Chapter 21
JASPER SIGHED as Vincent pulled away the last of the Shibari rope, lightly dragging his fingers over the indents left behind in his skin.
He swayed forward when Vincent’s fingers trailed behind his own, letting his head drop against Vincent’s shoulder.
The photo shoot hadn’t been particularly strenuous, and they didn’t even have sex after, but his head was pleasantly fuzzy, and his limbs were nearly too heavy to lift.
It was a sensation he enjoyed, especially since it usually meant Vincent had properly used him.
Apparently that didn’t have to mean sex.
He nuzzled against Vincent’s throat and breathed in the lingering scent of summer heat and moss.
When Vincent tugged him towards the shower, he followed, but he was of absolutely no help when it came to getting the smudges of dirt and bright green stains off.
The warm water was heaven on his skin, and he closed his eyes, tipping his head back as it rained down over his face.
The slick-rough touch of a cloth on his back drew a long, deep groan out of him. “So good.” He really could get used to this; letting Vincent take care of him. It was almost as addictive as the sex, and the kink, and the heated looks that made him want more. So, so much more.
A light smack to his ass startled him out of the blissful doze he’d fallen into, and he turned enough to see Vincent eyeing him with amusement. “You can go back to bed now,” he said, groping Jasper’s ass before pushing the curtain open enough to let him out.
Jasper leaned in to steal a kiss first, then snagged a towel to scrub himself dry.
He pulled on a pair of boxers and flopped onto the bed, rubbing the fading rope impressions on his wrists with a happy sigh.
As much as he wanted to go back to sleep, he was more awake now, so he retrieved his handheld from the drawer of the nightstand and stretched out to continue his game.
He was so invested in the cutscene of the hot red-eyed blond guy betraying the group to save his reincarnated husband that he didn’t even notice Vincent joining him until a warm hand slid across his chest. He squeaked in surprise and reflexively tried to hide the game by rolling over, which only served to put his face in Vincent’s chest.
“What are you playing?”
Jasper swallowed a whine and bit his tongue against saying Nothing. “A game.”
“You don’t say.” Vincent snorted softly and tangled his fingers in Jasper’s hair. “Is it hentai?”
He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head enough to bite Vincent’s wrist. “No.”
“Pity.”
Jasper huffed and wiggled closer to tuck himself bodily against Vincent. “It’s a sci-fi male otome game,” he murmured, waiting for the condescending mockery he usually got for his game choices. But none came.
Vincent only asked, “Which one is your favorite?” He settled his hand on Jasper’s hip and settled a leg over top of Jasper’s. “Hmm?” he prompted when Jasper didn’t answer, nibbling on his earlobe.
No way could he answer that. He might have been obsessed with the red-eyed blond when he first started playing, but that was before the dark-haired, moody Cyprus, who kept trying to seduce the MC with promises of bringing his fantasies to life, was introduced.
“Are you not going to tell me?”
Jasper wriggled back enough to roll over and crawl away, though he didn’t get far before Vincent dragged him back. “Noooo. You can’t make me.” He turned the game off and shoved it to the other side of the bed.
Vincent swatted Jasper’s ass. “Fine, be a brat.” He stretched out over Jasper to pin him to the bed. “We have a few days left. How do you want to spend them?”
Jasper grunted as he rolled onto his back to get his arms around Vincent’s neck. “I still want to try that ziplining thing.” Vincent tried to hide his grimace, but Jasper noticed anyway and grinned. “Are you scared of heights, Sir?”
“I’m not fond of them, no,” he replied dryly.
Jasper shrugged. “We still have the hot springs.”
“Do you want to go tonight?”
He tipped his head back and forth as he considered but then shook his head no. It was early enough they could go find something to do, but he was still exhausted from the trip back home and getting up too early. Plus he needed to be rested to enjoy seeing Zach and Ash again tomorrow. “Movie?”
“Sounds good.”
BY THE next morning the haze had worn off, and Jasper was finally feeling more like himself.
He hadn’t dared turn his phone on since the plane landed and was sure he had dozens of missed calls or texts, but Amber hadn’t tried to contact him through Vincent, so he assumed his father was still alive.
