A/N: This chapter is lemony.

Rebecca didn't put up too much of a fuss seeing Nathaniel and George walk into the office cuddled up to each other, although she, Maya, and Paula did gossip a bit about whether they thought the two of them had actually slept together. The thought of two men together excited Rebecca, but maybe not if one of those men was George. Ugh. He was so plain and… unsexy. She couldn't fathom what Nathaniel saw in him unless it was George's slavish devotion to him. That was probably it; Nathaniel was quite the egomaniac, after all.

"I don't think they're really together. Nathaniel is hiding something," Paula said flatly.

"Hiding s— what do you mean?" asked Rebecca.

"I mean…." Paula leaned in conspiratorially. "Just before you got released from jail, I went to see what I could get out of Trent."

"You what—?"

"But Nathaniel was already there. Before I could say or do really anything, he sent me away. Said he would fire me if I didn't go. And then last night, I happened to see him leaving with George, so I followed them… to the hospital."

"...so you're saying, Nathaniel has been visiting Trent in the hospital for the last month and a half? And pretending to date George as a cover? Paula, none of that makes any sense. Why would Nathaniel be visiting someone who tried to kill him?"

"I'm just telling you what I saw."

xoxo

The truth was, Nathaniel had developed some dark interests over the years that carried over into his fantasy life. Yes, he had initially gone to see Trent to vent some questions to which he didn't expect answers, but then, his brain had started filling in the blanks on its own. He had begun fantasizing about Trent holding a knife to him, maybe even cutting him, breaking skin, making him bleed, lapping it up. The idea drove him wild with desire, a desire he obviously couldn't act on with someone who was in a full body cast.

"I'm glad you survived," he told Trent this afternoon. "Thank God for my pool."

"Yes, it's ironic. I almost drowned in a pool as a kid, and then recently a pool saved my life. I still can't stand water, though, except for cooking." They were in a new room, and while Trent was still immobile and being fed via IV, his eyes were bright and his voice was animated as the two chatted.

"I'm sorry." Nathaniel wasn't sure what else he could say to that. Trent grimaced at him, but it was an understanding sort of grimace.

"So, how did it go with George last night?" Trent asked, changing the subject.

Nathaniel's cheeks reddened.

"That well? Nice. I'd high-five you, but…"

"No, ah… nothing like that happened. We went out to dinner, I asked him if what you said was true, he confirmed it… said some very suggestive things… I told him I wasn't ready to go there yet, and he accepted it. We— we kissed. And he seems cool with me seeing you, here, as long as I don't regale him with the details or kiss you in front of him again."

"I love details," said Trent cheekily. "Kissing two guys in the same night? You're a bit of a slut, Nathaniel," he teased.

Nathaniel's blush deepened. He liked being called a slut, at least by Trent. "Maybe you should punish me for it," he suggested huskily. "Once you're free."

Trent pondered this, unflinching. He had even less experience in these matters than Nathaniel did, but he was eager to please, and after having his heart thoroughly shattered by the one person he had ever romantically loved, he couldn't bring himself to turn down someone who was offering themselves up on a silver platter.

"Once I'm free," he agreed after a pause, "you can beg me for it, and I'll see what I can do."

Nathaniel's face lit up with something close to joy. "Really?" he asked, relief evident in his voice.

Trent smiled wistfully at him and nodded.

"How far are you willing to go? With punishment?" Nathaniel asked.

Trent had never given that much thought to kinks. "I… can try almost anything once," he said. He had, in fact, been willing to do anything and everything Rebecca might have asked of him, although she had turned out to be pretty vanilla. She did like to be choked with licorice, though, which Trent had happily obliged.

"So, if I wanted you to cut me, or brand me, or choke me out…?"

Trent's eyes widened. He'd had more than his share of snuff fantasies about Nathaniel, though branding came across as a little more hardcore than anything he had considered. But now that it was being mentioned to him, he felt a thrill run through his body. He nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Anything else?" he asked, almost breathlessly. Oh, this was turning him on, unexpectedly.

Nathaniel paused. "I… I'm not sure," he admitted. "What if I made a list of various kinks and we could decide together what we might be into? And I'll do the same with George," he added as an afterthought.

Trent would have nodded vigorously if he could. "Yes, yes, that sounds perfect!" he burbled excitedly.

Nathaniel got right to work. He set up his laptop and made an anonymous FetLife account, then went through the various fetishes with Trent. To Nathaniel's surprise, they were both up for the same things! He also compiled a list of the things he was interested in and emailed it to George. He learned that George was a Dominant-leaning switch who was nevertheless not quite as hardcore as Trent seemed willing to be. Nathaniel thought he himself might be a submissive-leaning switch, whereas Trent said he didn't know what he was, but again, he would try almost anything once.

Does this mean you're ready to have some fun?

asked George in a follow-up email. Nathaniel blushed as he read it aloud.

