Nick looked over at his Master with a sigh. The other man made a terrible patient, never wanting to be still for more than five minutes, let alone five days. It was like he couldn’t seem to get comfortable, or even relax enough to be comfortable, though they were perfectly safe now. There were two guards on the door until whoever had shot his Master was caught, and they were in an inside room, with no windows.
At the moment, Gil was reading, or at least attempting to do so. Nick knew from the way that the other man’s eyes kept flickering around the room that he’d probably read the same paragraph three times or more.
What can I do to make him feel better? I’m not a doctor so I can’t help him get better faster, and I have no power outside this room, he thought morosely, feeling like a failure.
Then an audacious thought occurred to him and he flushed hotly and started arguing silently with himself.
He’s still recovering! He’s not up for something like that!
He’s going out of his mind with boredom!
I could hurt him, pull stitches loose and he could bleed to death!
Just make sure to do all the work and he’ll be fine!
Nick worried his lip between his teeth for a few more minutes before making a decision. It might not be a good decision, but it would at least make his Master feel better, however temporarily. Walking over to the bed, Nick looked at Gil until the other man gave him a curious look. He took a breath and asked in a rush, “How do you feel, Master?”
Gil frowned a little, but answered, “You heard the doctor, Nick, I’m fine. They’re just keeping me in one place to protect me and give me extra recovery time.”
“Well, technically, he said that you were doing better as long as you didn’t strain yourself.”
“See? You were listening. What’s up?”
Biting his lip again, Nick hesitated before climbing up on top of the bed and straddling his Master. “I was thinking that I could do something to, well, make you feel better about being confined.”
An amused expression surfaced on Gil’s face as he put the book on the bedside table, and then removed his glasses to safety as well. His lips twitched into an actual smile as he replied, “Oh you did, did you?”
“Yes,” Nick said firmly.
The smile grew a little and Gil leaned back fully against the pillows, asking, “And what’s that?”
Recognizing a challenge when he heard one, Nick relaxed a little. He hadn’t been sure how his Master would feel about him being the one in control, but now he saw that it was all right. Smiling a bit, Nick slowly undulated over Gil’s groin, enjoying the way his Master’s eyes closed and he groaned softly.
Nick leaned forward and nuzzled Gil’s throat before kissing it lightly. He pressed delicate kisses up the short column and nibbled at his Master’s ear for a few moments, loving how Gil’s breathing quickened at the caress. Turning his attention to the tempting mouth, Nick kissed him as sweetly as he knew how, barely touching his tongue to Gil’s when his Master’s mouth opened to him. It was a hide and seek play with quick flashes of tongue to tongue and deepening and lessening of lips to lips.
His hands moved just as lightly over Gil’s chest, fingers flickering over the nipples still hidden by the hospital gown. After a few minutes of that, Nick pulled back, and happily flushed when Gil started to rise up, coming after him.
“Master, wait. Let me undress you,” Nick whispered against his ear.
Gil nodded, licking his lips, and Nick climbed off the bed. Thankfully, his Master was no longer hooked up to any monitoring equipment, or the nurses would have come running at the increase in his heart rate. It took several minutes to get the older man free of the hated hospital gown, but Nick made a loving game of it, kissing and licking the skin as it was revealed. He was sobered by the extent of bandaging still in place, but forced himself to merely press the gentlest of kisses to the wound.
The gasp he heard at that action wasn’t one of pain, he somehow knew, but of gratitude. Gratitude that he didn’t find the wounded body ugly? That he didn’t think his Master too old and damaged, perhaps? Whatever was going on in his Master’s head was impossible to know, at least from the unreadable expression on his face. Smiling softly, Nick whispered, “You’re still perfect to me, Master. You always will be.”
Gil reached out to cup his face at that, moisture shining in his eyes, though it didn’t fall. Something filled Nick deep inside at that look, and he felt incredibly pleased and happy. He again bent down to pay homage to the testament that his Master had survived what most wouldn’t have, kissing directly over Gil’s heart.
