Deviations:
Domination
by Chris Owen and Jodi Payne
Chapter One
Wednesday. It had been a long, drawn-out week, and Tobias couldn't
believe it was still only Wednesday.
He'd had a full day, out of town as usual in the morning, helping
a mare to foal. She threw a beautiful dark bay colt that presented
very much like his particularly handsome sire, and Tobias had
considered making a bid for him right then and there but restrained
himself. He was already training Noah; he didn't need another
colt to complicate their weekends. Things were busy enough in
his life without adding a new horse to his stables, a new responsibility
to his already full plate.
In the few weeks since he'd met Noah at his club, Tobias had
swung from one rush of feeling to another. Sexually, they were
more than compatible, Noah's natural submissive tendencies meshing
well with Tobias' own need to dominate. It went deeper than
just mere sex, however, and in very short order Tobias and Noah
had signed a six-month contract binding them together in a more
tangible power exchange.
It was serious, it was important, and it was very heady. Tobias
found almost all of his time taken up with thinking about his
new submissive, lost in plans and a fair number of daydreams.
It made his hours working as a large animal veterinarian seem
almost relaxing by comparison. He only hoped that Noah's daydreams
were confined to when he wasn't in his patrol car -- a police
officer with his mind on his relationship wasn't good for anyone.
When Tobias walked in the door of his uptown condo, he set his
keys down on the hall table and hit the play button on the answering
machine as he pulled off his boots. After a long beep a rich
male voice began to speak. ''Hello, Tobias, it's Bradford. I
haven't seen you or your boy around the club in nearly a month.
I trust this is a good sign? I'd like to get together and hear
about how things are going. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am checking
up on you; don't get your knickers in a twist, friend, it's
just that... well, I worry. Oh, thank you for sending me a copy
of your contract, I've put that in your files. Give me a call,
Tobias, and let's have dinner. I'd like to catch up.''
Tobias sighed ruefully and nodded to himself. On some level
he'd expected the call, though he hadn't really thought about
it in terms of Bradford checking up on them. Still, it wouldn't
be a trial to talk about Noah and where things stood at the
moment; in fact, he'd welcome another perspective. He had a
plan for the weekend and it might be a good idea to talk it
over with someone who knew them both.
After stopping in the kitchen long enough to determine that
he needed to order out for dinner, Tobias picked up the phone
and called Bradford's direct line at the club. If the man didn't
pick up, he'd at least be able to leave a message.
''Hello?'' Bradford was a man who'd done very, very well for
himself. Part of his success was due to the fact that he could
always be relied upon to respect the anonymity and privacy of
his members and guests. Case in point, he never answered the
phone with his own name or the name of the club, just a simple,
discreet greeting, giving away nothing until he knew who was
on the other end of the line.
''Good evening, Bradford,'' Tobias said with a smile. ''I got
your message, Mother.''
''Ah, sonny-boy, so good to hear from you.'' Bradford snorted.
''Don't give me that crap, Tobias. I set the two of you up,
you're both important members, and I want to know how it's going
for you. That's called integrity, hmm? Trust me, I haven't a
maternal bone in my body.''
Tobias grinned, not buying it for a moment. ''Sure. Whatever
you say. You can stop worrying, though; things are fine.'' He
crossed to the big window in his living room and looked out
at the city lights, counting blocks until he found Noah's.
'''Fine' is such a drab, generic word, Tobias. Tell me what
you really mean,'' Bradford encouraged.
''I mean... fine. Good. Great. He's coming along nicely; we've
established a base level trust, I think.'' He turned and leaned
on the window sill, facing the room. ''He had dinner with Phantom
last week.'' Tobias resisted the urge to cringe at the thought
of the two men, his new lover and his past lover, chatting happily
over dinner. They both tended toward the unpredictable, and
that worried him.
''Oh, yes, I know he did. That's part of the reason for my call.
I gather it went well? Phan thought he was 'hot.''' Bradford
loved gossip and made himself privy to all the rumors around
the club. At first glance one might call it catty, but Tobias
knew better -- he was simply protecting his own.
''It seemed to go well. Noah was fine when I saw him later.
Calm, steady... he seemed to think Phan was -- look, how deep
do you want to go here? I'd rather do this in person if you're
looking for a long debrief. If you're just needing quiet assurances,
both Noah and I are fine. The weekends are going well, and we're
in touch through the week as well.''
Tobias knew as soon as he spoke that he'd sounded snappish and
protective and that Bradford wouldn't miss it. The trouble was,
he wasn't sure why he suddenly felt like pulling back -- and
that meant he needed to talk it out. He sighed. ''Damn circular
logic,'' he muttered.
''Tobias,'' Bradford sighed and made a clicking sound with his
tongue. ''Be my guest tomorrow night for dinner. Here. What
would you like to eat? I'll make sure it's prepared for you.''
Tobias rolled his eyes, safely several miles out of Bradford's
view. ''Something gentle. Linguini in clam sauce?'' He hoped
the tacit acceptance would be enough.
''Done. I look forward to seeing you, Tobias, it's been long
enough,'' Bradford said softly, and Tobias could practically
hear the man's very genuine smile.
He found himself smiling in reply. ''I'll see you tomorrow night,
old friend. Around seven, I think.'' He hung up and turned once
more to look out over the city, watching the cars cruise along
Lincoln, toward downtown and Noah.
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