Justin’s POV


The first thing that registered in my muddled brain was his finger drawing little circles on the inside of my thigh. I felt his hot breath against my sweat slicked back and smiled. It was a good feeling to know that he was just as affected as I was. My stomach seemed to have a mind of its own because it picked that moment to rumble very loudly. I heard him groan and felt him slide out just before he rolled off my back, leaving me feeling chilled at the loss of his body warmth.

“I guess your stomach has decided that we need to eat.”

I flipped over and practically crawled up on his chest. It never failed. I always needed contact with him afterward. He was the catalyst that fueled my emotional highs and my safety net, depending on which one I needed. My stomach would just have to wait for a few minutes until I felt centered.

After a quick shower, I made us a couple of egg white omelets. Brian seemed to have some very definite ideas about what he would eat, so I followed his instructions and fixed the meal the way he wanted. As we were eating I could tell he was deep in thought, but his question still caught me a bit off-guard.

“Why do you want to be branded by me?”

He deserved an honest answer so I gave him one. “It’s just something I feel inside.  I belong with you.”

He swiped his hand across his face and his voice took on a menacing quality. “How can you say that?”

I met his gaze calmly. “Just because we’re being forced to do this…that doesn’t mean we can’t make it meaningful.”

“Meaningful?! What do you think this is?” The anger was clear in his voice.

His words were cutting me up inside, but it was important for him to understand. “I don’t know. I just know how I feel about you.”

He stood up so fast that his chair shot backward and tipped over. “You don’t know a fucking thing about me!  You’re just a kid!”

I bit my lip and stood facing him. My heart was racing and I was struggling to keep my breathing under control. I had to control the rage that was slowly seeping through my body. “I’m not a kid! I’m a man and I damn well know what I want. You make me feel safe.”

“Safe?!  Wasn’t it you that punched me in the face because you thought I was going to kill you?!”

“Fuck you!” I slammed my fist down on the table causing the dishes to jump violently, turned and stomped my way toward the bedroom. Who the fuck did he think he was?  I didn’t have to take this shit from him. As soon as I entered the bedroom, some of the anger drained from my body and I was left with this empty feeling.

“What’s wrong, little boy, can’t you handle the truth?”

I turned around to yell at him again when I felt his hands around my throat and his body slam into mine sending me sprawling backward onto the bed. My fingers were clawing at his hands trying to pry them off my neck as I struggled to free myself from beneath his weight.

“You think I'm too much of a pussy to kill you?  Well, let me tell you something, little boy, I'm already responsible for someone's death.”

Those words stopped my struggles. I looked up into is tortured face and something inside me shifted. I was beginning to feel a little light-headed from the loss of oxygen and started to wonder if this would be my last act before dying. I reached up and pulled his head down kissing him with all the remaining strength I had. He moaned into my mouth and released my neck.  I had to break the kiss to suck air into my lungs, coughing a bit as I rubbed my neck.

He was looking at his hands almost as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just done, (and) trying to figure out if his hands had somehow acted on their own. The desolation clearly evident in his eyes sent a slash of pain through my chest. I stopped rubbing my neck and wrapped my arms around his body pulling him back down on top of me and holding him tightly. My voice was a bit raspy, so I had to clear my throat a couple of times before whispering, “You didn’t hurt me, and I don’t believe you’re responsible for anyone’s death.”

His forehead landed on my chest and I could feel him struggling to breathe.

Brian’s POV

What the fuck was wrong with me? Where had that come from? I felt his arms tightening around me and heard him murmuring something that I couldn’t quite make out, and the only thing that I could do was just lie on top of him and try to figure out when I’d lost my fucking mind.

The look in his blue eyes as my fingers tightened around his neck kept flashing through my mind. I could still feel him struggling beneath my weight and it was hard for me to catch my breath. When he stopped struggling, for one horrific moment, I thought I’d killed him and the desolation I felt is something I don’t ever want to feel again. “I could have killed you.”

“No, you couldn’t. You’d never really hurt me.”

I swallowed hard. I’m not sure anyone has ever had that much faith in me. After taking a deep breath, I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “I’m not worthy of someone like you.”

I felt him stiffen and heard a soft groan escape his lips. “You think you’re not worthy of me? I’m nothing special, just ask Craig.”

It hit me then that this kid was as fucked up as I was.  “I guess we’re both totally fucked.”

“I guess we are.”

I nodded my head and decided it was time to get this show on the road. I still didn’t know if I was going to be able to go through with this, but I had to try for both our sakes. I lifted my body off his and sat on the edge of the bed. “Right, so let’s get this done.”

Justin’s POV

I could almost see the wall slam down as he sat up. He was once again in complete control of his emotions. He had a job to do and I knew he’d do it. This was the man I’d first seen when I’d opened my eyes after being kidnapped…cold, methodical, and driven. Yet, I knew he was much more than that.

