Chapter 4

When Nick didn't make a move for the door, Greg began talking again. Babbling nervously, but unable to stop, he rose from his spot on the arm of one of the arm chairs. "C'mon, I'll show you your room, find some clean clothes you can borrow until we can go get you some. You can even take a shower, if you'd like."

Halfway down the hallway, Greg was actually surprised to sense the other man's presence behind him. Pushing a door opened, Greg clicked on the light switch, illuminating an unfurnished room strewn with boxes, some of them obviously empty.

Nick gazed into the room from behind Greg, thoroughly unimpressed. It wouldn't be the first time he'd slept on the floor.

"We'll clear all this out later," Greg began, fighting to stifle a sudden yawn, "after I've gotten some sleep. Then tomorrow we'll go find some furniture. Clothes, and other things, too. Oh, and groceries. I have enough for dinner tonight, probably something for breakfast, but that's about it."

Still unsure of the whole situation, Nick didn't say anything, just moved out of Greg's way when he backed out of the room after turning the light off.

As Greg headed towards his room, Nick following, he began to talk again. "I work graveyard at the crime lab, so I sleep from about seven or eight a.m. until three or fourish. I work ten p.m. to six a.m., but depending on how busy I am in the DNA lab, sometimes I end up working doubles. You can keep the same hours as me, or not. Whatever. You're welcome to watch anything on TV, even use the video games. I won't make anything off limits to you."

By now, Greg had several articles of clothing, he thought would fit Nick until he could take him shopping the next day, in a pile in his arms.

"Look, you can sleep on the couch tonight, probably tomorrow night, too. By the day after tomorrow, whatever furniture we get should be delivered and set up. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. This is actually pretty late for me to be up, so I'm going to crash."

Greg held the stack of clothes out to Nick, who accepted them with a small smile and a nearly whispered, "Thank you, master."

"My name's Greg, Nick. In informal settings, that's what I'd like you to call me," Greg replied with a smile of his own. As he turned away to go about getting ready for bed, Greg had to stifle the urge to touch Nick.

There seemed to be an electric current between the two men, but Greg didn't want to push Nick. He knew nothing of the other man's history, so he didn't want to try to push him into anything. Especially after he'd promised not to. He'd just have to wait for Nick to come to him, if he would. Greg had no idea if Nick even went for guys.

Nick sighed as he stepped into the steamy shower.

Since his most recent sale to the slave master, he hadn't been granted much time for bathing, and certainly not in private.

For several minutes, he just stood under the spray of hot water, letting it cascade over him. It felt Devine on muscles forced into one position for far too many hours.

Rubbing a small amount of shampoo into the stubble of hair on his head, Nick hoped his new master... Greg, would allow him to grow his hair out, at least a little bit. He hated having it this short.

Next he grabbed the soap and worked it into a good lather all over his body. He payed especially careful attention to his feet, as he'd been forced to walk around barefoot for days now, so they were caked in filth.

When he was done bathing, he carefully washed the dirty footprints from the shower floor, cleaning up after himself as his mother had taught him to.

At the thought of his mother, he thought about what Greg had mentioned about contacting family. A sob escaped him at the thought of possibly talking to his mom again. If she was still alive after all this time, after everything that had happened to his family.

Resting his right forearm against the cool tile of the shower stall, he leaned his head on his arm and allowed himself to cry. It was something he hadn't allowed himself to do in years. Tears mixed with water and dripped from the end of his nose to fall to the floor and swirl down the drain.

As he was drying off, after turning off the water and getting out of the shower, Nick realized that running had become the last thing on his mind.

There was just something about Greg. He seemed different from his previous owners. Granted, they all had acted nice to him the first couple of days, but for some reason, Greg really seemed different.