Chapter Fifteen #2
“Does it bother you that much?” Vincent asked.
Great. He’d managed to make a fool of himself anyway. Jasper silently cursed and peeked at Vincent. He needed some kind of excuse for his silence, but they all died on his tongue.
“I won’t force you into something you don’t want.”
Jasper sighed. “It’s not that.” He liked the suit, but spending that much money on something he’d rarely wear…. “Do you do that with all your subs?”
“Only the ones who are okay with it.”
“Who wouldn’t be okay with you spending money on them without even caring about the price?” he muttered, ignoring the fact that was part of exactly what was bothering him.
Vincent set his menu down, brows drawn together in confusion. “The suit?”
That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. Jasper dropped his own menu to the table, giving up the pretense of reading it. “You weren’t talking about the suit….” Of course he wasn’t. Why would he be? But Jasper couldn’t for the life of him think what else Vincent would be talking about.
“I am now,” Vincent said, but then their server came for their order. Once they were alone again, Vincent turned his full attention to Jasper and studied him a moment. Somehow Jasper managed not to squirm beneath the intense gaze. “Is it the price or the suit itself that bothers you?”
Jasper opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.
Finally he managed a soft, “Neither?” When Vincent raised an eyebrow, Jasper shrugged.
“It’s just, that’s a lot of money to spend on someone you barely know.
” He was tempted to say they probably wouldn’t know each other for very long either, but stopped himself. Barely.
Vincent didn’t respond immediately, tapping his thumb against the table instead. “Do you need to set a new limit?”
“For what?”
“The contract says I’ll provide anything needed for our time together.
I consider the suit an acceptable expense, but I’ve been told some of my tastes are excessive.
” He paused for a moment, but when Jasper didn’t reply, he added, “If spending that kind of money makes you uncomfortable, then set a limit.”
Vincent made it sound simple.
Maybe it was, but even after two and a half years of living with his cousin, the thought of asking for anything still made Jasper nauseous. He managed a nod anyway and instead asked, “What were you talking about, if not the suit?”
A hint of amusement tugged at Vincent’s lips. “What we were discussing in the dressing room.”
“Oh,” he said before the words really sank in, then, “Ohhh.” He cleared his throat, but kept silent as the server returned with their food. He pulled the toothpick out of his sandwich and took a bite. “I don’t think I’d mind,” he said after swallowing.
“Not interested in an ‘I don’t think,’” Vincent replied dryly. “Stop acting like I’ll abandon you out of boredom if you don’t try new things.”
Jasper flinched. Matt’s words had been haunting him since his first weekend with Vincent. He didn’t think Matt was lying, but it was obvious something had happened between Matt and Vincent.
He took a breath to get his throat working again, dropping his sandwich to his plate when he nearly squeezed it into pieces. “Matt warned me you would,” he said, surprised by how steady his voice came out.
Vincent paused with his drink a few inches off the table, then set it back down. “You know Matt,” he said, though he didn’t quite sound surprised.
Jasper shrugged. “He lives with Amber.”
“Ah.” Vincent sat back in his seat with a sigh. “Can’t say I blame him for hating me.”
He waited for some additional information, and dug his fingers into his jeans when Vincent fell silent. “Is what he said true, then?”
“That depends on what he said, exactly.”
“That you’re a dick,” Jasper said, unable to help himself. That part at least he could believe to some extent, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad sign when Vincent didn’t even try to defend himself. “And that you go through a lot of subs and don’t have relationships.”
Vincent hesitated but nodded. “I don’t usually form romantic relationships with play partners. I fill in as a temporary Dom at the club when needed. Do you know what that is?”
“You hit people who ask you to?”
“To put it simply.” Vincent gave him a bemused look, drumming his fingers against the table. “Someone wants to be spanked but doesn’t have someone who can give them that, they can ask me. There’s no relationship expected beyond that.”
Jasper studied Vincent for a long moment.
Matt had made it sound like Vincent left a string of pissed-off lovers wherever he went, but Jasper had basically used Vincent in that exact way.
Before he’d signed a contract. “So,” he started, his fingers aching where he clutched his knees to keep from fidgeting. “You don’t offer contracts often?”