Carefully climbing off the bed, Nick yanked his own clothes off hastily, shucking them aside. Once naked, he returned to his previous position, straddling the semi-hard cock that lay between Gil’s legs. Rocking his ass slowly back and forth, feeling the shaft grow, Nick said, “I love you so much, Master, I want to make you feel so good. I’m going to make you feel so good. My whole body is yours, what do you want me to do?”
Gil licked his lips again and answered hoarsely, “Suck me, Nicky, but don’t make me come, just...”
“Suck you,” Nick finished, nodding, thinking he knew what his Master wanted.
He shifted around and sat sideways, bending down to suck on the rapidly hardening cock. He nursed at it, sucking like a baby would its mother’s tit, constantly and with pressure, but not urgency. His fingers rolled Gil’s balls slowly, then rubbed behind them, thrilling to the moan it provoked.
Gil’s hand squeezed Nick’s ass repeatedly and he pushed back against it, wanting more. The hand left momentarily, then returned to push a finger inside, slick with something. Nick groaned and pulled one of his legs up, resting it on Gil’s hip, to open himself to the invasion. While he continued to suck on Gil’s cock, his Master pushed a second finger in, working him over and stretching him.
“Nicky, enough,” Gil gasped at last.
Pulling off the cock, Nick swallowed a few times, wanting the flesh back in his mouth.
Gil’s eyes clenched shut and he moaned, “Gods.”
Knowing what his Master wanted, Nick straddled Gil and slowly lowered himself onto the hard cock, biting his lip at the burn of stretched muscles, even with spit, pre-come and whatever slickness his Master had used to help. Gil’s hands roughly massaged his chest, pinching and pulling his nipples, adding to the sensation. Finally, he was fully impaled and he groaned, taking a moment to get used to it. Shuddering, he started moving around on the cock, back and forth, up and down, working it in a circle and just grinding down hard on it.
They were both panting again in short order and even though he was dying to come, Nick didn’t touch himself. His hands gripped the bed rails for support as he worked himself up and down on the cock inside him. Surprisingly strong fingers gripped his thighs and Gil urged him on with dirty words and guttural grunts.
“Nicky!” Gil gasped, arching up as he came.
Nick ground down on him, capturing all the seed and straining not to spill any of his own without permission.
Sagging back against his pillows, a sated, contented smile on his face, Gil murmured, “Come here, Nicky.”
Even though he wanted to stay where he was, Nick carefully pulled off the softened shaft inside him and crawled up to lie beside his Master.
One of Gil’s hands brushed through his hair, which had grown already from the buzz cut he’d always sported. Gentle eyes looked at him as Gil whispered, “You’re so good to me. Love you so much, Nicky.”
“Mmm, love you too, Master,” Nick echoed, smiling with all the adoration he felt inside.
He didn’t even mind when Gil fell asleep without letting him come. Not too much, anyhow. Nick closed his own eyes and breathed in the musky scent of his Master’s sweat and sex, and pulled the blankets over them.
* * * *
Greg held very, very still as he fought with the nausea that roiled through his stomach. It was the second day in a row, so he knew what that meant and was very glad about it...except for the actual throwing up part. He was hoping that staying absolutely frozen would help, but then Warrick flopped over in bed and caused it to bounce. Moaning, Greg ran to the bathroom, just making it to the toilet before losing all the contents in his stomach.
Strong hands held his back a few seconds later, one soothing up and down as he continued to dry heave. Gasping, he spit into the porcelain bowl and rested his forehead on the cool seat as Warrick leaned over him to flush the toilet.
“You okay, baby?” Warrick asked softly.
Greg thought about it for a long moment, then straightened up. He held still again, but didn’t feel more than queasy and sighed in relief. Looking over at his Master showed a cautious smile on the black man’s face as Warrick waited for his announcement. “Yeah, I’m okay now.”
Smiling in relief as well, Warrick asked, “Is this what I think it is?”
“Only if you think it’s morning sickness,” Greg quipped.
Warrick whooped with joy and carefully pulled him in for a long hug, saying, “Love you so much, baby, gonna take such good care of both of you, I swear it.”
