Chapter 17 - Auden
AUDEN
I’ve come to enjoy how much of a live wire Mark is when he’s been messed with. We hadn’t talked about blindfolds, but now that I’ve seen how it amps up his responses, it’s my new favorite way to take him.
Stalking is far more fun than I thought. I can see just how Mark reacts the longer I watch him from afar when he’s all alone. I’ve been having far too much fun with it. I don’t always act on the situation when I stalk him, either. It keeps him constantly on edge and waiting.
It also means he’s a damn live wire when I take him to bed at night. He lets all the trepidation of the day go. He’s almost always hard as soon as I pull his pants down. Like he’s been hard and ready all day.
Especially after I edge him for a good fucking hour. Man, the way he came was hypnotic. I’ll never forget the fountain he let loose as he rode my dick after I edged him in the office.
I left him home today. Not only because I think maybe he needs a break, but because I need to focus on my damn reports.
Having him here, even just sitting on the couch doing his own work, is distracting.
I’m obsessed with this fucking man right now.
It’s new and unfamiliar territory, and my brain needs a break from the constant fixation.
Besides, I have plans for tonight. I’m going to watch him until he knows I’m there, mess with him for a while, and then this time when I tie him up, I’m going to fuck the hell out of him.
Something we haven’t done yet. Mostly, I’ve been enjoying edging him or making him suck my dick until I cover his face.
Leaving him before he’s recovered is a little precarious. I know he needs aftercare, but I also think letting him try to determine whether it’s real adds to the situation. It heightens the scene.
I make sure he gets a lot of aftercare and attention once we’re in bed each night.
Interestingly, I think I need it as much as he does, but perhaps for different reasons.
I like him in my arms. I like holding him.
I like being the one to assure him he’s safe, and I’ll take care of his body as well as his mind.
Even if I mess with both again the very next day.
My phone pings, and I pick it up. I’m half expecting a text from Mark. It’s not Mark, though. It’s Imry. A set of coordinates.
Before I can pass them along to Rhodes, my phone rings. Jalon.
“Hi-ya,” I greet when I pick up.
Silence meets my greeting. I can practically hear the seconds ticking through the receiver. “Hi-ya?” Jalon asks.
I laugh. “Just trying it out.”
“I hope you’re not attached to that greeting.”
My laughter continues. “Nope. Wanted to hear your reaction. I can hear how impressed you are. Hello, Jalon.”
“Hello, Auden,” he counters. “You sound in a good mood.”
“What’s not to be happy about?”
He hums. “It’s been a while since you’ve sounded this level of happy.”
Huh. I think about it and… maybe he’s right. It has been a while since I’ve considered myself happy. I wasn’t necessarily unhappy over the last two years, but I can’t say I was happy either. Neutral. I was neutral.
“I’m having a good time,” I say.
“You and Mark are getting along, then.”
My smile splits my face, and I lean back in my chair. It rocks as I turn toward the window. “Very well, thanks.”
“This is the longest you’ve been involved with a single person,” Jalon notes.
“Don’t get any romantic ideas, Jalon. We’re having fun. There aren’t any wedding bells.”
He sighs. “Why are you opposed to getting married?”
“Why do you think marriage is the epitome of the expression of love?”
“Really? Given what we discussed not long ago, you want to leave that question on the table?”
I laugh. “Yeah, okay. Fair point. And yet, yes. I am keeping it on the table. You marry for arguably the wrong reasons, but asking me why I’m opposed to getting married?”
“Wrong and right in this situation are subjective. It was the right reason for me at the time in both situations, even if I didn’t marry Jeannette. Given what I understood about myself, it was my way of expressing my confidence in another person and our relationship.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m sad for you.”
Jalon chuckles. “That seems to be the consensus among my boys.”
“You don’t sound sad about it.”
“I’m… irritated that I pegged Martha wrong. I’m irritated with myself that I treated Jeannette as I did. Jeannette was supposed to be my attempt to choose a good woman, and it turns out that I was the villain that time.”
“You don’t need to keep berating yourself, Jalon. Both situations are in the past.”
He sighs.
“You don’t sound happy today. Have I stolen your thunder? Having trouble keeping up with the youngin’?”
The closest thing to an actual snort I’ve ever heard from Jalon fills my ear, and I grin. He usually makes little huffing sounds that I refer to as snorts, but this time, he actually snorts.
“Not a chance. You should ask him who needs more frequent breaks and then determine whether that question still applies.”
“It’s not a fair turnaround when he’s the one taking the dick all the time,” I counter.
“Is that what you think?”
I’m both intrigued by his amusement and his question. “Well… yes, actually.”
Jalon doesn’t correct me. I’m not sure if that means I’m right or wrong. “Anyway.”
“Anyway,” Jalon repeats. “You’re maintaining that you’re still just having fun with Mark?”
“Do you want me to pretend otherwise, or tell you it’s just mediocre and my happiness is because Rhodes is getting back to being Rhodes and Bennett is finally out of bed and moving around?”
“No, I don’t want you to pretend, though I’m glad to hear about Rhodes and Bennett. I’m asking why there isn’t something more between you and Mark when this is probably the longest… situationship you’ve been in.”