Vincent smiled, if only briefly. “Not often. If it makes you feel any better, it’s been about a year since my last one.”
He wasn’t sure he should admit to feeling better about that, so he reached for a fry and shoved it in his mouth. “Can I ask why he hates you?”
Vincent crossed his arms in front of his plate. “I hurt him. Deliberately.”
“Why?” He raised an eyebrow when Vincent eyed him with exasperation, waiting to see if he’d answer or tell him to fuck off.
After a long moment of silence, Vincent let out a slow breath.
“I was in a bad place,” he said quietly, picking up a chip, breaking a piece off, and dropping it.
“It was the same day I’d gotten word my mother died.
I was grieving, had a point-one-nine blood alcohol level, and he was conveniently available. ”
Jasper refrained from asking for more details, surprised he’d even gotten that much.
He ate another fry as he mulled that over, wondering if Matt was a jilted lover.
That would explain why Matt hated Vincent so much.
Maybe he shouldn’t give Vincent the benefit of the doubt when they barely knew each other, but surely Amber or Keith would have warned him off if Vincent was dangerous.
Vincent hadn’t hurt him, which was all that really mattered at the moment. “For the record, I like trying new things,” he finally offered. “Even if it’s public sex,” he added, snickering when Vincent nearly choked on his tea.
By the time they finished eating, things felt back to normal. Like the past twenty hours never happened. Especially when Vincent caught him on the way back to the car, backed him into the passenger door, and kissed him.
His lips were tingling as he climbed in and buckled his seat belt. “So does this mean you’ll tie me up when we get back?” he asked, not even bothering to try and sound nonchalant.
Vincent glanced at him with a chuckle and a “We’ll see.”
LATER THAT evening, Jasper was naked and sitting on the coffee table, watching as Vincent wove rope around his right arm.
His left arm was already done, a pattern of messy red loops chained together from his wrist to elbow.
Maybe the messy part should have worried him, but he was almost giddy, seeing that Vincent wasn’t perfect at everything.
The black loops forming on his right were neater and tighter, and he found himself mesmerized by the way Vincent’s fingers moved. Quick and deft but unhurried. They seemed to brush against every inch of skin as they trailed down his arm, leaving goose bumps in their wake.
“So,” he said, glancing at the cushion beside Vincent, where more rope, lube, nipple clamps, and a crop were laid out. “You’re going to use all of that on me?”
Vincent’s lips twitched, but he didn’t slow in his task. “Objections?”
Jasper hummed softly, at least pretending to think about it. “Nope.”
Vincent finished with Jasper’s arm and picked up another bundle of rope, this one purple. He eyed Jasper as he unwound it. “I’m more interested in tormenting you tonight than getting off.”
“Does that mean I’m not getting off either?”
“Can you handle that?”
He swallowed down the reflex to say he definitely could not handle that after an entire week. It might have sucked, but knowing Vincent was pleased with his restraint made it worth it. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Vincent asked, sounding amused. He motioned for Jasper’s leg.
Jasper shrugged, propping his foot on Vincent’s knee. “I don’t usually go this long without….” He flicked his fingers between his legs and rolled his eyes when Vincent didn’t completely hide a smirk.
“Tell you what,” Vincent said, securing the rope around Jasper’s heel and ankle, “if you can handle not getting off tonight, I’ll reward you in the morning.” He tightened the rope and ran it up the outside of Jasper’s leg before making a thick loop around his thigh.
The clench of heat in Jasper’s gut forced a soft groan out of him. He might have wanted to experiment with orgasm denial, but he’d thought it would stop at the point of ”no getting off through the week.” “Okay,” he said softly, switching his feet so Vincent could do his other leg.
Once all of his limbs were done, Vincent stood and put a sofa cushion on the table. “Kneel here,” he said, tugging Jasper’s legs as far apart as was comfortable once he was settled. He then proceeded to tie Jasper’s ankles to the back table legs and his thighs to the front ones.
Jasper glanced back as Vincent moved behind him, his breath catching in his chest when Vincent pulled his wrists back. When Vincent was finished, Jasper’s forearms were pressed together and tied to the same legs of the table as his ankles.
Vincent’s fingers ghosted up the length of his arms. “All good?” he asked, squeezing Jasper’s shoulders.