A Strong Hand

to play with me. How could he trust—"
    "Only one way to find out," Ashley said robustly. "And you're the Top. He's a sub, granted, but he's so new to this, he doesn't know yet how to act out to get what he wants.
    You've got to take the lead on this. It's up to you to make it right."
    "But I could have hurt him."
    Ashley's expression softened and he put an arm around Damian. "You could have, but you didn't. You controlled yourself enough to pull back before you did any damage."
    "I've never fucked up this much with a sub before. I don't know why he affects me this way," Damian mumbled.
    "Don't you?"
    "Do you? "
    "You love him." Ashley sniggered at the look of stark terror that crossed Damian's face. "Didn't you know?"
    "How the fuck do you know when I'm not even sure?"
    Ashley took a moment to weigh his response. "You've heard the expression, you only hurt the one you love?"
    Damian nodded, looking away from Ashley's piercing gaze.
    "When you love someone, you give them power over you.
    You've been in control for so many years, simply by keeping your heart locked away, that now you don't know what to do with yourself. Does Nick love you?"
    "I haven't dared to ask. He may think he does now,"
    Damian said in a troubled tone. "But he's too young. He doesn't know—"
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    Ashley rolled his eyes in exasperation. "He's old enough to recognize a good man when he sees one. Granted, you're a good-looking fellow, but he's smart enough to see past that to the real qualities that make a man. And being a Dom in this lifestyle, if you're a good one, and you are, one becomes very attuned to the other person. With your ability to read a sub's response, you lessen the chance that you'll grow apart in time."
    "How do you know all this?" Damian sounded as if he only needed to be convinced.
    "If Nick had any kind of self-destructive tendencies, he would have chosen me over you." Ashley laughed. "I'm a handsome devil, and a snappy Top, but I wouldn't be good for him."
    "You think I'm good for him?"
    Although Ashley wouldn't show it, his heart was wrung by his friend's need for reassurance. "You two were made for each other. Now if only you could get your heads out of the sand."
    "You think I should say—"
    "Go slow. Let it develop." Ashley laughed at his little photography joke, even though Damian didn't seem to notice.
    "Don't just dump him off at his flat. Give him an invitation to play. I assure you, he'll leap at the chance."
    "Thanks, Ash."
    It was all Damian said, but Ashley felt well repaid as he saw the renewed confidence in Damian's step. He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. "Ashley Winthrop, purveyor of 271

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    kinky toys and a surefire cure for Top Drop. I really must have a new card made."
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Chapter Fifteen
    That night after Damian finished some pick-up shots for the catalog, Nick was expecting nothing to happen between them, nothing more than some instruction for the next day when the older man called him to his office.
    Damian was sitting behind his desk, stroking the polished surface of a wooden paddle with his slender fingers, a wicked smile on his face.
    "Strip!"
    Nick gasped, arousal sparking through his veins like wildfire and melting his knees. His hands were trembling as he ripped his clothes off, dropping to the carpet without even waiting for an order.
    "Very good, pet," Damian purred, rising to his feet. "I think I told you that I don't permit my sub to dictate to me.
    Tonight, you have a choice. You may get dressed and leave, or," Damian paused to appreciate the tiny shudder that passed through his sub's body, "or, you may agree to anything I want to do to you. I'm not going to warn you or ask your permission. Your only purpose will be to please me."
    "Yes, sir," Nick agreed hurriedly, not wanting Damian to think there was even a moment of hesitation for him in this choice.
    "You understand, you've agreed to be under my control until I declare that the scene is over, pet," Damian reiterated.
    He was enjoying the delicate pink flush that suffused the 273

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    boy's entire body; he was shaking like a puppy about to be taken out on a walk.
    "Please, sir, do whatever you want, just ... just ... do something .... "Nick ran out of words.
    Damian closed his eyes in relief for just a fleeting moment.
    He had held off as long as he could to guard against his own