“Situationship. Wow. You’re spending time with the kids, aren’t you?”
“Stop trying to redirect. But yes, I have been. I’m not sure I even used that word correctly.”
I laugh and close my eyes.
“I don’t know,” I answer. “Why can’t we just have fun without everyone needing us to be in a relationship? Not everyone needs to be in one, you know.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Forgive me for saying, but I feel like Jeannette came into the picture because you believed you needed a partner for appearance purposes. You thought you needed to be married to fulfill a specific image in your head. Marriage is something respectable, and that adds to your public appearance.”
Jalon doesn’t answer for several long seconds.
“You’re right,” he answers. “As the president of Van Doren Technologies, I suppose I imagined the best viewing of me would be of a family man, with a wife and kids. I was short one wife for a while, and I’d noted some changes in interactions, so I was correcting that. ”
“I hesitate to ask, but how do you believe those interactions are going to go now that you’re involved with a man? A much younger man at that.”
“They’re going to praise me for pulling in a hot, young thing,” he says, and I laugh.
Jalon can catch me off guard like no one else. When someone as reserved as him drops in sarcasm, snark, or teasing when you least expect it? Nothing better than that.
“Also, I’m looking forward to challenging the expectations.
I’ve been a loud advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community since learning that my brother is nonbinary and have become even louder after learning that most of my sons are gay.
I’ve been…” Jalon trails off for a minute.
“I’ve been maybe …complacent?... with that involvement, not understanding that there are a lot more people who need loud advocates within the community. ”
“Since identifying as a member of the community,” I hedge.
“Yes. But also no. I don’t care about advocating for myself.
I have money, which means I can make fairness happen for myself in ways most other people can’t.
In a way—and I swear to you, this has nothing at all to do with why I’m with Levis—I’m excited to be a visible part of the community that I’m advocating for.
It’s one thing to say, ‘This is good for these people, and we need to support them,’ when it doesn’t affect me, and I can carry on without challenge in the world.
But now I will face all the things my kids and my brothers do head-on.
But I can do it from a place where I can’t be silenced.
I can’t be ignored. You will acknowledge me and my relationship, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. You can’t touch me.”
“Wow, hostile.”
Jalon exhales. “A little. It’s… enlightening to actually see the way people are treated when you’re on the receiving end. I’ve been shocked, and Auden, that’s not easy to do.”
“Indeed. Is your beau ready for that kind of attention?”
“He’s an expert in aikido and can split a hair with his wakizashi. I can’t wait for someone to call him a sissy or a girl or some shit. The glint in his eyes, Auden. It’s both terrifying and sexy.”
I grin. “Indeed.”
“Anyway. Expert deflector that you are. I’m sorry for trying to position you within the expectations that the world demands define a fulfilled life. You’re right. If all you want to do is have fun with Mark, I support that. As long as you don’t hurt him and he doesn’t hurt you.”
“Thank you for your support. I swear to you, you’ll be the fourth to know if I ever find myself in a relationship.”
“Fourth?”
“Well, I’m going to assume that this mystery person is aware of our relationship status before anyone outside of us. Then there’s my kid—he should be second, right? Hm. I’m going to need to bump you down to sixth or seventh.”
“Wow.”
“It’s not like Bennett won’t know when Rhodes does. That’s numbers two and three. Rome is my favorite cousin, so I’ll probably tell him next. Then you. You’re in the top ten, at least.”
Jalon laughs quietly. “I suppose that’s something.”
I grin. “It’s important. Everything is judged based on the top ten.”
“I suppose. I don’t know how we always get sidetracked from the reason I call before we so much as hit the topic, but the reason I called is to make sure you saw Imry’s text that the package was dropped.”
“Yes, helicopter dad. He texted me like a good boy; however, I haven’t had a chance to text Rhodes since you immediately called once the text came through. You can check in with Rhodes in ten minutes to make sure he receives the instructions if you’d like.”
Jalon sighs with exaggerated dramatics. “I want to see this one made an example of somehow,” he says. “That’s actually why I followed his text up with a phone call.”
“This one is personal.”
“Not personal as in anything he’s done has touched me or even been directed at me.”
It doesn’t take me long, given the topic that got him heated, to know where he’s going with this. “He’s an enemy of your people, is he?”
“I feel like you should be saying our people. Do you not identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, Auden?”
“Honestly, I identify as Auden Van Doren and fuck anyone else who needs to add a label to me outside of that.”
“Ah. I like that.”
“I suppose it goes without saying that I am a part of it. As is my son. And my current lover. And a great big chunk of my family, apparently.”
I can practically hear Jalon’s smile even though he doesn’t say anything.
“I’ll make sure Rhodes gets the note, Jalon. He’ll be open to suggestions if you want to follow my text with a phone call.”
“I might.”
“I’ll text him now.” I do exactly as I say I will. It’s not long before Rhodes confirms receipt of my text. “He’s heading out in an hour.”
“Very good. Oh, would you look at that? I need to make another call. We’ll talk soon, Auden.”
I laugh at his snark. Fuck’s sake.