Dominque (Knights to Remember) (32 page)

“I don’t think he ever fucking left.” Jacob rolled back in bed with a grunt. “Why did you mention him? If you knew how badly he acted at my previous dinner parties, you would know he should stay well away.”

“Seriously, I don’t expect you to throw a party and invite all your friends. I was just thinking of going out for dinner and maybe inviting Krane, or Robert and his boyfriend.”

“He has a boyfriend now?” Jacob hadn’t fallen that far behind his friend’s love life, surely.

“Well… I thought he’d be seeing someone.”

“Because he’s oh so good-looking and dreamy and chats to you on Facebook.” Jacob tickled his ribs, Dominque snorting and kicking him.

“Don’t do that! You made me snort like a pig.”

“It’s funny as hell.” Jacob laughed loudly as Dominque covered his mouth, still not stopping the piggy sounds coming from his lips.

Eventually Jacob gave up and they both lay breathing hard next to each other. “I’m inviting a few people around for a drink. Nothing big, about five or so people. It will get the whole introduction thing out of the way quickly. Oh, and Bettina has been bothering me, has she called you?”

“Only fifty times.” Dominque chuckled.

“Yeah, well, let’s invite her and her hubby too.”

“You're sure about this?” Dominque ran his fingers through Jacob’s hair.

“Absolutely. Now go to sleep and have sweet dreams. You have a party to plan.”

“Me? No, you have a party to plan.”

“We’ll do it together.”

“Huh,” Dominque huffed, curling into Jacob’s body and wrapping a leg over his. “I don’t cook anything fancy.”

“Yeah, well, me neither, so I guess we’ll have to make sure we get someone to cater for us.”

Dominque lay in his arms, toying with his chest hair. “Thank you.”

“Will you ever stop thanking me for doing the right thing?” Jacob hugged him tightly.

“No, that’s just rude.” He stuck his tongue out and gained a laugh. “Night.”

“Good night, baby.”

Dominque grinned. He loved it when Jacob called him that. Closing his eyes, he gently slid closer to him, pressing their bodies as tight as they could get, his exhausted body giving up to the strong pull of sleep, comforted by the rise and fall of Jacob’s chest under his head.

A
s Jacob stepped out of his car, he tilted his head back, staring up at the blue sky as he took in a deep breath of fresh air. It felt good to be outside on a day like this, and he was sure over the years he’d missed more than his fair share of sunny days. Being cooped up in a hospital all day every day with the artificial light playing havoc with your internal clock and the stale air being pumped out from the old air conditioning units had been his world for far too long. He remembered almost a full week where he didn’t leave the building. Too busy with his schedule and too tired to go home to sleep.

He knew now, looking back over those years, it wasn’t just his dedication to the job which convinced him to make it his everything, it was the lack of anything else in his world which made the job so important. Even though Dominque wasn’t the one beside him today, it was still because of him Jacob had taken the day off.

It wouldn’t be long before they were reunited. With the sale of the house going through smoothly, and Angelique’s preparation
s
to move stepping up, it would only be two more weeks until they would be living full time in Jacob’s apartment. Which was why he was now standing outside his favourite store with his brother. He needed something special to mark the occasion.

Krane moved beside him, leaning against the car and folding his thick arms over his chest, watching Jacob with a soft smirk. “You look like a vampire who’s forgotten what it feels like to be out under the sun’s rays.”

“Yes, well. I’m hopefully not as pale as one.” Jacob locked the car, brushing back his hair.

“You could do with some colour. I mean, you're not vampire pale, just you know… I want to say sickly, but I won't. I'm thinking nerdy pale—it’s a colour before you question it. I saw it in B&Q last week, right next to the nocturnal grey. You just, you know, look like you never go outside. Frightened fresh air will kill you—another awesome name for a colour in that category. You have
that
sort of look.” Krane was smiling broadly at his own humour.

“You're in an exceptionally great mood this morning.” Jacob walked off, letting Krane’s long legs catch him up. “Any reason why?”

“You're outside!” Krane threw his arms wide and chuckled. “Oh, come on. This is a
huge
deal. It’s daylight, the sun’s shining, you’re in jeans and a t-shirt, you called me up to join you. How could I not be in a good mood?”

“How’s Bailey?” Jacob grinned as he shot a look over his shoulder at his older brother.