That or Amber had finally gotten the hint and knew not to bother him either way until he was back home for good.
He shoved thoughts of family out of his mind and focused on the day ahead. Vincent was taking him zip lining before spending the rest of the day with Zach and Ash. He bounced lightly in his seat after he buckled, excited to be getting away from the cabin and doing something not kink related.
And that was a thought he never expected to have.
He loved exploring kinks and having sex, but he was a bit relieved that the obsessive novelty of enjoying something new was fading.
Not that he’d ever admit it, and he really hoped that didn’t mean he’d get bored with kink.
The last thing he wanted was to lose the biggest thing they had in common.
He doubted even Vincent would keep their contract if Jasper lost interest in being a sub.
“What’s wrong?” Vincent asked.
Jasper blinked innocent eyes at him. “What?”
Vincent flicked his fingers at Jasper’s leg where it was bouncing as if he’d downed a gallon of coffee. “Are you nervous?”
“It’s not that,” Jasper said, then silently cursed himself for not taking the obvious out. “It’s just… nice to get out of the cabin.”
Vincent hummed, and Jasper felt a heavy stare on him before he turned back to the road. “Should we have dinner somewhere?”
“No,” Jasper said quickly. “I like your cooking. Unless you don’t want to make dinner?” He’d volunteer, but he’d only learned to make a few dishes, and they never turned out as good as when Vincent made them.
“I don’t mind cooking.”
Jasper nodded, hating the sudden nervous energy buzzing through him.
He had no reason to be nervous. It was normal to stop being obsessed with things.
Right? That didn’t mean he enjoyed it any less.
Vincent had been involved with kink for years and even owned a club dedicated to it, so Jasper shouldn’t worry.
This wasn’t like a new hobby or game that he’d shelve in a few weeks or months. This was an integral part of who he was and wanted to be. He’d never felt more alive and like himself than he had the past few months.
He loved being with Vincent. Loved being at the club and seeing how many others shared the same interest as him.
No way would he ever get bored of that. The only way he’d leave was if Vincent made him, but Jasper couldn’t see that happening no matter how much he feared it might.
Even if they broke up, Vincent wouldn’t ban him from the club.
Being able to afford a membership was another issue entirely.
“Are you paying for my club membership?”
Vincent let out a startled huff of laughter. “Technically your fees have been waived as you’re marked as my sub. Why?”
Jasper shrugged. “Just curious,” he murmured.
Not like he could admit to wondering what would happen if they broke up.
He doubted he’d even want to be in the same club as Vincent if they did, and he needed to stop thinking about it before he psyched himself out.
They had a contract for a year. He didn’t need to worry about keeping Vincent’s attention until that time got close to ending.
The drive to the zip-line area was relatively short, and Vincent parked in a shaded area near the entrance.
There were signs inside the small building advertising a rock-climbing space and the lake, but they paid the entrance fee, signed waivers, and followed the arrows for the zip lines to a tall wooden, tower-like structure.
A guide stopped them at the bottom to get them geared up.
Jasper hooked his fingers in the straps with a grin, the new flutter in his stomach more excitement than worry.
He never got to try new things like this.
Part of him was full of guilt that he was using Vincent’s money for outlandish activities that Vincent didn’t even want to do, but the rest was completely on board with indulging for his birthday.
It wasn’t until they were heading up the tower that he noticed Vincent trailing behind.
He stopped and stepped to the side to wait, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.
“Too much exercise for your decrepit body, Sir?” he asked, not at all dissuaded by the dark glower Vincent shot him over the top of his sunglasses.
“Watch it, or I’ll throw you off the top,” he threatened as he continued by.
Jasper gasped. “You’re going to murder me? What did I ever do to you? Except let you molest me and do vile, depraved, unspeakable things to me!”
“What did I do that was unspeakable?”
Jasper let out another more exaggerated gasp. “You pretended to be a doctor and beeped my beepin’ beep beep and beepity beep,” he stage-whispered, somehow managing to keep a straight face and sound scandalized while making terrible censor sounds.
Vincent glanced over his shoulder. “And if you keep this up, I’ll beep your beep with a beeping beep.”