“Do you promise to answer it honestly?” he pressed, wanting to keep Aiden talking.
Aiden pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’m not in the habit of lying,Mr. Howe.”
Fuck. What was it about Aiden saying ‘Mr. Howe’ that made the blood in Darren’s veins thrum and pool south to his dick?
“Or give straightforward answers,” he challenged, shifting in the chair to conceal his growing erection.
Aiden opened his mouth but didn’t speak, seeming to reconsider whatever he had been about to say. “Interesting observation,” he settled on, a ghost of a frown passing over his features.
“Onethat you are not denying.”
“Perhaps.”
With a stifled smirk, Darren let the conversation die when Aiden raised an eyebrow expectantly. He focused on the order, tapping items on the holographic screen. He contemplated having a look at Aiden’s private files, but his planned intrusion of the man’s privacy didn’t go anywhere as Aiden had limited the accessible programs to the catalog window only.That fox. Darren could circumvent the access lock, but he didn’t think he had sufficient time on his hands for that, so he didn’t bother trying.
“Mr. Howe,” Aiden clipped about two hours later, lifting his gaze from the tablet and aiming a small scowl Darren’s way. “I’m positive I told you to order only things that we need. I am certain that two hundred clay pottery sets doesn’t fulfill that requirement.”
“I don’t know, warden. Some of the guys strike me as the creative hands-on type.”
“I take it you’ve finished then?” Aiden ignored the comment, tapping away on the tablet. The pottery sets disappeared from the shopping basket on the screen. After a few moments to study the rest, he placed the order. “Looks like the rest is as it should be. Delivery will be between six and seven tomorrow evening, so I’d like your assistance with that at the storage bay.” He smiled, this one downright evil. “And I hope you are ready for the in-class test.”
A test? “Whattest?” Darren demanded, arching an eyebrow in confusion.
“The one tomorrow,” Aiden said sweetly.
“I wasn’t aware there was going to be one.”
“Now you are.”
True, but it didn’t make it suck any less. Darren didn’t hate tests, was decent at them too, but he wasn’t dying from enthusiasm to have them so often either. “Are you going to include questions from the previous lessons like last time? Or just this week’s?”
“What do you think, Mr. Howe?”
“That’s a yes then.”
Aiden stood up and held the tablet to his chest like a clipboard. “It’s a good way to make sure the material has been properly understood.” A notification had him glancing at the screen. “You’re free to go. And…” He regarded Darren with a mischievous glint in his eyes that felt a lot like a dare. “Perhaps my withholding of this information from Mr. Owens will allow you to place first this time around.”
Darren’s eyes went wide. Had Aiden noticed his and Nyle’s rivalry? The man certainly was observant. “Or perhaps telling Nylemyselfis what I will do instead. I don’t playdirty.”
Aiden hummed, unconvinced. “What you do with the information is up to you.” He tapped his slender fingers on the tablet’s back and Darren couldn’t help the rush of images of them digging into his back as Aiden alternated between raspy moans of ‘Mr. Howe’ and ‘Darren’ while Darren fucked him senseless.
“I’ll see you in class, warden,” he said and left without asking his question, his jumpsuit already feeling too tight.
Chapter 15
Nyle beat Darren bytwo points again.Two fucking points, just like last time. That devil twink genius was a formidable opponent, giving Darren a run for his money. And worst of all? Aiden’s outright amused expression when he’d announced the results and looked Darren’s way suggested he knew exactly how annoyed Darren was for losing. But at least he was the one those mocking smiles were acknowledging while Nyle got nothing.
After class, Darren left his stuff in his cell before accompanying Aiden to the storage area. The delivery crates were unloaded when they arrived, so he started checking that everything was there and instructing the three guards where to put what. Meanwhile, Aiden updated the prison’s supply records.
By the time stocktaking was done, the guards had moved everything and returned to their posts.
“We all done then?” Darren said, feeling glistering sweat on his face and arms. Heavy lifting in his thick jumpsuit hadn’t been a great idea, though the filtration and air systems housed in this part of the facility were partially at fault, too, making the whole place stuffy as a sauna.
“Yeah…” Aiden replied, eyes still concentrated on the tablet.
He tugged the top button of his dark gray-blue uniform free and loosened it, letting the damp skin underneath breathe. The material was probably just as thick as that of the prison’s jumpsuits and Darren was beyond baffled how the man wasn’t boiling.
“So—”