Our little skirmish had left me strangely turned on and my hand found its way between my legs as I looked up at him.

“Uh uhh, tiger.  I’m going to build a fire and get the brand ready. You wait here and don’t touch yourself.”

My hands tightened into fists and I squeezed my eyes shut as I followed his instructions. My heart was speeding up, but I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or anticipation. I’d burned myself before cooking and it wasn’t a fun and pleasant experience. This would be much worse than anything I’d ever experienced, but a part of me was looking forward to it. Maybe not the actually branding, but having his mark on my body as a permanent reminder was making me harder just thinking about it.

When he came back into the room, he was all business.  He tugged my arms above my head forcing me to scoot higher on the bed. I had to be brave. I could do this. I must have made some sound that alerted him to my feelings because he suddenly stopped pulling on my arms and I felt his warm palm cup my cheek.

“Look at me, tiger.”

My eyes immediately locked with his and suddenly all the uncertainty seemed to drain from my body. I rubbed my cheek against his hand and whimpered softly, not from fear, but from the intense feelings that were coursing through my body. I didn’t want him doing this just to appease Craig, I wanted him to do this because he wanted to claim me as his, but I guess I’d have to take whatever he was willing to offer.

He pushed the hair back off my forehead and trailed his fingers along my jaw. I saw something in his eyes that ignited a fire deep inside my soul. “I just want to belong.”

He tilted his head to the side as if he were contemplating something very important, licked his lips, and nodded. His fingers continued to travel down my neck, across my chest, and circled the area just above my heart. He leaned down and I could feel his breath on my ear.

“We have to put on a show for a very sadistic man. I may not be worthy of the honor you are giving me, but I am willing to give this a try. When that hot metal touches your skin, I’ll be giving you more than just my mark.”

I had to swallow a few times and squeeze my eyes shut to keep the tears that had formed in my eyes from slipping down my cheeks. He was willing to try! This did mean something to him!

He raised his head and I opened my eyes meeting his gaze once again. I wanted to touch him but he still had my arms trapped with his other hand. This was a huge step for him and I wanted to reassure him that I knew what he was offering me. “I’ll wear your mark with pride, I’ll do my best to always make you proud, and I’ll never give you a reason to regret this.”

He bit his bottom lip and his eyes closed for a second before he regained eye contact with me. He smiled and nodded his head before taking a deep breath. I watched as he withdrew into himself and felt the wall he seemed to live behind slam down between us once again. Only this time I knew why he was doing it. He needed that degree of separation to be able to do what we both knew he had to do, so instead of feeling hurt by his distance, I took comfort in the knowledge that he’d have the strength to pull us both through this ordeal.

I felt the cool metal of the handcuffs touch my wrists as he cuffed them to the bed. We hadn’t really discussed any details of how this was going to happen, and at this point, all I cared about was making him proud of me.

I felt him sliding the cuff around my leg, buckling it just above the knee and pulling my leg up, away from my body, to secure the cuff to leather straps attached to the headboard and side of the bed, forcing me to keep that position. He repeated that with my other leg leaving me very securely bound and completely spread open.

I followed his every move with my eyes attempting to keep my breathing under control. Just the act of him securing me to the bed was turning me on and I was trying to stay focused on the matter at hand. Just when I thought I had myself under some semblance of control I felt his hand brush across my hardness and groaned. His soft chuckle only added fuel to my already overloaded senses.

He moved back up my body and showed me a ball gag by dangling it over my face.

“Open.”

I immediately opened my mouth and tasted the rubber as he pushed the ball between my lips and teeth. Reflexively, I pushed my tongue against the rubber invader for a moment before I relaxed and let him finish securing it around my head. I was forced to breathe through my nose and I struggled for a bit until I was able to breathe somewhat normally.

His fingers gently moved down my jaw and trailed across my lips which were stretched open around the gag. I moaned softly and tried to press my face closer to his fingers.

“Are you ready, tiger?”

I took a deep breath and gave a firm nod of my head to let him know that I was still with him. I felt a cool cloth on my left thigh and closed my eyes as he gently washed my skin. I guess he’d finally made the decision about where he wanted to brand me. Thoughts of his fingers tracing circles on that part of my body as he was buried deep inside me resurfaced and I felt myself getting harder.

He moved back up my body and showed me a blindfold and I shook my head. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be encased in darkness. I wanted to be able to see him. He leaned down and I felt him kiss me just below my ear.

“I don’t want you to see me do this.”

It made perfect sense to me then. He was afraid that my opinion of him would somehow change if I actually witnessed him pressing hot metal into my flesh. He didn’t want me to see him struggle to do this. I took another deep breath and nodded my head once. He slipped the blindfold over my eyes and everything went dark.