A whine built in the back of Owen’s throat. Arousal pulsed in his balls and spread the chill. The pressure inside of him threatened to clench and send him into orgasm in defiance, but he held back. He wanted tobegood.
“So the choice is yours, pet,” Crawford said. His finger parted from Owen’s lips. “You can obey, or you candisobey.”
“When will I be ready?” Owen asked, trying his best to hide his desperation. “I want it sobadly.”
“You’ll hear from me shortly,” Crawford promised. He leaned forward and kissed Owen sweetly, and Owen kissed back with tenfold Crawford’s hunger. Crawford refused to let him control the kiss, and he broke it prematurely. Owen ached. “I won’t leave you stranded forever. I promise. As long as you behave, I intend tospoilyou.”
“And if I don’t?” Owen already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear itanyway.
“Every choice has its consequence.” Crawford’s eyes were dark with lust, and they made Owen want like never before. When he spoke next it was with finality that froze Owen to the core. “If you choose to misbehave, I’ll simply have topunishyou.”
9
Crawford
There wasn’t a showercold enough to cool the fire Owen lit in Crawford’s soul. Beads of water struck Crawford’s skin, then fell, and Crawford threw his head back and exposed the graceful arch of his neck as the shower washed Owen’s scent from his skin. As much as he wanted to keep it there, he couldn’t. The man was a temptation, and Crawford didn’t trust himself not togivein.
One of his hands plunged low, fingers wrapping around his cock as he worked himself to the memories of their night out. The glint of silver from the tag in the light of the club, the feel of Owen’s erection against his thigh, the way Owen wanted to kiss him so desperately… Crawford hissed a moan through his teeth and let his head fall forward as the first pangs of lust shotthroughhim.
If he’d been a weaker man, he would have taken Owen upstairs to one of the secluded rooms near the back of the club and fucked him so hard his knees gave out—but Crawford wasn’t weak. When the time came that he took Owen to bed, it would be in private. He wanted others to see his pet, to envy and to covet, but when it came to his pet’spleasures?
That was for closeddoors.
Crawford fisted his cock, letting his hips jerk and his breath catch unevenly in his throat. When the time came that he brought Owen to his room, he wanted Owen to be indisputably his. One kiss promised nothing. One night in a collar wasn’t acommitment.
Crawford would see himsubmit.
God, did hewantit.
Pleasure spiked in Crawford’s gut, but he held back the rising wave of ecstasy that threatened to wash him away. It felt cheap to come so soon, no matter how far Owen pushed him. Owen, eager to please, had to be arriving home now, knowing there was nothing he could do about the cum building in his balls. For Owen and the struggles he faced this coming week, Crawford needed to show somerespect.
He wouldn’t come yet. His omega’s needs camefirst.
Crawford took his hand from his length and scrubbed himself down harder than he needed to. Soaped and shampooed, free of Owen’s distracting scent, he stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Barefoot and naked, he traveled from the bathroom into his bedroom and selected a clean pair of silk boxers from his drawer. Crawford slid them over his hips, then headed into the living room. His laptop sat on the coffee table by thecouch.
Before he could tend to him own needs, he needed to see to a few things. Crawford didn’t know Owen well enough to see his tells or trust his word, and he wanted to make sure that Owen’s upcoming reward or punishment was merited. Crawford opened his laptop, turned it on, and navigated to a site he was already very familiar with. With a hum, Crawford brought up their contact information and found the phone number for support. He dialed the number on his cellphone, then set the phone to his ear as he lay back across thecouch.
To his delight, a real personanswered.
“Eager to Please, this is Benjamin speaking. How can Ihelpyou?”
Crawford tilted the laptop screen down so he could see it before he spoke. “Hi Benjamin. This is Crawford Daniels speaking, account number 104500. Tell me, if price isn’t an issue, what’s the fastest I can have something couriered tomydoor?”
“Um.” Keyboard keys clicked. “Based on your recorded location and the availability of stock, I can have something in your hands by eleven tomorrow morning. Is there something I can helpyoufind?”
“Yes.” Crawford’s eyes flicked over the screen, and he grinned. “Yes,thereis.”
10
Owen
Owen woke up hard,and his hand was halfway to his cock before he remembered Crawford’s command. He rolled onto his stomach, buried his hands beneath his pillows, and groaned infrustration.
Heached.
The memories of the night before were impossible to shake. Crawford’s lips. Crawford’s thigh. Crawford’s hips… Owen shuddered and pushed out of bed, not trusting himself to stay there without touching himself. It was too easy to give into temptation that way. He needed tobegood.
As he made his way to the shower, it occurred to him that Crawford would never know if he told the truth or not. If he wanted to be bad and not suffer the consequences, he could. Owen’s profession demanded he keep a straight face, after all—there were times when his patients broke his heart or stirred his anger, but he couldn’t let it show. Lying to Crawford wouldn’t be any different than hiding what he felt while onthejob.
