Chapter Six
VINCENT WASN’T too surprised when he woke to a text from Amber on Sunday afternoon. It was a simple: WTF did you do to my cousin???
He ignored it and rolled over to doze another half hour, already cursing himself for not sending Jasper back downstairs when Amber called.
The moment those five applied for membership to his club, he’d sworn not to get involved with them again.
Which hadn’t been too hard, considering how he fell out of touch with them after his mother’s death, but Amber was as vigilant as she was strict.
There was no way to avoid her, especially if Jasper returned to the club next week.
When he finally got out of bed, a mild buzz of irritation under his skin made his reply a bit harsher than he intended.
Nothing so bad as abandoning him in a fetish club.
When he hadn’t received a response a few minutes later, he tried softening it a bit with Why?
Not that he was worried. At least not beyond his obligation to ensure someone he’d played with didn’t have a breakdown because of him.
Amber didn’t respond until after he’d eaten lunch and showered. He’s asking about club membership
Vincent chuckled, glad he hadn’t scared the brat off. Despite his reservations about Amber and the others, Jasper was fun to play with. And his bratty, snarky wit might have been exactly Vincent’s preference. He sent a You know how to apply and took the lack of any further response as a good sign.
He headed to Touch of Leather and busied himself with work, ignoring the few of his staff who knew him well enough to tell him to take an actual day off.
Tuesdays were his usual day off. The club was closed Monday and Tuesday, and closed early Sunday night, but he had a few other businesses to check in on when he wasn’t at the club, and a standing appointment on Monday.
The club’s grand opening had been less than a year ago, and while it was doing well, he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave its day-to-day operations to his staff yet.
Especially when someone as wet behind the ears as Jasper had managed to find his way in without a proper safety net.
BY THE time the weekend came around again, he found himself in his office, glancing at the security feeds while he finished checking over the finance reports.
Amber hadn’t contacted him again, and there’d been no application for a Jasper, but he was willing to wait and see. He might have even been hopeful.
As a Dom without his own sub, he was requested by club members for the occasional scene, but few of them compared to Jasper.
The ones who did were already attached to a partner or two in some way and were merely looking for a specific bit of play they couldn’t get at home.
Some only needed the kink, others wanted release, but Vincent never got off with any of them.
He didn’t have sex unless it was with his own sub, with a contract in place.
Around ten, Jasper finally arrived and propped himself against the bar. Vincent caught a brief glimpse of Amber before she headed for the dungeon with Terrance.
Vincent waited a moment, then picked up the phone, keeping an eye on the screen as the bartender picked up on the other end. “Blond with blue eyes—his name is Jasper. If he asks for me, give him the key to room three.”
“Right-o, boss,” she sang and hung up. She spoke briefly to Jasper, laughed at something he said, and flashed a grin at the camera as she turned to find the keycard. She handed it over with a flourish and a wink.
Jasper took the card, lingering at the bar a few moments before turning. He passed from camera to camera as he headed upstairs, finally stopping in front of the third door.
Vincent waited until Jasper stepped inside, then left his office.
He’d already let security and the floor monitors know he might have an appointment for the night, so he headed to the room.
Room three was similar to two on the inside—bed, fridge, chest, chair—but instead of a sofa, it contained a spanking horse.
The wall across from the bed was lined with paddles and floggers, which currently held Jasper’s attention.
“See one you like?”
“Huh-uh,” Jasper replied, glancing at Vincent and tilting his head. “Do you always wear suits?”
“Usually.” He slipped his jacket off and draped it over the back of the chair. He sat, pointed to the cushion in front of him, and waited.
Jasper eyed the cushion a moment, tugging at the hem of his shirt. Finally he sank to his knees on top of it.
“Good boy.” The praise at least eased some of the tension in Jasper’s shoulders, but he still shifted where he sat with nervous energy. “I’ll ask the same questions as last week. Are touching, kissing, and fingering still on the table?”
Jasper huffed and glanced around the room, his gaze landing anywhere but on Vincent. “Yes. You can do whatever you want.”
“Is that so,” he said flatly. Apparently he should have called Amber out on sending Jasper into the proverbial lion’s den without so much as a basic understanding of setting limits.
“So you’re fine with me cutting on you with a scalpel?”
Jasper’s eyes widened, and he paled considerably. “What? No!”
