Chapter 47 #3
I swallow him straight to the root, no warm-up, gagging around his thick weight. His hips buck forward, nearly choking me, his hands clamping the back of my head possessively.
The ohs and ahs coming from him are too loud and needy, so I claw his ass hard, warning him to shut the fuck up. He hisses, a soft grunt forced through his teeth. His hand lashes out, sending a stapler clattering to the floor.
Fuck, this is becoming a disaster, but we’re too far in to turn back now. Tom’s thighs are trembling in my hands as he fucks my throat in frantic, desperate slams.
He comes hard, hot bitterness rushing over the back of my tongue. I swallow fast, but I can’t stop a thin trail of cum seeping past my lips. My eyes burn, my lungs screaming for air.
I wipe my mouth, licking the traces off my thumb.
Ten seconds. Done.
I hear footsteps in the hallway and my heart spikes. I yank Tom upright, and just as I click his belt into place, the door opens.
Jay walks in with his bodyguard, built like a tank. Sergei looks like a man who doesn’t talk much but probably has an impressive body count to his name.
Bodies-bodies. Not lovers.
Jay turns to me first and in that moment, Tom scoops the stapler off the floor.
“Dr. Aoki, I assume you’re here with the best intentions, but I think there’s been a misunderstanding. We usually don’t allow anyone outside our circle on this property. Tom should’ve known better.”
He sounds like a businessman. I can tell he’s sick to death after that incident with the non-Scotch whiskey, but he’s doing his best not to escalate things.
“I’m sorry, brother. I know it’s against the rules, but Yosh means a lot to me, and I want you to get to know him. I was hoping we could bend the rules a little.”
Tom says it to Jay like he’s stepping onto the thin ice of that frozen lake outside. Still, it doesn’t stop him from slipping the stapler back onto the desk from behind his back. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a pea size drop of cum glistening on Jay’s leather binder.
Sergei is hunched over the laptop. With a few clicks, he activates the printer.
“I consulted with Effy, and Cheryl also said I shouldn’t be so strict, so I’m willing to allow it this once. But…”
With emphasis on but, Jay takes the papers from the printer and staples the thin packet.
“Doctor Aoki needs to sign an NDA, and I want a copy of his passport.”
He hands me the papers and I start skimming through them.
“Jay, you’re being ridiculous. That really isn’t necessary!” Tom's words barely register because I’m too busy focusing on the pages. Most of it is meaningless legal bullshit, but I need to make sure there’s nothing insane buried in there.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Jay. I’m familiar with confidentiality. It’s nobody’s business what happens here.”
“Great. Then the NDA isn’t a problem.”
“If that’s how you handle things here, I’ll sign.”
“That’s indeed how we handle things here,” Sergei says, pressing a pen into my hand.
I sign every page without hesitation, then hand the pen back to Sergei.
“My passport’s in the car.”
“No problem. We’ll wait.”
Jay rests his palm on the binder. I have to fight to keep a straight face, especially when he plants himself on the edge of his desk, right where Tom’s bare ass was less than a minute ago. He folds his arms and I realize he isn’t moving until I actually come back with my passport.
Tom gives me that apologetic look I wish he wouldn’t. He doesn’t need to take this on himself, because we’re in it together. He dragged me out of the dark when I was in a bad place. Now it’s my turn. Not because I owe him, but because it’s us now. We sync heartbeats.
I leave the office and walk to the car. When I return a few minutes later, the dark-blue booklet goes straight under the photocopier.
Sergei files the passport with the NDA before walking out with the folder.
Something about that bothers me more than the contract itself. They’re putting together a file on me.
A little later, we rejoin the group. I figure Cheryl must’ve filled them in on Jay’s decision, because most of them look relieved it didn’t blow up. I know I am.
“Go ahead, spend some time with your family. We’ll talk later.”
“Thanks, love. I’m sorry about all this. Again. I shouldn’t have brought you here. It was a mistake.”
“Hey, remember what I said this morning. I want to be here.”
“You certainly made a good first impression.”
I wonder if he thinks I did it on purpose, picking bourbon to provoke Jay. Secretly, I kind of like that idea. Maybe that’s why I don’t feel like clearing it up.
“Tell me, who should I talk to first? And who should I steer clear of?”
He nods toward a small group at the bar.
