Promising Submission

Chapter 6



It had been three days and Nathanial had finally moved in with Harry. Moving day was uneventful; Harry simply told his elves to come with them to Micah’s and Nathanial pointed to what was his and the elves packed it up. There hadn’t even been a scene with the Leopard king until he came back from work that night and called. Although Nathanial had seen that his Nimir-Raj was calling, he hadn’t answered it or listened to the message. He’d asked Harry to do it, hoping that the British man would let him know if it was important. Since Harry hadn’t said anything, he assumed that it was just Micah yelling again.



Nathanial wasn’t sure what to think about Micah’s attitude. When he was with Anita, Micah had seemed to care for him, but this was completely different, almost obsessive. Since leaving with Harry that night, Micah had called every day at least three times, and Nathanial could tell Harry was on his last nerve about it.



Today, Harry had told Nathanial that he was going to work on his part of the contract and that he’d be in his office if the leopard needed him. So Nathanial took his lead and started working on his part too; he was having trouble though. He looked down at the list he had so far.

Things I Need

to feel safe

to feel useful

He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to put on here. Did Harry want to know what he liked in the bed room? He flushed. He didn’t want to write that stuff down. Harry had been trying to show that he could be trusted by always following through on what he said, and never lying to him. He even went so far as to not allowing him to move in early because he said a few days. It was reassuring but part of Nathanial was just waiting for it to end so he wasn’t sure if he could go and ask him about this.



He sighed and stood up. It couldn’t be worse then the things he’d done to seduce Anita. He set off for Harry’s office. The door was open and Nathanial could see Harry sitting at his desk scowling down at it and chewing on a quill. His hair looked like it he’d run his hands through it repeatedly. Nathanial waited at the door, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Harry didn’t look up, he just continued to mumble to himself and write or cross out things on the desk. Eventually, tired of waiting, Nathanial slowly moved up to the desk and slid his paper next to what Harry was working on.



Harry looked over at it and then looked up. “Um, having trouble figuring out what to write?” Nathanial nodded and grabbed his elbow with his right hand. “Well, let’s see I’m just writing everything I hope to get from this relationship. Like..,” He paused and looked down at the paper on his desk. “Fuck it.” He turned it over and got up from his seat. Reaching out for Nathanial’s hand, he pulled them over to the love seat by the wall in the office. Nathanial sat in between his legs and put his head on his chest, which was quickly becoming his favorite spot.



“I would like to have a dom/sub relationship. I just assumed that’s what you would want too. I guess I should have asked.” Nathanial didn’t say anything when he paused so Harry continued. “This is about trust, control and protection. The idea is that I allow you to be yourself, knowing that I will always be your safety net. You will be my kitten, to cherish and take care of. You give me the control and I allow you to be free.” He looked into Nathanial’s eyes. “From the memories I saw, I understand that this usually happens to you anyway, but not in a way where you have any boundaries or control. This contract is meant to provide you with that control and insure that all your needs are met. I want to help you learn pride in yourself.”



To Nathanial this sounded almost too good to be true. His whole life, from living on the streets to living with Anita, all he wanted was for someone to take care of him. When he was younger it was more innocent, but as he grew up and his life continued to revolve around sex, he wanted someone who would take pleasure in him, and allow him to lose control without using it against him. Reina had relished in his tormented screams of pain and pleasure. She had held him on the cusp of insanity for so long, but she had never put him back together afterwards. She never held him till the shaking stopped or told him she was proud of him. That was what he wanted.



Harry continued speaking. “I can ask a few questions to help you figure out what to put in the contract.” Nathanial nodded. “You will need two safe words. One as a kind of pause button that will stop play for occasions where you are uncomfortable or need to change positions for some reason, and another to stop play completely. If you say either of these words I will stop immediately, with no exception.” Harry reached over and got Nathanial’s paper and a pen so he could right down Nathanial’s answers. Harry waited patiently for Nathanial to think, a back part of the leopard thought that Harry was the most patient person he’d ever met. “Um, I don’t know.”



“Well, you wouldn’t want it to be stop or pause because they could be said and not meant. It should be something that you would not say in the heat of the moment or maybe not even in everyday conversation. It could be a color, red for stop and yellow for pause.”



Again Harry waited and Nathanial thought. “Glass for pause, and mother for stop?” Harry wrote them down without any comment for which Nathanial was grateful for. He didn’t want to explain them, he thought they were silly.



“I would like this to be a 24/7 thing, but it will be our relationship. It will not be discussed beyond the basics with others, and I will not demean you in public. Are you opposed to this?” Nathanial shook his head. He was always submissive, so why shouldn’t Harry always be dominant as well?



“Alright, I would like to mark you as a symbol of my responsibility to you, that you are mine to take care of and I would like it to be permanent to show that I will not get tired of you or make you leave or anything like that. What are your thoughts on that?”



Nathanial bit his lip, “I would like that.”



Harry smiled, “There are a few different ways to have it done. You could get a tattoo, I could scar you, but I don’t think that would work as you heal to fast; or you could wear a collar, which would be the best choice if you don’t want it to be permenent. Do you have a preference?”



Talking like this was arousing the leopard and he tried not to let it show in his voice when he whispered, “Can I have a tattoo?”



That too was written down and Nathanial made his first request, “I would like it to be somewhere where anyone can see it, especially the vampires.”



