Chapter 17
Freedom
TERRANCE
“He fits the profile.” Devon sat on Lothair’s sofa in the sunny atrium, his tablet on the coffee table in front of him. The screen went dark as the device put itself to sleep.
Lothair let out a mighty sigh. “Toby the Screamer. I would never have pegged him for a psycho.”
Devon was looking at me questioningly, waiting for my reaction.
I should be glad. Relieved. The perp was in jail, and Lothair was safe. Well, safer. With his media presence, he’d never be completely free to walk the streets without care.
“Terrance?” Devon prompted.
The problem was, I just couldn’t imagine Toby Olsen behind that wheel. “Does he have any training or experience?”
Devon frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Stunt driving, car racing, his dad was a taxi driver… Anything like that?”
Lothair tensed next to me. He understood where I was going with it.
“It all fits, Terrance,” my boss said. “I talked to the detective. It was Toby Olsen.”
“The car was stolen.”
“The police have verified that Olsen stalked Lothair in another car with stolen license plates on two different occasions.”
“But he didn’t drive like a lunatic on those occasions, did he?”
Lothair put a hand on my forearm. “Terry, let it go. The police say it was Toby, and I really want to believe them. They got him. We’re fine.”
“Have you ever seen him drive?” I asked him.
Lothair rolled his eyes at me. “No. But maybe he has a hobby. Plenty of people drive like lunatics just because they like it.”
“Not like that. He was nearly as good as you.”
“The driver obviously didn’t have shifter reflexes,” Devon said.
“He did not, I’m not saying that. But he was very good for a human, wasn’t he? Is Olsen that good a driver?”
Devon stood. “I’ll look into it just to be sure, but I’m inclined to be satisfied with this outcome, Terrance. I’ll send you the report. The evidence is convincing.”
That was the thing. It was too simple. A former lover turned stalker turned vehicular assailant. It was too much…like one of Lothair’s movies.
Lothair squeezed my hand. “Let it go, Terry.”
Was I being paranoid? Maybe Toby Olsen did have a hobby. Maybe he was that good a driver. Maybe our sabotaging his attempt to frame Lothair had really pissed him off that much. It wasn’t impossible.
“I’ll send you the report,” Devon repeated with a nod toward me.
My mate shot up and accompanied my boss to the door, shaking his hand and thanking him.
As soon as the door closed behind Devon, Lothair pointed at me, his smile growing to maniacal dimensions. “We’re going out tonight!”
I exhaled and counted to ten.
“I see it in your face, Terry. You’re about to be difficult. But not this time.”
“Lothair…”
“I’ve been an exceptional client for the entire week. Toby is in jail, and the heightened security measures are not necessary anymore. It’s Friday. We are going out! No excuses.”
He sauntered to me and hopped onto my lap as if he weren’t larger than life. Larger than me, in any case. He kissed my cheek with a loud smack.
“I want to take you out on a date,” he murmured.
“You can’t. You’re pretending to non-date Paris Olivier.”
He pouted, and I couldn’t keep my laughter in.
“We’ve been having a cozy bonding in your fuck room,” I told him in a low voice and cupped the bulge in his pants. “Why not retire there and invent new ways for two dragons to get each other off? I can’t even grope you in public, you know.”
“We’ll have dinner and drinks someplace nice, and I’ll show you my favorite hangout. Then you take me to the fuck room and have your way with me.”
Was I a fool to agree? But Lothair’s enthusiasm was infectious.
I was still smiling when he adjusted the collar of my shirt later. “You’re so handsome, Mr. Harbinger.”
He looked fabulous himself in a purple jacket and shiny pinstriped slacks.
“Ready to be wined and dined?” he asked.
“Let’s go. The sooner we’re back, the better.”
Lothair narrowed his eyes at me. “There’s no threat anymore, Terry.”
“Yes, there is. There’s always a threat.”
“Well, tonight, it’s minimal. Because the outing is unplanned, nobody but us knows where we’ll be, and my number one stalker is spending the night behind bars.”
“Still, I want to be back as soon as possible.”
“Why?” He raised his eyebrows teasingly.
With my hand on his ass, I leaned in to whisper into his ear. “I want to half shift and fuck you like a monster while you stay human.”
Lothair hummed, nuzzling my cheek. “Wine, first, you beast. I have a standing reservation in a place you’re going to love. Best steak in town.”
The steak was indeed fantastic.
After dinner at the upscale restaurant where Lothair splurged on a bottle of Bordeaux, he took me to another club.
I paused at the dark entrance where steep stairs led underground, sultry music spilling out onto the street.
