Heel "Heel" first appeared in the Torquere Press ezine Fresh Off the Vine (torquerepress.com/offthevine/index.html) in October 2005. ***** The kid was asking for it. Begging, really, with his threadbare suit and tie and the thick chain around his neck. Sebastian sipped his vodka and watched the boy watching him. The kid had arrived, fake I.D. in hand, just as the bar opened its doors for the evening. Too young to drink, no question. His studied casualness would have given him away even if his baby face hadn’t. Sebastian had to bribe Gina at the door twice her usual rate to let the kid in. He studied the face of the boy he’d targeted. Not a day over nineteen, he’d have bet his life on it. Perfect. The boy glanced his way again, dark eyes furtive and curious under lowered lashes. Sebastian smiled at him, a dirty languid smile calculated to intrigue. The boy blushed and dropped his gaze to the floor, letting his long dark curls fall over his face. Sebastian saw the way his sweet rosebud mouth curved up at the corners, though. This kid was his. He fingered the leather leash clipped to his belt. He lost sight of his target during the show. The band’s Cure-clone sound was wildly popular in the little college town, and the place was packed with black-clad university students wearing world weary sorrow as heavy as their eyeliner. Sebastian parked himself on a barstool and waited. He could feel the weight of eyes on him, male and female, all looking to pull a pretty Goth like him for the night. He knew he looked sexy as hell in his dangerously low riding jeans and skin tight black mesh shirt, and he could easily pass for ten years younger than his thirty-three. A few of the cruisers sniffing around tempted him, but he resisted. He could wait for the one he wanted. He tugged on the silver ring through his lower lip. The captive bead was a milky jade that matched his eyes to perfection. The piercing emphasized the soft sinful curve of his mouth. Silky black strands of his long-in-front, short-in-back hair caught on his lips and tickled his cheeks. It made him feel beautiful and mysterious. Three vodkas later, the band gave way to techno house music and the lights came up to their normal smoky dimness. Sebastian stood and leaned against the bar with his thumbs hooked in his belt. It wasn’t long before the boy he’d picked came into view. He was laughing as he talked excitedly with a couple of other kids. Then his gaze fell on Sebastian, and he went silent. Sebastian arched an eyebrow at him in unmistakable invitation. The boy turned and said something to a girl with blue ponytails. The girl glanced at Sebastian and her eyes widened. She said something into the boy’s ear, then squeezed his hand and moved off through the throng. The boy wiped his palms on his pants and started toward Sebastian, his gait hesitant as if he might turn and run the other way any second. Sebastian waited. A moment later, the young man stood close enough to touch. “Um... hi.” The kid smiled nervously, and Sebastian's groin twitched. God, the things he could do with that pretty little mouth... He shook himself and smiled back. “Hi. My name’s Sebastian.” He held out his hand. “I’m Elijah.” Elijah’s hand was damp and trembling. Sebastian raised it to his lips and kissed the back, letting the tip of his tongue barely brush the skin. Elijah’s deep brown eyes grew heavy. “Have you been with a man before, Elijah?” Sebastian kept hold of his hand, caressing the knuckles with his thumb. Elijah blushed crimson. Sebastian suppressed a smile. “Oh, yeah, lots of times,” Elijah said. “I’ve been out for, like, years.” He gave a little high-pitched laugh. “You sure get right to the point, don’t you?” “I don’t like to waste time.” Sebastian pulled Elijah close and leaned forward so that his hair brushed his cheek. He felt the young man react, the slender body tightening against him. “How old are you?” Sebastian asked. “I, I’m twenty-two.” “No, you’re not. Truth, Elijah. I promise I won’t get you in trouble.” Elijah was silent for a moment. Sebastian could see the rapid pulse jumping in his throat. When he finally spoke, Sebastian could barely hear him. “I just turned eighteen last week.” Sebastian felt a thrill go through him. He slipped an arm around Elijah’s waist, urging him closer. Elijah let out a little squeak when Sebastian’s thigh touched his groin. Sebastian pushed against him and felt him harden as fast as only a teenage boy can. Elijah laid both hands on Sebastian’s shoulders. He was shaking. Sebastian cradled Elijah’s head in one hand and gently kissed his