When she didn’t stir, I went to check on her but she was gone.” He began to walk again. “She was an old lady, she should have died peacefully in her sleep. Instead she had this expression on her face.” He shuddered. “It was just awful.” There was no need to share the gruesome details with Dominic.
“It must have been a terrible shock,” Dominic said.
“It was if the world slowed down for a moment. I suppose it didn’t sink in straight away that she’d been murdered, but I should have realized immediately. She was fit and healthy. Even at her age there was no reason for her to die so suddenly.”
“She kept up with me in the garden just fine,” Dominic agreed. “She was in great shape.”
“After that, seeing her face, everything’s a blur. Calling the police, waiting for them to arrive—which seemed to take forever—and then the endless questions.”
They reached the garden gate. Dominic pushed it open and they approached the cabin door together.
“And of course they suspected me.”
Dominic’s eyes widened. “Why on earth would they do that?”
“I think close relatives are always the first port of call when it comes to suspects. I don’t blame them at all—they were just doing their jobs. Once the medical examiner confirmed the time of death and I was able to provide rock-solid alibis, they left me alone.”
“They spoke to me too,” Dominic said. “But I’d been so busy I hadn’t seen her for a couple of days, and, fortunately, I had plenty of witnesses to my whereabouts at the time of her death because I’d been redoing the window troughs outside the library. I do wonder, though, if I’d called in that evening, would I have been able to save her?”
“Or ended up dead yourself?” Evrain said. “Believe me, I’ve been through all the ‘what if?’s. Someone wanted her dead and neither you nor I could have been with her twenty-four hours a day. A determined person would have got to her sooner or later.” He pushed open the door.
Inside the cabin, everything was exactly the same as it had been weeks earlier. Evrain could picture his grandmother sitting in her usual chair, scolding him for some minor infraction. He wandered around touching things, letting his fingers absorb what was left of her presence. It provided a measure of comfort.
“I’ll light a fire, shall I?” Dominic asked, moving toward the hearth.
Evrain felt the chill for the first time. “Good idea, it’s cold in here.”
Dominic scooped ash from the grate using a small brass shovel that Agatha kept nearby just for that purpose, depositing the waste in a copper bucket. He scrunched up some newspaper to line the grate, then added some kindling from the wood basket. Everything was very dry and caught well when he touched a match to the paper. He quickly added bigger pieces of wood and finally a couple of chunky logs. Soon a toasty blaze was roaring away.
Evrain took one of the armchairs next to the fire, and, after making sure that the flames were well established, Dominic sat in the other. An awkward silence followed, broken only by the crackle of burning wood.
Evrain took a deep breath. “I suppose we should open our letters and see what Grandmother has to say for herself,” Evrain said, feeling strangely nervous.