A Strong Hand

it. "It wouldn't have been good for Wyatt anyway to be known as my son. My work was beginning to attract attention and I never wanted to subject him to the kind of publicity that goes along with being sexually 233

    A Strong Hand
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    controversial. That kind of attention can be unhealthy for a kid. That's why I changed my name also."
    "Damian isn't your real name?"
    "Neither is Wolfe. I thought it gave me an aura of menace." Damian laughed, sounding anything but menacing.
    "So what's your real name, then?"
    Damian groaned. "Thomas Reynaud."
    "I like that," Nick said thoughtfully.
    "Doesn't pack quite the punch as Damian Wolfe, though."
    "No, but it's nice. And your son's name?"
    "Wyatt Reynaud," Damian said, his voice softening. He held out his arm so that Nick could see the initials W.R.
    tattooed on the inside of his wrist. "He's a great kid. Very creative, very sweet."
    "You must miss him."
    "I do. I go to the states at least once a month, or he comes here. Right before I hired you, he'd been with me for several months while his mother was doing circuit races."
    Damian got up and brought a framed photo back to Nick.
    "That's him."
    Nick chuckled as he took in the typical school portrait against a blue backdrop, having expected something a little more artsy from the famed photographer. "He's a cute kid."
    "He's great." Damian took the picture back and stared at it as if he could feel his son's presence through the medium of the photograph. "I've been meaning to take some shots of him myself."
    "I bet his mum would like that," Nick offered. "A chance to see her son through your eyes."
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    "Yeah, I bet she would." Damian set the photograph back on the bookshelf, surprised at Nick's insight.
    "Does she...? How do you two—" Nick paused, unsure of how to phrase his question.
    "She was amazingly great about it and we're still friends.
    Turns out, she'd already fallen in love with someone else so she had it easier than me. I had to adjust to a whole new way of thinking of myself. A gay man."
    "Who likes to spank people."
    "Not people. Men." Damian gave Nick a wicked grin. "After working out that I was gay, the spanking part was easy."
    "Easy for you," Nick grumbled, rubbing his arse.
    "Come here. I can help with that." Damian drew Nick to lie face down over his lap and pushed his pajama bottoms down.
    "You're not going to spank me again, are you?"
    "Of course not. I'm just putting some gel on it." Damian reached for the tube and asked, "What are you going to do when you graduate?"
    "I would like to continue to work for you, if you'll have me," Nick said tentatively. "I have to have some kind of job.
    And maybe find some studio space. It costs a lot to have your own kiln, so maybe I could share with someone."
    "Can I see some of your work?" Damian asked, guilty that he'd never thought of asking before.
    "Are you really interested or are you just asking because we're ... fucking?" Nick asked, blushing. "I'm not in your league at all. I'm just a student."
    "I'd like to see your work. I already like your aesthetic, and I think you have good instincts," Damian said. He decided 235

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    that from now on, he would do what he could to ease Nick's path, feeling a little guilty that in his desire to bed the boy, he'd forgotten to take any interest in the rest of his life.
    Nick was a good sub, but he was also a complex, interesting, and creative man. If he were talented as well, Damian would do what he could to help him; it was difficult enough to find one's path as an artist, particularly if one wished to earn a living that way.
    "How do you know?" Nick asked suspiciously.
    "The things you react to in my work. The suggestions you've made, problems you've solved for me," Damian explained. "Art is subjective. If it speaks to only one person, then it's a success."
    "I don't know much about art but I know what I like," Nick quoted sarcastically.
    "Yes," Damian said seriously. "In this case it's true. That's all it takes for a piece to be a success. I'm doing what I love, and I've been lucky enough to find other people who love my work and want to look at it every day so they buy it."
    "So it's just doing what you love?" Nick asked, twisting onto his side to look up at his lover. He raised his hand to stroke the stubble on Damian's jaw.
    "If you don't love what you do, you'll just be miserable, so why do it?"
    "I think that's a trick question. I'll have to work on