14
Payne slid into one of the circular booths at Club Twist and patted the space beside him. He’d picked a booth with a good view of both the stage and the tables so Hunter could people watch before the show began.
“Sit close. I don’t want any unattached subs trying to seduce you away from me,” he teased.
Hunter smirked. “You don’t think I look subby enough for another Dom to try to seduce me away?”
Hunter looked far more relaxed than he had a few hours earlier. They’d spent most of the afternoon at Jake’s birthday party, and while Hunter had held up well, being around so many kids had been a stressful reminder that even though he’d made a lot of progress lately, he still wasn’t over his trauma. But at least Hunter hadn’t taken one look at the room full of kids and gone running for the hills.
Coming to the club was part of Hunter’s reward for having stuck out three hours at the party. Jake had been thrilled, introducing his “Unca Hunter” to all his preschool friends, then insisting Hunter be the one to hold him up to blow out the candles on his cake. That had been the worst part for Hunter, if his haunted expression and pained smile were anything to go by. Given there was a prominent photo in the living room of Jake being held up by his father to blow out the candles on his previous birthday cake — with Hunter standing in the background, laughing — Payne had a pretty good idea why.
“As open-minded as we try to be, we’re still guilty of stereotyping at times,” Payne said, resting his hand on Hunter’s thigh beneath the table. “I’ve been mistaken for a sweet submissive, and a lot of people probably assume you’re a Dom. The only way you could signal you’re a sub is to wear my collar.”
“I read about that,” Hunter said. “Collars, I mean.” He placed his hand over Payne’s. “I bet you’re one of those Doms who’s waiting to collar the perfect sub. Are you looking for someone like Tyler? No one would ever mistake him for a Dom, I’m sure.”
Hunter looked a bit sour, which amused Payne. Apparently Hunter still wasn’t convinced Payne didn’t care about being with a docile, obedient sub.
“I’ve been waiting to collar the perfect subfor me,” he said, squeezing Hunter’s thigh. “The good news is I’ve already found him.”
Hunter drew in a breath, then looked at Payne rather pensively before glancing away. “Well, anyone who would mistake me for a Dom would be pretty disappointed anyway. I couldn’t do what you do.”
Payne hadn’t expected that response, so he leaned closer, trying to see Hunter’s expression. “You know I meant you, right?” he asked softly.
Hunter glanced at him, his eyes dark. “But how can you be sure? I mean… I still don’t know what I’m doing. What if it’s different when I’m recovered?”
“We’ve been playing together outside of the therapy sessions,” Payne said. “How do you think it might be different after you’ve recovered?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Hunter said. “You’ve only known me like… this. What if you feel differently when I’m more like my regular self?”
“Are we talking Jekyll and Hyde differences?” Payne shouldered Hunter playfully to show he was teasing.
Hunter smiled crookedly. “I don’t think that extreme, no. But I’m not normally the terse, moody bastard I was when we met, so if he’s who you want…”
“You haven’t been a fulltime terse, moody bastard for a while,” Payne said. He turned his hand over beneath Hunter’s and laced their fingers together. “If I wanted a perfect textbook sub, I’d find one, all right? But I don’t. I enjoy how we play together, and it’s what I want. I love who you are now, and I’ll love whoever you become as you heal.”
Payne found his hand being gripped tightly, and then Hunter leaned toward him, pressing his mouth to Payne’s and kissing him hard. Payne parted his lips and returned the kiss, sliding his free hand into Hunter’s thick hair.
Hunter gave a soft moan, and then he pulled back slowly and stroked Payne’s cheek. “You really mean it. When you said you loved me, I thought you meant like a friend.”
“What? No!” Payne stared at Hunter, wide-eyed. “I meant I’m in love with you. I want you to be my partner and my sub, and I want you to consider my house your home from now on. Or we could buy a house together. I don’t care. I just want to be with you.”
Hunter smiled, his expression tender. “I’m in love with you, too. I was afraid to assume you felt the same way, given how fucked up I am.”
Payne chuckled and shook his head. “Meanwhile, I blithely assumed you understood what I meant and took it at face value when you said you loved me too. I’ve been thinking we were on the same page this whole time.”
“Sorry.” Hunter’s voice was soft, and he caressed Payne’s cheekbone with his thumb. “But I want to be with you too. I want to be your sub, even if I’m not perfect at it. Live in your house or wherever you want to live. I haven’t had a place to call home in twenty years, so wherever you are is home now, whether it’s a house or a hut or a tent in the middle of nowhere.”
“Then it’s settled,” Payne said softly as he leaned into the touch, smiling. He wished he’d realized sooner that Hunter still harbored doubts about him — about them — but he was glad everything was out in the open now. “I’m your home, and you’re my home.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me.” Hunter said. His lips curved in a wicked smile. “Too bad there’s no sex allowed out here. I’d be tempted to get on my knees under this table and suck your cock.”
“Well, thereareprivate rooms for that, darling.”
Payne was jolted out of the romantic bubble by the sound of James’s voice, and he glanced over to see James and Tyler standing in front of their booth. James was smirking, of course, and Tyler was stifling laughter behind his hand.
“Maybe later,” Payne said. “Good to see you both. Will you join us?” He made the offer mostly to be polite but also because he would be far less tempted to break the club’s rules with Hunter if he was distracted by other people.
“Yes, please join us,” Hunter said, scooting closer to Payne to make more room. “It’s good to see you both.”
