Chapter 8
8
DEER
“No fucking way! You are a liar!” Brynlee’s volume nearly destroyed my eardrum, and I had to move the phone away as I grinned around the back seat of the town car. The scent of “new car” was in my nose as I shifted on the cool white leather. The traffic outside was crawling, but I didn’t mind so much, since I had a cooler full of drinks that was probably worth more than my entire outfit and nothing but time on my hands.
“Yeah, I’m in a Mercedes-Maybach. It’s red. I feel so fucking spoiled, and it’s barely been a day.” I smirked at my sallow reflection in the window at my side. The divider was firmly up between me and the driver, so I didn’t worry too much that he would catch on to the fact that I did not belong back here. I’d grown up with money, but not being carted around town by strangers in the back of luxury cars money.
“You are the absolute worst,” she said, amusement in her tone. “Leave it to you to get the silver spoon right out of the gate.”
“Beginner’s luck.” I was feeling magnanimous after my amazing breakfast. “I’m going to send cash to my mom so she can stop being an epic-level disaster banshee about how she’s going into debt getting her eight-hundred-dollar facials, and then later I’m going to meet up with him at a sex shop.” I whispered that last part but couldn’t stop myself from giggling. “Like, not one of those ones that has bad costumes and novelty dildos the size of your arm, but like, an honest to God one that services kinky people. I looked up reviews for the place because he texted me an address for it, and it’s the real deal. People who have lifestyles go there. I’m not even sure what that means, to be a lifestyle kinkster, but it sounds like they would know their shit.”
Bryn gasped. “You better be careful. Meet me for coffee on Monday. I want to make sure that you’re still alive and not speaking under duress.”
Cackling, I shook my head. “It’s all good. I’m telling you, he actually introduced me to people he knew today. He’s on the level. If he was going to murder me, I don’t think he would’ve done that.”
She hummed. “Well, if that’s the case, make sure you flip his switch so you can maybe get yourself a permanent situation. Never forget, that’s the goal. Your own credit card and a space in his life is worth a hell of a lot more than whatever he already paid you. If he wants you to pretend to be a sea turtle, you say glub glub .”
Groaning, I rested my head back against the seat. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
She giggled.
“He only wants me for a month. You’re blowing things out of proportion.”
“Now! He only wants you for a month right now . You give him the things he wants and maybe next week he wants you for the whole year. Put on your happy face, baby boy. Get that money.” Her Southern accent, which I usually didn’t notice, bled through into her words, and I had to laugh.
“You’re terrible, Bryn Bryn.”
“No, I’m realistic, Dee Dee. My mother, rest her soul, wanted to name me Fancy, and she didn’t, but I always knew the deal. Some people come from money, and some people have pretty faces.”
Confused, I simply hummed. “Okay, so Monday. We have coffee at two after class? Unless my guy wants me at that time.” I nibbled on my bottom lip. How were my classes going to work? Clearly, he had to do stuff for work, too, so it would probably be fine.
“Sounds good. I’m going to send you pics of a hotel and a room number tonight. If I don’t call you in twenty-four hours?—”
“Twelve.”
“Fine, twelve hours after the pics land, you get the cops.”
I gnawed my lip harder. “Be safe.”
“Same, sweetie.” She ended the call, and for a few seconds my gut churned. I understood the precautions, but I didn’t feel unsafe with Scott. I didn’t like that she was going places where she might not feel good about the situation, yet she was doing it anyway. Shrugging, I slipped my phone into my pocket. I had to trust her gut, but I didn’t like it. She probably felt the same way about the stuff I’d been telling her. If I hadn’t spent some time with Scott, the kinky stuff might sound scary, too. Of course, there were things I’d kept private and wouldn’t tell her. I wasn’t sure what had made me hold back, but instinctively I knew there were things I shouldn’t talk about over the phone, not even to Bryn.
The divider between myself and the front went down, giving me a goofy little thrill. “We’re approaching the post office, sir.” The driver had a crisp New England accent that was worlds different from what I typically heard here in the city. “Parking can be a hassle, so I’ll circle the block for you.”
“Oh, okay!” I grinned and slung the duffel bag strap over my shoulder.
