Chapter 19
19
C hris headed into the bar, knowing he was going to beat his Master by a couple of minutes. He waved to the guys behind the bar, going to settle in one of the leather-backed barstools. “Hey, y’all.”
“Hey, Chris. What are you having? Guinness? Or are you waiting for Leo?”
“I’ll wait, I think.” It was a tiny gesture, but Chris knew it would please Leo, and that made all the difference.
“Sounds good.”
He got a bowl of mini-pretzels, though, and a cocktail napkin.
“Look who it is! It’s Chris the conman. Lying, cheating Chrissy-boy.” Conman, liar, cheat… all things in those awful texts. Edward sauntered his way over like a pirate with slow, wide steps, and too much attitude. Of course he would be here.
“What is your fucking problem, man?” Chris didn’t get it. Zack had been the one to break things off. He was happy now. Leo was everything he’d ever needed. “Move on.”
“You’re just too easy a target, I guess. Low-hanging fruit.”
He rolled his eyes and turned back to the bar, ignoring the little fucker. He didn’t get it, and he wasn’t a sensitive flower. He didn’t want the texts, but he didn’t want to?—
Disappoint Leo.
—deal with this.
Leo, who was bigger than both of them put together, appeared suddenly at his side. “Boy.” The word left Leo’s lips like a curse. “Where is your Master?”
Chris damn near blurted out with, “Right here” before he thought.
Edward’s eyes went wide, and he backed up a step. “He’s coming! I’ve called him.”
Leo stared down at Edward. “You may go.”
Edward kept backing away, but much more quickly.
“Sorry I’m late,” Leo said much more softly and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“No worries. I’m glad to see you, Sir. Can I have a kiss?”
“Mhm.” Leo caught his chin and kissed him without a second’s hesitation, and a little like they hadn’t seen each other in a week.
Oh.
Oh, okay.
That melted him down to the bone.
Leo ended the kiss with a smile. “Making up for being late.”
“You did a good job of that…” He blinked a little bit, totally focused on Leo’s grin. “You want a beer, Sir? I wasn’t sure what we were doing, so I waited.”
“Yes. Are you hungry? Should we grab a booth?”
“Sounds good. Menu or do you want a steak sandwich?” Those were Leo’s favorites.
“I always look at the menu, and I always order the same thing.” Leo lifted him off his stool and set him on his feet. “You pick the booth.”
“Yes, Sir. My pleas?—”
He blinked as he came face-to-face with his former fuckbuddy, Zack. Well, damn.
“—ure.”
“Christopher.” Zack’s rich voice vibrated through him. “Are you causing trouble again?”
Chris straightened up, but Leo was right behind him. Right there, like his own personal source of strength. “Have you met my Master? Dr. Aetos?”
Okay, that was fucking fun.
“Doctor. How fancy. Leo, right? Can I call you Leo? I heard you liked animals, Leo. That explains a lot.”
One second, his Master was at his back, and the next, Leo was between them. Leo towered over Zack the way he towered over almost everyone. “It’s time to call off your feral sub, Zack . I’ve had enough.”
“Easy, Dr. Hulk.”
He leaned around Leo wincing at the way Zack was grinning at his Master.
He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Not even close.
Not until Alain and Milo came over to him. “Want to come to see Master Les’s office, Chris?”
“I—” No, but… But he belonged here. Someone had his back. “Sure. I can do that. Master?”
Leo looked at him, gave him a short nod. “Go ahead with your friends, boy. I’ll come find you soon.”
“Aw.” Zack snorted. “Running away with his little friends? He was always so pathetic.”
He heard Leo’s feet move, but Milo and Alain rushed him off before he could see what was going on.
“I should?—”
“Come with us, cher. Please. This ain’t ours. This is not for us. You make him real proud.”
Master Les and Master Neil rushed right past them, headed toward Leo as he was pulled away.
“See, honey? They handle this stuff. We get to look at all the cool pictures in Master’s office. Did you know Master Les spent a whole month in Paris?”
“Did he? I’ve never been overseas…” He sighed as the door closed. “I hate that we’re leaving him out there.”
