Scott: I’m a sub at Collared and Tied and I love it. My emotional and physical needs are taken care of there, in safety. But somehow, I’ve started dating Ulrich. He’s wildly attractive, and he needs my help, so he’s perfect for my service slut kink, but he’s vanilla. Is there any way we can be together or will this end in heartbreak?
Ulrich: As a soldier, you always know that injury and death are possible, but you never think it will happen. Now I’m facing the loss of my hand and the loss of my career. Grasping at a remote chance I move to Toronto and meet Scott. We’d hooked up once before and he seems willing to overlook my physical shortcomings. I could be very happy with him, but I sense that he’s hiding something. What can it be and, whatever it is, can I accept it?
I was going to go to the door and look down the hall, but just then Kevin called me on the intercom, and I had to spend a minute finding out what he wanted. Just as I hung up there was a tap on the door.
“Come in,” I called out, looking up. As the man walked through into the room my jaw literally dropped. It was Ulrich! The soldier I’d spent that lovely night with, after the trade show. I hadn’t thought about him for a couple of years but since I’d been reminded I’d enjoyed the memory that had resurfaced. I’d not forgotten, though, just how attractive he was. He was tall, easily two meters, and broad across the shoulders in proportion. Other parts of his anatomy were also well proportioned, but not on view at the moment. I could see that he’d picked up some scars on his face, but they only emphasized his masculinity; his straight nose and classic features highlighted how his deep green eyes contrasted against his skin. I had to stop myself from spending far too long deciding how best to describe his colour. A rich mid-brown was the best I could come up with. His hair was cropped short; I remembered how soft it was to run my hand over, and my fingers twitched, wanting to do it again.
“Ulrich!” I stammered as all this ran through my head. “How ... what ... why are you here?”
He stared at me a minute, and I could see the moment he remembered me. “Scott!” He came a step closer and asked, “You’re Scottie? Scottie McInnis?”
“I haven’t gone by Scottie for a long time,” I replied. Alec had called me that, but I’d dropped the diminutive when Jessie said it made me sound like a brand of tissue paper. “You know Alec?”
“I did,” he replied somberly. It took me a second to realize what that meant.
“No!”
“I’m sorry, Scott, but I’m bringing you bad news. Alec was killed a couple of months ago. I’m so sorry.”
I stood still, trying to understand what I was feeling. Alec had left me, and I’d moved on, but he had once been everything to me, and no one since had taken that place in my heart. I hadn’t hoped that he’d ever come back to me, really I hadn’t, but I didn’t want him to be dead! I sniffed a bit, then turned away, trying to find a tissue. Tears started to come and I couldn’t hold back a sob. Ulrich took a step toward me, but as he did the inner door opened.
“Scott, haven’t you found the file yet?” Kevin stepped out, sounding unusually annoyed for him. “Good God, what’s the matter?” Kevin came toward me, pushing the much larger man aside and pulled me into a hug. “It’s all right Scott, whatever I can do, you’ll be okay.” He held me tightly for a moment, until I pulled back to wipe my face and blow my nose.
“Whoever you are, you can leave!” he said, looking firmly at Ulrich. “How dare you come here and upset Scott like this?”
“It’s not his fault,” I sniffed, and went on, “He came to tell me that ... that Alec was dead.”
“Alec, he was your ...” Kevin stopped. He knew that Alec had, essentially, been my first Dom, but he obviously wasn’t sure how to refer to him.
“My ex, yes.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. Ulrich just told me he was killed, then I sort of lost it,” I said.
“So you know each other?”
“We met once.” I might as well tell him. “At that trade show.”
“Oh!” Kevin might be more comfortable with wine and computers than people, but he was intensely intelligent with an excellent memory. He knew immediately what I was referring to and looked over at Ulrich.
“Is this how the army delivers bad news?” he said sternly.
“Not usually, no. But Scott here wasn’t listed on Alec’s contact list; he’d left me a letter, asked me to search him out and pass on the information. All I had was the name Scottie McInnis, so it’s taken me a while to track him down.”
“How did you find him here, then?”
“Linked In, eventually. You don’t have much of an on-line presence for someone your age,” he said, turning to me. Well, no, I kept a low profile; most of us in the lifestyle do.
“Can you tell me anything more?” I asked. “About what happened, and how he was doing? He cut me off completely when he left, said it would be easier in the long term, but I’d like to know.”
“Sure. Can you come out to lunch?”
“Take the day, Scott,” Kevin put in. “I can manage the rest of the morning myself and get to the airport just fine.”
“The taxi is booked for two o’clock, and you are checked in to your flight. I downloaded the boarding pass to your email, and the hotel is confirmed, and the address in your calendar. The return flight --”
“Scott, it’s fine, I’ll manage. Take next week off too, if you need the time.”
“Thank you,” I got up and as I went to get my coat, Ulrich turned to Kevin and said, “I’m Master Warrant Officer Ulrich Friederikshon. I’ll look after Scott.”
Kevin nodded. Ulrich couldn’t know, and wouldn’t guess, that I’d told my boss about our hookup, and he obviously wanted to make sure that Kevin knew who I was walking out with.
“Okay, let’s go.”
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