Dom of Ages by K.C. Wells & Parker Williams Page B

eyes. Master Phillip was never the shy type. When he saw something he wanted, he went for it. I served him his dinner, and then asked if he would be interested in dessert. He asked me what we had on the menu, and I ran off the list of choices. He frowned and said we didn’t have what he really wanted. I offered to try and get it for him, if only he’d tell me what it was.” There was a faraway look in his eyes. “He reached out, took my hand, and said, ‘I want you. Will you come home with me?’”
    “Wow.” Phillip reminded me of me, neither of us willing to pass up on something we really wanted, both of us seemingly scared to let go when we’d found it.
    “I was flattered that this dashing man had taken a liking to me, and I said I’d love to. He waited in the restaurant bar until I’d finished work, and then he took me home. We made love that night lying in front of a fireplace.” Jarod’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes sparkling. “That night was my first time. When he found out I hadn’t been with anyone yet, he smiled and kissed me, and promised he would make it something to remember.”
    “And did he?” I loved the expression on Jarod’s face, lost in a sweet memory.
    He gave a shy smile. “He did. The next morning we woke up and made love again. Then I told him I needed to get home. He almost begged to see me again, but by that time he was already under my skin, and I couldn’t deny him.”
    For a moment there was a burning in my chest as I contemplated the almost instantaneous connection that had taken place between Jarod and Phillip. How I’d ached to meet someone and have that kind of reaction between us. I pushed aside the pang of jealousy. After all, Jarod was mine now, and we were about to begin our journey together.
    Jarod gazed at the rug in front of the couch. “He taught me ways to please him, which included using some light bondage. I never realized how slowly he introduced me to what he liked, but we found that I enjoyed it too. It seemed that he couldn’t get enough of me, and honestly, I would never have enough of him.” Jarod gave a quiet laugh. “I think I fell in love with him when he uttered that corny dessert line.”
    I could hear the love in his voice for Phillip. It made my heart ache for his loss.
    “One night turned to two, then a few weeks, and finally, one month after we met, he told me he didn’t want to share me with anyone, and he asked me to move in with him. He told me he would take care of me, if I would take care of him. I went home to talk to Mum, because I couldn’t think about leaving her alone. She clutched me to her chest, crying what she described as tears of joy, and said I must follow my heart. I did, and I never once regretted it.”
    When he stopped speaking, my throat was tight. It wasn’t unheard of that a couple would devote themselves to one another the way that Jarod and Phillip did, but for twenty-four years?
    “He must have loved you very much,” I said finally.
    “He did. But he was still my master, and even after we were together all those years, I would be punished if I broke one of his rules. Even then, he still showed me he cared. I was sent to my room one night after… I forget what. He sat on my bed and asked me if I understood why I was being punished. Of course I did. Then he pulled the covers to my chin and lay down beside me. I was confused and asked him why. He said I was being punished, but he didn’t see why he should be too. Eventually he got up and left the room. Even though it hurt to be away from him, I knew he still thought of me as his boy.”
    “I envy him,” I said. “To find the one person you will be with for the rest of your life is a rare gift.”
    “It wasn’t long enough,” he whispered harshly, as he told me the circumstances of Phillip’s death.
    “Hey, come here.” I pulled him to me, putting my arm around him. “It wasn’t as if he went out intending never to come home. If he had saved himself