Just a short one guys, more to follow quickly. Let me know what you are thinking!
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Chapter 25 E
Stefan tried to give him the space he wanted. He had tried so fiercely not to give in to his urges to track his broken brother down. He lasted four months before he couldn't stand the fear of not knowing what had become of Damon before he gave in and began searching.
He had heard no word from Damon in two months. He had had no word from anyone. That was life now. He felt as though he was back at the beginning again – starting out from scratch with nothing, but generally each new lifetime he began to build involved his brother at some point – appearing to destroy things or simply to gloat. Now he feared that should he allow Damon the freedom to disappear, disappear he would – for forever this time. He couldn't allow that to happen. Damon was in pieces and it was his fault. Yes, Klaus had perpetrated a lot of the damage to Damon physically and mentally, but Stefan had walked away and left him the opportunity to do so. He had to fix this somehow, now that Klaus was gone.
He had heard nothing from the people whom had taken Klaus and for that he was as equally glad as he was unsettled. How could he trust that they would keep Klaus under forever? How did he know that Klaus wouldn't somehow manage to break free and come after them? He'd thought often on how insane his bargain with them had been, but he had little choice in the matter at the time. He couldn't take Klaus on alone and if these people charged in and followed through with their own plans, then Damon would have been killed or possibly enslaved further. He had had to cut the best deal he could, but now that he had the time and space to reflect, he realised just what a foolish mistake he may have made in not finding out how to locate them again.
Once he began his search, he spent the next few months roaming the entire continent. He would catch a glimpse of an indication that Damon was somewhere but by the time he got there, Damon was long gone. His fear began to escalate. It seemed that some of Damon's old habits had returned – namely the use of humans for feeding. He was careless most of the time, not burying or disposing to the point where the local authorities believed there was a serial killer in their midst. A stranger turning up and asking questions, didn't help matters and he ended up having to be more discrete than was helpful.
Another few months passed with still no sign of him. Damon seemed to have either began to take care of bodies or he had left the country. Stefan wasn't sure which and he felt bereft and at a loose end. There was only one sure fire way to know where Damon was, he just hoped that he could negotiate it.
Witches didn't work with vampires. Not many anyway. He never realised how blessed it had been to have had Bonnie around and willing to help them when they needed magic. The first few witches he found cast him away with blinding pain and threats, despite his begging for their aid. Perhaps this was a frivolous endeavour. It wasn't until he reached North Carolina that he heard there was a witch who would trade with vampires for a price. She hadn't made the trade easy. She had wanted his blood and a lot of it. She'd bled him almost to the point of desiccation and he had been able to do nothing but wait for his inevitable end. To his great surprise she did his spell as he lay unmoving and starving and declared the location of his brother on a map which she dumped at his feet before leaving.
Rats and a cat fed him enough blood for him to be able to stagger away and find a motel to recuperate thankfully, but it had taken days for him to fully regain his strength and set out for where Damon was. As he boarded the plane to Boston, he held his breath and prayed that Damon would still be there when he arrived.
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"Uh, yeah, yeah fuck me!"
Damon exhaled and thrust harder, earning more moans of appreciation.
"I gonna cum, I'm gonna…" His bed fellow exclaimed before arching and releasing himself.
Damon leaned forward and bit into the back of his neck, drinking and riding him to his own climax. He was getting a little better at stopping before they were dead, but he didn't place too much importance on it if he failed. He rolled over and panted, hanging one of his legs off the side of the bed. Better, this time was better. He was beginning to enjoy this more now, beginning to forget…
His bed partner groaned and turned his head to look at him groggily. Damon sighed and closed his eyes.
"Please…" The man whimpered.
"Later."
"P…please, you promised."
Damon shook his head in annoyance and looked at him, the veins in his eyes returning.
"Not yet Johnny boy. Good things come to those who wait." He said and the human closed his eyes and sagged into the mattress. "Besides, you haven't proved to me you're good enough to be a vampire. I'm not feeling the effort."
The human passed out and Damon chewed on his fingernails absentmindedly. Johnny was a good enough lay really, one of the better ones, but he still wasn't hitting all the right spots. He'd have thought that years of experimentation with other dudes would have taught him better manners in bed, but apparently not. Damon was still unsatisfied in that department. It had been so long since he'd had a prostate orgasm that he'd began screening for men more experienced, chasing it. Still, Johnny held some appeal and a bargain to turn him, seemed to be motivation enough for him to keep trying to please.