“Alex is your type, he’s in med school. Luca’s good for sports talk.
Eli, the one pouring drinks, is easygoing, you’ll find him hilarious.
Joan when she’s drunk? Avoid. But you’ve already had that privilege.
Finn, avoid both sober and drunk—he’ll lure you into the pantry under false pretenses.
Jay and Janice will corner you the first chance they get.
Cheryl’s nice, but she’ll always back Jay up.
Auntie Mary, Calvin’s aunt, runs the house, always looking after everyone. ”
“Okay, got it.”
The bar feels like the safest place to start, so I make a beeline for it and slide onto a stool.
“Hey, Eli.” I try not to sound too awkward.
Eli polishes a glass and holds it up to the light. “Look at you, heading straight for the bar. Smart move. Can I pour you a Scotch?”
He and Alex burst out laughing.
I raise my hands. “Okay, okay. I know, worst entrance ever. Forgive me. I’ve got a lot to learn. Water, please.”
Alex turns to me. “I have to admit, you’re brave. An outsider at Heatherfell? This Christmas is getting interesting.”
Eli laughs. “Maybe we should invite an outsider every year, see if they make it to the end.”
Outsider. Outsider. Outsider. The word keeps bouncing in my head.
“I’m sorry, we don’t want to scare you off. Your name’s Yosh, right?” Alex asks.
I nod and shake his hand. “That’s right.”
“Alex, once again.”
“Lots of new faces at once, but I remembered yours, Alex.”
Eli slides a glass of water to me.
They seem like chill guys, just like Tom said. Luca appears a moment later, draping a muscled arm around Alex’s shoulders. Alex hands him his drink.
They share the glass. That’s… odd. So it’s not just Tom and Joan. They all act like they’re glued together. I can only imagine what happens when one of them gets herpes.
“You two seem close,” I say.
“We’ve been best friends since kindergarten,” Alex explains. “It’s always been the two of us.”
Subtle as it is, my gaydar doesn’t miss the way they look at each other. And that confuses me like hell, because aren’t Luca and Effy together?
Another twist follows as Luca pulls Alex against his chest.
“We only grew closer after that day.”
“That day?” Probably not my place, but they gave me an A, so now I’m curious about the B.
Alex looks away for a moment, unsure whether he should open up, or if he’s even allowed to. Luca takes his hand, giving him a small nod.
“The therapist signed the NDA, we can dump our stuff on him.”
Excuse me?
I’m about to say I’m definitely not here for family therapy, but Alex is already talking.
“I was taken into foster care when I was a kid. My foster dad wasn’t a good man.
One time he beat me so badly I was terrified to go back, so Luca brought me to Heatherfell and hid me in the tree house for almost a week.
Effy ran her mouth, and the next thing I knew Jay was climbing up the ladder.
I wouldn’t come down at first because I was afraid he’d send me back, but he promised that wouldn’t happen.
Jay protected me. He even got into legal trouble for keeping me inside Heatherfell.
A few weeks later, my foster dad died in a workplace accident, and everything moved fast after that.
The day Jay and Janice adopted me was the happiest day of my life. ”
Workplace accident. Just like that, huh?
This smells a lot like a McKenna cleanup.
I force a smile. Inside, my thoughts are racing. Not just about the whole make-it-look-like-an-accident thing. What unsettles me is how Jay wears two faces.
One where he’s the savior, and one where he’s the oppressor.
Saving Alex. Breaking Tom. Controlling everyone.
I take a good look at the outsiders who somehow made it inside: Alex, Eli, Luca, Janice, Mary, Calvin, Sergei.
I can’t help but think each of them has a story where Jay stepped in, 'saved’ them, and took care of them. Maybe they believe they owe him for that. It’s a classic cult strategy—there’s nothing tighter than loyalty built on gratitude.
I want to know everything, so maybe it’s not a bad idea to play along, to check on things with Jay’s approval. I turn to Luca.
“Luca, you’re Jay’s son?” I already know the answer—Tom told me, I heard it from Stella too—but I want to hear what he says.
“Jay’s actually my stepfather, he adopted me as his son. My biological father abandoned us when my mom was pregnant. Never met the guy, he just disappeared.”
All those people who got in the way just…gone.
A little manic laugh rattles around in my head. This is going to blow up so fucking badly for me once people find out Tom’s planning to leave.