An Unlocked Heart(Collars & Cuffs Stories) (26 page)

Alex let out his pent-up breath in one long, shuddering exhale.

Adam came around to where he was standing and clapped him on the back, still grinning. “Dude, your mouth
really
needs a censor. That was
ace
!” Adam shook his head. “Man, I’m beginning to think I’m playing for the wrong team. Don’t get me wrong—I’m straight—but,
fuck
, that sounded hot, even to me.” He winked at Alex. “Think your mate could wrangle
me
an invite to that club too?”

Pietro stopped laughing. “Actually,” he said, addressing Adam, “you’ve just reminded me of something. What did this mate look like? The one who dropped off the invitation?”

Alex listened as Adam gave Pietro his previous description. Pietro’s eyes narrowed, and there was noticeable tension in his jaw. Alex was puzzled. He opened his mouth to ask if Pietro had recognized the description, but unfortunately, Sev chose that particular moment to intervene.

“Back to work, people!” He glared at the three of them, but no one was fooled. Sev was a pussycat. Pietro mumbled under his breath and made his way back to the kitchen while Alex and Adam continued their task of making the restaurant look perfect.

Sev came to stand beside Alex, his eyes dancing with amusement. “You did well, Alex, standing up to Vittorio like that. Leo would be proud of you.” Sev shook his head, chuckling. “That man is certainly blessed.”

Alex frowned. “What do you mean, Sev—blessed?”

Sev fixed his gaze on Alex. “Most people are lucky in this life if they find one person who is everything they need. I was blessed with my Sofia, God rest her soul. But Leo? Fate has been very kind to that man. He’s been blessed with not one, but two beautiful men in his life. His Gabe was a lovely soul, and I wept the day he died. I never thought to see him find another. And then he walks into my restaurant and finds you.” Sev surprised Alex by giving him a brief but fierce hug. “You were just what he needed.” He pulled Alex’s head down—Alex was a good few inches taller than his boss—and kissed the top of his head. “God bless you, boy.” He picked up his clipboard and walked into the kitchen, whistling happily.

Alex stared after him in amazement. Sev made it sound as if he and Leo were somehow fated to be together. And yet why wasn’t that thought scaring the shit out of him? In fact, if anything, it gave him a warm feeling inside. Leo… his fate? Alex smiled to himself. He could live with that.

“W
HAT
on earth has tickled
you
two so much? I can hear you laughing clear across the club!”

Leo wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and regarded his business partner, who was standing in the door staring at him and Miles with an amused expression. Miles was still laughing quietly to himself. “Come in, Thomas,” Leo said, still chuckling. “Miles was just telling me what Alex has been up to this morning.” He retold the conversation Miles had just shared with him after receiving a phone call from Pietro.

Thomas’s face creased with laughter. “
Well
! I never would’ve thought Alex had it in him.” He grinned. “Looks like you’ve picked a good one there, Leo. Will I be seeing a membership application from him crossing my desk any time soon?”

Leo smiled. “He’s looking through the contract and drawing up his limits as we speak.” Thomas nodded approvingly. “We’re meeting tomorrow night to finalize details.” At least Leo hoped that was what they’d be doing. Hopefully Alex hadn’t developed cold feet in the intervening time.

Miles sobered. “Actually, now you’re both here, there’s something I need to tell you.” Leo stared at him, caught immediately by his serious tone of voice. “Pietro didn’t ring me to tell me about Alex. That was just an added bonus. He rang to tell me about the person who sent Alex the pass for the club.”

Miles had Leo’s full attention. “Who was it?” he asked quietly.

“Dorian,” he replied, his expression clearly unhappy.

Leo let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Now
that
made sense. “Is he here today?” Dorian was a spoiled little rich kid who came from money. He spent most of his days at the club, with no need to work. Miles nodded. “Ask him to step in here, would you, please?” Miles got to his feet and left the office.

Thomas was eyeing Leo carefully. “You’re not going to do anything rash, are you?”