Damon rolled over and got out of the bed, grabbing his jeans and putting them on. Johnny groaned on the bed and Damon took a pocket knife from his jeans pocket and sliced his wrist, holding it over a glass on the nightstand. He licked the cut as it closed and bent over the human, placing the glass to his lips and pouring it into his mouth. The human swallowed but didn't rouse and Damon patted him on the shoulder as he left the room and washed out the remainder of the glass.
This was their routine, Johnny didn't get to know how a vampire was really made. It kept him easy to manipulate. God forbid he should feed on Damon's blood and then commit suicide or something. Then Damon would be lumbered with a little sex addict following him around. He held no delusions that Johnny liked him a little too much, but he was nothing more than a lay.
He headed out for the rest of the night, intent on getting as drunk as possible. The local bar wasn't too bad but tonight he wanted to disappear into a dark booth somewhere and have some peace and quiet. His was the kind of face that attracted attention and although he could fuck till the cows came home, tonight he felt like some alone time.
He found just the spot he had been looking for in a club and relaxed back into the seat, raising his bourbon to his lips and inhaling the heady scent. The music was loud and awful, but at least it meant that people were going to be more inclined to dance rather than converse with him.
He began to feel the alcohol take effect and he crossed his legs on the table in front of him, eyeing the crowd on the dancefloor when he saw something that gave him a jolt.
A collar. A collar on someone. He sat upright and dropped his feet from the table as his heart began to speed up. It was on a guy, being led around on a chain. He could feel bile rise in his throat as he searched for the holder of the leash. It was a woman. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and watched them. They seemed intimate – well why wouldn't they be after all? Being a slave meant that that was your function. Try as he might he couldn't relax again and began to follow them with his eyes whenever they came into sight.
His gazing at them attracted their attention and he held tight as they approached, under the assumption that he may want to join them. As they approached his booth he stood up and began to move away. He saw a fire exit and stepped outside, needing some air.
What the hell? What was he afraid of? They were probably human. Even if they weren't there were only two of them. He could take them if they tried anything. They weren't Klaus.
He squeezed his eyes closed and shook himself out of it, looking up at the night sky as he exhaled. He wasn't going to run away anymore, he had promised himself that. It had been 8 months since he had left Klaus. 8 months of supposed freedom and normality from sadistic practices and enslavement. The truth was that dangerous and kinky sex was practiced regularly in the human world too and if he was to run every time he encountered it, he'd be running for the rest of his life. What his life with Klaus had been, wasn't typical. Perhaps being around the reality of this kind of lifestyle when he wasn't being continually tortured, raped and brutalised, would help him.
He shook his head at the ridiculousness of that thought but then reflected on how many books he had read over the past few months that had suggested that he face his fears to conquer them. He took a deep breath and moved back through the fire exit into the club again, looking around. He couldn't see the couple. He breathed a sigh of relief and re-took his seat again, picking up his discarded glass and bringing it to his lips shakily.
His stomach rumbled. The adrenaline always made him hungry afterwards. He got up and made his way to the bathroom, checking the stalls for occupants. There was only one stall occupied and no other witnesses, so he broke the lock and entered, terrifying the occupant as he grabbed him from behind and sank his fangs into his neck. He held the human's mouth as he fed, blissfully. He heard movement towards the bathroom and quickly finished up, compelling the human to fall asleep in a fake drunken stupor before he exited and closed the stall door again. He turned around to leave when the collared man entered, and they stopped and stared at each other.
"Hey. Thought you had left." The human said and Damon looked at his collar speechless.
It was black leather with a large silver hoop in the front at the centre and two smaller hoops to the sides of his neck. He spoke before he had rationalised what he was going to say.
"She let you off the leash then?" He said and the human looked at him startled for a second at his bluntness.
"This time." The guy chuckled. "Sometimes she makes me beg."
Damon gave an unconscious nod, still unable to take his eyes from the collar.
"You looking to join us for some fun?"
Damon blinked and looked at his face now.
"You look like you might enjoy some fun. Mistress likes the dark hair." He added with a grin and the blood drained from Damon's face. "She's really amazing. She won't hurt you unless you want her to. If that's your thing."
"I…" Damon frowned and felt bile rise once more.
The human chuckled and relieved himself at the urinal as Damon watched him.
"Are you a sub then? You look like you might be."
"Huh?" Damon frowned.
"You got any partners?"
"A few."
"So, do you like to be in charge or…" The human faded off as he tried to scrutinise Damon's appearance for indication of his preferences.
Damon didn't reply, and the guy gave a nod and smiled at him in jest.
"Come and meet her." He offered and left the bathroom.
