Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2003 13:33:59 +1000
From: Iain Robertson <iainlthr@hotmail.com>
Subject: Nick and Noah ch 5

Copyright for this story belongs to and remains with the author. I don't
have any major objection to my work being re-distributed, but ASK FIRST!!!

This is a gay adult story with the consequent language and images. If
homosexuality and/or sexually explicit themes offend you then do not
continue. If these are illegal in your area, then you have my sympathy, but
you proceed at your own risk.

This is a work of fiction, and as such the characters are not bound by the
usual dictates of modern society. Unsafe sexual practices can be undertaken
with impunity only in the world of fantasy. In reality, it is your
obligation and your right to play safely, sanely and healthily.

I hope you enjoy my work, and if you have any comments, or ideas that may
inspire new work, please feel free to contact me -- all emails will be
answered to the best of my ability. Iainlthr@hotmail.com.


Nick and Noah - Chapter 5


Nick and Noah were almost home, with Noah driving much more slowly than he
had on their trip north, when Indiana suddenly started barking, and
scrabbling at the jacket lying on the seat beside him. It was Jim's jacket,
and Nick looked puzzled for a few seconds, wondering why the dog had become
so agitated, when he heard the muffled tones of a mobile phone.

Leaning over and retrieving the jacket, Nick dug through the pockets until
he found the telephone, still ringing.

"Should I answer it?" he asked Noah.

"Might as well. We can always pass any message on to Jim later," his partner
replied.

Pushing the 'okay' button, Nick spoke into the phone: "Hello, Jim's phone?"
he said.

"Ah ... yes, is Jim there?" asked a male voice hesitantly.

"No, sorry, but I'm a friend of Jim's," Nick replied. "I seem to have ended
up with his phone by mistake. Can I give him a message? I should see him in
a day or so."

"Is Jim okay?" asked the voice.

"Yeah ... why do you ask?" said Nick suspiciously.

"It's just that he rang and left a message on my machine - a bit strange,
something about calling the police ..."

"Really? He's been in a bit of trouble," said Nick, "but he's okay now. The
police have spoken to him, and I think he's in hospital in Newcastle ... but
just for observation!" he added hurriedly. "Who's calling?"

"Uh, my name's Tony, I'm a friend of Jim's."

"Tony? Not Tony Larissa?"

"Err, yes, that's me."

"Tony, it's Nick. Nick Giannis!"

"Oh, hi Nick, how are you?"

"Fine, thanks."

"So what's all the bother with Jim then?" Tony's voice had softened
considerably once he realised he knew the other person. They weren't exactly
friends, but enough of acquaintances for the conversation to become much
more relaxed.

"Well, it's a bit hard to explain," said Nick, not knowing how much he
should say about what had happened. "It seems Jim got into some problems
with a guy he was seeing, and this guy has been hurt. Jim's okay, but he's
still in hospital, and the police are still talking to him."

"Shit!" said Tony. "I hope there isn't any problem because I didn't get his
message until now."

"Tony, can you tell me exactly what the message was that Jim left? It might
help Jim with what's happened to him." Nick waited, holding his breath,
hoping Tony would not get difficult about it.

"Sure, Nick," Tony said with relief in his voice. "Jim rang my home
yesterday, and left a message on my answering machine. I was out of town,
and only got back today. It was a kinda weird message, so I thought I better
call first and see if he was okay."

Nick tried to hide his curiosity and his confusion. "Can you tell me when he
rang?"

"The machine time stamped it as just after 2.30 yesterday afternoon ..."

"Okay," said Nick coaxing Tony along. "Exactly what did the message say?"

"Would you like me to play it for you?"

"Yes! That would be perfect if you would."

"Okay, hang on while I hit the machine ..."

Nick waited for a few seconds, and then heard a metallic recording of Jim's
voice being played back over the phone.

'Hey Tony, it's Jim. Listen, I have a huge favour to ask. Something's gone
terribly wrong with the guy I've been seeing lately. I'll explain the whole
story to you later, but can you just do this for me as soon as possible? I
need you to ring the police from a public phone - somewhere where your call
can't be traced or connected to you - and tell them that there's been a
shooting and that they should check it out straight away. Tell them to go to
the Smith property, on Barrington Road, Karuah, and tell them to check the
cellar beneath the house. As soon as you've done it, hang up. I'll call you
in a day or so.'