Krane gave him a sly tilt of the head, trying and failing to hide the twitch of his lips and the smile fighting to get out. “I told you before, it’s nothing serious.”

“Fuck buddies then?” Jacob had tried several times to get something out of him, but so far, he’d remained pretty tight-lipped, only saying it wasn’t serious and they weren’t dating, so on and so on.

Krane didn’t appear to like that term, but he shrugged, walking into the building before Jacob and looking around. “We have sex, not regular, and it’s not set in stone we meet up. He’s just… he’s…” Krane ran his fingers through his auburn hair with a grunt. “I dunno what he is. And I mean, I
really, really
don’t know what goes on where he's concerned. It’s like he came from a different planet.”

“Yes… about that different planet.” Jacob smiled at the receptionist, flashing his membership card at her before walking to the second set of double doors, hovering his hand above the handle while he and Krane shared a look. “How about we explore his world more and give you a little further insight into where he’s from? Perhaps it will create a bridge of some sort to help ease you and him into a more manageable space.”

The suspicion Krane felt made it onto his features, his whole body tensing as he looked down into Jacob’s eyes. If Jacob didn’t know him, he’d be sure the big guy was about to throw a punch his way. “Where are we?” He looked around them. The reception area looked no different to that of any other, grey paints and muted tones, the twenty something student checking her phone and paying them no attention behind the desk. “When you said you needed help to choose a gift for Dominque, I had somewhere different in mind.”

“Think of it as more of an adult pleasure distribution warehouse for private members only.”

Krane paused, looking around again, causing Jacob to sigh heavily. There was nothing here to indicate what he would find inside.

“Like… Ann Summers?” Krane whispered, but not quite low enough as the young girl a few feet away from them grunted loudly, shaking her head as she continued to play with her phone.

“No, Krane,
not
like Ann Summers.” He pushed open the door and stood there, letting Krane move closer, halting outside with his mouth gaping open and a rush of heat colouring his cheeks. “It’s so cute that you blush. Really sweet. Endearing, really.”

“Fuck you, Jay,” Krane hissed through his clenched teeth. “You know…” He turned to Jacob. “Your idea of a special gift is so not what I would have guessed. I mean, what the hell are you buying him? This is like… big stuff.”

“Well, size matters, Krane.” Jacob laughed as he pushed his giant of a brother through the doorway, then took in the place. Like any big department store, the staff were always moving things around, adding new stock, changing the displays, and Jacob took a few seconds to find his bearings.

“This is huge. There can't possibly be this much stuff for sex.” Krane was darting his eyes around the room, not being able to leave his gaze on one thing for too long.

“Right, and in your
vast
experience of sexual products, you know this for sure, even though the proof all these exciting things are here, right in front of your eyes. There’s more to sex than butt plugs and dildos. So much more.” Jacob grinned lasciviously. “Let me educate you.” He took hold of Krane’s elbow, herding him along to where there was a rack of floggers, all different lengths and materials. The vision excited Jacob, calling him to touch, to feel the different textures, run the leather through his fingers. “This is my idea of heaven.”

“Right.” Krane stood stiffly, arms folded across his chest as he frowned down at Jacob. “It looks like the Marquis de Sade’s basement.”

“Oh, a great man. I have all his books.” Jacob smiled as he spoke, stepping closer. “But I assure you, I'm not a sadist. I don't enjoy inflicting the level of pain you're implying onto those I invite into my bed, and I find your attitude a
tad
insulting to say the least. Ever since you met Bailey, this attitude has been rising, and I, for one, despise the change he’s brought out in you, though I can't blame him for your resentful anger toward the life he leads, the one you
don’t
belong to.”

“Oh, right!” Krane threw his arms in the air before crossing them over his head and looking to the ceiling. “Right, of course there was a lesson you needed to teach me. I mean, there’s always three sides to every action you take, so why am I still shocked by it? This isn't just about a gift, it’s about you playing teacher and trying to hook me into this lifestyle. Well, it won't work. I'm not like you.”

Jacob’s spine went rigid, and he squared his shoulders, his face blank and expressionless as he internally fought with the need to argue with his brother. It was different remaining like this for him, but the occasion called for Jacob’s calmer traits and to not allow the moment to delve into the familiar ‘bickering brothers’ stage.

