Page 13 of Back Where He Belongs

CHAPTER EIGHT

HOOD

“It can’t be like it use ta be” Douglas moaned, urgently twisting away from his lover's hungry mouth and grasp to then be dragged back into Kier’s fierce embrace.

Gripped in a passionate wrestling push-and-pull, Kier and Douglas licked, sniffed, bit, and frotted as they fought for dominance. They tangled in the Shetland wool blanket, lost in one another’s taste, touch, and scent, and then plunged off the edge of the couch. Groans and chuckles filled the air as they hit the cold floor and the breath was pushed from their lungs.

The fall gave Douglas pause for thought, “I mean it Freckle,” he said, untangling himself from the blanket and sitting up. “It can’t be like it was between us. I’ve changed. If we’re gonna play, I have to trust you again. I need assurance.” he admitted, “Even if it’s only a pretense for tonight.”

Hearing those words cut deeply, but Kier guessed he deserved them. He had a return ticket to Australia. It may just be a night of playing and fucking, but if this was all they were to have Kier would put his heart and soul into every moment.

The minty taste of his lover was on his lips,“I don’t need to pretend Dougie. I never stopped loving you, y’know,” Kier said in a heartfelt plea.

“And I never stopped loving you. But you left me, Freckle. I trusted you with everything. You left me after all the promises and plans we made. You’ve no idea how devastated I was. I wasnae enough for you back then and if I allow you to get that close to me again.—”

“That’s not true!” Kier interjected roughly “I never said ye wasnae enough. My decision was never on you. It was ME!All me.” Kier ran his fingers through his hair, moving the red fronds from his eyes. He took in a ragged breath and then admitted, “I was a fuckin’ coward. You know I didnae want my folk's te know. I was terrified of settling down because then I woulda had to admit to my family that I’m gay. I wasn’t ready back then—but I’m not the same confused man I was five years ago. I’ve changed Dougie—” The silence grew thick as both men were lost in their own thoughts.

“This is a… complication. I’ve got my life together now—” Douglas insisted, drawing an exasperated hand through his dark curls.

“I can see that, and I’m so proud of you,” Kier admitted, “I was a damn fool to walk away, but—I think I needed the distance to see what was staring me in the face. Does that make any sense?” Kier said, his face held in a grimace of confusion.

“And what was staring you in the face?”

The something that clawed for release from Kier’s heart was ready now. He took a breath to find the courage to let it out. “Not everyone finds what we had. I didn’t understand how rare it was to click the way we did—the way we do. Nobody else has ever made me feel like this, like—” he paused to find the right words in the jumble of thoughts,

“—Like a million fireworks are exploding in my chest when you look at me. I feel like I’ve been hit by a steamroller when you smile at me that way”, Kier took in the impish grin Dougie sent him. He shook his head.

“Gods, I’ve always loved you, Dougie, from the first day of Primary School when the teacher told us to line up in pairs, and you reached for my hand.”

Douglas’s eye began to water.

“I’ll do anythin’, anythin’ you want,” Kier urged, reaching out for Douglas’s hand, not wanting to let such a precious moment go.

Douglas stared at Kier unable to deny the wave of emotion he felt. He could never push Kier away, not when the sight of him gripped his heart and twisted his guts with longing. The scars from the betrayal would always be there, silvered, faded. Things could never be the same, but they could be good again, they could be better—if Kier were willing to be trained. Douglas reached for the pup hood and handed it to Kier.

Kier knew exactly what Douglas’s intentions were towards him from the moment he took hold of the leather hood. Their gazes locked and were held one in understanding. It was the best Christmas gift Kier had ever received. Douglas was the Alpha pup now, and if Kier wanted his love and attention, he had to give what he’d never given Dougie before—his complete submission.

“Wroof!” Pup Freckle exclaimed a bark of delight and then let his tongue loll from his mouth as he panted while looking up affectionately at his handler.

Douglas snickered, he ruffled Freckle’s shaggy red hair, “There’s my good boy,” he said, then kissed the top of Freckle’s head, and clambered to his feet. Dougie moved to the Christmas tree where he picked up the solitary present that sat beneath it and then slumped back down on the couch.

Kier playfully wrestled with the Shetland wool blanket at Dougie’s feet, eventually pulling himself from the floor and unraveling from the tangle of the blanket. He clambered back on the couch beside Douglas, laid his head on Dougie’s shoulder, gave his cheek a lick, then nuzzled and sniffed, as Douglas unwrapped the box, and then slid the lid open.

Inside the box, a wide black leather collar sat with a separate long leather leash coiled inside it. The collar had a stainless steel nameplate with an inscription. Freckle nosed the collar and read: There can only be one. He turned his head to the side, whimpered, and shot Dougie a quizzical look.

“His name’s MacLeod—Duh? Y’ know. Highlander, The Movie?” Dougie snickered. “It works for you too; I don’t think he’d mind if you had this one, I’ll get him another.” Douglas unbuckled the collar. “Are you sure about this?”

Freckle nodded eagerly agreement, “Wruff!” he barked.

Watching Douglas keenly, Kier let the pup persona slip for a moment. He sat up and drew his t-shirt over his head until he was naked to the waist. He shivered, not just from the cold, but from the anticipation of what he and Douglas were about to do. The rusty freckles covering his pale shoulders and upper back fell in a star-like cascade and shone in the reflected firelight. Douglas leaned in, kissed Kier’s collarbone and slowly, tenderly moved up his throat.

“I remember a time I wished I could spend all day giving each and every freckle it’s very own kiss,” Douglas admitted affectionately.

A lump grew in Kier’s throat, and his breath hitched. “I wish you would.” He took a handful of Douglas’s dark curls and pulled his head back. Douglas looked up and their eyes locked. His lips were stained by the red wine they’d been drinking earlier, and they appeared so meaty and succulent. Kier moved in and claimed Douglas’s mouth.

The passion in the kiss was returned, and Douglas eased Kier back on the couch and clambered on top of him. Kier clutched at Douglas’s small pert arse and squeezed. It was so good to feel the weight of his man pressed against his body again.

While their lips were still locked and Kier was more than a little distracted by the desperate undulating hip movements and dicks seeking friction, Douglas drew the leather collar around Kier’s throat and slipped the tongue into the buckle. Kier gasped into the kiss and moved his head back to stare with wide hazel eyes at his lover. Douglas was smiling triumphantly.