Accepting a Loving Heart

Chapter 4: Punishment

Vincent's POV

I watched the beautiful greenery as we drove through the country side near Mount Etna in Sicily. Roma told me that we were going to stay in a vine estate that Luc owned near Mount Etna on our first day.

In the bus beside me, Max was sitting with his face pressed against the bus's window. He looked awestruck by the beauty.

"Wait till you see the beaches and the sea. We have a mansion in Taormina and the beach is close by. We have our own luxury yachts too." Roma told me and Max.

"Will we be staying on a yacht too?" Max asked excitedly.

"Of course. Hugo tells me you have a big itinerary planned for this trip. Are you up for it?" Roma asked us.

"Definitely." Max said exuberantly. I smiled and kept looking outside at the natural beauty around us. Roma explained that the area near Mount Etna was divided into Pietro territory and Blood Phoenix territory. She said the one we go into would have many cottages around the main mansion and that everyone in the village around the mansion were loyal to Blood Phoenix. It reminded me of my historical romances where medieval lords ruled over small cities with villagers depending on the main estate.

Soon we were pulling up through a long cobblestone driveway with gardens on both sides. Even my eyes popped as the bus stopped at a magnificent white baroque styled two storey building. Servants in maid uniforms and butlers in crisp black tuxedos greeted us at the main door. The servants greeted us and the butlers were soon taking our luggage in.

Max had jogged out to look around the gardens.

"Dad, there's a stable there with horses." He called out and I went over to see it. Sure enough, there was a stable on the other side but you had to walk through tall trees to see it. The drive way had a big parking lot. I took in the surroundings in awe.

It was early morning in Sicily by the time we reached. Since everyone had a good nap in the flight everyone was ready for action. I walked back to the front door with an excited Max to check on Juan and James. James was still sleeping since he had stayed up throughout the whole flight watching cartoons. He was hyperactive on the flight but the moment we landed in Sicily, he dozed off. That meant, I also didn't get enough sleep and was feeling sleepy now.

I took James from Juan who was staring at something. I turned to look and saw that there were some teenagers waiting outside who were now talking to Cade and his group of friends. One girl was particularly touchy around Cade, linking her arms with his as she laughed flirtatiously. I shook my head at that.

A guy, who looked like the head butler, came over to us and took my attention away from the Cade and his friends. He told us that Luc would be arriving shortly. Apparently, Luc was in Catania but he was supposed to arrive shortly. The guy then introduced us to the teenagers there and told us that they were kids of gang members living in the neighborhood. He told us that the mansion had a stable, a tennis court and a big swimming pool for the kids.

We were taken inside shortly and shown to our rooms. I was given a room that looked like a huge suite. The guy told me that there was no nursery area in the mansion but that nannies had been arranged for James and Roma's baby. Meanwhile James was going to stay with me in my room. Since they didn't expect that Juan had separated from Cade, Juan had not been assigned a separate room either. I watched Juan shuffle nervously in the room. He had heard the guy's tone that sounded reproving for leaving Cade. I guess news travelled fast.

"I am sorry that I had to make you stay here with two kids. We didn't expect Juan would also impose.." He started but I stopped it.

"He isn't imposing. He's my son now and I'd appreciate if you would treat him like that. Besides, this is a huge room and this bed could accommodate even six people easily." I said with a laugh. Max and Juan looked at the bed. The butler didn't look convinced.

"We'll be okay sleeping together in one bed, right Max?" I asked, assuming Max would also sleep in the same bed.

"I have no problem." Max said with a shrug. The head butler intruded at that moment.

"No. No. Master Vincent. Master Luc ordered us to prepare a room for young master Max, adjacent to your room." He said as he went over and opened an adjoining room. Max looked wide eyed at the bright beautiful room decorated in white and grey. Max's room also had its own bathroom.

"Thanks. This is gorgeous." He said excitedly as he looked around the bright, warm room.

"I am glad it's to your liking." The butler smiled at Max. I tried to overlook the way he treated Max and Juan differently. I guess I would need to talk to Luc about this soon.

"By the way, master Luc's room is also adjoined to your room. That door leads to master's suit. It's of course locked and can be opened from master's room. But just to let you know." The head butler told me as he showed a door on the other side of the room opposite Max's room and my face went red. Jeez, can he be less obvious? Just then, our luggage was brought in by two butlers.

"Would you like assistance to unpack?" One of the butlers asked and I shook my head. When everything seemed settled, the head butler informed us that breakfast will be served shortly and asked us to come down in an hour. After breakfast, he promised to show us around the house. I asked the kids to unpack quickly. Since I knew we wouldn't be staying in one place for long, I asked the kids to not unpack everything but to take out only what was needed. I asked Juan to go and take a shower first while I decided to rest a bit with James. Laying James down on the bed, I laid down beside him and sighed. Aeroplanes were rarely comfortable to me even if I was flying in what looked like a first class area. I had dozed off almost immediately when Juan tapped my arm.

"Dad." He whispered and I opened my eyes blearily.

"Um, we have to go down soon." He told me. I sat up in bed feeling refreshed after sleeping in a comfortable bed for even half an hour. I asked Juan to watch over James as I went to take a shower. The bath room was similar to the bathroom in Luc's New York mansion but this one had a private Jacuzzi as well on one side with a view of the hills outside. It would be nice to relax there at night. I had a visual of Mount Etna from the Jacuzzi.

Taking a quick shower, I went back to the room and saw Juan outside in the balcony area. He looked cute with his hair in a half pony tail. I went over to him to check what he was looking at. I saw the huge pool the butler mentioned outside my window. Surprisingly Cade and his friends were already in it with the teenagers who were there to greet them.

"Wow, they hit the pool quickly, didn't they?" I asked Juan. Juan's face looked pale and my eyes went back to check what was happening in the pool.

The brunette girl who was flirting with Cade earlier was jumping on Cade's back in the pool and her hands were all over his chest. She kept giggling. Cade didn't look like he was enjoying it but he didn't say anything either. I guess I would feel bad too if it was Luc in Cade's place. Thankfully in my case I know Luc cannot tolerate anyone getting into his personal space and he behaves rudely when someone intrudes into his space.

"We have to go to breakfast soon Juan." I reminded Juan, pulling him away from the balcony. Juan looked so down and I didn't know what to say to comfort him since I had no idea what was going on between him and Cade. I guess he would open up to me in time when he starts trusting me.

"Let's go and see the horses when we are done with breakfast." I told him and Juan nodded listlessly.

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Max knows how to ride too." I told him. Maybe that way they could bond and I could watch them ride the horses, I thought. I looked at James and knew that I had to wake him up. I didn't want him to confuse day and night. If I allowed him to sleep through the day he would be awake at night and I couldn't get much rest either.

I went over to James and tried to wake him. He protested but I pulled him up easily on his legs. I reminded him gently that he could take a nap in the afternoon and then sleep again at night.

"Daee..Ames is sleepy." He mumbled. I was really tempted to let him go back to sleep but I guess as parents you always end up having to bravely go against a kid's wishes sometimes in order to not spoil them. I reminded him again about his sleep times and told him that breakfast was going to be served soon. James looked sulky. I took him to the bathroom to brush his teeth, shower and change him into fresh clothes. He was still rubbing his eyes as I took him down with Juan and Max to breakfast.

The breakfast was buffet style and everyone filled their plates before taking seats around the tables set out in the dining room. I sat down in a table with me, Juan, James, Max, Lars, Bart and Tamara. Max got along well with Lars, Bart and Tamara. Juan seemed too listless to try being friends with Max. James was nodding off as he tried to eat.

"Baby..look at what you are eating." I told James as his oats dribbled down his unresponsive mouth that was slightly open while he dozed. He almost choked as he woke and I sighed loudly.

"You brought James to breakfast?" Roma asked with a laugh as she passed by me. I saw that Kronos was looking after their baby then.

"Well..I wanted him to adjust to the timing here and I don't want him awake at night." I told her. She chuckled at that.

"Good luck..He's sleeping already. Maybe you should let him catch some more sleep and not allow him an afternoon nap." She suggested.

"Me and Kronos intend to handover Ellie to the nanny here. You could let James also stay with his nanny and go out to enjoy. We intend to take the kids to Mount Etna this morning. Would you be going with us?" She asked me.

"Um, I'll have to think about that." I told her since I didn't think it was a good idea to go mountain climbing when I was fighting sleep.

"Well, then take some rest. I am sure you will have enough to keep you occupied in the mansion." She told me with a smile, before leaving us to go and speak to some maids in Italian.

"Dad, Roma aunty is right. You look tired. Why don't you get some rest with James?" Max asked me.

"But if you want to go.." I started but he stopped me.

"Can't I go without you? There will be adults there right?" He asked me. I frowned at that. I didn't think letting him go alone was an option.

"Me, Tamara and Bart are also going." Lars informed us.

"I would like to go too. I can look after Max." Juan offered and Max gave him a doubtful look.

"I think that would most likely work the other way round." Max said and Lars laughed at that while Juan blushed.

"I am older than you." Juan exclaimed.

"Right! But I bet I am stronger than you." Max said with a smirk.

I stared at him. Max had become more confident ever since he joined the Avery Boarding School. He was always confident and a natural leader wherever he went but he wasn't as bold as this earlier. Maybe my presence tempered his natural instincts a bit but with the chance to be independent, he was shaping up to be something quite different from me. Not that it was a bad thing but his frankness and lack of moderation in speaking his mind takes me aback sometimes. In that way, he was perhaps closer to Luc than I would like. That wasn't always a good thing. But unlike Luc, Max had many friends like his father Ryuu. I was also seeing a judgmental side to him which reminds me of the De Grant blood in him.

Maybe what disturbed me was that Max was taking on all dominant traits from his ancestry. I sighed. Why was I scared of telling the truth to my own son and dissecting his personality like this? Was I just digging more excuses for not telling him the truth? I am scared of his reaction to the truth. Max was stubborn and the new traits I have started seeing in him only made me more wary of admitting the truth to him.

"Dad, can I go?" Max asked me again, startling me from my thoughts.

Just then we heard the whirring of helicopter choppers.

"Wow..dad look! It's a helipad." Max exclaimed and I glanced to see outside from the dining room with glass walls all around us. We could see the greenery around us from where we were seated and also could see the helipad Max talked about. We watched as the helicopter landed on the helipad and three people climbed out of it. I recognized Luc immediately. He was wearing a black overcoat with white sweater over black jeans and boots. Beside him were Ulrich and another guy I didn't know. There was a stir as everyone watched them come into the dining room.

I saw Max looking at Luc with interest.

"He knows how to make an entrance doesn't he? Dad you have such a cool friend." Max said with a chuckle.

