Business aside, Jason excused himself to go check on all of his other guests, and we finished our lunch. Doron Sagall weighed heavily on my mind, but everyone did their best to keep the mood light. G & T behaved impeccably, displaying nothing that gave away our shared intimacy of the night before. It was as they said, just a bit of playtime. They knew I was interested in Bastien and ultimately, they only had love for one another. I was relieved. They were great guys, but a three-way was not what I was looking for.

I poured myself a tumbler of whiskey and sauntered out into the garden. There were several pieces of furniture on the patio and I chose a loveseat to plonk my arse in. I was feeling melancholy with so many emotions whirling around my head. I took a long gulp of my drink, closed my eyes and leaned my head back, basking in the sun. I was half dozing when I became vaguely aware of someone removing the glass from my fingers.

“Hmm.” I was enjoying the feeling of someone playing with my hair. It was relaxing. I was reluctant to open my eyes, but I was curious to see who it was. I squinted in the sunlight until my vision cleared to reveal Bastien curled up on the sofa next to me.

“You have lovely hair,” he told me in a soft, heavily accented voice. It bathed me in a sensual glow. He was wearing his speedos and a silk kimono wrap. His black hair was being held back by an Alice band exposing his unusual amber eyes, in all their fascinating glory. He continued to run his nimble fingers over my scalp. The connection made my body hum pleasantly.

“Thank you.” My voice was raspy from napping. I looked around for my drink.

“Ici.” Bastien held it to my lips and tipped the whiskey into my mouth. The alcohol had turned warm in the sun, but it wet my parched throat. I swallowed and watched as Bastien took a turn and finished the drink. He licked his lips enticingly and I found myself tracking his wet, pink tongue with hungry eyes. He blushed under my gaze but didn’t fidget. “Do you want go for a walk, Tal?” I found that I did, so I nodded. The boy was enchanting and I was fast falling under his spell. He stood up gracefully and I mourned the loss of his hands in my hair. The kimono fell away to reveal an expanse of creamy skin covering a lithe but well-defined torso. His nipples were dusky pink and he had the faintest trail of hair leading into his speedos, otherwise his skin was smooth. My cock twitched with interest, but I knew I had to tread carefully. G & T had warned me that Bastien was damaged by his horrible experience and the last thing I wanted was for him to have another panic attack because of me. It intrigued me, though, because he was naturally sensual and quite clearly sexually aware. I wondered about his boundaries and hoped to find out more.

“You have many questions, I think?” Bastien read my mind. “I am happy to explore them with you, but may not provide answers to them all. Yet.”

“I have no desire to upset you.” I softened my tone.

“Ah oui, mais…I am broken so…” Bastien batted his eyelids and shrugged. At that moment, I swear my heart broke a little. I was never one to waste my time on lost causes. I wasn’t a compassionate man by nature, usually choosing a quick faceless, nameless fuck, rather than delve beneath the surface. Yet Bastien was challenging those old desires. He was vulnerable, deeply affected by his experiences, and needy. Instead of repelling me, I found myself wanting to keep him safe and make him whole again.

“Broken can be fixed,” I told him. I took his hand and led him down a garden path. We walked for a while, the only sound that of Bastien’s flip flops slapping against his soles. We stumbled across a secret walled garden entering through an iron gate. There was a big square pond in the middle surrounded by an eclectic mix of colourful flowers and cultured grassy areas. We kicked off our footwear and sat on the edge of the water dangling our feet into the pond. We watched the koi under the surface. One brushed our toes making Bastien laugh. It was a gorgeous, rich sound that made me smile.

“You’re beautiful, you know.” I shoulder bumped him. His pale skin reddened right to the tips of his ears. “Why do you blush at my compliments?”

“Parce que…because…” Bastien waved his hand in my direction. I cocked my head at him and frowned. “You. Look at you,” he huffed and blushed again. He let his chin drop to his chest. I popped a finger under it and lifted his face.

