Going Down Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons living or dead, companies, events, or places are entirely coincidental. All person(s) depicted on the cover are model(s) used for artistic purposes only.

  Going Down

  Copyright © 2017 by Hazel Domain

  Illustrator: hellhoundsprey.tumblr.com

  Editor: Gertie Craign

  Layout and Cover: Hazel Domain

  Cover stock by greissdesign.deviantart.com/

  and by takeapix.com/

  All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

  Dedicated to the Uncaring Internet

  who told me I had something worth sharing

  when they had no reason to lie.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  End Notes

  Chapter One

  David Gaines was twitchy.

  Part of the problem was the man who had just stepped into the elevator beside him. He was tall, broad shouldered, with hazel eyes, chestnut hair…

  …and the distinctive markings of a high-level dominant, twisting up his arms in raised white stripes.

  David shook his head.

  He needed to get out more. Five weeks had passed since the last time he’d scened with someone— a handsome older man he’d found at a club downtown. The marks on his arms had indicated a medium switch, rather than a dom. Submissives paired best with dominants, but David had been desperate enough to try it anyway.

  The guy’s eyes had widened when David removed his sweater, baring the staccato markings of a high-level sub. The switch had let out a low whistle and done his best, but…

  They enjoyed themselves, but agreed they weren’t interested in a repeat performance.

  David shivered at the memory, the way he’d calmed when the man had cuffed his hands to the headboard, partially immobilizing him—

  An elevator chime snapped David back to the present, where the tall dom was watching him. David shuffled awkwardly, trying not to stare back. He checked his shirt cuffs, verifying that even the indefinite markings on his wrists were covered.

