Tears of the Neko (14 page)

When the boy emerged from his bath, dressed
in the oversized clothing, his eyes immediately darted to the fire.
Damien smiled slightly as he waved Kayden over, gesturing for him
to enjoy the fire too, and for a second he thought the boy would
just dart into his room instead. But Kayden slunk over to the edge
of the carpet, a slight smile playing across the boy's face, the
first one he'd seen from the boy. It lit up the boy's face, and he
looked even more beautiful.

He watched Kayden settle cross-legged in
front of the fire, staring at it mesmerized. The silky black locks
glistened with water that dripped onto the back of his overlarge
shirt. The long black tail swished behind him idly, flopping on the
carpet. It was the most relaxed he'd ever seen the boy--usually he
was tense and curled into a ball--although he did seem to be more
at ease here than anywhere else in the house.

"Kayden," Damien called gently, and the boy
turned. Damien was glad to see no fear or anxiety cross the boy's
features this time, only curiosity. He patted the couch next to
him. "Come. Sit here."

Kayden slowly unfolded himself and slinked up
onto the sofa near his master. He tucked his legs up under him to
keep his feet warm.

"You like the fire?" Damien asked.

Kayden nodded, staring at the flickering
flames. Damien could see the exhaustion in the boy's body, and the
yawn that came next caused Damien to chuckle lightly. He reached
over and gently gripped the boy's neck and tugged, urging him to
lie down.

Hesitantly, Kayden settled his head on his
master's thigh, and Damien wound his fingers into the long damp
strands, gently petting and rubbing as he'd done before. He could
have sworn he heard the boy sigh in content.

"Do you like it when I do this?" he finally
asked, to be sure.

The head bobbed, and Damien slowly scratched
behind the pointed ears. "Talk to me, kitten. I like to hear your
voice."

Kayden swallowed, "Yes, sir."

Damien's hand stroked down the boy's back,
frowning when his fingers felt the knobs of the boy's spine through
the thin material of the linen shirt. He slowly explored further,
not wanting to break the relaxed moment, but felt along the boy's
side and realized he could count ribs. Just how thin was this
kid?

"Kitten," Damien kept his voice low and even,
"are you getting enough to eat?"

Again, he nodded at first, but then came the
voice. "Yes, sir."

And Damien briefly wondered if he would even
tell him the truth and vowed to increase his portions. "Are you
sure?"

"Yes, sir," came the soft voice again. "It's
more than I've had before and better."

"Good, but I want you to keep eating. Let me
know if you are hungry or need more," Damien said, going back to
slowly petting the boy's head.

Damien felt a small hand creep onto his thigh
next to the boy's head as Kayden settled even more into the spot
next to him. The slender fingers dug briefly into his thigh, as
Kayden's whole body seemed to relax.

Damien smiled as he gazed down at the lithe
little body curled up next to him, and he felt more at ease and
relaxed than he'd felt in a long time. He pulled the blanket from
the back of the couch and covered Kayden. Sinking back into the
couch, he stretched his legs out to the table in front of him and
picked up his book, settling in for one of the most tranquil
evenings he'd ever had.

****

Kayden's ear twitched as he heard voices,
they were distant and non-threatening, so he ignored them, slightly
annoyed they had woken him from the best sleep he'd had in a long
time. He rubbed a hand across his face, then nuzzled his face in
the warm blanket under him that smelled of his master. He sighed at
the reassuring scent as he resettled against the warmth.

But then the warm blanket moved under him,
and he startled, his eyes popping open. He stared in shock up at
his master's face whose eyes were still closed as he started
shifting to wakefulness.

Kayden froze in fear as he realized that he
was nestled against his master's chest, and what he'd thought was a
warm blanket under him was actually his master's warm body. He had
apparently fallen asleep on the long, muscled body, soothed by the
even cadence of the man's strong heartbeat and deep breathing.

A second later, the breathing changed and the
body tensed under him, and Kayden was staring up into the deep aqua
eyes of his master, who was now realizing that Kayden was on top of
him.