“Don’t hide from me, Bastien. Don’t deprive me of those eyes; that face.”

“It’s too much, Tal,” he whispered. “Please stop.”

“Then answer my question.” I removed my hand from his chin. He remained looking at me, a slight flash of defiance in his eyes. I was thrilled to see he had spirit underneath all that angst.

“I am not beautiful. What you see is superficial.” Despite his heavy accent, his command of English was very good.

“Where did you learn to speak English?” I was intrigued.

“In school.”

“Wow. It’s very good. You must have been a great student.” I was impressed, but something dark crossed Bastien’s face.

“I did not take any exams. I was removed from school before I graduated.” He swished his feet in the water. I placed my hand over his and although he flinched, he did not remove it. I wanted to tell him I knew about his past, but I didn’t want to betray G & T’s trust, or scare Bastien away.

“Izzy told me a little bit of what happened to you and the other boys. Is that ok?” I was heading into unknown territory and vitally aware of my lack of experience. I tried to be as sensitive as I could, but it wasn’t one of my overly used skills.

“Nothing about it is ok!” Bastien snapped back. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. “Pardon, pardon, pardon.”

“No need to apologise. I just wanted to be up front with you.”

Bastien cocked his head in confusion. “Up front? Is that like being on top?”

I burst out laughing. “No boy, it means being honest.” Bastien’s eyes grew wide and he also began to laugh. It nicely dispelled the tension between us. I slung my arm around his shoulders and side hugged him. “You’re cute.” When he leaned into me instead of pulling away, it made me incredibly happy. We sat in comfortable silence for a while. Bastien rested his head on my shoulder and held my hand.

“I like you, Tal.”

“I like you, Bastien.”

“Do you want to have sex with me?”

I jolted at the question. Bastien sat up and looked me in the eye.

“Is this some kind of test?” I asked him. He shook his head and chewed on his lower lip. “Of course, I want to have sex with you, but only when we’re both ready.”

“I like sex.” He said it like he was confessing a sin.

“I love sex!” I replied enthusiastically, making him giggle.

“I miss it, actually.” Bastien inched closer. “I haven’t had sex for a long time. You know, because of Henri.”

“I was made to understand he was grooming young men and that you were one of them. That’s the extent of what I know. I’m happy to be guided by you.” I jumped to my feet. “Come, let’s walk some more.” I held out my hand and Bastien slipped his smaller one into it. He rose gracefully and we left the secret garden to wind our way around the Greenall Estate. There were many spectacular views and we walked long into the afternoon. Eventually, we found a bench to rest on where Bastien studied his flip-flops for a period of time.

“He made us have sex so he could watch.” I guessed Bastien was speaking of Henri De La Roche. “He liked to watch us fuck each other. Sometimes it was only two boys; at other times, we all got involved.” Bastien stole a quick glance at me. “I, I didn’t hate that.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” I rested my hand on his thigh. I could feel him trembling.

“I want to.” Bastien wrapped his kimono around him. “Being intimate with the other boys made me feel less lonely. I craved their touch. It brought me comfort.” Bastien shuddered. “I know that’s wrong.”

I was out of my depth. I couldn’t find the right words, but I knew I needed to say something to alleviate his embarrassment. “Bastien.” He side-eyed me. “Whatever made you feel better, or safe, is nothing to be ashamed of. If you enjoyed the sex for whatever reason, then don’t feel guilty.”

“I wish it had just been sex, then I think I would have been ok, but of course, Henri was an abuser. He drugged us, starved us and beat us if we dared to complain. He told us he’d saved us from the streets where we would have to prostitute ourselves to survive.”

“Yet, he pimped you out to his friends?” I asked.

“Not friends; clients. He was indeed a pimp. He made it sound as if he was trying to find us new homes with a new Master who would look after us.”