  They were. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  The elevator doors opened and David fled, not giving the dom so much as a nod. The doors shut behind him with a ding.

  ~~~~~

  Three days later, David realized he was going to need to alter his plans. He lived on a very strict schedule. He had to. The discipline of a routine helped him get through the day. Most high-level subs got collared early, found some high dom to run their lives for them. Their dom told them where they could go and what they could do, and punished them when they disobeyed…basically ran their lives for them.

  David was managing just fine without any of that, thanks. It’s not that he thought the designation was a mistake— he was definitely a submissive. He loved being able to hand over control and simply exist. Too long without a scene and he started having…problems.

  He wondered sometimes, what it would be like to be collared — to belong so fully to his own dominant—

  But that wasn’t in the cards for him. Ever since the day the stunted sub markings had risen on David’s skin, he’d been sure of that. He’d grown up listening to his father’s horror stories of what a sub’s life was like. The look on the man’s face when David’s marks had started to show…

  David might be a sub, but he wasn’t gonna be anybody’s fucking pet, cleaning the apartment in panties and cuffs while his dom went to work.

  David had a career, one he enjoyed, and it was progressing nicely. He was managing his own life. He made strict rules for himself, and oversaw his own penance. Most of the time he needed only minor discipline. He inflicted mild discomforts on himself with ice cubes and alligator clips and the like. There were a set of short, deep scars down the side of one thigh, permanent reminders of his egregious screwups. A daily reminder that deep down he was still weak.

  It worked for him.

  For the most part.

  Or at least, it had been working, up until three days ago when apparently the tall dom from IT had altered his routine, and now they were sharing the elevator for the parking garage every damn day. David was having a harder and harder time not fantasizing about him. What he’d do if the dom suddenly pinned him to the wall and—

  He started watching the clock every day when it got closer to quitting time. He wasn’t trying to catch a ride with the dom, it’s just that he always left at the same time and he hadn’t…quite…managed…to change his routine yet.

  He should do that. He knew he should. He just hadn’t. Yet.

  Every time he started planning he’d start getting worked up, because time is linear. You can’t just move some point forward or backward without rearranging everything else, too. He was gonna have to leave earlier or leave later and he didn’t want to leave earlier because he had work to do and he didn’t want to get a reputation as the guy who ducked out as soon as possible…but he didn’t want to leave later, either, because the Chinese place where he got takeout on Thursdays got really busy right around six and he was always cutting it close already. If he left later he’d be fighting the dinner rush which would just throw him off more—

  David took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. His eyes wandered over his office’s familiar layout, but his mind kept drifting back to the elevator. More specifically, the man he’d probably be sharing the elevator with.

  David flipped the pen he was holding, driving the nub into his wrist hard enough to ground himself.

  He’d needed small corrections like that more and more, recently. It wasn’t just the lack of a dom. The operations manager was retiring this year, and someone would need to take her place. David heard good things about his chances, but nothing definite. The uncertainty had kept him on edge for weeks now.

  Lately, it seemed like the best part of his day was the elevator ride to the parking garage.

  David glanced at the clock. Again.

  Four minutes to go.

  Chapter Two

  Subfloor two.

  The elevator was stopped on subfloor two.

  They knew it was subfloor two because subfloor one was networking equipment, and subfloor three was the parking garage. Subfloor two was security systems and didn’t have elevator access, so when they’d eventually decided to pry the doors open, they were left staring at nothing but blank, unmarked concrete.

  “Huh,” David remarked. He was pretty sure he’d had a nightmare exactly like this once.

  The dom looked unruffled, standing there beside his discarded messenger bag, contemplating the concrete wall with his arms crossed in a way that David tried not to find very appealing.

  Dude could probably bench press a person. David was officially fucked.

  “Press the call button again?” David suggested, gesturing to the panel that the guy was blocking.

/>   “It’s a continuous alarm. Trust me,” the dom replied, scrutinizing the useless red button. “They know we’re in here.”

  “Yeah, but what if they don’t?” David insisted.

  He deeply wanted to push the guy out of the way and press the button himself. The dom shrugged.

  “Then, I give it about ten minutes until people start complaining to maintenance that the elevator isn’t coming.” He poked at the inspection certificate. “It’s six’o’clock on a Thursday, dude. It’s not like we’re working late on a long weekend. Chill.”

  And it was Thursday. Of course, it was Thursday. The one day a week with a real, concrete deadline, and he was going to miss it. All because he couldn’t pull his head out of his ass and avoid this stupid, smirking giant of a dom.

  David closed his eyes, breathing deep. He made fists, letting his fingernails bite into the skin of his palms. He’d fucked up. He’d deal with himself later. Right now, he needed to escape this damn elevator.

  He let out a slow breath.

  “Even if it’s redundant,” David said without opening his eyes, “I would really like for you to push the call button again. Humor me.”

  He didn’t say anything, but David heard the button click. He let out another breath.

  Nothing happened.

  “Maybe we can climb out the top,” David suggested.

  “That’s gonna cause more problems than it solves.” The dom seemed to notice David’s growing agitation. “Hey, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” David spat.

  “Gonna be late for a hot date?”

  David could hear the grin in his voice. For some reason it made him mad.

  “No. For your information, I’m not late for a date, I’m late for takeout and another evening working on these damn spreadsheets because someone in accounting doesn’t know how to calculate depreciating interest—”

  David unexpectedly ran out of air mid-sentence and had to stop. He mentally kicked himself. The guy had just been kidding. He wasn’t looking for David’s fucking life story, here.

  He rubbed his eyes.

  “Sorry. It’s been a long week.”

