Chapter 7 - Predator
Predator
“Do you drink coffee?” William asked as he studied the selection of pods next to the fancy coffee maker.
A heavy weight had lifted from his shoulders after their talk, which he owed to Adathan’s courage.
Paired with the cozy blanket of numbness the champagne had wrapped him in, he found himself bordering on euphoric—a welcome feeling after the day he’d had.
“I’ve never had coffee before.”
William looked over his shoulder. “Really? Wanna try it?”
Adathan took a sip from his water bottle and smiled. “I would love to!”
William returned his smile before reaching for a decaf pod. He had to admit that making Adathan try new things was kind of fun. Maybe having him around wouldn’t be so weird after all.
He made a decaf latte for Adathan and a dark roast cappuccino for himself, into which he poured a generous dose of Irish cream.
He cleared the table, piling their dirty dishes next to the untouched desserts they wouldn’t finish.
They served as a reminder that he shouldn’t make decisions while he was worked up.
At least he wasn’t paying for his impulsiveness this time.
He sat down and slid the latte toward Adathan, who took it with both hands and inhaled its scent with a smile. Adathan took a sip, and this time, William didn’t need to see his toes to tell he liked it.
“Mmm. It’s really good,” Adathan said.
William took a sip. Velvety milk blended with the nutty, caramel notes of coffee and Irish cream, filling his mouth with bliss. Really good was an understatement. “I made you a decaf, otherwise you’d probably end up sprinting across the ceiling.”
Adathan giggled. “That sounds fun.”
William still remembered when he and Oliver first had coffee. They’d turned into two hyperactive daredevils with too much energy for their own good. “You can experiment once we get home,” he said with a grin. “There’s plenty of caffeine in my kitchen.”
Adathan breathed a dreamy sigh as he watched William drink his cappuccino. He really was too easy to please, but right now, William didn’t care.
“So . . .” Adathan began after a moment of silence.
“Hmm?”
“Have you given my question any thought?”
William raised an eyebrow. “Your question?”
“What you like to do to relax?”
Oh. Right.
William took a sip and shrugged. “Guess I like reading from time to time.”
Adathan joined his hands with a big smile. “I enjoy reading too! What are your favorite genres?”
“I read mysteries mostly. What about you? Did you get to read a lot of books while you were in training?”
“Yes! Acquiring a wide variety of knowledge is an important part of our training.”
William felt his hope reserves fill back up. If Adathan were educated, it would be even easier for him to integrate into society as a free man. “Really? Like what?”
“General knowledge that allows us to better serve our masters. For instance, familiarity with the different cultures, religions, and social etiquettes from around the world. We also read about history, science, gastronomy, nature, pets, healthcare . . .”
So far, so good.
“. . . music, literature, psychology, sex—”
“They made you read about sex?” William blurted stupidly. Why was he even surprised? Of course they made them read about sex.
Adathan took a sip. “Mm-hmm! Sex is a natural part of life.”
He wasn’t exactly wrong, but sexual abuse wasn’t. William was willing to bet there was no mention of consent whatsoever in those texts, or any depictions of safe and healthy practices for that matter.
“Do you like sex, William?”
William choked on his coffee. “That’s not—”
How the hell was he supposed to tell Adathan that friends didn’t ask each other whether they liked sex? William was far too blunt. He’d only make Adathan feel self-conscious about his ability to behave like a normal person.
Oliver had a natural talent for this sort of thing. William would have to ask him to coach Adathan on appropriate conversation topics later.
Until then, William’s objective to make Adathan feel comfortable was still a priority, so he reluctantly answered, “Y-yeah. As you said, it’s a natural part of life.”
“I like sex too.”
William’s breath caught, a rush of heat shooting up his neck.
His gaze dropped to Adathan’s mouth, his pulse quickening as Adathan’s tongue poked out and traced his lips—slowly, so very slowly.
William took a sip of his cappuccino, but it did little to distract him from the way Adathan tucked his hair over his shoulder, revealing the curve of his smooth, delicate neck.
William leaned forward as tingles stirred in his lower abdomen. What was wrong with him? Adathan was brainwashed. He was used. He was abused.
