Chapter 1
VINCENT CLIMBEDout of his car in front of Jasper’s place, his fingers itching for the birthday gift he’d forgotten at home, and hesitated, studying the house with a flicker of unease. He’d been back only once since one of Jasper’s housemates and a college friend of Vincent’s, Matt, dropped his truth bomb about the night his life fell apart ten years ago, and splintered Vincent’s worldview.
“You fucking. Left. Me,” Matt had snarled. “I let you tie me up, and then you left me there. Did you really think no one would find me like that?”
Vincent didn’t remember it that way. He’d been so drunk that most of that night was still full of blank spots where memories should be, but that wasn’t much of an excuse. Neither was the fact he’d only finally given in to Matt’s pleading because he’d been drunk and grieving. He hadn’t spoken to Matt since, not that he blamed Matt for ignoring his texts, but he’d rather fight a heavyweight champion than have another confrontation. Jasper promised Matt wouldn’t even be here, but that wasn’t a guarantee, considering Matt lived here.
The front door opened, and Jasper hurried out.
Vincent was moving before he thought to, meeting Jasper as he cut through the grass and eyeing the smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Jasper huffed and stepped into Vincent, fingers twisting his shirt at the small of his back. “Nothing. Just my brother being a dick.” He hadn’t spoken much about his family in the four months they’d been together, but neither had Vincent.
He slipped his fingers under Jasper’s shirt and grounded himself with the feel of warm skin until Jasper stepped away to lead him inside.
Jasper’s cousin, Amber, and their housemates were gathered in the living room. Her fiancé, Terrance, sat beside her on the love seat, while Keith and his partner Reiko took the sofa. Matt was nowhere to be seen, but in his place on Reiko's other side was a man Vincent assumed to be Jasper’s brother, though they looked nothing alike. Instead of Jasper’s blond hair and blue eyes, his sibling’s were both brown.
“Noah, Vincent. Vincent, my brother.”
Noah lifted his hand from where his arm was stretched along the back of the couch. “So you’re the Daddy Dom.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow, not missing the quick movement as Reiko jabbed her arm into Noah’s ribs. “No,” he replied, smiling at Noah when he repeated the word as a question. He didn’t bother to elaborate as he took the only remaining seat in the large chair that matched the sofa set. Jasper sat on its arm, and Vincent hooked him around the waist with a gentle tug, silently inviting him to squeeze in next to him. But Jasper stayed where he was.
Vincent wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve it, but Noah continued his antagonism when he asked, “No present?”
“I’ll give it to him at home.” Vincent preferred that anyway, all the more so with the hostile atmosphere. He’d been prepared for Matt’s blatant hatred, not this surprise animosity from a stranger.
Whatever Noah’s response was going to be was interrupted by the doorbell, and Jasper immediately hopped up to answer it. Vincent was left eyeing Noah in silence before he glanced at Amber, who met his gaze with a tight expression and a shrug.
Jasper returned a minute later with a stack of pizza boxes and dropped them on the coffee table.
“Not spaghetti?” Vincent asked. He meant it as teasing, but Jasper made a face at him.
“I’m told that’s not a birthday meal.”
Vincent eyed the pizza boxes with a frown but didn’t comment, the unease he’d felt all day at the thought of being ambushed by Matt slowly warping into an offended outrage. If he’d known this so-called party wasn’t what Jasper wanted, he would have made proper plans for tonight. At least he was sure he had all the ingredients for spaghetti at home; keeping them on hand was a matter of course since taking Jasper on as his sub. It’d be easy enough to prepare, but the sauce wouldn’t have as long to simmer as he’d like.
Compared to the subpar pizza, even an hour of simmering would be better than this. He ate a single slice and noticed Jasper barely ate half of one himself. By the time everyone had eaten, Vincent had begun to wonder whose idea this was, since there didn’t seem to be much effort put into it. Wondered if part of that was delayed fallout from Matt telling the rest of them what really happened the night Vincent got drunk and derailed both their lives, or if Jasper’s own family simply had so little regard for him when it came to things that required planning or energy.
Jasper moved to the floor in front of Vincent and wiggled back with his elbows until Vincent obliged and shifted his legs apart enough for him to sit between them. Vincent took the opportunity to bury a hand in blond hair and briefly curled his fingers tight with a slow flex of his wrist. Jasper’s fingers dug into Vincent’s calf before he turned his head to gnaw on a knee.
“Stop flirting and open your presents,” Noah muttered as Terrance got up to retrieve the small pile of wrapped gifts and set them on the coffee table.
Jasper flipped his brother off and reached for the closest one, which was obviously a bottle. Vincent didn’t think much ofit until Jasper opened it to reveal a cheap bottle of scotch. He wasn’t prepared for the sight of liquor or the sudden sour taste on the back of his tongue. Vincent tilted his head and closed his eyes as he focused on breathing.
“Really?” Jasper asked, sounding annoyed, and Vincent latched onto the sound of his voice to help ground himself. “It’s not even new. Who knows what you put in this.”
Noah snorted. “What, like poison?” he asked dryly. “If you don’t want it, give it back. Was just trying to be nice now that you’re legal and all.”
Jasper shifted in front of him, and he hoped that meant he was giving the bottle back. He didn’t dare open his eyes again until he heard the ripping of paper, then risked looking over Jasper’s shoulder to see him holding two new games, one for his handheld and one for a console. He kept his eyes on Jasper and his presents to avoid accidentally seeing where the bottle had gone. He’d been sober for ten years, but he’d also curated his life in a way that minimized his exposure to alcohol. Even at the club, his staff knew to inform him the moment anyone checked in a bottle of liquor, and he’d put strict procedures in place both for his own safety and that of his business.
Jasper opened the rest of the presents quickly. ABDSM for Beginnersguidebook came from Keith, and Reiko gave him a package with fox ears. It was only when Jasper’s ears turned red and he shoved the box behind him that Vincent realized it was some kind of sex toy. He reached down to pluck it free, ignoring Jasper’s squawk of protest as he studied it. Fox ears and tail, complete with a vibrating plug on the end of the tail.
He slanted a quick glance at Reiko to find her smirking at him and silently cursed ever sharing one of his biggest fetishes with her. He set the package next to the chair as Jasper opened the last gift to find an envelope, only to nearly lose his eardrumswhen Jasper shouted, “No way! How did you get these? They’ve been sold out for weeks.”
“I called in a favor,” Amber replied smugly as Jasper all but threw himself at her for a hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He did a happy dance on his way back to Vincent before waving the slender pieces of paper in front of his face.
