Ellis

couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he walked back from the Lafayette Aquatic Club, his hair still damp from his morning swim. The humid May air clung to his skin, but he barely noticed, too caught up in thoughts of tonight. After years of dreaming about the ocean, staring at pictures of sailboats, and imagining what it would feel like to be on the water, Gabriel was finally taking him to see the Tanna 47—his boat.

His. Boat.

The reality of it still felt like something out of a dream. He’d spent hours reading about catamarans online, trying to understand all the technical terms. Every new detail he learned made the dream feel more real—the dual hulls that would make it more stable, the way the sails could catch the wind, the freedom of being able to go anywhere. Tonight, he would finally see it in person. And maybe, if was lucky, they could christen it…

The sleek black limousine gliding alongside him derailed his thoughts. Before could react, a tall man in an impeccably tailored suit stepped out, positioning himself directly in ’ path. The man’s expression was professionally blank as he opened the rear door.

“Mr. Rohan would like a word.”

took a wary step back as he glimpsed the imposing figure in the backseat, but the man in the suit caught his arm and unceremoniously tossed him inside. His gym bag with his damp swimwear thumped against the floor as he landed on the leather seat beside Maximilien Rohan.

Despite his pressed slacks and fitted shirt, felt shabby under the elder Rohan’s dismissive gaze.

“I must say,” Maximilien said as his eyes traveled over ’ carefully chosen clothes, “one can dress up a pig, but it remains, nonetheless, a pig. I’m rather surprised by my son’s current choice of companionship. Gabriel has never had to scrape quite so low before.”

The words struck like a knife in his chest, finding all the insecurities that Jean’s impromptu etiquette lessons over the past few weeks hadn’t managed to smooth away. tried to sit straighter, feeling like a child in a school play—acting a part he’d never quite learned his lines for.

“I had such expectations for him,” Maximilien continued, reaching for a folded newspaper. “La Sauvegarde requires someone who can stand beside its CEO as an equal. Someone who understands the delicate art of hosting the right dinner parties, attending the proper fundraisers without becoming...” His lip curled slightly as he dropped the Port du Coeur Post-Dispatch society pages onto ’ lap. “The subject of unfortunate speculation.”

’ breath caught at the photo: he and Gabriel at the LaMontagne fundraiser. Gabriel’s hand possessively at the small of his back, looking up at him with naked adoration. The headline made his chest tight: “MYSTERY MAN: Rohan Heir’s Latest Scandal?”

The article was brutal in its casual cruelty. Speculation about ’ conspicuous absence from society events that Gabriel otherwise attended in the weeks before and after the La Montague fundraiser—pointed comments about his obvious “low birth,” suggesting that the Rohan family was deliberately hiding him away. But it was the business implications that made ’ hands shake: La Sauvegarde’s stock dropping twelve points, whispers of another Rohan scandal in the making.

Patricia Taylor’s words from the fundraiser echoed in his mind, that sharp curiosity in her gaze as she’d discussed Henri’s latest scandal. “One must be so careful with the Rohan image these days.” Those words felt heavier now, trapped in this limousine with living proof of how much image mattered to the Rohan family.

looked up from the paper to find Maximilien studying him with cold calculation.

“I believe we can come to an arrangement that benefits everyone,” Maximilien said, removing his tablet. “You seem like a practical young man. Someone who understands the value of appropriate compensation.”

“Appropriate compensation...” repeated back, stunned. Maximilien Rohan wanted to pay him off, again.

Maximilien’s fingers tapped on the tablet, his bank application opening with a soft chime. “Fifty thousand?”

’ throat closed so tight he could barely breathe, remembering nights when even fifty dollars meant the difference between eating and going hungry.

“No? Perhaps we need to adjust the figure. Two hundred thousand?” Maximilien’s lip curled when ’ hands began to shake, his nails digging into his palms.

“Very well. A million. More than generous to make you return to whatever hovel you crawled out of. You must be the most expensive whore in Porte du Coeur.”

“I’m not a whore,” whispered, his voice smaller than he wanted it to be.

Maximilien’s laugh was sharp as broken glass. “Years selling yourself on the streets, well before you were even legal, says otherwise. Only two of those years at Heart Court. Did you think I wouldn’t have you investigated, Anouilh?” He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a silky whisper. “By twenty-four, you could be in Florida. Your own sailboat. Your own life. All you have to do is take the money and disappear.”

“Gabriel loves me.”

“Gabriel has ‘loved’ half a dozen men over the years.” Maximilien’s voice dripped with disdain. “None lasted past a year. Do you really want to leave this relationship with nothing but bitter memories?”

