Page 59 of Forge the Blade

Lisa flexed his fingers, giving Sevastyan a wary glance, and lifted the lid slowly. Inside, wrapped in a cloth, was a pile of leather straps and shapes, linked together with steel. He lifted it from the box and a harness hung from his hands. Not a cheap harness, either. The leather was blood onyx red and deep burgundy brown. There were no buckles beneath the armpits that would chafe and the straps were cut on curves instead of in straight lines. This was a wearable article meant for regular and continuous use.

Lisa raised his eyes to Sevastyan, his fingers rubbing against the leather. “For me?”

Sevastyan nodded. “For you, if you accept. And then we start. You’ll be under me as surely as Rei. I will own you and protect you and use you, in all things, barring Alexi’s interference.”

“He told me to serve you now.” Lisa blinked fast and dropped his eyes.

Sevastyan grasped the other man by the hair on the back of his head and tilted his face upwards, robbing him of the moment of private fear. “Yes, you do.”

Lisa’s eyes widened, but he didn’t disagree. He held still, like prey, waiting to see if Sevastyan would strike. Instead, Sevastyan stroked his thumb over Lisa’s shoulder and softened his voice. “Let’s get these clothes off and this fitted. I want to see my collar on you.”

Lisa’s stiff fingers went to the buttons on the front of his shirt. Sevastyan brushed his hands aside and started to undress his slave himself.

“Did you know?” Lisa whispered. “That’s not a cheap piece.”

“I knew before I left that Alexi would likely leave you in my hands. But I couldn’t tell you, now, could I?”

Lisa shook his head and grunted in pain as he moved his shoulder, helping Sevastyan get the shirt off.

“Leave the pants,” Sevastyan said. “We can get those off when you’re lying down.”

“How did you get it so fast?”

“It’s mine. Ellisandre had it made for me, back when we were first seeing each other. I was skinnier then. It wouldn’t go around me now, but they still had it. It seemed fitting.”

“You shouldn’t use it on me,” Lisa whispered. “It’s special, for the two of you.”

Sevastyan spread his hand across the steel and leather. “It’s a mark of protection and a sign of trust. Every time I met Ellisandre was a risk. They worked for the other side. At any point they could have arrested me or locked me away. I knew that, and I knelt for them anyway. Each time, they let me go. I want you to be thinking of that, when you wear this. I will be your master. There’s no faking what we will do, but I want you to remember that I am your master in the moment. And that means I also protect you, that you are under me, my guns, my shield, my care, as well as my will. And when this is over, I will release you, like Ellisandre has always released me.”

He wrapped the leather harness around Lisa’s shoulders. There was one leather strap over each shoulder, falling to the cross band over Lisa’s chest which extended out to curved underarm bands that wrapped around to the back, connecting to the cross band over Lisa’s spine. Nothing was near the neck. There was a second set of cross-bands over the ribs lower down. Once locked, the harness could not be pulled off over the head or pulled down over the arms. It made for strong handholds to grab onto. In the center front and on both arms were also D rings for attachments, such as leashes.

Sevastyan ran his finger under each of the straps, adjusting the fit and locking them down. “You can’t bathe in it. I will unlock it each time. You can wear this over a shirt when we are out and against your skin in training.”

Lisa swallowed and looked down at the leather across his chest.

Sevastyan stood, removing the bandages from the bed and setting them on one of the dressers. He came back and pushed Lisa onto his back, his head against the pillows. With deft movements, he plucked apart the waist of Lisa’s pants and stripped them off the slave’s legs, taking the under layers and socks with them. Lisa lay bare on the comforter.

He watched Sevastyan’s face, tracking every move.

Sevastyan started folding the clothes. “Your chip is reset for three more months. Alexi left me the codes and device to reset it. We’ll do it in two months to be safe. If something happens to me, Ellisandre will have backups. They’ll be able to buy you time, even if they can’t remove it.”

Lisa blinked once. He was barely breathing.

Sevastyan forced the ache in his throat down into his belly. He set the clothes aside and came back to the bed, leaning over Lisa, one hand on the mattress. “I’m going to speak to Rei. Then I will return.”

Lisa’s eyes searched Sevastyan’s. A myriad of questions swirled there but not one left his lips.

“It’s time,” Sevastyan said, answering what was not spoken. It was what he would want to know, if he were in Lisa’s place.

Lisa swallowed. He nodded just once. Sevastyan withdrew his weight from the bed.

Heaviness pressed down on his shoulders as he returned to the living room. Rei was on the computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

“Little one,” Sevastyan murmured.

Rei looked up. Sevastyan crossed to him and went down on one knee. He brushed the loose strands of Rei’s hair back from his face. It was getting long but it also suited him. “I’m taking Lisa.”

Rei blinked.