Nuzzling at the warm skin of his Master’s throat, Greg replied, “I know, Master, I know. Honest.”
Getting to his feet, Warrick helped Greg stand and said, “I’ll call the doctor and see if he can see you this afternoon before shift. Shit. Should you be working?”
Greg laughed a little at the worried look, assuring him, “I’ll be fine. Morning sickness is normal, especially for first time pregnancies, and I can work up to my third trimester, remember?”
“Well yeah, but that’s for other guys,” Warrick answered, frowning. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”
It was then that Greg realized that his Master was even more of a worrier than he’d thought and grinned to himself, thinking, This could be fun.
* * * *
Catherine watched as Jim took the lead in the interrogation, willing to take a back seat as long as it got them the information that they needed. It was six days after Gil’s near-miss with death and they’d only just gotten a break in the investigation. Someone had finally come forward to say that they’d not only been there, but had seen something. It was a young man named Stephen Wilks, still in college, and with glasses that were thick enough to be coke bottles, despite the thin lenses people could get these days.
“So you want to tell us what you saw?” Jim questioned, offering the young man a thin smile.
“Well, it was a woman,” Wilks replied. “I couldn’t get a clear look at her face because I was too far away, but she was slender, maybe about five eight or nine and had brown hair.”
Catherine asked, “What about her?”
Wilks shifted in his chair and finally answered, “She just watched. It was like she knew what was going to happen. I saw her look up at the hotel across the street just before the guy was shot.”
Dread clenched Catherine’s stomach as she realized that they already knew of a woman who fit that description at the scene. Meeting Jim’s gaze, she saw her knowledge reflected back in his eyes and the grim expression on his face.
The detective stood and said, “Thanks for your help, Mr. Wilks. I’d like for you to go with the officer outside to write up an official report.”
Nodding, the young man also stood and left the room.
“It can’t be Sara,” Catherine said, the moment the door closed behind the witness.
Turning to her, Jim stated, “She fits the description and has motive. You and I both know that she was pissed when Grissom took Nick as his slave.”
“Then why not kill Nicky?” Catherine pointed out. “Why kill Grissom, when it would mean an end to what she wanted in the first place?”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Jim asked, a shark’s smile in place.
* * * *
It was almost a repeat of before, except with Sara in Wilks’ place. Catherine’s stomach had been clenched in knots since earlier that morning, when Jim had come to her and said they’d found a large deposit in Sara’s bank account, twenty-five thousand dollars, seven days ago, two days before the attempted assassination. Catherine had had to call Sara in from a scene on the pretext of needing her help with something at the office. The second the younger woman had stepped through the door, a police ‘escort’ had surrounded her and brought her to the interrogation room.
Hands folded in her lap, Sara asked, “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
“We’ve got a witness that saw you look up at the hotel where the shooter took the pot-shot at Gil,” Jim announced. After a pause, he added, “Before the shot was taken. We also have a deposit to your account in the amount of $25,000, two days before the attack. You want to tell us what’s going on?”
Sara blinked at him a few times, then said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
To Catherine, the panic in the other woman’s voice was obvious, but she could see that Jim didn’t hear it from the glare he threw at Sara.
Leaning forward, Jim exclaimed, “What I’m talking about, is that you were in on the attempt to kill Grissom, and I’m going to make sure that you get the death penalty for it!”
Sara shook her head and countered firmly, “I didn’t have anything to do with it!”
“You had motive,” Jim supplied. “We all know how much you hate Grissom, now that he’s put you on a shelf. We have evidence that you were involved, even if you didn’t pull the trigger. Even being on the peripheral of a conspiracy to murder a Master brings the death penalty.”
“Grissom told me no because he’s infatuated with the slave of his, but it isn’t going to last! And I fully planned to be here when he discovered that,” Sara snapped. “Why the hell would I be in on an attempt to kill him, if I still love him?”
“Sara, with a love like that, you put the Black Widow to shame,” Jim growled.
Catherine stepped away from the wall she’d been leaning against and sat beside Sara. Speaking for the first time, she asked softly, “Where did the money come from?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did you look up at the hotel, before the shot?”
