Chapter 14
Foster breezed into the butcher shop, casually looking around for Jude.
Just like the last time, the place was jumping but Jude was nowhere to be found.
Foster hadn’t heard anything in the nearly two weeks—not since they’d fucked in his apartment.
He’d expected another demand for repayment to quickly follow the first. No, he’d hoped for one.
By making him wait, Jude was tormenting him. The guy seemed very good at doling out punishment. Why had Foster lapped it up? He’d gotten off on the dominance. And the edge of callousness shown him.
Jude had asked if they were foes and Foster wasn’t sure the answer.
Enemies? Frenemies? He didn’t know what to call them other than combustible.
Foster inched up behind the last person in line at the meat counter. A couple of minutes later, Jude exited the back and rounded the corner with a massive package in hand.
“Lemme carry this out to your car, Mrs. C. It’s too heavy for you.”
An elderly customer smiled up at him. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
They both walked toward the door.
“Once you’re home, have you got someone who can get it out of the car?” Jude asked her.
“My grandson’s home,” she replied. “I should’ve brought him with me.”
Before they exited, Jude’s gaze flipped to Foster’s. Anger blossomed on his face, his eyes narrowing. Without a word, he walked outside, but the second he returned, he snatched Foster out of line and away from other customers.
“Did I not make things clear? You don’t come in here. We’re not friends.”
“I’m not here for you. My mom asked me to run some errands.
” He lifted the handwritten note that read, stop by Jude’s and get a nice 3# chuck roast’ in his mother’s handwriting among other entries, hoping he wasn’t caught in the partial fib.
Of course Foster was there to see Jude. “Can I get back in line now?”
Jude glared at him. “I don’t recall seeing either of your parents shopping here before. Why now?”
“Mom said you’d come to the front door looking for me and she asked how you were doing. I might’ve mentioned something about how good everything looked in here during that conversation. I guess she wanted to see for herself.”
Jude lifted a brow. “And that’s the only reason you’re here?”
“Yeah,” Foster lied.
“You suck at lying. You always have.”
“I’m not lying.”
Jude’s glare could’ve sliced him in two.
“Okay, maybe it wasn’t the whole truth,” Foster said, his tone hushed. “I’m also curious when my next payment is due.”
“I’ll find you when it is.”
“A little notice would be nice,” Foster said. “Just in case I have plans.”
“You’ll can cancel your plans. I own you, remember?”
Foster tried to hide a shiver but wasn’t sure he’d managed it. The whole dominant thing was doing shit to him it had no business doing. He’d never imagined himself as submissive and wasn’t exactly sure if that’s what he was being, but whatever it was… he liked it.
His body reacted, pulse racing.
Oh shit… I cannot get hard in public.
Someone should’ve told his dick that.
“I can’t always drop everything on a second’s notice.”
“I don’t see why not,” Jude said, his expression bored.
“I’m job hunting. I’ll have interviews. I’ve been going into the city often and sometimes stay overnight if I’ve got a couple lined up together. What if I’m not home when you come to collect next time?”
“Then I come back another night,” Jude muttered. He glanced down. When his gaze popped up, one eyebrow was arched.
“Or you could give me your number so we can communicate when and where instead of you getting pissed at me if I’m not there.”
Jude rolled his eyes.
Foster was pretty sure the answer was going to be no.
“Fine. Give me your phone.”
Foster fished it out and handed it over after he’d unlocked it. Jude typed something in, and his pocket buzzed a couple of seconds later. He handed the phone back, his expression grim.
“Thanks,” Foster said, fighting a smile. Grim or not, getting digits felt like a small victory. “Can I get back in line now and order my mom’s roast?”
“Stay here,” Jude muttered. He looked down at Foster’s cock. “I don’t need someone seeing you like that after we’ve been chatting.”
Foster watched Jude walk into the back, keeping his back to most of the customers. He pulled his t-shirt out of his shorts and tried to cover himself as best he could, but thin summer wear didn’t hide as much. Jude returned a few minutes later with a parcel wrapped in brown paper and white twine.
“Here.”
Foster eyed him, but an errant thought made him pause. “It’s not rotten, is it?”
Jude narrowed his eyes, glaring. He tilted his head. “What do you take me for?”
“I’m on your shit list. I wouldn’t want my folks hurt because you’re angry at me, especially with my dad having had the stroke last year. I don’t know if his system could take the hit.”
“I’m not a monster.” Jude’s glare softened. “I have no quarrel with your parents. I wouldn’t cause them harm.” He moved a little closer. “You, on the other hand—who knows?”
