“You don’t get it, do you? Did you have any idea that I was a member of The Underground? Did you see me?”
“It’s a big place, Jonah. Lots of people.”
“I might as well have been invisible. Eastman offered me a lot of money to help save Alistair. Setting the fire was part of the deal. It was so easy to paint the lighting gels with accelerant. Nobody took a blind bit of notice of me. All the same as you. I thought if I made the place burn you’d see me, but you didn’t. My baby didn’t even get started, so you see I had to try again. I got booted out of The Underground, lost my job because of the court case. Doing community service gave me plenty of thinking time. Finding out your work schedule was easy. I followed you, watched you, and my stupid, naïve little brother told me the rest.”
Keep him talking. Wait for a chance.
“So you set the fires knowing my watch would be called out?”
“It takes practice, you know. My first couple of attempts failed. I had to do my research, learn the trade. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet these days. Your boy here is not the only one with a brain.”
Jonah slapped Marty across the face, snapping his head back. He pushed him down and stood over him.
“You’re shaking.” Jonah laughed. “Perhaps if I show your big, strong lover here what a slut you are, he’ll want me instead of you. What do you think?”
Marty glared and spat blood, his lip puffy and torn. Jonah tore Marty’s shirt open.
“Leave him alone,” Beau yelled, but Jonah swung around and aimed the gun at him.
“Shut the fuck up. You get to watch.”
Marty whimpered as Jonah threw him forward so that he was bent over the bed, his head near Beau’s knees. Jonah stuck his free hand down the back of Marty’s trousers and groped him.
“I’ll kill you,” Beau spat. He couldn’t sit by and watch as his lover was raped. Just the sight of Jonah touching Marty made Beau’s blood boil in his veins.
“Who’s holding the gun, Salter?” Jonah traced the barrel down Marty’s neck. “Who’s in fucking
charge
?”
“You are.” It was Marty who spoke. “You are, Jonah, and I like that.”
What the hell?
It took Beau a few seconds to realize what Marty was doing.
Christ, he has nerves of steel!
Marty was deliberately attempting to keep Jonah’s attention even though the man was doing Christ knew what with his fingers and had a gun to him.
“I like it rough. Why don’t you give it to me?” Marty whispered.
Jonah tore at Marty’s trousers, pulling them down to his thighs, baring his ass. Marty twisted up. He swung out with his forearm, slapping away Jonah’s gun hand, then punched out with his other fist toward Jonah’s face. His knuckles connected and a bright arc of blood sprayed, splattering over the bedcovers. The gun flew from Jonah’s grasp and landed with a thud before skittering under the dresser. Beau leaped from the bed and pulled Jonah away from Marty.
“Get the gun!” Marty yelled.
Beau and Jonah went for it at the same time, crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Beau struck out, kicking and punching, desperate to keep Jonah away from his weapon. As they grappled, Marty reached beneath the furniture and grabbed the gun. He rolled to his feet and aimed it, yanking his trousers back into place with his free hand. Beau shoved Jonah away, scrambled up then stepped back to stand next to Marty. He touched Marty’s bloody face. “You okay?”
“Oh God!” Marty gasped.
Beau stared in horror at Jonah, who held a lighter in his hand, the flame flickering.
“You’ll both watch me dance now, won’t you?” he screeched.
“Don’t. For God’s sake. It’s not worth it,” Beau yelled. “You’ll go up like a torch.”
“You, too.” Jonah grinned as he held the flaming lighter in the air. “Try and ignore me now, you son of a bitch.” He threw the lighter on to the petrol-soaked bedding.
The entire bed exploded instantly into flame. As the fire rolled toward them, Beau grabbed Marty around the waist and threw him out of the bedroom door. He dove after him, surged to his feet and slammed the door shut behind them.
The screams began. Animalistic, tortured cries. Beau could only imagine the inferno in his bedroom. He caught hold of Marty’s hand and dragged him out of the apartment. In the corridor he smashed the glass on the fire alarm and a cacophony of bells sounded throughout the building. People began to appear, running for the exits.
“Get outside, Marty!” Beau grabbed a fire extinguisher and was joined by a couple of his neighbors. They ran back in to Beau’s apartment, leaving Marty alone.