The message ended, and then Tony came back on the line. "Did you get all of
that?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks!" said Nick. "Listen, can you keep that message - don't delete
it, okay? I'm sure Jim will explain everything as soon as he gets back."

"Okay," said Tony uncertainly.

"Thanks." Nick ended the call. "Well, well, well," he said as he looked to
Noah with surprise in his eyes. He repeated the whole conversation to his
partner, including the message Jim had left on Tony's answering machine.

"Now how do you think Jim managed to make a phone call if he was bound and
cuffed into that sling?" he asked with amazement. "And his voice on the
machine sounded a little put out, but not shocked or terribly upset either."

His partner murmured an astonished agreement. "Does that phone have a log of
outgoing calls?" Noah asked suddenly.

"Ahm ... yes!" Nick replied.

"See if you can recognise the last few calls made from it."

Nick played with the phone, pressing buttons here and there. "The last call
was definitely to the same number as the one that just came in," he said.
"So that ties up - if you'll pardon the pun - with what Tony said. Jim rang
Tony from this phone." He pressed some more buttons, and let out a sigh.
"And the call before that was made to a number I think I recognise. Wait a
minute!"

Nick quickly dialled the number he was looking at again, and waited for a
few seconds then hung up quickly. "Yep!" he declared. "That was Michael's
home number. I just got his answering machine!"

Noah said nothing, but he was obviously deep in thought. Eventually he broke
his silence. "There's something I want to check when we get home," he said.
"It might explain part of the mystery at least."

They were only a few minutes away from their home, and finished the trip in
silence. As soon as they arrived, Indiana jumped from the car and raced
inside, ready for a toilet break, while Nick and Noah followed a little more
leisurely. Once they had settled themselves after the trip, Nick turned to
his man.

"So, what is it that you want to check?"

"Follow me," said Noah mysteriously. As Nick did as asked, Noah opened the
door of their basement and headed downstairs.

"Hmmm, a bit of fun?" said Nick with a grin.

"No," replied Noah, "but I want to try something. Pass me those two sets of
handcuffs, babe." As he spoke, he laid himself back into the sling.

Nick looked on bewildered as Noah attached the cuffs to the supporting
chains at the head of the sling, and then snapped first one and then the
other closed around his wrists. The second was more difficult, since he had
to stretch over with the first wrist already restrained, but he managed to
complete the task relatively easily.

Nick stared at his mate, lying back in the sling, his arms restrained, his
legs drooping, fully clothed. "Noah, you know I love seeing you in the
sling, and cuffed, but shouldn't you have taken your clothes off first?"

Noah ignored the sarcasm in Nick's voice. "Can you check that these things
are properly locked?" he asked instead. Nick reached for the silver
wristlets, and confirmed that each was securely fastened.

Once again, Noah began to stretch one hand to the other, fingers flexing as
he scrabbled at a small spike of metal near the locking mechanism. With a
bit of effort he found what he was looking for, and there was a very slight
'click' before the cuff opened, freeing his hand. From there it took no more
than a few seconds for him to release the other cuff and free himself once
again.

"I thought so!" he announced triumphantly, sitting up and then stepping out
of the sling again.

"So are you going to let me in on this secret revelation?" Nick asked.

Noah smiled. "When I released Jim from the sling under the house, I noticed
that the cuffs he was restrained with weren't normal police-issue. They were
exactly the same brand and style as ours."

"That's because we bought them at a leather-fetish shop on Oxford Street,"
said Nick. "I guess Geoff bought his at the same place. Apart from being
almost impossible to get proper police cuffs, it's actually against the law
to own them. You know that!"

"Yep," said Noah. "I also remember that the reason these cuffs can be sold
to the public is that although they are operated by keys, there is this
safety catch which means that they can be opened without a key. I just
wanted to check if they could still be opened that way if two sets were used
- one on each wrist."

"Okay, so they can ..." said Nick slowly. "But if you didn't know that, you
probably wouldn't even try. How would Jim know it?"

"If Jim was as new to the bondage scene as he says, he wouldn't. But we've
already got suspicions about that. Remember the ball-parachute of his? Maybe
he knew damn well how to get out of the cuffs. That could explain how he was
able to get out of the sling, make the call to Tony, and get back in again
and do up the cuffs."

