Chapter 17
Seventeen
He had exactly six minutes and nineteen seconds before Rami’s live started. Not that the bidding would begin right away, and frankly, Skye’s participation in the bidding wasn’t supposed to come in until the end. Though he fully intended to drive the amount up if it slowed down.
He had this money to spend, and the only person he wanted to give it to was Rami. A small part of him was afraid it would complicate things in the future. That maybe Rami would somehow feel beholden or in debt to Skye. The bigger part of him knew it wouldn’t be an issue because Rami did tend to see things in black and white, and this was nothing more than a transaction.
A purchase.
There was weight to it, of course. He was buying Rami’s virginity, but his hands had already made Rami come more than once. So had his mouth. And the toy he’d bought for him. All of those things were special and important, and Skye knew he had to have this.
He needed to call this moment his.
Maybe it was wrong, but he was a Sin, goddamn it. Sure, he was also human, but what he’d been doing for so long and the way he’d split himself into one man and one fallen angel had forever changed who he was. There were times he wanted to embrace the darker side of himself, and Rami was giving him that chance.
His entire body was filled with a hunger he struggled to name. It was wrapped in love and maybe a little obsession, but there was more to it. He just wished he understood himself a little better.
Checking the clock one last time, he decided to step outside and breathe for a few. He was already logged in so Rami would see his name and not panic, and Skye didn’t mind if he missed the beginning of the show. He did like watching the chat. He found it wildly erotic that so many people were so turned on by his beloved.
That was the source of his possessive feelings. Everyone wanted him, but Rami was his and his alone.
And he didn’t even mind the objectification angle of it because it meant that Skye had been given a gift from Rami: knowing him for who he was. Loving him for who he was. Not just the two dicks hanging between his legs or the quiet, punched-out moans he gave when he got himself off in front of hundreds.
And Skye knew if he was careful enough and clever enough, he’d get to keep Rami until the day they took their last breath.
“Someone out here?”
Skye jolted as he stepped off his porch, then walked over to his fence and pulled the door open. Jet was there, head tipped down, cane in his hand. He was a little sweaty, like he’d just come from a jog. Or a hard fuck.
“Work?” Skye asked.
Jet’s face lifted. “Mm. Chapel session. I feel like I ran a marathon. I’m getting too old for this crap.”
Skye burst into laughter. He and Jet were two of the youngest Sins, but he was starting to realize that this job could make him feel old when it wanted to. “They weren’t being an asshole, were they?”
“Nah. Just athletic.” Jet dug the tip of his cane into the dirt, then felt his way forward with his left hand until he touched the fence. He leaned against it with a heavy sigh. “You had a busy week.”
Skye groaned, rolling his eyes up toward the stars. There had been a system glitch, and when Hen was making appointments, they weren’t showing up in the calendar. When they repopulated, the system had scheduled them all in a cluster and sent out appointment confirmations to all their clients. Tuesday, Skye had two clients back-to-back. Wednesday, he had one that lasted until midnight, and Thursday was a bright and early 8:00 a.m. session. He’d been so out of it he hadn’t had much time to talk to Rami the way he wanted, though his lover didn’t seem to mind.
But that led to the smallest flicker of worry in his gut because what if Rami eventually did get tired of Skye’s schedule?
“Does Taylor ever get…I don’t know…uncomfortable with this whole thing?”
Jet barked out a laugh. “Yeah, he absolutely does. It’s easier when he doesn’t think about it, but sometimes it bothers him. Which is human, I think.”
“He’s never asked you to stop, has he?”
Jet shrugged. “He’s asked me if I will. And when. I think a small part of him just wants to know that he’s more important than anyone else. That I’d burn down this life to make him happy.”
“And you would.”
Jet grinned. “I absolutely would. For him, knowing is enough. He doesn’t have a countdown calendar to retirement or anything like that.”
There was so much for Skye and Rami to talk about. Their relationship was still so brand-new. There was so much to learn, so much to know. He didn’t need to rush toward complications.
“You’re very quiet,” Jet said, then lifted his hands. ‘Need me to sign?’ For a blind man, he’d picked up on ASL better than Skye expected him to—which was maybe unfair to say. Jet was one of the smartest people Skye had ever met, and he had a penchant for languages.
“No,” he said. “Hearing aids are on, and it’s quiet out here. I’m just…dealing.”
“Love is tricky when you’re fallen,” Jet said.
That was a truth Skye had never had to face until right then. “Didn’t think I would ever feel like this with someone. That’s part of the problem.”
“It always smacks us in the face right when we least expect it.”
Skye couldn’t argue with that. Not even a little. “I hope you can meet him soon.”
“You know my door’s always open. If he likes cats, he can come hang out with Thursday, and Taylor will want to cook. He’s been getting into stone-fired pizza lately.”
Skye laughed. Their lives were…strange. So fucking strange. But also incredibly wonderful. “Thank you.” He realized it was long past three minutes and nineteen seconds. “I’d better get in. I have a thing with Rami right now, but I’d like to take you up on your offer soon.”
Jet leaned his cane against the fence, then held out both arms, and Skye wasted no time in sinking into them. Jet was his best friend—his brother—his family. Very few things felt better than knowing he would always have this.
“Love you,” Jet said quietly against the side of his head. “You’re going to be fine.”
Skye nodded against his shoulder, then pulled back and gave Jet’s shoulder a pat. “Tell Taylor I might come by for pizza even if Rami can’t make it.”
