4 - Raffles and His Little Bunny
Miles Bennet
"Let's not rush off too soon," Darren said as Miles changed into the leather pants and chest harness he'd brought to wear post-performance. "It was a very charged moment in there. We should make sure it was more than pure sexual tension. Establish some baseline compatibility."
Despite how the dom had clearly deferred to him, Miles nodded. There was far more to compatibility than the role one took in the bedroom or the lifestyle, of course. "Alright. I'd like that, too. I'll follow your lead?"
Darren nodded, claiming a kiss, before heading out with him, one hand warm and affectionate on the small of Miles's back.
The pair were waiting in the entry as he'd directed, looking much more put together. They were also still masked, but the masks didn't hide their eager excitement.
"Thank you for meeting us," Darren said, offering his hand to the dom. "You may call me Red, here, or Master Red. This is my husband and play partner, Muscles."
The dom grinned. "Appropriate."
Miles inclined his head with a smile. He might not have chosen the name himself - it seemed far too self-serving - but Darren had given it to him, and he couldn't deny that he adored it. "Pleased to meet you."
"We're very pleased to meet you," the dom replied. Up close, he was even prettier than Miles had realized, with startlingly green eyes and an infectious energy. "You can call me Raffles. This is my husband and partner, Bunny."
What the hell kind of a name was Raffles? Miles didn't quite manage to hold back a laugh of surprise. Fortunately, 'Raffles' was clearly used to this, or at least not offended, because he laughed.
"It's a ridiculous old British literature reference," he said, immediately putting on a pretty believable posh accent. "Don't worry, nobody else gets it. They're foils to Holmes and Watson but far more queer and - but enough about that. Would you like to go for coffee?"
He was holding hands with his sweet sub - Bunny, he'd called him - who had rubbed his Master's hand with his thumb as he rambled. The small social cue was barely noticeable but clearly kosher for them and appreciated. It intrigued Miles, and he was sure Darren must have noticed it.
"We would," Darren replied, letting go of Miles as he stepped closer to Raffles.
Darren's dominance was always at the forefront at these events, but now he drew himself up to shift from casual and friendly to formal command.
His broad-shouldered form became still and imposing, his voice lowering to a purr as he favored Raffles with the same lopsided smile that still never failed to knock Miles's pants off.
"First, we need to talk. While we were performing, I heard something about you wanting to come on my back, pretty Raffles? "
He was far more bold than Miles would have had the courage to be.
But then, Darren had always been exceptional at reading people.
Miles stared in awe as Raffles' entire countenance changed.
His lips parted to a soft gasp, body arching as if his knees had turned to liquid.
"Yes. Please forgive me my transgression, Sir," he breathed, and Darren's smile widened.
Darren's... and Bunny's, whose blue eyes shone behind his cute glasses with unfettered happiness as he watched his husband.
"Perhaps I will let you earn that forgiveness," Darren decided, which made the man shiver visibly.
"But for tonight, understand that we're not interested in sex.
Playtime, possibly. Tomorrow, possibly. If we stay, and if we like what we see.
I want to be up front with you: we're not interested in a passing fancy.
I need willing submissives that my husband and I can offer personal, dedicated command to now and in the future.
I won't waste my time with someone who isn't at least willing to test our compatibility to that end.
Is that something you might be interested in? "
Bunny clutched his Master's hand tightly, faintly vibrating with silent excitement. Raffles's answer was thick with unexpected relief. "Yes, Sir. Very much. Oh god, please."
Darren glanced at Miles in silent query, and Miles didn't hesitate with his nod of approval. He could tell how engaging Darren found this beauty, so much so that he would have agreed just to see it play out. But the promise of getting to know the quiet man at his side was even more enthralling.
"Good. Let's take a walk in the garden, then, you and I." Darren made a small motion towards the backyard. "If you would trust my husband to take care of your sweet Bunny in the meantime?"
"Of course." Raffles straightened and squeezed his husband's hand. "Stay with Master Muscles and wait for me, my darling. Please serve him as he wishes."
"Gladly, Sir. Thank you," Bunny murmured, his voice throaty in a way Miles hadn't expected from the smaller man. Then he cast Miles a shy, eager smile, and something inside Miles melted even more.
Raffles bowed his head to Miles again, the same deferral he'd offered Miles after their performance.
"Then I trust my most precious devotee with you, Sir.
You may use his tie as a leash if you wish, but I don't find it necessary.
He is exceptionally obedient and a very, very good sub. Please keep him safe."
Heart pounding, adrenaline and anticipation spiked through him in tandem. Miles forced himself to breathe and nodded. "I'll protect him with my life," he said, because the words felt warm and right. "Thank you for the gracious gift."
"We'll come find you," Darren told him with a smile and a wink, then steered Raffles towards the kitchen and the doors to the outside.
Alone, Bunny turned his eyes up to Miles.
There was still a nervous tension in his form that reminded him of the animal his Master had named him after.