I gave a flustered look at that as I watched Luc looking around the dining room. To my surprise he came over to us while Ulrich and the new guy went to talk to Kronos when Luc gestured for them to leave him alone.

I squirmed uneasily at the intense look in his eyes as he looked me over slowly before his eyes flickered over to Max.

"Max..we meet again." Luc said pleasantly.

"Yes and thank you so much for letting me come along on this trip." Max replied easily.

"Of course. Anything for Vincent." He said, glancing back at me again.

"Haha..you and dad have a very close friendship don't you? Why didn't I know of you before?" Max asked casually and I think both our faces froze for an instant. Luc was quick to recover.

"Because he was hiding from me." He said, giving me a teasing smirk.

"You are so interesting." Max exclaimed with a laugh. He had thought Luc was being sarcastic and for some odd reason Max liked sarcastic people. What he didn't know was that Luc was saying the truth. Luc did this a lot usually. He rarely ever lied casually. If he lied, it was deliberate and difficult to detect. But people don't realize he is telling the truth when he tells the truth because he twists it with sarcasm or jest.

"What are you planning to do today?" Luc asked Max and greeted the other kids seated at our table as well. I heard the kids tell him that they were going to Mount Etna.

"I told dad he should rest because James kept him awake throughout the flight, demanding him to give a live commentary of the cartoons he was watching." Max said and Luc chuckled as he looked at James nodding off in my arms.

I sighed at that.

"Basically you came here while I was trying to convince dad to let me go to Mount Etna without him." Max told him.

"Hmm..I think Max has a valid point that you need rest. You would need energy after all for all the activities I have planned for you." He said and my brows quirked at that.

"Activities? What activities?" Max asked. I am sure he didn't understand the double edged meaning of what he said.

"Oh..it's a surprise." He told Max and Max's eyes widened in delight.

"Ok." Max agreed easily and I shook my head at Luc, letting him know I knew what he was up to. He had the nerve to give me an all innocent look.

"Luc daddy..are you going to go with us to Mount Etna?" Lars asked him.

"Hmm..I'll have to think." He said.

"Please come with me. Then dad wouldn't have a reason to stop me from going." Max implored to him. Luc looked at him for a long time and then turned towards me.

"Let me check with those two and get back to you on that." He said gesturing at Ulrich and the new guy he came in with.

"Wait. You don't have to change your plans for Max." I told him and Luc looked at Max.

"Well, don't worry your head over it. It's not just because of Max. It would be nice to spend some time with the kids." He told me before he walked away. I saw him greet his other kids before walking over to Ulrich. I frowned at that and then glanced at Max who shrugged innocently.

"He's really nice isn't he?" Max asked me.

"Of course. He's our dad after all." Lars chimed in before I could chastise Max for imploring on Luc to accompany him to Mount Etna.

"But he is also Cade's dad." Max said, making a face at Cade's name, distracting me from what I was going to say to Max.

We watched Cade and his friends come in for breakfast just then. They looked fresh and happy. I glanced at Juan to see him watching them soberly. The brunette girl still clung to Cade. I watched Cade and the kids greet Luc. The kids from Sicily bowed their head to him and Luc nodded to them. I watched him speak to the kids with a smile and the kids responded eagerly to him.

"Ha! Cade could also look like that with his dad huh?" Max said with a roll of his eyes.

I glanced at Max. What was going on between him and Cade? I had to talk to him about it sometime. That reminded me that I had to tell Ryuu about where I was staying as well. I called a servant girl and asked her where we were and recorded the details in my phone.

"Whoa..dad, is that my old phone?" Max asked me, sounding surprised.

I smiled at him and nodded.

"Since you are not using it anymore, I thought I would use your phone." I told him. He looked surprised at that.

"Did you factory reset the phone?" He asked me.

"No. Why would I factory reset it? Since you have some pictures of you and your friends in it, I thought I should keep it as it is." I told him.

"Can I check the phone then?" He asked me as I kept the phone on the table after the servant girl left.

I was about to say okay when I remembered I had an embarrassing video of me in the phone. Not to mention there were several pictures of Luc sleeping beside me in the phone. The pictures were blurry but still it would be bad if Max saw it because I was pretending to make it look lovey dovey as I took the pictures.

"Wait..Max." I gasped as he took the phone.

"I changed the code." I said as I took it from him. He looked uneasy at that.

"I just want to check something on the phone." He told me warily.

"Haha..tell me what you want to check and I will show it to you." I suggested and he raised his brow at that.

"Dad..do you have something weird on that phone?" He asked me and I blushed.

"No..but there's..um..confidential work files here." I made up a lie desperately and Max sighed.

"Never mind. It's nothing important." He said with a wave of his hand.

"Haha.." I laughed awkwardly.

The breakfast finished soon afterwards and everyone started to get ready to leave.

I tried to help Max get ready to go to Mount Etna but suddenly he told me that he no longer felt like going to Mount Etna and was feeling jet lagged. I was surprised at how quickly he changed his mind. That wasn't like Max. Since I knew Luc was thinking of changing his plans because of Max, I went over to him quickly and told him that Max changed his mind about going to Mount Etna.

The new guy beside him scowled at me at that. "That's good. Master doesn't have time to waste." He said in accented English. He looked reproving at me as if I was the one who suggested Luc to go to Mount Etna. Luc didn't see the expression that guy was making because he was looking at me.

"This is Nuto. Head of our Sicilian branch." Luc introduced the guy to me.

"And Nuto, this is Vincent, my wife..to be." He added the last part way too late.

Nuto just looked annoyed but he kept a blank look with Luc.

"I hope you succeed in the Fighting Dogs camp." He told me but given his earlier expression, I didn't believe that wish was sincere.

"How is the training coming along, by the way?" Ulrich quipped in.

"It's going a bit slow." I told him honestly and he smiled.

"You can do it." Ulrich told me and I smiled at him.

"I have made arrangements for your training in all our homes except here because master Luc insisted you needed one day off." Nuto told me.

I glanced at Luc suspiciously. I had a feeling I wouldn't be thankful for getting one day off because I am pretty sure Luc had other ideas in mind that were probably equally appalling.

"In that case, I'll rest today. I had a long flight and as you can see, James is already sleeping as well. So, I'll take this time to catch up on sleep then." I told them.

"See you later." I said and started to leave. Luc was looking at my back as I left the room but I didn't turn to check. Juan and Max joined me as I started to leave the dining room. Juan told me that he wasn't going to Mount Etna either because Max was staying back. He said he would go to the gaming room instead. Max and I went to our rooms and I was out like a light the moment I hit the bed with James. Thankfully, Luc was also too busy to bother me. About six hours later, I woke up to a servant calling me for lunch. I felt a lot better after getting sufficient sleep. I went to check on Max and saw that he wasn't in the room. I asked the servant about it and she told me that Max and Juan were horse riding in the horse riding pen.

Smiling at that, I woke up James. This time, he woke up without protest. We took a quick bath together and had lunch in a smaller dining room. Max and Juan also joined in for lunch but Max was buzzing with energy over going back to the stable and continuing horse riding. So he ate lightly and ran off quickly. Juan also left with him. I could tell they were getting along better. I finished my lunch slowly since James was eating slowly. Once we were done, me and James strolled through the lush greenery and gardens until we reached the horse riding pen where Max and Juan were competing at riding horses. I didn't know Juan could ride so well.

"Daee, Ames wants a hor too." James said suddenly.

My eyes widened. It sounded completely wrong.

"Darling it's not hor..it's horse." I tried to teach him how to say it and he pouted after trying and failing twice. I looked at him. He probably needed speech therapy. He was four now and still he couldn't speak words properly. I didn't notice that with Max. He started speaking when he was close to 2 years and was quite eloquent by 3 years.

"Daee, can Ames ride a hor..sss.." He said looking at me innocently. I sighed rubbing my face and some stable hands laughed at my plight. James looked sad at the laughter.

"Ames is dimwee coz Ames can't spea." He told me and my eyes widened. I was just about to reply to that in outrage when I heard Luc's voice from behind me.

"Ha! Who called my cherub that?" Luc said. James and I turned back to see him walking over to us.

"Anki!" James wiggled in my arms to go to him. Luc was still wearing the clothes he was wearing earlier, except for the overcoat. He plucked James from my hands and held him high in his arms. James laughed delightedly.

"Don't toss him! He might vomit. He just ate." I told Luc and Luc smirked at me.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful." He told me and I watched him hug James fondly.

"So tell me, what were you discussing with your Daee?" He asked pronouncing my name the way James did. I threw him a look at that.

"Ames want to ride a hor..like Max Bo and Ju Bo." James told him earnestly.

Luc looked at the two kids riding around the pen.

"Okay..let's get you a pony then." Luc said, not bothering to correct his words. I watched Luc call the stable hands to get the smallest pony there.

"Wow..it's a small hor." James said excitedly.

"It's called a pony." Luc told him.

"Apony?" He asked curiously.

"A small horse is called pony." He explained again.

"Pony." James repeated and Luc smiled.

"Good." Luc told him and James looked at the small chestnut brown pony that was brought before us by one of the stable hands.

Luc put James on top of the saddle on the pony and taught James how to hold the reins. I watched as he explained how to make the horse trot. James learned it pretty easily. The pony didn't canter or gallop. So I guess it was okay. Luc asked a stable hand to watch over James and then came over to me.

"So..now that I've got you alone, how about whisking you away somewhere with me?" He asked me.

"But James is alone here." I said and Luc pointed at a woman who looked to be in her forties. I didn't realize he had approached us with that woman.

"That's the nanny in the Ju Long household. She used to be my servant in the house and I trust her. Why don't we leave the kids for a while?" He asked me.

"Let me ask them first. James maybe wary of strangers." I said as I walked over to James.

"Trust me, James knows how to behave quite well around strangers." Luc told me as he followed me.

"But just to put you at ease.." He said and then called Juan.

"Juan, can you look after James and Max? I am taking Vincent out to show him the country side." He told Juan.

Juan nodded at that with a smile. He looked happy just to be addressed by Luc.

"I'll definitely look after them properly, Luc daddy." He said and then altered.

"I mean..master Luc." He said.

Luc didn't bother to correct Juan as he dragged me along. I wanted to scowl at him for making Juan call him master when he preferred to call him dad. But then, Max came over and asked us where we were going. Luc explained that he was taking me for a ride in the country side.

"Dad doesn't know how to ride." Max said.

"I'll teach him." Luc replied as he glanced at me.

"If not, he'll ride with me." Luc said. Max grinned at that.

"Okay..me and Ju will look after James. Have fun dad." Max said as he made his mare canter towards Juan's mare.

I sighed as I gave in.

