Angel and the Assassin (11 page)

“Nothing. You‟re just human, that‟s all. You‟re a submissive, but maybe not a slave.”

“What‟s the difference, Sir?”

“You have a desire to retain your personal autonomy, which is fine with me, but I have limits as to what I‟ll accept. Right now we have to keep moving.”

Kael scanned the wide-open area around them, paying careful attention to the groups of trees, making sure no one was using them for cover. His sixth sense registered nothing.

“Come on, boy; let‟s go.” They got to their feet and began walking across the grass. The sun broke through a bank of clouds and shone on Angel‟s hair, making it look for a moment like gold. Angel was safe, and Kael felt like he could breathe again.

A few hundred yards ahead, a children‟s playground with swings and a merry-go-round, some climbing equipment, and a big slide reminded Kael of the incident with his mum and Gary Burke.

“Sir, I want to go on the swings. May I?”

It couldn‟t hurt for a few minutes. “All right, go ahead.” Angel skipped ahead, and Kael followed, thinking again how young the boy seemed for his age.

A couple of men with two little girls arrived at the swings at the same time Angel did. They were definitely not MI6 or Bosnian terrorists. One of them was overweight, with a lumbering walk, and they were both tending the children very solicitously.

Angel sat down on the swing and began to pump back and forth. Kael watched him with a mixture of concern and pleasure. What the hell was he going to do? He had got himself into the most awful mess, and now he was having feelings he could not reconcile about a boy he hardly knew.

The two men plumped the pink-clad little girls into the toddler swings and began to push them, saying, “Wheee” and “Look how high you are.”

Kael scanned the park again. It was quiet and safe. He looked at Angel, who was smiling at him. Kael waved at him and then felt like a total idiot. He had seen people wave at each other when they were on fairground rides, but could never figure out why. Now here he was doing it.

“Saunders?”

The overweight man stood back from the child‟s swing, looking at Kael, shaking his head in disbelief. Round, gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his pudgy nose, and his cheeks were rosy with the exertion of pushing the swing.

Even though the afternoon was overcast and cool, sweat beaded his forehead, proving how out of shape he was.

5“Kael Saunders, as I live and breathe.” With his hand extended, he rushed across the grass toward Kael.

Kael would not have recognized him if he had not used that old-fashioned phrase. Freddie had always loved to say things like that. He looked into a face he had not seen in fourteen years.

“Freddie Merchant?”

“Of course it‟s me. Who else would it be?” Freddie grabbed Kael‟s hand, shaking it vigorously, and at the same time looked back at the other man, who was now pushing both swings, one with each hand. “Adam, come here.” His face beamed with excitement. “Who have I always talked about? My best friend from College Grange.”

Adam, tall and thin, the opposite of Freddie, walked over, smiling, and extended his hand. “Kael Saunders. Yes, he has talked about you a lot over the years.”

Kael shook his hand briefly.

Freddie gazed up at him. “Come here, you great big idiot,” he said affectionately and grabbed Kael in a tight hug. “I can‟t believe it! It‟s been what?

Fourteen years?” He was inches shorter, and he pressed his head into Kael‟s shoulder. More pleased to see him than he thought possible, Kael hugged him back warmly.

“It‟s good to see you, Freddie.” Freddie‟s face was rounder than ever, and he was balding, thin on top with wispy, curly bits of hair at the sides.

Freddie looked at Adam. “I went to Durham University, but he went on to Cambridge. He was the cleverest boy in school and the handsomest. You‟re still as gorgeous as ever, Saunders. We‟re the same age, yet I look forty. It‟s not fair.”

Adam smiled lovingly at Freddie, then looked at Kael. “I didn‟t know whether to be jealous or what when he talked about you with such enthusiasm, but now I see you, I think jealousy is definitely in order.”

Kael acknowledged the compliment with a little laugh.

“Let me introduce you properly,” Freddie said. “Kael, this is my dear husband, Adam, and that‟s Amelia in the flowery dress, the littlest one; she‟s three.” He pointed at the children on the swings. “Next to her is Zoe; she‟s four.”

Kael looked at the children, unsure what he was supposed to say about them.

“Lovely,” he said because he couldn‟t think of anything else. “How?”

“We adopted them,” Adam volunteered. “We got Zoe when she was six months old and Amelia the day she was born.”

