Chapter Fifteen
JASPER CLOSED the dressing room door and slumped against it with a groan.
This weekend was not going how he’d hoped or imagined. Not only had last night been a mess, but today wasn’t going much better. At this rate the chances of Vincent tying him up before he left tomorrow were slim to none.
And what was with the sudden shopping spree? Vincent was about to drop more money on him than Jasper would likely be able to save in the next five years.
For a suit.
Why the hell did he need a suit? That wasn’t a fetish thing. Or was it? He liked seeing Vincent in them, though he preferred the sweats and soft shirts Vincent slept in more. The jeans weren’t bad either.
This was probably another Rich-Person thing he’d never understand.
He sighed and stripped off his clothes, tossing each item onto the bench. Then he carefully pulled on the button-up shirt and gray suit. Of course the shirt was silk. He didn’t dare check its price tag; he could tell it was expensive by how nice it felt against his skin.
A glance in the mirror proved this was a terrible idea. The suit was horrible on him. Too long in the arms, and the gray made him appear jaundiced.
He opened the door to peek out, hoping Vincent gave this up as the terrible idea it was. Being in a high-end store like this made him feel entirely out of place.
Vincent was waiting outside and looked him over with a slight frown. “Try these,” he said, handing over two more suits.
Jasper made a face, stifling a sigh as he took them. More gray. Awesome. He almost asked if this was really worth it, but then he spotted a store employee coming their way. He ducked back inside to let Vincent deal with the guy while he changed.
Through the door he heard, “Can I help you find anything?”
“Is Richard here today?” Vincent asked.
“He should be back from lunch soon.”
Jasper hung up the first suit and pulled on the next one. The gray was a darker shade and didn’t clash as much against his skin, but the jacket didn’t sit right and the pants threatened to fall off without a belt. “This one doesn’t work either.”
“Neither one?”
Jasper grumbled and changed again. He couldn’t tell the difference between them, but maybe he lacked the refined gray-tone eyesight Vincent had.
A digital bell announced someone entering as he got the second suit back on its hanger. He tilted his head as he heard Vincent’s name and pulled on the third pair of pants.
“Time for a new suit already?”
“Not for me,” Vincent replied, still close to the door. His words were followed by a quick knock.
Jasper tugged the jacket on and opened the door. This one fit better, but gray was not his color.
The man standing next to Vincent studied Jasper with a soft tsk. “No, no, he needs black.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “Black is boring.”
“Black is classic. And you do not waste such a gorgeous complexion on gray.” The man shook his head and held his hand out to Jasper. “I’m Richard. Why don’t we find you a better suit, hmm?”
“Jasper,” he replied, shaking Richard’s hand and glancing at Vincent. As much as he hated the gray, Vincent was the one paying.
“Actually, I have a new style that would look amazing,” Richard continued.
Vincent sighed in obvious resignation. “You’re the expert,” he replied, tugging at Jasper’s too-long sleeve with a frown.
Once Richard was gone, Jasper eyed Vincent. “You really don’t need to buy me a suit….”
“I want to.”
“But they’re expensive.”
Vincent released the sleeve to flick Jasper’s nose instead. “If it bothers you, I’m doing this more for me than for you.”
Jasper wrinkled his nose and swallowed the rest of his protests. “Is this a kink thing?” he asked, unable to stop himself.
“If it makes you feel better to think of it as one,” Vincent replied with a soft laugh.
Jasper rolled his eyes. It was on the tip of his tongue to call Vincent an ass, but Richard was on his way back to them. He took the black suits into the dressing room and changed yet again.
The black was worlds better, and he was almost willing to say it—ha—suited him.
Except for how it was too tight in the shoulders.
The other jacket was the same but a size bigger, and while it fit in the shoulders, he was back to the problem of too-long sleeves.
“This is ridiculous,” he muttered, opening the door.
Vincent looked him over. Then did another take more slowly with a soft hum.
Richard smiled. “See? Black isn’t so boring now, is it?” he asked with a wink at Jasper.
Vincent flicked his fingers. “It’ll do.”
Jasper flapped his sleeves at Vincent. “Really?” When Vincent gave an exasperated sigh, he stuck his tongue out.
Richard chuckled. “I’ll fix those up for you over here.” He turned, leading Jasper to a platform with mirrors.
Ten minutes later, the suit was adjusted enough that Jasper didn’t feel like he’d borrowed Terrance’s clothes.
