arms, Martin asked, Henry? With all ofthe dirty things you do for me, dont you think you might let metry doing some of them for you, too?Henrystiffened a little, wary. What do you mean?Icould lick your ass and here, he seemed to instantly recognizethat Henry was about to protest or if not that, then maybe Icould touch it for you? It feels so good that I know youd likeit.Idont know, Martin... As always, Henry couldnt help thinkingthat he was just somehow dirtieractuallydirtierthan Martin. He wasnt terribly hairy, but he was hairierthan Martin, and that added to his sense that his own ass crack wasmore complicated than Martins fine-haired faerie-prince cleft.Wecould try, and if you didnt like it I wouldnt ask again.Whydo you want to?Forthe same reasons youdo. I want to make you feel good.Youalready make me feel good, Henry said firmly. I dont needanything else.Iwant it, then, Henry. I want to know you in that way. If werereally lovers, shouldnt it go both ways?Itwas a good point. Henry sulked a little as he contemplated it. HadMartins other partners allowed him such latitude? Henry didntwant to ask, but he was fairly sure the answer was yes. He feltunquestionably that dead Richard had let Martin do whatever hewanted, and he didnt want Richard to have that over him.Illthink about it, he promised, kissing Martins forehead.Seemingsatisfied for the moment, Martin said, Thank you, Henry, andcraned his neck for a kiss on the lips.Henryfelt good about how theyd left it: he hadnt made any promises,and he wouldthink about it, and Martin seemed happy enough for the time being. Hedecided he could wait a few days before making any decisions; ifMartin responded favorably to Henrys Valentines Daydeclaration, then hed feel more inclined to allow Martin a littleleeway.Henryfell asleep quickly and dreamed of Martin fingering and licking andfucking the ass of an appreciative little ginger and Henry was hurtand jealous that Martin would do such things for anyone but him. Hewoke Monday morning unreasonably irritated at Martin for theseephemeral transgressions and struggled not to punish him for thingshe hadnt actually done. It did occur to him, though, that DreamMartin had only gone after the little redhead because Henry wouldntgive him what he wanted.Inthe few remaining days before the Valentines holiday, Henry becamemore anxious about his planned declaration. What would Martin think?Would it matter to him? Would he be happy? Would he say the wordsback to Henry? And what if he did? What would the words mean comingfrom a slave?Henryhad gradually come to understanddimly, inarticulately, and withfretful concernthat any declaration from Martin, no matter howheartfelt it might seem, was tainted by circumstance. Martin wasHenrys propertyFathers property, actuallyand he was nomore able to make choices for himself than was any of the familyshorses. Henry wanted Martin to have the freedom to choose to be withhim, but he could take away Martins ability to choose at any time,which meant it wasnt Martins to begin with.Henrybelieved that Martin cared for him, and he also believed that Martinwould have cared for him had they met as free men, but he had anuncomfortable awareness