Tears of the Neko (30 page)

A little knowing smile teased at Kayden's
lips at the power he had over his master right now. He started to
press back against his master's cock, but Damien stopped him.

"No," Damien groaned, almost as if the word
was being ripped from him, and Kayden froze, worried he'd done
something wrong.

Damien forced Kayden to meet his deep blue
eyes. Kayden could see that his master's pupils were blown in
arousal.

"If you want to do this, get the oil," Damien
stated.

And Kayden melted at the thought of his
master offering him this control, this decision, and not just
taking it from him like every other man had.

He reached for the bottle of oil scented with
lavender that he used to give his master massages. Damien threw his
head back in anticipation as he watched Kayden pour some into his
hand, hissing in pleasure as Kayden's hand slicked over his
hardness.

"Oh, god, kitten," Damien groaned as Kayden
stroked him a few times. Damien tightened his grip on Kayden's
thighs.

Kayden released him, and, using his hands for
balance, eased himself over his master. He felt Damien quivering
with the need to hold himself still for Kayden, knowing that he
would hurt the boy if he moved before Kayden was ready.

Kayden mewled as he felt the odd combination
of the slight burning pain mixed with the pleasant sensation of
being filled by his master, being owned, being loved.

Kayden's hands slid up the sweat-slicked
chest as he worked his way down over his master's length, feeling
the rapid heartbeat under his fingers. When he tried to move,
Damien gripped his waist, holding him still.

"Just--just..." Damien gasped. "Let me just
feel you." And Kayden loved the look of absolute bliss on his
master's face. "God, kitten, you feel--"

And Kayden had no idea what his master was
about to say because one of them shifted, and Kayden threw back his
head letting out a cry as immense pleasure coursed through him. He
tightened on Damien, claws digging in unintentionally, causing
Damien to respond by thrusting his hips. They both gasped in the
shock, and began riding the sensation, both desperately seeking
release.

Within moments, Kayden could feel the
pressure building and he whined and gasped seeking the friction
that would put him over the edge. He could feel Damien's rhythmic
thrusting falter and knew he was close as well.

When Damien's hand wrapped around his
arousal, stroking once, twice, he threw his head back, body
straining with his release. His body clenched, riding the burst of
his climax, pulling Damien with him as he felt the warmth of his
master's seed spilling inside him.

Kayden collapsed in exhaustion over Damien,
heedless of the mess he'd made on the tight stomach. Damien grabbed
his face and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.

"Are you okay, kitten?" he whispered, still
panting slightly.

Kayden nodded, tears of joy threatening to
spill. He'd never imagined being taken could feel so good. But
then, he'd given himself freely to the only man he'd ever cared
for; to the only person he'd ever loved.

"Are you sure?" Damien asked when he thought
he could feel the wetness of tears.

Kayden lifted his head, gently kissing his
master, exploring and tasting. "Yes, thank you."

Damien chuckled softly, stroking his boy's
head and down his thin spine. "I love you, kitten."

Kayden curled up on his master contently
until they finally decided to clean up in the warm shower. He felt
like his body was liquid and boneless as they curled back up in the
bed afterwards, falling soundly asleep.

****

Kayden shivered at the sensation of a wisp of
cool air tickling his ears. It was late at night, the fire had died
down, and he thought maybe a gush of air had drifted in through the
fireplace. He squirmed, and Damien rolled away from him onto his
back, his arm flopping over his head on the pillows.

Kayden's ear twitched as the air in the room
seemed off. He wrinkled his nose. A new scent. Sweaty, musky. His
eyes opened suddenly, pupils blowing wide in the darkness,
instantly alert.

Over Damien's chest, he saw a shadow shift in
the light coming in from the balcony. Kayden's body tensed, a low
growl rumbling from deep inside him. There was a small figure
stealthily approaching Damien's side of the bed. The figure wasn't
very big, small and light on his feet. Light from the window
glinted on something metal in the hand of a man as it raised
towards his master.

