At His Throat, a Promise (38 page)

“Who do you like better, though?” Harte asked. It was the second time he"d asked that
exact
question, and the fourth he"d asked a variant of it.

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“I don"t even know either of them,” Ellis explained again. “But if I had to choose right now, I"d probably choose Master Jude.

Master Jack made me uncomfortable.”

“Then why are you even meeting him?”

Ellis pulled Harte closer by their joined hands. Harte happily cuddled under Ellis"s arm and rested his head against Ellis"s chest.

“Because Sir said that he wasn"t all that bad. I don"t know. I don"t think Sir knows the real him.”

“What about Master Jude?”

“He was the one at the party who caught me when I tripped.

Remember, with the accent?”

Harte nodded. “He"s pretty handsome, but not as much as Master, don"t you think?”

No one could ever accuse Harte of disloyalty. “I agree,” he said in a quiet voice. “But comparisons like that aren"t going to help me adapt, are they?”

“Sorry, Ellis.”

“No need. Now, you saw their files. What do you think?”

“Well, if I hadn"t seen the way Master Jack acted at the party, I"d say him, for sure. He has no other slaves, he"s young enough to remember servitude and might be more lenient because of it, and, well, he"s really hot and, you know. Powerful.” Ellis knew there was a difference between acting powerful and being powerful, but he didn"t say anything. “What"s wrong with Master Jude?”

“Nothing,” Harte said. His hand was rubbing small, soothing circles over Ellis"s tensed stomach.

He tried to force himself to relax, but at the end of that day, he"d have to start making a decision. William would likely want to know as soon as possible, and Ellis didn"t want to keep any of the 327

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

masters waiting.

“It"s just… ” Harte hesitated, his hand pausing in its movements. “Master doesn"t like Master Jude.”

“I know,” Ellis admitted. He"d gotten that feeling a few times himself, but he just figured that William had chosen the final six, so whatever animosity was between them must not be so bad. But had the master put Jude"s file among the candidates just to placate Ellis, who William must have known felt a connection to Jude?

Whatever the case, there was a conundrum. Ellis liked one and hated the other. William liked the one Ellis hated and didn"t like the one Ellis wanted.

Who was in a better position to choose what was right for Ellis? Did Ellis trust his master—temporary though he might be—

as he"d been taught for as long as he could remember? Or did he listen to his own instincts and make the decision he felt in his heart was right?

Just then, William entered the room by himself. “Ellis, I"m going to send Jude in momentarily, but I want to talk to you for a moment, first.”

Ellis nodded and waited for the master to speak.

“Remember I told you that the rules would be suspended during your interviews?”

“Of course, Sir.” Ellis hadn"t given it much thought, figuring the masters would at the most request a blow job, something Ellis could—and probably would—do with his eyes closed.

“That includes sex, as well.”

“What?” Harte gasped, jumping up. “Master, you—”

“Harte,” said William, warningly.

“I know, Master, but that"s just… wrong.” William gave a long-suffering sigh and held out an arm to 328

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Harte, enfolding him against his chest as though Harte was the one about to have sex with a total stranger—and Ellis was sure that was what William was implying.

“Ellis, I"ve spoken to Jude at length about this, and he feels it"s… important that he make use of you before he makes a commitment. This isn"t uncommon practise, as I"m sure you know, but if you"re at all leaning toward Jack, we can stop this right now and tell Jude you"ve made your decision.” Wishing that he were the one in William"s arms, or that Harte was in his—or maybe both—Ellis clenched his hands on his knees and said, “I"m not leaning toward Master Jack, Sir.” William"s look was pure resignation. “All right. I"ll show you both to a room, then.”

“Master,” Harte whispered insistently, trying to pull out of William"s embrace. “Please, Master, don"t do this—”

“That"s enough, Harte,” William snapped, more fierce than he"d been with Harte since his punishment. “Go watch your show or something.”

Harte pulled away from William to tug Ellis to his feet. “You don"t have to.”

“I do have to,” Ellis said calmly. “I have to know. Don"t you want me to at least try to be happy?” It was low, perhaps, but Ellis already felt pulled in a hundred directions. Having
someone
on his side wasn"t too much to ask. Or so he hoped.

