“Do you like Ash?” he finally asked, though it wasn’t at all what he wanted to know.
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “I like both Ash and Zach,” he said, and Jasper couldn’t hide his flinch. He tried to step away, but Vincent caught his wrist in an unrelenting grip. “I thought you liked them? What happened? Did Zach say something?”
He swallowed hard and stared at the lamp across the room. “I did—I do,” he said and couldn’t say anything else.
Vincent didn’t release him, his thumb rubbing a distracting circle against Jasper’s inner wrist. He finally sighed and let go, and Jasper barely resisted the need to wrap his own hand around the chill left behind. “Hot springs,” Vincent said as he headed upstairs.
Jasper stayed where he was for a long moment, waiting for Vincent to find his swim trunks and a shirt and disappear into the bathroom before trudging up the stairs to change. When Vincent came out, he followed him in silence.
It was dark enough that the few lamps along the path were on, guiding them in small bursts of soft orange light. The only sounds were their footsteps on the gravel, the wind in the leaves, and the droning crickets.
As they neared the hot springs, they crossed paths with another couple, and Jasper nearly tripped as he focused on them. A woman was on her phone, a leash in her other hand that attached to the collar of a man on all fours, naked except for a black leather dog mask and matching tail. On a second glance, Jasper noticed the knee pads, but still couldn’t help the internal wince for the man’s hands on the pebbled ground. The woman glanced up as they passed and winked at them before turning her attention back to her phone.
He couldn’t help glancing behind him after they’d passed, briefly wondering if Vincent wanted him to do something like that, but wearing the fox ears and tail had been enough. Actualpetplay didn’t seem appealing, and he really hoped that wasn’t a kind of role-play Vincent wanted.
The springs were empty when they reached them.
Vincent left his shoes and towel near a bench, the cabin key tossed into a shoe, before he stepped into the water. More lights were hidden in the rocks and bushes around the spring, but the water was dark.
Jasper lingered near the bench and momentarily wondered if snakes liked to hide in hot springs when Vincent sank into the water up to his chest. With a sigh, Jasper kicked off his own shoes near Vincent’s, then slipped into the water. It was hot and came up to his shoulders when he slumped onto a rock seat curved from the side. It might have been relaxing if he wasn’t so miserably stuck in his own head tonight. He should forget it and be happy with having Vincent all to himself for the rest of their contract, but he couldn’t help the niggling worry that Vincent might want to end it early after meeting up with his friends again.
Vincent sighed loudly enough that Jasper knew it was directed at him, and he braced himself for the worst. “I can’t fix something if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“What if it can’t be fixed?” Jasper asked, courtesy of the melodramatic voice in his head.
“It certainly won’t be if you don’t even try,” Vincent said tightly before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Will you come here at least?” he asked after a long moment.
Jasper dug his fingers into the stone beneath him, then slowly waded over to Vincent. He tried to find a place to sit beside him, but Vincent hauled him into his lap and hooked his arms tight around Jasper, like he wouldn’t be letting go anytime soon. He let out a harsh breath against Jasper’s shoulder. “You’re going to have to give me some kind of clue, pet. We’re not going back to the cabin until I understand what’s going on.”
Jasper turned his head away, but he couldn’t resist the urge to slump into Vincent’s chest for long and soon found himself with his face pressed into Vincent’s neck. “Zach said he was going to ask you to be his and Ash’s Dom, but douche canoe messed it up.”
Vincent was silent for long enough for Jasper to worry that Vincent might be considering taking them up on their offer now, but all he said was “Okay?”
“Is that what you want?” Jasper asked softly.
“Do I want to take on two more subs?” Vincent asked slowly.
Jasper swallowed hard and curled his fingers into the wet cloth of Vincent’s shirt. The fact it was soaked and turning near see-through should have been far more distracting than it was, especially when Jasper could see the darker circles of Vincent’s nipples, but his attention was on forcing out the words, “Do you want two subs?”
“I’m having enough trouble keeping up with one,” he replied dryly, turning his head to press his lips against Jasper’s temple. “I have you, so unless you’re wanting someone to play with, I’m not following.”
“You really wouldn’t prefer two subs?”
Vincent sighed and slid a hand along Jasper’s leg to hook around his knee. “I can see the appeal of it,” he said slowly, “but adding a third to this relationship isn’t exactly what it needs right now. Even if I was considering it, I would certainly have a few conversations with you first.”
“Or you could tear up the contract and do what you want,” Jasper said, the words escaping before he could think to stop them. He knew Vincent wouldn’t do that, but knowing didn’t help the fear of it.
“Tear up…? Why would I tear up our contract?” Vincent asked, a hard edge to his voice.
“You were going to before,” he whispered. He almost thought he’d have to relive those horrible few days again, when he’d made the mistake of pushing Vincent away and lying about being sick, but then Vincent curled his fingers in Jasper’s hair and tugged, forcing his head up and back to look at him.
“I said we could void the contract when you lied to me and then refused to explain what was going on,” Vincent said, his voice tight. “I am not going to tear up the contract on a whim, and I’m certainly not going to void it because I find someone else attractive. Christ.” He swore under his breath, releasing Jasper’s hair and tipping his head back as he closed his eyes.
“Sorry,” Jasper whispered, tangling his fingers together beneath the water. If not for Vincent’s other arm around his lower back he would have crawled away.
“I’m not angry at you, pet,” Vincent said before exhaling a long breath. “And thank you for telling me your concerns. For the record, I don’t want Ash or Zach as my subs, and I’m not letting you get away so easily.”
Jasper stared at the water as his body suddenly became unbearably hot, but Vincent caught his chin tipped it up.
