La Maison 3: Pretty (Complete: mxm)

Chapter 13: Na rak

A/N: soooo, I think I mentioned in my last author's note that I've been feeling a little flaky and unfocused. It turns out it was a little more than that, so some minor neurosurgery later, here we are. I tried, but if I missed any of the weird typing in my post surgery haze, sorry, and please comment to let me know it's incomprehensible (you shoulda seen the first draft)

River knocked nervously on the glossy door of the mansion where Ellis lived with Master François, and where, well, he now lived too. He greeted Allie, who took his bags, but then Ellis enveloped him in an overwhelming cloud of rich scent, dragging him upstairs before he could start a conversation.

"What is that?" he coughed.

"I'm not doing well am I? Decided I want a new signature scent. Not having much luck."

"Did you buy one of everything?"

Ellis just looked at the crowd of glass bottles on his dresser and shrugged.

"I'll put the ones I don't want in the sub's locker room. I can't wait to show you it. Though Sir says I have to wait."

"Why are you pouting? And 'Sir'?"

"He says it will be better for you, while you're here; if I'm all proper about it and don't use a nickname for him. Anyway, he said he'll be teaching you some of the rules before you're allowed to go to the club."

River felt fine about that. He'd always conformed, and he wondered if that was why he was so relaxed about the ideas that he hadn't considered before – of kneeling for someone and following instructions. No one would ever have called River a rebel and it felt good to relax into that. Sure, he'd never considered going this far into it, and maybe he still wasn't, not really. Some aspects didn't sit entirely well with him in terms of control and he wasn't convinced he was going to love some of Master François expectations. But the other stuff, the things that had lit a fire under him when Mat had held his wrists, and when he'd experienced the heady lack of control with Master Gray; that, he was very interested in.

Ellis bounced on the clean white sheets of his bed, patting for River to join him.

"Does Allie spend a lot of time in the house?"

"You're really interested in the way Allie does this, aren't you?"

"Well, it's interesting."

"But you ain't aro. And you definitely ain't ace." Ellis giggled as he threw himself back on the pillows.

"No, but I like that there's different ways to do it. Do you know more people like Allie?"

"Not really. Sir would never stop someone joining just because they were ace, but I doubt the club would have the vibe they were looking for. It's about sex, when you break it down, and sometimes it's about relationships, too. There are countless ways you can approach it. Jax is a service sub, like Allie. And a couple of the guys are into playing puppy or kitten. And there's the masochists, too, but they don't come upstairs all that often."

"Why not?"

"They don't need to. The Doms that identify as sadists are only allowed to work with subs that are masochistic, and Sir has a specialist Master who's in charge of them all."

River had at least six million more questions he wanted to ask, but Master François loomed in the doorway.

"Welcome, River. Has Ellis showed you your room?"

Master François' raised eyebrow suggested he already knew the answer, and Ellis flushed pink.

"Sorry, Sir, I got distracted. May I show him now?"