The Bedroom
Wearing the fresh chitoniskos around his waist and new sandals on his feet, Niko let himself be led by the slave down a long corridor lined with wooden doors on each side. Most were shut, but when they passed a door slightly ajar he could see the insides of a small room. He glimpsed a large double bed in the center of it before they passed on. The sight made his pulse skip.
How am I to share one of those with Damon?
He didn’t have long to ponder the question. The corridor rounded a corner before abruptly coming to an end in front of another door. The slave stood to the side of it and bowed his head.
It took Niko a moment to realize he’d reached his destination. He glanced at his companion, but the slave didn’t look like he was going to offer any suggestion as to what Niko should do.
Here goes nothing.
Trying not to tremble, he raised his fist and knocked on the door. A moment of silence passed.
Maybe I should wait here until Damon’s returned from wherever he’s—
“Enter, Niko,” came a voice from inside. Despite their minimal interactions, Niko could tell it was Damon speaking. His breath caught as Damon uttered his name.
The slave took that as his cue to scurry away, leaving Niko by himself.
“Are you coming inside or not?” Damon sounded bored more than angry.
That made Niko even more unsettled. But he didn’t have to be told for a third time.
He turned the cold iron door handle and pushed the door inwards. It swung forward without creaking, revealing a room substantially larger than the other room he’d walked past. A faint scent of leather and oil lingered in the air. A large four-poster bed sat against a far wall, covered in brown-woolen blankets. A dresser stood against a nearby wall underneath a window that had its shutters wide open. A wooden table with two chairs sat on the other side of the room.
Damon sat in one of them, reading a wax tablet in his hands.
“Close the door,” he said without looking up.
Niko did so, then stepped forward into the middle of the room. Damon didn’t look at him. A minute passed. Niko began shuffling, adjusting his chitoniskos, feeling the heat climb up his neck.
“Um…you…m’lord…asked to see me?” said Niko, trying hard to keep his voice from shaking.
After another excruciatingly long pause, Damon put the tablet down and stood up. Niko forgot how tall the veteran was—at least a head higher and almost twice as broad. The veteran wore a brown tunic that barely contained his muscled body, likely built over decades of fighting.
He began walking around Niko slowly, eyeing him up and down as if he were a prize foal at the stables about to be auctioned off. Each step Damon took felt like heat crawling across his skin.
“I want to make one thing clear, boy, it was not my idea to have you. I didn’t have a choice, as I hear you didn’t either.”
The word boy sent shudders through him, and stiffened his cock, even if the implication was devastating.
This was another man who didn’t want him.
Damon sat on the edge of the bed, apparently oblivious to Niko’s inner turmoil. “So, to make this work you are to follow my orders if you want to survive here. Which I suggest you do without question—I don’t want to have to choose a new partner.”
“Yes…my lord. I’m sorry,” he said, keeping his gaze towards the floor and willing the tears forming in his eyes not to fall.
Niko heard Damon walk away. He took the opportunity to quickly wipe his eyes. The veteran hadn’t gone far—just to the dresser. He pulled open the top drawer and removed something Niko couldn’t see. He walked over to stand behind the young man.
“In any case, you are to now have this.”
Niko felt cold metal drape over his bare shoulders. He shivered, not from the metal’s chill but from Damon’s nearness. He raised his hands to his chest and felt a small metal pendant. Damon finished clasping it behind Niko’s neck before walking in front of him. Damon stared at the pendant sitting on Niko’s bare chest with an expression impossible to read.
Niko forgot to breathe when Damon gently reached out to hold his chin, tilting Niko’s face upwards to stare directly at him. The veteran’s eyes were as hard as iron but also had a fire within them that Niko couldn’t help but get lost in. It all made his head light. Niko bit his lower lip; Damon’s breath on his cheek was only making matters worse.
But Damon released Niko’s chin as quickly as he’d grabbed it in the first place and returned to his seat at the table.
“The welcome feast is soon. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
Niko didn’t know what to say.
“Thank you, m’lord,” he stammered.
Damon picked up the wax tablet and resumed reading. Niko guessed that meant he was dismissed. His chest ached with something that felt too big to be heartbreak—and too sharp to be anything else.
My life is fucked.
He turned around and left the bedroom.
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