҉҉҉
We were no nearer to making a final decision on how we would decorate the dayroom when Master summoned us to his chamber that evening, so we took a sample of swatches with us for him to have some input into our choice. It was Kai who suggested asking for his opinion, and I was surprised but delighted at the turn of events. He had responded well to the greater freedoms Master permitted him, and since being allowed to train with the guards, he had become the very model of obedience. Master's friends and staff may have thought him foolish for permitting a slave the use of weapons, in however controlled an environment, but Kai was no ordinary slave, the man who owned us no ordinary master.
It was not to be obedient that Kai wanted his input. Master had made it clear from the outset he wouldn't interfere with the dayroom, it being exclusively our space and our choice how we furnished it. The assurances had been made for Kai's sake, I was sure, yet here Kai was, wanting Master's involvement. I dared to hope it might signal a change in Kai's affections towards the man whose collar he wore.
I sorely hoped so. The two had butted heads regularly since the night Kai and I first had sex in Master's room, squabbling over me like children over a favoured toy. To my surprise, it had been Master who most frequently ceded in their little battles-fought over handholds, or brushing my hair, or not-casually-casually calling me to their sides and petting me-although I didn't for a second doubt he retained true authority over us both. Rather, he refused to rise to Kai's constant baiting, or perhaps he simply didn't consider me worth the trouble of fighting for.
Once, such a thought would have filled me with despair. I couldn't deny I was hurt, or say I didn't want him to cast Kai asunder and guard me jealously, but I grew fonder of Kai daily, and the shameful truth was I was as happy in his arms as I was in our master's. Any disappointment I may have felt when Master turned me over to him yet again was swiftly assuaged by the extra attention Kai paid me, as if in compensation.
Kai would often take matters further, cementing his victory by fucking me in Master's presence, whether or not he had been requested to do so. I knew I should feel cheapened, being used so transparently as a tool of Kai's defiance, a pawn in the pointless game they were playing, but I wanted it all too often, and Kai's strategy-if indeed he had one-was rather undermined by the fact Master seemed to appreciate watching almost as much as we enjoyed putting on a show.
Indeed, I suspected them both of dishonesty when it came to expressing their feelings about each other, for Kai now ravished me in his presence not so much to annoy him as to seduce him, although they were both careful of touching one another, no matter what they were doing to me.
Master was at his desk when we entered the room, and he put down his quill to greet us, a smile on his face.
"What have you got?" he asked, eyeing the swatches.
"Some of the samples the merchants left," I said, setting them down on the rug while Kai busied himself lighting a fire. "We thought if it wouldn't disturb you, we'd go through them."
"You won't disturb me," he said, waving his hand airily. "But how long have you spent on this?"
"Several days," I admitted in a small voice.
Master chuckled. "What's the delay?"
"We couldn't decide on a colour we both liked."
"And have you now?"
I nodded, holding up the swatches we'd chosen.
"We still need to pick the finish," Kai said, sitting cross-legged beside me.
"The finish?" Master sounded surprised.
"I never realised there were so many different materials," he said. "We've got cotton, silk, velvet, felt.... It's a bit bewildering."
Master threw back his head and laughed aloud. "I'm sure you'll work through it," he said, his expression amused. "And I'm sure the finished room will look wonderful."
Kai and I both pinked at the praise.
Master returned his attention to the many scrolls piled over his desk, and Kai and I settled quietly on the rug to debate textiles and textures. He liked the idea of having a rich cotton for his side of the room, which could be taken down and washed regularly without being damaged. I agreed in principle, but worried that sweat marks from his exercises, or from our more vigorous pastimes, might leave permanent stains.
We squabbled good-naturedly, arguing the respective merits of different cloths back and forth under our breath, conscious of the regular scratch of Master's quill against parchment.
We had reached something of a stalemate, with Kai sticking fast to cotton and me being unable to suggest a more suitable alternative, when the arms of Master's chair caught my eye. "Leather!" I exclaimed happily.
"What?"
"Look, we can pad the walls with leather, like this." I showed him the chair arms, stuffed at the end and covered in dark leather, secured with brass tacks.
Kai examined the chair, a dubious expression on his face.
"It's perfect," I said, pouting a little that he wasn't immediately thrilled by the idea. "The leather would wipe clean, it's thick enough to cushion you if you fall into it, and if we got white leather it would look incredible."
"How much would that cost?" Kai asked. "It's not a small area we're talking about covering."
I shrugged. "I have no idea." In truth, I hadn't considered the cost of anything we had discussed. Master was a rich man, and he had given us free rein to do as we wanted with the room. I was sure he wouldn't begrudge us this.
Kai shook his head. "It's a good idea, but it's too expensive, especially when we have other options available to us."
I frowned. "I thought you were over this?" I asked in a whisper, my tone accusatory.
"Over what?" He looked genuinely baffled.
"This." I gestured between us. "Refusing everything Master offers for fear it means you owe him something."
"That isn't what I was doing."
I scoffed. "What other explanation is there?"
"I don't want to spend his money," Kai answered in a hiss. "Not because I was worrying how he'll claim it back, but because... because...." He flushed red, somewhere between angry and mortified.
"Why, Kai?"
I hadn't realised Master was listening to our conversation. I hung my head and shot Kai an apologetic look. The last thing I wanted was to get him in trouble.
Kai looked squarely at our master. "I have a better idea of the value of leather than Tam," he said. "Enough to cover the area he's talking about would cost more than the army paid me in a month. Two months, even. I can't spend that much of your money on furnishing half a room, I just can't."
"Why not?" Master's expression was blank, his tone inscrutable.
"It doesn't seem right," he admitted. "Just because you're rich, that doesn't mean we should spend your money like it will never run out."
I was immediately contrite, both for misjudging Kai, and for being guilty of the excesses he hadn't quite accused me of. I hadn't given a thought for Master's purse beyond being surprised and pleased Kai showed no qualms about dipping into it when invited to do so. That Kai was considering the cost of Master's generosity made me feel like a heel for not having done so myself.
"Thank you, Kai," Master said, smiling at him. "But my offer to pay for whatever you both decide was made freely, and I shan't rescind it. If leather is the best material, then leather you shall have."
"Cotton will be fine," I said in a small voice. "It's Kai's side of the room anyway. He knows what's best."
"Kai's side?" Master frowned the query.
We explained what we'd decided about dividing the space to accommodate both our pastimes, and Master leant forward in his chair, seemingly interested in what we'd agreed.
"Let me see your swatches," he said, rising from his desk and joining us before the fire. I handed them over, shifting on the rug so I sat beside Kai, facing Master's chair. He looked through them slowly, rubbing some of the cloths between his fingers to get a feel for their texture. "If you don't mind the suggestion, how about this?" he asked, holding out a thick hessian-type material. "It'll stain, I know, but it will hold a dye well, and it can take a fair amount of rough treatment."
Kai took the cloth from him, turning it over in his hands. "You don't think it will burn my skin if I fall against it?"
"It might." Master frowned. "What exactly were you planning to do in that space?"
"Not much," he admitted. "There isn't the room. I thought I'd keep my weights there, and maybe a couple of jump ropes."
"Is the ceiling high enough?"
"If we don't swag it, it is."
"What if I cleared one of the stables?" he asked.