Matt swiped at the fogged up mirror, his face barely visible in the condensated smears. The wet, dark band around his throat seemed to be mocking him, leering sightlessly and noiselessly every time his finger accidently brushed past it. A sly smirk formed on his lips as he reached up and tugged on the wet material. If there was one thing being raised in the country had taught him, it was that leather stretched when wet. Carefully he tugged and pulled up, inching the leather over his skin; scraping and rubbing the tender flesh raw. Soon it was around his face; the band sitting tightly on his chin and biting into the back of his head. Matthew took a deep breath and started and work the leather again, pushing and pulling until it was over his eyes. The give in the wet textile was starting to lessen, making Matt panic and work harder; not caring that he was now tearing large sections of skin from his face and large wads of hair from his head.

That would all heal in time, but if the leather dried it would tighten, squeezing his head like a vise until it couldn't take the pressure anymore and caved in. Finally he was able to get his nails under the strap and with a victorious and forceful 'HAH!' he yanked it from his head and launched it into the bathtub where it landed with a heavy 'thunk'; the lock clattering against the porcelain bowl like the weight in a bell. Cautiously Matt crept over and peered into the tub where the dark brown leather curled in on itself, making an 'O' against the gleaming white tub with the lock glittering gold where the light caught it. A nervous laugh bubbled up in Matt's throat and sounded waveringly in the silence of the bathroom; the cold tiles bouncing it back at him until Matt felt that he was in an insane asylum.

"It's just a piece of leather." He mumbled as he bent down and picked it up with his fingers; holding as far from as he could. "It's not like it's going to bite."

He laughed weakly and walked out into the bedroom, tossing the collar onto the bed and digging through his clothes for something to wear down to the in hotel restaurant. Finally he was able to unearth a pair of jeans and t-shirt that didn't smell too bad and after taming his hair and spritzing on some of his favorite cologne he started down; feeling lighter than he had in days. The metal sheen of the elevators' doors showed in stark relief the bruising that Glenn had left as well as the lighter ones from Hunter. With a faint blush Matt pulled the hair tie from his head and let his ebony mass of curls fall; fluffing them slightly so that the dark bands on his tanned skin weren't as noticeable. Matt dropped his head and headed in the general direction of the restaurant, stopping short when he heard Paul and Chris' voices over the noisy din. Matt reached up to his throat and scratched for moment before remembering that he had taken it off. He swallowed and backed away; the idea of room service seeming more and more alluring by the minute. He had just turned around and went to take a step when he collided with what felt like a solid brick wall. Matt gasped and pitched back, his hands flailing as he tried to balance himself.

"Hey Hardy boy." A large hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back to a standing position; laughter booming and making Matt's ears burn red. "I was just thinking about you. How's the neck?"

The smirk in Hunter's voice made Matt scowl and he glared at the taller man before answering; his fingers ghosting lightly over the raised skin from where the collar had bitten deep when Glen fisted it in his hand.

"Fine."

"Now that's a damned shame, but I guess you took all you could." Hunter laughed as he drug a nail over one of the raised welts. "So what's Chris taking lessons in again?" He purred, his eyes dancing when Matt batted his hand away.

The change in subject left Matt slacked jawed for a moment until the words sunk into his brain. He scowled and folded his arms over his chest as he stared into the restaurant; hoping that Paul and Chris weren't heading his way.

"Those ain't from Chris." Matt snarled. "And Ah can take more than you think I can."

"So they're from Paul?" Hunter drawled, ignoring Matt's added on statement.

"No." Matt deftly maneuvered around Hunter; trying to hurry away without it looking too suspicious.

"Must have been Glenn then." Hunter called after him; grinning evilly when Matt turned around and stared at him with an open mouth.

The few paces he had made towards freedom were backtracked until Matt was toe to toe with Hunter, glaring and snarling like a cornered wolf.

