Tears Of The Neko - 21. Chapter 21

Kayden kissed each one of Damien's bruises and cuts every night as he smoothed his hands over his master's skin, causing his master to arch under him. Kayden loved the little noises that he elicited from his master each time his breath tickled over a sensitive spot--the curve of his spine, the v of his hip bone, the top of his thigh.

Each night Kayden had begun massaging his master's sore muscles, which had tightened and stiffened in the fall from his beloved horse. John had provided a small jar of massage oil that they left on the night stand, and Kayden had straddled his master's upper thighs each night to work on the aches that his fall had caused. His small hands would work over the large firm planes of his master's shoulders, neck and lower back. Kayden loved the feel of his master's smooth skin slipping under his fingers.

The last couple nights, he'd even ventured lower, his thumbs sliding under the waistband of his master's lounge pants, brushing over the top of Damien's firm buttocks. He could feel his master arch into his touch, and Kayden had smiled at the low guttural moan that vibrated beneath him. The sounds his master made and the feel of his master's smooth under him were so erotic that Kayden couldn't help but rock his body against his master's. Damien would then slowly roll over, having felt Kayden's aching need along with his own, and he would stroke them both to completion. Kayden wasn't so sure that his master 'needed' the massages anymore. They had become a source of relaxation and pleasure for the both of them.

At the moment, Kayden sat straddled across his master's firm abs as Damien had rolled to his back, and he sat sliding teasingly across his master's skin.

"Kitten," Damien groaned at the feel of Kayden's playful, erotic teasing.

Kayden's little fingers traced down Damien's chest through the fine black hairs that sprinkled his chest, his thumbs flicking teasingly over the brown nubs. Damien's hands rubbed up and down Kayden's thighs, as Kayden leaned over and started kissing his way down his master's chest. As Kayden slid his naked body down his master's, he felt his master's arousal press at him from behind, causing Damien to moan again.

A little knowing smile teased at Kayden's lips at the power he had over his master right now. He started to press back against his master's cock, but Damien stopped him.

"No," Damien groaned, almost as if the word was being ripped from him, and Kayden froze, worried he'd done something wrong.

Damien forced Kayden to meet his deep blue eyes. Kayden could see that his master's pupils were blown in arousal.

"If you want to do this, get the oil," Damien stated.

And Kayden melted at the thought of his master offering him this control, this decision, and not just taking it from him like every other man had.

He reached for the bottle of oil scented with lavender that he used to give his master massages. Damien threw his head back in anticipation as he watched Kayden pour some into his hand, hissing in pleasure as Kayden's hand slicked over his hardness.

"Oh, god, kitten," Damien groaned as Kayden stroked him a few times. Damien tightened his grip on Kayden's thighs.

Kayden released him, and, using his hands for balance, eased himself over his master. He felt Damien quivering with the need to hold himself still for Kayden, knowing that he would hurt the boy if he moved before Kayden was ready.

Kayden mewled as he felt the odd combination of the slight burning pain mixed with the pleasant sensation of being filled by his master, being owned, being loved.

Kayden's hands slid up the sweat-slicked chest as he worked his way down over his master's length, feeling the rapid heartbeat under his fingers. When he tried to move, Damien gripped his waist, holding him still.

"Just--just..." Damien gasped. "Let me just feel you." And Kayden loved the look of absolute bliss on his master's face. "God, kitten, you feel--"

And Kayden had no idea what his master was about to say because one of them shifted, and Kayden threw back his head letting out a cry as immense pleasure coursed through him. He tightened on Damien, claws digging in unintentionally, causing Damien to respond by thrusting his hips. They both gasped in the shock, and began riding the sensation, both desperately seeking release.

Within moments, Kayden could feel the pressure building and he whined and gasped seeking the friction that would put him over the edge. He could feel Damien's rhythmic thrusting falter and knew he was close as well.

When Damien's hand wrapped around his arousal, stroking once, twice, he threw his head back, body straining with his release. His body clenched, riding the burst of his climax, pulling Damien with him as he felt the warmth of his master's seed spilling inside him.

Kayden collapsed in exhaustion over Damien, heedless of the mess he'd made on the tight stomach. Damien grabbed his face and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.

"Are you okay, kitten?" he whispered, still panting slightly.

Kayden nodded, tears of joy threatening to spill. He'd never imagined being taken could feel so good. But then, he'd given himself freely to the only man he'd ever cared for; to the only person he'd ever loved.

"Are you sure?" Damien asked when he thought he could feel the wetness of tears.

Kayden lifted his head, gently kissing his master, exploring and tasting. "Yes, thank you."

Damien chuckled softly, stroking his boy's head and down his thin spine. "I love you, kitten."

Kayden curled up on his master contently until they finally decided to clean up in the warm shower. He felt like his body was liquid and boneless as they curled back up in the bed afterwards, falling soundly asleep.

