Chapter Twenty
JASPER’S SUIT arrived earlier than expected.
As soon as his driver dropped Jasper off at the club, Vincent sent him up to his office to change into it while Vincent walked the club.
The evening was already busy, a steady flow of members coming in for a quick scene, and several who lingered for the community.
Applications continued piling up—to the point he’d need to hire extra staff soon, both to curate and process applications, and to monitor the floor.
Members stopped him to chat as he made a round through the play area.
Some even asked after Jasper, which surprised and pleased him, and left him bemused.
He hadn’t made any effort to keep his contract a secret, but he’d forgotten how quickly gossip spread; he’d been blissfully free from it for years.
And like that, fate answered his temptation with a loud and clear Fuck you.
He stepped out of the dungeon and glanced towards the bar, freezing as he caught sight of Adam.
Tension seized every one of his muscles, the familiar fight-or-flight instincts warring against each other.
As if sensing him, Adam turned and smiled, all bright white teeth and sanctimonious green eyes. He sidled up to Vincent’s side before Vincent had fully accepted that he was real. “There you are,” he said, taking the liberty of clasping his fingers around Vincent’s wrist. “You’ve been ignoring me.”
That touch was enough for it to sink in that Adam had really found a way into his club, despite not being a member and having never been active in the local community. He stared at the offending fingers until they released him, then finally managed to pull himself together enough to stare at Adam.
He hadn’t changed much, and Vincent wasn’t sure if that was disappointing or not. After four years together, he would have liked to think his absence had left some kind of mark, but Adam was obviously as skilled at getting his needs met now as he had been while living with Vincent.
Adam took his silence in stride and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not still mad, are you? I expected you to call me ages ago.”
Vincent couldn’t do more than blink as he fought against the sensation of the walls closing in around him. Come again? Why in the ever-loving-fuck would he do that? Why was Adam here?
“Don’t look at me like that. I know you missed me.
We were so good together.” Adam touched Vincent’s wrist again, tilting his head and adding one of his seductive smiles.
The one that had rarely failed to make Vincent drop everything, including his pants.
Except it wasn’t so seductive now. More like a starving piranha spotting a drowned elephant.
“You can’t tell me you haven’t missed me. ”
“Sure I can,” he replied, as surprised as Adam looked and more than a little relieved he’d managed to get the words out.
Adam recovered quickly. He even had the audacity to inch his fingers up Vincent’s arm, skirting around the area of his scars with a familiar avoidance that set Vincent’s teeth on edge. “What I’m saying,” he said in a slow manner Vincent remembered all too well, “is that I’ll take you back.”
Vincent twisted out of Adam’s grip with as much grace as he could manage when all he wanted was to scrub his arm with bleach.
He struggled to find something, anything, to say, but his mind was blank.
Then Jasper slipped between them, pressing into Vincent’s chest and tipping his head back in an obvious demand for a kiss.
Without hesitating, he leaned into Jasper’s warmth, tugging him closer with a hand on his hip, and kissed him.
Jasper grinned when they broke apart. “Hi.”
“Hello, pet,” he replied, pressing his lips to Jasper’s temple and inhaling.
He felt like he’d just surfaced after being underwater for hours and could finally breathe again.
If he’d doubted for a moment that breaking things off with Adam had been a mistake, the warmth he felt in Jasper’s presence was a stark reminder that it’d been the right choice.
The effect each of them had on him wasn’t even comparable.
When Adam cleared his throat, it was obnoxiously loud.
Jasper raised an eyebrow at Vincent, tilting his head inquisitively. He must have found some kind of answer on Vincent’s face, because he turned to Adam. “Dude,” he said, “even I know desperation when I see it.”
Adam’s eyes widened, and his face flushed with splotches of red. “Excuse me,” he said, somehow managing to sound politely curious while his eyes promised violence, “who are you?”
Vincent couldn’t see Jasper’s expression, but he didn’t need to when Jasper replied, “An upgrade, and I’m the only one allowed to touch Master Vincent.”
Vincent didn’t quite manage to stifle the noise that came with the jolt of surprise and pleasure at hearing Master on Jasper’s lips. His arm slid around Jasper’s waist of its own volition, keeping him close.