Marty collapsed against a wall. He couldn’t seem to stop shaking. The man he loved had just run into danger yet again.
“Fuckfuckfuck, stop standing here like an idiot and get outside.” Marty ran for the stairs, ignoring his aching hip. He hurtled down at breakneck speed, barely keeping his footing. He reached the outside just as two fire engines roared up. Marty ran across and was relieved to see Alvin jumping from the cab.
“It’s Beau’s place, apartment four on the top floor. Beau and two other men went back in there. There was petrol everywhere.”
Alvin began to issue orders. Hoses were unwound and ladders extended. Two more engines rolled up and men streamed out. For Marty everything happened in slow motion. Detached from the action, he slumped to the ground and leaned against the wheel of one of the vehicles. He gave himself a shake. “Pull yourself together.” It started to rain. Marty stared into the darkness and let the cool drops splatter his face. He pulled out his phone. It was after midnight but he guessed that nobody would care. He rang Becket first, then Carey, who promised to contact Heath and Goran. At a loss for anything else to do, Marty closed his eyes and prayed that Beau would be okay.
“Marty. Marty!” An annoying voice interrupted Marty’s semi-conscious dreaming.
“What?” He dragged his eyes open and realization crashed over him. The fire. Beau.
“Beau!”
“Hey, calm down.”
He was pulled to his feet and wrapped in a strong embrace.
“Beau’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
“Becket?” Marty tried desperately to understand what was going on.
“You take him, honey,” Becket said.
Christian’s face appeared in Marty’s field of vision. “Let’s get you out of the rain, sweetie, you’re all wet. The café across the road has opened and is dishing out hot drinks. Let’s go and sit in there.”
Marty allowed Christian to lead him across the road. Installed at a table with a steaming mug of tea in his hands, Marty finally managed to focus.
“Christian, what’s going on? Where’s Beau? How long has he been gone?”
“We got here less than ten minutes after your call—we were already in the car. I’m sure he’s fine. Becket is waiting for him and he knows where we are. He’ll bring him here as soon as he can. We couldn’t leave you sitting in the rain.”
“Thanks for coming. You didn’t need to.” Marty wiped at a tear that tumbled down his face. “Jonah Smith was in Beau’s apartment. He had a gun. He was going to burn—burn me.” Nausea boiled in his guts. “We got away but he—he set everything alight. He screamed, Christian… I’ll never forget that sound as long as I live.” Marty sobbed into his tea, barely aware of Christian stroking his hands, trying to provide comfort.
“Marty.”
The voice he longed to hear broke into his bleak thoughts.
“Beau!” In his haste to get to his lover, Marty’s tea fell to the ground and his chair tipped over. He threw himself into Beau’s waiting arms. Relief coursed through his body. Beau stank of smoke and petrol. His skin was streaked with sweat and grime. Marty didn’t care. It was the best moment of his life. Beau held him close and safe, murmuring nonsense words in his ear and ruffling his hair.
“It’s over, sweetheart. It’s all over. Jonah is gone and he’s not coming back.”
Marty gazed into Beau’s eyes and saw the regret there.
“I’m sorry it came to this. I wouldn’t wish that end on anyone.”
“Better him than you, love.”
“But your home…”
“The advantage of living with a load of firemen as neighbors is that they know how to contain a blaze. The bedroom will need a remodel but the rest of the place will be fine after a good scrub. I’ll take you bed shopping and we can choose something with a headboard that I can tie you to.”
Marty groaned. “Now is not the time to get me hard, Sir. Not when we can’t do anything about it.”
“Becket has a car. He can drop us off at your place. Everything else can wait until the morning.”
Marty gave a little whoop of joy. “What are we waiting for?”
Beau scooped him up and carried him out into the rain.
Epilogue
“Sir?” Marty tried not to plead.
“Yes, love.” Beau adjusted a strap, tightening a buckle.
“You love me, don’t you?”
“What kind of a question is that? You know I do.” Beau’s leather-clad groin came into view. Marty desperately wanted Beau’s cock in his mouth. Covering up such a treat wasn’t fair.
“Then please let me go.” Marty tested his bonds. He couldn’t move an inch.