“I don’t remember if I even did!”
“Sara, you’re in so much trouble right now. You have to be honest with me,” Catherine urged, putting her hand on the other woman’s shoulder.
Showing real emotion for the first time, Sara’s eyes filled with tears and she whispered, “I am! I didn’t do this, Cath, you have to believe me! I didn’t have anything to do with it!”
And even though she wanted to believe, the evidence told another story.
* * * *
Gil stared at Jim in shock, while Nick burrowed even closer to him, pressing his face to Gil’s throat in distress. “Sara?”
“She claims to be innocent, but the evidence is pretty damning,” Jim confirmed. “We issued a polygraph and she didn’t pass, either. Of course, it can be said that her emotional state at the time could have interfered, but I don’t think so. I think she was the one to tell the killer where and when you were going to be where you were. That’s conspiracy to commit murder and while we might not get the death penalty, she’s at least on her way to convict-slave status.”
“Sara,” Gil repeated, unable to picture it.
“Look, Grissom, just because we’ve got part of the web uncovered, doesn’t mean that you’re safe. The shooter is still out there and whoever hired him or her still wants you dead,” Jim continued.
“I want to talk to her.”
“No chance.”
“Jim, I have the right. I want to see her, face-to-face.”
Jim glowered at him. “It doesn’t matter if you believe her or not. You’re too personally involved with her to see straight.”
“I want to see her,” Gil repeated firmly.
“Master.”
Gil looked down at Nick’s whisper and gave him a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine, Nicky, I promise. I just need to see for myself if she’s capable.”
Shaking his head, Nick said, “That’s not what I was going to say.”
“What then?”
Nick bit his lip and asked, “Has anyone looked at, um, Ms. Crane? As, as the one behind the shooting, I mean? From what I was told, the court case could take years. Maybe, well, she didn’t want to wait that long.”
Gil met Jim’s gaze and almost grinned at the irritated expression on the other man’s face. It looked like that was one avenue that had been overlooked.
“Thanks, Nick,” Jim replied, sighing. “And I’m not bringing Sidle in here until I look into this. She’s staying in lockup.”
Making a face at his overprotective friend, Gil said, “Fine. But hurry up, because Crane is just as smart as her father. It’s entirely possible that she set up Sara to distract us.”
Jim grumbled to himself as he left the hospital room.
Cupping Nick’s face, Gil told him, “That was a great suggestion, Nicky, I’m proud of you. What made you think of it?”
Nick shrugged and answered matter-of-factly, “If Mistress Sidle was going to kill someone, it would’ve been me. She loves you too much to hurt you, let alone kill you.”
A cold wave of fear ran through Gil as he realized that Nick was right. Hugging his slave closer, Gil kissed his temple and said, “I’m sorry, Nicky.”
Pulling back a little, frowning, Nick asked, “What for?”
“For not taking her aside earlier and dealing with her in no uncertain terms,” Gil replied. “Once I’m free from the hospital and this mess is cleared up, I will do just that. There is no way that I will allow harm to come to you, not if I can prevent it.”
“I know, Master,” Nick said, smiling.
It took a few minutes for his heart to calm down from the fear-induced adrenaline rush. His chest was tight with tension and he took several deep breaths, focusing on the warm, very alive and unhurt, man in his arms. Nick seemed to sense his mood, as he inevitably did, and lay quiescent in his arms.
“Master?”
“Yes, Nicky?”
“Um...what you said before, about, about ClaimingmeinaTemple. Did you mean it?”
The rush of words took a few moments to decipher, and then a different kind of tension laced through Gil’s body. Lust hardened him almost completely as he thought about taking Nick in a traditional setting and he bit the nearest part of Nick that he could, an exposed earlobe. Nick gasped and Gil answered, “Absolutely. Do you want me to make the arrangements?”