Milo rolled his eyes. “You hate that he’s out there with Master Les and Master Neil? I think they’ve got it handled.”
Alain laughed and sat him in a chair. “They don’t need help.”
“Right. More important, they wouldn’t thank me for it.”
Milo patted his knee. “You are learning! This is their job. Ours is to let them do it. It’s important.”
Chris leaned into Alain. “I don’t get it. Why are they so mad at me?”
“Who the fuck knows why crazy peoples is crazy, cher? Some shit is beyond knowing, eh?”
The office door burst open, and Leo stood there a second, filling up the whole doorway. “Can we have the room, please?”
Leo looked like the top of his head was going to pop off. Even his beard looked pissed off.
Chris stood, going right to his Master. He wasn’t worried for himself—he’d done nothing wrong. Nothing—but he was worried about Leo.
Leo pulled him right in. “You boys just wait outside, please.”
“Yes, Sir!” Milo and Alain slipped right around them and out the door, which they closed behind them.
It was quiet for a minute. Leo just held him tight, taking deep breaths that slowed and calmed the longer they stood there.
“Les and Neil—they’re talking with Zack and Edward.”
“All right. Are you okay? How can I help you?” How could he make it better? How could he lift Leo up?
Leo just shook his head. “I thought I knew myself so well.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Well, you’ve never had me before.” Right?
“That’s right. That’s what’s different, and I know that, but—” Leo shrugged loosening his grip with a sigh. “I didn’t know I had… that in me. I wanted to—well. Les rightly told me go cool off.”
“Okay. Good for you, Sir. You want to come sit?” He would so sit in Leo’s lap.
“Sure. Sure.” Leo followed his lead and sat on Master Les’s leather couch. “I guess I’m the possessive type?” Leo snorted. “Who knew?”
“Me.” He went and sat right in Leo’s lap, snuggling in. “I’m your boy. Your sub. Yours.”
“Of course you did. And of course you are. Zack just got right under my skin. I didn’t have words. Just… I don’t even know. I needed to get between him and you.”
“You did. I needed that too. I knew you had me, and that I didn’t have to worry.” He’d known.
“So, you felt safe,” Leo said quietly. It didn’t seem like a question.
“I did. You had me, no question.” And he hadn’t doubted it.
Leo nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay, that’s good. That’s what matters to me.”
Chris kept touching—petting and gentling Leo down from what was driving him crazy. He didn’t get it, but he didn’t have to, did he?
“I’m a big guy, and I’ve always understood what that means. I’ve worked to keep my temper, to not get angry, to stay in control. And I almost—wow. I wanted to, but I didn’t. I would have flattened that asshole though. He knew it, and I knew it.”
“The whole point is that you didn’t, right?” It would have been pretty fun to watch…
“That is the point.” Leo cleared his throat. “Well, that and that Zack knew he was toast if I did it. He can thank Les. I might have come to my senses. I probably would have. But Zack will never know one way or the other.”
“A little fear won’t hurt him.” Was that evil? Probably. Chris didn’t mind one bit.
That made his Master smile. “Between you and me, boy, I’m not sorry about that.”
“Yes, Sir.” He rested their foreheads together. “I love you.”
“I love you. I sometimes wonder how I existed before I met you.”
There was a light knock on the door, and Master Les poked his head in. “They’re gone, and you won’t hear from them again.”
“Thank you, Les. We appreciate that.”
“When you’re ready, your booth is open, and your dinner is on me.” Les ducked right back out again and closed the door.
“Aww. That’s sweet, huh?” He got his fingers on Leo’s delts and started rubbing hard, looking to ease the tension there.
“We have good friends.” Leo sighed and rolled his head, stretching into his fingers. “We had a better evening planned. Should we get on with it?”
“We should. We’ve had enough stress. Let’s go eat.” He winked, trying for naughty. “I’ll let you feed me.”
“I’ll feed you dessert later, boy.” Leo’s voice was gravelly, and he got a playful wink.
“Mmm… sounds yummy, Sir.” He licked his lips. He knew Leo was stressed, and this was the best thing he knew to help.
“Uh-huh.” That smile told him Leo was feeling better though. “Let’s go have our date.”