CHAPTER 9

"Thank you for coming." Brian gave the other man a friendly smile, then gestured around the reading hall. "Please, pick a seat," he said with a grin.

"I thank you for everything you did for Ian." Lennox sat on a chair, elbows on the desk. "As I told you the first time we met, he's my favorite cousin." The man leaned forward, looking into the librarian's eyes. "Also, a million thanks for giving me your blessing to be with Bailey; from what I could see, you care deeply about him, and the other way around, and I really appreciate…"

"About Bailey…" Brian cut the other man short, then fell silent, choosing the right words. "They are special in many ways; first, they are my sibling, and I'd hate to see them unhappy, and secondly, they are built differently."

Lennox nodded, his eyes clouded with a veil of melancholy. "I kinda figured that out. There is something about them, about how they carry themselves, and a thousand other small things that, combined, made me suspect the truth." He swallowed hard before continuing in a thick voice. "I've been in love before, and they were built like Bailey. We were cellmates and wanted to start a new life; we were going to be released on the same day."

"What happened?" Brian asked, his heart hurting for the other man because he was almost sure his love story ended tragically. "Did they find another…protector?"

"I wish that were the case, at least they would have still been alive." Lennox ran a hand over his face. "One day, there was an incident at the cafeteria, and I got twenty-four hours of solitary confinement for my involvement. I acted stupid and reckless." The man lowered his gaze, guilt and regret washing over him. "They cornered them in the shower, and… long story short, they died in my arms, two days later."

Another day, another problem, Brian sighed as he remembered the conversation he and Lennox had a few days earlier. He wondered why people's lives, especially those around him, had to be so complicated sometimes. In fact, the librarian couldn't recall the last time when life wasn't complicated.

For instance, Bailey. After singing praises to Lennox for weeks and blushing every time the man's name was mentioned. Now they were looking for a solid pretext to break up with him and turned to his best friend for advice. His sibling's words left the librarian baffled, so he decided to go back to the root of the problem.

They were afraid. Bailey's answer came right away when Brian asked them why they would want to leave Lennox, who, according to them, was the embodiment of the perfect boyfriend. Afraid the insults, beatings, and other punishments would start again, at some point, afraid that the love and adoration filling their boyfriend's eyes would disappear, replaced with hatred and disgust.

Bailey was also afraid that, if they would bear Lennox's children, sooner or later, the man would treat the one who wasn't his differently, and not in a good way. Or worse, he would try to harm them during the pregnancy, to get rid of the problem before it would produce further complications.

Brian tried to calm his sibling's fears, tell them everything would be alright, that they had no reasons to worry, but in the absence of solid arguments, his words didn't sound very credible, not even to his own ears. Of course, he could tell Bailey about Lennox's tragically ending love story, but his sibling wasn't stupid, and they would've realized right away his best-kept secret was known to his boyfriend.

And there was also Stephanie. Brian sighed . She won't react very well when she hears about Bailey's intention of breaking up with Lennox, and to be honest, I wouldn't be happy about it if I were her, he said to himself. Hells, I'm not happy about it myself, the librarian continued his trail of thoughts, then put a stop to it when he saw his sister's car parked across the street from the library.

"I don't recognize my brother anymore!" Stephanie started to talk as soon as she walked inside. "He told me he is going to break up with Lennox." She gestured to the car. "I thought to get here before he does, so I can talk to you about this…situation."

"Look, abuse survivors are very fractured." Brian's voice was heavy with pain. "They only know the cycle of abuse, So when something good happens to them or a good person comes into their life, they panic. It's the same when they are faced with the choice between their abuser or the new love." The man continued, his voice shaky. "They will often choose the abuser because it's all they know. It's scary and confusing."

"There must be something else…" Stephanie pressed her lips into a thin line and tapped her chin with one finger. "After every beating, Bailey hated himself. He kept saying it was his fault. He used to call himself a disgusting freak and blamed himself for not being what Grant wanted." The young woman continued in a defeated voice. "I hope Grant is still alive. If he's not, Bailey may blame himself for his death and may try something irreversible."

Brian ignored his sister's last words, caught in his own nightmarish memories. "That's what abusers do; they shred their victim's very being apart, make them believe things are their fault. The abused ones question every move they make and always wait for the beating they believe they deserve."

Suddenly, the realization hit Stephanie in full force, and she gave the librarian a look filled with compassion, but also admiration. "You've been there yourself, am I right? Martino, Ian, Oisin, and the other kids…you help them because you know what it's like to be helpless, alone and afraid."

"Yes." Brian nodded and closed his eyes in an effort to keep the bad memories from flooding his mind. "I was the lucky one. One day, my ex backhanded me too hard. It was the last straw, the wake-up call, and I finally ran away, but he came for me over and over." A lone tear slid onto the man's cheek as he continued in a voice tinged with fear. "If I didn't have my family here at The Base, I would have done what he wanted. I would have become number eleven. The librarian started to shiver. "He killed ten men and boys before me."

