About Ratchet

by Chris Owen and Jodi Payne
9 pages / 3575 words
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub, Sony-optimized pdf

Taking place in the midst of the Deviations series, Ratchet shows Tobias and Noah at their best: playing games, having fun, and loving each other. What is a Dom to do with a sub who actually works with such handy tools as handcuffs? While the answer may seem predictable, Tobias and Noah know how to make any such scene their very own, and Tobias finds that police training is an instinct almost as strong as Noah's need to submit.

Originally published in Toy Box: Handcuffs

Sample

Tobias let himself into Noah's apartment and made sure he locked the door behind him. It was already past four and there were a few things he wanted to do before Noah got home from work. Plus, an unlocked door would let Noah know that he was there, and that just wasn't right.

Tobias loved surprises, if he was the one setting them up. He wasn't so fond of being on the receiving end. That, he figured, was one of the essential reasons why he was a Dom and not a sub; it all came down to control and who was in charge.

He walked through the silent apartment and went to Noah's room, double checking that his sub's supply of lube was handy. At his own home, and out at his farm, there was never any question. But this was Noah's space, and Tobias wasn't as strict about such things in places he didn't own and manage for himself.

Assured that everything from that angle was taken care of, he went back to the living room, took off his coat and draped it over a chair, leaving his shoes there as well. Then he sat on the couch and waited, his fingers twitching. It was, he hoped, the only outward sign of his mood.

He hadn't seen Noah in three days, and it was more than time to work off a little excess energy. Tobias tended to get restless if he was without his submissive for too long.

Noah got off work at four o'clock. Tobias assumed that Noah took public transportation home -- the subway or a city bus -- but it occurred to him that he'd never asked. Four-fifteen went by, four-twenty; by four twenty-five he was pacing and looking out the window, as if that might bring Noah home faster.

The sound of keys jangling in the hall rallied him again and he hurried back to the couch and took his seat, draping one arm across the back and casually crossing his legs. He heard the deadbolt slide free and then the scrape and click of Noah's key in the door before the door itself opened. Noah stepped in and tugged the key free of the lock before closing it, his hat in one hand and his coat hanging open on his shoulders.

"Freeze," Tobias said quietly, not moving. "Take off the coat, set the hat down. Then come here."

Noah's head snapped around and he stared hard at Tobias for a brief moment, obviously startled. An instant later his fingers fell away from his firearm at his hip and his eyes lowered dutifully to the floor.

He said nothing as he followed Tobias' orders, taking off his coat and setting it on top of Tobias', along with his hat and his gun. A few obedient steps brought him to Tobias' feet where he knelt and displayed, arms crossed behind his back making his blue uniform shirt stretch tightly across his chest.