Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’d rather all the medical and sharp instruments be moved out of the dungeon and to one of the playrooms.” The woman pursed her lips, and he sighed again. “You disagree?”
Jasper spoke without thinking. “It might remove distractions, but it also adds time for anyone to help if something goes wrong,” he said, immediately sinking farther into the sofa when Vincent stared at him.
The woman pointed at Jasper. “What he said.”
Vincent grimaced and rubbed his forehead. “Fine,” he said tightly. “I’m ordering from Lucio’s if you can get everyone’s order.”
“Sure,” she said, wiggling her fingers at Jasper as she closed the door behind her.
Vincent stayed where he was, fingers pressed between his eyes.
Jasper gave up pretending to read the menu and cleared his throat, refusing to back down even when Vincent turned to him. He was still pissy. Great. “Can I help with anything?”
After a long moment of silence, Vincent let out a slow breath and shook his head. “No, it should all be taken care of.” He stood and moved around to sit in his chair, glancing at the monitors and then focusing on his laptop.
When the woman returned with a list of orders, Vincent phoned them in, along with Jasper’s.
The silence was almost deafening, and Jasper only managed to read two paragraphs in his textbook before nerves and curiosity finally got the better of him. A quick glance at Vincent still showed a furrow of annoyance on his face, but at least he no longer seemed one step away from violence. “Do you wanna talk about it or something?”
Vincent let out an explosive sigh and slumped in his chair, which didn’t even squeak with the sudden shifting of weight. “Not really. As much as I want to rave about people being idiots, everyone swears it was an accident.”
“People playing with scalpels are idiots?” Jasper guessed, relaxing a bit when Vincent’s annoyance shifted into amusement.
“Far be it from me to judge anyone’s kinks,” he replied dryly. “I wanted to forbid any kind of blood play in the common area, but too many members insisted on keeping it.” He ran a hand through his hair, and Jasper couldn’t help but grin when it mussed up the perfect styling.
He tossed his textbook to the other end of the sofa and moved to the desk. After he’d nudged Vincent’s chair back enough to make some space, he pushed the laptop aside and took its place. “If it was an accident, why are you still pissy over it?”
Vincent frowned at him even as he curled his hands against the backs of Jasper’s calves. “Having to call the paramedics to my place of business isn’t something I appreciate. This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid.”
“They knew the risks, though,” Jasper said. “I read the whole membership packet.” No medical equipment was owned by the club but could be bought. Anything used for blood play had to be purchased new or brought in and tagged at check-in.
Vincent’s disgruntled expression was almost comical, but Jasper managed not to laugh. “I think I’m going to punch the next person who says you’re a dick.” Which was probably going to be Matt, but he had it coming.
Vincent blinked at him, his expression shifting into something Jasper couldn’t quite name. “I’m going to be stuck here until we close,” he said, sliding his hands up to rub his palms against Jasper’s knees. “I can have the driver take you home to wait.”
Jasper did not pout. “Do you want me to leave?”
“No,” Vincent answered quietly.
“Damn right you don’t.” With a grin, Jasper leaned forward and kissed Vincent’s nose, then hopped off the desk to avoid making that any more awkward. He grabbed his book and settled on the sofa again. “I’ll wait here, then.” At least studying could be done anywhere, and the sofa wasn’t as uncomfortable as its price tag likely suggested. He dug out his earbuds, put one in, and started his music.
The hours ticked by in silence while he studied. Dinner was delicious and came with a slice of chocolate cake that earned him more than one heated glance when he moaned while eating it. Vincent was called out several times, though not for anything serious enough to piss him off again.
Jasper ended up dozing on the sofa by eleven. Which he didn’t really mind. The office was at least kept cool enough he didn’t stick to the leather.
His phone startled him awake at some point, and he fumbled beside the sofa for it. He answered it with a grumbled, “’Lo?”
“Jasper baby,” came a familiar singsong voice.
Fuck.
Jasper sat up, almost instantly awake and hating it. “You don’t get to call me that,” he snapped, scrubbing at his eyes.
“Oh, baby, don’t be like that,” Shayne cooed, making Jasper grind his teeth. “It’s beenages.”
“It’s been four months.” Not that Jasper was counting.
Shayne made a protesting sound. “I miss you.”