"Whoa, man, you were lucky!" Stephanie exclaimed, her jaw hitting the floor. "A goddamn serial killer! Wow!" She stared at the librarian in utter disbelief.

"Very lucky." Brian nodded, then fell silent for a couple of seconds, a frown creasing his forehead. "I wouldn't be surprised if Grant has killed before."

"I… I don't think so," Stephanie hesitantly replied, shaking her head. "His father would have suspected something, at least I think he would."

"People like Cole, my abusive ex, and Grant are very good at hiding who they really are." The frown on Brian's forehead deepened.

Stephanie nodded her approval. "I understand where you are coming from. Anyway, keep in mind that his death could kill Bailey. Keep the bastard alive until my brother is safe with Lennox. I like the guy a lot." She said the last part with a radiant smile.

************

Luca spent the night with Brian, engaged in another hot, intense scene, while Martino had his own share of fun with Bart. Overnight, the husbands of the Dom/sub pair woke up and moved upstairs, in the master bedroom, leaving the playroom all to their soulmates. However, the two were too exhausted to hear anything.

The feel of lips gently moving over his neck and nibbling down his shoulder woke Luca the next morning. He was lying on his side, with a warm body spooned against his back. A wet tongue tickled behind his ear, but he resisted letting out any kind of embarrassing sound. His Dom soothed the bite with a few licks and a sensual kiss, making him wonder if the man wanted more after the night before.

Brian leaned down and continued the exploration of Luca's neck with his mouth. The sub closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy the tingles that each touch sent shooting from one nerve ending to the next. The Sicilian had no previous experience with Doms, but he never expected one to be so romantic, sensual, and loving, all the words perfectly describing the librarian.

Luca wasn't disappointed in the least, on the contrary; one of his reservations about becoming a sub was the fear that he would miss that sense of romance he had only a very small taste of with past boyfriends. He read about Dom/sub relationships that were very affectionate, but according to the authors of those books, it took years for the couple to get there.

While Luca was caught in his thoughts, Brian's mouth was moving down his collarbone, with more tiny nibbles and teeth gently scraping along his skin. His Dom bit down on one of the sub's nipples, making the man moan and beg him to do it again, then he moved over him, nestling between his spread legs.

Brian's hips rested snuggly on top of Luca's, his Mr. Happy becoming Mr. Ecstatic, as Bart would have put it, had he witnessed the scene. The words of his husband, more likely accompanied by a knowing smirk, made the librarian smile as his cock poked at the twitching hole of the other man.

I love morning sex with Master , Luca said to himself, a small smile playing on his lips; nothing compares to waking up to my body being caressed and adored, he continued the thought. His heart was already beating in anticipation, an erection well under way, his partner's hard shaft pressing into him; he couldn't imagine a better way to wake up.

Any signs of soreness caused by the previous night's activities were gone, as blood flowed through Luca's loins, and all he could think about was how it would feel to be filled with Brian again and how much he wanted to feel that way for a very long time. He never felt that about any of his boyfriends he bottomed for, and he never got tired of that feeling.

It wasn't just the neediness Brian's body elicited from Luca's, but also everything else being with his Dom involved. Unaware of the thoughts inside his sub's head, all of them centered around him, his Dom's mouth traveled all over the sub's chest, teasing both nipples, tasting him, nuzzling into his softer parts.

Brian's mouth was suddenly in front of Luca's face, from where it descended quickly, capturing the man's lips in a deep, passionate kiss. The sub greedily drank the sweet scent of his Dom's mouth from his lips; he tasted as enticing as he always did, no trace of foul morning breath. That made the Sicilian smile against the librarian's lips.

The kiss got even deeper and hungrier, making Luca feel like he was falling into a deep hole, sucked deep down in quicksand, never to surface again. Brian broke the kiss, and before the other one could distinguish his movements, he reached into the nightstand, and produced a bottle of lube, and popped its cap open, the sound getting his sub's attention.

Brian poured a generous amount of lube onto his hand, and a few seconds later, Luca felt fingers massaging it over and into his entrance. He spread his legs even more and turned his hips to present himself fully. When the librarian had gently stretched and prepared the other, the librarian aligned his hips in just the right position and pushed into his partner as he leaned down, placing an elbow on either side of the man's shoulders.

Pet. Brian emitted a hiss as he gradually filled his sub. The sound of his voice and the feeling behind that word shook Luca to the core and almost preempted the physical stimulation.

Master , the Sicilian moaned and then gasped as his Dom hit that heavenly spot, causing even more sounds that he never would have imagined coming from his mouth. It was overwhelming.