Foster searched his face. “Thank you… for not taking it out on them.”
They stared at one another for a few more seconds, Jude glowering… yet never taking his gaze from Foster’s.
Foster dragged his away, afraid he’d already shown Jude too much. Their transactional relationship was supposed to be a punishment for him. If Jude caught on to how much it was turning him on, he might deny him just to cause torment.
Hell, maybe that’s what he’d been doing for the last two weeks already.
“It’s time for you to go,” Jude snapped.
Foster looked at the package and didn’t see a sticker or price written on it. Hopefully the cashier would know how to ring it up. “I’ll go pay for this and get out of your hair.”
Jude glanced past him. “Hey, Margot?”
The girl on the register looked up.
“This roast is prepaid, so he’s good to go,” Jude said. “Don’t charge him.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Foster murmured.
Jude scowled. “It isn’t for you. It’s for your parents.” The evil faded from his gaze. “I didn’t know about the stroke. I hope your dad’s doing okay.”
Foster stared at Jude, shocked by the small show of concern. “He’s not back to where he was but he’s getting better every day.”
“Good.” The wall quickly reappeared in Jude’s expression. “Now get the fuck out of my shop.”
Foster fought a smile before he spun and walked out. He’d barely made it to his SUV when his phone buzzed in his pocket. After climbing in, he dug it out and took a peek.
Jude
Meet me in the alley beside the shop at 9 tonight. Your next payment is due.
Foster grinned and tossed his phone and the roast onto the seat beside him before glancing back at the shop. He pulled away, ready for the sun to go down.
Jude sat on the bottom step, glancing at his watch for the hundredth time. Nine-twenty-five. Where was Foster? He’d seemed eager to pay for his sins, so what was taking him so long? Jude rose and opened the front door, peeking out. There stood Foster, his back to Jude.
“Foster,” Jude whispered hotly.
Foster spun and cocked his head to the side. “Oh. There you are.”
“Why didn’t you knock?”
Foster closed the gap between them. “You said to meet in the alley, so I waited in the alley. I’ve been standing here for thirty minutes.”
“Did you not see the door?”
“I didn’t know whose it was. You might’ve had a tenant or something,” Foster replied.
“Or something.” Jude rolled his eyes and stepped back to let Foster through. “Upstairs.”
On Foster passed, Jude glanced outside to see if anyone was watching before closing the door and following him up. His view the whole way was that fine ass and two muscled thighs. He had to remind himself he was pissed and to not let Foster’s vibe cause him to forget.
After sleeping over—by accident, of course—he’d wanted to establish some boundaries.
Boundaries Foster seemed to leap over with barely an attempt.
Waiting two weeks to ride that cock again had been torture, but he’d wanted Foster to understand that Jude controlled when and where.
If he’d rushed back into Foster’s bed, he’d have looked weak.
No way was he going to look weak.
Then the fucker had shown up, and he’d lost his willpower completely.
They were supposed to fuck on his schedule, not Foster’s.
Foster whistled once upstairs. “Nice place.”
“Thanks.”
“You live alone?”
“I do,” Jude replied.
Foster scanned the living space. “I noticed the shop got a major upgrade since the last time I remember being there. It looks really great.”
Jude eyed him. “Asking if I lived alone was pertinent to your task. The rest isn’t.” He searched Foster’s face, irritated by the hint of a smile there. “Nor do I care about your opinions of me or my property.”
The hint of a smile was soon gone, and Jude felt a bit guilty for being harsh. He reminded himself once more not to let Foster wriggle under his skin. Just because Foster appeared eager to get to know him, they were not going to be a thing.
It was sex and sex alone. Nothing more.
“We can be civil with one another, can’t we?” Foster asked.
“Stay in your lane and there’s no reason for unpleasantness. Cross the line and you’ll be corrected.”
“Noted,” Foster murmured. He searched Jude’s face. “You shaved.”
Jude scrubbed at his bare chin. “I’ve been lazy. It was time to get it cleaned up.”
“I like it,” Foster whispered. “I enjoy being able to see your handsome face.”
Jude clenched his jaw, hating how that statement affected him.
Just sex. Nothing more.
Foster wandered closer and stopped a few inches from Jude. He reached for the clasp on Jude’s jeans.
Jude backed up, brushing Foster’s hands away. “I didn’t tell you to do that.”
“I’m trying to complete the task you demanded of me.”
I need to regain control. “You do as I say. Not what you want.”
“Last time, you told me to get on my knees and suck your cock,” Foster said. “I was going by that.”