Nick mulled this over. "But if that was the case, why not just ring the
police himself? And why get back into the sling again?"

Noah took a long breath. "What if Jim was the murderer? Wouldn't this be a
great alibi - that he was handcuffed in a sling below the house? That way,
he couldn't possibly have done it, could he? He was the innocent victim of a
kidnapping, who was left chained up in the cellar after the imaginary killer
did the deed and left the scene."

"Shit!" declared Nick with vengeance. "You never really know someone, do
you?" he asked rhetorically.

Noah simply nodded in agreement. "I suppose we should go to the police with
this information," he said slowly, wondering how they were going to explain
their knowledge of handcuffs to the cops.

Nick looked again at his lover, there in the dim light of their special
place. "I suppose so," he said softly. "But do we have to do it right now?"

"Huh?"

"Well, since we're down here ..." His eyes lit up with mischief, and Noah
grinned as Nick's suggestion became obvious.

"I guess the cops can wait an hour or two!" he said with a laugh.

Quickly the two stripped away their street clothes, with an urgency born of
anticipation, and each donned their favourite leather gear, chaps and boots
for both, leather harnesses studded with metal points, a cap on Nick's head
and a hood over Noah's face. Nick reached to the shelves along one wall and
collected a black leather dog collar, buckling it around Noah's neck and
attaching a silver lead.

"Come on, 'Boy'," he said in a hiss, "let's get this place properly fixed
up!"

As he did, he handed Noah a box of matches, and leading his slave by the
collar, he watched as Noah lowered the overhead lights and lit candles
placed strategically around their basement. Satisfied with the altered
appearance of the room, he led Noah to the sling suspended in the centre of
the area, and laid him back into it slowly, taking his time, and using the
opportunity to run his hands slowly and sensuously all over his mate's body.
Once Noah was settled into the floating platform of black leather, his
booted feet lifted into the stirrups and set in place, Nick walked around to
the head of the sling and purposefully snapped the handcuffs they had so
recently examined, closed and locked around Noah's wrists, restraining him
in place. Noah made an attempt at struggling, pulling against the metal
shackles, and although they both knew he could remove them if he wished,
that knowledge did nothing to diminish the arousal they experienced in
playing their game.

Nick then reached for a couple of other 'toys' that he wanted to play with,
and moved to stand behind Noah, so that he looked along his partner's body,
his groin close to the hooded top of Noah's head. Leaning over the reclining
figure, he attached a pair of nipple clamps, joined by a slender but strong
silver chain, to each of the rings through Noah's nipples, and pulled at the
chain, eliciting a gasp of delight from the 'boy' cuffed into the sling.
Nick was well aware that Noah's nipples were very sensitive, and equally
knowledgeable of the fact that his lover delighted in having those nipples
played with.

As Noah's groans of joy subsided, Nick grabbed hold of his slave's harness
and heaved Noah backward in the sling so that his head protruded past the
edge, and dropped backward. Noah was then looking at his 'master'
upside-down, his face pretty well level with Nick's cock, which throbbed and
leaked droplets of pre-cum in anticipation. As Noah looked on, Nick took the
ball-parachute they had found at Jim's flat, and snapped it in place around
his own scrotum, lowering his hand slowly until the weight of the toy was
supported by his heaving nuts. Every movement now caused a rippling effect
of combined pleasure and discomfort to emanate from Nick's testicles and
ride up and through the rest of his body. He found it a surprisingly erotic
sensation to say the least.

As Noah remained in place, his head back and his mouth open, Nick stepped up
to him and reached once more for the chain connecting Noah's nipples.
Pulling on it until it tautened, Nick used the subtle pressure to tug at the
brown nubs of Noah's tits and make his lover groan with pleasure. At the
same time, Nick moved in closer, until his throbbing erection was against
Noah's inverted chin, his weighted, swinging balls directly in front of
Noah's eyes. With a little manoeuvring and a small thrust of his hips, Nick
pushed his thick cock towards Noah's mouth, and Noah's hungry lips closed
quickly over the slimy, leaking cockhead presented to him. Instantly, Nick
felt Noah's tongue lapping at his slit, and Noah's teeth scraping around the
edge of his glans as the warm moisture of Noah's throat embraced his
throbbing weapon.