"I guess you win." I told Luc and he smirked as he dragged me along with him towards the stables. I stared at him. He seemed to be in a cheerful mood. I recalled then that I had a lot to discuss with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"You'll see." He told me vaguely as he guided me into the stable and dismissed the stable hands there.

I looked at the horses there and glanced at Luc.

"So, which horse will I be riding?" I asked him. Horses looked very fascinating to me but I was a bit scared of them after I saw a horse throw Andrew off its back. I am sure Andrew must have done something to agitate the horse, given his nature but it still made me nervous around horses.

"Well, those who don't know how to ride will have to ride with someone who knows how to ride a horse, isn't it?" He asked me and I gawked at him.

"I am riding with you?" I asked him with interest.

"Hm..why do you automatically assume it should be me?" He asked me devilishly.

"Um..well.." I floundered awkwardly.

"I could order one of the staff here to ride with you." He told me.

"Is that so?" I asked uneasily and saw his eyes flare in annoyance at that.

"What do you mean "Is that so?". You have to say, "Hell no! I'll only ride with you. It pains me that you even thought of letting me press up against a stranger. Please Luc, let me press up against you." And you have to do it vehemently..like look outraged." He said with flourish.

"Er.." I stared at him, awkwardly flustered.

"What's with that look? You are not romantic at all." Luc complained.

I scratched my cheeks nervously.

"Come on Vincent. The least you could do after seducing my rival with pouty lips is to reassure me that every part of you longs to be touched only by me." He said indignantly.

"I didn't seduce your rival with pouty lips.." I gasped in outrage and he glared at me.

"Haa!" I sighed loudly. He can be so unreasonable sometimes.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked him timidly.

"Begging on your knees would be a good start." He said feigning carelessness.

"After that..use your imagination. Do I have to spell out everything?" He asked me.

I bit my lower lip nervously and knelt down on the floor slowly. I met his eyes and told him "I am sorry, Luc."

"That isn't a very apologetic pose. You should press your hands together before you." He said and I sighed as I did it and repeated that I was sorry. I blinked when I realized Luc took a picture of me like that.

"What did you just do?" I asked in outrage as I tried to walk over to him.

"No..no..no.." He said lazily motioning to me with his fingers to not stand up. I watched him with a frown as he came over to me and tilted my chin to look at my face.

"Tsk..you sure get agitated easily. Wait till you see what I do to you later." He said, caressing my chin.

"Huh? This isn't all?" I asked him in confusion.

"Did you really think this would be all? Vincent, you insult me. Do you think you could get off easily after causing me agony for over eighteen hours?" He asked me and I glared at him.

"What eighteen hours?" I asked him suspiciously.

"After sharing news of your lewd behaviour with my rival..didn't you know how heart-broken I was?" He asked and I gave him a dour look.

"You acknowledge you have a heart." I said and he raised his eyebrow at that.

"Of course. Without that organ, I am afraid I would be in a coffin now. Why are you not glad to see your beloved standing here in all his glory..you know..the glory and all that you love about me." He said and I almost chortled with laughter. But I controlled the urge because I knew he would take it as an opportunity to punish me more. I watched him look at me seriously.

"Ha! I think I almost puked at that last line." He muttered to himself and I bit back a grin.

"Then maybe you should stop." I offered genially and he raised his eyebrow at me.

"This is supposed to be role playing, you know." He said grimly.

"What are we playing?" I asked him.

"Master and submissive." He told me. I blinked.

"I see. What's the scene we are playing?" I asked him.

"The outraged master and the cheating submissive slave." He said.

"Ha! But cheating is a bit.." I started.

"The cheating slave kissed his master's rival without permission. That's the plot." Luc cut me off and I gave him a glum look.

I stared at him. We role played a lot when we were kids. We always agree on a plot before enacting it. Of course all our characters were cartoon characters at the time. But we made our own scenes and usually we built up the character by talking to each other. It was fun. But now that I thought about it, that was Luc's way of admitting to feelings he wouldn't normally admit.

So what really was the point of the role play? I wondered as I looked at him. Was he really upset over sending the photo to Ryuu? I could tell he wasn't that upset but it had probably hit a nerve. I wouldn't know his motive unless I play his game I guess.

"Well..in that case..the master must be very sad." I allowed.

"No. More like peeved." Luc replied.

"Why would he be peeved? He owns the slave already and knows the slave's heart belongs completely to him, doesn't he?" I asked him.

"He knows that. But he is still peeved because his slave belongs only to him. To let anyone else see what is his, upsets him. He wants the slave to prove that he belongs completely to his master." Luc told me.

"Hasn't the slave proved that already?" I asked him.

"No. There is something the slave keeps from his master." Luc told me.

I tilted my head at that. Did I keep anything from Luc? I wondered.

"Which is what?" I asked him curiously.

"Will the slave give everything his master asks?" Luc asked me, deflecting my question and I stared at him.

"What would the master do to the slave?" I asked curiously.

"This and that. What's the point of spoiling the surprise?" Luc asked me.

I looked at him suspiciously.

"You can think over it meanwhile. I think you should also exercise your imagination the way I was forced to do for over eighteen hours." Luc said, walking away further into the stable.

"Petty." I grumbled under my breath.

"What did you say?" Luc asked as he turned to face me.

"I said..pretty. I mean that you look pretty." I said and then coughed.

"Pretty? Ha! I don't feel complimented with that. Is that really what you said?" He asked with an evil smirk.

"Or is my slave running off his mouth?" Luc asked me.

I tensed. He didn't come closer thankfully. I looked around. This wasn't exactly the right place to play games but then I could see no one around. I knew Luc could tell if anyone was around too since Inci always alerted him to suspicious activity. I could only hope he doesn't have an exhibitionist streak on top of all his other perverse traits.

"Vincent, turn around, facing the door." Luc said and I darted a curious look at him.

He signaled with his hands to turn around.

"Should I stand?" I asked and Luc gave me a thoughtful look.

"Hmm..no problem." He said and I stood up suspicious of his motives.

"You shouldn't turn around under any circumstances." He told me and I pursed my lips. I listened carefully to what he was doing. I couldn't hear much sound except for the sounds of muffled hoof beats of the horses in the stable. Suddenly there was a loud clapping of a horse's hoof beats on the ground. It sounded like it was galloping right at me. I turned around just as I felt the air stir. My eyes widened in horror at the big dark brown stallion charging at me. I almost stumbled. But before I could fall, I felt a hand loop under my arms and pull me up swiftly onto the horse.

"Luc!" I said in outrage as I turned to look at him behind me. He gave me a devil may care grin.

"We should duck, right about now." He said, pushing me down on the horse as we saw a huge tree branch right above us. We ducked in the nick of time and my heart thundered in fear.

"It's going too fast. Make it slow down." I screamed but Luc looked like he was enjoying it greatly.

"What do you mean it's too fast? This is just right isn't it?" He asked me.

My eyes widened as I started seeing the end of what looked like a hill but the horse jumped down. My butt slammed hard against the horse's back since there was no saddle on it. I screamed because I thought the horse jumped off the cliff but surprisingly it was still going. I recognized then that we were in a terrained area. I looked dizzily at the beautiful terrained grassy surroundings. Lucas had given free reign to the horse and it ran without direction. We just hanged on as it galloped.

"It's scary." I screamed.

"Just don't think too much and try to feel the wind in your face. I am holding you. You are not going to fall. Trust me. Close your eyes and open them slowly when you get used to the wind rushing against your face." Luc told me in my ear.

My ears tingled but I closed my eyes for a while and felt the rush of air against my face. I kept my eyes closed until I started getting used to the feeling and then slowly opened my eyes. As soon as I opened my eyes, my heart started beating faster. Luc caressed my chest.

"Calm down. Doesn't it feel like we are one with the horse?" He asked me and I tried to imagine being the horse.

"It feels like freedom." He told me and I agreed. It felt like freedom. Freedom from all the thinking and all the worries. At that moment all I could think about was my beating heart and Luc holding me from behind as everything else rushed around us. My face burned.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Luc asked me and I nodded. I didn't think he could see me nodding since our bodies were also moving with the horse. I started feeling warm despite the rush of adrenaline I felt from being on the back of a horse that galloped so fast. I noticed Luc's right hand around my torso and the heat of his thighs bracketing me. Without the saddle, my back was getting a furious beating against the back of the horse. I squirmed and Luc tightened his hold around my stomach.

"Don't squirm and alert the horse to the presence of an inexperienced rider. He might throw us off his back." He warned me and I stilled. My awareness of Luc behind me kept growing and despite the harsh beating of my butt against the horse's back, all I could think of was Luc sitting behind me, one of his arms holding me tightly against him. The horse slowed down finally and started grazing grass in what looked like an open grass meadow. I marveled at the beautiful hilly area surrounding us.

I felt Luc climb down from the horse's back. He reached his arms to me and helped me climb down from the horse's back as well. I almost fell on my knees. I walked in a squatting position that made Luc laugh loudly.

"Why are you walking like a duck?" He asked me and I glared at him.

"My butt hurts." I snapped back at him and his eyes widened as if he realized it just then.

"Ow, you've got such a butter soft butt is it?" He teased me.

"It isn't butter soft." I scoffed as I walked ahead of him.

"Then why is it that you are the only one walking like a duck?" He asked. I glared at him.

"You've got an iron butt, if you didn't feel the continuous pounding on your ass." I said and then blushed, realizing what I said could be construed to be sexual.

Luc laughed harder at that. "I just think you've got a butter butt. Why don't we check that theory?" He asked me and I frowned.

"No. Wait." I said panicking as he approached me. He stared at me with a raised eyebrow. At that moment the sky rumbled above. Luc looked up.

"Wow, we are going to get caught up in the rain. Let's hurry back before the roads get too muddy." He said, walking back. I massaged my sore back, reluctant to get back on the horse. I watched the horse come over to Luc obediently when he clapped and called for "Rage".

"That name suits him." I told Luc and he smirked.

"Yeah. Doesn't it?" He asked as the horse closed its eyes when Luc caressed its forehead and mane. He positively delighted at Luc's touch. I could relate, I thought to myself as my cheeks pinkened.

"Let's go boy." He told the horse and it reared its head. Luc climbed on first and then reached his hand down to me. My butt and inner thighs were still sore and I felt reluctant to climb on the horse again.

"Don't worry Dobbie. I'll treat your butter bun for you if you get on the horse now." Luc told me and I glared at him. What butter bun?

"Do you want me to pluck you off the ground again?" He asked me and I glared at him.

"You scared ten years off my life." I complained recalling how I felt when he plucked me off the ground earlier. Luc just flashed a grin at me.