Leo gave him a tight smile. “What do you suggest I do with him?” Leo’s mind was in a whirl. That little shit. He could so easily have ruined everything, and all because he wanted Leo for himself. “This infatuation has got to stop… now.”

Thomas smiled. “Why don’t you leave all the talking to Miles and me?” he suggested. “Just stand there, don’t smile, and leave everything to us.”

Leo took a calming breath. Actually, that sounded like a good idea. Because if he were honest, right now he didn’t trust himself to speak to Dorian without succumbing to the desire to beat the crap out of him.

Miles poked his head around the door. “I’ve got him out here.”

Thomas waved him in. “Leave him out there to stew in his own juices for a minute.” Miles nodded and entered the office, closing the door behind him. “You and I are going to deal with this.”

Miles looked intrigued. “Any ideas of a suitable punishment?”

Thomas grinned. “Yeah, actually I’ve got the perfect punishment for our little pain slut out there.”

Leo glared at both of them. “You’re letting him stay a member?”

Thomas gazed at him with affection. “Leo, I love you like a son, but you’re not exactly thinking clearly right now. Dorian did what he did because he wanted to be your sub, and this was his way of getting rid of the competition. It would’ve worked too. He had no way of knowing how deeply you already felt about Alex.” Leo caught his breath, and Thomas smiled, a knowing smile that lit up his face. “Yes, lad, it’s that obvious—well, to those who’ve known you for as long as I have.”

Leo couldn’t deny it: Alex had gotten under his skin, into his head, and definitely into his heart.

Thomas gave Leo a warning glance. “Remember, say nothing.”

Leo nodded, his jaw set. He walked to the window and leaned against the frame, facing into the room.

Thomas gestured toward the door, and Miles opened it. “Come in, please, Dorian.”

The slim young man made his way cautiously into the office, his eyes growing wide when he spied Leo.

“Dorian.” Thomas gestured toward the empty chair facing him. Dorian sat down, clearly nervous as Miles came around the desk to stand next to Leo, his arms folded. “We’d like to talk to you about the invitation you delivered to Alex Daniels.”

Dorian froze and then opened his mouth to speak, but Thomas interrupted him. “Please do us all the courtesy of not denying it, all right?” His glance was glacial.

Dorian swallowed, his eyes flicking constantly to Leo. He gave a faltering nod.

“Good, thank you for that. Now, as to the matter of your punishment….”

“P-punishment, Sir?” Dorian’s eyes were huge. “But… but….”

“Don’t push it, boy.” Miles’s face was hard. “Your action nearly resulted in the breakup of Master Leo and his submissive.”

Dorian’s eyes couldn’t get any larger. Leo’s face was impassive as he watched the sub start to tremble. “Su-submissive?”

Thomas nodded slowly. “Alex will shortly become a member of this club. Is that going to be a problem for you, Dorian? Because if it is, you’d better say so now, and we’ll terminate your membership forthwith.”

“It… it won’t be a problem, Sir.” Dorian looked in Leo’s direction, eyes downcast. “I’m sorry, Master Leo. I didn’t realize… that is….”

“And that’s another thing,” said Thomas. “There will be no further requests from you concerning Master Leo. Is that completely understood?” His voice hardened. Leo admired his partner so much. He was the only man Leo knew who could make Doms quake in their boots.

Dorian nodded, his head bobbing energetically. “About… about my punishment, Sir,” he began timidly.

Thomas nodded. “You are banned from the group room for a period of one month.”

Talk about hitting Dorian where it would hurt. The sub virtually lived in the group room, often getting fucked by three or four Doms at a time. Leo bit back a smile. The man was a genius.

Dorian caught his breath, but clearly had the sense to say nothing. He lowered his head.

“That will be all, Dorian. You may go now.” Thomas waved his hand dismissively, and Dorian got up and went to the door, where he paused to glance back at Leo. There was an expression in his eyes that told Leo the boy was regretting his actions. Maybe there’d be no further episodes after all, and Leo could concentrate his attention on giving Alex what he needed—as long as Alex could meet the need growing steadily in him, the need to share his life with the boy on a more permanent basis.