“I don’t hear your safe word, Marty. Until I do, you stay right where you are.”
“But I can’t come like this, Sir.”
“Oh, I know you can’t, love. That’s the general idea.”
Marty’s world tilted as the padded board he was strapped to swung to a horizontal position. The mirrored ceiling provided him with a clear picture of his position. Each limb was strapped in place by several wide strips of leather. His neck and forehead were similarly restrained. The rest of his body, from thighs to chest, was wrapped in wide strips of translucent black latex that melded to his form, outlining every ridge of muscle. Beau had cut a tiny slit in the material at groin level and pulled his cock and balls through the hole so that they stood stark and proud. A weighty cock ring ensured Marty had no chance of coming. His nipples jutted through two more tiny slits, ready for Beau to play with.
Marty’s ass dipped into a hole in the board beneath him, exposing him for Beau’s pleasure. Beau had just finished positioning what he fondly referred to as ‘my favorite fucking machine’ beneath Marty’s ass. His hole had been thoroughly stretched and lubed, a process that had had him screaming and begging for release.
“There, all set. I do love the set-up stage. The build of anticipation gets me nice and hard.” Beau tore off his leather jock and proved his point. His stiff cock, framed by leather chaps, bobbed enticingly.
Marty whimpered. “When you said we were going to celebrate the completion of renovations at your apartment, Sir, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”
“No?” Beau flicked both Marty’s nipples, sending a sharp jolt of need to Marty’s cock. “I think it’s the perfect way to mark the occasion. Having this equipment fitted was a stroke of genius on my part. It’s ingenious—it collapses and slides under the bed.”
He leaned beneath the bench and switched on his pet machine. It whirred into action. Marty held his breath. He’d seen the thing work when Beau had tested it and he knew what would happen next. Beneath him a rubber dildo on a pole would rise and fall at a speed controlled by Beau. Perfectly positioned, the lubed rubber pushed against his hole. Beau had prepped him well and there was only a slight burn as the toy thrust inside his channel. Just a couple of inches and nowhere near as wide as Beau’s cock, it was still a significant intrusion and there was no stopping it. The machine rose and fell with inexorable regularity. Marty tried to relax his muscles. The stimulation was unbearable and his trapped cock ached. Beau turned up the speed.
“I think I’ll just sit and watch for a couple of minutes.” Smirking, he took a comfy chair and began to stroke himself. Held in place, Marty could do not but accept the repeated plundering of his channel.
“Sir, please!”
Beau levered himself up with an overly dramatic show of reluctance. “Let’s see how well you can beg, love.” He began to torture Marty’s nipples, tweaking and pinching until Marty could take no more. Then he switched his attention to Marty’s cock, flicking and squeezing the head over and over again. Marty’s vision blurred. He floated on a sea of sensation that threatened to take away his sanity. Someone screamed. Marty guessed it had been him. His safe word hovered on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t bring himself to say it because despite the erotic agony Beau tortured him with, he didn’t want it to end. He drifted, vaguely aware of the pounding in his ass and the pain of Beau’s touch. The grip of the cock ring released, and Marty came with a cry that was part exaltation, part torment. He lay boneless as Beau released him from his bonds and bent him over the bench. Penetration was swift and brutal. Marty jerked against the side of the bench as Beau pounded into him. Heat flooded his channel as Beau came, his weight resting over Marty’s back.
Marty regained consciousness snuggled beneath the duvet in Beau’s brand-new bed. He didn’t feel sticky, which meant Beau had already cleaned him up. Marty smiled. Beau always took great care of him after a scene. Since they had given up the condoms he had been even more attentive. Waking up with cum-stiff skin was not fun. The mattress dipped slightly as Beau joined him in the bed. Marty wriggled close and pressed himself against Beau’s hard body. His ass ached delightfully.
Beau held him close and peppered his neck with kisses, making Marty giggle.
“Tickles.”
Beau nuzzled and licked.
“You taste delicious.”
Contented and lazy, Marty let Beau have his way.
“Will it always be like this, do you think? Warm and safe.”
“Who knows?” Beau whispered. “We have each other. That’s what matters. We may be a little scorched around the edges, but we survived. You know I’ll always do my best to protect you, Marty.”