“Are they a lot of work?” Kael asked. If he had to choose between his job and looking after little kiddies, he‟d go out and kill any day.

“I‟ll say.” Freddie grinned. “What are you doing with yourself, Kael?”

“I‟m in security.” It was what he always said.

“If you‟re in security, I bet it‟s Blackwater or black ops or something,” Freddie said. When Kael did not answer, he nodded and did not press the matter.

“Did you end up being a barrister? That‟s what you always wanted, wasn‟t it?”

“I did indeed,” Freddie said. “That‟s how I met Adam.”

Adam‟s arm rested lightly around Freddie‟s shoulders. They looked so comfortable together, Kael would bet they finished each other‟s sentences. “Are you a barrister too?”

Adam shook his head. “I‟m a full-time househusband now, but I was a clerk in Freddie‟s office.”

Freddie slid his arm around Adam‟s waist and hugged him close. “It‟s a boring old life these days, Kael. Work, nursery school, dolls all over the house, doctor‟s visits. And I wouldn‟t have it any other way.” He looked supremely happy.

Even though he was still very much aware of Angel and kept checking on him in his peripheral vision, Kael did not see him slip off the swing and wander over until he felt Angel‟s arms wind around his waist. Freddie looked at him in surprise, not realizing the boy was with Kael.

“Who‟s this, Kael?”

Kael had never before had a partner to introduce to anyone, and he wished the circumstances were different. If Angel were to stay alive, he might need a new identity. “This is my angel.” He felt slightly embarrassed at sounding so smitten, but he couldn‟t think of any other way to introduce Angel without actually giving away his name.

Freddie grinned and stuck out his hand. Angel shook hands with both men.

“You‟ll come to dinner, Kael, you and your angel.” He spoke directly to Angel. “Will you bring him? Now I‟ve found my old mate again, I‟m not willing to let him go.”

“It‟s up to Kael,” Angel said. He‟d heard Kael‟s name. Now there would be more explaining to do.

Freddie pulled out a business card. “Give me a ring and come over soon?”

Kael took the card. “I will. We‟d better go. It‟s so good to see you, Freddie.”

“Don‟t say you‟ll come if you don‟t mean it,” Freddie warned. “Or I‟ll come looking for you now I know for certain you‟re in London.”

“No, we‟ll come,” Kael said. “I promise.”

Freddie let go of Adam to hug Kael again, hanging on tightly to him. The warmth he had felt for Freddie all their years at school surged anew within him, and he wondered at the life he had chosen with no friends and no family ties. He walked away, Angel at his side, confused by a mixture of happiness and dread.

Happiness at seeing Freddie after so many years and doing so well, and dread at what the future held for Angel.

“Who‟s Kael Saunders?” Angel asked as they walked. “Who‟s John Carpe?”

“No questions,” Kael said.

5It began to rain, but Kael was able to get a cab on The Mall and they were home in ten minutes. He decided before they walked in the door that he had to impress on Angel once and for all that he must obey him and not put himself in danger again.

“Go to the dungeon, take your clothes off, and wait for me.” He bolted the door.

“Are we going to play, Sir?” Angel asked, his voice filled with excitement.

“Do as you‟re told,” Kael said.

He hung their jackets in the hall cupboard and removed his boots, entering the dungeon barefoot but still fully dressed. He locked the door, placing the key out of reach as he always did when he had a sub in his dungeon, and then carefully positioned a straight-backed chair in the open space in the middle of the room and sat down. Angel stood naked, watching him. “Aren‟t you going to get undressed, Daddy? You‟re Daddy in here, right?”

“Right.” Kael patted his knee. “Come here.”

“Are you going to spank me, Daddy?” Angel came to stand directly in front of him, biting his lower lip in anticipation. He looked so excited that Kael almost relented. But he couldn‟t. He took Angel‟s arm and guided him until he stood sideways between Kael‟s thighs.

“Over my knee.”

Angel obeyed instantly, and Kael hoisted him over his right thigh, using his left to trap Angel‟s legs. With his right hand he pushed the boy‟s shoulders down until Angel hung with his head nearly touching the floor. “Put your hands behind your back.” Again Angel obeyed without pause, clasping his hands behind him, leaving him completely vulnerable. Kael pressed his right hand into the middle of Angel‟s back, holding him down.

