Chapter 14
VINCENT DIDN’T realize exactly how worried he was about Jasper meeting Zach and Ash until Zach sang Jasper’s praises and Ash was comfortable enough to show Jasper his studio. That Jasper seemed to get along with both of them in return was a relief.
And then seeing him half naked, the photo lights reflecting off of and highlighting the Shibari, the loose and relaxed set of his shoulders, and the smile as he enjoyed himself.
A lesser man might have been jealous and insecure enough to take that jealousy out on Jasper, but Vincent turned that energy into an intense scene in the playroom.
He strapped Jasper down on the bench, reddened his ass, and slowly tormented him with a larger dildo than usual until he was begging.
Jasper had only a few minutes to cool down when Vincent guided them upstairs to the bed, where he proceeded to take Jasper apart, murmuring Zach’s and his own praises into his boy’s ear while slowly and steadily fucking him.
Tears of desperate pleasure stained Jasper’s cheeks by the time he finally came with a hoarse shout, and he was out cold almost before Vincent found his own release.
Cleaning up was easy enough—Jasper hadn’t been in any state to make a choice on using condoms—and a few moments later Vincent followed him into sweet oblivion.
Until a phone started ringing.
He rolled over with a bleary grumble, silently cursing whichever of them had left their phone on, before he realized it wasn’t either of their ringtones.
That was enough, and he finally sat up. It was the landline downstairs ringing, but by the time he got out of bed, it stopped.
He was debating going back to sleep when it started again a few seconds later.
With a grumble he stumbled down the stairs, clutching the banister for balance as his eyes adjusted. Despite the faint light from the balcony doors, he still managed to stub his toe on the table and finally snatched the receiver with a snarled, “Yes?”
“Hey,” Zach said, sounding far too awake for three in the morning. “Sorry to wake you. I have an Amber calling our main line trying to reach you. Says it’s an emergency.”
Vincent swore softly as he woke completely. “I’ll call her on her cell.”
“Thanks.”
Vincent hung up and flipped on the kitchen light to find his phone. It took a moment to boot up, and as soon as it did, he was flooded with texts and missed calls. He ignored them and moved to the far end of the kitchen as he called Amber.
She answered on the first ring. “Where’s Jasper?”
“Asleep.” Like any sane person would be, though he kept that thought to himself.
“I need to talk to him. Now, Vincent,” she snapped.
He straightened with a sneer, his instinct for protecting Jasper warring against the societal expectation of giving ground to family.
Considering they were several states away and no emergency could be solved with a single phone call, he sided with his instincts.
“He’s asleep after an intense scene. I won’t interrupt his aftercare when there’s nothing he can do about whatever you’re calling for. ”
She was silent for long enough he suspected she was more upset at being denied than she was looking out for Jasper, though maybe that was the sleep deprivation making him more callous. “His father is in the hospital.”
Vincent propped against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. Form what little Jasper had told him of his father, the man was an abusive asshole, but that wasn’t a guarantee that Jasper wouldn’t want to go home. “How bad?”
“Late-stage cancer. He’s stable for the moment, but…. They’re not sure he’ll last past the week.”
He blew out a slow breath. “I’ll have him call you in the morning.” He ended the call and immediately dialed his grandfather as he mentally ticked off things he needed to take care of before he woke Jasper. At least it was a reasonable hour in London.
“Thornwell residence” came Rupert’s familiar accent. The man had worked as his grandparents’ manservant for the past several decades and had saved Vincent’s life a dozen times over while he’d been living overseas.
“Rupert. It’s Vincent.”
“Master Vincent, a pleasure,” he replied with genuine warmth. “A bit early for you to be calling. Is aught all right?”
“Unfortunately not,” Vincent said. “I was hoping I could borrow the jet.”
Rupert was too professional to ask, but Vincent could hear the concern in his voice when he said, “One moment.”
After a minute ticked by, Vincent gave up standing in the kitchen.
The couch was close enough to the loft he’d risk waking Jasper, so he headed to the playroom and settled on the love seat there instead.
While he waited he double-checked the flight times to make sure it wouldn’t be faster to buy a last-minute ticket, but with the layovers and boarding hassles, the arrival times weren’t much different.
And the convenience of having a plane to themselves tipped the scales.
When the line reconnected his grandfather Arthur answered. “Vincent. So sorry about that. I was in a meeting. What’s wrong?”
It didn’t take long to explain the situation, though he left a lot of the details vague, and not much longer than that to have a promise for the jet to be waiting for them late that afternoon.
“You could have asked to use it in the first place.”
Vincent smiled faintly. “It’s not exactly my style.”
“Just like your mother,” Arthur said but without the disparaging disapproval that his grandmother would have employed. “Not exactly your style to take a vacation either, hmm?”
“I’m visiting friends. You remember Zach and Aston.”
“By yourself?” The knowing tone nearly had Vincent rolling his eyes, and it was utterly ridiculous to be embarrassed about seeing someone when he was in his third decade. “They were planning to start a rather risqué business, if I remember correctly.”
Vincent smothered a soft snort at that understatement. “No, not alone… I’m here with the man I’m seeing. It’s his father in the hospital.”
“What’s he like? Better than that wanker you left here with, I hope.”
Christ, how had he been so blind when everyone else saw how toxic Adam was? “It’s only been a few months, but so far he’s amazing.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll bring him to visit soon.”
Vincent suspected Jasper would have an aneurysm if he saw the Thornwell estate.
It wasn’t quite as big as one that would be in a Jane Eyre rendition, but it was sizable.
His grandmother wasn’t exactly a selling point either.
She liked to pretend his being gay was an immature indulgence or a phase he’d grow out of and spent his entire time living there continuously trying to set him up with the daughters of prominent families.
“We’ll see.”
They spent a few more minutes catching up before Arthur was called away to another meeting.
Vincent slumped and rested his head against the back of the love seat to stare blankly at the ceiling.
He’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep, but he doubted he’d get more at this point.
He sent a quick text to Zach letting him know they might be leaving early, but that he didn’t have details yet.
Packing wouldn’t take long. The food was an issue, but Zach and Ash would put it to good use if they did leave.
For now he was stuck in a waiting game. He could have woken Jasper, but when he got a text from Rupert with the flight plan confirmation, he saw the jet wouldn’t be there until nearly four that afternoon. Plenty of time for Jasper to make a decision and take care of everything after.
With a sigh he pushed himself up and headed back to the kitchen to caffeinate for the long day ahead.