With a grunt of satisfaction, Nick thrust again, and sank more of his rigid
tool into his slave's gullet. The wet heat of Noah's mouth enveloped him and
with his head thrown back, Noah easily accepted the fullness of Nick's
masculinity, swallowing him and caressing him with lips and tongue as Nick
began to slowly hump in and out of Noah's head, fucking his face with
measured tempo and all the while tugging this way and that on the chain
attached to Noah's nipples. With each motion, Nick could feel the weight of
the parachute, the swinging pressure of the leather apparatus pulling at his
balls and forcing fingers of erotic pleasure into his gut.

The combination of the dragging weights at his nuts and the heated wetness
of Noah's mouth suckling at his tool sent shivers through Nick and his
thrusting at Noah's head became more pronounced and more urgent, each
forward motion allowing him to bury himself deeply in his slave's gullet,
and every pull back causing another wave of pleasure to wash upward from his
balls. He knew he could not continue this humping much longer without
blowing his load, and reluctantly he withdrew from Noah's face, stepping
backward and catching his breath. As Noah gasped and recovered, Nick lifted
his slave back into the sling again, pushing him down so that his head was
once more supported by the leather platform, and Noah's arse was positioned
at the edge of the base of the black cocoon that held him.

Making his way carefully around - every tiny movement caused the parachute
to swing and pull against his nuts - Nick moved to stand between Noah's
uplifted legs, the shining tight leather chaps engulfing his partner framing
Nick as he stepped into the welcoming opening of Noah's body suspended and
waiting for him. Noah looked down to see his man garbed in leather, Nick's
prong pointing proudly forward and glistening with promise, Nick reaching
forward to take hold once more at the silver lead connected to Noah's neck.
He gasped silently as he felt Nick's fingers begin their slow exploration of
his pucker, pushing into him and opening him, readying him for the coming
onslaught. It was an onslaught he wanted, craved, and he was ready.

"Fuck me, Sir!" Noah hissed. "Fuck me now and fuck me hard!"

Nick made no reply as he withdrew his finger from Noah's grasping hole and
tugged yet again at the gleaming metal connecting Noah's tits. Noah almost
ached with arousal as his body swung in the sling, back toward his lover
then away again. And suddenly he felt Nick's thick, steel hard tool force
its way into his body. With an involuntary moan, Noah trembled as Nick's
fleshy spike pierced him, penetrating his very being and prying open his
sphincter. The momentary pain was quickly superceded by a tremendous feeling
of fulfilment as he felt Nick plunge himself deeply into Noah's waiting
cavern, and Noah clenched himself against the invading sword of manhood,
relished the power being thrust into his wet gut, and shuddered with delight
as Nick's cock massaged his prostate from deep within his bowel.

"Fuck ... Me ... Now!" Noah spat at the sweat-sheened form of his man, sunk
within him and pulling firmly at the nipple rings embedded in his super
sensitive tits.

And Nick did. Noah felt the thick log of flesh being withdrawn from his body
slowly, but before it was completely removed, suddenly Nick jammed himself
back into Noah. With the breath knocked from his lungs, Noah gasped as his
master began to thrust hard and fast into his body, pumping that rounded
tube of cock into him again and again. He felt Nick's balls crash against
his arse cheeks, and knew that the motion was causing incredible sensations
to rocket through his partner's groin as he heard Nick grunting with the
determined force of his assault. Again and again, Noah felt the thumping
crash of Nick's member pound into him in a frenzied humping at his ravaged
chute. He clenched and tried to milk Nick's cock, but he was powerless to
resist the pistoning rampage that Nick unleashed, and the very power and
urgency of Nick's fuck made him even more aroused, filled him with
additional need, and sent shivers of delight throughout his body.

With a grunted yell of surprise, Noah felt his orgasm crash over him. He did
not usually reach climax so quickly, but this session with his man had
turned him on so much that he was unable to hold back. A spasm rocked his
body, the first of many, as he hit his peak and waves of pure pleasure
flowed over him, an earthquake of passionate abandon rocking him with its
epicentre at his arse where Nick still continued to plough his glorious
masculinity hard and deep into Noah's body. A torrent of cum erupted from
him, drenching his stomach and abdomen as he surrendered to the tide of
ecstasy that washed over him, and it was only a sensation in his ears,
breaking through the roar of his climax, that told Noah his man was also
shooting. The pounding of his body had been replaced by a shaking, pulsing
grind as Nick emptied his very essence into Noah's waiting innards, drowning
the core of his being with Nick's searing jizz.

