Taming the Lion (14 page)

The man’s skin gave off the sickly-sweet aroma of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He flailed a fist at Kaspar.

“I want you to calm down, then go back and apologize to that woman. After that, I want you to get out of my bar.” Kaspar did his best to keep his voice level. His hackles were up and the beast within him threatened to break free. He had to remain in control of his emotions, even though every fiber of his being yearned to rip out this arrogant arsehole’s throat. The last thing he needed was to escalate a difficult situation farther by turning into a lion.

“Apologize to that snooty little bitch? For what? I was only trying to buy her a drink, and she treated me like something she’d scraped off the sole of her shoe. If anything, she should be apologizing to me.”

I’m not going to be able to talk any sense into this one.
Kaspar took a breath. Only once he felt calm, centered, did he take the action necessary to end things. He hauled the drunken, protesting customer along to the fire door at the far end of the corridor. Then he pushed down on the bar that opened the door and threw him out onto the street.

“And don’t come back.”

“Are you joking?” The man straightened the lapels of his jacket, clearly trying to summon up some dignity. “I’d rather die than set foot in this fucking dump again.”

Oh, man, you don’t know how close you just came…

“Hey, Kaspar, everything okay?”

Just his luck that Ian happened to be arriving for work at the perfect moment to see him ejecting someone from the bar.

“Yeah, it’s fine, honestly. The guy was pestering another customer and I had to do something about it.”

“Did Marina tell you to chuck him out?” Ian sounded dubious, as though she would never ask such a thing of him.

“Marina’s not here today. I’m running the place.”

“So who’s minding the bar right this minute?”

“Lola. She knows what she’s doing. Don’t worry, man. Everything’s under control. I promise.”

“Well, in future, if trouble breaks out, call the police and get them to come and sort it out. It’s safer than taking the law into your own hands.”

They walked into the club together. “So, is there anything else I need to know before you leave?” Ian asked.

“No. Until now everything’s been pretty quiet.”

As Kaspar logged out of the cash register, signaling the end of his shift, his phone buzzed. When he checked it, he had a text from Jon.

How was work? Really want to see you tonight. Come over and I’ll cook us dinner. J x

The offer was tempting, but every time they got together, they ended up spending the night at Jon’s. The arrangement was beginning to feel a little one-sided, and Kaspar didn’t want his lover to think he was taking advantage of his hospitality.

He walked out into the quiet street, where he dialed Jon’s number.

“Hey, Kaspar, did you get my message?”

“I did. Are you at home now?”

“No, I’m just finishing something off at the university, but I intend to leave in the next five minutes or so.”

“Well, why don’t we vary up our routine a little?”

“What are you suggesting?”

An ambulance sped past, its siren blaring, and Kaspar waited till the noise had died away before continuing. “Come over to mine. We can order a takeaway, watch the football on TV. I can tell you all about how I threw my first drunk out of the bar…”

“Won’t Ellie mind?”

“Ellie’s away at the moment. She’s on a school trip to some activity center in North Wales. Doesn’t get back till Thursday night. I never thought I’d say this but I kind of miss not having her around.”

“Okay, why not? I’ll see you in around half an hour. And I’ll pick up some beers on the way to your place.”

Kaspar said his goodbyes to Jon and ended the call. Ellie would go crazy when she found out his mate had been round while she wasn’t there. But he still felt safer keeping them apart for the time being. He didn’t like hiding the fact Jon was human from her, but if she learned the truth, she’d almost certainly freak out. And he hadn’t been honest with Jon about his own origins, either. But when would be the right time to reveal his true nature to his mate?

He didn’t want to think about it now. He simply wanted to spend the evening in Jon’s arms, secure and contented, and forget about the rest of the world for a while.

Chapter Seventeen

“How was it?”

Kaspar looked up from wiping up the last of his chicken bhuna with a chunk of naan bread to see Jon grinning at him. He didn’t think he’d been wolfing his food down but one glance told him he’d already cleared his plate. “
Lekker
. Sorry, we use that word a lot back home but it doesn’t really translate into English. But this was very good. Much tastier than the ones we get in Amsterdam.”