As much as Bastien’s tale repulsed me, I was curious to find out the rest. “Sounds like nothing was consensual,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Non.” Bastien sighed. “We were too weak to protest, although not many of us were pimped out. Henri was too greedy and hated to share. Towards the end, however, Henri became fixated on Remi. He’d try out all his deviant desires on us, in preparation for Remi’s return. He became increasingly cruel. He said he would hurt the little ones if the older ones among us did not comply.” I think I might have growled. Bastien gave me a wobbly grin. He straightened his back and brushed the front of his kimono a few times. “It’s in the past. I am trying very hard to move on with my life, but sometimes I have flash backs. Is that the right term?”

“It is.” I couldn’t help it, I reached for him and pulled him onto my lap, hugging him close. “I’m so sorry you went through that. I want to rip that bastard’s throat out.”

“It’s too late to change what happened before, but you can help me replace the bad memories with good ones.” Those strange amber eyes stared deep into mine, then Bastien placed his hands either side of my face. I held my breath as he leaned all the way forward, pressing his lips to mine. He licked the seam of my mouth and I opened for him. His tongue poked through and began to explore my mouth. It was possibly the most erotic thing I’d ever experienced, including my recent hook up with the Twins. I think it was the fact that Bastien presented such an innocent image, despite being vastly experienced, albeit forced. I thought perhaps, that this was his first ever freely given kiss. If that was the case, I sat back and happily let him have his fill and only broke apart when breathing became a necessity.

“Bloody hell, your mouth is sinful,” I panted. Bastien mewled at the compliment and bounced on my lap.

“Oh Jesus, be careful.” Our covered cocks had rubbed together mid-bounce making it hard for me to focus. Bastien placed his arms around my neck and slowly and deliberately gyrated his arse. I gasped. “Fucking little minx!” I looked down and groaned. The boy’s extremely hard penis was making the waistband of his speedos gape. “You’re making me wet,” I told him in a husky voice. “I’m leaking in my boxers.” Bastien turned beetroot and wriggled under my scrutiny, but he didn’t seem anxious. If I read the situation correctly, he was properly horny. I was thrilled he was confident with me and obviously didn’t feel threatened. I practically held my breath wondering what his next move would be.

Bastien pushed his Speedo down below his balls, freeing his cock. We both groaned as we watched a bead of pre-come appear then slowly roll down his shaft. I was mesmerised by it and instinctively licked my lips. Bastien began to roll his hips, lifting up slightly to create friction against my abdomen. His eyes never left my face even as he began to huff out little breaths of ecstasy. His long eyelashes fluttered erratically, just as he arched his back and climaxed. Little shudders wracked his body for a full minute before he stilled.

“You are so beautiful when you come,” I whispered. I handed him a tissue from my pocket so he could clean up. While he did that, I buried my face in his neck and inhaled deeply. I licked a line up his throat and pressed my lips to his. He opened to me with no hesitation. We both moaned as our tongues touched once again. I was desperately hard, but withheld from making any advances to relieve the ache. I didn’t want to scare Bastien by making demands he wasn’t ready for. I had no clue where this uncharacteristic consideration was coming from, but this kid was making me feel things I’d never bothered to explore before. Bastien sat back. He screwed up the tissue and shoved it into his kimono pocket, then snapped his Speedos back into place.

“I want to…” Bastien threw me a coy look as he gestured towards my lap.

“You don’t have to. I’m fine.”

He tutted and slid backward off my lap and onto his knees. I hoped the grass was soft but once he’d tugged down my shorts and boxers, my brain stuttered to a halt. I felt the fresh air on my cock as it jerked about crazily. If Bastien stared at it for much longer, I’d embarrass myself. It was fucking erotic to have those amber eyes wide with hunger and desire focused on my leaking erection.

Bastien dipped his face to my cock to lick the pre-come off. It felt too good. I hastily dug my heels into the grass to keep from bucking into his mouth. “Oh God. I can’t…Please Bas…” I bit my lip hard to keep from yelling when his lush wet lips slithered down the length of my shaft. If I had thought Bastien an innocent, I was truly fucking mistaken. The boy sucked cock like a pro and had me coming like a teenager within seconds. I shot my load into his mouth with such force, my arse left the bench. At some point, I had clasped his shoulders and he tapped urgently on them, forcing me out of my post-orgasmic haze. I released him immediately.