A muscle in Adam’s cheek twitched as he eyed Jasper in clear disdain. “I see,” he said, deliberately dismissing Jasper and turning his attention back to Vincent. “I’d like to speak with you. Alone.”
“I’m busy,” Vincent replied, trying to sound apologetic. He missed and landed somewhere closer to “Go fuck yourself.”
Adam appeared crestfallen, but Vincent suspected it was as fabricated as everything else about him.
“I’ll come back later.” He eyed Jasper with a faint sneer before adding, “It’s important.
Don’t try my patience.” The threat might have been amusing—Adam held no power or leverage over him, not anymore—but Vincent wouldn’t put it past him to have found something he thought he could use.
He’d have to contact his lawyers to make sure he hadn’t missed anything when he’d cut Adam out of his life.
Once Adam was gone, Vincent blew out a long breath. First order of business was to deal with Adam’s access to the club and find out if he’d come in as a guest. Then put him on the banned list. The drama that was sure to follow him had no place here.
Jasper shifted, pressing into Vincent’s chest and turning his head. “Sir?”
Vincent turned his attention back to where it belonged for the moment, noting the uncertainty in Jasper’s eyes and tightening his grip in response. “You were amazing, pet.”
“Yeah?” Jasper grinned and let Vincent take most of his weight. “That guy had douche canoe written all over him.”
Indeed. “Hopefully you won’t have to meet him again.” He had no hopes of that for himself. If Adam was back, he was after something, and he wasn’t the type to give up because he’d been told no. He noticed Jasper’s questioning look and sighed softly. “That was my ex.”
Both of Jasper’s eyebrows went up. “Not a past sub?”
“He was. He’s the reason I started using actual contracts.
” He could see the questions forming, but this wasn’t the time or the place.
He’d figured he would have to tell Jasper all this at some point if they moved beyond the first contract, but he never expected to have to deal with Adam in the flesh.
“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know at home,” he said, pressing a kiss to Jasper’s temple when he relented with a nod.
“How’s the suit fit?” he asked, pulling back enough to enjoy the sight.
He wasn’t too worried about it; Richard did amazing work.
And the suit design really did look breathtaking on Jasper.
He dragged his fingers down the length of the tie with a smile, as pleased that Jasper had learned to tie it as he was disappointed at not having an excuse to do it himself.
He glanced up as Jasper’s breathing hitched, a smirk settling on his lips as he gave a light tug.
Maybe he should consider getting a collar and leash.
Before he could get too carried away, he let go and smoothed the tie back into place.
“Come on,” he said, turning to continue walking the floor.
Having Jasper beside him in the club, dressed in a suit like Vincent, was its own kind of thrill.
His last few subs had preferred fetish gear, which he thoroughly enjoyed, but there was something about a sub in a suit that lit up some of his buttons.
And the way Jasper responded to the members who stopped to chat—nervous but polite, even with the subs, and openly curious—filled him with a pleasant hum of approval.
By the end of the night, he wanted nothing more than to pin Jasper to the wall, kiss and tease him senseless, and leave him disheveled and begging for release.
He made a stop at the security room to request the feed for the evening be logged and sent to him so he could review it later, added Adam to the No Entry list, sent a message to his lawyer requesting a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, then took Jasper home.
“Tonight was nice,” Jasper said softly, stretched out and utterly relaxed in the passenger seat.
“You didn’t mind being stuck at work with me?”
“Uh-uh. I liked seeing you like that, and… it was nice. Knowing everyone there knew I was yours.”
Vincent glanced over with a smile. “I liked it too.” He certainly wouldn’t mind if it became a regular occurrence.
Once he’d parked in the garage, he shut the engine off but made no move to get out.
“If you have questions,” he started, fighting a grimace at the thought of talking about Adam, “I’d rather answer them here.
” Adam had no place in his life, and he certainly had no place in Vincent’s home, especially now that it was starting to belong to Jasper.
Jasper unbuckled and shifted in his seat. “You said he was the reason you started using contracts. What’d he do?”