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I'm looking forward to the evening even more now."
A jangling sound suddenly drew their attention, and
Tobias look up to see Phan hurrying toward him, arms
full of leather and chains. Everyone else was looking,
too, and grinning. Tobias stood up and sighed for show.
They did have a certain image to project.
Phan held the cuffs out and studied the floor. "The
items, sir."
"Thank you." Tobias took the armful of restraints and
pointed to Phan's usual spot next to him. "Facing the
room, not me."
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 127
Phan's sigh was likely the real thing. "Yes, sir." He knelt
down and held his wrists out behind himself.
As Tobias crouched down to fasten the cuffs on his
wrists, he gave Phan's shoulder a bit of a pat. "Tell me
why we're doing this."
"Because I broke a rule, sir. So I face away from you.
I'm being cuffed and manacled because I need to be still
and to calm down."
"Correct." Tobias moved on to wrap the heavy leather
cuffs around Phan's ankles. "I'm going to short chain
you, too. You'll have to balance carefully."
"Yes, sir." Phan's enthusiasm dimmed considerably. He
was going to have to actually work and pay attention.
"You will eat every bit of food I put in your mouth."
"Yes, sir."
"And you will apologize to me later for having to work
with you in public due to your rule breaking."
Phan drew in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly as
Tobias chained his bound wrists to his bound ankles.
"Yes, sir. Of course, sir."
With a nod, Tobias stood up. "Brian."
"Sir!"
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 128
Tobias rolled his eyes. "You have far too much energy,
pup. I'll have a very large Greek salad, the rosemary
lemon chicken, a side of green beans, and a pitcher of
water, thank you."
Brian nodded and scurried off, and Tobias sat down
again, ignoring both Phantom and everyone watching.
"Would you like to sit at the table?" He touched Noah's
cheek gently, caressing his jaw. "You may, if you wish."
Noah checked his posture, straightening a bit more and
looking straight ahead instead of down. The honor of
sitting at the table with his Master clearly wasn't lost on
him, though by the way he looked at Phan before he
answered, Tobias thought perhaps he was torn between
accepting and supporting his brother-sub. In the end,
however, he did accept.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Noah replied, remaining still
as he waited to be given permission to move.
"Across from me, please." It was actually a practical
arrangement, as Tobias would need to turn slightly each
time he fed Phantom, and it would be less awkward for
him if Noah was across the table instead of beside him.
"Thank you, sir." Noah stood, pulled out the chair for
himself, and sat. He kept his eyes low, but if he'd looked
around, he would have seen heads turn. Whether their
thinking was approving or disapproving, Tobias didn't
care; his particular relationships with his subs were
really no one's business but his own. Noah, for his part,
remained just as respectfully submissive as if he were
kneeling at Tobias' feet.
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 129
Tobias allowed Brian to pour water and leave the
pitcher, then leaned forward slightly. "I notice that the
unsuspecting object of my meddling is in the bar this
evening, watching TV and probably waiting for
someone to end his shift."
"Really? Well, that seems very convenient, sir." Noah
reached for his water glass. "It also explains Brian's
extraordinarily good mood."
"It does, doesn't it?" Tobias absently petted Phan, just to
make sure that Phan wasn't neglected or had the
impression of being neglected. He was trying very hard -
- he had to be in order to balance -- and it was Tobias'
job to be his anchor. "I just hope he doesn't vanish while
we eat, or that Brian doesn't finish while I'm trying to
guide their lives, making the target distracted. I may
actually have you and Phan wait in my office. Having
me and both of you descend might be a bit much, don't
you think?"
"It certainly would seem more calculated and less casual
that way, sir, I agree. Plus, I think Brian is intimidated
by Phan." There was a smirk on Noah's lips just before
he sipped his water.
"Everyone is intimidated by Phan." Tobias snorted and
looked down at the top of Phan's head. "So it does some
good to have him shackled in the dining room
sometimes. Perhaps."
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 130
Noah laughed gently. "I'm sure it does them some good
to see that he's not actually perfect, sir," he agreed. "I
recall having my own issues with Phan way back when."
"You mean those issues that led to our very first fight?"
Tobias laughed and petted Phan again, then leaned back
as Brian brought out a tray with their meal.
Noah remained silent as Brian set out the food, apart
from thanking him politely before he left the table, and
then said, "Yes, those would be the issues I was
referring to, sir." He blushed a bit. "We've come a very
long way since then, haven't we? Seems like a lifetime
ago in some ways."
"In some ways. In others, not so very far." Tobias fed
Phan a green bean. "Please help yourself to the salad;
you may have as much as you wish. The beans are for
Phantom, and you may have one third of the chicken. If
it looks like I'll be longer in the bar than I anticipate, I'll
have a snack sent to you both in the office." With that,
Tobias helped himself to a bite of the chicken and
concentrated on feeding Phan, knowing that Noah would
take care of his own nutritional needs.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Noah picked up his fork and
dug right into the salad; he was obviously hungry.
"Maybe it just seems like a long time to me, sir, because
of all the bad habits I've left behind."
"Maybe. Although if you'd saved a few, I might have
more to do." He smiled as he said it, knowing Noah
wouldn't even see a wink, as his gaze was downcast.
Safe Words: A Deviations Novel - 131
"It's difficult to chain you to a wall when you've done
nothing to deserve it."
"What happened to doing something just because you
can?" Noah took a bite of his salad, grinning. "Or
maybe," he continued, mouth full, "it's time to push
limits again."
"The first is fun, the second is important." Tobias ate
some feta and an olive. "Yes." He nodded firmly and
gave Phan some beans, then his one bite of chicken.
"You and I shall talk, I think. But later, perhaps on the
weekend, when I have you chained to a wall simply
because I can."
Phan nodded, too, and Tobias took a closer look at him.
He was finally still, not even vibrating, and his eyes
were vaguely dreamy. "Boy, you've done it. Good job."
"Thank you, sir." Phan didn't move, but he did smile
happily.
Noah smiled in Phan's direction and then went back to
eating silently. Possibly, he was pondering the chat
they'd have on the weekend, but it was more likely that
he was trying not to intrude on Phan's moment. He
reached over and cut a bite of chicken for himself, which
he chewed carefully.
Brian appeared just as the chicken was finished and
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