Twenty-One

L
EO
read down Alex’s list with interest. Alex perched on the sofa next to him, trying not to look at him. Embarrassed? Nervous? Leo couldn’t tell. He finished, and he was literally floored by Alex’s responses. The fun they were going to have, working through this list….

He smiled at Alex, trying to put him at his ease. “I’m proud of you, boy.” His words were simple but heartfelt, and he watched as they took effect. Alex was smiling broadly now, the tension across his shoulders and back easing before Leo’s eyes.

“It’s okay?” Alex asked, a slight edge of anxiety creeping into his voice.

“Oh, it’s
much
better than merely ‘okay’,” Leo said, putting the contract on the table. “There’s a lot of scope here for a great many scenes together.” Part of him rejoiced at that realization.

Alex finally sat back on the sofa with a relieved sigh, relaxing against the seat cushions.

Leo sensed he hadn’t been sure how the list would be received. “What specifically were you worried about me seeing on the list?” he inquired.

Alex shook his head, blushing. “It wasn’t any one activity particularly,” he acknowledged quietly. “It was more a case of how you’d… you’d look at me when you saw all the… the stuff I wanted to do.” That adorable blush deepened.

Leo was enchanted. “Alex, all this list tells me is that you’re being really honest about where you want us to go, and you’ve given me some very specific pointers to get us started. I, for one, always like to start a journey with a map to guide me.
Your
map is brilliant.”

There was no mistaking the glow about his boy. Alex looked so beautiful Leo’s heart ached. On the heels of Thomas’s observation a few days previously, Leo made a discovery of his own: he was well on the way to falling in love with his new submissive, and it didn’t scare him one little bit.

“How do we start?” Alex was eager. “I’ve thought of my safewords.”

Oh
. “Tell me.”

Alex leaned forward, his face shining. “I thought, ‘pasta’ for when I want to stop something, and ‘Chianti’ to slow things down.” He regarded Leo intently. “What do you think?”

Leo chuckled. “Well, seeing as neither of them is something you’re likely to say in the middle of getting fucked, I’d say they’re perfect.”

Alex laughed. Leo reached out and touched his cheek lightly. He pulled Alex into his lap, wrapping his arms around him, and darted his tongue between soft lips. He let out a low moan as Alex deepened the kiss, eagerly moving against Leo, his hips rocking gently. Leo slipped his hand lower and cupped Alex’s burgeoning erection. Alex groaned, pushing his cock firmly against Leo’s hand, increasing the pressure, hips moving faster now, his breathing more rapid. Fuck, this boy got him so hot so fast.

Leo broke the kiss, leaned away from Alex, and reached under the cushion beside him for the item he’d hidden before leaving the apartment to pick up Alex. He pulled the object into view and watched as Alex’s eyes grew large and round, his lips parted.

“Like it, boy?” The collar was black leather, sturdy, and would be loose enough if Leo wanted to grab it while they fucked. It fastened at the back, secured with a lock, the key to which was already hanging about Leo’s neck. Alex was staring at the collar, unable to look away, and Leo knew with a fair degree of certainty what must have been going through his mind: this whole situation had just gotten very real….

O
H
. M
Y
.
God.
Alex was looking at a collar. An honest-to-goodness BDSM collar. Which could only mean one thing….

Leo was staring at him fixedly, as if he were waiting for the penny to drop. It didn’t merely drop; it plummeted from a great height.

“What should I do?” Alex whispered, suddenly incredibly nervous now that they were really going to do this. He was greatly relieved when Leo put down the collar, took hold of his hands, and rubbed his thumbs in leisurely circles on the backs of his hands.

“Breathe, boy.” Leo took deep, cleansing breaths, and Alex mimicked him, breathing in time with him. He closed his eyes, focusing on the unhurried movements, their synchronized breathing. “That’s it. Good boy.” Leo’s voice brimmed with approval.