Justin’s POV

I opened my eyes and gazed up at the man who was holding me tightly even though he seemed to be sleeping soundly. The smile that was ever present on my lips these days grew wider as the events from the previous day trickled through my consciousness. He’d been so gentle with me afterwards, acting like I was a fragile piece of glass that would shatter with very little effort. As soon as his strength had returned, he’d helped me back to the cabin, and put me straight into bed. I could still feel his hands gently rubbing the cream over my back, buttocks, and thighs. I recalled his softly spoken words.

"I’m so proud of you, tiger. So very proud of my brave boy."

How was it possible that in such a very short time my entire world seemed wrapped around this man’s happiness? The only thing that I could be completely sure about at this point was the fact that I’d do almost anything to see him smile. He’d given me more in the last few days than anyone had given me my entire life, and I never wanted to go back to that non-existence. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a purpose. I was valued…maybe even cherished, and I loved it.

I’d called him Master, hoping to show him my willingness to please, my desire to comply with his wishes, and my eagerness to give myself to him completely. I wanted him to know that I’d stopped thinking of him as my captor, he’d come to mean so much more to me. Now, I wasn’t living in fear of what would happen to me, if I’d be killed or worse. Now, the only fear that really terrified me was the thought of him losing interest in me and walking away. I felt him jerk slightly and then he mumbled something that I couldn’t quite understand. My arms tightened around him as he started to struggle in his sleep and when he spoke again, I could understand him perfectly.

"I love you, Damien. I’ll always love you."

My heart stopped beating for a moment then started slamming against my chest as I desperately tried to suck air into lungs that no longer seemed to function. If he already had someone in his life, what did that mean for me? My father’s words echoed around in my head, so I pressed my face into his chest, tightened my arms around his body, and silently begged for something or someone to make this work out for me. I couldn’t help wondering how I was supposed to go back to my life now that I knew what I was missing. I must have made some noise because his arms were suddenly holding me tighter, and I heard that soft, sexy voice that could always reach into my very soul.

"Hey, tiger, what’s wrong?"

I couldn’t answer him. I was afraid to question him because I didn’t want to hear him tell me about this other man that he loved. My heart was beating so hard that I could hear the rush of blood pounding through my veins, and all I could do was shake my head against his chest.

"I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what’s wrong."

There was no way I was going to turn into some clinging little wuss, act like the wilting little flower, or play the damsel in distress, so I put on my brightest smile, raised my head, and looked into his beautiful eyes. "Nothing’s wrong. I was wondering if you were hungry because I could fix you something to eat."

I watched as a lazy smile curved on his lips.

"You want to cook for me?"

I couldn’t help but return his smile and whisper a bit self-consciously, "I’d love to cook for you." The next thing I knew, I felt a sharp sting as he slapped my ass.

"Then go to it, tiger."

I crawled off the bed and headed toward the kitchen. As I made my way through the cabin the only thing going through my mind was the that I hoped I could cook whatever he had in the kitchen.

Brian’s POV

I watched him walk across the room heading towards the kitchen and couldn’t help but smile. He’d come a long way from the scared little kid tied to the bed. He held his head high and didn’t even try to hide his nakedness from me. Instead, he gave a playful wiggle of his ass when he turned and saw I was watching him. The cocky little shit.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I sat up and followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat to watch him moving around familiarizing himself with the contents of each cabinet and the fridge. I found that I was enjoying watching him move around the kitchen, which was a bit of a shocker for me as I’d never really been into the domestic scene at all. There was just something so different about him.

I took a deep breath and realized that I was going to have to do something to get us both out of this mess. After thinking it through, I finally decided on a plan of action. I just hoped that Craig was the greedy bastard I had him figured for or my plan was dead in the water. Now was as good a time as any to see if this would work, so I got up and headed into the living room to make the call.

The phone only rang twice before I heard his voice, "Taylor, and this better be good."

"Well, that depends on your definition of good."

I heard his disgusted grunt, "What the hell do you want at this time of the morning?"

"I’ve come up with a plan to take care of your problem."

There was immediate interest in his voice as he asked, "Oh, and what might that be?"

"I’ve decided to buy the boy off you."

There was a rustling noise on the line. "Just what makes you think he’s for sale, and even if he were, why would I sell him to you?"

"Because you’re a businessman and you’d never look a gift horse in the mouth."

Another grunt could be heard. "Explain."

"Well, I’ve decided to turn your little problem into a profit for me. After much consideration, I think I’ll just train him as a sex slave."

I heard another faint rustle and then he growled, "Just how does that take care of my little problem?"

"I’ll see to it that he’s taken far away from you and you’ll never be bothered with him again."

Craig cleared his throat. "Well, it seems to me that I’ve invested a lot in this little venture already. I’d have to have at least a hundred grand to break even."

My mind immediately started calculating. "Done."

There was definite surprise in Craig’s voice as he said, "I’ll also need proof that you’re going to turn him into a sex slave."

"Exactly what kind of proof are you talking about?"

