I Spy a Dark Obsession

That’s not fair. Maggie’s death nearly destroyed him and he grieved for months.

Okay, so maybe it was just Bastian’s issue. Michael couldn’t express feelings he didn’t have, and Bastian couldn’t let go. I have to. Somehow, I’ve got to move on.

Blaze joined him on the sidewalk, Emma close behind. “Michael called the team and they’re sending a couple of agents to trail us and watch my house while you’re there.”

Bastian grimaced. “God, I hadn’t even thought of the danger I’m putting you two in by going with you. I should go home.” He’d been thinking with his cock, and had also been focused on striking out at Michael.

“Forget it,” Emma said. “We’ve got a date and we’re not letting you wimp out.”

“It’ll be good for you to unwind for a while.” Blaze’s golden gaze pinned him. “To forget. Besides, Emma and I are already on Dietz’s hit list because we destroyed his plans for the weapon he stole, and the money we cost him as a result. You’re not bringing any more trouble than we’ve already got.”

He gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.”

They climbed into a sedan Bastian assumed was Emma’s, because Blaze drove a snazzy Viper. Bastian settled in the backseat and tried to shake off the feeling of being the perpetual fifth wheel. Which was ridiculous. He would relax and enjoy tonight, whatever it took.

“I take it Michael still hasn’t come around,” Blaze said, pulling out of the parking lot.

Bastian snorted. “Are you kidding? He — Wait a second. I told you I was in love with someone, but I never said with whom.” Before Michael was shot, he’d made the confession to Kelly in a moment of weakness, leaving out his friend’s name. He thought he’d been careful, but apparently not enough.

“Reality check: it’s so obvious to everyone within a ten-mile radius, you might as well put up a billboard. I guessed a long time ago.”

“Shit.”

“Don’t sweat it. We’re not going to say anything to anyone.” Emma voiced her agreement.

“I know. It’s just that I feel… pathetic. The man is so straight, his ass cheeks play ‘U Can’t Touch This’ when he walks.”

His friends cracked up, and Bastian couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t meant it as a joke, but the visual was pretty funny. And it went a long way toward lightening the mood as Blaze drove them to his house, the one he now shared with Emma.

Twenty minutes later, Blaze pulled into the drive and parked. Bastian tried to ignore the headlights of the car that followed them and parked on the street, and forget the reason the two agents were protecting them. He’d like to believe Dietz had called off his vendetta and skipped the country, but knew the odds of the asshole giving up so easily were slim.

They went inside, Blaze locking the door behind him. He looked at Bastian. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Beer?”

“Nope. You’ve had enough, and besides…” He leered at Bastian’s crotch. “Too much alcohol has a negative effect on the equipment.”

Damn. “You’re right. No, I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Good. Now, the first thing we’re gonna do is some loving therapy to release all that tension in you, before you break in half.” He gestured to a door that Bastian knew hid a stairwell. “In my basement.”

Bastian swallowed, excitement flooding his veins at the memory of his initiation into Blaze’s world as a hard- core Dom. More like a taste, really. Bastian could never live that lifestyle on a permanent basis, but he’d discovered that every now and then, he enjoyed putting himself in a Dom’s capable hands. Letting his worries slide into oblivion, knowing he was safe in Blaze’s realm of rules and clear-cut expectations. All he had to do was place his trust in this man, just be, and the rest would take care of itself.

They descended the stairs, Blaze in the lead. At the bottom, the other man turned to him. “Have your needs changed since we made your contract?”

No one did a scene with the Dom without a contract, no matter how infrequent he saw the person. They’d agreed on one together the first and only time Bastian had accompanied him here. Bastian shook his head.

“Good. Safe word?”

He had to think a few seconds before he remembered. “Sable.” The color of Michael’s hair. God.

“All right. Strip.” The Dom looked at Emma, a glint in his eyes. “Both of you.”

Bastian couldn’t help but stare at Emma as she complied, and took notice of her toned, athletic body. She wasn’t his usual type, if he even had one, with her short blond hair and kick-ass attitude to match her physique. But she intrigued him. Aroused him. It still amazed him to see the woman turn to butter when Blaze so much as crooked his finger. Bastian had to admit his friend was a lucky guy.

Quickly, Bastian removed his clothes and folded them neatly, then placed them on a nearby chair. He faced the other man and stood with his hands at his sides, resisting the urge to ask what came next. Blaze would tell him.

Bastian’s cock, already half-hard, rose to full mast when Blaze came over and thumbed his nipple ring. Took it in his fingers and twisted, sending an arc of delight coursing from the tortured tip to his groin.

“Just one pierced? Too bad the other one isn’t done.” He bent and licked the nub, then took it and the ring into his mouth, suckling.

Bastian sucked in a breath, unable to recall the last person who’d played with it, which was a shame. His nipples were one of his erogenous zones, and he loved this.

Blaze straightened. “Emma, bring me that leather strap from the equipment table.”

“Yes, sir.” She hurried to get it and returned, holding it out for his inspection.

“This will do perfectly.”

For what? He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

The Dom addressed Emma again. “Use the strap to bind our boy’s cock and balls properly.”

“Yes, sir!” She knelt, putting her face tantalizingly near Bastian’s crotch.

His heart sped up. He had a pretty good idea what the binding involved, but he’d never experienced it before.

“The binding will keep you from coming until I’m ready,” Blaze explained, as though he’d sensed Bastian’s unspoken question. “You’re wound too tight, and your body needs this. You can’t reach your zone if you’re worried about your cock and coming. I’m going to take that worry from you. Do you understand?”

“I think so.” He wasn’t sure he did, but he trusted Blaze to show him.

Emma went to work, her clever fingers gently weaving the strap around and between his balls, separating and lifting them. It felt strange but not painful. Definitely erotic, the sight of the thin black leather crisscrossing up the length of his turgid shaft. Being restrained and artfully presented at the same time.

“Finished, sir.”

“Excellent work.” To Bastian, he said, “See that padded bench over there? Go bend over it and stand with your legs spread, a bit wider than your shoulders.”

“Okay.”

His eyes narrowed. “The correct response is ‘Yes, sir.’ ”

“I’m sorry. Yes, sir.”

“Good boy. Now get going.”

He did as he was told, excitement building, sharpened by a sliver of fear. He knew Blaze wouldn’t injure him, but this was new territory. He wasn’t used to giving another man total control over his body, and every instinct he possessed as an agent screamed out against being restrained. His more passionate side, however, the one that sometimes craved a darker brand of loving, arched like a cat being scratched.

At the bench, he bent over, turned his head to the side, and rested it on the padding, and spread his feet as he was told. He was hyperaware of how the position exposed him to whatever Blaze wished to do. He wondered how the binding, this scene, was supposed to help him relax and find his zone, as the man called it.

Blaze came up behind him, smoothed a palm over his shoulders and back. “These knots in your muscles are