The driver slowed to a stop, despite the honking that erupted behind us, and I hopped out and hustled to the sidewalk so the car could pull away again.
With a bounce in my step, I went into the post office. It was one of those places that wasn’t much more than a small storefront and the mailing counter. Glancing around, I grabbed some envelopes, then stepped to the side and tried to discreetly stuff them full of cash.
It half worked. I fumbled a wad of bills out onto the floor.
I ignored an old lady in an ugly Christmas sweater shedding tinsel—which I was seventy-five percent sure she was wearing unironically—holding a badly taped box in her arms. She goggled at me with her mouth wide open.
When I finally had the envelopes sealed, I snagged a marker off a kiosk in the middle of the space and quickly scribbled Mom’s address on them. As I filled in the return address, I sighed. I wasn’t sure she remembered what city I was in for school.
It didn’t take me long to pay for the envelopes and get them checked in. Before I knew it, I was back out on the sidewalk, shuffling from foot to foot, waiting for the town car to come into view. The empty duffel bag felt odd flapping against my side. Christmas decorations had exploded now that we were almost in December, and I spent a few minutes enduring the dazzling lights that had been added to shop windows seemingly overnight.
As I glanced around, I noticed a tall man, with brown eyes and a trimmed dark beard, approaching me. His hunter green suit stuck out. He was almost six feet away. Something about him was odd. He had a gray hat pulled down over his head. I was on the sidewalk in an awkward spot, hugging myself to stay warm, so I tried to shuffle closer to the edge near the street to stay out of people’s way. The last thing I wanted to do was act like an annoying tourist while everyone was rushing to get to work.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned my head, only to catch a fist to the jaw. I reacted and grabbed the guy, trying to bring him down with a well-placed elbow to the solar plexus, but instead I just took a second sledgehammer fist to the jaw and went to a knee. I held my aching face as the man in the hunter green suit pointed at me.
I’d never met this asshole in my life.
“What the fuck?” I mumbled.
“You tell Scotty that he fucked with the wrong family. My cousin didn’t deserve that kind of shitty ending, no matter what he did first. Scotty’s gonna get worse. We can get to him, even if he hides in that tower.” The guy spit on me, like an actual glob of disgusting saliva, and I gagged and used my sleeve to wipe the mess from my cheek. He hustled off through the foot traffic before I could get to my feet. The man vanished in the crowd, an ominous magic trick.
“You okay, sonny?” I glanced up, and it was the sweater woman from the post office hovering near me. “Do you want me to call the police?” She raised her phone in the air. “That was crazy!”
I tried to smile at her. My right cheek and jaw throbbed, and I let out a shaky breath. “No. It was random New York bullshit. Doesn’t usually strike during the day, but I guess today was my day.”
She gave me a wobbly smile. “That was rough. You should go get checked out.”
I stared up at the sky and didn’t feel dizzy or sick, so I shook my head. “I’m all right, thanks.”
By the time she shuffled off, the car was back. That was fucking wild . I was shaken, but what else would I do except get back in the car? I wasn’t about to waste time at an urgent care or ER when I didn’t feel bad.
My ass had barely hit the seat when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out to see that Scott had texted me, saying he couldn’t meet me for another three hours, so I was left with time to fill. I found a coffee shop and studied on my phone because I had most of my textbooks digitally. Over the course of the few hours I waited, the bruise on my face darkened into an awful-looking plum purple that ached when I poked at it—which I did incessantly—but I was far more interested in what that man had meant by threatening me than the damage he’d done.
What the hell was Scott into?
I’d known by the bag of money that he probably did some illegal things. The bullet wound that didn’t faze him was another dead giveaway. The guy who stopped at Scott’s apartment with no questions to dig the stupid bullet out was another hot clue. The smart thing to do would be bail, really. Tell him I couldn’t do this. Give back the cash I hadn’t sent to my mom and maybe call it a day. Figure something else out.
But...I liked Scott. A cold chill hit me. He did things to my body no one else had ever hinted at. And he’d managed to make me fly without touching me with his dick. Would I survive the full experience? I bit my lip and my dick tingled and nudged my jeans. No, I was in this for the long haul, danger be damned. I wanted to feel the way I did on the kitchen island today. And that was a weird thing to think. Grinning, I messaged the driver that I was ready to go meet Scott and hustled outside.