"Looks, these ain't from Chris, Glenn, or Paul…"

"Really now?" Hunter quirked an eyebrow and dug his nails into a rather painful looking welt, a pleased smile when Matt gasped and whimpered quietly. "Then you must be into autoerotic asphyxiation." Hunters' large hand splayed over Matt's throat, gripping lightly as he maintained eye contact. "Does it get you off Matt-Matt, gasping for air as your shameful little hand tugs and pulls on your cock?" With each word spoken Hunter tightened his grip until it took Matt extreme effort just to pull in a shallow breath. "Of course I have the feeling that if I looked at the back of your neck I wouldn't see the same marks, and I don't think you're stupid enough to hang yourself and jerk. Your brother yes, but you Matt-Matt? No. I see you using a tie—a silk tie—and wrapping it tightly around your neck and yanking it hard as your sweaty body writhes on the bed…"

The seductive growl of Hunter's voice and the feel of his fingers biting into the soft flesh of his neck had Matt fidgeting as he tried to keep the sounds clawing at his throat from escaping. The hustle and bustle of those around them brought Matt back to the present and he colored when he noticed that he was completely hard and twitching behind his cargo pants. With a gruff growl Matt batted Hunter's hand away and once more stepped around him; walking as briskly as he could towards the elevator doors and scowling when he noticed from the corner of his eye that Hunter had fallen in step with him. Matt tried to ignore Hunter as he waited; studying his nails or looking around the lobby but he found out quickly that Hunter wasn't going to be ignored easily.

"You'd better hope there's someone in this car with us Matt-Matt…"

"Quit calling me that. My name is Matt, or Hardy. Either works." Matt snapped, his nerves worn thin as Hunter just lazily shrugged his shoulder.

"I'll call you what I want." Hunter brought his hand up and gently let his fingers trail down Matt's face, smirking when Matt batted them away and glared. "Such fight Matt-Matt." Before Matt could growl at him again, Hunter leaned close and whispered in his ear, "Like I was saying Matt-Matt, you'd better be praying that someone gets on the elevator with us."

"W-why?" Matt croaked out as he pushed Hunter away and rubbed at his ear to dry the warm moist feeling Hunter's breath had left.

"Because if I could do to you what I did in front of people and not think twice about it, think of what I can do in a small enclosed space with no one else around."

Matt swallowed and turned his eyes to the floor; trying to think of some way to get away from Hunter and back to his room in one—relatively—unharmed piece. He felt a tug at his cargo pants and looked down to see that Hunter had curled a finger through one of the loops. He pursed his lips before opening his mouth to say something but Hunter cut him off with a forceful 'shhhh'.

"Listen here Matt-Matt, bow your head and don't say a damn thing." Matt narrowed his eyes and went to say something but Hunter cut him off again. "I said nothing, now do it." The force and intent behind the words had Matt snapping his mouth shut and doing what Hunter commanded even though he scowled and grumbled mentally at the older man.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." The deep grumbling bass of Pauls' voice sent shudders through Matt's body and he bit his lip to keep from snapping at the large lump. "I don't remember putting you with Hunter…"

"Then all that weight must be affecting your memory Paulie." Hunter laughed, wrapping his arm around Matt's waist and squeezing before letting go. "I came to you two days ago and paid good money for my time with him. Of course if you'd rather trade him for blondie there…"

"N-no. It's just that Matthew doesn't get much, seems to crave a heavy hand and not many want to mark him up. They think he's too pretty and soft."

Hunter laughed and Matt had to force himself to stay still and not say a word; although there were a few that he wanted to spout off at that moment.

"No worries there. I'm sure my hand will be all that he needs."