When the crescendo had died and the passion began to recede, the two men
collapsed into each other, Nick's cock still lodged in Noah's body. They
gasped and grinned at each other and slowly disentangled themselves,
reluctantly relinquishing the leather gear they wore and re-dressing into
more everyday attire, before climbing the stairs and throwing themselves
onto sofas to recover from the intensity of their union.

****

"I'm still concerned about what part, if any, Mike has in all of this mess,"
Nick said as they sat back after their exhausting encounter in their cellar,
still trying to unravel the mystery of their discoveries before deciding
what to do next.

"I feel the same way," replied Noah. "But I think it's time we went to the
police with what we have. I can't get past the feeling that Jim is
responsible. Everything we have points to him having killed Geoff and then
trying to cover it up, and I think the police should be told so they can
look into it some more. They have the resources to do a lot more
investigating than we do, and it's not just a 'missing person' any longer.
It's murder now!"

***

Later that afternoon they were ushered into the same interview room where
Noah had first spoken with Det. Roarty at the Police Centre in Surry Hills.
Roarty entered the room with a smile on his face and greeted them warmly.

"Well, gentlemen, quite a turn of events, don't you think?" he said.

Both of the boys looked surprised at the attitude of the officer, wondering
why he was so buoyant. Noah spoke first.

"Obviously, we're here about Mr. Richardson," he began. "There are a few
things which we've been thinking about that don't add up, and we thought you
ought to know."

"Yes?" said Roarty, still wearing an enigmatic grin, but curious about what
these two civilians could have to tell him.

"To begin with," Noah went on cautiously, picking his words, "did you notice
that Jim, I mean, Mr. Richardson, didn't have any bruises on his wrists,
despite struggling in the handcuffs all that time? Or the fact that he
didn't appear particularly traumatised by what had happened to him?"

The smile left Roarty's face, to be replaced by a look of surprise. "Yes, we
did notice that," he said, "although it turns out not to mean anything in
the end."

Noah's face gave away his lack of comprehension at the final comment. Roarty
continued, "I am able to tell you that for some time yesterday afternoon and
this morning, your friend was a serious suspect, notwithstanding that he
appeared to have been restrained the whole time."

Nick looked knowingly at the policeman, and then to Noah.

"We came to the same conclusion," said Noah. "That's why we're here, to
offer what suggestions and evidence we have. I can hardly believe that Jim
would kill someone, but maybe we didn't know him as well as we thought ..."

Roarty held up his hand, and the smile had returned to his face, as if he
knew something they didn't.

"I appreciate your offer, truly I do," he assured them. "But I can also tell
you that Mr. Richardson has been cleared of suspicion."

Nick gasped, and the surprise on Noah's face must have been almost comical.

"The local police at Karuah located the gun which was used to shoot Mr.
Renouf this morning. We have a good set of fingerprints from the grip, and
they are not those of your friend. And a medical examination showed no sign
of powder residue on Mr. Richardson's hands, so he could not possibly have
fired the weapon." Roarty's grin widened in triumph. "I can't explain his
attitude or lack of bruises, and we may have to ask him some more questions
yet, but he is certainly not guilty of the murder!"

"Oh!" was all Noah or Nick could manage. They were both dumbfounded at the
news. Finally Noah spoke again. "Is Jim free to go then?" he asked.

"He was released from hospital this morning," replied Roarty, "and should be
at home by now. I am impressed with your observations, though, and with your
honesty in coming forward like that despite the chance of incriminating your
friend. But you can leave the rest of the detective work to us, okay?" With
that he began to show them to the door with an air of dismissal.

***

"Well, I'll be!" declared Nick as they left the police centre. "So Jim was
innocent after all!"

"I don't know," muttered Noah. "Things still don't make sense. Jim may not
have pulled the trigger, but that doesn't explain the phone calls to Tony
and Mike, or the fact that he could get in and out of that sling if he
wanted. And I can't help feeling that we've just been given the 'brush-off'.
It's as if that cop has taken the easy way out, or doesn't want to look too
far into the whole thing."

