Chapter 6 #3
“Tell me about it. This new bloke is a bit over the top.” He winces a little as he rolls the T-shirt down.
I straighten, feeling alarmed. “Is he being kind to you?”
He shoots me a wry look. “And what would you do if he weren’t?”
“I’d have words.”
He rolls his eyes. “When don’t you?”
I step closer. “No, I’m being serious. Is he okay with you?”
“He’s fine. He’s just very intense.” He pats my arm and walks past me and out of the room.
I follow at his heels like a little puppy dog. “But he’s not hurting you?”
“No more than he wants. And that makes him no different from any of the others.”
I blink. “They hurt you?”
“Wes, it’s fine. It’s all completely consensual.”
He walks into the kitchen, and I settle on a stool at the breakfast bar, wincing a little at my sore arse and watching as he switches the kettle on. “Mac isn’t into that, which is a relief. I’m a complete baby with pain.”
He leans against the cupboard, his eyes bright with amusement. “ Mac ?”
“Oh, shut up. He doesn’t like it either, if that’s any consolation.”
“No, I’m sure he doesn’t. Mac.” He laughs. “He doesn’t seem the man for cosy little nicknames. I nicknamed him Mr Chill when I first saw him.”
“Well, going back to what I was trying to say. Cormac doesn’t hurt me. He can be rough, but he always checks to make sure it’s not too much.”
His expression is suddenly cynical. “Don’t worry. He’ll hurt you one way or the other. Give it time.”
“Goodness, you should write the verses on cards for a living.”
He sets my tea in front of me and sits on the other stool. “So how is it going with Sir Galahad?”
“He’s hardly that.” I shrug. “It’s… It’s fine,” I say primly.
He groans. “Oh dear.”
“Shut up.” I hesitate. “Talking of Cormac, I have news.”
He clasps his hands to his chest and flutters his eyelashes. “He’s proposed .” He snorts as I glare at him. “Go on. What’s happened now? I haven’t been at the club much myself, but Fox told me Mac’s never there now.”
“Has Fox ever tried being discreet?”
He laughs. “The conversation was only between me and him. He trusts me and he knows the information won’t get passed on.”
The two of them fascinate me because they seem almost like friends, yet one of them pimps the other out.
“It’s caused a lot of talk,” he continues.
“Why?”
“Well, he used to be at the club every week.” His eyes sharpen as he looks at my face. “And you don’t like that he did that.”
I make myself shrug casually. “Now you are talking crap.”
Silence falls for a few beats, and then he thankfully lets it go. “Go on.”
I tap the granite of the breakfast bar, unable to look him in the eye. “He wants to set me up in a flat.”
There’s a second’s pause, and then he chokes on his drink, spitting tea over the countertop.
“Oh my god, that’s disgusting ,” I breathe in admiration.
He wipes his mouth. “What did you just say?”
I exhale slowly. “He said he’ll pay to set me up in a flat.”
“Cormac Reilly said that?”
“Who else would I be talking about? Barbra Streisand?”
“Well, she’d be more likely to live with you than Cormac, but the singing might get irritating. What the fuck?”
“Why are you so stunned? You were set up for a year by Mister X.”
“Mister X is not Cormac. He has regular arrangements with his men. He’s already got another one over in America. But Cormac…”
I lean forward. “Cormac, what?”
“He doesn’t set men up,” he says simply. “Are you sure he said that? Maybe you misheard him.”
“Oh yeah, sure. You mean he asked me to pass him the lube, and I thought he said he’d buy me a palace? I do pay attention to the client, you know. It’s one of your rules.”
“I don’t have that many.” I scoff, and he grins. “Okay, maybe I do. And don’t think I haven’t seen that folder labelled Julian’s Dossier in your room.”
I grin at him. “I had to write your wisdom down for posterity. Generations to come will read your words and weep from happiness.”
He laughs but then stares at me for so long I shift awkwardly under his gaze.
“So,” he says. “What are you going to do about his offer?”
“I don’t know.” I spread my hands. “I got into this thinking I’d do it just once, and then because Tyler’s debts are so big and Cormac offered more meetings, I carried on. But a flat with a bloke—that’s something different.”
“It does imply a certain amount of longevity about it, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
It could be a good deal for you. You’re not the type to stand in the cattle market and compete.
You’re too easy-going and don’t think enough of yourself.
You could get a nice little nest egg under you that would pay the fees for the master’s course and maybe a deposit on a flat or something.
This is your chance to make a lot of money, Wes. ”
“That’s true. Are those the reasons why you keep doing it?”
His eyes turn fierce. “I’ve been alone and at rock bottom, and I won’t ever go back. Money is what keeps me safe.”
“And friends.” I smile even though my heart hurts at his words. “You have me now, so you’re not alone, and I promise I will always help you.”
“How very sentimental,” he sniffs. “All I know is that I will never be poor again.”
“Alright, Scarlett O’Hara.”
He laughs and then his eyes turn thoughtful. “I haven’t asked you the right question yet.”
“How do you know? Your questions of me must rank in the thousands by now.”
“Hardly. And that can’t be true, because I really don’t want to know too much about what goes on in your mind. It would probably be disturbing. What I’m trying to ask at the moment is if you actually want to continue with Cormac.”
I stare blindly out the window at the river. “Yes,” I finally say, turning back to him. “I do want to.”
“Why?”
“Because I find him very interesting, and the shagging is absolutely world class.”
To my surprise, he shakes his head, his eyes alarmed. “Oh no. This is exactly what I was concerned about.”
“What?”
He wags a finger at me. “You’re getting attached.”
“I am not .”
“Yes, you are. You said he was interesting. You should only be interested in how much he’s paying and that you’re giving value for money.”
“I do think about that,” I protest. “Sometimes,” I admit. He groans, and I smile at him. “Thank you for being concerned, but I’m fine. Maybe it helps to actually like the person who’s regularly paying me for sex. It makes it easier.”
“It won’t be easier if you fall for him.”
I scoff. “As if. Never going to happen.”
“I mean, I don’t blame you. He’s a cold man with many secrets and a body to die for. Of course, you’re interested in him.”
“He’s not cold . He’s just closed off.”
“Oh dear. It’s just getting worse.”
His doleful expression makes me chuckle. “Will you miss me?”
“Of course. You will leave a hole with your absence, the way you left a hole in my food supply.”
“I’ll miss you too, but we’ll still see each other regularly.”
“Will we?”
“There is zero need for that tone of despair,” I say indignantly, and he laughs. I tap the counter. “Well, I feel like it’s been a productive day. I came three times, had delicious food, and I’ve made up my mind about my imminent future. That’s always a good starting point.”
“Not with your impulse control.” He catches my hand as I go to rise. “Just be careful.”
“You know I will.” My words are airy and have the ring of certainty despite the worry that hovers at the back of my mind.