The sex shop resembled a high-end boutique and had tasteful displays in the windows. Cosset sounded like it was for people who owned expensive poodles, but the pricey handmade masks and beautiful leatherwork collars in the window said loud and clear that all the items were intended for humans. When I peeked through the glass door, I spotted Scott’s broad shoulders. He was talking to a man. The guy said something, and Scott’s delighted smile lured me inside.
I pushed open the door and stepped through.
Scott swung around and went from happy to a storm cloud. “What the bloody fuck?” He stomped over to me and grabbed my chin to tilt my head this way and that.
“So.” I dragged the word out, and his eyebrows flew up. “There was this guy.” I quickly babbled the story to him of everything that had happened.
“He didn’t mention which cousin he was mad about?” Scott murmured, brow furrowed.
“Uh, no, but you know, he probably figured you would know.” I wrinkled my nose. “How many people have you pissed off?”
Scott grunted and shrugged his uninjured shoulder. “Tell me what he looked like?”
“It all happened pretty fast.” I felt stupid as I racked my brain and realized I barely remembered the guy beyond brown hair and a snarl on his face. “He was taller than me by a few inches. And wider.”
Scott traced a thumb around the point of my jaw and the light touch ached. He shook his head. “You don’t leave the tower without an escort after this.”
I wanted to roll my eyes but didn’t. “I have classes on Monday. What do you mean by escort?”
He scowled. “Still. I’ll find someone to go around with you. I have people.”
“I—”
“No arguments, come on,” he said, sliding an arm around my back. The way he firmly cut me off and took control both irritated me and did something else—my belly felt like a sweet gooey liquid had been poured into it and was bubbling there, making the rest of my blood warm and light. “This is Joy. He’s going to help us.”
Joy smiled at me. He wore a collar with a bell on it and had fluffy curls that had been bleached white. His blue eyes were so brilliant that it took me maybe two seconds to realize they were contacts. There were white paw gloves on his hands, but underneath his fingers stuck out so he could do things. Was he supposed to be.... What? A kitty? I wanted to ask, but was that rude? Before I could work up the nerve to say anything, Joy tugged on my sleeve.
“Scott says you’ve probably never been in a shop like ours?”
Fear bolted through me. Would he kick me out? I glanced at Scott, who only winked and gave me a little nudge.
“That’s correct.” My entire body heated as Joy grinned, a slow shy smile that made his face radiant.
“You’ll love this. What is your inner animal?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Probably some form of sloth. I like to eat, sleep, and be cuddled.”
Joy laughed and led me to a wall of cat masks and toys, along with more of those beautiful leatherwork collars. “What do you think?”
Hell, was I supposed to have thoughts? I stared at the toys and actually even batted at one of them, then raised an eyebrow. “It’s okay. I suppose I could be a kitten.”
Joy pouted and his entire body radiated disappointment. “Not good enough.” He led me by the sleeve to a much larger area full of stuff that was clearly meant for puppy play. I’d never done it, but I’d at least heard of that one.
“What do you think?” he asked, handing me a leather mask.
My stomach wobbled as I looked at Scott. If he liked it, I would do it, but he wasn’t giving me clues. Instead, he simply waited patiently.
“I don’t think this is my thing, either. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Joy was quick to say.
“His name is Deer .” Scott chuckled.
Joy batted his eyelashes at Scott, and I wasn’t a fan of that. I wanted to turn him around so he couldn’t see Scott anymore. “Don’t lie to me.”
“He’s not. I mean, that’s my nickname,” I murmured, cheeks on fire.
Joy grabbed my hand this time and physically hauled me toward a much smaller area that was sort of blocked off by glass cases with jewelry inside, but I gasped when I spotted some soft-looking deer ears on a headband in a display. There were small antlers attached. I bit my lip when Joy passed me a cute, puffy little brown-and-white tail anchored to a thick anal plug protected by plastic packaging. My entire body glowed as if I was lying naked under tropical sunshine.