What the fuck are you doing, William scolded his dick. He wasn’t a creep. It had just been far too long since he’d gotten laid. He’d have to remedy that as soon as possible . . .
. . . which would be a challenge with Adathan living with him.
Fuck.
“Do you want to—”
“Watch TV?” William said as he sprang to his feet.
He didn’t wait for Adathan’s answer before heading toward the sofa and taking a seat.
He’d put on a documentary, and then they’d have loads of topics to talk about that weren’t sex-related.
Like the fact that corals were in fact animals, and, and . . .
Fuck. Where was the remote?
William stared at Adathan as he walked straight to the bed and climbed on it. Hadn’t William made it clear he wasn’t interested in having sex? Would he have to spell it out for Adathan to understand?
William’s fingers dug into his knees as he watched Adathan crawl toward the center of the king-size mattress. He had to stop him—now—before Adathan started undressing.
Wait, no. Don’t be stupid. He probably just wants to watch TV in bed.
But wouldn’t he need permission for that?
Maybe not right now—he was in “person” mode.
Oh.
William suppressed a nervous laugh as Adathan held up the remote. He could be such an idiot, seriously. For all he knew, Adathan had no intention of suggesting they have sex in the first place. He wouldn’t like to be in Adathan’s shoes right now; his reactions must be so confusing.
Adathan gave him a smile as he walked to the living room area, and William offered what he hoped was a convincing one in return.
William accepted the remote and willed his heart to calm the fuck down as Adathan headed back to the dining table.
Adathan returned with their mugs and sat down next to him, once again close enough for his enticing scent to reach William’s nose.
The concept of personal space was another thing Oliver would have to educate Adathan about.
William turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, quickly finding what he was looking for.
Adathan gasped, cradling his mug in his bandaged hands. “I love tigers! They’re so majestic and powerful.”
“Yeah,” William said, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. His gaze locked onto Adathan’s neck again, his cheeks warming as he imagined what it would feel like to softly drag his lips across his skin. William swallowed, his eyes trailing down Adathan’s clavicle to the plane of his chest.
He tore his gaze away, brow furrowing slightly. Were the first two buttons of Adathan’s shirt undone before? Had William just failed to notice, or did Adathan unbutton them while he wasn’t looking?
William mentally shook himself. He was being paranoid. He had no doubt that Adathan would readily offer himself if William asked, but that didn’t mean Adathan was straight-up trying to seduce him against his will.
William glanced at the manual he’d left on the bed.
If there was an entire chapter about the Serviteurs’ reproductive organs, surely there had to be documentation about their sexuality in general.
William wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they were encouraged to tempt their masters, but he didn’t want to assume anything without proof.
He couldn’t trust his judgment right now.
His mental exhaustion and the alcohol were messing with his head.
But there was no way for him to read about that specific topic without Adathan noticing. It would give him the wrong idea, like William was browsing a menu to pick whichever sex act he wanted him to perform first.
William couldn’t text Oliver either. His guilt would be written all over his face as he asked him about fucking sex slavery.
Shit.
Adathan leaned forward to set his mug on the coffee table, his open shirt giving William a clear view of his toned, hairless chest. Those two buttons most definitely hadn’t been undone before—William would have noticed.
Could the company’s assessment hold a speck of truth? Was Adathan manipulative?
Calm down.
He was blowing this way out of proportion. Why would Adathan even want to manipulate him into having sex?
Nothing made sense, and it was driving William nuts. He couldn’t deny that there appeared to be some kind of sexual tension in the air, but what if he was just imagining it?
That was probably it. Everything would be fine as long as William stayed calm.
Adathan was entirely focused on the TV now, watching tiger cubs chase each other around their exhausted mother.
William just needed to do the same: sit back and relax while the TV fed him wondrous images of their mesmerizing world.
It didn’t work.
The more William tried not to think about sex, the more worked up he got. It would only be a matter of time before Adathan noticed the swelling bulge in his pants. Adathan had firmly offered his support when William was distressed earlier. What if he straight-up offered to jerk him off?
William glanced at the bathroom door. Should he pretend he needed to use the bathroom and hastily deal with the situation? The prospect was tempting, and now his erection was almost out of his control as he imagined releasing his tension. This was a disaster.