Chapter Twenty-One #2
Jasper groaned and buried his face in Vincent’s chest. He bit his tongue against a reflexive “Nothing” and let out a long breath. “I’m wondering what happens, I guess. After our contract ends.” They only had a couple of weeks left, and he wasn’t sure he could say goodbye yet.
“I was thinking of offering a new one. A longer one—for a year maybe.” Vincent said the words easily, like he hadn’t shaken Jasper to the core.
He squeezed his eyes shut, his breath shuddering out of him. He hated how relieved he was by that simple answer. Even if he hadn’t meant for this to be anything more than a few weeks of fun, he couldn’t deny he wanted it to last. Vincent was the best thing to happen to him since Amber took him in.
“So what exactly would that make us? If I sign again.”
“What do you mean?”
Jasper swallowed hard. Don’t do it. Don’t ruin it. “I mean, will I still be a pet, or…?”
“Ah.” Vincent tightened his arms around Jasper. “Will we be boyfriends or lovers?”
Jasper nodded against Vincent’s chest, even though he was terrified of the answer.
“Is that what you want?”
More than anything. “I guess.” He blinked as Vincent nudged him back a step and tilted his chin up.
“Honesty, pet.”
He leaned back, barely resisting the sudden urge to slap Vincent’s hand away. “What about you?” he snapped. “Why do I always have to say what I want, but you don’t?” His chest seized, and he held his breath, clenching his hands into fists as he braced for Vincent’s anger.
Vincent blinked at him before letting out a soft breath. “You’re right.”
Jasper stared, his breath sticking in his lungs before survival instinct forced him to breathe again. “What?”
“I may have been holding back, but in this case, the label doesn’t matter to me.
A contract says you’re mine. I’m willing to offer a longer one if that’s what you want.
Some kind of relationship is to be expected with that, and I would require us both to be tested in that case. Which label would you prefer?”
“Uh,” was Jasper’s intelligent response. He was still trying to process being told he was right, let alone the idea of a longer contract with an actual relationship attached. “Boyfriend?”
“All right.”
No way was it that easy. He should have left it at that, but he couldn’t help but ask, “Boyfriends means dates, then, right?”
Vincent’s lips twitched towards a smile. “It can.”
Jasper nodded, reaching for Vincent’s shirt and curling his fingers into the material. “Wednesdays,” he said decisively. No way was he going back to waiting a whole week to see Vincent again. “And holidays. Do birthdays count as holidays?”
“If you want them to.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course I want them to. You’re spending my birthday with me.”
Vincent laughed and settled his hands on Jasper’s waist. “And when is your birthday?”
“In June.” After their contract was supposed to end. He might have hoped Vincent would still be around then, but he’d never let himself picture it. He hoped he didn’t screw things up anytime soon.
“I’ll be sure to make myself available for your birthday spankings.”
Jasper grinned and leaned his weight into Vincent. “Does that mean I get to spank you on yours?”
“You’re hilarious.”
He smirked but quickly turned it into a pout. “Why can’t you admit you find me adorable?”
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “Adorable?”
“You did call me a kitten.”
“I called you an overgrown cat,” Vincent corrected. “One of those cats that stick around even though it’s mangy and missing an eye.”
Jasper spluttered, pointing at Vincent with wide eyes, lips twitching as he fought a grin. “Maybe if you stopped feeding it, it wouldn’t come around,” he shot back. “But even an old, decrepit bastard needs some kind of companion.”
Vincent narrowed his eyes. “Decrepit?”
“Yeah, you heard me.” Jasper lifted his chin. “Old man.”
Vincent lunged.
Jasper laughed as he hit the bed, managing to keep Vincent from pinning his arms. He got a knee in Vincent’s stomach that made him roll away with a groan. “Ha!” He bounced off the bed and ran for the door.
“You shouldn’t fight those who are younger and more flexible than you, Sir.
It’s really bad for your hea-eeee!” He bolted as soon as Vincent got to his feet, jerking the door shut behind him.
He didn’t have time to make it down the stairs, so he ran down the hall instead, slipping into the playroom a moment before he heard the bedroom door open.
“You better hope I don’t find you, pet,” Vincent called. The bathroom door opened, then closed a few moments later. “Because when I find you, I might wash your mouth out with soap and send you home with marshmallows in your ass crack.”
Jasper couldn’t quite hold back the shocked laugh, clamping a hand over his mouth and pushing away from the door.
It was too dark to see, but he knew the room well enough to make it to the couch.
Or so he thought until he slammed his shin into the table and stumbled with a yelp.
He held his breath until he heard another door open.
“Or maybe I should tie you down on the dining table,” Vincent continued, sounding closer to the stairs. “Pour honey all over you and jerk you off with some mint leaves. Ever enjoyed a cool burning sensation on your dick?”
Gods, did people really do that? Vincent had to be making shit up to fuck with him. No way was that an actual punishment. It sounded more like something he’d find in a smutty book.
He limped behind the couch and quickly dropped down as he heard Vincent at the door, wincing and holding his breath as the light came on. Shit, shit, shit. He was so in trouble. The door slammed shut and he jumped, staying where he was as he strained to hear Vincent walking away.
Too late, he realized Vincent was still in the room and tipped his head back to find Vincent leaning over the back of the couch.
“Boo.”
Jasper scrambled back and to his feet, glancing at the door with a soft whimper. He swallowed and slowly inched around the other end of the couch. “You wouldn’t really do those things, would you?” he asked, not entirely sure if he was horrified or maybe a little turned on at the idea.
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “You were a disrespectful little brat,” he replied, stalking after Jasper. “Why shouldn’t I punish you for it?”
Jasper swallowed a smartass response as he reached the table and bolted for the door. He cursed as he found it locked, ignoring the hammering of his heart as he flipped the lock and yanked the door open, only for Vincent to slam his hand against it before it opened even an inch.
“Oh no, too slow,” Vincent taunted.
Jasper whimpered and stared at the door as Vincent’s arms caged him in. “Please don’t set my dick on fire.”
“No?” Vincent chuckled, settling his hands on Jasper’s hips and turning him around.
He peeked up through his lashes. “Sorry I called you decrepit?”
“Are you,” Vincent replied dryly.
He couldn’t help the grin as he shrugged. “Your back does pop every time you stretch.”
Vincent snorted. “Give it ten years and you’ll be in the same boat,” he said, tugging Jasper away from the door to open it.
Jasper hesitantly leaned into Vincent’s side as they walked back to the bedroom. Despite the threats, Vincent didn’t seem intent on punishing him. At least not tonight.
He stripped, changed into a pair of sweats, and crawled into bed, settling on his side facing Vincent. He blinked as Vincent reached over and tugged his bottom lip from between his teeth, unaware he’d been biting it.
“Can I see you Wednesday?” Jasper blurted. “You could come over,” he continued in a rush, before Vincent could say no. “Amber and Terrance are out of town until Thursday. Matt switched to working nights, and Keith and Reiko have been getting back late.”
Vincent’s thumb brushed back and forth against Jasper’s bottom lip. “You want me to come over for dinner?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be cooking?”
He shrugged. “I can try.” He’d watched and read some cooking tutorials in his spare time, but it wasn’t like he had a lot of chances to practice. Even if he’d had a car of his own, he didn’t have the spare money for ingredients that might end up in the trash.
“Why don’t I bring what we need to make something together?”
Jasper grinned and licked Vincent’s fingertip on its next pass. “Deal.”