He cupped the small round buttocks with his big hand, then raised it and landed a great hard slap right across the cleft. Angel let out a scream, and Kael released a volley of hard spanks to both buttocks. Unable to move or even wriggle, and with no warm-up to prepare him, Angel screamed for the first few minutes as pain wracked his body; then, breathless, he cried, “Daddy, stop! Please stop, please!”

Kael continued spanking for another full minute after Angel stopped begging.

Still not releasing his tight grip on the boy, he stopped abruptly, resting his hand on the scarlet buttocks where the skin was raised and inflamed. Angel released a small sob that was somewhere between pain and relief that his punishment was over.

Slowly Kael opened his thighs, allowing Angel to tumble to the wood floor, landing on his hands and knees. Panting, rubbing his sore backside, he looked up at Kael, confused, fighting back tears. “That wasn‟t a spanking, was it? That was an ass whipping.”

Kael reached out tenderly, taking Angel‟s trembling chin. “Yes. It was an arse whipping for disobedience. What did I tell you about obeying me?” He was no longer angry but merely uncompromising.

Angel rose up on his knees. “Sir, you said don‟t fart without permission.”

“That‟s what I said,” Kael agreed. “And what did you do? You went out alone without permission after I told you not to leave the flat.”

“Sir, I was bored and you were asleep. There‟s nothing to do here. You don‟t have a computer, or I couldn‟t find one. I couldn‟t figure out the TV.”

“So you disobeyed me?” Kael looked at him.

“Sorry, Daddy, but I thought you forgave me in the park.” No longer on the verge of tears, Angel knelt, listening, seeming to understand without feeling resentful, in control of himself again.

“I did forgive you, but that didn‟t mean I excused your punishment. You disobeyed me. Do you want to be my boy?” Kael asked.

“Yes, Sir, I want to be your boy.”

“Then you have to obey me, even when you get bored.”

“Sir, what‟s the difference between a daddy‟s boy and a slave?”

“It‟s a matter of degree; there‟s a greater level of affection and indulgence between a daddy and his boy, but a sub still has to obey his top.” Kael opened his arms. “Come here.”

Angel scurried forward on his knees until he was between Kael‟s thighs. Kael hugged him tightly. Angel cuddled in close, resting his head against Kael‟s chest.

“I‟m really sorry, Daddy. Is my punishment over?”

“Yes.”

“Why can‟t you be my daddy?” Angel looked up into his eyes.

“Why is it so important to you?”

“I don‟t know, but I always wanted a man to call Daddy. I‟ve never had one.”

“What does having a daddy mean to you?”

Without hesitation, Angel said, “A daddy means acceptance and kindness and protection. Stuff like that. Teaching me things. Making me smart.”

“I‟ll do those things anyway,” Kael said. “It‟s the mushy stuff I can‟t get into. I don‟t do relationships. I like things cut-and-dried. I give the orders; the boy obeys.

That‟s the sum of my rules.”

“Yes, Daddy. I want to be a good boy for you.” Angel tilted his delicate chin up bravely and tried to smile. “I deserved that ass whipping, Sir. I know that.”

Kael tapped the tip of Angel‟s nose. “Yes, you did. Now I want you to go to bed and take a nap.”

“I‟m not tired, Sir!” he burst out.

Kael looked long and hard at him. “You still don‟t get it, do you? I‟m the master, and you eat when I tell you, piss when I tell you, sleep when I tell you.”

“Fart when you tell me,” Angel said gravely.

Kael took a deep breath to prevent himself from laughing. “Right now, I need a break from you, so you are going to bed for a while. When you wake up, I‟ll order some food, and then when it‟s dark out, we‟ll go for a walk.”

5“Yes, Sir.”

“Come on; I‟ll tuck you in.”

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom, and Angel got into bed. He took his blanket from under his pillow and held it to his chest, rolling onto his side. Kael sat on the side of the bed, rubbing the boy‟s back. Exhausted from the last couple of days and the time change, Angel fell asleep quickly despite his protestations of not being tired. Kael sat watching him for a while. He was beautiful, lying on his side in a slender curl, knees drawn up, his buttocks still red from his punishment. He had caught on quickly. He had known he was getting a beating, and he had known he deserved it.