“He bought me a boat—”

“Gabriel bought himself a boat,” Maximilien cut in. “Tell me, is this catamaran suddenly in your name?”

felt the tears he’d been fighting finally spill over.

“Name your price, little whore,” Maximilien said softly. “Everyone has one.”

The casual cruelty of the words snapped something in . He grabbed his gym bag and pushed open the car door, stumbling onto the sidewalk. The limousine rolled alongside him as he walked, but he kept his eyes forward, refusing to look.

“This is your last chance,” Maximilien called through the open window. “Take the money, live a good life. Or leave with nothing. Which will it be?”

“I’d rather end with nothing,” said, “and have these few happy months than make deals with the likes of you.”

Maximilien’s bitter laughter followed him down the street. broke into a run. His vision blurred, not stopping until he reached the Lafayette Square manor. He took the stairs two at a time, bursting into Gabriel’s study, where the man sat reviewing work notes on his tablet.

Gabriel glanced up with concern. “Are you alright, little bird?”

Little whore

Without a word, he dropped his bag to the floor with a dull thud, crossing the room in swift strides. Gabriel’s steady gaze tracked him, those dark eyes never wavering as straddled his lap. He captured Gabriel’s mouth in a desperate kiss, pouring everything he couldn’t say into the contact—his frustration, his anxiety, and something deeper, an emotion he wasn’t ready to name. Gabriel tasted of coffee and security and home .

Eventually, Gabriel eased him back, those intense eyes studying his face. “What’s wrong, mon coeur?”

“Please, Gabriel.” His voice cracked. “I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin. I can’t—can’t...” His fingers dug into his own arms, nails pressing crescents into flesh. The urge to scratch deeper, to watch crimson wells appear, was almost overwhelming. “I want to scratch until I bleed, just to watch it flow because...” He couldn’t finish, couldn’t explain the chaos in his head.

“It reminds you you’re alive,” Gabriel’s voice was soft as his fingers carded through ’ hair before cupping his face. The touch was grounding, real. “Pain can anchor you when everything else feels disconnected. Is that what you need?”

Relief flooded through him at being understood. collapsed against Gabriel’s chest, breathing in his familiar scent. “Yes,” he shuddered out the word.

“Come then.” Gabriel shifted him gently from his lap and stood, taking his hand. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

The bedroom door clicked, then locked, behind them. Gabriel’s chest pressed against his back, one arm wrapping around ’ waist while the other snaked up to his throat.

“I won’t go easy on you.” Gabriel’s breath was warm against his ear. “If you truly need me to stop, if you can take no more, say ‘red.’”

’ breath caught. The stoplight system. Safe. Professional. Familiar ground. Every BDSM brothel used it. But this wasn’t a transaction. Gabriel was offering him a real choice, a way out if he needed it. Something tight loosened in his chest.

Gabriel’s fingers tightened on his throat. His lips found ’ neck, sucking hard enough to mark. To claim. Then he released him, moving to lean against one of the bedposts with casual grace.

“Strip.”

drew in a steadying breath. His fingers trembled slightly on his buttons. Gabriel’s eyes tracked each piece of clothing that fell to the floor, his expression hungry. Predatory.

When stood naked before him, Gabriel made that imperious two-fingered gesture that sent warmth blooming in ’ chest. Stupid, to be so fond of such a small thing.

He crossed to Gabriel, who guided him down with a hand between his shoulder blades until his chest rested on the cool sheets. shifted his legs wider, offering himself up to Gabriel’s gaze. Fingers carded through his hair.

“Good boy.”

The praise settled warm in his chest. He tracked Gabriel’s footsteps around the bed, heard a drawer open. When he glanced back, his breath caught at the size of the plug in Gabriel’s hand, larger than any they’d used before. A shiver of anticipation raced down his spine.

Slick fingers breached him, first one, then two, as Gabriel worked him open. Soon, the fingers withdrew, replaced by something impossibly large and blunt pressing against him.

gasped, shaking his head against the sheets. “Too much, it’s too-”

“You can take it.” Gabriel’s voice brooked no argument. “Take it for me, little bird.”

tried to relax, to bear down against the relentless pressure. The plug stretched him wider, wider, until he thought he might split apart. When the widest part finally breached him, he let out a broken sound, his ring clamping tight around the base as it settled deep inside.

“Mon précieux oiseau.” Gabriel’s hand stroked up his spine. “Such a good boy for me.”

Cool air hit his damp skin as Gabriel guided him upright. The movement shifted the plug inside him, pressing mercilessly against his prostate. His legs trembled. The soft leather around his wrists barely registered until Gabriel was already securing them to the metal loop above the bedpost.

thought them decorative, but now realized they had a purpose.

