Chapter 7
Grim
Grim was over the moon. They shared a meal, and as Andrey allowed more physical contact by the minute, Grim’s libido was doing flip-flops all over his body. It turned his blood into searing heat and made even the simple act of driving somewhat difficult, but the conversation was flowing, and with Andrey smiling so beautifully, Grim’s attention was split between his face and the forbidden place below Andrey’s knees.
They found somewhere else to shop, and Andrey left the store with a whole bag of necessities Grim gladly paid for. He couldn’t have just anyone looking at the gorgeous stumps, judging and pitying Andrey without the tenderness and care that Grim had for him. Grim knew people’s stares made Andrey feel naked, Coy had told him the same thing more than once.
By the time it started getting dark, Grim was intent on finding them a better place to sleep than a regular motel. Andrey deserved a bit of pampering after what he’d been through, and it had been already established that Grim’s attentions were painting a smile on his face, so they ended up renting a suite in a fancy place.
Andrey wheeled into the room and only then pulled back the hood of his new grey sweatshirt. Grim somewhat regretted that Andrey wouldn’t be wearing his clothes anymore, but the new hoodie fit Andrey better.
Their suite consisted of a bedroom and an adjoining living room furnished with a coffee table, sofa, and other trimmings. It had more than enough space for Andrey to move around in his new wheelchair, so Grim was sure his bird would appreciate the gesture.
“Wow, this place is nice.” Andrey started looking around the elegant brown and beige room, and Grim couldn’t wait to see Andrey’s hair, now pulled into a tight knot, all over the pillows, creating the perfect frame for Andrey’s flushed face. Judging by how well this day went, more than a kiss would be happening tonight.
“Only the best for you,” said Grim, locking the door behind them. He put the bag containing a baseball bat he purchased at the sports store on the table. Andrey looked so good on the new wheelchair. Grim didn’t want to say that out loud, but this particular model seemed really harmonious with Andrey’s overall body shape. Not too chunky, but not too lithe either. Perfect. So fucking perfect Grim could kneel in front of it and suck Andrey off right here and now.
“Oh, my God …” Andrey whispered and slowly rolled toward the floor-length window by the king-sized bed. A blood orange sunset was framed by brown curtains, and the light warmed up Grim’s face as he looked at it.
“What?” Grim walked up to him and slowly sank down on one knee, sliding his arm over the firm shoulders. It felt so right to be close like that. If it weren’t so painful for Andrey, Grim would lock his little bird away from the world so no one would ever hurt him again.
“I haven’t seen a sunset in forever.” Andrey reached up and squeezed Grim’s fingers on his shoulder, never looking away from the window.
Grim exhaled. “What? Weren’t you allowed to go on walks around the compound?”
Andrey shook his head. “Gary only let me go as far as his underground apartment. They probably didn’t want me to see all the shit that went on there. From what I did see … I didn’t want to be anywhere outside, unless it would mean leaving altogether.”
Grim swallowed hard, his mind wandering to the horror he too had seen during the raid. Andrey’s only hope had been playing by his sick “boyfriend’s” rules if he didn’t want to end up like some of the other prisoners. What if Andrey got too old for the taste of his viewers? What if no one wanted him after Gary found a new boy toy? Grim was sick even thinking about the possible outcomes.
“That’s why you’re so pale,” sighed Grim, hugging Andrey gently. “You need to use your sunscreen.”
Andrey reached out and petted Grim’s nape, awakening the predatory instincts hidden under Grim’s skin. The touch of those warm fingers made his balls tighten. He’d almost purred.
“No. I want to be tan. I want to feel alive.”
“Yeah, but we don’t want sunburn either. You probably forgot how much that hurts,” said Grim, brushing his lips against Andrey’s ear as his eyes strayed to the stumps, barely visible from where he was. His mind kept going back and forth between being with Andrey and fantasizing about those lovely legs touching him.
Andrey shrugged. “Can’t be that bad. When’s the last time you got sunburnt?”
Grim laughed and kissed Andrey’s cheekbone, inhaling his scent. There was something almost milky about it, so intoxicating Grim barely stopped himself from reaching into Andrey’s lap. “Last summer. I had skin falling off my forearms.”
“When I was a kid and got sunburn, I used to eat the dry flaky skin. Do you think that’s disgusting?” Andrey tore his eyes away from the sun and looked at Grim.
Grim smirked. His attention was now completely focused on Andrey’s eyes and what they were telling him. “No. When I was a kid, I would eat earthworms.”
Andrey laughed loudly, and the relaxed expression gave a whole new dimension to his face. “That’s horrible. Why would you do that?”
Grim sucked in his cheeks and massaged Andrey’s shoulder. It relieved some of the tension that sank its teeth into his muscles from being constantly on the edge of arousal. “This kid living next to me I told you about, Coy. I wanted to make him laugh because he was housebound.”
