A Strong Hand

he was surprised that Damian couldn't hear it. The thought of Damian owning a shot of him, naked and restrained to a bar, made his cock twitch, and he wasn't even gay! Was he? No, Nick thought resolutely, he wasn't and he wasn't going to be converted. He was just helping his employer. Nothing more.
    His heart slowed when nothing more happened and the lights didn't flash again. It was quiet so long, he wanted to 20

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    turn around again and see what Damian was up to, and he was just about to when he felt something chilly at his ankle.
    "Wh—what's that?" Nick asked nervously, flinching as he felt cold metal close around his ankle.
    Without answering him, Damian pushed his legs apart with his foot. Nick suddenly felt very vulnerable and exposed, his cock swelling but not hard yet, his balls dangling where he was sure Damian could see them. Hell, Damian could probably see everything that was to be seen about his arse!
    Nick jumped when Damian spread his legs even further and a cold cuff was clamped about his other ankle. When the strong hands released him, Nick tried to move his legs together but found he couldn't.
    "No need to worry; it's just a spreader," Damian said in a very pleased tone of voice. "Excellent. You were born to wear one. You look great in it."
    Faint sounds told Nick that Damian had retreated behind the camera once more. It made him feel a tiny bit safer, but not safe enough. Trussed the way he was, he could barely move. Nick had never been able to please Damian before and hearing approval in his employer's voice was ... heady. On the other hand, he had also never had his legs held apart and trapped before, and it was disturbing. He was just trying to calculate whether he could manage to get to his feet with the spreaders on when the lights flashed, practically blinding him because he wasn't ready.
    "You could warn a person!" Nick yelled with an energy that surprised even him.
    "Sorry," came the distracted reply.
    21

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Somehow Nick knew that Damian wasn't going to remember to warn him the next time either. He squirmed uncomfortably; wearing these restraints somehow made him feel more naked than when he'd just taken off his clothing.
    He wondered how long Damian—
    The lights blinded him again, but he didn't say anything this time.
    "Stick your ass out a little. No, back, toward me. More. No, too far, go back to where you were. Okay, back it up again.
    There! Hold it right like that!"
    The lights flashed in quick succession, and Nick's hip twinged. He hoped he'd be able to hold the pose as long as Damian wanted without his back cramping up.
    "What's the scar from?"
    "Oh, sorry," Nick muttered. "Uh, an accident. Had to have an operation."
    "It's beautiful," Damian responded.
    Nick was outraged; how dare Damian say that? He knew it was ugly, and it sure as hell hadn't been beautiful acquiring it. "Har fucking har," he retorted sarcastically.
    "Shut up," Damian said, in his dreamy, crazy-artist voice.
    Nick shut up accordingly. He knew Damian wouldn't hear whatever he had to say anyway. His arms were falling asleep as the blood drained from them.
    "Okay, straighten up a bit. Now turn your head to the left slightly. Oh, very good, you remembered which way left is. I want the light to just catch the edge of your cheekbone and the line of your jaw. Right there. Hold it."
    22

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Again, the flurry of lights. By now Nick knew to close his eyes, seeing as Damian wasn't shooting his face anyway.
    When the sequence of flashing lights ended, he pulled on his arms to stretch his back, trying to ease the building tension in his shoulders.
    "Will you stop wiggling around? Just stay where I put you until I say you can move," Damian demanded irritably, striding forward and pushing Nicholas back into position. "Do as you're told, boy."
    "Yes, sir !" Nick hissed angrily.
    "And stop talking, or I'll swat you," Damian instructed.
    Nick froze into position, except for his cock, which rose in a slow steady swell of blood. The heat pooled at his groin made him fidgety but he didn't want to know whether Damian was serious about his threat. He sounded as if he would do it.
    Nick jumped as he felt warm hands land on his hips.
    Something brushed across his arse and he yelped, even though it hadn't hurt at all.
    "Stay still, dammit!"
    Fuck, Nick thought, he sounds serious. He concentrated on keeping his body positioned exactly as Damian had left