"…she might not," but he doesn't really believe that. 

"She disapproves of... closeness between trainer and slave."

How could anyone see how unhappy Chris is and not want to fix it immediately. 

"We'll figure it out," he says, very quiet. It's the best he can promise. 

"I don't know how to explain to her what I want from you. I-- I want to serve you because you are such a good slave, that's not..."

"I love you," he says, "I don't — I don't know her, I don't know how to talk to her —" 

"She might like it if serving you makes me stop wanting a collar. She's grooming me as her successor."

Now is not the time for the mental image of Chris putting a collar on him. "I love you," he says again, instead of that. "We'll find something." 

"I love you." He twirls Marlo's hair around his finger. "There are-- options, if you go to Alex and Grendel's. You get vacation time. You can send emails. You can put in your contract that you have to be allowed to talk to me regularly... It's too bad you'd be absolutely miserable at any house that would buy me."

An affirmative noise. "It is," and he runs his hands through Chris's hair again. 

"Oh, that's nice. Keep doing that and I'll want to fuck you again."

Marlo does as he's told, does it again, then kisses him, keeps playing with Chris's hair — pulls, very slightly — 

"I am not made of china, Marlo."

He increases the pressure slowly, gradually, and kisses Chris again. 

"Recall that earlier I asked you to make me bleed."

"So you did," he agrees, and he wraps Chris's hair around his hands and then goes perfectly still. 

"May I call you sir?"

His tone is perfectly controlled.

"— yes, Chris," he says, and this time Chris doesn't sound anything like sir. 

(He's not really sure what he's doing — but if he can get Chris to be relaxed like he was —) 

"Thank you, sir."

He spends far much of his time not being hurt, but now he feels the exquisite thrumming pleasure of not being hurt.

He keeps doing that for a few minutes, with just enough pressure to feel it but not enough for it to hurt, and then he yanks Chris's head down as hard as he can. 

Chris shudders through his entire body. "Sir-- please--"

That's a good face. More things should make Chris make that face. Marlo kisses him. "Please what?" 

Chris looks up at him and he's so happy and at peace.

"Please do whatever you want with me."

What does he do with that — 

well, Marlo wants to kiss him, so he does. Keeps his hands in Chris's hair, only just barely pulling, mostly just cradling Chris's head while Marlo kisses him, over and over and over. 

Chris moans quietly into Marlo's mouth.

(It's so good to be of service.)

What a good sound. He pulls harder on Chris's hair.