“Feel okay?” Griffin trailed his fingers across the arch of Michael’s rib cage.
“Amazing actually,” Michael admitted and wondered if Griffin’s chest pressed to his back would feel this good.
“Good,” Griffin said in a low voice. “I want you to feel good.”
“So are you going to tell me why you hate my priest so much?” Michael asked, needing to talk about something, anything, to keep his mind from going where it wanted to go.
Griffin sighed heavily as he poured more lotion into his hands and began rubbing the tops of Michael’s shoulders and upper arms. God, had anything in history ever felt as good as Griffin’s large, strong hands on his arms?
“You can’t tell the mistress. I love her, and she’s really important to me so I don’t want things getting weird between us.”
“I won’t tell,” Michael said, even though Nora had promised him sexual favors in return for telling her if he found out.
“A long time ago…I fell in love with Nora.”
Michael swallowed hard. For some reason, it bugged him hearing Griffin declare his love for somebody.
“You did?”
“Yeah, after she came back out of hiding. She’d been Søren’s perfect little sub for years. Then she disappeared and came back this whole different person. But she was still the same Nora to me. I’d always called her Nora, by the way. Even when she was still Eleanor. Anyway, I knew she wasn’t a true dominant, just a switch. I thought for sure there was a part of her that still wanted to submit to a man. The thought of this amazing, beautiful, brilliant dominatrix being my secret personal property? God, I thought I’d die if I didn’t have her. But you don’t do anything in the Underground without getting your priest’s okay. I went to him and asked permission to talk to her about it, to tell her I loved her and that I wanted us to try being together. We’d f**ked before, of course. But that year she was gone, you can’t believe how much I missed her.”
“What did Father S say?”
“After spending a good twenty minutes telling me what an obnoxious child I was who didn’t deserve to kiss Nora’s shoes, he said he’d entertain the idea under one condition.”
Michael tensed again as Griffin’s fingers lingered near the bottom of his back right at the waistband of his boxers.
“What was the condition?”
“Søren doesn’t think any dominant should ever beat someone without first knowing how it feels to be on the receiving end of pain. He told me,” Griffin said, running his hands back up to Michael’s shoulders, “that if I submitted to a beating administered by him, he’d think about it.”
“Oh, shit,” Michael said. “What did you do?”
“Not my proudest moment. I pussed out. Couldn’t do it. Not even for Nora.”
“Don’t blame you. I love Father S and owe him everything. But he scares the shit out of me too. Nora’s the only person I know not scared of him.”
“He’s terrifying. And he knows it. And he loves reminding people of how scared they are of him. Part of that sadist mind-fuck shit he pulls. Anyway, it’s for the best. I don’t feel that way anymore. Nora and I definitely would have failed as a couple.”
“Why?”
Griffin took his hands off Michael’s back and removed the ice packs from his thighs. Slowly Michael rolled onto his back without nearly as much pain as he’d felt earlier. He looked up at Griffin looking down at him. Inhaling, Michael smelled Griffin’s scent again, that spicy masculine smell that lingered under the other clean smell of sweat and deodorant.
“Nora’s the strongest, smartest, toughest person I know. She rebuilt her life, re-created herself. She’s like her own sun, and we all just revolve around her. That’s why the Pope loves her so much. Topping someone that dominant has got to be a turn-on for a sadist like him. But me? If I’m going to be in a relationship with someone, I want that person to need me. I want someone to take care of, to spoil, to protect. Nora takes care of herself. I’d be useless to her.”
Griffin ran a hand through his dark hair before laying it casually on Michael’s stomach.
“I don’t think you’re useless,” Michael said, his voice coming out in a whisper for some reason. Griffin looked down at him and didn’t speak. “I think you’re awesome. Anybody would be lucky to be with you.”
“They’d be luckier to be with you.” Griffin lowered his hand and let it rest lightly on Michael’s hip.
Michael shook his head.
“Anybody in their right mind would run the second they saw these.” Michael held out his scarred wrists. “They’re hideous.”
Griffin’s other hand reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair off Michael’s forehead.
“Mick,” Griffin began in a low voice, “there’s nothing, absolutely nothing about you that’s hideous.”
“Who’s hideous?” Nora asked as she swept into the room, catching both Michael and Griffin off guard.
Griffin winked at Michael as he moved from the bed back to the chair.
“Søren is.” Griffin grabbed Nora and pulled her into his lap.
“I know. He’s gross,” she said. “How’re you feeling, Angel?”
Nora wiggled off Griffin’s lap and slid into bed next to Michael. Michael laughed as she wrapped herself around him and bit his neck.