Kayden gasped audibly and jerked abruptly as
he scrambled to get off his master, eyes wide with fear at the
thought of what punishment his actions might bring.

"Woah, woah," his master's deep voice
rumbled.

Kayden felt strong arms tighten around him,
gently restraining him. He struggled for another minute, then felt
the large soothing hand cup the back of his head, pressing him back
down toward the broad chest.

"Shhh, calm down, kitten," Damien whispered
against his ticklish ear. The hand petted soothingly, and Kayden
slowly relaxed against the length of his master.

****

Damien stared down at the wide green eyes,
smiling as he felt the boy's body relax. He realized that at some
point during the night he had dropped his book and settled even
more into the plush couch, and that Kayden had snuggled up onto
him, curling up against his chest.

Waking up to the weight of the boy pressed
against him had to be one of the most comforting moments of his
adult life. At least until the boy had startled and suddenly tried
to get up.

When he finally got the boy to settle back
down, he pulled the blanket back over them. He could still feel
some tension in the thin body, but the boy wasn't panicking or
struggling.

"Are you okay, kitten?" Damien breathed
against the top of the boy's head.

Kayden nodded against his chest and seemed to
take a deep breath. Damien gently relaxed his grip, moving his hand
to stroke the fine ebony hair.

"I'm enjoying relaxing like this," Damien
said, "but if you want to get up, you can. I don't want you to be
uncomfortable."

He wanted the boy to know that it was okay,
that he hadn't done anything wrong and that Damien was enjoying
being with him. But he didn't want the boy to feel trapped either.
Damien focused on listening for sounds of distress but didn't hear
any.

After another moment, he actually felt Kayden
seem to snuggle back in against him. He smiled and kissed the top
of the boy's head. He stroked down the boy's back, and as his hand
slid back up, he found his hand against bare skin. He paused as the
boy's back muscles rippled under his fingers, but when Kayden
settled back down, he flattened his palm and stroked up the smooth
skin.

He felt Kayden shiver under him and almost
seemed to purr. The thin body stretched out against him, arching
into his touch. He smiled when he felt the evidence of the boy's
reaction to him pressing against his thigh. Of course, if the boy
moved anymore, he'd feel Damien's own reaction to the boy's body as
well.

Damien groaned as Kayden nuzzled into his
chest, the small hands inadvertently brushing across his nipples
through his shirt.

A knock at the door caused both of them to
freeze--Kayden in fear and Damien in frustration.

"Yes?" Damien yawned.

"Sir, I have your breakfast," John Drystan
called.

"Fine, come in," Damien grumbled, and the
door opened.

John stopped in shock when he saw the black
ears peeking out from under the blanket that was curled over his
master's chest.

"Come on, kitten," Damien urged. "Let's
eat."

Damien laughed at the drop-jawed look on his
servant's face as he threw off the blanket and the young neko tried
to burrow further into his chest. He quickly leaned down and
brushed a chaste kiss across the boy's cheek, causing him to flush
a bright pink.

He stretched as John moved to put the tray
down on the table. He untangled himself from the light little body
and stood to pop his back.

"Did--did you sleep well, my lord?" he
stammered, casting another glance at the neko, curling itself into
the couch.

"Yes, actually," he grinned. "We had quite a
lovely cat nap." And he was surprised to hear a little giggle from
the curled up ball on the couch.

****

Damien felt unusually relaxed the entire
morning. He couldn't exactly figure out what it was, except that he
and Kayden had finally reached a point where he wasn't annoyed by
the boy's presence anymore. Ever since seeing the boy playing with
the shaving cream and feeling ridiculously protective of him when
the king's guard grabbed him, he couldn't help but see the boy as
more than just a burden now.

And waking up with the warm body curled up on
him had been...

Damien smiled down at the boy that dropped to
his knees next to his chair as he did every day. He curled his
fingers through the silky locks and the boy's head dropped against
his thigh with a soft sigh.

Yeah, Damien thought, things had definitely
changed.

