Page 41 of These Monstrous Deeds

This gets Carter to perk up a bit, something bright flashing in the boy’s eyes. “Russia and some areas of Europe are awful as far as human rights go, especially in issues of gender and sexuality. I want to-” Carter stops then, his eyes fluttering closed. The grief from before is nothing compared to the emotion that twists his expression now. Nathan feels it echoing inside of himself just from looking at the boy. “I just – um – Iwantedto do stuff for the lgbtq+ communities in those areas.”

“That’s very honorable.”

Carter looks out the window again. He touches his fingertips to the glass, water droplets falling slowly down from the point of contact. “It’s a great program. It ties in so many different disciplines to teach you how to pull things together to make the best possible impact. I took a law class and a journalism class, and I’m signed – I-” Carter pauses, his hand flexing against the window. A tear falls down his cheek to match the water dripping down the glass. His voice is nothing but a whisper when he speaks again. “I was signed up for a psychology class in the fall.”

Nathan’s so caught up with Carter’s passion simmering beneath his sadness that he doesn’t realize how hard his following question will be for Carter until he hears it out loud. “What did you plan on doing after graduation?”

All it takes is one look at Carter’s face for Nathan to be backtracking. “Never mind. Tell me something else about you. Something I can’t take away.”

Carter looks at him incredulously. “Sir, you’ve – you’ve taken everything away…”

Anger ignites at the words. Nathan refuses to let Carter think that. That’s not a fighter’s attitude at all.

“Don’t be dramatic. You have memories. You have tastes. You have a favorite color. A favorite type of music. A favorite food. You enjoy certain things and dislike others. I haven’t taken your mind from you.” Nathan leans forward, lowering his voice. “Be grateful for that, sweetheart. Some men like me drug their slaves so far out of their minds they forget they’re human. Some men beat and rape their slaves until they’re nothing but a fucking empty shell. One man I know cut his slave’s tongue out. Another man hit his slave so hard, his left ear went deaf. I can take more from you if you’d like.”

The look on Carter’s face is a mixture of shock and terror. It’s good. Nathan needs him to realize where he stands. Sure, this situation is fucked up, but Carter is lucky to have Nathan as his owner. It’s important that Carter knows that. For Carter to survive this, he has to have some sore of solace, some sort of silver lining. Nathan is a monster, but he’s not the worst one out there.

In a tiny, regretful voice, Carter admits, “I – I like a bit of everything, as far as music goes. It depends on my mood.”

Nathan waves a hand through the air. “Elaborate.”

“Well, like… sometimes I just want to listen to really mellow music and relax. Or if I’m having a bad day or I’m sad, I’ll listen to depressing stuff and just sort of let myself wallow. If I’m driving in the car and it’s a nice day and the windows are down, I’m definitely belting out some Taylor Swift.” Carter smiles to himself, the air around them getting lighter. The difference makes Nathan giddy. “And then there’s the times where I get a shit grade on an exam, or I get into a fight with my brother and-” he stops then, eyes darting over to Nathan before returning to the window.

“Maison,” Nathan specifies, unnecessarily.

“Yes, sir.” Carter shrugs. “He’s my only sibling.”

Nathan knew that, but he doesn’t bother saying so. “You may talk about him.”

“I’d prefer not to, sir.”

“Why?”

“I’m – I’m mad at him.”

That isn’t at all what Nathan had expected. He thought maybe it was just an uncomfortable topic considering the circumstances, or maybe Carter protecting Maison by refusing to give Nathan information about him, or maybe even Carter just being too sad to think about his family.

Nathan never thought it’d be because Carter ismadat Maison.

“Were the two of you fighting before this?”

“No, sir.”

“Then why are you upset with him?”

Carter looks at Nathan like he must be playing a joke on him. “He’s why I’m here.”

“Ahh. Yes. I suppose he is, isn’t he?” It takes everything in Nathan not to blurt out that Maison is a goddamn hero. That Maison is saving him as they speak. That Maison would do anything he could to get Carter out of this. Instead, he pours disdain into his voice. “Perhaps your brother shouldn’t have stuck his nose in places it didn’t belong.”

“Perhaps he shouldn’t have,” Carter says bitterly, his face screwed up in anger.

Nathan shuts that shit down immediately, partly for Maison, and partly because the man Nathan is supposed to be would. “Get that pouty look off your face before I fuck it off.”

Carter stares at him for a second, letting the words register. Then he ducks his head and whispers, “Sorry, sir.”

Scoffing like he’s annoyed, Nathan reaches over and snatches Carter’s bicep. He pulls until the boy is straddling his lap, their stomachs pressed together. His cock reacts on its own, starting to harden. He hears Carter swallow a whimper. Nathan doesn’t call him out on it.

“Earlier, I wanted to get you off on riding me.” Nathan cocks his head, eyes narrowing. “Do you have any idea how rare it is for men like me to let their slaves feel pleasure? Do you have any idea how many of us keep our slave’s cocks locked in cages for the rest of their lives? Some men even castrate their slaves. Is that what you want?”

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