“I don"t want you to have to
try
to be happy!” Harte implored.

“I don"t want you to… ”

Go
.

“Go watch your show,” Ellis said in a firm voice.

Harte"s heart seemed to break before Ellis"s weary eyes. The smaller slave left the room with none of his usual bounce. He 329

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

didn"t even look at William as he passed.

“Come with me, then,” William said. He led Ellis to the study where Jude was waiting patiently. “I"m showing you to a room.” Jude nodded and rose, catching up to William, who had turned on his heel and started for the stairs.

“Hello, Ellis,” Jude said in a kind voice. “How are you?”
Heartsore
. But then he remembered slaves weren"t supposed to have feelings. “Fine. And you, Sir?”

“Just the same. I am going to ask you to call me Master Jude.

Until, that is, I am your only master. Then you will call me Master exclusively.”

Ellis almost laughed at the presumption, but it was at that moment he saw where William had led them.

It was the punishment room.

Ellis"s mouth dropped open as he looked up at William, who opened the door but didn"t go inside.

“There you are. You have an hour,” he said formally.

Jude went inside, but as William went to pass Ellis and leave, Ellis touched his hand softly, initiating contact in a way he very rarely—if ever—had.

He didn"t say anything, though. He knew William had to know what he was thinking.

Am I being punished?

But William just kept walking as if Ellis hadn"t tried to stop him. Ellis watched him all the way to the stairs, which William descended without looking back.

I am.
He knew it. William wanted him to choose Jack and thought Ellis was being unreasonable.

Suddenly angry, Ellis entered the punishment room and closed the door. Jude lifted a chain that dangled from the ceiling and 330

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

raised a wry eyebrow. “Cosy, is it not?”

“Very, Master Jude,” Ellis said. He dropped to his knees to await instruction. Over his time with William, he"d become somewhat lax in paying proper respect, but when Harte didn"t do it and William didn"t demand it, it was difficult to maintain deference.

“Very good,” Jude said. He seated himself in the armchair that faced the chains so that Ellis"s back was to him. “Turn to me.” Ellis did, keeping his head down. Instructions he could handle.

They were easy. He wouldn"t even have to think, just do as he was told. That was familiar.

“Crawl over here.”

Falling easily onto his hands and knees, Ellis approached Jude and knelt between his spread legs. Jude"s soft, lilting voice made the directions seem more like requests, though there was no mistaking the steel in his voice.

“With my slaves, I use certain words and even gestures to explain what I want. I would expect you to learn those very quickly. For what I want you to do now, I would say, „Tend to me."

And you would open my trousers, pull my cock out, and suck me until I come. Then you would swallow everything, wasting not a drop, and always thank me. If I only wanted you to get me hard so I could use you, I would stop you when I was ready. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master Jude.” Ellis had heard both William and Alex use that particular phrase, though his own previous master had preferred a more organic approach.

“Another thing. You are very respectful, but in my opinion, you speak too much. Refrain from talking if your response can be just as easily expressed with a nod or a shake of your head.” 331

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

Ellis nodded, an unpleasant tightening happening in his stomach. Jude had a lot of rules. Ellis
liked
rules, but he wasn"t exactly used to them. He"d originally thought William had enjoyed making and enforcing rules, but Ellis had always been encouraged to speak. Both Harte and William had mentioned on several occasions that he didn"t speak
enough
—but maybe that was just in comparison to Harte.

“Well? Go ahead,” Jude said, sounding a little impatient.

Chastened for becoming distracted, Ellis opened Jude"s trousers and tugged them down as much as possible before pulling out his half-hard cock and immediately encasing it in his mouth.

Jude seemed to appreciate the efficiency, and Ellis continued to suck until the cock was fully hard, straining his lips.

Jude sighed, and Ellis looked up, wondering what he"d done wrong. The master looked
bored
. Ellis closed his eyes and redoubled his efforts.

Though Jude was hard and throbbing, there was no outward indication of his desire. He gave no sound of approval—or disapproval, for that matter—and Ellis was at a loss as to what he was doing wrong. And he didn"t want to ask in case that wasn"t allowed.