Damon stared after him for a second before he willed his legs to move. He saw the guy moving away towards a booth in the far corner, the guy turning and giving him a wave as he did and Damon felt his heart pounding in his ears. He began moving towards the booth, unsure what or why he was doing it, but feeling as though he was being pulled by an invisible leash he couldn't see.
He got to the booth and looked down at the woman. She was hot and clearly, she knew it. He could tell from her body language how confident she was that he wanted her and that he would sit.
"Elaine." She answered a question he hadn't asked and he blinked. "You are?"
"Damon."
"Sit down Damon, let me look at you." She said and patted the seat beside her.
He swallowed and looked to her slave, sitting on the floor at her feet and watching him enthusiastically. His chain was back on his collar now and hooked to the belt around her waist. Like a dog. He bit his lip and frowned.
"Sit." She said commandingly and he did so. "Are you new?" She asked and he frowned. "Have you ever done this before?"
"Done what?" He huffed and she chuckled.
"Been collared?" She said simply and he grimaced and gave a sharp nod.
"You didn't enjoy it?" She asked, her expression suddenly filled with honest concern.
It was this show of human feeling that stopped him from grabbing her and feeding in anger at the memories she threatened to stir.
"Did your mistress hurt you?" She enquired, placing a hand on his shoulder and he looked down at the human at her feet, who was also searching his face in concern.
"My master was…changeable." He said nervously and both humans frowned and nodded solemnly.
"You poor thing. No wonder you look terrified." She said and he opened his mouth to protest when she put her finger on his lips to silence him. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to Damon. So many people don't understand our preferences and they use it as an excuse to abuse. That's not what the scene is about."
He tilted his head at her words. He had never seen any indication of anything other than abuse – aside from the girls that was. As he thought on that he recalled their feelings for Klaus, their longing and even love for him. Perhaps Klaus was with them, the way this woman was describing and that was what had made their experience so different from his. He had been a toy to Klaus, a weapon of revenge and malleable enough to be tortured without fear of death.
Were Damon to try something of this nature with humans, the experience would be entirely different and perhaps enjoyable?
"Tell me." He said and she smiled.
"Some people enjoy having the power to do what they want with a partner who allows it, especially if you are a woman. When a woman is a mistress she holds the power, it removes fear and equalises almost. I would never be dominated by a man, so I choose men that enjoy letting me lead instead. Jake here, enjoys being dominated by me as he feels freer in his sexuality and learns from me how to pleasure a woman. It turns him on to have a woman in control."
Damon nodded as he thought on that. That would work for them – they were clearly heterosexual though. Two men in this situation was different. She seemed to pick up on his thoughts.
"The man who was your master. You left him because he abused you then?"
Damon simply nodded.
"Did you fight being dominated by him?"
Damon wasn't sure how to answer the question and looked perplexed as a result.
"What about your other masters, did you enjoy being a sub with them?" She probed.
"He was the first." Damon grimaced.
"You've had a bad taste then. I would treat you better. Would you like that?" She tilted her head as she spoke, searching his face.
"Unless, you prefer men?" She raised an eyebrow.
"No."
"You like women then?" She asked and he huffed.
"I like women plenty." He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Why choose a male master then?" She was genuinely confused and he swallowed. "Oh." She exhaled and looked at him sadly.
She looked down at her slave Jake and ran her fingers through his hair as she thought on what to say. Damon watched them interact. This was clearly completely consensual.
"There are lines you don't cross, even in this scene Damon. I'm sorry you experienced anything against your will. I hope you will give it another try with a mistress one day."
She gave him a pitying smile and stood up, pulling Jake up onto his feet too. Damon frowned in surprise and stood up too.
"We will leave you now." She announced and Damon frowned again.
"Wait, what?" he said.
"You're not ready to try this again. You need to heal or try finding a sub." She advised and he huffed incredulously.
"I'm not a broken toy lady!" he snapped and she straightened her expression, taking on a strange air of authority.
He frowned again in surprise at the change and felt like taking a step back.
"I can't have you if you've been damaged Damon. You wouldn't be able to fulfil my needs if you're afraid of me."
"Are you kidding me?" He scoffed, looking at Jake. "You think he isn't afraid of you?"
"No. He fears displeasing me because I will deny him and inflict as much pain as he can handle, but he trusts me. You need to be able to trust before you can become part of this and I don't think you can." She said bluntly.
He glared at her angrily and she stood her ground, unmoving.
"Why would you want to do this to yourself again?" She asked, almost gently and it threw him a little.
"I want to feel something." He blurted and she sighed. "I need to feel something." He repeated, realising the truthfulness in his own words.
She nodded and sighed.
"Ok." She said and walked away with Jake in tow.
He paused for a second before he followed her out of the club.