Harry looked at him, “You want the vampires to know your mine? Why them especially?”



“Marks are important to vampires; they will not feed from me without your permission. I want them to know who I belong to.” Nathanial blushed at Harry’s darkened gaze. “You are mine.” Harry growled right before he slammed their mouths together. Nathanial felt devoured. The kiss was violent and passionate and Nathanial felt owned and possessed. He whimpered into the kiss and was answered by another growl from Harry.



Harry pushed Nathanial off him and laid him down on the love seat to cover the leopard’s body with his own. Nathanial felt Harry’s weight pressing down on him, suppressing his ability to breath. He whimpered again when Harry’s mouth left his, “Mine.” Nathanial opened his eyes and whispered, “Yours.”



Harry lay there nibbling on him, until Nathanial started to feel dizzy from lack of oxygen. Harry lifted his weight off in stages, impressing upon him that Nathanial was getting back his air on Harry’s schedule and that Harry had complete control over Nathanial’s body. Their eyes were locked and so Nathanial could see a possessiveness in his eyes that sent shivers down his spine. He felt so owned and wanted. It had been a long time. Anita just pushed him off when she was done and moved on to another; she wouldn’t have stopped with just kissing either. With Harry it seemed that sex was not the main point; that their relationship would be about trust and responsibility. Nathaniel saw that Harry was pleased that he understood.



Later that night, as Nathanial lay in his room, he thought about what these changes would mean for him. From what he understood, this relationship would be what all the others were except that this time there would be boundaries. Harry had tried to explain how he understood a dom/sub relationship to be and that what he’d seen in Nathanial’s memories was not it. The relationship was based on what the sub needed and wanted. It was the dom’s responsibility to keep the sub happy, healthy, and whole. To push them in ways they wouldn’t have thought of and to allow them to be themselves.



When Nathanial had shared some of his experiences and fears, Harry had decided that he was going to have to retrain Nathanial. This was what the leopard was thinking about this night.



What did that mean, retraining? He had trained himself by necessity on the streets; how to please someone, how to use what he had to live. Raina had retrained him to take anything given to him with gratefulness. They used him for their porn movies, and that had been the best part. He felt relieved when they brought out the video camera. Most people didn’t want the messed up shit they liked, so it was when the camera was off that they were the most dangerous.



He missed the pard. He missed having a warm body to cuddle up to. He wondered if Harry would mind if he went and cuddled up to him. He’d said that if Nathanial needed anything he could just ask. With that in mind, he got out of bed and slipped through the open door into Harry’s room. Since Nathanial wouldn’t close his door, Harry left his open too. Nathanial stopped at the side of the bed and shifted his weight around until the noise made Harry open his eyes. “Kitten?” Nathanial didn’t say anything so Harry lifted the covers and let him crawl in. “You okay kitten?”



Nathanial didn’t answer for a long time. But then he convinced himself that there was a good chance he wouldn’t get a better offer then this and if he wanted to have all the things he wanted then Harry needed to know about his past and about what he wanted. So slowly, quietly, he began to speak. He talked about why he chose Anita first; since Harry knew about her she was easier. He told Harry about how he’d chosen her because she was vocal and demanding. He thought that translated to a dominating personality. He thought that since she was the Executioner, but also a Federal Marshall that she would care about him and protect him from those that would harm a weak wereleopard.



He told Harry about how she’d refused saying he was too young. How he’d seduced her and over time, how he’d convinced her to let him move in with her. He spoke about how excited he’d been when she’d needed a pomme de sang, that he’d thought this was his chance to prove to her how useful he could be and show her that he wasn’t a waste of skin like she’d claimed. “I still don’t know why I didn’t try someone else when I saw how unwilling she was. Do you think it was her influencing me?” Nathanial heard Harry say maybe but still didn’t look at him. It was easy to talk to him when it was dark and Nathanial couldn’t see any expressions of disapproval or disgust. He was heartened by the hand still stroking his hair though, and continued speaking.



He talked well into the night about his experiences on the street and with Raina, although he glossed over the more sexual details. He was afraid that he would give his new master ideas. For all Harry’s talk about trust, they hadn’t actually done anything sex wise and Nathanial didn’t know what would happen.



Eventually Nathanial got to the reason he came to Harry’s room. He wanted Harry to know the past so he would understand what he said next.



“I want to be able to lose my mind and know that you will be there to give it back to me. I want you to push my limits; to control my every decision. I want to give myself over and know that my trust will not be abused. I am terrified that you will abuse me like all the others, but I want to trust you. I want to learn who I am, not who I have been trained to be.” Harry wiped the tears from his face, and Nathanial realized he was crying. He continued though. “I like pain. I like knowing that you are strong enough to hurt me; to make me beg for pain as I beg for pleasure. If you can hurt me, then you can hurt those who would harm me. With pain I can be truly me; with bondage I can truly feel safe.”



It was a few minutes before he got himself under control and Harry answered. “I can do that for you. I am more then pleased that you have told me this. In the morning I will reward you, but you need to sleep now.” Harry held Nathanial close all night, and even though Nathanial woke several times in the night Harry continued to hold him close. He was happy that he’d been brave enough to bear a part of himself to Harry.







AN: i know those are horrible safe words but Nathanial hasn\'t ever heard of anything like that, but tried to make them have meaning anyway since that\'s what he figured Harry wanted.