“Say what you will out loud, but both you and I know you're envious of this life. Envious because you feel excluded when the man you desire is included within it. You act as if I’ve insulted you by offering you this chance to explore and question that life, when in fact you should be praising my actions. I offer you knowledge. Understanding. It’s neither an invitation nor a discouragement. It is simply what it is. Sex, and the many ways to discover what lies beneath the monotony of your every day fuck. Think of this as your final frontier. Undiscovered territory.” Okay, playing on Krane’s love of Star Trek was a little low, but the analogy fit.

Krane lifted a brow, but at least he was less touchy about being there. “Seriously?”

“Yes, I am. So, are you ready to boldly go where no vanilla has gone before?”

“Jesus Christ, I hate that term. I’ve been hearing it a lot lately, and I swear I'm never eating vanilla ice-cream again.”

“Fine, perhaps clotted cream would suit you better.” He smiled overly brightly.

Krane deadpanned him right back. “It’s such a good job we’re related, because I know through the years, this time included, there’s a ton of times I would have knocked you clean out for the count.”

“Yes, well…” Jacob couldn’t really argue with that. If Krane chose to, he would indeed lay him down without pause by one smack of his huge fist. “I'd just like to point out that I'm gifted in the art of bondage, which means I could take you down and have you trussed up before you even flinched.”

“I'd like to see you try it,” Krane threw back quickly and then groaned. “I take that back. Your sort of restraining isn't something I'll ever be doing with
you
.”

“It doesn’t have to be sexual.” Jacob was messing with him and they both saw it.

“Nope.”

“It could be fun. An activity to share between—”

“Stop it. Just… just don’t.”

Jacob was grinning and Krane eventually joined in. “Let’s start with the basics.” He pointed to the row of floggers, allowing Krane to cast his gaze over them again with deliberate slowness and more attention this time. “These are all floggers. As you can see, there are many different styles. This one here—” He picked up a standard flogger, leather handle, thicker strands dripping from the stem. “This is your beginners tool, but a firm favourite for play. As with the majority of these, they can be wielded in many different styles.”

He ran the leather threads through his fingers with a smile. “The touch of this can be teasingly good if stroked lightly over a body, eliciting goosebumps all over their exposed flesh while you tantalize them into either a more relaxed or anxious state. It can also be used to deliver a sharper sting to that same flesh, leaving a pleasant blush behind, or welts if your touch is harder. Which you choose depends on the needs of your partner and the consent which they’ve delivered to you. That’s what this is all about. Consent. If both parties haven't consented to the activities, then it’s not mutual. Just as the sub has to be comfortable with the scene, so does the Dom. I’ve been asked to perform acts which I personally don’t partake in. We all have hard limits. It’s not one way.”

He handed the flogger to Krane, who reached out and took it gingerly, holding it like some long lost artefact which he wasn’t sure of. While Krane handled it, Jacob looked for something a little different, his gaze falling on a stunning one. Its handle was wrapped in red leather, thick and well padded, smooth and rounded at the end—a perfect shape for sliding inside a tight arse during a break from the flogging.

It was the tails which mesmerized Jacob, and as he ran his fingers through the many threads of tiny silver balls attached to the chains, he imagined Dominque strapped to the bed, his body aching for Jacob as he ran those cool chains from his neck to his feet. It could be wielded violently, even scar if used with force, but Jacob had only teasing in mind.

“That looks a hell of a lot more serious than this one.” Krane brushed up against him, picking up a couple of the chains and rolling the balls in his fingertips.

“Hmm, you're not wrong. In the right hands, this could be brutal. In mine, never. Like I said, it’s not what you have, it’s how you use it.”

Krane grunted. “That’s something only a person with
little
to use would say.”

Before Krane had blinked, Jacob had a crop in his hand and swiped it across his arse, the thick jeans he wore allowing Jacob to be a littler firmer in his action than if he’d been naked. “Rule number one, bratty behaviour equals a strike from this crop. For each time that rule is broken, you will add another strike to your punishment. Two for two, three for three, and so on. I’ve never gotten past three. So, if you’re up for a challenge—”

“Don’t do that again.”

“Then don’t be bratty.”

Krane grunted, grabbing the crop from him and investigating it. “A riding crop.”

“Yes. An item you and I have used since we were children. On horses, of course. I'm quite adept at using one, and I suspect you are too. Flesh is flesh after all, and you always were considerate in the use of it on the animal you rode.” Jacob chuckled.