“You are mine,” he said, the low, rough edge to his voice sending shivers down Jasper’s spine. Goose bumps broke out on his arms despite the heat. “Is that what you needed to hear?”
He stifled a whimper and tried to nod, but Vincent’s fingers on his chin forced him to whisper, “Yes, Sir.”
“Aside from assuming I would toss you aside or bring someone else into my bed, is there anything else we need to address?” Jasper hesitated a moment too long because Vincent raised an eyebrow. “If I ask Zach what all you talked about, is he going to mention something else?”
Jasper glared. “I don’t know. Is he a snitch?”
“If I force his hand he might.”
He managed to turn his head enough to bite Vincent’s finger. A muffled sound of surprise escaped when Vincent twisted it farther into his mouth to press on his tongue. He latched on to Vincent’s arm with both hands but didn’t try to pull him away.
Vincent slowly traced his tongue with a fingertip before pulling it out and dragging the wet tip across Jasper’s lips. “Are you going to answer me, pet?”
“Collars,” he breathed, flicking his tongue against Vincent’s finger when it passed over his lips again.
“What about collars?”
“I like them.”
Vincent snorted quietly and flicked Jasper’s nose. “I’m aware.”
Jasper blinked and managed to focus enough to glare at him. “You’ve never put one on me. A real one, I mean.”
Vincent studied him in silence long enough to make him squirm. Finally he said, “Would that be enough to convince you I’m not going to tear up the contract without warning?”
“Maybe,” he said softly, though he didn’t sound very convincing even to himself.
Vincent settled his hand on Jasper’s throat, reducing him to a gasping mess of want with barely any pressure. He let go too quickly and tapped Jasper’s thigh. “Is that all?”
Jasper nodded with a faint, “Yes, Sir.” He touched his fingers to his throat with a soft sigh and slumped into Vincent. He drifted in a not-quite doze to the burbling of water and a chorus of crickets. Eventually he turned his head to press his face into Vincent’s neck. “Sorry,” he murmured.
“For what, pet?”
Jasper shrugged. “Being shit at communicating?”
Vincent flexed his fingers against Jasper’s hip. “That is definitely something we need to work on.”
He lifted his head with a stifled groan, not looking forward to what that meant in the least.
“Ready to head back?”
They hadn’t been there long, but the heat was already going to his head. Or maybe that was the effect Vincent had on him. He slid off Vincent’s lap and climbed out, shaking water off his arms on the way to his towel. The walk back to the cabin was silent, but when he reached for Vincent’s hand, he threaded their fingers together rather than pull away, so Jasper stepped close enough that their arms brushed as they walked. At least if he was going to screw things up every few weeks, Vincent was understanding enough to get them past it. But Jasper was really going to have to do better if he had any chance of making it to another contract.
Chapter 23
VINCENT PICKEDthrough the selection of collars in the playroom with growing dismay. They were all simple, cheap leather or metal. Vincent couldn’t exactly expect high quality considering they were free for any guests to use, but if he was going to put a collar on Jasper, he wanted it to be a good one, even if it was temporary.
Maybe he should wait until they were back home. Especially since he had a feeling neither of them would want to remove a collar once it was in place. He wouldn’t want Jasper removing it even to go to classes or work, which left most of the leather ones out of the question as too obvious. He’d need a day collar that functioned more like a fashionable necklace.
Giving up on finding a suitable collar here as a lost cause, he headed back upstairs and settled on the bed next to a still-sleeping Jasper. He picked up his phone and waited for it to turn on, then browsed one of his usual stores for kink supplies. They had a decent selection of collars, but none of them called to him. After several minutes of searching in vain, he pulled up one of the specialty sites with a good reputation in the community. Their collar selection was bigger, and he immediately spotted a few that could work, but he didn’t want a simple silver band.
Stylish leather didn’t feel right either; it needed to have some weight to it. Something Jasper wouldn’t be able to ignore easily even when he was used to wearing it.
Jasper stirred beside him, waking enough to roll over and octopus his limbs around Vincent’s legs with a sleepy grumble before dozing off again.
Vincent dropped a hand to his head, absently running his fingers through Jasper’s hair as he continued browsing. Studs and spikes were out of the question. So were the wide bands with a ring in the center. The ones with a lock were too on the nose even for him.
Finally he found one crafted from woven links of black stainless steel and hovered his thumb over it for a moment before bringing it up. Instead of a single ring in the center it had a double ring. The larger outer ring was a simple solid black circle while the inner ring was interwoven silver like the metal had been twisted around itself until it formed a tight circle. It looked sturdy, and the ring was fashionable while still doubling as a place to hook a leash. Or a finger. There was nowhere to put an engraving, but that was fine. He didn’t need to be promising Jasper a forever in so many words. Not until Jasper could trust him not to cancel the contract on a whim, anyway.