"Well, I’ve been around and in my experience, all sex slaves are branded by their owners, so I want you to brand him."

"I don’t want him branded. That mars his skin."

Craig gave a disgusted grunt. "I’m not interested in what you want. I’m telling you the terms of the agreement. If you don’t like my terms, then pack up and leave immediately. I no longer have any use for your services. I’ll just let my men take care of the little faggot which is probably what I should have done in the first place, but I listened to well-meaning friends who felt I shouldn’t be involved in another faggot killing."

"Fine. You have my word I’ll brand him. Now, how do you want to conclude our business dealings?"

I heard a chuckle. "I don’t want your word. I want to watch you brand him. As soon as that’s done, you can transfer the funds into my personal account and then I want you both to disappear from my life."

Fuck. I wasn’t planning on all these conditions and I definitely didn’t want to brand the boy. Unfortunately, I really couldn’t see a way around any of this at the moment. "Fine. I’ll let you know when the branding is going to take place as soon as I have everything set up on my end. I need to get the funds in order."

"You do that." I heard the click as Craig disconnected the call.

I turned and saw Justin standing over the stove softly humming some song I’m sure I’ve never heard. He looked happy. Well, maybe happy was too strong a word. He looked content or just resigned to his fate. How the fuck was I going to explain to him that I needed to brand him. My stomach actually gave a lurch at the thought of applying hot metal to his delicate skin.

A branding was supposed to be something very personal and special between two people, not something forced on them by outside forces. It had to be done, this much I knew, but I didn’t want to lose what I’d found with this boy. For the first time in a very long time, I felt sick at the thought of losing someone. I’d promised myself that I’d never be in this position again…not after Damien, but here I was stuck smack in the middle of something that seemed unbelievable even to me.

I continued to watch the boy for a few minutes until his head turned, our eyes meeting for a second and he gave me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen. It lit up the entire cabin. Even though my mind was in turmoil over events that were to come, I couldn’t keep from returning his smile.

Justin’s POV

I knew something was wrong as soon as he came back into the kitchen and sat down. There wasn’t much in the fridge but I was able to throw together a couple of omelets. Since there was only one chair at the little table, I put his plate in front of him and sat on a cushion I’d placed on the floor at his feet, my plate balanced on my knee. I really didn’t mind sitting on the floor at all because I could lean back against his leg and I liked the contact.

After we finished eating, I picked up the dishes and took them into the kitchen and quickly put everything back in order. I enjoyed cooking for him. It was a nice feeling to know that I could do things for him that made him happy and gave him pleasure. I walked slowly back over to the table noticing that he hadn’t moved and was staring off into space. I moved the cushion between his legs and knelt, running my hands up his thighs.

His head slowly turned and his gaze met mine. I saw something in his eyes that resembled pain and briefly wondered what had him so worried. Whatever it was, I was determined to make him feel better. I leaned in and started kissing a path up the inside of his thigh and felt his fingers gently stroking my hair.

"What are you doing, tiger?"

I answered him by flicking my tongue across the tip of his erection a few times before sucking it into my mouth with a loud moan. I felt his fingers tighten in my hair a bit painfully.

"Oh fuck. That’s amazing."

I heard the soft moan behind his words and moved my head up and down with more determination. This I could give him. Regardless of the circumstances, we were in, I could always give him this, and I liked knowing that. I moved my hands higher gently gripping his dick as I continued my slow movements.

His taste was assaulting my senses and I loved the feel of him pushing into my throat. I relaxed and swallowed around his hardness as he slowly pumped deeper and deeper. This was something I was learning that I loved very much. I enjoyed giving control to him and letting him manipulate my body to satisfy his desires. Each gasp and moan that I heard resonated to my very core. I think I could come just from listening to him.

I swirled my tongue, sucked and swallowed in rhythm to his thrusts, and moved my hips in time with his, feeling my cock rub against his lower leg. All the sensations mixed together and pushed me closer to the explosion that only he was able to give me. I mumbled around him and the next thing I know, he’s pulled my head up and away from his erection holding me so I can’t finish what I’d started. I looked pleadingly into his eyes and whispered, "Please, Master.

I heard his growl and my head was shoved down a little roughly, but I didn’t mind at all as I accepted him back into my mouth and throat with a moan of pure pleasure. He seemed to have a renewed energy and shoved deeper with each surge of his hips. It wasn’t long until I felt that tingle begin and knew I wouldn’t last much longer.

He moved his leg more firmly between my thighs and gave another hard thrust into my mouth. I actually saw stars dancing behind my closed eyelids as my body erupted at the same moment I felt the first hot splash on the back of my throat. I swallowed as best I could while trying to make it through yet another intense orgasm. Long before I was ready to release him, he pulled free of my greedy lips and laughed softly.

"I really needed that, tiger."

I smiled brightly up at him as he pulled me up and cradled me on his lap. I rubbed my cheek against his shoulder as I felt his arms squeezing me tightly.

"We have to talk."