Miles offered a hand to him with palm outstretched, drawing a soft breath as Bunny placed his own into it without hesitation.
The simplest touch was like a live wire between them, and he had to focus to speak.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Bunny. You may speak freely but respectfully while we are together.
I'd very much like to get to know you better. "
"Thank you, Sir." Bunny lowered his eyes briefly, unmistakably pleased. His mask did nothing to hide the flush that colored his cheeks. "I'd like that, too. May I get you something to eat or drink?"
Were his words carefully chosen? Miles appreciated it regardless. "I would. I don't drink, but you may if you wish. Come with me to the kitchen. I'd like an orange juice after that suspension, and any light finger food you care to bring me."
"Yes, Sir." Bunny followed, not making any attempt to pull his hand from Miles's grasp as they moved past various social groups clustered in the kitchen.
Then he turned, nodding towards an alcove at the end.
A breakfast nook with the table removed, the banquet seat attended by two small side tables, an ottoman, and a neat pile of floor cushions.
"Would it please Sir to wait for me in comfort and hold a place for us to sit? "
"It would. Thank you." He sat, watching the man move about the kitchen and trying to think past the thrumming of his heartbeat against his ears.
He needed to be calm and responsible. If he were Darren, surely he'd start with at least a casual kink interview.
But it was nearly impossible to think about anything but how badly he ached to touch this man again.
When Darren had told him that he had a type, Miles wasn't sure if he believed it. He'd barely considered men before Darren, and everything about Darren was unimaginably sexy. But with Bunny, it was impossible to deny that there must be things that did it for him after all.
The thrumming energy of want was even stronger than he'd felt for the young man at Folsom, perhaps because of what Miles already knew of this man.
His looks very much left Miles wanting to rumple him, and that soft-yet-rumbly voice was enthralling.
Bunny's dedication to his Master was beautiful, and Miles suspected he was intuitive enough to be adjusting his approach to each of them based on what he could see.
He stole glances at Miles to check in as he moved past kitchen counters laden with food and drink options, then joined him with two glasses in hand and a plate balanced expertly on his arm like a waiter. "Sir."
Miles bit back a habitual invitation for the man to make himself comfortable. He was meant to be in charge. "Thank you, Bunny. Put those on that small table and bring it closer, please. Would you like to kneel at my feet? You may also choose the ottoman if you wish."
Bunny smiled as he did as he was asked, his soft, throaty voice warm with pleasure. "I would very much like to kneel at your feet, Sir. Thank you for offering."
"Good. Use a cushion." Miles resisted the urge to reach out and touch him, taking a glass and sipping the orange juice.
The man's blond hair was neatly gelled in place, and despite not wishing to mess it up, it was hard not to want to stroke his fingers through it.
"How old are you, Bunny? If asking is not a hard limit for you. "
The man set the cushion down at his feet, settling gracefully. He knelt in beautiful form, close enough that heat radiated from his body. Taking a sip of his drink, Bunny offered the plate to him on both outstretched hands, elegant in his service. "It is not. I'm thirty-three, Sir."
Only a few years younger than him, Miles noted in relief, and a few more years younger than Darren. He took a piece of pineapple from the plate, resisting the urge to press it to Bunny's rosebud lips just for an excuse to touch them. "Have you been part of the lifestyle for long?"
"On and off, Sir," Bunny replied after consideration.
"Not as often when I've been single. With a Master, frequently.
With Master Raffles, we've only had the opportunity for some light exploration with others, I'm afraid.
" He glanced towards the windows to the backyard as if to check up on his Master, though there was no immediate sign of them.
"Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Sir.
It's very kind of you and your..." he hesitated in a brief but intentional pause. "Master?"
"He is, yes."
"And you play like this, too, Sir?"
Miles paused, taking stock of his own answer.
It would be easy and safe to hold his cards close to his chest...
but he didn't want to. This man intrigued him and made him yearn to determine their compatibility.
"We have, though our goal has always been for something more than a party.
Master Red..." Miles replayed the memories of their first meeting and everything that had come from that incredible journey.
"He helped me understand surrender, and how healing it could be to form that kind of bond with another person.
Now that I've experienced it, I'd like to give the same gift to someone new.
With my husband as my mentor, of course. "
Bunny took in his words with fascination in his gaze, as if examining and cataloging them.
That was very different from the young man at Folsom, along with his quiet confidence in submissiveness.
It drew Miles to him. There was something comfortingly familiar about the awe and respect with which Bunny watched him.
Perhaps Miles had seen other submissives do the same...
or perhaps it was something enthrallingly unique only to him.
"I'm glad to hear that, Sir," he said finally. He shifted on the cushion, barely discernible, but close enough that his knee pressed against Miles's foot. It reawakened the coil of heat in the pit of Miles's stomach that he was trying very hard to bank down.
"If you'll forgive me for being so bold," Tristan murmured, holding his gaze, "I would very much like to experience that. And I would like my husband to experience that."
~~~