Shivering, Nick nodded wordlessly, pressing his face again to his Master’s throat. Gil’s hand gripped his ass, squeezing it tight, but he didn’t do more than that. Now wasn’t the time, when they were both feeling vulnerable. He couldn’t wait until they were home and he was well enough to Claim Nick properly. There were, unfortunately, two more weeks of rehab to get through before the hospital would consider releasing him.
Gil sighed deeply and whispered in Nick’s ear, “Minerva herself has Blessed us, Nicky. I think we should repay that with special devotion, don’t you?”
Nick moaned in response and curled tighter over Gil’s body, even as he nodded.
* * * *
It took three more careful days of investigation, but Jim finally nailed the bitch. He traced the money from Sara’s account back through a couple of dummy corporations that were, ultimately, Crane holdings. He also brought in the Wilks’ kid and broke him, with pleasure, into giving Crane up on a silver platter. The kid couldn’t say for sure if Sara was really in on it or not, but he had been paid to tell the police the lie of actually seeing Sara at the crime scene.
Looking at the woman staring back at him impassively, Jim wanted nothing more than to take his gun and shoot her in the heart, just as she’d hired someone to do to his best friend. Better yet, he’d love to have a few minutes alone with her and a knife. Shaking off the thoughts, Jim said simply, “We’ve got you. The kid’s already made a formal statement in return for jail time, instead of convict status. We have the money transfers to Sidle’s account. All I want from you, is the name of the assassin, and I might be able to reduce the death penalty to convict status.”
Of all things, Maria Crane smiled at him. “You’ve got nothing. Charge me and I’ll see you in court. I have an excellent lawyer.”
“Do you really think a lawyer of that caliber will defend you in an attempted murder trial? You’re dreaming,” Jim sneered. “You’ll be lucky to get a public defender. All your money and position isn’t going to help you now. You attacked the wrong man.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Crane replied, still smiling. “And it’s up to you to prove that I did.”
Standing, Jim said, “I already have.”
He nodded sharply to the other officer and was surprised when Catherine passed the woman on her way into the interrogation room. Frowning, he asked, “What’s up?”
“I got a call from Sara. She wants to talk,” Catherine answered, a worried look marring her beautiful face. Pained blue eyes met his as she admitted, “I think she wants to confess.”
Things are looking up, Jim thought sarcastically. He’d been holding out the hope that Sara really had been innocent, not wanting to believe that she could be so cold and fool them all so completely. That she could fool him so completely. Out loud, he said, “I’ll bring her in.”
* * * *
“Maria Crane approached me ten days ago,” Sara began, looking down at the table. “She said that she thought there was a mutually beneficial deal to be made. Killing Nick would drive Grissom to his knees, which would satisfy her need for revenge, and I would be there to help pick up the pieces. Gil wasn’t supposed to be hurt at all. I don’t know why the plans were changed, because I never would have supplied the location if I’d known that she was going to kill him, instead of the slave...instead of Nick.”
Betrayal ripped through Catherine
at the calm, soft recital of facts. She’d taken Sara in as a friend when the
woman had come to
Sara’s dark eyes rose to meet Catherine’s as she apologized, “I’m so sorry, Catherine, you can’t know how sorry I am. At first, I was just so angry at having been rejected by Grissom that I couldn’t see straight. And it was all because of Nick. Well, that’s what I told myself, anyhow. These last few days...alone in jail...I took a long, hard look at myself and hated what I’d become. I betrayed all of you and I think, I think that most of all is going to send me straight to Hades when I’m dead.”
“Tell me more about Crane,” Jim questioned, careful not to lead her with his words.
Sighing sadly as Catherine looked away from her, Sara replied, “She said she knew of someone with no love for Masters in general. A slave who’d somehow managed to get rid of his locator chip and become an assassin. The only jobs he took were ones where he would kill someone’s Master.”
“And this made you think that he’d kill Nick, instead of Gil, how?” Catherine snapped.
Flinching and hunching down, Sara whispered, “I wasn’t thinking. She just said that it was Nick who was the target. That Gil would be safe. That was all I cared about.”
Jim asked, “What about the money?”
With another sigh, Sara answered, “I didn’t want any money, but she insisted. Said that there shouldn’t be any debts between business partners.”