"Didn't it feel like the highwayman and the duchess story you were reading?" He asked me and I blinked.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"Hmm..Here I was trying to emulate a scene from your favourite book and you are upset with me. Vincent is mean, isn't he, Rage?" He asked his horse. The horse neighed to my surprise.

I gave Luc a flustered look.

"Y-you checked what I was reading? Did you hack into my kindle?" I asked him.

"Hack is a bit harsh don't you think? I just wanted to see what you liked to read." He said, totally unapologetically. I should have known I was kissing my privacy goodbye when I married Luc.

"You are making that face that looks like you want to lecture me." Luc said sulkily. I sighed.

"I..actually don't mind in this case." I said sheepishly and Luc looked surprised.

"But in the future, can you not just ask me?" I asked him and Luc made a face.

"That would spoil the surprise. But also, if I ask, will you tell me all the dirty fantasies inside your head?" He asked me.

I gave him a flustered look.

"Hm..I didn't think so." He said.

The thunder clapped again loudly and we both looked up at the dark clouds.

"Will the kids who went to Mount Etna be okay now?" I asked him in concern.

"They should be on their way back home now. We should also be going." Luc told me and I pulled both my hands up at him to let him pull me up on the horse. He looked at me weirdly and then to my surprise took out his phone. Before I could figure what he wanted to do, he clicked a picture of me with my arms raised at him.

"Looks like a nice picture!" He said and showed it to me. My eyes widened. I looked like a child saying carry me.

"Luc wait! Delete that picture!" I commanded.

"What's that zz..zz noise I am hearing? Do you hear it Dobs? I think a fly wants to speak to me." He said seriously and I wished I could pull him down from his horse. I grabbed his leg just to test my theory and the horse turned to face me and huffed right in my face.

Luc laughed at that. "Vincent..Vincent..you better watch what you are trying to do to me when I am with Rage. He's my horse you know." He told me with a smirk.

"Now be a good boy and raise your hands again." He said silkily. I glowered at him. Huffing angrily I raised one of my clenched hands up to him, clenching my jaws and refusing to look at him. I looked up again at the sound of a camera click.

"Now this looks like superman, flying furiously through the sky..right into the tornado." He said dramatically and I gave him a bemused look. He showed me my picture that he had rotated to an angel that actually made it look like I was flying like superman. I laughed and then laughed harder. He does so stupid things sometimes.

"You are horrible." I told him.

"I think you've used the wrong adjective there. It should have been amazing. I get you plebian. You don't need to praise me so much when you don't know the correct words to use. I understand you are floundering for words in my exalted presence." He said seriously and I shot him an incredulous look.

I burst out laughing and hit his thigh. He pulled me up easily by my arm onto his lap. I stared at his serious expression.

"Are you always this narcissistic with people?" I asked him.

"What do you mean? It's just the plain truth." He said with a shrug and I couldn't help laughing.

I even forgot about my pain. I can imagine how much this kind of attitude could annoy people. Lucas loved annoying people by being a narcissistic prick with an attitude to match. I've always noticed that he used narcissism to keep people curious about him away from him. But when he used it with me, I just find it funny.

"Luc?" I called him warily.

"Hmm?" He replied.

"Please delete those stupid pictures." I implored nicely.

"No." He said simply and I sighed. I looked up as the sky rumbled again. A few minutes later it started raining cats and dogs. We could barely see where we were going.

"I think we should stop." Luc told me as we neared a cottage.

"We could stay here until the rain stops." He told me as he climbed down the horse and helped me climb down as well.

I watched him walk over to the cottage door and knock on it. The door opened and a man came out. I watched the man asking Luc to come inside immediately with a warm smile. Luc gestured for me to come in as well. I went inside and loved the homey feel of the cottage. A small boy was playing with a car on the rug in front of the fireplace. The man introduced his wife and his child to us and then brought to Luc a key to his room. I was surprised to know that Luc had a room designated for him in some cottages in the area. Apparently, Luc was the landowner of the cottages. But he had leased it long term to the people living there for free. So, as a hideout, most of the cottages had a room designated to Luc.

We went to the room assigned to him to see that it was clean and well maintained. The couple asked Luc to let them know if he needed anything and Luc explained that his horse needs to be tended and that he would appreciate if our wet clothes were washed and dried for when we leave. They asked us to put our wet clothes in a basket and said that they would send hot chocolate and some short eats. Luc thanked them for their hospitality.

Once we were alone, I looked around at the small room. It had a single bed on one side. Beside the bed there was a sofa with a small table. Above the sofa was a window with curtains. On the other side there was a chair and a table with a drawer. That was all that was there in the small room. Luc opened the drawer in the table and took out a briefcase. I watched him enter a code and open it. The briefcase included some weapons, first aid materials and ironed clothes in transparent plastic wrapping.

My teeth were chattering from cold by then. Luc went to the fireplace in the room and started a fire. He asked me to take off my wet clothes and take a shower quickly after giving me a bag of toiletries.

"There's only one brush though if you don't mind sharing." Luc told me. I stared at him. He was the one who had problem sharing any of his sanitary items.

"I don't mind if you don't. I'll keep it in hot water to clean it after I brush." I told him as I took the brush. Luc just scoffed. I hoped he remembered how he made me buy a toothbrush every day simply because of his phobia of germs. It wouldn't be a problem to share it once I guess.

I went to the bathroom to remove my clothes and was in the shower when Luc came to collect my wet clothes. A while later, I heard Luc talking to our hosts and then talk again on what appeared to be a phone call to Ulrich. When all sound died down, I knew Luc would join me soon in the shower. Despite myself, I felt the rush of heat when Luc joined me in the shower.

The shower cubicle was small but I made space for him. I stared at the wall as he rinsed himself under the shower with me. I had become quite used to him joining me in the shower and I wondered if he would do anything. I felt his eyes on me but he didn't comment on the fact that I remained facing the wall. That's why, it came as a surprise when his hand grazed my bottom.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I stammered as I turned to look at him.

Luc smirked at that. "What's with the reaction? Aren't you supposed to be doing something to repent for your mistakes?" He asked me as he kissed my shoulder.

I grimaced, my face heating up in anticipation as I recalled our earlier conversation in the stable.

"Besides, your bottom looks quite red." He said, squeezing my butt cheeks in his hands. I squirmed both from arousal and pain.

"That hurts." I said breathlessly.

"Does it really?" He asked me teasingly but I didn't dare turn to look at him. I knew he wouldn't like my silence but I didn't expect him to pinch my sore butt.

"Ow!" I turned around with a hiss and Luc gave me a totally unapologetic look as he daringly looked me up and down. My hands automatically cupped my pubes and Luc smirked as he pulled my naked body flush against his. My eyes widened when I realized the back of my hands were touching against his dick.

"Wah!" I yelped as I pulled up my hands against his chest to keep some space between us but he didn't budge an inch. It was like trying to push against a wall. Luc laughed wickedly.

"Vincent, did you really try to push me away?" He asked me, a pure demonic look entering his eyes.

"Er...I..I mean.." I can't breathe. I wanted to scream but was too flustered as he pushed me flush against the wall with his knees between my legs.

"Look at how red your face is! I wonder what dirty thoughts you are thinking right now." He said and I wished he wouldn't talk. It only made my face feel hotter. Luc chuckled deeply.

"Wow! Looks like your face can even turn maroon." He joked and I covered my face in embarrassment.

"You didn't cover this part..it's all a pretty shade of red too." He said, gently biting my right ear.

"Wait.." I panted as my body shivered. I wasn't sure if I was shivering from staying too long in the shower. But then why did I think I was about to combust from heat?

"Luc..please." I begged him, wanting desperately for him to back away so that I could collect myself.

But he didn't relent.

"Please what Vincent? Do you want a kiss? Don't you recall what I said about punishing you?" He asked nipping the corner of my lips. My lips moved seeking his but he avoided them.

"If you want me to kiss you, you have to beg, Vincent. So be a good boy and beg your master, won't you?" He asked me as he grabbed my chin to stare me in the eyes.

"Please m-master..kiss.." I whispered, trying to let go of my reservations.

"Huh? Did you say something?" He asked me to my annoyance. From the smirk on his lips, I knew he heard me well. Getting annoyed I killed his amusement by biting his cheek. Unfortunately, his cheek was too lean and toned for me to keep my bite on for long.

"Vincent, are you really begging for me to make you into vinced meat?" He asked me darkly.

I backed against the wall of the shower cubicle, biting my lower lip. Luc's eyes went to my lips at that and I saw his eyes darken as they darted up from my lips to stare into my eyes.

"Aren't you one naughty slave?" He asked as he grabbed my hair and pulled my head back to expose my neck to him. I squirmed. It was odd how I wasn't scared at all but excited from that action.

"Stay still." He ordered as his mouth fastened on my neck and sucked hard on it. I felt him nibble and bite on the tender skin. I whimpered. His hands squeezed my butt cheeks as he licked the mark he made on the side of my neck. His mouth pulled back just for a few seconds before it fastened on the other side of my neck. This time, as he sucked I hissed in pain and pleasure. His hands caressed my back and moved over my trembling stomach to the peaks on my chest. I gasped as his fingers played with the stiff peaks.

He bit into my neck as he pinched one of my nipples. I cried out in pain pleasure. Luc's eyes met mine, a savage look entered them as he unfastened his lips from my smarting neck. I was surprised when he suddenly put his hands under my butt and pulled me up. He pushed his body against mine to keep me lifted up against the wall hooking one of my legs against his waist while he held onto my waist with one arm. My heart beat escalated with desire as I felt his hard, grooved body against mine.

"Luc." I whimpered as his lips fastened on one nipple while he teased the other with his free hand that wasn't looped around my waist. He bit on the nipple as well, making me hiss in pain. He licked it soothingly and kissed his way to the other nipple on which he gave the same attention. I should have stopped it since the biting caused pain but I was just a bunch of sensitized nerve endings in his hands. I could only feel what he was doing helplessly. My eyes were dilated as I looked down into Luc's eyes. His eyes had a triumphant gleam in them.

"You are making such a naughty face Vincent that I want to gobble you up." He told me and my eyes widened as he suddenly sucked on the nipple he had bitten. My fingers dug into his back where I was holding onto him. Luc licked the smarting nipple and then chuckled.

"Vincent, what a naughty slave you are, getting hard all by yourself. So..your penis can get hard after all." He said curiously, his eyes going down to my crotch.

Suddenly, I grabbed his head and pulled it up to look at me. I guess it was an automatic reaction. But despite that, the heat he stirred in my body was nowhere close to cooling off. I rubbed my pubes against his waist for friction and Luc slammed my hips against the wall, stopping my movements. I looked down into his eyes in confusion. His eyes had turned back to the cool cobalt blue colour.

