A Strong Hand

far still the more powerful, and he could force Ashley to submit if he made him angry.
    "I didn't do anything."
    "You called him pet. You don't call boys 'pet'; you were fishing. Stop it. I won't have him scared or embarrassed,"
    Damian said firmly but quietly. "If you do that again, I won't shoot your catalog."
    Ashley squirmed but he knew Damian was right, and he honestly liked Nick. He didn't really want to humiliate or hurt him. Besides, all that could safely be left to Damian if he was already taking Nick in hand.
    "Just tell me this: are you claiming him?" Ashley asked seriously.
    Damian drew in a huge breath. "Yes," he said, realizing he was committing himself.
    "Good," Ashley said. "I really don't want to see him get hurt. Well, you know what I mean."
    "I know," Damian said with a slight smile.
    Ashley smiled in relief. "I won't tease your boy, but you are fair game."
    "Just not when he's around. Deal?"
    "Deal."
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    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Nick emerged from the bathroom, the light reflecting off the tight leather pants creating a burnished gleam on his thighs as he walked. He looked at Damian. "Is this okay?"
    "Very okay," Damian answered, catching his breath. "Ever handle a cane before?"
    "No, I've never touched one," Nick said, stretching his hand out to touch it with anxious fascination.
    "Look here, Nicholas, I need you to hold this cane and be standing here in the shot," Ashley said. "I want it to look like you've just laid these stripes on Markie's arse and you're giving him a right hiding."
    Nick took the cane awkwardly, handling it as if it were a snake that might bite him.
    "Nicholas!" Damian said. "You're supposed to look as if you're a Dom, so straighten up and think about the power you wield over this man who is bigger than you, but is bent over begging for you to punish him. It's like acting. You don't have to actually hit him. In fact, I'm quite sure that everyone here would vastly prefer that you didn't. Just pretend he's made you angry or betrayed you, and you're quite justified in punishing him."
    "I'll do my best." Nick dragged in a deep breath and took up a commanding stance. When Ashley had showed him how to hold the cane, he said, "I'm ready."
    Damian snapped some shots, but he wasn't satisfied. He was shooting digital, instead of Polaroids, trying to get his idea to work, but something wasn't gelling. Ashley remained silent. He would have been satisfied with the first shot, but he respected Damian's expertise. That's why he collected 79

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Damian's work: when it was right, it wasn't merely a beautiful picture; the image sent a visceral charge through viewers, and that intensity was what Ashley was after for this catalog.
    "This isn't working," Damian said. He was scowling at the monitor.
    "Can I see it?" Nick said.
    "Sure, knock yourself out," Damian said in surprise. Nick rarely spoke up like that during a shoot and he wondered if their little encounter had made him feel a bit more sure of himself.
    Nick walked to the monitor, and Damian growled softly as he noticed Markie watching the roll of his buttocks in the tight leather pants, although the young man was completely oblivious of both he and Ashley.
    "So what do you think?" Damian asked when Nick had studied the image.
    "Well, if you don't mind my saying so.... "Nick hesitated.
    "I wouldn't have asked if I did," Damian said sardonically.
    "I think it would be more effective if I weren't in it, for a start. I'm wearing what he is, practically. I think you should use Ashley's arm, dressed as he is, but only show his hand, holding the cane. And if you put a rim light there," Nick pointed, "it would highlight Markie's, um, ars—uh, backside, uh—"
    "His ass. We get it. Go on," Damian interrupted as Nick floundered around, flustered for a moment.
    "It would provide separation from the shadows in the background," Nick finished.
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    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Damian studied the frame and turned to look at the set.
    "I'd have to cut a hole in the backdrop."
    "Not if you had a small slave," Nick pointed out.
    Ashley was looking back and forth between them as if at a tennis match, his mouth hanging open, but at that comment, he burst into laughter. "Would that small slave be you, Nicholas?"
    Nick flushed angrily, but Damian ignored the interjection.
    "That's exactly what this needs. Nick, you know where I keep the small lights?"
    Nick nodded, already moving. He thrust the cane into Ashley's hand as he