“That’s pretty sweet. For a murderer. Guess you were predisposed for this already.”
Grim was surprised and turned on by Andrey’s directness at the same time. “I’m not a murderer. Never hurt a soul that didn’t deserve what was coming.”
Andrey nodded and shifted in the chair, giving Grim goose bumps when he saw the stumps move below the knees. “Some people just don’t deserve to live. I wouldn’t usually say that, but I know you understand, right?”
Grim nodded, pressing his nose into the crevice between Andrey’s eye and nose. He’d wear Andrey’s hide on his body if it didn’t mean that Andrey would suffer and die because of it. He’d glove his hands with Andrey’s and experience every fragment of that soft skin from the inside. “Yeah. There are bad people out there. Some have no remorse. Others ... don’t care. Both are equally guilty and deserve to die.”
Grim was hard already when Andrey cupped his face with those smooth fingers, and their lips met in a gentle kiss. He exhaled and slid his arms around Andrey. The milky scent of his skin penetrated Grim’s nose, and his thoughts immediately wandered lower, to the stumps that could wrap around his waist at any moment, warm from the orange glow that was caressing their skin.
But Andrey pulled away with a flush on his pretty, pale face. “I’m sorry. I’m giving you mixed signals again. I never had anyone back in Russia, and then I was locked up, and you feel so soothing.”
Grim chewed on his lip, breathing hard as his cock strained against his leathers, trapped and unwanted. “I—”
Andrey wheeled back and out of Grim’s embrace. “And it’s gone.”
“What?” asked Grim, confused as he followed Andrey. But the moment he got a glimpse of the stumps, Andrey turned away.
“The sun. It’s gone.” Andrey wheeled toward the coffee table, where he unpacked some of his shopping.
“You can see it again tomorrow.” Grim followed Andrey with a slight sway that made the leather cling to his dick and tease it as he approached the table. Would Andrey see it? Would he take the hint? It wasn’t like letting Grim touch his stumps would hurt Andrey or be invasive. Andrey could even close his eyes if he didn’t want to see Grim jerk off. Though he was sure Andrey would enjoy the view.
“I know, but it’s a shame. So pretty and gone so fast. Maybe we could see the sunrise tomorrow?” Andrey persistently looked through an empty notebook, as his nape slowly got red. He could see Grim’s erection. It was so big for Andrey, so hard without any meds to support it.
Sometimes, Grim’s cock size worked against him, made it hard to be fully erect. But not around Andrey. For Andrey, his cock was ready to drain all the blood from Grim’s brain.
“Sure. We could check when the day starts,” whispered Grim, picking up Andrey’s hand. He lost focus, melting at the sight of the smooth flesh below Andrey’s knees. The bird was too shy for his own good, so maybe he needed some encouragement.
“Don’t,” Andrey muttered when Grim pulled his hand toward the leather-encased bulge. To make matters worse, he pulled on his shorts with his other hand and hid the stumps from view, as if to spite Grim.
Grim let go of his hand and gritted his teeth. He couldn’t help the frustration building up inside. He hated the constant rejections he kept receiving from the people he really wanted. Like that boy in Detroit, who first went off alone with Grim and then slapped him when all Grim had wanted to do was to kiss his hand where it was missing two fingers. Who on earth would think that an invitation to “look at a bike” in a dark place was actually about the bike?
There were those who lusted after Grim and what he could offer them, but as he fucked them, giving them all the cock they needed, his thoughts always strayed to Andrey’s pretty face and his stumps dragging over the comforter for the camera.
“Fine.”
“You want to shower first?” Andrey turned on the TV, filling the room with the useless chattering of a reality TV star.
Grim rasped and stood in front of the television to force Andrey to look at him. “I’m not gonna rape you.”
“So stop pulling me into these situations. We don’t need to touch at all if it’s confusing for you. Or was this whole day just a stunt to get into my pants?” Andrey frowned at him.
Grim bit the inside of his cheek, and it was hard to come up with an answer when all his brain could focus on was the forbidden flesh so close. “No, but it’s fucking hard. You don’t have to touch me, but maybe I could pet them? At least for a bit? It’s not like you’re gonna lose anything because of that.”
Andrey clenched his lips so hard they went white. “You’re just like all of them. You wouldn’t give a flying fuck about me if I wasn’t attached to those stumps.”
Grim swallowed hard, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. It was partially true, because he’d been drawn to Andrey because of the stumps in the first place. “And what, you think that makes you so special? That everyone else attracts people with their brilliant fucking personality?”