--Neko--

Kayden shivered at the sensation of a wisp of cool air tickling his ears. It was late at night, the fire had died down, and he thought maybe a gush of air had drifted in through the fireplace. He squirmed, and Damien rolled away from him onto his back, his arm flopping over his head on the pillows.

Kayden's ear twitched as the air in the room seemed off. He wrinkled his nose. A new scent. Sweaty, musky. His eyes opened suddenly, pupils blowing wide in the darkness, instantly alert.

Over Damien's chest, he saw a shadow shift in the light coming in from the balcony. Kayden's body tensed, a low growl rumbling from deep inside him. There was a small figure stealthily approaching Damien's side of the bed. The figure wasn't very big, small and light on his feet. Light from the window glinted on something metal in the hand of a man as it raised towards his master.

With a snarl, Kayden leapt over Damien towards the shadow, throwing the man back. The small, muscular man gasped in shock as the neko's body and momentum threw him to the floor. Claws flailed at the man who screamed in pain, cursing loudly at the sudden attack by the neko.

"Kayden!" he heard his master's shout.

Then a pounding came from the door before it burst open, but Kayden wasn't aware of anything but the man under him who had threatened his master.

Kayden dug his claws at the tender flesh of the man's throat as he knelt on the man's chest, hoping to keep him pinned until help arrived. The young neko kept his grip tight, even as the man tried to throw him off. Sinking his claws further into the tendons, he choked off the man's air.

Kayden was so focused, the instinctive protective desire to rip out the man's throat who had tried to stab his master, that he barely registered the stab of the blade sinking into his side.

Kayden gasped, his eyes dilating even more in the sudden pain, but he refused to give up his hold. Instead, he growled and tightened his grip.

He felt the blade slide against muscle and tissue, ripping him open, but he only snarled, vaguely hearing Damien scrambling from the bed and the guards racing into the room.

"Who sent you?" Kayden snapped, peeling back his lips, showing his small fangs in a feral hiss.

"Get him off!" the man gasped, choking as the claws drew blood, and trying to dig in with his knife to throw the boy off.

"Kayden! Get away before you get hurt!"

It was too late for that and there was no way that Kayden was releasing the man until he knew Damien was safe. He heard Damien nearby, his feet landing with a thud on the floor next to him.

"Who sent you?" Kayden tightened his grip when the assassin tried to twist the blade.

"The Marquis!" the man yelled in pain, gasping for breath, twisting his hand, and Kayden gasped as the knife sliced through more skin and muscle.

"Kayden! Let him go! We need him alive!" And with that he felt Damien pull him up and away from the intruder, causing him to release the man.

He hissed as the blade yanked free from his gut, and Damien swung him away from the assassin protectively, dropping him on the floor behind him. Kayden felt powerless as he watched the man swing the blade at Damien before the guards grabbed the assassin in the darkness of the room. His eyes darkened as the man managed to slice open Damien's arm.

A second later, the two guards from outside their door had the intruder subdued, and Kayden released a sigh of relief. His master and the guards were wrestling the man into submission as he crawled up nearly under the edge of the bed.

Kayden whimpered as the agony of the stabbing overwhelmed him, now that he knew Damien was safe. Curling into himself protectively, he panted through the pain, feeling the sickly flow of blood across his abs and hip. He wrapped his small arms around his belly, a tiny hand pressing against the jagged wound. Tears seeped as his felt the ooze of his own blood slipping over his thin fingers and pooling under his side. His tail curled around behind him, drooping over his tucked up legs.

He found himself pressed nearly under the edge of the bed, as his heart seemed to pound in his ears now. He blinked the tears away, fighting against the darkness that was threatening to take him. He sighed raggedly as he heard the voices of Damien and the guards subduing and questioning the assassin. Other voices erupted in the room, servants, more guards, maybe even Harrison, and Kayden knew his master was okay now. Kayden allowed the darkness to take him, panting in a few last shallow breaths, content in the knowledge that his master was safe.

--Neko--

Damien had awoken to the unnatural noise of what sounded like a feral cat. A few seconds later, he abruptly realized that Kayden had pounced over him and had someone pinned to the floor. Fear for his boy's safety rushed through him as he clambered from the bed, hearing his guards rush into the room.

"My lord!" he heard Geoff Brenner yell as he stormed across the room.

In the barest of light from the windows, Damien saw that Kayden had the man by the throat, demanding to know who sent him. By the time Damien had reached Kayden to pull him off, the man had confessed.

"The marquis!" they all heard the man shout.

And Damien's only instinct was to get the man away from his boy before the man overpowered Kayden and hurt him. Damien yanked Kayden away from the assassin, practically shoving the boy under the bed and putting himself between Kayden and the assassin.

"Fuck!" Damien yelled as the man came up swinging, slicing a knife across the arm that Damien had raised instinctively to protect himself.

He felt himself pushed back out of the way of the assassin as the captain took stance in front of him, guarding and protecting his lord. Geoff yanked him back out of the way, out of the small space between the bed and the balcony.