lips. Elijah tensed for a second, then relaxed against him. Sebastian let him take the lead, opening his mouth to Elijah’s shyly probing tongue. Elijah let out a little breathy moan. He wound his arms around Sebastian’s neck and kissed him with more confidence than Sebastian would’ve believed he possessed. “God, you’re sexy.” Elijah tugged at Sebastian’s lip ring with his teeth. “Can we go somewhere?” “My place?” Sebastian kissed Elijah’s neck and slid both hands down over his firm little butt. “It’s only a couple of blocks away.” Elijah only hesitated for a second. “Let’s go.” They left the bar hand in hand. Out in the cool night air, Sebastian draped his arm across Elijah’s shoulders. Elijah stuck a hand in the back pocket of Sebastian’s jeans and pressed close. Sebastian could feel his heat through the thin fabric of his suit jacket. The knowledge that soon that sweet young body would be his sent a jolt of pleasure thrumming through his bones. They walked the short distance to Sebastian’s house in silence. Elijah’s eyes widened when Sebastian led him through the gate in the high stone wall and up the wide path. “You live here?” Elijah stared in unabashed awe at the three stories of ivy-covered stone and brick. “Wow. You must be rich.” Sebastian laughed. “Yeah, you could say that.” He fished the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door. “My parents were rich, and I got it all when they died, including the family mansion.” “So you grew up here?” Elijah let Sebastian take his hand and lead him inside. “Not exactly.” Sebastian shut the door and switched on a small lamp with a beaded green shade. “I grew up at boarding school. The first time I spent more than two weeks at a time here was when my parents died.” Elijah came to him and slid both arms around his waist. “How’d they die?” He rubbed his cheek against Sebastian’s. “Car accident,” Sebastian said, only half lying. “That sucks,” Elijah said, breathing the words against Sebastian’s neck. “My mom died when I was ten.” He kissed Sebastian’s chin. “She never told anyone who my dad was. I’ve been in foster homes ever since.” He moved up to kiss Sebastian’s mouth. “I’m on my own now.” Sebastian laid a hand on Elijah’s soft cheek. “So young to be alone, Elijah. Don’t you need someone to take care of you?” Elijah lifted his chin. “I can take care of myself.” His tone was defiant, but his big dark eyes radiated vulnerability. Sebastian raked his fingers through Elijah’s silky curls. “Of course you can,” he said. “But wouldn’t you like to have someone to look after you? Someone to be with?” He pulled Elijah closer. “Someone to belong to?” Elijah closed his eyes and rested his head in the curve of Sebastian’s neck. “Yes,” he whispered. His voice was raw with need. Sebastian stroked Elijah’s back. “I’d like to be that person, Elijah. I’d like to be the one to take care of you.” Elijah lifted his head and stared at Sebastian in surprise. “Really? But you don’t even know me.” “You don’t know me either, but you came here with me anyway. And you want to belong to me, I can feel it.” Sebastian laid a chaste kiss to Elijah’s lips. “You do, don’t you?” Elijah’s breath ran out in a long sigh when Sebastian slipped a hand up the back of his shirt, running light fingers over his spine. “God, yeah. I do.” “You need to understand what that means.” Sebastian took Elijah’s face in his hands and stared hard into his eyes. “Do you? Do you understand what it would mean to be mine?” Elijah held Sebastian’s gaze without flinching. “I think so. You take care of me. Give me food, a place to live, clothes, whatever I need. And I give you... whatever you need.” Sebastian ran his tongue over Elijah’s mouth. “You mean sex, don’t you, Elijah? You’d give it to me however and whenever I want it, wouldn’t you?” “I’d be your slave.” Elijah gazed up at Sebastian from under submissively lowered lids. Sebastian shook his head. “Not my slave. I don’t want or need a slave. You’d be more of a... a pet.” He ran his palms over Elijah’s shoulders, pushing the suit jacket off. It slithered to the floor. “You can’t hold a slave while he sleeps. You can’t cuddle under a blanket and watch TV with a slave on a cold night.” He buried his hands in Elijah’s hair and kissed his forehead. “You can’t love a slave. And I’d love you, Elijah. I’d love you, and take care of you, and never let anything bad happen to you again.” A single tear sparkled its way down Elijah’s face. Sebastian kissed it away. “So what do you say, Elijah? I’ll keep you, and look after you, and in return you give me something warm to come