“So you’re not okay with me doing whatever I want?”
Jasper glared. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “How do I know what you meant? You assume anyone who gets you tied up is going to have your best interest in mind? If you tell someone ‘anything you want’ and they decide to be stupid or brutal enough to take you at your word, you’ll end up with scars you don’t want,” he said, managing not to yell. Barely.
Jasper paled and swallowed like he was going to be sick. “That’s not… what I meant.”
“I figured as much. So tell me what you meant.”
Jasper glanced towards the door, his fingers twisting his shirt hem even further. “You said you’d ask the same questions,” he finally said, staring at Vincent’s knees. “Everything I said yes to last time is still a yes.”
“Fair enough. Then I’ll ask a new question. How do you feel about anal plugs?”
Jasper made a soft sound and gripped his shirt until his knuckles turned white. “I don’t know.” His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “But you can use one.”
“And what about spanking?”
Jasper’s breathing sped up as he eyed the horse. “I don’t… want to not be able to sit after.”
Vincent chuckled. “I think I can manage that,” he said dryly. “Is that a yes?”
Jasper swallowed and turned his attention back to Vincent. “Yes…. Sir. You can spank me.”
Vincent watched Jasper a moment to see if he’d take it back. When he didn’t, Vincent propped his elbow on the arm of the chair. “Then strip,” he said, resting his cheek against his fist. “And make it sexy.”
Jasper narrowed his eyes at Vincent, and a hesitant smirk touched his lips. “I’m always sexy, Sir.” He stood and wiggled his shirt up his chest and over his head, then tossed it at Vincent.
“Are you,” Vincent said, fighting a laugh. He dropped the shirt to the floor. “How sexy do you think you’ll be, bent over with a red ass?”
Jasper fumbled the button on his jeans. “Very.”
“Oh?”
“Uh-huh.” Jasper stuck his tongue out and began moving his hips in what he apparently thought was a sexy gyration.
He pushed his jeans and boxers off at the same time, cursing under his breath when he had to stop to get his shoes off.
His socks followed in a decidedly unsexy manner until he was finally standing naked in front of Vincent once again.
Vincent snorted. “Well, that was unsatisfying,” he said dryly.
He raked his eyes over the bare flesh in front of him, a bit disappointed the few marks he’d left were long gone.
“Turn around.” Once Jasper turned his back, Vincent stood.
He settled his hands on Jasper’s hips and pressed against him.
“Do you want to pick the paddle I use on you?” he asked, pleased by the sound Jasper made in response.
“No,” Jasper said, his voice weak. “Something that won’t hurt too much?”
“Well, if you don’t want to choose….” He stepped around Jasper and picked a wide faux-leather, somewhat flexible paddle. He pushed the chair closer to the bench, set the paddle on the seat, and turned to Jasper. “Up you go,” he said, patting the leather cushion on the bench.
Jasper swallowed and moved forward with jerky motions before climbing up.
Vincent guided Jasper’s hands and legs where they needed to be, letting his fingers linger on warm skin as he strapped Jasper down.
“Did you come up with your own safeword?” he asked, adjusting the bench to lift Jasper’s ass a bit higher.
It was custom-made and far more adaptable than most, nearly to the point of being extraneous, but this was also one of his most requested rooms because of it.
“Physics.”
Vincent paused in locking the leg pieces into place. “Are you a student?”
“Yes,” Jasper said, his voice strained. “Studying biology. Want to be a paramedic.”
That was an interesting choice. He hadn’t pegged Jasper as the type to run towards the disaster. With a hum, Vincent stepped back to look him over.
Jasper’s thighs were spread as far as they could go without straining, his hips lifted up at the perfect angle for the paddle. He groped Jasper’s ass, squeezing the firm flesh and checking the rest of him. As he adjusted the face cradle down a notch, Jasper wriggled and let out a slow breath.
“Comfortable?” he asked, walking around Jasper while trailing his fingers behind him—down one side, across Jasper’s ass, and up the other side.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Vincent pulled his hand away as he moved to the chest and opened it.
“If you start feeling any tingling, pinching, or uncomfortable sensations in your limbs, I expect you to safeword.” He grabbed the lube and a slender glass plug, then let the chest’s lid drop into place with a bang when Jasper failed to respond.
“That should have been met with a ‘Yes, Sir,’” he said dryly.