Vincent basically wanted to put him on display. A year ago he would have balked at the idea, but now…? If Vincent wanted to publicly claim him, he was okay with that.
“Any of these that don’t show my face are fine,” he said quietly, his attention lingering on the color one of him and Vincent, eyes locked on each other. He remembered the moment. It was hard to forget when he’d been tied to a tree and about to be blindfolded and posed for photos while mostly naked. He was sure it’d been amoment, even without trying to read too much into their expressions.
“Yeah?” Vincent asked, glancing over with an eyebrow raised in surprise.
Jasper shrugged. “Unless someone sees me standing shirtless beside them they won’t be able to tell it’s me, right?”
“Probably.”
He nodded and carefully slid the pictures back into the envelope, then poked the other package. “Can I open this?”
Vincent hummed and turned away from the sandwiches. “Yes,” he said, wiping his hands on a towel on his way over. Jasper expected him to say something else, but he only stood beside the table and waited.
His stomach did a weird little flip-flop. He pulled the box closer and got it open, then stared at the black links for a moment as he worked out what it was. “Is this….” He picked it up, running his fingers over the smooth twists of metal. It wasn’t anything like the collars he saw every weekend at the club, but surely Vincent wouldn’t give him a necklace without some kind of meaning behind it.
Vincent shifted beside the table and cleared his throat. “It’s a day collar.”
Jasper finally looked up. “Day collar?”
“Most of the collars you see are specifically for scenes. This,” he said, reaching out to touch the collar, “is meant to be worn all the time.”
“All the time?” Heat clenched in his stomach, and he sucked in a ragged breath. “You’re really collaring me?”
Vincent stepped closer, lifting his hand from the collar to tangle in Jasper’s hair. “Yes,” he said with a low growl that didn’t ease the clenching heat in the least. A soft whine built in Jasper’s throat and escaped when Vincent tightened his fingers and tugged. “You’re mine, Jas. If having a collar around your neck all day every day as proof of that helps convince you I’m not letting you go, all the better.”
This couldn’t be real. Barely six months ago he’d been single and brokenhearted, needing something he could barely name.
“You can officially move in, if you want.”
Then he met Vincent, had an amazing night learning exactly what he’d been missing, and started down the path that lead to this moment of Vincent laying a real and tangible claim on him.
“Are you going to say something?”
“Yes,” he breathed. “Please.” He lifted the box in a wordless request for Vincent to put the collar on him.
Vincent straightened and picked up the collar. The clasp wasn’t the usual hook but one that screwed together. It was heavier than Jasper expected when it settled around his neck, the metal cool against his skin.
He hooked two fingers over the chain and felt something release inside him as the metal warmed.
Once the collar was fastened, Vincent straightened and hooked his own finger in the black and silver rings dangling over the hollow of Jasper’s throat. “It looks good,” he murmured, giving an experimental tug.
The bolt of hot pleasure was expected, but it still coaxed a moan out of Jasper. The thought of Vincent always having an easy way to drag him closer was as thrilling as it was worrying.
He dropped his hands to his lap and tipped his head back. “All yours, Master Vincent,” he said and was rewarded with a slow kiss that left him breathless and unable to think of anything but how utterly lucky he was. What more could he possibly ask for?
Epilogue
JASPER STARTEDthe washer and grabbed the basket of dried clothes, using his hip to shut the dryer door. A month since he’d officially moved in. A month since he gathered up his meager belongings from both his old home and Amber’s and put them away in the spare room Vincent had given him.
He didn’t know what was being done with his father’s house. He’d left it to Amber to sort out since she was technically his half sister, which was still difficult to wrap his head around. The only inheritance was debt, so he’d taken his personal possessions and washed his hands of the rest.
The only good thing to come out of the past few months, other than his living situation, was that he and Noah had reconnected. His brother was trying to piece his life back together, trying to get clean of the drugs even if he refused to give up alcohol. It was a start at least. He even came over to hang out every once in a while, though Jasper had made it clear if he brought drugs or alcohol into Vincent’s home, they were done. It was a tentative start to getting his own life where he wanted it to be.
Classes started in a couple of weeks, and he was almost used to having access to a driver. Vincent had hired a second until Jasper got a license and car of his own, and he suspected that would happen sooner than he could afford if the not-so-subtle questions about what kind of cars Jasper liked was any indication. He’d promised to kick Vincent’s ass if he bought him a new car and only got an amused twitch of lips in return.
He doubted he’d ever get used to how rich Vincent was, much less receiving expensive gifts, and he definitely didn’t wantto take advantage like Adam had, butmaybeletting Vincent buy him things once in a while was okay. Might have even been nice when he wasn’t having a panic attack over price tags.
He hooked a finger over his collar as he turned, the metal warm from his body heat. Every time he thought he was getting used to it, Vincent would hook a leash to it, or his finger, or attach a charm or something to the circle, and the weight would be noticeable all over again.
