“What?” Paul asked cautiously.
Adam’s grin widened. “I don’t intend leaving all my toys in those boxes. We need to find space for them all. Specifically,youneed to find space.”
“Do you mean putting them in one of the empty bedrooms?” Paul hadn’t ventured into any of the other rooms upstairs: they were locked, for one thing. “How many rooms are there?”
“At least six,” Adam told him. “My grandparents didn’t use all of them, I remember that.” He cocked his head. “Can you still feel it?”
“Yes,” Paul ground out, ignoring Adam’s coarse chuckle.
“Wait until you move and it nudges your prostate,” Adam tossed back as he headed for the door. “And if you have to go to the bathroom, remove it, clean up after and bring it to me. I’ll make sure it goes back in nice and snug.” The chuckle that followed was downright evil.
Paul bit back his groan.
It was going to be a fucking long day.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Adam reclined on the bed,listening to Paul moving about the room, opening drawers and wardrobe doors. The temptation to choose an empty bedroom to set up as a playroom had been huge, but Adam had to face facts. It was an indulgence he didn’t need. Why fit out a room with his whips, canes and other such items when the likelihood was he would never wield them again?
His bedroom was the only sensible option. He’d gotten Paul to lay everything out on the bed, while Adam gave instructions as to what to put out of sight and what to keep within hand’s reach. The bedside cabinet now contained a couple of pairs of leather restraints and numerous dildos of varying sizes. He enjoyed listening to Paul’s breathing change as he handled each item.
“One day when you have a house, maybe you’ll create a room where you can submit to the darkness,” he suggested to Paul, smiling to himself. The stillness that followed his remark was intriguing.
“Darkness?” That quaver in Paul’s voice was telling.
Adam shifted position until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Come here a minute.”
Paul moved closer until Adam could feel his body heat. Adam drew Paul to him, his hands resting on Paul’s upper arms. “Behonest. Hasn’t BDSM always had a dark allure to it?” He stroked down Paul’s arms, the movement languid, casual. “Wasn’t it the darkness that drew you, whispered to you to come closer?” he said in a seductive tone, trailing his fingers over Paul’s bare forearms, feeling the skin pebble.
Paul’s breathing quickened, and Adam knew without a doubt he was hyper-aware of the plug nestled in his arse. It crossed his mind to pull Paul into his arms, hold him, caress him and kiss that wonderful mouth until all they could think of was making love, the afternoon sunlight warm on their bodies while they made their own heat…
Adam put on the brakes. This was not what he’d planned, delightful though the images were that filled his head in that moment.
Stick with the program, remember?
He reached around Paul and smacked him on his behind, forcing a yelp from him. “I think some coffee is in order, and after that you can finish off putting all of this away.” Adam released him, patting his rump before giving him a push to go downstairs. The slow tread of Paul’s feet across the floor made Adam smile.
Paul was going to be feeling that plug for a while yet.
He stretched out his hand across the bed, his fingers searching for whatever items still remained. When he touched the single tail whip, he knew what it was in an instant. His fingers curled around the handle, running its length across his other palm, feeling its texture. Adam coiled the whip and placed it back on the bed.
He’d lost that part of his life. That wasn’t the bitterness of old talking: now it was cool common sense. But this unexpected gift, a chance to help Paul discover his own nature, had brought him a new lease of vitality. The only thing troubling him was how far Paul wanted to delve into that inner darkness. Adam could onlyshare his journey so far. There might come a time when their paths would diverge.
What the fuck do I do then?
Paul was the best thing to come into Adam’s life for a long time. Adam was only then starting to realize he didn’t want to lose him.
Something on his bedside cabinet was buzzing. Siri intoned one word: “Seth.”
Adam frowned. He could count on one hand the number of calls he’d received since he’d come back to the island. It was as if he ceased to exist once he’d left London.
More like, since I lost my sight.
Well, if they didn’t want to associate with a blind guy, fuck them. Adam had no need of friends if they were that shallow. Not that they’d been such great friends when he was sighted, come to think of it. Seth was the only guy who came close.
His phone fell silent.
Adam made a grab for it and sent it flying.