"Go ahead. I'll be fine," Trent assured him. It wouldn't be medically advisable of him to ask Nathaniel to get him off while he was still in his cast, and besides, he had excellent fortitude. He hadn't so much as touched himself since Rebecca had taken his virginity over two years ago. He could breathe through this easily.

Nathaniel nodded and packed up his computer, but he did give Trent a lingering kiss goodbye before he left. Trent smiled peacefully as he watched Nathaniel go.

xoxo

Nathaniel picked George up and brought him directly to his apartment. Per George's orders, Nathaniel stripped down to nothing and sat on his heels at the foot of the bed as George handcuffed him.

George looked appraisingly at Nathaniel, and reached into his bag of fun to pull out a riding crop. He ran it gently over Nathaniel's chest and back, causing Nathaniel to arch and moan in anticipation.

"Eager, are we?" George asked him. Nathaniel nodded, his eyes on the floor. George smirked and opened his jeans. His cock sprang out, hard and ready, and he used the riding crop to tip Nathaniel's chin up, make him look at it.

"Does my good boy want a taste?" George asked, stroking Nathaniel's face with the crop. Nathaniel nodded again and scooted forward on his knees, mouth open. Without further warning, George grabbed the back of Nathaniel's head and thrust into his mouth. He set a fast pace, aggressively face-fucking Nathaniel.

Nathaniel moaned deep in his throat. He liked the way George tasted, the way this felt; he longed to raise his hands to George's hips to steady himself, but as his wrists strained against the handcuffs, he was reminded, George was in control.

Despite his lack of experience, Nathaniel was good at what he did, and he took nonverbal direction surprisingly well. George kept him in check with the riding crop, whipping his back when he wanted Nathaniel to suck harder. George was pleased to note that the other man didn't have a strong gag reflex, and he took full advantage, tipping Nathaniel's head back and instructing him to relax his throat and breathe through his nose. Nathaniel whimpered slightly at that, but he handled it well, and it wasn't long before George came hard down his throat. As he pulled back, Nathaniel gave a little moan and sucked at him for more. George released his hair and cupped his cheek.

"Did you enjoy that, my good boy?" he asked. "You did so well for your first time."

Nathaniel nodded eagerly, panting. God, he was horny as hell, and he couldn't do a thing about it! This was as frustrating as it was thrilling, and it was incredibly thrilling!

George released Nathaniel's cuffs, but instructed him not to touch himself. He maneuvered Nathaniel onto the bed, face-down, and began to massage his shoulders and back. He rubbed flavored oils into Nathaniel's skin and took great pleasure in slowly licking it off. Nathaniel was shivering, panting, and moaning with need, begging wordlessly for George to just take him. But George opted for the slowest, most tortuous full-body massage, working Nathaniel's muscles like a professional, although whipping him every time he started to beg in words.

When he turned Nathaniel over and started working on his chest, he was delighted at the sight of Nathaniel's throbbing member, dripping with precum. He smirked to himself and leaned forward, laying languorous kisses up and down Nathaniel's shaft, never touching the head, then cupping and lightly sucking each of his balls.

"Please, George, I'm so close," Nathaniel whimpered, his hands fisting in the sheets. George flicked the riding crop across Nathaniel's stomach in response; Nathaniel moaned hungrily. "Yes," he gasped, arching up. "More…"

George took his time, rubbing the riding crop gently along Nathaniel's chest, stomach, and thighs, before smacking him with it. He varied the strength of each one, so Nathaniel wouldn't be able to predict how hard he'd be whipped.

Nathaniel loved every second of it. He loved being edged like this, wanted more, wanted to be hit harder and touched more aggressively. Just when he thought he'd cum from one more smack of the crop, George stopped, climbed over him, and kissed him passionately. Nathaniel kissed him back and rolled them over so that he was on top, then grabbed one of the lube bottles and poured some oil onto one hand. George nodded his consent to being fingered and more, not minding at all that Nathaniel was breaking subspace as long as he was enjoying himself, and enjoying him!

The sex was everything George had hoped for and more. He could predict Nathaniel's rhythm from the start and he moved into it, both of them moaning loudly as they found their pleasure in each other. George had wanted to feel Nathaniel like this for years, and the mild discomfort was nothing compared to the sheer joy he felt bubbling up in him now that Nathaniel had deigned to fill him. He thought his heart would stop when Nathaniel reached down and— Oh God—!

"God, Nathaniel, I love you so much!" George cried out as he came for the second time. Nathaniel kissed him, passionate and aggressive, as he finished inside George.

They lay there, together, panting, nearly collapsed into the mattress, though Nathaniel had the good sense to move them onto their sides. When they were reasonably sure they could walk again, Nathaniel suggested showering together.

They didn't get a lot of sleep that night.