“Blindfold, if you’ve got any handy.” He leaned in to whisper something else in Gus’s ear, and the twinky little fuck smiled atmy Sirlike he’d hung the moon. The fact that Gus didn’t waste a single iota of attention on me wasn’t a shock, but it did rankle. Sir smiled indulgently at him when he was done speaking.
Irritated and not entirely sure why—Jayce hadn’t touched Gus, after all—I huffed and stared out at the crowd, accidentally catching a man’s eye near the stage. I didn’t know him, but he was tall and muscled with a dark goatee that looked sleek and framed nice lips. He had his sub on his lap and the man was doing his best to sit still, but it seemed like maybe he had a lumpy seat at the moment.
“That won’t do, Lamb. I know I’m up here showing you off, but I want your attention on me.” I swung around to stare at Sir, and my chest stuttered as he unbuckled his belt and slowly drew his arm out to show off the thick black leather as he slid it free of the loops in his pants. Gus bounded away to rush for something. He pulled a plastic-wrapped package from a plain black wooden box next to the stage, and I figured it was probably sterile equipment for the show—or for the playrooms.
“What are you doing?” I couldn’t help the suspicious question I lobbed at Jayce, especially when he gave me a pretend-innocence smile.
“Never you mind. Stand there and look delicious,” he said louder as he hopped off the stage and headed directly toward the bar. “Don’t hide yourself, Lamb.”
My body scalded and must have been glowing neon red as I clasped my hands behind my back. I had done position training before but wasn’t sure what he wanted from me, so I stood there with my chin high, spine lengthened, and my gaze fixed on the ceiling. I spread my legs a little even though I was hard and it would make it more apparent. The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass my Sir. Or did I? My dick flexed in my pants at the thought of what he might do if he was angry for real.
Would it be good or bad—or both?
Before I could make any hasty decisions about being awful, Jayce stepped back up onto the stage with a stool that reminded me a lot of the show we’d seen together our first night here. My breath caught. He had his thick black leather belt looped around his arm, out of the way but not secure. He positioned the stool in the exact middle of the stage.
“Come here, Lamb,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. Hell, he fucking projected his voice like he might have acted at some point in his life, because I couldn’t figure out how he would know to do that otherwise. I jumped at the strict no-bullshit tone and walked to him. I was aware of every inch of leather clinging to my legs and my aching dick. My nipples peaked in the cool air. He followed my hips with an unwavering dedication that had my dick throbbing. I wanted him to stare, and part of me wanted everyone else to look too.
Gus stood ever so fucking helpfully nearby, and I scowled at theperfectlittle shit. He beamed back serenely, but I didn’t miss how he had one hand behind his back as he passed off a standard black leather blindfold to Sir, one that resembled a sleep mask. I was almost disappointed that this was it, a blindfold, the simplest fucking thing in the world, yet I was insanely curious about what was none too subtly being hidden from me. Sir only smirked when I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Come here. Tilt your head up for me. You won’t be able to sneak this one off and be a naughty Lamb.” I stepped in front of him and stared directly into his serious blue eyes.
“God, that voice is so creamy and dreamy.” Gus sighed. “Makes me want to be creamy on the inside,” he added in a whisper, and I finally saw something raw and real on his face as he flicked his attention between me and Jayce.
“Fuck off,” I barked, and there was a murmur from the audience, followed by a ripple of laughter around the room.
Sir pursed his lips. “Hand your glasses to—”
“The suck-up is Gus,” I muttered.
“Now, Lamb.” Jayce’s jaw went tight, and I knew that look. It had preceded me being dragged onto his lap.
I did as I was told because I’d already pushed my luck pretty far today. Gus, for his part, didn’t seem particularly perturbed. There was a ripple of applause and yelled encouragement as Sir tilted my chin up. He dropped a soft sucking kiss onto my lips and then settled the padded blindfold over my eyes. The lining on the inside was silky and the darkness consumed me. My breath caught.
“Fuck,” I whispered. The stage lights were warm, and the audience noise seemed to grow until it surrounded us, even though I knew no one had moved. I couldn’t really see out past the bright lights very well before, but now I was shockingly aware of the other people in the room.
“Trust me, Lamb,” my Sir said back, just loud enough for me to hear. My heart raced. That was part of the problem, wasn’t it? Trust? I had to trust him to keep me safe here. I had to trust him to keep me safe on the street to some degree, after the bullshit we’d started in New Gothenburg. There were probably more people out there involved in that sex trafficking ring, and now they knew Jayce’s name because he’d been the investigating officer who blew the case wide open, even though he wasn’t a detective. My name was involved in whispers, but that was as good as being splashed across the headlines. I wasn’t stupid.
The way I was feeling right now about this, about him showing me off, about him in general, I had to trust him in a lot more ways than just not letting me look like an ass as I stumbled around with my eyes covered.
I trembled as he secured the leather straps of the blindfold around the back of my head. He was so careful he didn’t even pull a single strand of hair. His body close to mine was warm and smelled musky, and his muscles felt strong when he pressed his chest against me to get a better angle to finish adjusting the straps.
Once the blindfold was secured there was a little masculine giggle from nearby, and I had to assume it was Gus. I thought about flipping him off and moved my hand to do it, but it was knocked down to my side and firmly held there.
“My sub doesn’t take instruction very well, mostly when he thinks he knows best.” Sir’s voice carried over the sound system, so someone must have handed him a microphone. My face went supernova and I thought I might piss myself, except I was so hard, that was definitely not in the cards. Everyone in the entire building would be focused on us now. “Who wants to see his punishment for that?”
“A punishment? A fucking punishment? I got up here and did everything you wanted,” I snarled, and actually felt myself winding up to be… not furious, though I could be soon if I let myself. My throat felt tight, and that lump in there had turned into a boulder. Fuck, I had to trust Jayce to be my Sir in front of all these people.
What if he realizes he doesn’t like this? What if he sees Gus bouncing around and listening so well, and decides he would rather have a cute twinky guy who actually fucking listens instead of making him fight for everything?My brain would not stop dredging up things to worry about. Panic spiraled higher in me and my mind geared up instead of down into subspace.
“All a punishment is supposed to do is give you a memory to hold. It’s a reminder as to why you should listen to me in the future, Lamb. It doesn’t have to be a humiliating experience.” There was amusement in his tone.
“Fuck.” Embarrassment swamped me and I could practically feel the weight of everyone watching us.
Judging me.
He laughed, gripped my shoulders, and then moved me around. My stomach swooped when he pushed me forward, and the sinking and diving sensation of being off-balance in the dark of the blindfold had me sticking out my hands to my sides, but he made me walk. There was some laughter from the crowd.
“I got you, justfollow my lead,” he said. He pushed me forward until I got the picture and bent. My chest rested on the stool he’d placed and the leather top was cool on my overheated skin. Since I could see the spot in my mind’s eye where Jayce had placed the stool, it kept me from feeling completely disoriented. I let out a long breath and grasped the cold metal rungs at the bottom to steady myself.