With a snarl, Kayden leapt over Damien
towards the shadow, throwing the man back. The small, muscular man
gasped in shock as the neko's body and momentum threw him to the
floor. Claws flailed at the man who screamed in pain, cursing
loudly at the sudden attack by the neko.

"Kayden!" he heard his master's shout.

Then a pounding came from the door before it
burst open, but Kayden wasn't aware of anything but the man under
him who had threatened his master.

Kayden dug his claws at the tender flesh of
the man's throat as he knelt on the man's chest, hoping to keep him
pinned until help arrived. The young neko kept his grip tight, even
as the man tried to throw him off. Sinking his claws further into
the tendons, he choked off the man's air.

Kayden was so focused, the instinctive
protective desire to rip out the man's throat who had tried to stab
his master, that he barely registered the stab of the blade sinking
into his side.

Kayden gasped, his eyes dilating even more in
the sudden pain, but he refused to give up his hold. Instead, he
growled and tightened his grip.

He felt the blade slide against muscle and
tissue, ripping him open, but he only snarled, vaguely hearing
Damien scrambling from the bed and the guards racing into the
room.

"Who sent you?" Kayden snapped, peeling back
his lips, showing his small fangs in a feral hiss.

"Get him off!" the man gasped, choking as the
claws drew blood, and trying to dig in with his knife to throw the
boy off.

"Kayden! Get away before you get hurt!"

It was too late for that and there was no way
that Kayden was releasing the man until he knew Damien was safe. He
heard Damien nearby, his feet landing with a thud on the floor next
to him.

"Who sent you?" Kayden tightened his grip
when the assassin tried to twist the blade.

"The Marquis!" the man yelled in pain,
gasping for breath, twisting his hand, and Kayden gasped as the
knife sliced through more skin and muscle.

"Kayden! Let him go! We need him alive!" And
with that he felt Damien pull him up and away from the intruder,
causing him to release the man.

He hissed as the blade yanked free from his
gut, and Damien swung him away from the assassin protectively,
dropping him on the floor behind him. Kayden felt powerless as he
watched the man swing the blade at Damien before the guards grabbed
the assassin in the darkness of the room. His eyes darkened as the
man managed to slice open Damien's arm.

A second later, the two guards from outside
their door had the intruder subdued, and Kayden released a sigh of
relief. His master and the guards were wrestling the man into
submission as he crawled up nearly under the edge of the bed.

Kayden whimpered as the agony of the stabbing
overwhelmed him, now that he knew Damien was safe. Curling into
himself protectively, he panted through the pain, feeling the
sickly flow of blood across his abs and hip. He wrapped his small
arms around his belly, a tiny hand pressing against the jagged
wound. Tears seeped as his felt the ooze of his own blood slipping
over his thin fingers and pooling under his side. His tail curled
around behind him, drooping over his tucked up legs.

He found himself pressed nearly under the
edge of the bed, as his heart seemed to pound in his ears now. He
blinked the tears away, fighting against the darkness that was
threatening to take him. He sighed raggedly as he heard the voices
of Damien and the guards subduing and questioning the assassin.
Other voices erupted in the room, servants, more guards, maybe even
Harrison, and Kayden knew his master was okay now. Kayden allowed
the darkness to take him, panting in a few last shallow breaths,
content in the knowledge that his master was safe.

****

Damien had awoken to the unnatural noise of
what sounded like a feral cat. A few seconds later, he abruptly
realized that Kayden had pounced over him and had someone pinned to
the floor. Fear for his boy's safety rushed through him as he
clambered from the bed, hearing his guards rush into the room.

"My lord!" he heard Geoff Brenner yell as he
stormed across the room.

In the barest of light from the windows,
Damien saw that Kayden had the man by the throat, demanding to know
who sent him. By the time Damien had reached Kayden to pull him
off, the man had confessed.

"The marquis!" they all heard the man
shout.

And Damien's only instinct was to get the man
away from his boy before the man overpowered Kayden and hurt him.
Damien yanked Kayden away from the assassin, practically shoving
the boy under the bed and putting himself between Kayden and the
assassin.

"Fuck!" Damien yelled as the man came up
swinging, slicing a knife across the arm that Damien had raised
instinctively to protect himself.