"Wait! Kayden!" Damien tried to pull away from his guard captain towards his boy.

They both took a quick glance, seeing the young neko curling in nearly under the bed.

"He's fine, he's hiding," Geoff snapped, shooing his master towards the fireplace where he could protect him better should the assassin escape the guards wrestling him into submission.

The guards grabbed the man before he could make any more moves toward the Duke, wresting the knife away. They finally got the man standing and Damien stared at him with a fierce scowl on his face as John and other servants rushed in, lighting torches. The Captain nodded as he took in the subdued intruder, satisfied the man was no longer a threat.

"Salidin! Come with me!" Brenner shouted as he stormed toward the door, and another guard fell in line behind him.

"Where are you going?" Damien frowned, expecting his captain to deal with the assassin in the room.

"I'm going to arrest the Marquis," Geoff stated, rather plainly. "For treason."

The words hit Damien hard as the guard captain wheeled around and disappeared out the door, pushing past Harrison who was frantic at the chaos happening in his brother's room.

"Damien!" Harrison shouted as he arrived on the scene as well, trying to take in what was happening.

"It was Roman," Damien growled, eyeing the man who'd tried to kill him, suddenly very tired and weary. The man was smaller than he'd expected, little and wiry looking. He sank onto the couch, dropping his head in his hands. "He said 'the Marquis' sent him."

The guards nodded their agreement that they had heard the same thing as they started to drag the assassin out the door to a cell.

Harrison stopped in abject terror, seeing the blood, the intruder. He quickly took in that everyone seemed to be safe and noted several guards and servants standing protectively by the Duke. Several servants looked on in shock and fear.

"Are you okay?" Harrison asked worriedly, eyeing the blood on his brother's arm. "Is Kayden okay? Where is he?"

"I'm fine," Damien glared at the assassin who was breathing heavily, looking angry and defeated. Blood dripped from his neck from the puncture wounds created by Kayden's claws. "And Kayden is hiding under the bed."

Damien tried ignoring John who was trying to wrap a scrap of linen around his arm, telling Ellis to get the doctor.

"Who hired you?" Harrison rounded on the assassin being dragged out the door.

"You know who did," he sighed, resigned to his fate. "I already told you when that fucking cat nearly ripped out my throat."

"Who?!" Harrison yelled, needing to hear it himself.

"The Marquis," he admitted again.

"Which marquis?" Harrison forced.

The man's eyes darkened, knowing if he was going to die, he was taking the bastard who hired him with him. "The Marquis Roman Whitmore. Your brother hired me to kill the Duke. He wants the throne."

An audible gasp echoed the room at the admission. Damien and Harrison exchanged sad, knowing looks. They had long known that Roman was behind the attempts on Damien's life, but hearing it blurted out so plainly was still shocking.

Damien sighed. "Get him out of here. Lock him up with the other one," he ordered. He didn't want to think about what his guard captain was doing at this moment. Could he ever face his brother again?

"Yes, sir," the guards quickly dispersed, taking the prisoner with them.

Ellis returned with the doctor in tow as Damien sank wearily on his couch. Harrison sighed as he plopped in the armchair next to him.

"Well, fuck," Harrison cursed, laying his head back against the chair.

Both men were silent for a moment as Dr. Reid inspected the wound. "You'll need a couple stitches."

Damien ignored the doctor, suddenly weary and drained.

"Hey, at least you're finally safe," Harrison said, "And we've finally got a specific confession implicating Roman this time."

Damien sighed, as the adrenaline drained from his body. "You should have seen it. Kayden must have scared the shit out of him when he pounced on him in the dark," he laughed at the thought of Kayden launching himself at the man in the dark, hissing and screeching.

Harrison laughed. "That I would have liked to have seen."

"I swear Kayden would have ripped out his throat right then. And I might have let him, if I wasn't so worried about getting Kayden away from the man before he got hurt," Damien chuckled.

"Lift your arm," the doctor commanded.

"Where is Kayden anyway?" Harrison said, glancing around the room.

Damien looked around too, realizing Kayden hadn't yet come out from under the bed.

"He was hiding under the bed," he stated, remembering when he'd yanked the boy away from the man to protect him, and he'd seen the boy curling up under the edge of the bed out of the way. "I'm sure he was scared."

"Scared?" Harrison snorted. "That boy is the bravest little kit I know. He's saved your life twice now, you know."

Damien smiled. "I know. He's like my little guardian angel."

He turned toward the bed where he was sure Kayden was hiding.

"Kayden!" he called, "you can come out now. It's safe, kitten."

He waited a few moments, then frowned when he heard no movement from his young lover. Harrison met his look at the same moment when it dawned on him that something might be wrong.

He shot out of the seat. "Kayden!"

Damien darted over to where he'd last seen the neko, his heart hammering in his chest.

In the spill of light from the balcony, he saw the little body of his boy curled up, nearly under the bed. There was a dark pool spreading on the floor under the tiny body.

Damien dropped to his knees. "Oh, God!"