Jet laughed again and felt for his cane. “You know he’d love that. Nothing makes him happier than showing off. But promise me it’ll be the most amazing pizza you’ve ever had. Even if it’s…well. Not.”
“Always,” Skye said. He grabbed the top of his fence and stepped in. “See you.”
The door closed with a loud whine, and with a fortifying breath, Skye turned, faced his house, then took the first step toward the start of his forever.
“ Uh. Uh uh uh uhhhh .” Rami’s moans were hard, heavy, with every rise and fall on the dildo that was attached to his chair. His nipples were pert, dark, and a little puffy from the tingling cream he’d rubbed on them earlier during the session.
Skye was enraptured, watching Rami stroke his dicks while lube gathered at the base of the toy as he fucked himself deeper and harder. He wished he was there. Christ, it was killing him to be so far away.
He was harder than steel and refusing to touch himself because his finger was poised over the mouse, which was ready to send his bid. The numbers were climbing, but they were nowhere near Skye’s limit.
Still, the clock was ticking down, and people were getting frantic.
Desperate.
There were all-caps cries for Rami to come. For him to stop the bidding. For him to show his face. Everything Rami wouldn’t do. It made Skye smile despite the fact that he was so horny he felt like he was going to lose his mind from his need to come.
He shifted against the sheets, the weight of the blanket on his hard cock almost too much to bear. His gaze fixed on Rami’s hands as he stroked himself so hard Skye knew the sounds of skin against skin were filling the room. He couldn’t hear it—without being there in person and his hearing aids on, that was a sound he’d lost.
But the sight of it was enough.
It was more than enough.
Skye’s gaze moved to the timer, and his heart jumped. A minute and fifteen seconds.
“ Uh uh uh uhhhhh .”
Fifty seconds.
“ Uh…ahhhh… ”
Thirty seconds.
The numbers shot up higher—higher. Not close enough to scare him, but enough that Rami could never question again whether or not he was worth all this.
“ Ah !”
Ten seconds.
Skye’s finger hit the mouse, and his bid buffered…
…and buffered.
“Fuck!” he cried, but before he could truly panic, the timer ended, and the notification popped up on his screen that he was the winner. He hadn’t realized his heart was pounding and racing until he noticed the beat of it thrumming deep inside his ears. His throat felt constricted for a moment, and he only just realized that Rami was slumped back, torso out of the frame, his thighs and lower stomach covered in his own come.
Skye’s body shivered, and his tongue ached at the sides with the desire to lick it all up and taste him. He swallowed that down, then breathed deeply as the screen went black and the live ended. His hands were trembling as he reached for his phone, and he held it tightly until it began to buzz.
It was another FaceTime request.
‘You did it,’ Rami signed. It was obvious from his expression he’d lost his verbal words.
Skye nodded. He fought back the desire to lift up the three-fingered sign that could only just convey how he truly felt about this man. “I did it. Are you okay?”
‘Yes,’ Rami’s fist nodded. ‘See you soon?’
“I just need a minute to regain my composure, and—” He stopped abruptly when he felt his head give an almost violent lurch. Then the room began to rock back and forth. “Shit. Shit. I can’t…fuck, I can’t see straight.”
Rami was signing, but Skye couldn’t follow his hands. He hadn’t had a vertigo spell this bad in a long, long time. He supposed he should have expected it. He could cut out all the salt in the world, but nothing would ever be able to cure his stress.
“Skye,” he heard, very faint and muffled. His ears were ringing now—like a thousand high-pitched bees, and they felt like someone had stuffed them full of that goop the audiologist used to make his earmolds. “Let…if you…come over.”
Skye shook his head, making the vertigo worse. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” Oh, and here came the nausea. He swallowed heavily. “I’m having a bad spell.”
“Skye,” Rami said very slowly and very loudly. Normally Skye hated when people shouted at him, but right now, he needed it. “I’m coming over.”
“You can’t drive.”
“I can Uber. Be there soon.”
The call ended abruptly, with just enough time for him to drop the phone and lean over. Skye lost control over his head, his ears, and, a moment later, his stomach.
He was still walking like a drunk when his doorbell flashed, but he was a little more steady and far less sick. He dug out his folding walking cane he hadn’t used in too long, and he managed to get the door open without an incident. His nystagmus was a nightmare, but he got a glimpse of Rami’s worried face and waved his hand at him.
“It happens. I promise I’m okay. But I can’t really focus on sign right now, and I can’t hear shit, so I might not be the best company.”
Warm, careful hands touched him, guiding him into an embrace. Skye’s entire body relaxed against Rami’s strong one, and he gave no resistance when Rami began to guide him back to the bedroom. The lights were off, and he let out a sigh of relief when Rami didn’t turn them on.
He just eased Skye back under the covers, and then with careful movements that didn’t shake the bed, Rami slipped in beside him. No words were spoken. There was just this—two bodies that fit together like the last pieces to a puzzle to make the picture a whole. Rami spooned him, hooking his calf over Skye’s legs, and his cocks were limp but fat, pressing through his sweats and into the small of Skye’s back.
“I won,” Skye eventually murmured.
He heard Rami’s laughter, muffled and faint through his tinnitus, and then Rami squeezed him in response.
“You’re all mine now.”
Rami shifted so his mouth was right behind Skye’s ear as he said, “I always was.”
And if that wasn’t the truth, they were both damned.