"Vincent, if you want me to do anything about what's poking into my stomach right now, you should beg me for it." He told me and I blinked. My body started cooling off as I thought of what I should say. But the thought of letting him touch me there made me very anxious. Luc was looking at my face observantly.

"I..I am okay now. L-let me down." I said nervously, unable to meet his serious eyes.

He let me slide down and I turned to leave but he pressed me against the wall with his palm on my chest.

"Who said I am letting you go?" Luc asked me and I felt a chill go down my spine. I looked at him like a rabbit caught in a wolf's hands.

"I am sorr..." I started to say but he smashed his lips against mine to my surprise. I thought he was angry at me for stopping him from touching me down there. I was confused as I felt my body melt against him from the hungry, rough kiss. When he pulled away, I was breathing choppily. I rested my head against his firm chest. Luc's hand went over my exposed nape as he hugged me to him and whispered in my ear.

"Vincent, you still have to serve your punishment. Did you forget that?" He asked me. A tremor went through my body at the promise of darkness I heard in his voice. He wasn't going to go easy on me. I wasn't sure if that scared me or excited me.

"Wh-what do you want me to do?" I whispered against his chest. He pulled back and looked at me.

"You like my body don't you?" He asked me with a dangerous edge to his voice. I blinked and gawked at his chest, unable to meet his eyes that looked like ice now. I felt slightly guilty but I told myself it's not a big deal. He should understand better than anyone else to accept a "no" when he hears it right? Then why was he angry?

"Answer me, Vincent." He snapped and I blinked in surprise.

"Y-yes." I stammered nervously.

"Then, why don't you wash me with your hands?" He asked and my eyes widened as it roved over his chest and deliberately skipped over the parts that I knew would make things very bad for me if I observed too carefully.

"Look at me when I speak." He told me a dominant tone in his voice. I glanced up at that but I didn't like what I saw in his eyes. So, my eyes kept wanting to avert his eyes. I didn't want to analyze what I saw in his eyes.

"Okay. I'll do it." I said without thought because I wanted to get over speaking to him.

"Then make sure you soap up every inch of my body properly." He told me.

My eyes widened as I searched his cool eyes. "Um..there's no sponge." I said nervously.

"Use your hands." He told me. I wasn't sure if I was hearing properly. Luc had explicitly told me not to touch certain areas on him. I relaxed. Obviously he didn't mean I should wash any of those parts. I should probably be able to get out of this unscathed, I thought to myself.

"Okay then..let's make it quick." I told him as I poured some shampoo into my hands and asked him to lower his head. He raised his eyebrow arrogantly at that and I gave him a flustered look. I moved closer to him and pulled up on my tip toes to reach his hair. I was barely able to reach the top of his head and ended up squirming against his hard body to reach his hair. I huffed as I labored and was so focused on fully shampooing his head when suddenly his arms went around my waist and then caressed up to my chest. He rubbed my chest with his palms and my body fizzled as I dropped back on my feet.

"Is there a problem?" Luc asked me insolently as I looked at him with a heat suffused face.

"Nn..you touched me." I said accusingly.

"I never said I wouldn't touch you. Besides, you should watch your mouth when you are speaking to your master." He chastised me with an arrogant smirk. I flinched.

"Now..apologize for your insolence." He said silkily as he tilted my face by my chin and forced me to look at him.

"If this is play..shouldn't I have a safe word?" I asked him softly and watched his eyes blaze at the question. I was almost taken aback by the anger.

"You want a safe word? I hope you remember the fifth chapter of the bible because that's your safe word." He snapped as he cornered me back against the wall on the other side. I gulped.

"I don't remember the.." I started but he stopped me.

"Good." He snapped back and I flinched, trembling slightly and he sighed loudly.

"Vincent, do you really need a safe word to take a shower with your husband? If you don't like it, just leave." He gritted out and I gulped at that.

Now I felt bad. Why wasn't he understanding that I might have reservations too? Should I say that or would it only make things worse? I wondered to myself. Perhaps I didn't say it because I had a feeling it would go very badly against my favour and also piss off Luc enough to go to the other end of the world for a month. God knows he could rage like anything when he is seriously pissed.

I should just leave and I am sure Luc would calm down in time, if he was upset. He might sulk for a bit and then probably get over it. I mean..probably. I sighed. I didn't want to go back to square one with him. I gave him a sideways glance. I could tell the mood was slipping from our hands because of our argument. Also, I could feel the wrath boiling in him. If I stayed, Luc wouldn't harm me but I am sure I wouldn't get away unscathed. Still, I didn't want to leave because it could set me back a long way if I didn't stay tonight.

I moved closer to him and he flinched this time. Reluctantly I tried to touch his hair and he grabbed my arm, before lowering it against my stomach.

"Why?" He asked me with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, even though I knew what he wanted to know.

"Why are you not running away?" He growled.

I stared at his chest and bit my lower lip nervously. "Because I want to stay." I whispered.

"Why?" He questioned again.

"I haven't finished showering you." I said with a chuckle, trying to diffuse the tension but Luc's eyes had become unfathomable now.

"Of course. God forbid, you haven't finished showering me." He repeated darkly. This..was bad, I thought to myself but my gut feeling told me, running away would be worse. I swallowed nervously and smiled up at him.

"Of course." I whispered. Luc gave me a sarcastic smirk.

"Well, I am waiting." He told me as he looked at me with unapproachable eyes.

I pulled up on my tiptoes once again and tried to reach his hair. To my surprise, Luc whirled me around and pulled me up, wrapping my thighs around his waist. His hands were digging into my butt cheeks. This wasn't good.

"Go on." He said silkily. I didn't dare look down at where my pubes were smashed up against his hard abs. I feared him looking down if I looked down. His eyes were daringly on my face. Gulping thickly, I pushed my fingers through the silky strands of his hair. For some reason, my hands tingled from touching his silky hair. Maybe, my whole body tingled. Surely, I wasn't breathing properly. I tried to count reverse from twenty as I tried to mechanically wash his hair. But I couldn't help unnecessarily petting his hair beyond shampooing it.

"Wow..you got aroused from touching my hair. Don't let any suds get in my eyes." Luc said and I flinched. I pulled back his hair from his scalp as I asked him to turn on the shower to wash away the shampoo. Luc turned it on and it was an effort to keep the suds from his eyes. I ended up caressing his forehead to pull back the hair and covering his eyes until the water started running clear from his head. I realized I was lingering over touching his face from the way he smirked at me. I tried to wiggle away but it only created friction against my pubes and I tensed. Luc smirked.

"Don't tell me you are trying to masturbate on my stomach." Luc told me and my face flamed.

"Let me down." I told him and he easily put me back down. But it wasn't before deliberately making my pubes slide down against his. I stifled a pained groan. He sure knows the art of torture in the name of intimacy.

My face was blushing like crazy by the time I soaped my hands with body wash. I moved to his back since I thought that could give me a reprieve from his knowing eyes. I lingered on his back muscles. I marveled at how the muscles flexed under my hands. It felt so silky yet so strong like a well oiled machine in which I could see the gears working.

I slid my hand down his spine and was surprised when he tensed. Obviously, it was a sensitive spot for him. I wanted to tease him the way he was teasing me but Luc pulled me around.

"As much as you are enjoying it, I am afraid, you might catch a cold if we go this slow." He told me and I blinked up at him. My hands went up shyly, touching his bare pectorals and the small nipples. I stared up at him to check if he was reacting to that but I didn't see any reaction. Before dipping down over his stomach, I soaped up his arms and his hands, including his beautiful, long fingers. I wanted to bring his fingers up to my lips but I hesitated. Putting his hand down, I gulped nervously as I glanced at his abs and quickly averted my eyes shyly. I cleared my throat as I let my fingers brush over his stomach as quickly as possible but Luc held my hand.

"I don't feel your hand. That means you are not cleaning me properly." Luc told me and I gave him a pained look. No. He just wanted to punish me, I thought as my whole body trembled while I rubbed my hand over the grooves of his strong abs. They felt like bands of iron bunched up against silky skin. My body started feeling overheated. I was almost panting and barely stopping myself from rubbing up against him like a cat in heat.

"I..I think we are done now." I said breathlessly and Luc laughed.

"Done? You are only half way there." He told me. My eyes goggled as I looked down at his stirring sex.

"You want me to touch you down here and on your butt?" I asked him in surprise because those were areas he never allowed me to touch before.

"Vincent, I asked you to wash every inch of me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes." He said and my eyes widened. I was sure I was going to faint.

Seeing the listless look in my eyes, Luc taunted.

"I thought you got pretty used to washing my body when I was in the hospital." He told me, making me blanch.

"Luc, I can't.." I whispered, looking at him imploringly.

"Why not?" He asked me and I stared at him.

"I..I feel shy when you are looking at me." I told him with flaming cheeks. Luc's eyes softened at my admission. But he didn't relent.

"It's fine. I find that cute. So, there's no need to worry." He told me.

I almost chocked. "I think I am going to faint." I mumbled to myself.

This was more perverted than my heart could handle. If only the light was off or something..I thought to myself. I started hoping for any distraction but nothing was forthcoming. We were alone. If only the phone rang or something. Maybe I could kill the mood by saying something but I had a feeling Luc would tie me up and whip me to an inch of my life if I tried that. He was already in an odd mood.

Soaping my hands, I decided I could quickly do his thighs, butt and legs. But the moment I touched them, I became very aware of the differences between us. His butt was very firm like his strong thighs and legs. It was unlike my stick like legs in which the muscles wobbled. I guess it was the difference between a person used to living a sedentary life versus someone who spend most of their time training physically. Finally, I was left with only his private parts which I hadn't soaped up.

I looked up at him uneasily and saw that he was frowning and tense as well. It occurred to me then that this was something he didn't allow anyone else to do. For someone who was sexually assaulted, allowing me to touch his private parts was surely a big deal. If Luc was opening himself up to me, it would be dismissive of me as his wife to back away from it. Nevertheless, the way my heart was pounding against my chest, I was very worried about having to get an ambulance in the end from having a heart attack.

I touched Luc's hips and felt him tense at that. His face was no longer looking at me in wicked amusement but his brows were furrowed. Immediately, my resolve strengthened. I knew I couldn't be half assed about it. If Luc thinks he should back off in the middle, he would never fully overcome his aversion to anyone else touching him intimately. I am sure he would not fully overcome his aversion to intimate touch but I needed him to know, he would have nothing to fear or feel uneasy about with me. My heart thudded in my chest.

