All In - Part Two

"Hunter?" David frowned, a sharp and sudden anger flashing in his eyes.

Shane had never told him about Hunter, but his master had heard the name, nonetheless. In the first few months that they'd been together, Shane had awoken almost every night sobbing, with that name on his lips. His master had never asked for details, but he'd never needed to.

"Which one?" he demanded. His voice was soft and full of danger.

"He just came in. Not the old one. The one with the boy on the leash."

David's eyes shifted away from him for a few seconds, studying the man they were talking about. There was something cold and calculating in his gaze that made Shane shiver.

"Do you know the other guy?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but…"

"But what?"

"The boy. His name is Shannon."

His master's eyes ticked back to him again. "Was he there?"

"Yes, but not with Hunter. He was with another man, but the man took him away before…" Unable to elaborate, Shane let his head fall back to David's shoulder.

"Okay sugar." His master stroked his hair. "He's not going to hurt you now. He's never going to so much as touch you ever again. Understand?"

"Yes master."

They were quiet for a little while, and Shane quickly found himself relaxing in David's strong arms. Turning his head, he peeked out to see Hunter talking with one of the other doms that Shane didn't know. If he'd noticed him there, he gave no sign.

Shane shifted his gaze to the boy perched on his heels at Hunter's feet. Though his memory of the night they had met was clouded by the copious amount of alcohol his previous master had forced him to drink, Shane recalled how bright and happy Shannon had been. He'd laughed and chattered and bounced around as if he'd never had an unhappy moment his entire life. His adoration of the big man he'd called master had been obvious.

Now he knelt with his head down and his hands folded in his lap, still and silent. He looked pale and drawn. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. His blonde hair was longer than before and now streaked with black, but it hung limp and dull, as if it hadn't been washed or brushed in days. The light that he'd radiated so brightly before had gone out.

"Sugar, don't."

Looking back up at his master, Shane blinked and realized there were tears in his eyes. He sniffled a little but managed not to cry. David pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Don't think about him."

"I'm not."

"Sugar…"

"No, master, I'm not. I was looking at the boy. At Shannon."

"Yeah? Does he look different since the last time you saw him?"

Shane nodded.

"How different?"

"He looks…sad. He was so happy before. He laughed and laughed."

"Doesn't look like he's laughed in a while, does it?"

"No master."

Dave was silent for a second, studying Shane's face. The scrutiny made Shane want to bury his head in his master's shoulder again, but he held still and met his eyes. Then his master gave a tiny nod and kissed him once more before looking away.

"Sean."

Shane saw that Sean was sitting in one of the armchairs near them. He had Brian in his lap, not cradling him the way David held Shane, but with the boy straddling his thighs. They were deep in a kiss, Sean's hands wandering under Brian's pleated skirt, giving the room generous flashes of his lacy white panties.

"Sean," Shane's master repeated.

The other man must have heard the tone of his voice, because he broke the kiss and looked around Brian's shoulder. "What?"

"Get on the clock."

Something changed in Sean's face. A fierceness that Shane had never seen before came into his eyes. He continued to look at David for a moment, then glanced too-casually around the room.

"Who?"

"Burly blonde with the baby."

Sean's eyes never seemed to rest on Hunter, but he said, "You sure you want to bring work to the dinner table?"

"It's not work."

"No?" Sean lifted a hand to tug at one of Brian's ponytails as the boy sucked at his neck. "Personal?"

Shane felt his master's arms tighten around him. "Yes it is."

Sean's gaze moved down to meet Shane's for a second, then he nodded. "What did you have in mind?"

"For now, I say we take that baby off of him. We can see to the rest some other time."

"You have an idea?"

"I do. I think we can do this the old fashioned way."

Shane was completely lost as to what they were talking about, but Sean must have understood, because he said, "Do we need help?"

"Yeah, maybe. I'll talk to Glen, you talk to Tommy."

"Why the hell do I have to deal with the Kraut?" Sean scowled. "He's a fuckin' psycho."

"Takes one to know one." David said with a grin, but added, "You talk to Glen, then. He went down to the bar for a drink."

Nodding, Sean kissed Brian once more and lifted his skirt to give him a light slap on the ass. "Alright, baby boy, get off me. I gotta do some business."

Brian pouted, but climbed off his lap.

"Master," Shane said hesitantly. "What're you going to do?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. You sit right here with Brian and be good, okay?"

"Yes master."

"That's my sugar."

Shane was sad to slip out of David's safe and warm embrace, but he said nothing more. Brian came back to the couch and sat close beside him, throwing both arms around his shoulders.

"What's going on, Shane?" he whispered.

"I don't know."

Shane watched with growing trepidation as Sean and his master exchanged a few quiet words, then split up. David went to the corner where Tommy sat drinking a beer, alone except for Chrissy curled up between his knees. Shane saw the younger dom's handsome face tighten with uncertainty when David sat down, but several seconds later, a small, wicked smile curved his mouth. He seemed to look toward Hunter, then nodded and said a few words.

"Hey guys."

Shane looked up to find Rob returning. His fine brown hair had been pulled from its usual neat ponytail and his cheeks were a little flushed, betraying that he and his master had been up to something more than just getting a drink. His expression, however, was set in unfamiliar serious lines. Sitting beside Shane, he added his arms to Brian's embracing him, and kissed his cheek. While he was still close, he whispered, "My big man says I'm supposed to look after you for a little while. You cool with that?"

Shane nodded.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Shane didn't want to look up. He wanted to sink back into the couch until he disappeared completely. Instead, he remembered his master's promise to keep him safe and forced himself to lift his head.

Hunter stood only a few feet away, grinning at him. "Hello, boy."

Read Chapter Three of Ten of Baslady's All In