home to. Will you do it?” Elijah’s smile was a beautiful thing. “Yeah, I’ll do it.” Sebastian smiled back. “Good.” He pulled the leash off of his belt and clipped it to the chain around Elijah’s neck. Elijah’s eyes went wide. He swallowed audibly, and the leash’s clip jangled against the chain. Elijah traced his slim fingers delicately over the chain and down the supple black leather. “Feels... kind of weird. To be on a leash, I mean.” Elijah’s pulse throbbed in his throat, so hard Sebastian could see it. “At first, yeah. But you’ll get used to it.” Sebastian tugged on the leash. “Come upstairs with me.” Elijah followed without a word. Sebastian stripped his own clothes off first. He held Elijah and kissed him, soft slow kisses until the boy’s shaking stopped and his hands grew bold on Sebastian’s bare skin. They fumbled Elijah’s clothes off in between kisses that had become frantic. The chain and leash stayed on. Sebastian led Elijah naked to the bed and wound the end of the leash around a hook set in the wall. “Lie down, baby,” he said. “On your stomach.” Elijah’s eyes widened, but he did as he was told. Sebastian stretched out on top of him, letting his erection nestle between Elijah’s buttocks. The renewed trembling in the young man’s body told Sebastian everything he needed to know. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?” Sebastian asked. “Yeah. I mean I’ve sucked cock before, but I haven’t... you know.” Elijah twisted his head around to meet Sebastian’s eyes. “Will it hurt?” His voice was small and scared. Sebastian stroked his hair and kissed his downy cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I wouldn’t hurt you for anything.” It did hurt, judging by the way Elijah scrunched his face up and clawed the sheets when Sebastian entered him. There was no avoiding it, really, even after careful preparation with fingers and tongue, and using plenty of lube. But his little pain noises gave way within seconds to moans of pure pleasure that set a red fire in Sebastian’s brain. He lifted Elijah onto hands and knees and plunged deep, over and over again until the pressure inside him burst into the ecstasy of release. Elijah came almost immediately when Sebastian rolled him over and took his cock into his mouth. The boy’s wailing cry was nearly as sweet as the taste of his smooth young skin. Sebastian swallowed the warm semen, relishing the salty-bitter taste on the back of his tongue. “Fuck,” Elijah gasped. “God. God.” Sebastian crawled up and folded Elijah’s sweat-damp body in his arms. “You okay?” He kissed Elijah’s hair where it matted against his flushed face. “Yeah. That was so fucking great.” He gazed up at Sebastian with an absolute trust shining in his eyes. “For me too, sweetness.” Sebastian lifted Elijah’s chin and kissed his lips. “Go on to sleep now. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.” “Doing what?” “I’m taking you shopping. And we can go out to lunch, and go to the park if the weather’s nice.” “Sounds great.” Elijah laid a hand on Sebastian’s cheek. “I think this is gonna be good, Sebastian.” “It will be. I promise.” Sebastian raked his fingers through Elijah’s tangles. “Now go to sleep, baby. I’ll be right here.” Elijah laid his head on Sebastian’s chest. He was sound asleep within minutes. Sebastian lay awake for a while longer, lazily stroking Elijah’s back and thinking about the coming day. There were so many things to take care of. Elijah would go naked at home, of course, but would need clothes for when they went out. He would need a new collar as well, a nice soft leather one that wouldn’t chafe his neck the way the chain would. And a new mattress for his bed in the basement. The old one was hopelessly stained and still reeked of decay. James, his last pet, had been dead for days by the time Sebastian noticed. He still felt bad about that, but he’d been caught up in other things at the time and had simply forgotten to feed the kid. If only he’d let him run loose instead of keeping him chained... Sebastian shook himself. No use in beating himself up about it, he thought. If James had been loose, he would’ve just tried to run away again. He gazed down at the beautiful young man sleeping on his chest and smiled. “It’s going to be different this time,” Sebastian whispered against Elijah’s hair. “It is. Because you’re different. All those others, they weren’t good pets. They were too wild, they didn’t appreciate anything I did for them. But you will. I can tell.” Elijah stirred and whimpered in his sleep. Sebastian clutched him close, kissing the night fears away.