Chapter 5 Liam
FIVE
LIAM
I don’t know how the podcast got a copy of the photo, but I’m brimming with excitement when I read about it. Some cop had finally leaked it to the press, and I wish I knew who.
Maybe I’d send them a fruit basket.
It’s been taken down, of course, but there’s still a gleefully gory depiction written out for anyone to imagine.
Gran considers true crime stuff voyeuristic, and I’ve decided I like that.
I wonder if it would be inspiring to anyone else.
I wouldn’t mind a real copycat.
Ryker would think it was me, then he’d come back.
Maybe this time, he’d pound my ass like he’d promised instead of only fucking my face.
I can imagine it now: his thick cock pushing against my hole with barely a precursory slicking up before he shoves inside of me, taking me instantly instead of giving me any warm-up time.
Mm.
The thought is distracting enough to where I consider ducking into the bathroom to take care of my burgeoning erection, but Maggie’s due over any minute, and I don’t need to be caught masturbating by her.
She’d probably think it was funny, but then she’d push to want to know just what I’d been thinking about to get so worked up that I couldn’t wait.
Nosy bitch, I think affectionately.
It’s not like I can tell her there’s someone in my life. She’d want to know all the details, and I’m not ready to share anything about Ryker.
Not to mention I don’t have much to say beyond his appearance and the way he looks in the middle of getting a blowjob, or the way he thinks I’m a stupid, spoiled brat and wants to punish me for it.
I’ll let him punish me anytime.
I smile down at my phone as I reread the sensationalized account of what had happened to Tim Pollard, as well as their theories. Cereals & Serials think it was a random killing, unlike everything the cops had said.
It’s true that I didn’t have any opinion on Tim, other than that he was an easy mark who no one would miss. I’d been right for the most part, though the police are putting up a token attempt to pretend like they’re looking for him.
Maybe if I hadn’t left the little calling card, they wouldn’t be trying much at all, but how else was I supposed to get Ryker’s attention? I still don’t know how else to get in touch with him, but…
My grin widens.
He has the keys to my condo.
If he wants to, he can sneak in and wake me up in the dead of night — pun intended — with his cock in my mouth or ass.
The thought makes me groan, and I reach down to palm my cock through my pants. It wouldn’t take long to get off. Even thinking about Ryker breaking in to fuck me senseless is enough to get me close to the edge, and I’ve never been the type about worrying about coming on a hair trigger.
Why bother withholding pleasure from myself?
I unfasten my tight jeans and slide my hand into my underwear. It’s a tight fit, but I get my fingers around my cock. I groan, staring at myself in the mirror so I can pay attention to that little bruise on my jaw. No one else would notice it, I don’t think. But I do.
I wonder if Maggie will.
She’ll assume I had a hot hookup that got a little rough, and that’s sort of what had happened. Despite what I’d told Ryker, I’m a good liar, and I could sweet talk her into thinking the sky was green if I put effort into it.
I keep stroking myself, imagining the way Ryker would fuck me senseless, like I’m just a toy. Would he wrap his fingers around my throat again in a threat or a promise of more? Would—
My phone buzzes, and I let out a whine of frustration.
Of all the times for Maggie to be on time.
I zip my pants back up, then answer the call.
“Maggie!” I say, my voice chipper even though I want to whine that she can wait in the lobby while I get my rocks off. “How lovely of you to show up on time.”
“Yep. Get down here so your doorman stops glaring at me.” I hear her say something to the doorman. It must not be Markus there right now, since he likes Maggie enough to try to chat her up.
“Ugh. Whoever it is, tell him to let you up. Actually, just pass the phone over, I’ll do it.” I sit up and wait.
“Sir, you really do need to come down and pick up your guest,” the doorman says. It sounds like Charlie. Charlie’s always a hardass about security. If Charlie had been on duty, there’s no way Ryker would have made it up the elevator no matter how much I threatened his job.
“Oh, come on,” I wheedle. “She’s on the list. Just let her up.”
At least Ryker grabbed the key fob that gives access to the elevator. It would be so far from a surprise if I had to go let him in.
“It’s protocol, sir,” he replies in that polite tone that means he’s losing patience with me but doesn’t want to show it.
I’m not stupid, though.
“Fine,” I huff out, then hang up.
I grab my extra set of keys, and by the time I get downstairs, Maggie is glaring at me.
“Took your sweet time,” she complains. “What were you doing, masturbating?”
Charlie sputters.
“Yes, actually,” I say without missing a beat. “You interrupted me right before the good part, too.”