I had zero experience in touching anyone sensually. My hands shook with nerves as I touched the v of his abdomen. Luc almost flinched. I realized then that he was just tolerating it because he was the one to suggest it in the first place. He was proud like that. Should I give him an out knowing he didn't like it or..what should I do? I wondered to myself. I felt distressed, anxious and yet, very aroused. I touched the sides of his torso and looked up at him to see he was looking somewhere else.

Wait! I have to think positive to pull this through. This could be an opportunity for me, I thought. Maybe I could finally tease him and get back at him for all the torture he put me through. If I think of this as payback time, I wouldn't feel so hesitant. Maybe this was the time to equalize my position with him. If I could make him cum he would be grateful to me and I could earn his respect too as an equal. I am sure he would cum fast since he probably hadn't been involved in anything sexual for a very long time. If he was that pent up, he wouldn't recognize my inexperience too. Oh! This was too good an opportunity to pass up because of feeling shy or because of being too worried over what he would think. I imagined what I would tell him after making him cum.

"From now on, we are equal. No more master slave bullshit. You will never pull any attitude with me again and if you want to get mad, remember what I did to you today. I can make you cum at the snap of my fingers. So from now on, you are only supposed to smile at me and be nice to me." I will tell him.

He would sulk of course but he would be love struck with me after realizing I cured him and he will be grateful to me forever.

I glanced at Luc. I actually can't imagine him being very compliant but I've never seen a vulnerable Luc either and I could tell he was not impervious right now.

I grabbed his cock in what I hoped was a sexy but firm hold and his head jerked back to me in alarm. His eyes looked angry. Er, that didn't look good, I thought in fear. Um, he doesn't like being surprised, does he? I wondered anxiously. Let's be gentle, I thought and relaxed my hold. Luc frowned at that, his brows knotting as he stared down at me. Um, I felt like an insect under a microscope now. Let's just kiss him, I thought as I smashed my lips against him. He was surprised and wasn't kissing me back. I wondered if it was because I wasn't using my tongue to kiss him.

Let's use a lot of tongue. I licked my tongue over his lips and surprisingly I licked his chin and nose too. Wait, isn't my tongue supposed to be in his mouth? I wondered with a frown as I pulled back. Luc blinked at me. I should make him open his mouth. I licked his lip several times. He seemed frozen. Yes! That looked like a good sign. How do I make him open his mouth? Should I tickle him? But he never tickled me. Maybe if I licked and kissed all over his face, he'd open his mouth. I started kissing and licking all over his face but somehow..why does my licking feel like a dog licking someone's face? This all seemed wrong. When Luc licked my lips, his tongue wasn't all over me like a dog's. I thought as I pulled back with a frown. Luc had an odd look on his face too.

"You still look too smug. Wait till I jerk you off and you realize I own your thing...I mean thang." I said hoping that made it sound cooler and then winced. Who calls someone's cock "thang"? Hopefully, Luc didn't hear it. I thought quickly trying to cover my blunder. If I rubbed his penis, he would cum right? I mean how do guys do it anyway? I've never really masturbated myself using my penis. So, I am not sure how it works. Actually I am not sure how masturbating works. For me, feeling friction down there works. But for him, I wondered how it worked. Medically speaking his penis is supposed to be an erogenous zone, especially the tip.

Let's not hyperventilate, I thought to myself. In the historical romances I read, heroes didn't like it when the touch was too gentle. Besides, his staff felt hard. I should grip tightly enough or I would look like an amateur. Luc, gritted his teeth at that as his eyes met mine in surprise. That was probably a good reaction right? Maybe I should also touch the balls, I thought as I grabbed and squeezed it. I've heard it shouldn't be squeezed too tightly but some supposedly like it to be squeezed. Luc hissed at that.

"Vincent idiot Thorne..what the hell are you doing!" I heard Luc rumble ominously as he grabbed my offending arm.

"Wait..I can do this!" I insisted desperately. I looked up at him to see that he was about to chop my head off.

"Let go!" Luc roared this time.

"No. You are going to come several times soon. I know what I am doing. I am a doctor." I insisted as I desperately tried to understand what I was doing wrong. I am sure I haven't done any damage. The grip was tight because men liked it that way. Maybe the problem was not rubbing the tip hard enough. Perhaps squeeze a bit tightly too. I thought and Luc wheezed at that. Was that a good response? I wondered warily.

He wrapped his hands around my neck this time and shook me. It didn't hurt though but gave me enough warning to make me look up at him.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He asked me threateningly.

I let go of his cock finally and he let go of my neck. I watched him control his anger as he rinsed off in the shower.

"Hell, that hurt worse than anything I remember recently." He said and I cringed. He seemed to be in a monstrous mood.

"And you.." He thundered as he looked at me when he rinsed off the soap bubbles.

"On your knees now." He snapped and my eyes widened.

"B-but.." I started to speak in my defense.

"Now." He snapped and I quickly knelt down. Ugh! This went really badly didn't it? I shouldn't have tried jerking him off when I didn't know how it worked.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled as I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"And why the hell are you aroused?" He asked me and I looked down at my small penis to see it was at full mast.

I blanched as I looked up at him, trying to cover my penis. Sometimes, I have no clue why it behaves the way it does. Ugh! So embarrassing, I thought as I looked away.

"How dare you get aroused after trying to make me impotent?" He asked me darkly and I flinched.

"I thought I was curing your impotence." I mumbled.

"What? Take off your hands from your dick." He snapped.

"Erm..no." I said, averting my eyes.

"You!" He growled and my eyes widened when I realized he had pressed his feet against my hands covering my cock. I was surprised when I came from that. My eyes widened and I saw Luc was taken aback too.

"Did you just come from.." He started, sounding odd. My face suffused with colour as I jolted up on my feet and tried to bolt as far away from him as possible. Unfortunately I smacked hard against the glass wall and rebounded against Luc's chest. Luc hugged me from behind.

"Calm down. It's okay." He told me but I couldn't ease my agitation. Why did I come from something so odd? I just wanted to wipe my memory clean of what had happened. I think I am traumatized for life.

"L-let go." I said and suddenly realized how cold it was. My teeth chattered and Luc hugged me close against him.

"You big, mean bully..this is all your fault." I sniffled. It was his fault, I thought as big tears started sliding down my cheeks.

"Ok. I take responsibility." He said and I tensed. My whole body burned with shame as he started to turn me around. I didn't want him to turn me around to face him but he moved me around easily.

"I shouldn't have taken it that far." He said but he didn't sound apologetic at all.

"If you understand, then don't ever do perverted stuff in weird places again." I demanded and then pursed my lips.

"Weird places?" He asked, his voice taking on the taunting tone I so disliked.

"Yes. Sex isn't supposed to be done in bright places, standing up and in weird positions. It's supposed to be done in bed under a blanket. You are making me weird by doing creepy things. As..as your wife, I must advice you to treat my body with respect. You are not supposed to step on my body." I said angrily and Luc looked bemused.

"Not even if you like it?" He asked teasingly.

"N-No. I won't like it under normal circumstances. It's you who is making my body become completely weird." I admitted.

"Hmm.." He said completely ignoring me and wiping my body with the towel as he kept hugging me to him with one hand.

"You should apologize properly for making my heart almost burst out of my chest several times today." I told him.

"Hmm.." He said again.

"Also you were mean by not giving me a safe word. Isn't that like breaking dominant rules or something?" I huffed in annoyance. Luc looked at me but didn't reply to that at all.

"Are you even listening?" I asked him with a pout as he started drying his body.

I watched him wear his boxers and jeans. He took the white shirt he was supposed to wear and pulled it on me. I watched as he asked me to put my hands in the sleeves and then proceeded to button up the shirt. I stared at him.

"Where's your shirt?" I asked him warily.

"You are wearing it. There's only one set of clothes. We'll have to make do with this for now until they bring back our dry clothes." He told me and my eyes widened as I looked at my bare legs. Wait! I didn't have boxers either.

"I don't have boxers." I told him and he smirked at me.

"My shirt is big on you. It should cover the necessary parts." He told me and I pouted at him.

"I don't like it." I mumbled.

Luc ignored it and I watched him walk over to get a tube of ointment from the first aid box.

I frowned as he asked me to come over to the sofa. What was the tube of ointment for? I wondered. Realization didn't dawn on me until I walked over to Luc and he sat down on the sofa. I tried to bolt as soon as I realized what he was about to do. But he grabbed my hand. He was going to apply the ointment on my butt. I was sure of it.

"Wait..I can apply it on my own." I started but Luc stopped me.

"Come on, Vincent, you won't be able to rub it in properly by yourself." He said and I glared at him.

"You perverse bastard." I growled as I tried to back away. Luc grinned and tugged me until I fell over his lap.

"Wait, Luc." I wriggled but I could already feel that he had pulled up the shirt to reveal my butt.

"Pipe it down unless you want a spanking." He told me and I stilled. I covered my face as he rubbed the ointment gently on the sore areas on my butt. It was painful as he rubbed in some area but the stinging of the ointment countered the pain and I almost sighed in pleasure at how Luc's hand rubbed sensuously on my butt. It was over far too quickly than I hoped and I fought off the sense of disappointment. Was I expecting him to do anything more? He had only applied medicine on the sore parts of my butt and inner thighs.

I pulled up quickly and moved to the other end of the sofa, shamefaced at my own thoughts. Thankfully Luc went away to wash the ointment off his hands and I was able to collect myself. He returned with a flask and two mugs. I watched him go back to the table and bring something wrapped in aluminium foil.

"You should have something warm to drink. Luigi brought some short eats for us as well." He told me referring to the tenant we met earlier. I watched him pour hot chocolate into two mugs. He kept one on the table infront of me. I watched him leave again and come back with what looked like a blanket. My eyes widened when he wrapped it around me.

"I don't want you to catch a cold." He told me and I stared at him awkwardly.

"You didn't have to do this." I said slowly as he went to sit down on the sofa where he originally was. I stared at the distance between us.

"What do you mean?" He asked me curiously.

I gave him an uneasy look.

"I..I can take care of myself too. You don't have to treat me like a kid." I told him.

He stared at me with a confused tilt of his head.

"What did I do to treat you like a kid?" He asked curiously.

"Um..bring food, apply medicine, wrapping blanket around me..that kind of thing." I said uneasily. I don't know why I was complaining when I actually liked that a lot.

"Oh! You don't like it?" He asked me in surprise.

I also stared at him, a bit flustered again. Sometimes, I felt like we were strangers tip toeing around each other, trying to understand each other's emotions, even though we knew each other a lot more than most people.

"No..it's not about whether I like it or not. It's just that..this must be a bother for you." I said sheepishly.

"Huh? You think it is?" He asked me, looking surprised again.

"It isn't?" I asked him curiously and he sighed loudly.