"There has to be an explanation," reasoned Nick. "Maybe we should talk to
Jim some more, now that he's theoretically in the clear."

"Yes," agreed Noah. "But we need to be careful what we say. I have a feeling
Jim could still be involved in this killing somehow, and I don't want to tip
him off that we suspect!"

****

A quick phone call to Jim to establish that he was indeed home, and to
assure him that they wanted to make sure he was okay, and Nick and Noah were
soon knocking at his door.

"Hi again, guys," Jim said as he let them in. "Excuse the mess. I think I've
been burgled!"

Nick looked sharply at Noah, then back at Jim, as Noah concentrated on Jim's
tone.

"But this is what happened when you were kidnapped by Geoff, isn't it?" Nick
asked quickly.

Jim's face was pale, and he looked genuinely shocked. "No, not at all!" he
said quickly. He appeared to stop and think for a moment then went on.
"There was a struggle with Geoff, sure ..." again he hesitated, "but not to
make this much mess. Someone else has gotten in since then and trashed the
place!"

"This is how we found it on Wednesday," Noah said softly. "It's why we were
so concerned for you." He studied Jim, who looked truly lost.

"This had nothing to do with what happened between myself and Geoff!" he
said with certainty. "I have no idea why it's like this."

"Let's help you tidy it up!" Nick said quickly, and together the three began
to complete what Jim had started, righting furniture and retrieving items
from the floor, collecting papers and trying to return the flat to some
normalcy. Eventually they had the living room at least back in some order,
and Jim stated that he needed to sit down and take a break.

"Are you all right?" Noah asked with concern.

"Yeah," said Jim softly. "Just really upset about the way my home has been
wrecked."

"Funny," commented Noah. "I would have thought that would be the least of
your worries. Being kidnapped and assaulted, and strung up in a sling must
be much more upsetting!"

"Oh, yes," Jim said hurriedly. "It was, it was. But this is so much closer
to home, if you know what I mean."

Nick butted in at that point. "Oh, by the way," he said almost off-handedly,
"here are your jacket and mobile phone. You left them in the back of our
car."

"Oh! Thanks."

Noah looked intently at Jim, wondering just what he should or could say
next. He bit his lip then took the plunge.

"Jim, Tony rang your phone this morning, looking for you ..." he began.

Jim looked at Noah quickly, startled.

"Tony?"

"Uh, huh. He was concerned because he'd been away and only just gotten the
message you left him yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, shit!" Jim's voice held some vehemence.

Noah went on. "He told us what the message was, Jim! We know you couldn't
have been stuck in that sling like you said you were. Want to tell us what's
going on?"

Jim looked down at the floor, breathing deeply, for several long minutes
before he lifted his eyes to face the two.

"It's not the way it looks ..." he started. "I didn't kill Geoff."

"We know! The cops told us they found the gun, and that you're in the
clear," Nick jumped in. "We just don't understand about the false story you
gave them."

Jim looked from Nick to Noah and back to Nick before speaking again.

"Okay guys. What I told you was partly true, honestly. But not all of it,
because I didn't want you to know some personal stuff about me." He took
another breath, reaching a decision in his own mind.

"I wasn't kidnapped! Well, I was, but willingly. It was all part of the
scene Geoff and I were playing out. We had arranged it all last week, days
before it actually happened. I did meet him through a classified advert in
the paper like I told you, and we did get on really well together. But Geoff
wasn't my first 'leather' time. I have been into the bondage/leather scene
for a while now. It turns me on, a lot. I guess you wouldn't understand, but
it makes me so aroused, so excited ..."

Nick and Noah exchanged surreptitious glances and stifled grins, but
remained silent, allowing Jim to continue.

"We planned the whole thing. One of my fantasies was to be kidnapped and
kept prisoner. One of his was to have a slave shackled in the 'dungeon', and
he had this place up the coast all set up and ready for us. But we had both
been into the scene enough to know to take some basic precautions. I could
get out of the cuffs if I really wanted to or needed to. They aren't real
handcuffs, but mock-ups you can get from a few fetish shops around town."

He kept his eyes on the floor as he laid bare his soul to the two men, not
realising that they understood his feelings better than he imagined.