Catherine met Jim’s gaze and saw the fierce triumph on his face. She wanted to be just as happy, but couldn’t, not at the expense of a friendship she’d treasured for three years. Surprising everyone, herself included, “Convict status for your help in putting Maria Crane to death.”
“Catherine, you don’t have the power to offer...” Jim’s words fell silent at her glare.
“Convict status and my ownership are the price you’re going to pay for what you’ve done,” Catherine stated, voice like iron.
No one, not even the D.A. who was present to approve and disapprove any deals, argued.
* * * *
Gil grimaced as he leaned on Nick and they took the short trip from car to house. Greg’s head appeared in a window and he grinned on hearing the young man shout for Warrick from inside.
“I wonder when Warrick’s going to figure out he’s being played,” Nick mused, chuckling.
“I wouldn’t want to be Greg’s ass when he does,” Gil pointed out agreeably. “Still, it should be fun to witness.”
“Oh don’t worry, I wasn’t going to say anything. I’m enjoying the show too much.”
Chuckling as the front door opened, Gil looked up into Warrick’s worried blue-gray eyes and greeted, “Afternoon, Warrick.”
Warrick took up position on Gil’s other side and, between he and Nick, they got Gil to his recliner chair in the living room. It had been a rough two weeks for everyone, finding out about Sara’s involvement in the attempt on his life. Gil had used his release from the hospital as an excuse to have his team, his family really, around him in a way to reinforce the remaining bonds and give everyone a chance to relax. Warrick and Greg both insisted football was good for that, especially on a big screen television, though he had his doubts. Catherine and Lindsey were due to arrive any second and since Jim’s car was in the driveway, he was around somewhere.
Greg and Jim both appeared from the kitchen, bearing bowls of chips and plates of dip, setting everything on the coffee table.
“You look healthy,” Jim observed dryly.
Gil managed a weak glare at his friend, catching his breath from the short walk.
Greg bent down for a quick kiss to Gil’s cheek and said, “Welcome home, Master Grissom.”
Smiling in honest pleasure, at the bold greeting, well, bold for Greg, Gil took the slave’s hand. “Thank you, Greg. How are you feeling?”
And though he hadn’t meant to aid in Warrick’s discovery of his slave’s minor deceit, Gil had to grin at the way Greg squirmed and answered, “I’m feeling very well, Master Grissom. Being pregnant agrees with me.”
“Why you little faker!” Warrick exclaimed, grabbing Greg around the waist and pulling him in tight. He murmured something in Greg’s ear that none of them could hear, but caused a flush and a grin to spread over Greg’s face.
The door opened again and Catherine called out, “Anyone home?”
“Uncle Gil!” Lindsey shrieked, running and stopping short at the chair, clearly unsure what to do next.
Gil held out his arm and she climbed into the recliner with him, her small body resting on him with the same kind of trust he felt from Nick. Smiling, he kissed her cheek and said, “It’s good to see you again, Linds. How’s school?”
Therein followed a two hour football/welcome home party that utterly exhausted Gil. He hadn’t thought the just sitting up could be so tiresome, but it turned out to be the case Both Nick and Lindsey hung on him incessantly, as if they’d formed a pact ahead of time, and the others weren’t far behind. Still, it helped everything feel a lot more normal by the time it was time to leave. Goodbyes were said and Warrick, Greg, and Jim left amidst promises to call the next day.
Gil was seated on the sofa by then, with Catherine beside him. Having seen that they wanted to talk seriously, and guessing the reason why, Nick had absconded with Lindsey into the kitchen to get her help in cleaning up.
“When do you get custody?”
“Next week, after the execution,” Catherine answered, sighing. “To be honest, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, or why.”
Gil gripped her shoulder. “You’re doing what you can to save your friend’s life. It’s admirable.”
“But at the risk of Lindsey?” Catherine asked, worry shining from her blue eyes.
Shaking his head, Gil said, “I honestly believe that Sara just got caught up in her emotions of hurt and betrayal. That she was lashing out at me. She adores Lindsey, and you. She will never do anything to hurt either one of you.”