"I like to pamper the people who are mine." He said to my surprise.

I stared at him. Actually, it shouldn't be a surprise. I've always known he was like that. As a kid, I've seen how much he pampered his pets. Afterwards, I had seen how much he pampered the kids he adopted. He could be careless and bossing around with everyone else but he was always kind and devoted to the people he cared about. That was the side of him that I had craved so much in the first place.

"I..don't think I deserve it..I don't pamper you as much as you do. It worries me." I told him and he gave me an incredulous look. Then his expression changed suddenly as if he had a different idea.

"You could always reward me with obedience." He told me.

I gave him a dry look. "Your idea of obedience is weird. You even said my safe word is the fifth chapter of the bible. You are downright scary sometimes." I told him accusingly.

He looked at me with a contemplative look on his face. Was he thinking of what happened earlier? The silence dragged on for a bit between us before Luc looked at me seriously.

"I apologize for getting mad at you when you wanted a safe word." He said warily and I smirked. Honestly, apologies sounded good coming from his mouth.

"But I got mad only because what we did wasn't anything extreme. We were just trying to be a normal husband and wife..atleast, I thought so." He told me and I blinked. I was speechless to respond for a while.

"If every little act of intimacy between a husband and wife require a safe word, it's troubling isn't it? Safe words are there in the first place to put a stop to sexual acts that could harm the other either psychologically or physiologically. If simple acts of intimacy are perceived to be at the same level, something is not right isn't it?" He asked me.

"But simple acts or not, if it is scary and weird shouldn't it have a safe word?" I asked him.

"Are you sure you are not going to use the safe word just to run away from intimacy?" He asked me and my eyes widened.

"You keep pushing me into psychotherapy and forcing me to recollect memories I'd rather never remember again, because you want me to have sex with you sometime in the future isn't it?" He asked me. I gave him a flustered look.

"Sorry." I mumbled and he shook his head.

"You don't have to be sorry for it. I understand my short comings. That's why I want to try to overcome it for you. But this is the second time you tried blocking me off. I can't help but wonder if you aren't playing around with me." He told me and my eyes widened. I realized then that the expression I saw in his eyes earlier, which I didn't attempt to understand was hurt. The thought made me squirm uncomfortably.

"I am not playing around with you. I would never play around with you." I told him quietly.

"You better not. I don't think I will let you go this time if I find out you are just playing mind games with me. After how much you've stirred me up, it's unforgivable if you choose anyone else other than me." He told me as his eyes bored into mine. I looked at him worriedly and he sighed finally.

"Drink the hot chocolate before it goes cold." He told me, as he also took the mug of hot chocolate into his hands, changing the topic.

I took my drink and drank a bit as well as I considered what he said. I watched him open the package in aluminium foil and keep the short eats by my side.

"Eat some. You might want to try Arancini and Cannoli. It's Sicilian food." He told me. I glanced at him. I guess he wanted to stop talking about what happened. I felt that things were left too open ended but if he didn't want to discuss it further, maybe I should do the same, I thought as I reached for the short eats.

I chewed on the sweet dish that was wrapped up in fried pastry dough sprinkled with sugar. It melted in my mouth with the creamy filling with pistachios.

"Do you like it?" Luc asked me.

"I do." I told him as I gobbled up a second one too and then tried Arancini. It was like a golden crumbed cheese ball.

"I think I'll be a fat cow if I start eating cheesy stuff like this too often. But it's yummy." I told him and Luc grinned.

"You could gain more weight." He told me.

"You should try too." I said, closing the distance I had put between us as I offered one arancini ball to him. Luc stared at it.

"Are you worried about gaining weight?" I asked him teasingly. He looked startled at that but then he smirked.

"Of course. Since what you love the most about me is my body, I'd lose my advantage over my competitors if I gain weight." He told me dryly.

"Ha! I doubt you would ever gain weight the way you eat. Besides, with your routine exercise regimen, there's no way you would ever gain weight even if you eat like a cow." I told him and he just shrugged. I stared at him.

I bit my lips as I considered his comment about his body. I knew he was just being flippant and avoiding admitting the truth about why he wasn't eating. He had retreated into himself instead of bothering to explain himself and that upset me. Perhaps I was to blame because I was doing the same with him.

Earlier, he had dropped talking about what happened in the bathroom. I know he intended to punish me from the very beginning but when I asked for a safe word, he got upset. I understood his reason for it now but I knew the air between us wasn't all clear. I recalled how he thought I stayed back with him after he gave me the option of leaving because I liked his body. Did he really think that it was all about his body? I cleared my throat. I knew I had to say something.

"Actually Luc, you are wrong about me loving your body the most." I told him and Luc raised his eyebrow at that.

"Hmm..you mean to say you love my private parts more." He said and my eyes goggled.

"No!" I gasped.

He smirked humorlessly at that. "You could have fooled me. The way you were grabbing at them as if hanging onto life was..something." He said.

"Hmph..you scared the hell out of me." I mumbled sulkily. His eyes softened on me at that.

"Grabbing your neck was instinct. I didn't think I'd react like that. I held back as much as I could from hurting you. I didn't see any redness earlier but maybe I hurt you after all...Did I hurt you?" He asked me tentatively.

"No. You didn't hurt me." I said rubbing my neck. Even when he had grabbed my neck, he was careful not to choke me. But it was an effective tactic either way to make me comply. Luc looked at my neck and I squirmed uneasily.

"Why were you so hell bent on squeezing my dick to oblivion? Was it revenge for embarrassing you?" He asked me and I glared at him.

So he was deliberately trying to embarrass me, I thought as I glared at him. What a mean personality he had! I thought to myself. I paused eating when I realized he thought I did it to really take revenge on embarrassing me. I could let him sulk over it because it would serve him right for testing my limits. But then, I couldn't let him think I would do something so petty when he put his trust in me to allow me to touch him.

"Um..it wasn't revenge or anything. I was trying to jerk you off..because I thought you would like it and um.." I stopped there. Maybe I shouldn't explain my other reasons. Luc looked at me in surprise.

"What?" He asked me in surprise and paused.

"Then why were you squeezing so hard? I swore you were out for my life." He said and my face went red in embarrassment.

I started to stuff my mouth with food to show that I was busy when he suddenly grabbed my cheeks and turned me around to face him.

"Answer the question, sweetheart." He said in a too sweet voice.

"Wah! How would I know I was squeezing it so hard? I've never touched anyone's thing before. I was trying to do what I heard was good." I said, brushing away his hands. Luc looked surprised.

"But you also have a penis." He told me and I glared at him.

"Don't you ever touch it?" He asked me and my face suffused with colour as I choked on what I was eating. Luc was looking at me with interest.

"It..um..no!" I said sheepishly and looked at everywhere but him.

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"What do you mean why? It's just weird." I told him warily.

"But you touched yourself that night when we went to Azure." He told me.

"Because you forced me to." I bristled as I said that and Luc chuckled.

"Hmm..so, then, how did little Dobbie cum that night?" He asked me, advancing on me. I tried to pull back from him but he leaned further until I fell back on the sofa. What was with the intrigued look in his eyes?

"Little Dobbie wants to be left alone.." I puffed out as I put my palm on his chest and then groaned as I realized I referred to myself as little Dobbie. I sure become stupid when he moves in too close against me. Luc's intrigued eyes moved from my face to linger slowly down my chest and stomach. I gasped as his hands bunched the end of the shirts. Grabbing his hands, I sat up quickly.

"Wait.." I panted with worry. Luc's eyes narrowed at that as he pulled me forward until my body slammed against his. He pulled my hands behind me as he kissed my neck and the sensitive skin behind my ear.

"Tell me, why you thought it was necessary to try to jerk me off when I explicitly gave different orders." He asked me as he bit my ear lobe.

"Wait..it was because.." I started distractedly and watched as he kissed his way to my lips and nipped on the bottom lip.

"And that kiss.." He said and his chest rumbled in laughter. His eyes met mine in amusement.

"Vincent, you know you were extremely disobedient today. Unless you give me a convincing reason, I believe I will have to punish you again for that." He told me playfully and my eyes widened in horror.

"Wait..I did that because I wanted you to obey me for once." I admitted the truth in confusion.

He stilled above me at that.

"You wanted me to obey you?" He asked me in stunned surprise.

"You are too smug and arrogant and always doing whatever you want.." I complained.

"Hmm..exactly why did you think I would obey you just because you jerked me off?" He asked me incredulously.

I gave him a tense look. "Well..Spongebob..you better start talking." He said in a demonic voice with a scary grin.

I shrank a bit into the sofa and looked at him with wide eyes. I guess I could not escape it after all.

"Well..um..since you haven't had sex in a long time I thought you'd be grateful and start respecting me more if I was able to give you release." I mumbled. Luc looked at me owlishly for a while and then burst out laughing. I withered as he laughed non-stop for like full two minutes. Ah! Now he found it funny.

"My god, my stomach hurts." He said and I glared at him. I sighed. Ugh! My pride hurts.

He straightened finally, giving me a playful look that I knew wouldn't bade well for me. But I felt better seeing him like this than his quiet look.

"Well..hello, thang master." He said with a smirk and my eyes widened in horror.

"No..you didn't hear!" I said in horror.

"Oh..yes...I did hear." He said demonically and cackled.

"Thang master, your servant is eternally grateful for your sadistic, mind blowing services. Oh my god! What a kiss that was. You could lather on more saliva than a dog and you certainly have a strong fist..I'll give you that. Damn! I am smitten...it was like an arrow straight through the heart. Oh! Sweet cupid, thang master.." He ranted on with total demonic flourish and excitement that only he was capable of. I knew he wouldn't stop any time soon, I thought as I looked at him with growing chagrin. I should have just let him think I did it to take revenge on him.

Somebody, shoot me! He'd never let me live this down! Why did I admit the truth to him? I am such an idiot. It was just that he was too close that I blathered out the truth without thinking. God, how long would he continue this? I wondered as I cringed at myself in shame. I knew how he would stop. I had to start crying and then he would stop. He is sadistic after all. I gulped. At this rate, I would start bowling soon. But, I was more embarrassed and determined to bring him down a peg. Someday, just wait and see! I thought fumingly as I glared at him.

I walked away from him, letting him crack jokes by himself and checked my phone. Hmph! Let's just ignore the bully, I thought as I pretended to check my phone. I might as well delete the flying kiss video too because I was so pissed at him right now. I blinked at my phone then. Wait! Where were the photos and the videos? Huh? There were no contacts or even messages. What was going on! I was staring at my phone in shock when Luc followed me to where I was and sighed contently as he hugged me from behind.

"Love me more, my thang master." He said playfully with a kiss to my temple and I shot him a glare.

