A Strong Hand

Prologue
    At the sound of the crash, Damian rolled his eyes heavenward and wondered for the hundredth time whatever had possessed him to hire such a clumsy, surly, irritable, annoying, immature, and inexperienced assistant.
    Taking a deep breath to quell his irritation, he raised his voice to ask, "Are you all right, Nicholas?"
    "Yeah," came the muffled reply. Even at a distance Damian could tell that the boy was frustrated and angry.
    "What was it this time?" he asked.
    Ashley's eyes crinkled in silent laughter as he sat, perched on the stool, where he'd been watching as Damian set up the shot.
    "Nothing breakable," came the defensive answer.
    "Have it cleaned up by the time I get out there," Damian instructed, before muttering, "to save me from having a heart attack."
    The response was indecipherable, but the resentful tone was clear.
    "Why do I put up with this?" Damian sighed to himself.
    "Why do you?" Ashley asked, chuckling. He was quite sure he knew the answer; after all, the hapless assistant was by far the most beautiful young man that Damian had ever hired. They never seemed to last long, but Ashley was certain that all of them had "skills" outside the arena of photography.
    5

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    "He was better than the rest of the lot that applied after Derek left," Damian grumbled, his gaze fixed on the viewfinder of his camera.
    Today's shot was just a still life, but it still took Ashley's breath away. There was no better photographer at work in London today; Damian Wolfe could make the simplest object compelling and exquisite.
    It had taken forever, and all the weight of a long friendship, for Ashley to convince Damian to shoot his catalog. Although Damian was American by citizenship, with a French father and Italian mother he was fairly cosmopolitan; he and his parents had lived all over the world before he finally settled in America as an adult. After a case in which his work had been taken to the Supreme Court in America as an example of indecency but was vindicated as freedom of expression, Damian had found it more comfortable to work in Europe.
    He was fond of saying that although the Supreme Court was on his side, the U.S. was simply too young a country to appreciate erotica. They preferred sentimentality to beauty.
    Treacly calendars with ivy-covered cottages and flowers in vases, or even worse, babies in animal costumes were all that some Americans deserved in Damian's opinion.
    He was welcomed to the London art scene with open arms, the much-publicized court case having made him an instant celebrity. Although he disdained the renown, he did appreciate the fact that it brought his work to the attention of collectors such as Ashley.
    6

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Working almost exclusively in the area of his own personal interest, Damian created beautiful male erotica; he could photograph a nude with all the delicacy of a rare orchid, and yet use the same model to produce a shot of graphic sexual power, so raw that it raised disturbing doubts in the minds of men who had never considered another man's body as sexually arousing.
    Of course, that just amused Damian to no end.
    Ashley Winthrop was an entrepreneur in high-end erotic toys and a noted patron of the arts; he was also a connoisseur when it came to erotica. He had already purchased several of Damian Wolfe's pieces before he had finagled his way into meeting the artist at a gallery opening.
    Recognizing their similar interests, they soon became friends. Ashley wasn't shy about badgering Damian to shoot several of the items he offered for sale, and when he'd seen the results, he continued to pressure the artist until he'd agreed to photograph the entire catalog.
    Already, Ashley knew that this catalog was destined to become a collector's item. Taking an ordinary item such as handcuffs, Damian had created a simple but elegant set and lit the cuffs so that the metal dazzled with a seductive promise that Ashley knew no submissive would be able to resist. He could hardly wait to see what Damian could do with a whip.
    Damian moved forward to adjust the angle of one of the cuffs, donning a pair of sleek black leather gloves to ensure that he transferred neither fingerprints nor dust to the highly reflective surface.
    7

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Ashley's groin tightened as he watched the sure, graceful hands stroke the metal. The first time Damian had picked up a crop in Ashley's office, running the braided leather absently