****

Today, Damien was so busy going over accounts
that he hadn't stopped to eat. Kayden had moved to the window sill
behind him earlier and had watched men pruning bushes and horses
coming and going up the path and around the back of the house. But
he was beginning to sense that the man getting irritable. He hoped
his master wouldn't take it out on him. Somehow, he didn't think
that he would, but he hadn't known the man that long either.

Kayden sighed at the memory of waking up to
the heat of his master's body, drowning in the scent of the man. He
glanced over at the back of the man's head, wishing he could run
his fingers through his master's fine waves, but he knew he'd never
get up the nerve to touch his master in that way.

He heard Damien curse under his breath, and
instinctively felt his body tense before letting his shoulders and
tail drop. His master wasn't mad at him, he reminded himself. If he
thought about it, no one here had hurt him except that loud,
tobacco-smelling master. Even the slave master hadn't hurt him
intentionally, only frustrated by Kayden's actions when he was
trying to get his collar on.

He gracefully slid off the window sill and
slowly moved to stand near his master, this morning's triste having
left him feeling more audacious than he'd ever been. He stood,
waiting to catch the man's attention so he wasn't distracting
him.

It took several minutes for his master to
look up at him, and Kayden felt his heart jolt when the man
actually smiled at him.

"You okay?" Damien asked him, as he reached
his hands behind his head and stretched.

Kayden watched the fabric stretch across the
man's pectoral muscles and swallowed hard. He instantly dropped his
eyes to the floor and nodded.

Kayden bit his lip as his bravery faltered,
and he debated if he should speak. His master had said it was okay,
but he still wasn't so sure.

"Did you want to tell me something?" Damien
asked as he noticed the boy hovering.

Kayden's green eyes flashed up, and he nodded
again, swallowing hard to find the nerve to speak to his master,
but he couldn't.

The large man rose from his chair and stepped
closer, and Kayden fought the urge to drop to his knees. He felt
the man's hand caress his cheek and then tilt his chin up so their
eyes met.

"Tell me, kitten," Damien said softly.

He bit his lip and swallowed again. "I--Sir,
I--t-thought m-maybe..." Kayden felt his chest tighten with the
fear of talking to his master like this, of initiating a
conversation, of asking a question. "I--thought y-you m-might be
h-hungry?"

A deep chuckle rose from the man's chest, as
he smoothed his thumb over Kayden's throat above the soft leather
collar. Kayden felt himself leaning into the touch. He'd been so
long without a gentle touch that he couldn't help but savor the
feeling of the man's fingers on his skin when he could.

"I'm sorry," his master's deep voice said
lightly, "I've just gotten busy today. I didn't even think to stop
to eat. And Oliver is coming to visit in a bit, so I probably need
to eat now."

"I--I c-can g-go get it," Kayden stammered,
wanting to do something to please his master. "If it p-pleases you,
s-sir."

The thumb paused its exploration briefly as
Kayden heard the man's breathing change. Damien cleared his throat,
as Kayden glanced up to see the surprise in the deep sapphire eyes.
His master knew how hard it was for him to offer. "That would be
wonderful, if you would be willing to do that."

Kayden felt himself nodding before he could
change his mind and totally lose all his courage.

"Good," Damien said, turning to return to his
seat. "Whatever you bring back, I'm sure will be fine. Ysmenia will
help you, I'm sure."

Kayden nodded and darted to the door before
he lost his nerve. As he cracked open the door, he glanced around
to see if anyone was in the hallway. Seeing no one, but hearing
voices upstairs, he skittered across the hall to the dining room,
taking the path to the kitchen that he'd followed behind his master
several times before. He knew there was another entrance to the
kitchen, one most servants used, but he wasn't sure exactly where
it was. And the idea of running into so many other strangers had
his heart pounding in his chest, not that it wasn't already. Softly
stepping through the dining room, he moved to the small hallway
that led into the kitchen, hovering in the shadows of the
doorway.

Now that he was here, he wasn't sure what to
do. He observed the bustle of the kitchen, noting the chef and
several assistants that he recognized. A couple other servants
walked through the back door. Five were sitting at the long wooden
table eating and laughing together.