I head to her and loop my arm in hers.
“Don’t be salty, bestie,” I tell her. “I have that show you’ve been wanting to watch queued up. After some more porn, of course.”
“As long as the porn includes tits,” Maggie answers.
She waves to Charlie as we walk past him.
Once we’re in the elevator with the doors shut, she sighs loudly.
“Seriously though, where have you been these past few days? I can’t believe you skipped the party at Club Felicity. Leandra Cherry was there!”
“I am a mysterious and ephemeral being,” I tell her solemnly. And I hadn’t been able to find my spare keys for almost three days.
The only problem with living in a building with such tight security is that the fucking things are needed to get in anywhere, and while I could’ve finagled my way in by saying I’d lost the keys, they’d have insisted on getting the lock changed.
I couldn’t have that, after all.
“Mysterious is a stretch,” Maggie says with a small laugh. “Anyway, Leandra Cherry! You should have been there, because I swear she was giving me ‘fuck me’ eyes. I wanted to tie her up and have my way with her so bad.”
We exit the elevator and head into my condo. Maggie takes her shoes off, because she has this thing about dragging dirt into places. At least I never have to stare at dirt stains she leaves behind.
Ryker hadn’t taken off his shoes.
I guess he doesn’t care.
I kick mine off, leading her into the living room. The housekeeper hasn’t been in yet, so it’s a little bit of a mess, but who cares?
The pizza box is in the trash, at least, so there’s no evidence of that particular porno dream coming true.
“Want something to drink?” I ask her. “I have…” Really, I don’t think I have much of anything. “Water. Lots of water. Water is good for you.” I scrunch up my nose. “Maybe wine. We could always turn water into wine, right?”
“What, like some mama’s boy carpenter?” Maggie asks. She settles down onto the couch and grabs the tv remote. “Speaking of. My cousin’s bat mitzvah is next week. You’re coming with me.”
“I am doing no such thing,” I inform her. “Going to my own bar mitzvah was bad enough.”
“Liam, that was like ten years ago,” she retorts. “You’ve recovered by now.”
“Never,” I say.
“Come on. If I go alone, my grandmother is going to go on and on about me finding a nice man, and how nobody will ever want me if my hair stays blue.” Maggie makes a beckoning motion. “Also, remember Noah? You liked Noah. He’ll be there.”
It takes me a few seconds to remember who the fuck Noah even is. One of Maggie’s other cousins, I think, who I’d fucked in a bathroom at some point.
Oh, during a Hanukkah party three years ago, and my mom had walked in on us. Right.
It had been one way to come out, I guess.
Considering I’ve been dating guys since high school, her surprise had been sort of impressive. I know she’s out of touch with my life, but I’d thought she’d have known that. Even Gran and Gramps had.
Whatever.
“Noah is whiny,” I reply, flopping down onto the couch next to her. “And clingy. Plus he only wanted me so he could get into the good clubs without waiting in line in the cold for three hours.”
Maggie starts browsing through my streaming apps. “Oh, yeah, he’s really fucking clingy. Rebecca dated him for a while and said he would text her every morning and every night and get really weird if she didn’t respond within five minutes.”
I groan. “Well if you know that, why do you want me to hook up with him?”
“Better you than some poor, hapless woman,” Maggie answers.
“Gee, thanks,” I reply. I snatch the remote from her hand. “Just for that, you don’t get to choose what we watch.”
“Yeah, that’s…” Maggie trails off and frowns. “Uh, what the fuck did you do to your wrists?”
I glance down at them, admiring the marks. “It’s not what I did to them, babes.”
Maggie takes my arm and holds it so the marks on my wrist are starkly visible. She hisses sharply. “This is fucking sloppy, babes. Like, what the hell, did he tie you up with shitty dollar store handcuffs?”
Close enough. “I mean, I didn’t want him to use the real things,” I say.
“Who knows what he could’ve done to my poor, helpless body if I’d trusted him with those?
” I smirk. “But c’mon, you’re the one who said you wanted to tie up Leandra Cherry.
You’re not seriously going to judge me for being the one to get bound, are you? ”
“I want to tie her up with high quality hemp rope and make sure she has the time of her life and comes like, five times in one night,” Maggie answers. “I wouldn’t use shit quality rope.” Her expression changes to something more pitying. “You deserve better than dollar store cuffs, Liam.”
My smirk slips from my face, and I narrow my eyes at her. Who is she to judge what I’m doing with my sex life? I usually tell her everything, but I guess Ryker will have to be my little secret.