Gabriel’s foot knocked his ankles further apart. shivered, exposed and vulnerable, anticipation coiling tight in his belly. ’ skin heated as he shifted restlessly, his cock hard and dripping. Each small movement caused the plug to shift inside him, drawing desperate little sounds from his throat. His body craved friction, urging him to rut shamelessly against the post, but he resisted. Gabriel wouldn’t like that.

Gabriel’s footsteps returned. glanced over his shoulder, his breath catching at the sight of the whip. He recognized the deceptively simple design: a handle connected to a tightly rolled leather thong that tapered to a wickedly sharp point. The kind of toy that could deliver anything from a teasing sting to searing pain.

“You know this toy?” Gabriel asked.

“A dragon tail,” confirmed, voice steady despite his racing heart.

Gabriel’s fingers caught his chin. “Don’t worry, little bird. This is only the beginning.” Something in his tone made shiver.

nodded, trusting him completely.

Behind him, Gabriel fiddled with the base of the plug. Looking back, saw him attaching some kind of cord. Before he could ask, Gabriel held up a small remote.

The first pulse caught him completely off guard. “Fuck!” The sensation was unlike anything he’d experienced—waves of energy coursing through his most intimate muscles, making them contract and release in a rhythm he couldn’t fight. Each surge felt like being fucked from the inside, the current stimulating nerves he didn’t know he had. His cock jerked, leaking steadily now as another wave pulsed through him.

“Oh god,” he gasped, fingers curling around the restraints as his legs trembled. He could feel every millimeter of the plug now, the electricity making his muscles clench and release around it in waves that had him seeing stars.

The rhythmic pulses had so lost in sensation that the sharp sting across his shoulder caught him completely off guard. He jerked against the restraints, a gasp torn from his throat. The dragon tail’s bite was precise, each strike leaving fire in its wake as Gabriel worked methodically across his back.

Another strike. Another surge from inside. The dual sensations blurred together, pain and pleasure tangling until he couldn’t tell them apart. Gabriel kept increasing the intensity of the plug with each downward progression of the whip, until ’ entire world narrowed to the points of contact—the sharp sting of leather, the relentless pulses inside him, the mahogany of the posts warm against his forehead, sweat making his skin stick slightly to the polished wood.

By the time Gabriel reached the curve of his ass, was barely coherent. Tears streaked his face, his cock achingly hard and dripping. His legs had long since given out, leaving him sagging against the post, the leather cuffs biting into his wrists as they bore most of his weight.

Each strike now pulled broken sounds from his throat, his body weakly caught between trying to escape the sting and pressing back for more. The electricity pulsing through him had his muscles clenching rhythmically, every nerve ending singing with overwhelming sensation as he hung there, suspended between pleasure and pain.

“Please,” he sobbed, though he wasn’t sure what he was begging for.

The strikes suddenly stopped. floated in a haze of sensation, muscles trembling, face wet with tears. The first thing to penetrate the fog was Gabriel’s solid warmth behind him, taking his weight as gentle fingers released his wrists. slumped back against him, whimpering as the relentless pulses inside him continued at full intensity.

Gabriel guided him forward, draping him over the bed. The pulsing abruptly ceased, leaving him gasping. When Gabriel eased the plug free, moaned, overwhelmed by the sensation. His entire body felt electrified, every nerve ending singing.

Gabriel’s heat vanished. The absence left him shivering, hyperaware of the radiating sting across his back and thighs, until those strong hands returned, pulling him up the bed, flipping him onto his back. Each welt pressed against the cool sheets sent sparks of pleasure-pain racing through him. Through heavy-lidded eyes, he found Gabriel above him, naked and gleaming with sweat.

Gabriel positioned a pillow under ’ hips before draping his legs over his arms. When he finally pushed inside, ’ world narrowed to that single point of connection. Gabriel took him with ruthless thrusts, and came embarrassingly fast, shouting his release after only a few deep strokes. Gabriel’s dark chuckle tickled his ear.

“That’s one.”

groaned as Gabriel continued fucking him through the oversensitive pain. One leg dropped to the bed as Gabriel reached between them, skilled fingers coaxing his sensitive cock back to hardness. Without conscious thought, he grasped Gabriel’s wrist and brought it to his throat. Gabriel’s fingers tightened, cutting off his breath. ’ mind went blissfully blank as Gabriel continued his relentless pace.

His other leg dropped. A sharp crack across his cheek.

came apart again.

“That’s two. My turn.” Gabriel grunted, rhythm faltering, and felt him pulse deep inside, filling him with warmth.

“Mon précieux oiseau,” Gabriel murmured against his temple. “Si parfait pour moi.”

The French endearments washed over him like warm honey as darkness claimed him, Gabriel’s voice following him into unconsciousness.

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