“Yeah, look at his face. I suspected that would be the winner,” Scott said, wrapping an arm around me. He was still studying me with a seriously concerned expression, and I wasn’t surprised when he dropped a light kiss on my aching jaw.
“I’ll leave you two to shop,” Joy said, sauntering off toward the front counter. “If you need anything, please let me know. Feel free to open the display cases, except for the jewelry.”
“You’re within your rights to ask some questions,” Scott said the nanosecond we were alone.
“Do you think deer would like a collar? A real deer, I mean. Seems weird.” I frowned at a Christmas-themed collar. It was green, with gold embossed holly on it.
“That wasn’t what I—Christ, you’d be a treat in this,” he said, voice going rough. He opened one of the display cases lining the wall and lifted a full harness with the same holly motif off the black velvet. My skin burned hot as we studied the piece together. “That green against your pale skin will be gorgeous.”
“Thought you didn’t like early Christmas decorations,” I snarked.
“I’ll make an exception for you.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek.
Fuck, I was going to melt and fall through the floor. Would he dress me in the harness? Would he tug on it while he was drilling his dick deep in my ass?
“I know what you meant.” I gnawed on my lip. “I just.... I get not being willing or able to tell everyone your business. I’m not going to push it.” My thoughts drifted to the rumors I’d been hearing most of my life about what the Killough Company really did, and I shivered. I wouldn’t want anyone digging around too much when it came to my family, so I wouldn’t do it to him. “Anyway, I like you, and I get it.”
He hauled me close and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I won’t let you get hurt on my watch again. You have no idea—” He dragged his thumb along my injured jaw, and the slight burn made my belly spark with tingles. “I’m going to.... Well, he’ll regret this.”
“Oh.” I stared up at him while going into a meltdown. When had anyone ever cared that I was bullied or hurt? His grin curved into something wicked the longer we gazed into each other’s eyes.
“What kinds of things would a deer play with, do you think?” He glanced around and guided me over to a red door in one corner that he pushed open.
My heart lurched. Inside was what I’d half expected to see when we’d entered. There was an entire wall dedicated to dildos alone, but the longer I looked, the more I realized—“They’re shaped like....” Werewolves and dragons and anything else you could imagine. I slapped a hand to my face and started to snicker.
“Whatever you want in your arse, it’s in stock.” He snorted, eyebrows waggling. “So, we can do this two ways. I do some shopping and surprise you, or you tell me your favorites to play with. Nothing’s too dear to buy.”
I couldn’t decide if that was supposed to be some wordplay on my name or not, but Scott wasn’t looking pleased with himself, so I figured that his turn of phrase was just Australian speak for I have a ton of cash to burn . Closing my eyes, I tried not to pass out. All my blood had rushed south a while ago and the last little bit was trying to squeeze into my dick.
Scott ghosted his hand over my hard-on, and I whined out a noise that made me want to crawl into a hole somewhere. It was so embarrassing, but he just rubbed more firmly.
“Um. I uh—” It wouldn’t be wrong to dive headfirst into what he wanted, right? That’s what Brynlee would tell me to do. “Why don’t you, uh, surprise me?” I cleared my throat and forced my eyes open again.
“Would I be surprising you because you’ve never played like this?” He brushed a kiss to my lips that nearly had me in a puddle at his feet.
My face burned and I shrugged a shoulder, attempting to act casual.
“Oh, this is gonna be fun. Come on. I’ll walk you to the car, and you can wait there while I finish shopping.” He nibbled my neck, and despite everything, I was about three seconds away from begging him to fuck me in the back room of this shop.
“I can get to the car on my own.” I rolled my eyes.
I gasped when he smacked my ass and it actually hurt. My dick flexed in my pants so hard that I swayed against Scott.
He caught me with a warm hum. “You’ll be a good deer, or you’ll get punishments as well as rewards,” he murmured into my ear.
I moaned in a way that was absolutely humiliating, but the fire that lit up his eyes made everything worth it.
“Yes, Sir.” I kissed the corner of his mouth with trembling lips. What the hell was I doing? I had no clue, but I would trust him to get us through it—whether I should or not.