“Well, to be on the safe side, she’s in chains until I feel I can trust her.”
Eyebrows lifting in surprise, Gil repeated, “Chains?”
Catherine nodded grimly. “Lightweight enough not to cause her any physical discomfort, but she’s not going anywhere unless I’m with her. And I’m sure as hell not letting her loose in the house until I think she can be trusted.”
“What if that’s never?” Gil questioned softly. “How much of this is coming from your feelings of betrayal, of wanting to punish her for hurting me, however accidentally?”
“Accidentally!? Gil, she wanted to kill Nick!” Catherine exclaimed, barely keeping her voice at conversation level.
Nodding sadly, Gil pointed out, “And she’s lost everything because of it; her freedom and our respect and friendships. Catherine, think carefully about how you want to deal with this, how your futures might play out if you start your lives together with Sara in chains. If you can’t see beyond your anger and dark feelings, it would be better to find someone to buy her from you and save all of you the pain.”
Catherine sighed, scrubbing fingers through her hair as she muttered, “I don’t know what to do, Gil.”
“Then don’t do anything for now,” Gil advised. “Take the next week to sort through how you feel. Call me and talk to me as often as you want. Talk to Nick.”
“Nick?” Catherine repeated in surprise.
Rueful, Gil said, “He’s got no problems with Sara. Said that if the tables were turned, he might have done the same thing. And maybe that’s the key. What would you do, what lengths would you go to, if the one you loved, not only didn’t love you in return, but loved someone else?”
“Mom! Nicky said that he’s not going to be my sitter anymore!” Lindsey exclaimed, running into the room and hurtling herself at her mother.
Catherine caught her and hugged her tight. “That’s right, honey. Um...Sara is going to be our slave, starting next week and Nicky’s going to help Greg in the lab, now that Greg’s going to have a baby.”
Frowning mightily, Lindsey asked, “Why’s she a slave now?”
Gil tugged her from Catherine’s arms and said, “Because she accidentally hurt me, Lindsey.”
Lindsey’s eyes widened. “She shot you?”
“No, but she knew something was going to happen and didn’t tell the truth,” Gil explained. “That’s why you always have to tell the truth, no matter how bad you think it might be. Sara didn’t mean for me to get hurt, but I was, so now she’s a slave because she broke the law.”
Lindsey looked between the adults for a long moment, and relaxed when all she got was encouraging smiles from all of them. “Well, she doesn’t braid like Nicky, but I like her, too. I guess it’s okay. Do I, do I have to treat her different?”
Catherine shook her head. “Treat her with respect, like you always have, Linds. I’ll make sure that Sara knows what she can and can’t do. Now come on. You’ve got school in the morning and it’s getting late.”
It was only a few minutes later that Catherine and Lindsey were gone, leaving Nick and Gil alone at last. Once Nick settled on the sofa beside Gil, he smiled gently and pointed out, “I notice you didn’t tell her the whole truth, Master.”
“Well, I didn’t want her to be too confused,” Gil sighed. “Do you mind?”
Shaking his head, Nick stretched out on the couch, resting his head on his Master’s lap. “Nope. I think you did the right thing. Sara’s going to have a big adjustment as it is. Kids can be crueler than adults, especially when you hurt their friends. If you’d told her that Sara had wanted to kill me, it just would have made things that much more difficult for Sara.”
Combing his fingers through Nick’s hair, Gil admitted, “I still don’t know how you can be so calm about the whole situation.”
“Because I know that you’re safe and that we’re going on vacation in three weeks,” Nick replied, a smile teasing his lips.
Gil chuckled and bent down to kiss him, lingering on the soft lips that opened to him. Pulling back, he cupped Nick’s face and whispered, “I love you, Nicky, so much.”
With a brilliant smile, Nick whispered back, “I love you too, Master, more than life.”
Feeling whole and content, Gil sank back against the cushions and smiled as he continued to stroke his fingers through Nick’s hair. Life would calm down now and they could truly start living the life they were meant to live.