“So what we lose in coffee we gain in curry, eh?” Jon sipped his beer. “Weren’t you going to tell me about that troublesome customer of yours?”

“There’s nothing to tell, to be honest. The guy was being abusive to a woman so I let him know we don’t tolerate that kind of behavior in the bar. I had to get a little physical with him but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.” He leaned back in his chair. “What about your day?”

“Lacking the heroics of yours, for a start. But I’ve been busy. We run a summer school every year, in order that A-level students who are thinking of attending university can get a feel for campus life and receive the information they need to choose the right course for them. It’s my turn to be the staff member who gives the talk about why they should study archaeology and shows them around the department, so I’ve been putting my notes together for that.”

“Wow, if I’d been able to attend something similar before I made my application, it might have made me think about what I really wanted to do with my life.” Kaspar sighed, not wanting to revisit the subject of all the wrong and misguided choices he’d made.

“Well, you know you always have the choice of returning to study as a mature student,” Jon pointed out.

“Thanks, but I think I’ve more than had my fill of academic life. No offense.”

“None taken.”

He got up from his chair then went to fetch another beer from the fridge. “Can I get you one of these?” he asked, gesturing toward Jon with the bottle.

“I shouldn’t really. Not if I’m going to be driving home later.”

“You don’t have to. In fact, I’d much prefer it if you spent the night here. Like I said, I’m all alone till Ellie gets back…”

He’d fully understand it if Jon said he couldn’t stay but his lover looked up with a wry smile on his lips. “Kaspar, you could talk me into any kind of wickedness.”

“Oh, could I?” Kaspar adopted a light, teasing tone. “And did you have a particular wicked act in mind or just…general naughtiness?”

A flush had risen to Jon’s cheeks. “Well, when I was on my way over here, I didn’t stop simply to pick up some alcohol. I bought something else, too. A present for you.”

“Are you going to show me, or do I have to guess?”

“Let’s go up to your bedroom. We need to get comfortable for this.”

His curiosity piqued, Kaspar ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Jon followed behind at a more sedate pace.

By the time Jon appeared in the bedroom doorway, Kaspar had already removed his T-shirt. Jon took a long moment to admire the sight of him, lying on the bed bare-chested, before entering the room.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, honestly,” Jon said as he walked over to the bed. He’d already left his jacket and tie downstairs and now he paused to pull off his brogues and socks. As he approached the bed, he appeared to stand on something and lose his footing. When he bent to pick it up, it was Kaspar’s turn to blush with embarrassment.

“Now, what do we have here?
Down and Dirty Guys
?” Jon chuckled. “I never had you down as the old-fashioned type. I thought you’d look at all your porn online.”

Kaspar shrugged. Watching Jon flick through the pages of the magazine caused his cock to twitch and stiffen in his underwear. He thought of all the times he’d wanked himself to the images of Reno, the hot motorcycle cop, and wondered whether Jon would find those pictures as arousing as he did.

“Of course,” Jon went on, “when I was first getting into stuff like this I didn’t have access to the Internet—hardly anybody did. But I had my own secret stash of mags—videos as well. I always liked the ones where some guy was being punished for a misdemeanor. Nothing like seeing a nice, firm arse receiving a good spanking, if you ask me.”

Jon’s words tied into Kaspar’s filthiest fantasies, the ones where his hands were restrained and some big, dominant guy made him suffer in all the nicest ways.

He licked his lips. “Yeah, I like those stories, too.”

“It’s nice to know we have that in common,” Jon said, “but that doesn’t change the fact I could have hurt myself when I slipped on this.” He tossed the magazine to one side.

For a moment, Kaspar couldn’t understand why Jon was getting so upset over such a minor incident. Then he saw him pick up the wooden-backed hairbrush from the top of the bedside cabinet and realized where Jon’s intentions lay.

“I need to teach you to keep your bedroom tidy, just in case you have guests.”

The shy, mild-mannered Jon who’d seemed so in awe of Kaspar had disappeared. In his place stood a confident, assertive man who stroked the back of the brush repeatedly against his own palm.