Matt jerked when he felt the backs of Hunter's fingers sliding over his face. He turned his head slightly and glared; his chocolate eyes looking menacing through his loose curls. It must not have had any effect on the two large men because seconds later they laughed; making Matt bristle and gnash his teeth. A soft cough caught his attention and he cut his eyes to see Chris standing quietly behind Paul with a look of utter boredom on his handsome face. He must have felt Matt staring at him because he blew the dark haired man a playful kiss and flicked his eyes over him before mouthing 'looking good' with a leer. Matt tuned the rest of Hunter and Pauls' conversation out and rolled his eyes at Chris before dropping his eyes to his feet and making a mental note to kill them all in their sleep. The thought, as dark as it was made Matt smile and he chuckled as he pictured trying to suffocate Paul with a pillow but getting squashed when the large man rolled over; resulting him whimpering 'help me, heeelllppp meeeee' like that part in 'The Fly'.

"Y'know Matt-Matt a smile on your face is a lot better than a frown." Hunter murmured; breaking into Matt's thoughts and making him jump and turn wide startled eyes on him.

The look only lasted a moment or two before Matt started scowling against, his lips compressed into a tight line.

"I told you, either call me Matt or…"

"Hardy." Hunter interrupted in a mocking tone. "And I told you that I'll call what I damn well please." Matt snarled again; making the tall blond laugh heartily as he pushed hair away from Matt's face. "Y'know Hardy boy for someone who just got their ass pulled from the fire, you're not acting very gracious. Unless of course you wanted to see which highest bidder was gonna win ya tonight."

"N-no." Matt blushed, coughing to cover up his blunder. "I mean, no one was gonna win me. I'm not some prize to be given out to some small dicked fucker with a wad of cash."

"Lucky for you then, not only do I have a large 'wad' of cash, but I also have a pretty large trouser snake."

Matt rolled his eyes before studying the worn toes of his favorite sneakers, his hands jamming themselves into his pockets as he cleared his throat.

"Look, I do want to thank you…"

"Don't mention it." Hunter purred as he pulled the dark haired man into the newly opened elevator car and hit the closed door button before anyone else could join them. "You have all night to show me how grateful you are."

Matt narrowed his eyes and moved over to the other side of the elevator, tamping down on the seductive voice that was whispering darkly in back of his head. Hunter laughed and watched him; the younger man's face drawn up in a confused scowl, his full bottom lip pinched between his teeth. The ride up was quiet, Matt lost to his thoughts and Hunter content with watching the battling emotions flit across his face. The doors swooshed open and Hunter stepped off, chuckling when Matt eyed him with a look shock and wariness. Before the doors slid closed Hunter reached in and grabbed Matt; dragging the dark haired man against him and kissing him, forcing his tongue deep into Matt's mouth and sweeping around with bold, authoritive strokes. Matt struggled a bit, forcing Hunter to move into the compartment and pin against the wall; his large hands slipping beneath Matt's shirt and moving up to tweak the Southerners' already hard nipples. When Matt's tongue slipped into Hunters mouth, the blond pulled back, smirking at the confused look on the younger man's face. Matt leaned forwards again, his intent clear but Hunter moved out of the way; prompting Matt to scowl at him.

During their little match of dueling tongues the doors had slid closed again and the car drifted up slowly; taking them to whatever floor had pushed the button. Matt tilted his head to the side and stared at Hunter; the expression on his face caught between confusion and anger. With a smirk Hunter moved close, gripping Matt's chin and holding his head still as he stared into the dark chocolate orbs, staying quiet until Matt squirmed and tried to pull away.

"Stop." The command wasn't shouted, but the essence of the word was clear.

"I'm not a dog…"

Hunter tightened his grip, cutting off Matt's mouthy tirade before it could begin. It became a battle of dominance and every time Matt would open his mouth to say something Hunter would grip tighter, mentally grinning when he seen the marks from his fingers starting to show. What Hunter's high handed actions were doing to Matt were evident by the slight glimmering in the deep warm depths of Matt's eyes. A tiny chime rang through the space and Hunter chuckled as he dropped his hand and moved away, taking up residence in the corner as the doors swept open and watching as Matt tried to put his mind back to rights. The actions were there, hidden deep in the elder Hardy but still present and Hunter couldn't wait to tempt them out, to see how far the younger man had been pushed and far he could push him.