He felt himself pushed back out of the way of
the assassin as the captain took stance in front of him, guarding
and protecting his lord. Geoff yanked him back out of the way, out
of the small space between the bed and the balcony.

"Wait! Kayden!" Damien tried to pull away
from his guard captain towards his boy.

They both took a quick glance, seeing the
young neko curling in nearly under the bed.

"He's fine, he's hiding," Geoff snapped,
shooing his master towards the fireplace where he could protect him
better should the assassin escape the guards wrestling him into
submission.

The guards grabbed the man before he could
make any more moves toward the Duke, wresting the knife away. They
finally got the man standing and Damien stared at him with a fierce
scowl on his face as John and other servants rushed in, lighting
torches. The Captain nodded as he took in the subdued intruder,
satisfied the man was no longer a threat.

"Saladin! Come with me!" Brenner shouted as
he stormed toward the door, and another guard fell in line behind
him.

"Where are you going?" Damien frowned,
expecting his captain to deal with the assassin in the room.

"I'm going to arrest the Marquis," Geoff
stated, rather plainly. "For treason."

The words hit Damien hard as the guard
captain wheeled around and disappeared out the door, pushing past
Harrison who was frantic at the chaos happening in his brother's
room.

"Damien!" Harrison shouted as he arrived on
the scene as well, trying to take in what was happening.

"It was Roman," Damien growled, eyeing the
man who'd tried to kill him, suddenly very tired and weary. The man
was smaller than he'd expected, little and wiry looking. He sank
onto the couch, dropping his head in his hands. "He said 'the
Marquis' sent him."

The guards nodded their agreement that they
had heard the same thing as they started to drag the assassin out
the door to a cell.

Harrison stopped in abject terror, seeing the
blood, the intruder. He quickly took in that everyone seemed to be
safe and noted several guards and servants standing protectively by
the Duke. Several servants looked on in shock and fear.

"Are you okay?" Harrison asked worriedly,
eyeing the blood on his brother's arm. "Is Kayden okay? Where is
he?"

"I'm fine," Damien glared at the assassin who
was breathing heavily, looking angry and defeated. Blood dripped
from his neck from the puncture wounds created by Kayden's claws.
"And Kayden is hiding under the bed."

Damien tried ignoring John who was trying to
wrap a scrap of linen around his arm, telling Ellis to get the
doctor.

"Who hired you?" Harrison rounded on the
assassin being dragged out the door.

"You know who did," he sighed, resigned to
his fate. "I already told you when that fucking cat nearly ripped
out my throat."

"Who?!" Harrison yelled, needing to hear it
himself.

"The Marquis," he admitted again.

"
Which
marquis?" Harrison forced.

The man's eyes darkened, knowing if he was
going to die, he was taking the bastard who hired him with him.
"The Marquis Roman Whitmore. Your brother hired me to kill the
Duke. He wants the throne."

An audible gasp echoed the room at the
admission. Damien and Harrison exchanged sad, knowing looks. They
had long known that Roman was behind the attempts on Damien's life,
but hearing it blurted out so plainly was still shocking.

Damien sighed. "Get him out of here. Lock him
up with the other one," he ordered. He didn't want to think about
what his guard captain was doing at this moment. Could he ever face
his brother again?

"Yes, sir," the guards quickly dispersed,
taking the prisoner with them.

Ellis returned with the doctor in tow as
Damien sank wearily on his couch. Harrison sighed as he plopped in
the armchair next to him.

"Well, fuck," Harrison cursed, laying his
head back against the chair.

Both men were silent for a moment as Dr. Reid
inspected the wound. "You'll need a couple stitches."

Damien ignored the doctor, suddenly weary and
drained.

"Hey, at least you're finally safe," Harrison
said, "And we've finally got a specific confession implicating
Roman this time."

Damien sighed, as the adrenaline drained from
his body. "You should have seen it. Kayden must have scared the
shit out of him when he pounced on him in the dark," he laughed at
the thought of Kayden launching himself at the man in the dark,
hissing and screeching.