“I told you yesterday that I’m not ready to fuck anyone! Why can’t I just be ?” Andrey wheeled back, keeping his eyes on Grim. “I’m not a sack of meat. ”
“Yeah, and I’m not my cock, but that’s why people want me. Can’t see why it’s so different in your brain. All I want is to touch you and jerk off. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Andrey gasped. “And all I want right now is to leave. Am I still not your prisoner?”
Grim stared at him with an invisible noose closing around his throat. “You know what? All of you people are the same! You never give me a chance, and you fucking threaten me with police or are just up for a hookup. And even the women won’t let me touch them, even after I tell them I’m gay and their virtue’s safe with me!”
Andrey grabbed the sides of his head and muttered something in Russian. “Would you like it if someone came up to you and said, ‘Hey man, your dick is massive, can I fondle it and jerk off ?’”
Grim scowled. “You think that doesn’t happen? I’m tired of this kind of one-sided shit!”
Andrey crossed his arms on his chest. “You don’t want to be just friends, do you?”
“I think that’s obvious. I’ve been watching you for years!”
“Then you’ve seen everything I had to offer. Including deepthroating and cum oozing out of my ass. I’m leaving.” Andrey wheeled to the table and stuffed the newly bought items into the bag at the back of his wheelchair.
Grim’s brain boiled, sending pressure out through his ears, which drummed with a furious pulsing. He tossed one of the chairs to the floor and started pacing with fury burning his veins. Why was this happening to him again and again? “Fine. No one’s stopping you.” He pulled out the remainders of the wad of cash and tossed it into Andrey’s lap. “Go on, leave me.”
For a second, he thought Andrey would throw the money back at him, but the calculating brat was too smart for that and pocketed the cash. He wheeled over to the door. “Soo … Thank you for everything anyway. Even if you’re a creep. I hope you can one day find someone who … fits your needs.”
Grim held on to the table, hardly keeping himself in place. Stab after stab, Andrey was leaving him bloodied and hurting. “I’m not a creep.”
“And I’m not a fetish,” Andrey hissed at him and opened the door into the corridor, not even looking back anymore .
Grim gritted his teeth and squeezed his hands into fists. Andrey was being so unreasonable again. Maybe he needed to have a taste of a future without Grim and see how good the world would be to him?
“If that’s what you want ...”
“That’s what I want.” Andrey moved his wheelchair into the corridor.
Grim moved forward before Andrey could close the door and blocked it. His throat was aching so hard even talking was painful. The little rat was truly ready to leave him behind. After everything Grim did for him? “Don’t trust strangers. Always say you’re visiting friends if anyone asks.”
Andrey licked his lips, looking back at Grim. “Do you have a phone number? In case something really bad happened?”
Grim smirked, but it felt more like an ugly grimace than a smile as he took the hotel-provided notebook and pen, scribbling his phone number on the piece of paper. He walked up to Andrey and slowly extended his hand toward him. “That’s how it is? Be on call, Grim, but basically, fuck off, you creep ?”
Andrey huffed and put his hands on the wheels. “Then don’t be on call. I’ll be fine on my own!”
Grim growled low in his chest but leaned down, folding the piece of paper, only to stuff it into a pocket of Andrey’s new hoodie. “You’re selfish.”
“Because it’s so selfish to want some autonomy over your own body. Bye.” He looked away and wheeled forward, but it gave Grim a tiny bit of satisfaction that Andrey didn’t throw the phone number back at him or make a point of tearing it into pieces. Andrey needed him, even if he didn’t want to admit it yet.
Grim sighed. “We’ll see how that will work out for you.”
But Andrey didn’t even look back at him anymore, and soon enough, disappeared behind the curve of the corridor. Grim still heard the ring of an elevator, but only silence after that.
He banged his forehead against the doorway and slammed his fist against the wall. There he was. Grim, the one who was always called over when shit hit the fan, left by a guy in a wheelchair. A guy who had no idea about the country he was in, had no documents, no means of transportation, and he’d be vulnerable to assault as a lonely, disabled foreigner. That was not what Grim had imagined when he carried him out of that locked room.
He closed the door and walked over to the window, looking down to the roofing above the main entrance of the hotel. His heart was thumping painfully against the bones in his chest, and he massaged his temples, fighting the anger raging inside his veins. Grim still had hope that Andrey would freak out in the lobby and come back, but then, a lonely figure illuminated by the lights from the hotel rolled forward in a wheelchair. It almost seemed like he had a purpose when in fact he was a broken bird, just out of the cage, stumbling uselessly on the ground to soon become food for predators.
That was it. Grim would not simply take that slap in the face. As much as he understood Andrey’s reluctance to trust anyone, even the man who protected him from a terrible fate, the foolish decision to go off on his own was too much.
Grim quickly burst out the door and rushed to the stairs, stampeding at full speed in order to catch up with his prey. Andrey couldn’t see how misguided he was being, and it was up to Grim to save his ass, by force if necessary.