“How’s that feel?” Richard asked, straightening and checking his work.
“Better.” Jasper turned, studying himself in the mirror. Unlike Vincent’s suits, the jacket hem was jagged, asymmetrical in what he assumed was some fashion-forward style. He caught Vincent’s eye in the mirror and raised an eyebrow.
Vincent offered a faint nod and returned to rifling through the ties. He selected a few, then joined Jasper on the platform to hold them up to Jasper’s throat.
“You’ll want the deeper, muted colors,” Richard said, pointing to the dark purple in Vincent’s hand. “Or we have some low-collar shirts if you want to forgo a tie.”
“No,” Vincent murmured, draping the purple tie over Jasper’s shoulder before putting the others back.
Jasper settled the tie around his neck. Silk.
Of course. He refrained from rolling his eyes and tugged on both ends.
“I don’t know how to tie these.” He huffed softly when Vincent batted his hands away and tipped his head back to let him work.
He wasn’t quite prepared for the clench in his gut when Vincent tugged and tightened the tie into place.
The quick, knowing look Vincent gave him only made it worse. Or better.
Richard cleared his throat, handing Vincent a slip of paper. “We should have it done within two weeks,” he said, then disappeared to the back of the store.
Jasper glanced at his reflection again, toying with the tie and fighting a grimace. He never thought he’d be in a suit, and especially not one that wasn’t even for work.
“You need shoes,” Vincent said.
“Of course I do,” he breathed, surrendering to the inevitable. He followed Vincent to the other end of the store and tried on shoes until they settled on a pair both Jasper’s feet and Vincent could agree on.
“Do you do this for all your subs?” Jasper asked as he headed back to the dressing room.
He glanced over when there was no immediate response, mentally kicking himself for asking about Vincent’s exes.
They’d finally gotten back to stable ground, and he had to go stick his foot in his mouth. “Never mind.”
He reached the room and paused, turning and slowly backing into it. “You might need to help me get out of this suit, Sir.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. “I thought you could undress yourself.”
“But it’d be more fun if you did it.” He backed up a step as Vincent stalked forward, tipping his head back in invitation when Vincent stopped in the doorway.
With a hum, Vincent dragged his gaze over Jasper as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “Public sex wasn’t in your lists.”
“I didn’t exactly consider it a possibility,” Jasper replied, hyperaware of Vincent’s fingers brushing his throat as they worked his tie off.
He’d had sex outside of a bedroom, but this was different.
This wasn’t a bathroom in some club with deafening music.
This was an expensive suit shop where respectable businessmen could walk in.
And while the idea of offending a snobby rich man’s sensibilities amused him, at the moment he was completely out of his depth.
Vincent pulled the tie free with a whisper of silk and draped it over his arm. “And now?” he asked, sliding the jacket down Jasper’s arms and settling it over the tie.
Jasper shivered, tipping his chin up as Vincent started unbuttoning his shirt. After a week of not having Vincent’s hands on him, he was willing to do almost anything to keep even that little bit of contact. “Is public sex something you like to do?”
“It has its perks.” Vincent slid his palm over Jasper’s chest as he removed the shirt. Before Jasper could say yes to anything, Vincent stepped back. “Bring the rest when you’re done,” he said… and left.
“Wha—” Jasper stared at the door when it closed.
He wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or disappointed, but he hoped that wasn’t a sign of how the rest of the day would go.
With a sigh, he finished changing and took the pants and shoes to the register.
He made the mistake of glancing at the price and couldn’t help the strangled sound that escaped his throat.
Four figures. For a suit.
No wonder Terrance called Vincent a sugar daddy.
He took the bag with the shirt, shoes, and tie and let Vincent lead the way back to the car.
He settled in his seat with his hands clasped between his knees, watching Vincent from the corner of his eye.
He might have said never mind earlier, but he really was curious if this was something Vincent did for all his subs, or if Jasper was special.
Not that this was anything more than a couple of months of some amazing sex and getting his feet wet with the whole kink thing.
“Hungry?” Vincent asked.
“I could eat.” He curled his hands into fists until his nails bit into his palms, silently counting to keep from saying something stupid. By the time they arrived at a café, he’d nearly bitten through his tongue to keep quiet.
He didn’t need to know. It wasn’t like he was eager to talk about his own exes.
They settled at a table, and Jasper pretended to be absorbed in the menu.