“Get off the bed, take off your jeans and touch your toes,” he ordered.

Without hesitation, Kaspar did as he’d been told. He’d never been spanked and he had no idea how much it would hurt. But he was so turned on that his cock threatened to burst the zip of his fly, and he scrambled to remove his jeans. The briefs he wore beneath them were plain white. Jon hadn’t mentioned anything about taking those off so, feeling rather foolish, Kaspar bent over to grasp his own ankles.

“Very nice,” Jon said with a clear note of admiration in his voice. He smoothed his hand over Kaspar’s bum before giving the left a firm tap. “Now, I’m going to take it easy on you. Half a dozen should be enough of a lesson for you on this occasion. And don’t forget to thank me after the final one.”

Six of the best.
The phrase popped into Kaspar’s mind from the stories he’d read. He took a deep breath and did his best to prepare himself.

In his bent-over position, he could only use his hearing to gauge what Jon might be doing. There was a faint swishing noise, then the flat of the hairbrush rested on his cotton-covered cheek for an instant, as if Jon were measuring his swing. A moment later, the brush whistled through the air, the sound carrying more intent, and smacked hard against his rump.

Kaspar bit his lip, not wanting to cry out. The blow had stung, but not unpleasantly. It was followed by a similar swat to his other buttock, then a third and fourth.

Just as he was thinking to himself that this wasn’t so bad, Jon raised the stakes. He caught the waistband of Kaspar’s underwear and tugged it down, so the garment rested just below the under curve of his cheeks and bunched under his balls. Being exposed in such a rude fashion had Kaspar flushing with shame and need. His desire was on a short fuse, his cock as hard as he could ever remember it. The slightest touch from Jon’s fingers would have him shooting his load.

“Just two more to go,” Jon said. “That won’t be a problem for you, will it?”

Jon put his full weight behind each of those strokes, slapping the hairbrush hard against Kaspar’s bare cheeks. The hollow noise of wood meeting flesh seemed to echo round the small room.

Still Kaspar didn’t as much as whimper, not wanting to show any weakness. The beast in him stirred, roused by the mixture of pain and pleasure that coursed through his body, but he kept it on a tight leash.

Jon came to stand before him. He presented the brush to Kaspar’s lips. Without being told, Kaspar kissed it then murmured, “Thank you.”

“I think you should have your present now,” Jon said. He hadn’t told Kaspar he could stand up, and Kaspar didn’t know whether doing so without permission would earn him further punishment, so he stayed where he was, trying to work out if the sounds he could hear were those of a cardboard box being opened, and if so, what it might contain.

His unspoken question was answered when he heard a low buzzing then felt something being pressed to the root of his shaft. Vibrations hummed through him, rocking him to the core. All his self-control vanished as Jon ran the sex toy down over the hidden place between his cock and arsehole.

Jon grasped Kaspar’s length and rubbed it gently. “That’s it, Kaspar. Come for me.”

Kaspar let out a despairing howl as his cum jetted out, splashing his lover’s fingers. If Jon hadn’t been there to wrap a steadying arm around him, the strength of his orgasm would have made him collapse to the floor.

“Hey, steady there, Kaspar…”

Jon helped him up into a standing position and they kissed. Just like in Kaspar’s fantasies, his lover had gone from strict to tender in a matter of moments.

“So, did you like your present?” Jon asked.

For the first time, Kaspar saw the vibrator. Made of black silicon, it was around the same length and thickness as his cock.

“Where did you get it?”

“There’s an erotic boutique in the city center. I made a detour on the way over here.”

Kaspar picked the toy up and examined it, flicking the control on the base and sending it thrumming into life once more. “I’ve never used one of these things before—or had it used on me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you might not think it but I’m kind of a late starter—when it comes to men, at least.” He hadn’t wanted to mention his lack of experience before but now it all came rushing out. “I’ve only been with one guy before you, and that was on the ferry over here. I have a lot to thank him for.” He smiled as he thought of Blazej. “But what we did, good as it was, doesn’t compare with what I have with you.”

“Kaspar, you know I don’t care about who else you might have slept with,” Jon said.