“Enough,” Jude said a moment later, and Ellis pulled back, stretching his jaw. Jude was no bigger than William—a little more slender, even—but Ellis"s efforts had strained him.

“You have a decent natural talent, but you have a lot to learn.” This was said in an almost kind voice, and Ellis was again uncertain as to what was expected of him. “Tighten your lips more around me. Use more saliva—I want to be able to slide through.

Take more, deeper. I know you"re able to. Use your hands as well.”

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Ellis let out a shuddering breath. He hadn"t used his hands because he wasn"t sure if it was permitted. He immediately set his mouth back on Jude"s leaking cock, gathering the pre-come on his tongue to add to his saliva. Using his hands on the base as well as the balls, Ellis put all his effort into pleasing Jude. Tightening his lips so that he could feel every vein, he sank father down, trying to swallow. But he gagged a little and pulled back, panting. Allowing himself almost no time to recover, he tried again. And again. He couldn"t do it.

“Stop it,” Jude finally said, his disappointment not harsh but very evident.

Ellis sat back and bit his numb lower lip. He felt so
useless
.

He"d gotten prettied up at the party and attracted all sorts of masters who thought he would be a good slave, and here he couldn"t even suck a cock properly.

“A valiant first effort,” Jude said, laying his hand on Ellis cheek. Without meaning to, Ellis leaned in to the touch, grateful that he hadn"t disappointed the master too much. “Up you get, yes?

And lean over the bed.”

Ellis did as he was told without hesitation.

Jude laughed and said, “Ah, I meant take off your tunic as well.

As I am going to use you, it would only make sense.” Feeling stupid, Ellis straightened up and took off his sheath. He wasn"t sure where Jude wanted him to put it, but the master didn"t say anything, so he just let it slip from his fingers and bent back over.

“If you do choose me,” Jude said lightly, running his fingers between Ellis"s cheeks, making him shudder. “And I hope you do, you will have to learn to be a little more tidy.”

“I"m sorry, I—”

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“Ah, ah,” Jude said, tapping Ellis between his shoulder blades.

“I understand. I am simply… thinking out loud.” A vial of clear liquid was placed on the bed beside Ellis. He looked at it curiously, but quickly turned his head back to look forward, not wanting to seem like he was taking liberties.

“I could not be certain that your sponsor would provide us with adequate supplies,” Jude explained.

Ellis nodded and waited for cool fingers to touch him, but they never came. Instead, an object much more blunt than a fingertip pressed against his hole, and Ellis gasped and lurched forward.

“I had hoped you would not be spoiled.” Disappointment coloured Jude"s voice, and he pulled Ellis"s hips back into position, gripping one unrelentingly. “I know William makes use of you often, so I should not be expected to go about tedious preparation.

You will learn to appreciate the sensation.” And he pushed forward.

Ellis took shallow breaths as the cock—feeling much larger than Ellis knew it to be—began to split him in half. Without realising it, he made whimpering noises.

“Hush,” Jude said, petting Ellis"s head like he was a creature of the verge of being tamed.

Sweat ran into his eyes from the effort it took not to cry out in pain. It wasn"t possible—he"d never been taken without even a finger to prepare him! His hands clenched in the bedclothes and his eyes were closed so tightly they ached. His mouth hung open as the head breached him, giving him only minor relief. If nothing else, Ellis was grateful that Jude was going slowly, but the pain was still almost too much.

And then Ellis had nothing to be grateful for.

Jude slammed inside and Ellis scrabbled at the sheets and tried 334

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

to pull himself away. But Jude"s grip on him was unforgiving, and Ellis could do nothing but try to absorb the brutal thrusts. Moving so quickly that the pain was continual, Jude fucked Ellis until the lubricant wore thin, and Ellis began to get scared. Without that slickness, he"d be torn apart even more—possibly even beyond repair.

Then no one would want him.

Despite the pain it caused his ravished hole, Ellis clamped down firmly every time Jude"s hips hit his ass, trying to bring the man closer to completion.