“Do you want me to punish or discipline you if you make a mistake?”
No! was his initial reaction, but he wasn’tcompletelynaive when it came to this stuff; he’d done some deeper research the past few weeks. Besides the draw of being tied up and helpless, he wanted the assurance of being with someone who would tell him when he did something wrong rather than decide he wasn’t worth the trouble anymore. “Yes?”
He shivered as Vincent’s eyes darkened, as if the thought of punishing Jasper was a huge turn-on. Or maybe he was wanting to give that assurance as much as Jasper craved it. His stomach swooped like the ground had disappeared, but somehow he couldn’t imagine regretting this particular decision.
Vincent dragged him in for a kiss, and Jasper moaned at the intensity of it. Every time, Vincent proved to be an amazing kisser, and this one was no different. Vincent kissed him like he wanted to claim Jasper’s very essence with his lips.
That was almost as distracting as his next thought that made him pull back with a grin. “Does this count as makeup sex?”
Vincent laughed and tumbled him to the bed. Once he’d pinned him down, he showed Jasper how absolutely mind-blowing makeup sex could be.
CHAPTER TWENTY
JASPER’S SUITarrived earlier than expected. As soon as his driver dropped Jasper off at the club, Vincent sent him up to his office to change into it while Vincent walked the club. The evening was already busy, a steady flow of members coming in for a quick scene, and several who lingered for the community. Applications continued piling up—to the point he’d need to hire extra staff soon, both to curate and process applications, and to monitor the floor.
Members stopped him to chat as he made a round through the play area. Some even asked after Jasper, which surprised and pleased him, and left him bemused. He hadn’t made any effort to keep his contract a secret, but he’d forgotten how quickly gossip spread; he’d been blissfully free from it for years.
And like that, fate answered his temptation with a loud and clearFuck you.
He stepped out of the dungeon and glanced towards the bar, freezing as he caught sight of Adam.
Tension seized every one of his muscles, the familiar fight-or-flight instincts warring against each other.
As if sensing him, Adam turned and smiled, all bright white teeth and sanctimonious green eyes. He sidled up to Vincent’s side before Vincent had fully accepted that he was real. “There you are,” he said, taking the liberty of clasping his fingers around Vincent’s wrist. “You’ve been ignoring me.”
That touch was enough for it to sink in that Adam had really found a way into his club, despite not being a member and having never been active in the local community. He stared at the offending fingers until they released him, then finally managed to pull himself together enough to stare at Adam.
He hadn’t changed much, and Vincent wasn’t sure if that was disappointing or not. After four years together, he would have liked to think his absence had left some kind of mark, but Adam was obviously as skilled at getting his needs met now as he had been while living with Vincent.
Adam took his silence in stride and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not still mad, are you? I expected you to call meagesago.”
Vincent couldn’t do more than blink as he fought against the sensation of the walls closing in around him. Come again? Why in the ever-loving-fuck would he do that? Why was Adamhere?
“Don’t look at me like that. I know you missed me. We were so good together.” Adam touched Vincent’s wrist again, tilting his head and adding one of his seductive smiles. The one that had rarely failed to make Vincent drop everything, including his pants. Except it wasn’t so seductive now. More like a starving piranha spotting a drowned elephant. “You can’t tell me you haven’t missed me.”
“Sure I can,” he replied, as surprised as Adam looked and more than a little relieved he’d managed to get the words out.
Adam recovered quickly. He even had the audacity to inch his fingers up Vincent’s arm, skirting around the area of his scars with a familiar avoidance that set Vincent’s teeth on edge. “What I’msaying,” he said in a slow manner Vincent remembered all too well, “is that I’ll take you back.”
Vincent twisted out of Adam’s grip with as much grace as he could manage when all he wanted was to scrub his arm with bleach. He struggled to find something, anything, to say, but his mind was blank. Then Jasper slipped between them, pressing into Vincent’s chest and tipping his head back in an obvious demand for a kiss. Without hesitating, he leaned into Jasper’s warmth, tugging him closer with a hand on his hip, and kissed him.
Jasper grinned when they broke apart. “Hi.”
“Hello, pet,” he replied, pressing his lips to Jasper’s temple and inhaling. He felt like he’d just surfaced after being underwater for hours and could finally breathe again. If he’d doubted for a moment that breaking things off with Adam had been a mistake, the warmth he felt in Jasper’s presence was a stark reminder that it’d been the right choice. The effect each of them had on him wasn’t even comparable.
When Adam cleared his throat, it was obnoxiously loud.
Jasper raised an eyebrow at Vincent, tilting his head inquisitively. He must have found some kind of answer on Vincent’s face, because he turned to Adam. “Dude,” he said, “even I know desperation when I see it.”
Adam’s eyes widened, and his face flushed with splotches of red. “Excuse me,” he said, somehow managing to sound politely curious while his eyes promised violence, “who are you?”
Vincent couldn’t see Jasper’s expression, but he didn’t need to when Jasper replied, “An upgrade, and I’m the only one allowed to touch Master Vincent.”
Vincent didn’t quite manage to stifle the noise that came with the jolt of surprise and pleasure at hearingMasteron Jasper’s lips. His arm slid around Jasper’s waist of its own volition, keeping him close.
A muscle in Adam’s cheek twitched as he eyed Jasper in clear disdain. “I see,” he said, deliberately dismissing Jasper and turning his attention back to Vincent. “I’d like to speak with you. Alone.”
“I’m busy,” Vincent replied, trying to sound apologetic. He missed and landed somewhere closer to “Go fuck yourself.”