“Amazing actually,” Michael admitted and wondered if Griffin’s chest pressed to his back would feel this good.
“Good,” Griffin said in a low voice. “I want you to feel good.”
“So are you going to tell me why you hate my priest so much?” Michael asked, needing to talk about something, anything, to keep his mind from going where it wanted to go.
Griffin sighed heavily as he poured more lotion into his hands and began rubbing the tops of Michael’s shoulders and upper arms. God, had anything in history ever felt as good as Griffin’s large, strong hands on his arms?
“You can’t tell the mistress. I love her, and she’s really important to me so I don’t want things getting weird between us.”
“I won’t tell,” Michael said, even though Nora had promised him sexual favors in return for telling her if he found out.
“A long time ago…I fell in love with Nora.”
Michael swallowed hard. For some reason, it bugged him hearing Griffin declare his love for somebody.
“You did?”
“Yeah, after she came back out of hiding. She’d been Søren’s perfect little sub for years. Then she disappeared and came back this whole different person. But she was still the same Nora to me. I’d always called her Nora, by the way. Even when she was still Eleanor. Anyway, I knew she wasn’t a true dominant, just a switch. I thought for sure there was a part of her that still wanted to submit to a man. The thought of this amazing, beautiful, brilliant dominatrix being my secret personal property? God, I thought I’d die if I didn’t have her. But you don’t do anything in the Underground without getting your priest’s okay. I went to him and asked permission to talk to her about it, to tell her I loved her and that I wanted us to try being together. We’d f**ked before, of course. But that year she was gone, you can’t believe how much I missed her.”
“What did Father S say?”
“After spending a good twenty minutes telling me what an obnoxious child I was who didn’t deserve to kiss Nora’s shoes, he said he’d entertain the idea under one condition.”
Michael tensed again as Griffin’s fingers lingered near the bottom of his back right at the waistband of his boxers.
“What was the condition?”
“Søren doesn’t think any dominant should ever beat someone without first knowing how it feels to be on the receiving end of pain. He told me,” Griffin said, running his hands back up to Michael’s shoulders, “that if I submitted to a beating administered by him, he’d think about it.”
“Oh, shit,” Michael said. “What did you do?”
“Not my proudest moment. I pussed out. Couldn’t do it. Not even for Nora.”
“Don’t blame you. I love Father S and owe him everything. But he scares the shit out of me too. Nora’s the only person I know not scared of him.”
“He’s terrifying. And he knows it. And he loves reminding people of how scared they are of him. Part of that sadist mind-fuck shit he pulls. Anyway, it’s for the best. I don’t feel that way anymore. Nora and I definitely would have failed as a couple.”
“Why?”
Griffin took his hands off Michael’s back and removed the ice packs from his thighs. Slowly Michael rolled onto his back without nearly as much pain as he’d felt earlier. He looked up at Griffin looking down at him. Inhaling, Michael smelled Griffin’s scent again, that spicy masculine smell that lingered under the other clean smell of sweat and deodorant.
“Nora’s the strongest, smartest, toughest person I know. She rebuilt her life, re-created herself. She’s like her own sun, and we all just revolve around her. That’s why the Pope loves her so much. Topping someone that dominant has got to be a turn-on for a sadist like him. But me? If I’m going to be in a relationship with someone, I want that person to need me. I want someone to take care of, to spoil, to protect. Nora takes care of herself. I’d be useless to her.”
Griffin ran a hand through his dark hair before laying it casually on Michael’s stomach.
“I don’t think you’re useless,” Michael said, his voice coming out in a whisper for some reason. Griffin looked down at him and didn’t speak. “I think you’re awesome. Anybody would be lucky to be with you.”
“They’d be luckier to be with you.” Griffin lowered his hand and let it rest lightly on Michael’s hip.
Michael shook his head.
“Anybody in their right mind would run the second they saw these.” Michael held out his scarred wrists. “They’re hideous.”
Griffin’s other hand reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair off Michael’s forehead.
“Mick,” Griffin began in a low voice, “there’s nothing, absolutely nothing about you that’s hideous.”
“Who’s hideous?” Nora asked as she swept into the room, catching both Michael and Griffin off guard.
Griffin winked at Michael as he moved from the bed back to the chair.
“Søren is.” Griffin grabbed Nora and pulled her into his lap.
“I know. He’s gross,” she said. “How’re you feeling, Angel?”
Nora wiggled off Griffin’s lap and slid into bed next to Michael. Michael laughed as she wrapped herself around him and bit his neck.