  “Longer than that, I bet,” the dom said quietly. David glanced sharply up at him.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “How long’s it been since you scened with someone on your level?” the dom asked, frowning at him.

  “None of your goddamn business!” David snapped. “Move.”

  He practically pushed the dom away from the control panel and slammed the red emergency button again. When that didn’t work, he hit the button for subfloor three, the door open button— hell, even the emergency stop button, the damn thing couldn’t get any more stopped, he might as well—

  “Hey,” the dom interjected. Then, louder, “Hey!”

  “What?” David shouted, turning to face him and, okay, they were very close now. The guy was even bigger from this distance.

  “You’re freaking out,” the dom said gently. He paused. “Do you want me to help you?”

  “I don’t need any fucking help,” David snapped. He was a submissive, not an invalid. He didn’t need someone to rush in and save him just because he got antsy in small spaces.

  The dom raised an eyebrow, and David scowled.

  “I don’t.”

  “I’m not accusing you of anything. Just asking if you need a hand.”

  David sighed and glared at the carpet. He should be able to handle this. He had his

  methods. He’d trained himself for situations like this. He shouldn’t need this guy’s help.

  He shouldn’t, but as the walls closed in and the air got thinner, it was becoming clear that he did.

  At least he wasn’t asking for help. He wasn’t that pathetic. The guy had offered.

  “Just this once,” he said firmly, meeting the other man’s eyes. “I don’t have a dom and I’m not looking to get one.”

  “Probably wouldn’t work out anyway,” the dom agreed, shrugging. He pushed the messenger bag into the corner, giving them space. “Take your jacket off.”

  David did, slowly, his eyes never leaving the dom’s face. He folded the jacket into quarters, but found himself just holding it, unsure of how to proceed. He checked his shirt cuffs again, making sure they covered his marks. He didn’t want to risk the scene by showing off just how submissive he was.

  The dom moved around him, slowly, his eyes taking in David’s body. David shivered, waiting for the man’s touch.

  It didn’t come.

  The dom came back around to face him.

  “Tie and suspenders, too,” he concluded with a nod.

  David pulled them off, laying them on top of his jacket. The dom took it all from him, setting the jacket on the ground but keeping the tie.

  David stood a little awkwardly, waiting, his heart going fast as he tried to guess what the dom was planning. It suddenly seemed very warm, the walls of the elevator very close. He tried to breathe deeply, but there wasn’t enough air in the tiny space.

  “Signal if you need to stop,” the dom said, and David nodded.

  The dom circled around behind him, and David felt hands on his shoulders, guiding him down onto his knees. The dom remained standing. David leaned his head back, against the guy’s thigh. The dom began stroking David’s hair, taking his time.

  “I want you to put your hands behind your back,” he ordered, and David complied. Maybe a little too eagerly, but fuck it. He didn’t just want this— he needed it.

  The dom knelt and David felt the tie being wrapped firmly around his wrists. The dom clearly had some experience— the restraint was tight, but comfortable. David pulled at it, testing the strength, and it only took him a moment to realize his hands were going nowhere.

  “Sit back now, on your heels,” the dom said, and David shifted a little to accommodate the new position. The dom was slotted right up behind him, his hips against David’s lower back, and David could feel himself getting hard from the proximity.

  “I want you to close your eyes now,” the dom murmured into his ear, and David obeyed. Everything expanded— the sound of their breathing seemed suddenly thunderous in the silence of the trapped elevator. David imagined he could hear the dom’s heart beating.

  “See?” the dom told him, and his lips brushed David’s ear when he spoke. “You have all the space you need right here. You don’t need to go anywhere.”

  One of his arms rose to lock around David’s chest, drawing him backwards. David was pulled off balance but the dom held him steady, taking his weight.

  “I’ve got you,” the dom said, and David’s breath caught. “I’ve got you, you’re not going to fall. You’re fine— can you feel it?”

  “Yes,” David whispered. The dom’s free hand rose, the backs of his fingers brushing against David’s jaw. David raised his chin, letting the dom touch him. His breath came fast, and the dom’s fingertips brushed against his lips.

  “Slow, there,” the dom whispered. His hand moved to cover David’s mouth, forcing him to breathe through his nose, calm and steady. “The air’s here. Trust it.”

  His hand dropped and David breathed deep again, the air suddenly cool and sweet in his lungs. The dom stroked David’s face, before covering his mouth again. This time he didn’t tighten his grip, and David sieved air between his fingers. The skin was rough against his lips, and he felt his cock pressing insistently against the inside of his slacks. God, but he wanted this.

  “Please,” David whimpered, but the dom’s hand only tightened over his mouth.

  “Sshhh, little sub,” the dom whispered, and David almost moaned as he felt the catch of teeth on the shell of his ear. “You’ll take what I give you.”

  Yes, David thought desp
erately, letting himself go boneless in the dom’s iron grip. He’d take whatever the dom gave him, take it happily and eagerly and—

  The elevator shuddered to life, lumbering down the last ten feet to the parking garage.

  The dom released him almost instantly, gathering up his bag and the discarded clothes, before hauling David up by one bicep. David caught his feet just in time for the elevator doors to open. The dom hurried David through the waiting throng before the doors could close and trap them again.

  David caught several sympathetic looks as they passed, and he blushed. He wasn’t the only sub working for the company— hell, he wasn’t even the only sub in upper management. But he didn’t spread his designation around. At least, he tried not to.

  Once they were clear of the people, the dom set to untying him, working the knots open with sure, deft moments.

  David found himself at a loss for words.

  “…you’re good,” he managed at last. He glanced over his shoulder. The dom was grinning.

  “I’m glad you think so. Some people would balk at breathplay in the first scene.”

  David shook his head, dropping his eyes.

  “No, it…it helped.”

  “Yeah. I thought it might.”

  “So, you…” David started, but the dom cut him off.

  “Didn’t you have somewhere to be? You were pretty concerned.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Uh. I should…get to it, then, I guess.”

  David fished for his keys a full fifteen seconds before he realized that the dom was still holding his jacket. He turned to see the man holding it out, letting the smirk on his face convey all that needed saying.