Chapter Seven #2
Ellery reached into his pocket and took out a length of thick silver chain. There was a little padlock on one end of it, complete with a key. Ellery held it up for Kefir’s inspection.
“It’s a collar, sir,” Kefir said, keen to show off his newfound knowledge.
“Yes, it is.”
Kefir nodded. Collars were important. Wearing Ellery’s collar would mean that he belonged to Ellery.
It would mean that he was Ellery’s submissive and that Ellery was his master. Which, Kefir was pretty sure, would have to mean that a little part of Ellery belonged to him, just as much as he belonged to Ellery.
“Yes, sir.”
“Wait until you’re asked before you answer.” Ellery sounded very serious.
Kefir closed his mouth and waited as patiently as he could for his master to speak up and ask.
“This is what you want?” Ellery finally said.
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ll need my permission before you’ll be allowed to take it off.”
“And the key, sir,” Kefir pointed out, eager to be helpful.
Ellery smiled. “Yes. You’d need the key, too.”
Kefir nodded. “Yes, sir.” It seemed worth saying twice—worth saying over and over again until Ellery finally gave in and locked it around his throat.
Hands strong and steady, Ellery reached out and wrapped the chain around Kefir’s neck without another word.
It felt surprisingly heavy as it settled against his skin, solid and wonderful, almost as if Ellery had a permanent grip on him. Lifting a hand, Kefir ran his fingers over the metal links.
A decisive click and the padlock locked in place. Ellery looked very pleased with the sight.
“Stunning.”
Tilting his head on the side, Kefir looked up at Ellery. “Thank you, sir.”
The key was quickly added to a bundle of other keys that Ellery pushed into the pocket of his jeans. Ellery held out his hand and pulled Kefir up onto his feet as he stood up. “We’ve kept our hosts waiting long enough.” He turned them both toward the door.
A moment later, his hand connected sharply with Kefir’s backside, hurrying him out of the room when Kefir tried to linger long enough to admire the chain in the mirror.
His master’s hand falling against his arse like that was… Kefir slowed down again as he tried to work out exactly how it had felt.
In a very strange way, it had felt…good? Just like it did when the other man took a strong hold on him. He’d felt the strength in Ellery, and he’d felt the care Ellery had taken with him, too.
Heat radiated out from the point of contact, too. A fair amount of it rushed to Kefir cock. No one had mentioned that on the website either.
Ellery’s eyes sparkled when Kefir met his gaze over his shoulder. “Go on. Dawdling won’t get you another one.”
As Ellery left the room and Kefir hurried to keep up, he couldn’t help but wonder what would earn him a repeat performance.
Long before he was ready to have to share Ellery with other people, Kefir found himself in the dining room. Arslan and Ryland had obviously got bored waiting for them. They were already sitting down, eating.
Both men looked up as they arrived. Arslan appeared serious and disapproving in equal measure, Ryland more like he was trying to appear serious and was failing miserably.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, but it’s chicken casserole,” Ryland told Ellery, as Ellery took his seat.
“It smells wonderful,” Ellery said.
Kefir slipped into his seat next to Ellery, well aware that neither Arslan nor Ryland had failed to notice the chain around his neck. When Kefir looked up from his food a few moments later, he saw Arslan staring intently at it.
Kefir’s pulse kicked up a notch as, for the first time, it occurred to him to wonder what Arslan might think of the collar.
And what the other lions would think of him?
More importantly, what would they think of Ellery for giving it to him?
Had he painted a target on his pet’s—on his master’s—back by accepting it?
“You’re very quiet, Kefir,” Arslan said, eventually. “How is your work on the family lines progressing?”
Arslan had asked him about the project dozens of times since his hobby had become his job, but never in that tone of voice. Today, he seemed to be asking him about everything except the topic he’d actually raised.
“It’s going well.” Kefir looked down, for a moment. “I didn’t get as much done as I expected today.”
“Oh?”
“I got a bit distracted,” Kefir admitted. When he looked up from his plate, everyone was staring at him with entirely different expressions on their faces.
Ellery broke the moment by reaching for the jug of water in the centre of the table. Kefir glanced at Ellery’s empty glass and sprung up to grab the jug before Ellery had the chance.
Ellery blinked at him as if he thought he’d lost his mind.
“I’ll do that, sir,” Kefir rushed out, eager to demonstrate what he’d learned about service. He poured the water and sat back down.
“Thank you.”
Kefir smiled slightly to himself. And, from then on, the dinner conversation, such as it was, went on around him, without seeming to need a great deal of contribution from him.
He sat contentedly at the table as Ellery and Arslan spoke to each other, none of their words seeming to match up to any of the meanings that constantly swirled beneath the surface.
When Ellery moved to stand at the end of the meal, Kefir jumped up to pull his chair back for him. Ellery made no comment on the service, but he rested his hand on the small of Kefir’s back for a moment as he moved past him toward the door. It felt like praise.
When Ryland started to clear the table. Kefir joined him at the task and earned a little smile from Ellery in the process. He smiled back, rather pleased with his day’s work, even if he hadn’t managed to find out where the hell Arslan’s cousin had disappeared to when he came of age.