"Will you stop!" I asked him in exasperation.

"Only when I die." He told me cheerfully but that made me pause tensely. I glanced up at his amused expression.

"Don't ever say that again. You won't die. You are not allowed to die before me." I said, pulling back from him.

"Hmm..I guess I have no choice but to obey my thang master." Luc said, clinging to me once again.

"Argh!" I groaned but I didn't hate the way he was hugging me. It felt nice to have his strong arms wrapped around me.

"Come to bed, thang master." He whispered in my ear.

I stared at my phone. I swear he'll call me "thang master" forever.

"Is there a problem with your phone?" He asked me a little bit seriously.

"Yeah.." I said in confusion.

"Was it the rain?" He asked me as he took my phone.

"No..it's that my contacts and everything is gone suddenly." I told him and Luc frowned as he took the phone and checked it.

"Did you factory reset the phone?" He asked me. I blinked. Factory reset? The word immediately made me recall Max this morning. Could he have factory reset the phone? But how could he have entered my phone without knowing my pass code?

"Hmm.." I said as I thought over it. Luc was in too good a mood to be his usual suspicious self. So, I was glad he didn't press me for a confirmation. I didn't want to put Max in trouble if it was Max's doing.

"Did you have anything important on it?" He asked me curiously.

"Yeah." I told him.

"Don't worry. I'll get it back to what it was." He told me and took off his necklace which he connected to the charging port of my phone.

"Inci, restore this phone prior to factory setting." He told Inci and a hologram of me as a kid popped up.

"Diagnosing.." Inci said and Luc asked him to go incognito.

"Wait..we should inform the kids that we would be late." I told him and he smiled at that.

"I already told Ulrich to inform them about it. So don't worry. The kids are in good hands. Besides, I think we will be able to go home at night." He told me and I nodded.

"As for your phone, leave it to Inci and come back to bed. We have to talk, thang master." Luc told me with a grin.

I sighed loudly because I knew he just wouldn't stop calling me "thang master". He could be so annoying sometimes.

I let him drag me along to bed while I wondered why Max would go to that length to reset my phone. His behaviour earlier was also suspicious. He changed his mind about going to Mount Etna suddenly and he stayed back claiming to have jet lag. But he didn't really sleep did he? When did he go out horse riding? He could have easily waited until I went to sleep to reset my phone. But how did he manage to factory reset my phone without knowing my pass code? Could it be anyone else who did it? Juan maybe? Or even a servant? But what motive would they have to grab my phone? Did Luc ask someone to do it so that he could hack into my phone? No! That didn't seem right. There was nothing peculiar about his behaviour when he asked about it and also he was helping me restore it. I sighed.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" Luc asked me and I realized with a start that he had dragged me to bed and we were in a very odd position.

"Luc, you are too close." I admitted, blushing profusely as I felt his thigh wedged between mine. My crotch was rubbing directly against his jeans. This wasn't good and he was too close, I couldn't think about anything else. And why was his one hand cupping my butt while the other was caressing my thigh! This was a totally unacceptable sleeping arrangement. I squirmed and Luc only pressed closer.

Luc smirked at my look of horror. I started hyperventilating.

"Luc..this is too close." I whimpered and he looked at me smugly.

"It's your fault for being too distracted in my presence." He said, tapping the tip of my nose. I blinked at that.

"How about you answer a few questions?" He asked me, making me completely forget what I was thinking earlier.

"Wh-what?" I stammered.

"So..is it true that you've never touched another man's cock before you touched mine?" He asked me. I blinked.

"Hmm..no." I admitted.

"Not even as a doctor?" He asked me.

"No. Except maybe you." I admitted shyly. He stared at me.

"Oh! So you really went ahead and molested me when I was unconscious after all." He said and I gritted my teeth at that.

"I didn't." I insisted and he just smirked. Why did he look so happy with that? I wondered as I stared at him.

"And you never touched your own dick either?" He asked and then his hands lingered over where my thighs met my butt. I tensed and he smiled at me.

"I know you don't feel up to showing me everything. But I hope you would trust me someday." He said honestly and I was surprised he dropped the teasing.

"What if you laugh?" I asked him.

"I promise you I won't ever laugh at your body. You are mine and every part of you is mine to cherish. Why would I find that laughable?" He asked me seriously.

"But you were having a grand time joking at my attempt at masturbating you." I told him with a pout.

"Well, if you do something stupid, I would of course laugh." He said with a laugh and then his eyes softened.

"I laugh because I don't hate it and maybe it's also because of relief." He admitted.

"Relief?" I asked him curiously.

He sighed at that and looked a bit sheepish. "I was surprised to think you would retaliate in kind with me. It was confusing maybe..because you never retaliated earlier." He told me and I stared at him.

No! It wasn't just confusing. He was hurt too. I've never retaliated against him because I knew being sadistic and saying harsh words was also his way of expressing affection. If he likes someone, he would play innocent pranks on that person and also embarrass that person. I know it's a very odd trait. Most people don't get it at all. I saw through him in Kindergarten. He liked to pull girl's pigtails and take away the ribbons because he finds them cute. He put his pets on their desks or on their hair because he wanted to be friends. It was his offer of friendship. People didn't understand that. When they hit back or call him monster, he never cried but he became very quiet and goes back to his corner where he listlessly plays with his toys without a sound. He hadn't changed that much from then. I couldn't see through him easily now when he was being unapproachable but he really hadn't changed.

"Even if I get mad at you, did you really think I would retaliate in a way that I knew would really hurt you? You are also so stupid sometimes. How many times does it have to happen for you to realize that my emotions are not as convoluted as yours? I just cry when I am upset, alright?" I told him emotionally.

"Huh? Why are you crying now?" He asked me in surprise.

"Because you wouldn't cry, even if you are hurt. You don't know how to tell people how you are hurting. At least, open yourself enough to let me read you the way I did as a kid. I am so angry at you. If I hadn't tried to make you speak about it, would you have seriously believed I was petty enough to hurt you like that?" I asked him and his eyes widened in surprise. Luc didn't say anything. He seemed taken aback.

"I was pretty bad wasn't I? Was I the worst among everyone you allowed to touch you?" I asked him and he chuckled.

"Worst..best..you are it." He said and I blinked. What did that mean?

"Huuh? You mean I am the only one?" I asked in shock and he shrugged.

"What? And I totally botched it." I said in alarm but Luc laughed at that.

"It was entertaining." He allowed.

"You are really horrible." I said softly.

"I really thought I was doing good." I said, biting my lips and Luc smiled at me warmly.

"Don't feel too bad about it. I already feel like a jerk for what I did to you afterwards." He told me and I smiled.

"Good. Repentance suits you." I told him with a smile. He gave me a dry look. But his eyes softened as he looked at me.

"I will repent as long as you want, if that makes you happy." He told me.

"I want a second time. Teach me how to do it next time." I told him and he looked at me doubtfully.

"You first. Show me all of you and I'll consider teaching you." He allowed.

I stared at him in confusion. I wasn't exactly sure why I was so hesitant to completely bare myself to him. I know I feel scared but it was instinctive. But he must have fought against his instincts too to allow me to touch him.

"How..how did you overcome your aversion to touch and allow me to touch you today?" I asked him hesitantly. Luc gave me a serious look.

"It's because of my determination to have you at all cost. You are my safe place in all the chaos around me. I am not going to take chances with you." He told me.

"You can try being a bit nice to me and stop dragging me along with you all the time." I told him.

He made a face at that. "Hmm..but I thought I was being nice." He told me sulkily. I raised up on my elbow and looked at him. I pressed my lips against his and then gave him a shy smile.

"You don't have to worry about me. No one else would be interested in a clumsy klutz like me." I told him.

"Hmm..I wonder!" He said with a scowl.

"Don't..I am always yours and I am really happy that you would do anything to make things work between us. Give me time. If there is anyone to whom I would bare myself, it would be you." I told him.

"I doubt that. Your doctors would have seen you." He said jealously.

"But the level of trust between doctor and patient is something totally professional." I told him.

"Trust is something very personal Vincent. Why do you not trust me to accept all of you?" He asked me and I stared at him.

I sighed. "I don't know. I just feel scared." I admitted.

Luc looked at me. "I know you feel scared but don't expect me to push enough to break your resistance on that. I can't force it like that. I want you to come forward on your own and I will wait for you." He told me.

"Even though you say you would wait for me, you were upset even today because I refused." I told him. Luc sighed.

"I was only upset because you were trying to hide behind excuses instead of confronting the real problem. Be brave Vincent. You should know I would always be there to listen if you want to talk about it. I will help you. I want you to have faith in our relationship. I want you to try to overcome your fear instead of ignoring it or delaying it. I don't want to see you getting hurt because you can't accept yourself." He told me and my eyes watered.

I pushed my face against his chest to cover my tears. He hugged me to him and caressed my hair. I recalled then that I had a lot to talk to him. I looked up to see him close his eyes. He looked sleepy and I could see the dark circles under his eyes.

"Have you not been sleeping?" I asked him softly.

He chuckled at that. "I've got used to sleeping beside you. The bed feels too empty to sleep without you." He told me and I stared at him with wide eyes. He cracked his eyes open.

"Why are you so surprised? I've always had trouble sleeping alone unless I sleep in a seated position. First it was dad. Then, it was you. After you left, it was hard to sleep with someone because not everyone's snores sound like a lullaby." He said with a chuckle and I shoved his chest as he chuckled sleepily.

"You have a horrible way of complimenting me." I said but I was pleased nevertheless. I guess, I should stay very still then.

"Just bear with me a little bit. I need a few minutes of sleep." He told me and I hugged his head against my chest.

"Sleep as long as you want." I told him happily, caressing his soft hair. I smiled at him as he dozed off shortly. He really trusts me, doesn't he? I thought to myself. I should respond to him in kind, I thought as I pulled the blanket around me over him as well and snuggled against his warmth. As I drifted off, I remembered how I had to talk to Luc regarding my invitation to let Ryuu stay with us and also about my adoption of Juan. I hoped it wouldn't upset him.

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AN: I was expecting to upload this chapter early but it took forever to write this chapter and it had been a difficult chapter too because I didn't wanted to include sexy action that was meaningful. I guess what I had been trying to achieve was a scene where Luc tries to demonstrate his trust in Vincent and his willingness to do anything for the sake of their relationship, while Vince battles his own insecurities and still cannot stay away from Luc. It is supposed to be an awkward introduction into intimacy where both try something new and end up reverting to their true natures. It also shows how they could easily bounce back from awkward situations because of their understanding of each other. I hope you find humorous moments too in the chapter but most of all, I hope you liked it. Please vote and or comment if you liked this chapter.