"It was incredible. I have never been so turned on. For days, we lived out
this fantasy, and in the process we had some fucking unbelievable sex, in
that cellar. He is - was - a fantastic lover, and an amazing 'master' to me
as his 'slave'. If you've never been into that scene, it probably sounds
totally kinky, but I swear I was in love with him!"

Nick's heart went out to Jim, and he began to speak, but Noah shook his
head, and Nick accepted that Jim needed to get this out and off his chest
before the two made some confessions of their own.

"On Thursday morning we were getting into it again," Jim said. "Geoff had
left me in the sling and gone upstairs to get some water and some food. I
waited and waited, thinking it was all part of his game, but when he didn't
come back for almost two hours, I got worried. I wriggled my way out of the
cuffs and went up to the house looking for him, but I found him lying on the
bed, shot." Jim's eyes were moist, his voice quiet and croaking as he went
on with his monologue.

"I panicked. The police would have to be called. How could I explain to cops
what we had been doing? How could I convince them that I was innocent? They
were going to take one look at me, at the place, and assume the worst. You
know what cops are like. So I had to make it look like I had been kidnapped
for real, like I was the victim. I rang Tony so that I wasn't left there for
days, went back to the cellar and set myself up in the sling again and
waited for the police to show. I got a huge surprise when you guys turned
up! And then I just had to carry on with the story until the police had been
and let me go."

By this point Jim was almost sobbing, a broken man. Noah reached for him,
and Jim moved forward until Noah was cradling him in his arms. "It's okay,
Jim, it's okay!" he said softly.

"No, it's not!" Jim hissed. "Geoff was the most wonderful guy. He and I were
just perfect together. He was an amazing 'master', and I was falling for him
badly. And now I've made him look like some kind of evil pervert!"

Noah held the sobbing figure closely. He looked up at Nick, who was visibly
shaken himself. Nick raised his eyebrows in a question, and Noah understood,
and nodded.

"Jim," Nick said quietly in a soothing tone. "We understand more than you
think. I'm sure Geoff would understand as well. Since you've told us your
secret, let us share our secret with you."

Jim looked up at that, curiosity on his face now. Noah settled back a little
as Nick continued.

"Noah and I get into a very similar scene, just ourselves! We both get
turned on by leather, and by playing the roles of master and slave. It's the
horniest, most exciting time. We understand completely how you must have
felt. We guessed there was more to the story because we recognised the cuffs
as fakes - damn it, - we have a pair exactly the same at home! And we can
understand why you wanted to keep it quiet. We do the same thing. People
just don't understand. They make judgments based on prejudice, and they
assume the worst. I am so incredibly sorry that you've lost Geoff, truly I
am."

Jim looked yet again from Nick to Noah and back. This time his eyes bored
into theirs, seeing the truth of Nick's words. With a sense of relief, he
slumped a little, and as all three watched each other, a weak laughter began
between them, the shared, secret enjoyment of leather allowing them to forge
a special bond of friendship.

It was Noah who spoke first after a long period of silence and deep thoughts
by all of them.

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions!" he stated, getting the
attention of the other two quickly. "Like, who killed Geoff? And why? And
who trashed Jim's apartment?"

"And how did you two come to be looking for me in the first place?" added
Jim.

"We told you!" said Nick. "Michael told Noah that he was really worried when
you didn't show up for work two nights running. And when I asked around no
one had seen you for a while."

"But why would Mike say that?" asked Jim in puzzlement. "I rang him Sunday
afternoon, before Geoff and I started our game. I told him I was going to be
away unexpectedly for a week."

Noah looked alarmed. "But he rang me Monday when you didn't arrive for your
shift. He was quite certain that he had no idea why you hadn't shown up, and
when you didn't arrive Tuesday, he was really worried!"

The three looked at each other in growing confusion. Why would Michael have
done that? Was he somehow involved in this whole affair? Suddenly, a
sinister sense of foreboding began to close in on the three friends once
again.

To be continued...

This story is a fantasy, it is not real and only happened in my imagination.
YOU MUST REMEMBER that in the real world, you can DIE from having unsafe
sex. It is your right and your duty to make sure that condoms are always
used, whether you are giving or receiving. It doesn't matter how good
looking or how ugly he is, and it doesn't matter whether you are top or
bottom, USE A CONDOM!