“Well, you’re the one who didn’t want to look at me,” Cooper said.
“I said I didn’t wantyouto look at me, and you’re too stubborn to concede,” Adam snapped.
“I met you in the middle,” Cooper countered. “Just like you asked.”
Adam grunted, folding his arms in front of his chest because he didn’t know what else to do with them.
“Breathe through it,” Cooper coaxed, and Adam did because he’d never been able tonotdo what Cooper asked of him, save for the one time Cooper asked him to stay.
“You scare me,” he blurted, palms cold with sweat, a far cry from how hot his body had burned just minutes before. “You scare the shit out of me.”
“Same,” Cooper whispered. “You always have.”
“You wanted things I couldn’t offer.”
“You offered them all,” Cooper interrupted. “At least, most of them. Did I force you, Adam? Did I coerce you?”
“No. It wasn’t that. It’s not that,” he whispered.
“The prospect of being happy with something unexpected shouldn’t be a deterrent. It should be the goal.” Cooper had moved closer. His breath puffed hot against Adam’s mouth. Fingers curled around the top edge of the blindfold, pulling it down. Cooper’s bright eyes came into immediate focus, as did the small frown that pulled at the corners of his mouth.
“I know. It’s just this block.”
“I could help you with that, if you let me. I wanted to help. I wanted you.”
“Wanted?” Adam’s throat went dry and Cooper released the blindfold, leaving it around Adam’s neck like a collar.
“Want,” Cooper corrected. “I want you, Adam. And I want you above me and behind me, but I still need you on your knees sometimes, and until you can reconcile that…”
Cooper didn’t finish the sentiment, but Adam knew the implication.
“I want to try,” he pleaded, reaching and grabbing Cooper’s shirt in his fist, like he would go away if Adam didn’t have hands on him.
“Okay.” Cooper nodded. “Then try.”
Chapter6
Cooper
It had been a week since Devon’s party.
A week since he’d seen Adam.
A week since he’d heard from Adam.
And he wasn’t surprised.
Going to the birthday party had been a risk, and in the back of his head, Cooper had known Adam would be there. He knew what he was signing up for when he told Devon he would come. But all of that had gone off the rails when Adam stumbled after him into the guest room. And then their cocks were out, and Adam’s hand was covered in cum, and Cooper was cleaning them both up, and…
And the confession.
The apology.
And the silence.
Seven days of silence had driven Cooper into his basement workshop, mind focused on the monotony and the comfort that came from making toys. He’d gotten a delivery of deer hide earlier in the week that he’d been waiting months for. The sheet of it was thick and textured beneath his fingers, and he knew immediately what he wanted to use it for—a flogger that he wouldn’t sell and would probably never use. Deer hide was one of his favorite leathers to work with because of how thick it was, but hearty floggers made from it sometimes offered more impact than most people wanted.
In his friend group there was interest, but for his online shop, most people wanted the sheepskin because it was lighter. They wanted the colored cuffs lined with fur and the collars that would tear away if met with the smallest amount of resistance. Cooper didn’t mind any of that, though.