“Come up here.” I hauled him onto my lap once again, and we hugged. He was shaking. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Was, was I ok?” Bastien croaked.

“You were fucking phenomenal, love,” I gasped. I felt his body relax as if he were relieved I’d enjoyed myself and I knew I’d have to talk to him about why he was so anxious to please. I was under no illusion that his traumatic past was behind it, but wanted any forced habits to stop right away. “Was my reaction not enough to convince you?” Bastien shrugged and dropped his eyes to the ground. He fidgeted, appearing nervous. “Hey, what’s up?” I popped a finger under his chin forcing him to look at me. His anxiety looked to be peaking. “Bastien, tell me what’s wrong.”

“I…I…I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help it, I didn’t mean to… please, it won’t happen again.”

The boy was properly scared. I couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t want to freak him out any further, but I needed to know why he was so nervous. “Tell me,” I whispered. “I promise I won’t get cross.”

Bastien chewed on his lower lip savagely, making me wince at the torture he was inflicting on his poor mouth. He took such a long time to reply, I was certain he’d retreated back to his former muted self. Just as I was about to give up, he blurted out, “I came in my pants” and threw his face into his hands hiding from me, in apparent shame. My heart squeezed. Bastien was getting to me on so many levels.

“Baby, look at me, please.” I injected a slight amount of sternness into my tone which had the desired effect of him complying immediately. His big amber eyes shone in nervous anticipation. “I’m flattered. I think that’s possibly the sexiest thing that has ever happened to me.” His eyes widened to huge round orbs in his face, which was adorably cute. “That a gorgeous boy such as yourself would get off on blowing me, especially as you’d already just come, is beyond incredible. The boost to my ego alone, was totally worth it.” He looked slightly relieved, but an uncomfortable thought suddenly occurred to me. “Wait, you didn’t just blow me because you thought you had to?”

“What! No! I wanted to!” Bastien looked suitably shocked enough to reassure me.

“Good, because I’d like us to do all of that again sometime soon, and perhaps I can reciprocate the favour.”

“You…you’d do that to me?” Bastien stuttered out the question.

“Try and fucking stop me, boy. I can’t wait to taste you.” I felt a flicker of something against my stomach. I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, someone likes that idea.” I glanced down at his twitching erection then directly back at him. He blushed furiously which was so damn sexy. “When I get my hands on you, I want you flat on your back in a big bed. I want to take my time and not rush it. I promise you, it will be worth waiting for.” A sticky bead of pre-come darkened the lycra covering his cock. I reached between us and swiped my finger through it, bringing it to my lips to suck it off. I hummed. The boy tasted delicious. “Jesus, I definitely want more of that.” Bastien made a cute little growly noise and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I chuckled. It amazed me that for someone who had been exposed to the very wide and deviant practices of that cunt, Henry De La Roche, that he could still be so coy. I loved that about him. It gave me hope that he hadn’t been completely damaged. Still, I didn’t want to scare Bastien away by being too full on.

“How about we go for a quick swim?” I suggested. “I think some of the others were going to the pool.”

“Ah, oui, if that is what you wish.”

“No, Bastien, I want you to agree or disagree depending on your own wishes. I can go without you. It is not a requirement for you to do what I want, if you don’t fancy it.”

Bastien screwed his face up in thought. “Well, I fancy you, so where you go, I will follow then I can be with you, Tal. Is that ok?”

It was a weird thought process, but not one I was going to object to. I kissed the tip of his nose and bounced my knees as a signal for him to stand. He adjusted himself in his Speedos and stood on wobbly legs. He reminded me of a new born colt in that moment. I caught his hand and hauled myself up feeling a little unsteady myself. We shared a laugh and a cuddle before heading off to the pool.