A thousand thoughts raced through Keats’s mind at once. What Colby wanted—commitment, long term, settling down. Those were words that should scare the ever-living fuck out of Keats. But somehow he couldn’t grasp onto the fear. After that afternoon in the kitchen with Georgia, he’d made an effort to separate himself from the situation, to find his own way. He’d started going out to clubs and bars here and there after work. Straight ones, gay ones. He hadn’t gone out to hook up with anyone, but he’d done it trying to wean himself off the intense feelings he was having about Colby and Georgia, to get a taste for what the single life would be like for him now. And to give Colby and Georgia some alone time.
But though he’d danced with beautiful girls and hot guys and had been flirted with, propositioned, and even kissed by one dude, he hadn’t been able to muster up any real interest. As he watched people play the mating game, he’d wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up in bed with Colby and Georgia. He didn’t crave variety. He craved them. They felt like home. Maybe more than anything had in his life.
And Colby wanted him here. He wanted him. For real. Not because this was part of some fun threesome. Not because Colby was training him. And not because he was doing Keats a favor. Colby loved him.
Keats pushed to his feet, feeling as if he were filled with helium. All the heavy shit that had been weighing him down for weeks seemed to fall away. He grabbed the key he’d plunked down and walked around the coffee table. His pulse pounded at his temples, so many emotions running through him at once, but he managed to take Colby’s hand, unfurl his fingers, and place the key in his palm. Colby’s hand closed around it. Then Keats lowered himself to his knees.
All felt right in the moment. The restless energy that had been plaguing Keats quieted as soon as he was there at Colby’s feet. He lifted his head and met Colby’s gaze. “I don’t want to be free.”
Colby’s throat worked. “No?”
“No. I love you, too. So goddamned much.” The steel fingers that had gripped his chest for the last few weeks loosened, letting him finally take a full breath. “I’m starting to think I always did.”
Colby smiled a smile that threatened to crack open Keats completely. The guy could break someone with that smile. “So you’ll stay?”
“Looks like you’re stuck with your stray now. You should’ve never fed me.”
Colby shook his head and cupped Keats’s chin. “You were never a stray. You’ve always been a guy who needed to make his own way. I’m just lucky that you found your way to me.” He lifted Keats’s chin higher. “But maybe it’s time I get you a collar so that you never doubt again where you belong and who you belong to.”
Keats closed his eyes and breathed that in. His heart felt like it was trying to climb out his throat so it could hand itself to Colby. Goddamn, he was turning into a sap. But he knew what a collar meant in Colby’s world. No, not Colby’s world. Their world. “I would love that. I want to belong to you.”
And to Georgia. But Keats knew you couldn’t always get everything you wanted. He and Colby could be happy together. He would do everything he could to make sure of it.
Colby leaned forward, drawing Keats up to him, and kissed him slow and deep. The kiss said everything words couldn’t. And something inside Keats that had been out of alignment maybe all his life clicked into place.
Colby pulled back, meeting Keats’s gaze. “I think it’s time for bed.”
“I’m all yours, sir.”
Colby nodded, that steely dominance coming into his eyes—a look that made Keats’s bones liquefy. “Good. Because I’m taking everything tonight.”
Keats shuddered at the promise of what that meant, but it was pure anticipation at this point, no fear. Up until now, Colby hadn’t pushed Keats to move to that final step in the bedroom. He’d told Keats he wouldn’t fuck him until he knew Keats was ready. They’d touched, they’d played, Colby had used toys on him. At points, Keats had been so turned on, he’d begged Colby to take him. But at the root of it, he hadn’t been ready, and Colby had picked up on that.
Now, he had no doubts. He wanted to give Colby everything. He wanted to surrender it all.
They made their way to the bedroom, Colby’s hand on the back of Keats’s neck, and Colby ordered him to get undressed. Keats got to work as Colby disappeared into the closet. Keats’s eyes lingered on the closed curtains for a moment, wondering what Georgia was doing. He wished he could open them and see her standing in that window, looking down at them. She’d probably love this kind of show. Keats smiled to himself. Dirty, dirty George. Damn, he missed that woman.
He shook free of the wistful feeling and unbuttoned his pants. He couldn’t worry about what ifs tonight. What is was far too good to let anything spoil the mood. He finished undressing and set his folded clothes on a chair by the door. He’d learned the hard way that Colby didn’t like his submissive’s clothes thrown around the floor.
When Colby stepped out from the closet, he was rolling a riding crop between his fingertips. “I think we’ll keep it simple tonight, which isn’t to say it won’t involve some suffering on your part.”
Goose bumps pricked Keats’s skin. This was the part he might like best. Before this, he would’ve never thought of himself as a masochist, even though he’d always enjoyed getting his tattoos. But he couldn’t deny what a dose of pain did to him now. And Colby had gotten increasingly more aggressive in dishing it out with him. Keats knew Colby went a little easier on Georgia because, though she was generally up for anything, she didn’t seem to be a dyed-in-the-wool masochist. She liked the shifting power dynamics and the adventure of it all. She’d even had fun taking a little control herself. Somehow, Colby seemed to instinctively know what each of them responded to best and set it up to provide maximum enjoyment for them all. He wasn’t a one-size-fits-all dominant.
And from the look on Colby’s face right now, Keats knew that Colby had decided that tonight, Keats needed some sting.
Colby walked over until he was right in front of Keats and leveled him with a look. He tapped Keats’s cheek, which was a sign to open his mouth. When he did, Colby put the riding crop between Keats’s teeth. “Bite down.”
Keats obeyed, the unyielding handle of the crop pressing against his teeth.
“Now go over to the bed and bend over, forehead to the mattress, hands behind your back. Let go of the crop and you’ll regret it. Nod if you understand.”
Keats nodded, sweat already gathering on the back of his neck.
He walked over to the bed, keeping his back straight, and then bent over to get into position. He clasped his hands behind his back. Despite the cool air in the bedroom, his cock went hard almost instantly.
“If you need to safe out, you drop the crop and say your word or lift an arm.” Colby ran a warm hand down the length of Keats’s spine, and Keats had to fight to stay still.
He had no idea if Colby was just going to go for it. Was this the moment? A blanket of nerves fell over him.