“I’m not, I just know what I like.” And FPS games definitely weren’t it.
“Oh-ho.” Zach eyed him with a considering look before grinning. “All right. Let’s try something else, then.” He rolled to his feet and picked out a different game to pop into the console.
As he was setting up, Jasper idly circled the joystick on his controller with his thumb. “Can I ask…. You don’t really seem like a Dom.”
Zach laughed. “No, I’m not. I’m mostly a sub, but I get the occasional urge to switch.”
Jasper frowned and tilted his head. “What about Ash’s collar?”
He hummed and glanced towards the door to the basement with a wry twist of his lips. “That’s more of a promise than anything. I’m slightly less subby than Ash, but it helps that I’m imaginative and also know what I like.”
He grinned when Jasper eyed him in confusion. “We don’t really make sense, but we work. Honestly, for a while in college, I considered asking Vincent to take us both on as his subs, but fuckface kinda fucked that up. And then even after that ended, we were already settled here, and we both prefer this to a city.” He raised an eyebrow when Jasper could only stare. “What?”
“Two subs,” he said, still stuck on how that could possibly work. The rest of what Zach said went mostly unheard.
Zach smirked. “What, you wouldn’t want another sub to play with?”
“No,” he said, far too quickly judging by Zach’s snicker. The last thing he wanted was to have to share Vincent with someone else. He hardly got enough of him for himself as it was.
Zach started the game, and for a while Jasper was focused on learning the controls. Puzzle games weren’t really his thingeither, but at least it was better than the chaos of trying to shoot people. But the downside was it wasn’t fast-paced enough to keep his mind from wandering.
What if Vincent would prefer another sub? Not like that was something he’d mention. Or would he? That felt like something that would go in a contract. Or was Vincent waiting until the next one to bring something like that up? He hadn’t been too forthcoming with things he liked so far, and Jasper hoarded each insight like the precious gems they were. But would Vincent even mention that kind of preference, or would Jasper find out by some throwaway comment in the middle of a scene?
“Uh-oh,” Zach murmured. “I know that look.”
“What?”
“C’mon, don’t fret about it. I’m sure you’re more than enough for Master Vincent to handle,” he said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.
Jasper rolled his eyes. “Why do you call him Master Vincent?”
“Mm, ’cause that’s the proper way to address him.” Zach tilted his head, eyeing Jasper with a sly grin. “You don’t call him Master?”
“I have a few times, but usually I call him Sir.”
Zach let out a longhmmbut didn’t respond. They fell silent for a while as they played the game, then he asked, “Why don’t you call him Master?”
Jasper shrugged, ignoring the heat creeping into his cheeks. “Shouldn’t I have a collar for that?” he asked, regretting it the moment he caught Zach’s grin in the corner of his eye.
“Do you want a collar?”
Jasper absently touched his throat, but it was nothing like the warm press of Vincent’s hand. The nonthreat of pressure that never quite choked or made him gasp for air from more than the thrill. He enjoyed how collars looked and the weightof them. He especially loved when Vincent snagged his tie and pulled it like a leash. “Maybe,” he said.
Zach snorted. “Uh-huh.”
Jasper huffed and dropped his hand as he turned back to trying to solve the current puzzle. When he finally realized it’d been over an hour, and Vincent and Ash hadn’t come back, he started to wonder if maybe Vincent was enjoying being around a sub who actually knew how to be a sub. Ash was quiet, but he seemed nice, so Jasper couldn’t really blame him.
Vincent had already given him more than anyone else had in a relationship. He’d never even been on a vacation before now, much less been so well taken care of. And not only sexually. Even cooking or reading or watching TV together was enjoyable.
He ignored the side-eyed glances from Zach as he failed his part of a simple puzzle twice.
By the time Vincent and Ash reappeared, Jasper was ready to go back to their own cabin, though his thoughts kept circling the same black hole. What if being near Zach and Ash reminded Vincent what having a real sub was like? What if he decided Jasper really wasn’t worth the effort anymore? What if on top of losing his bastard of a father, he lost Vincent, too, at the end of this?
It wasn’t until he finished cleaning up after dinner and Vincent grasped his chin that he realized how much time he’d lost in his own head.
“Not that I don’t enjoy the quiet, but what’s wrong?”
He blinked at Vincent, opening his mouth on aNothingbefore snapping it shut. Their contract was for a year. Surely he could trust Vincent to keep him at least that long. But what about after? He’d told himself he didn’t need to worry about that yet, but would Vincent be bored of him enough by then to find a new sub? Maybe he’d keep Jasper around while he trained a new sub.