“Lothair, I’m not sure this is…”
“Chill. It’s not like Rosebud. There’s no fucking going on or anything like that.” He tugged on my hand and led me inside.
Two beefy bouncers in tuxedos ushered us toward a hall lined with huge aquariums. Were we going to some dungeon version of a marine animal park?
Confused, I paused, staring at the colorful fish flitting around. Then I gasped. A young man floated toward me through the water, grinning, his pale blue eyes crinkling at the corners. He put his hands on the glass and pressed a kiss to it. Then he winked and spun around, a merman’s tail swishing…
Mermen.
“Lothair?”
“Cool, huh?” he said from behind me. “These guys are like professional divers. But sexy ones in glittery bodysuits.”
I turned around to find him watching a couple of omegas floating around in the other aquarium. One of them resurfaced, caught a breath, and dove deep again, his toned body moving through the water as if he truly were a creature of the sea.
“This is nuts.”
Lothair grinned. “I know!”
He waved at the mermen impersonators, and the boys waved back. One of them blew him a kiss, bubbles rising from his mouth.
We entered a large room with a podium in the middle.
It was dark, but my eyes quickly adjusted.
Groups of people sat in booths, most of them alphas, but there were couples too.
One group seemed to be omegas only, with one of them wearing a tiara.
A bachelor party, maybe? Based on how they were dressed, it was a very posh one.
An omega approached us and…whoa.
The stunning young man wore a white corset that just barely obscured his nipples and half-transparent white lace briefs. His soft cock was outlined in them.
Um.
He smiled at Lothair. “Mr. Courtemanche, welcome. We’ve received your booking. Your usual table is available.”
Lothair had booked a table. He must have done it while I was getting ready.
We followed the omega, and I couldn’t help but stare at his impeccable ass in those briefs.
He had long legs, ankles adorned with delicate silver chains, and feet in high-heeled sandals.
His dark-brown shoulders shimmered with glitter.
“Your server will be right with you, gentlemen.”
He gave Lothair a wink and sauntered off.
“This is very much like Rosebud, Lothair.”
My mate sat down and patted the sofa next to him. “Not at all. You can look, but you can’t touch.”
I plonked onto the seat and looked around. The servers were all omegas, dressed in corsets and skimpy underwear. Some wore stockings with garters, some had bare legs, and I noticed one boy in tights that looked painted on over his ass. It looked more indecent than bare skin.
Our server appeared, putting two menus on the table. He was short and plump, with thick thighs and a big, round ass. His corset pushed his pecs up, large nipples sticking out. I immediately imagined Lothair and me sucking on them.
I blinked.
I was being a creep, dammit.
But the omega cocked his hip, smiling at me knowingly.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to Utopia. My name is William, and I’ll be your server tonight. What would you like to start with?”
“Good evening, William,” Lothair said politely while I stared at the omega, mute. My cock was half hard.
Fuck.
What was it with Lothair and these places? Everywhere he brought me was an orgy waiting to happen. Or an actual orgy happening.
“I’ll have Sex on the Beach, and my partner will have a Slippery Nipple. Thank you, William.”
I almost swallowed my tongue.
“I’ll be right back.” The omega licked his lips and winked at me. His ass, encased in satin, bounced as he walked away.
“A Slippery Nipple?” I hissed at Lothair.
“You looked like you wanted one.”
I let out a helpless laugh. “Why do you do this to me, Lothair?”
My mate leaned in to kiss my cheek. Then he gently nipped at my earlobe. “Because I love seeing you horny.”
Just then, the dark-skinned omega who’d led us to our table walked up onto the podium. He held a small microphone.
“Welcome to Utopia.”
A gentle swell of applause followed.
“Tonight’s performer is the incredibly talented Mone.” More applause. Lothair clapped excitedly next to me. “At midnight, we have a surprise for you. Have a wonderful evening”—the omega lifted a finger and waggled his eyebrows—“and remember the rules.”
With that, he stepped off the podium, and the lights dimmed.
William, our server, brought us drinks, a sultry smile in place as he pushed his chest out toward me. He wanted me to look, so I did.
The sticky cocktail tasted too sweet. Slippery Nipple. I chuckled to myself as I put the glass on the table.
“Can I have a taste?” Lothair asked.
“Sure.”
Instead of reaching for my glass, he kissed me, pushing his tongue into my mouth.
“So sweet.”
“We’re in public,” I reminded him.
Lothair patted my thigh under the table. “Nobody can see us in this booth with the stage lights up there. Besides, they’re all looking at the podium.”
I looked up too. The lights changed color to greenish blue, illuminating a large throne that hadn’t been there before. It had carvings that looked like octopuses and thick tentacles instead of legs. In the middle of the seat sat…a dildo.