Chapter 3
Austin sat in the backseat, stupefied and horny.
Did that really just happen?
He raised his hand to touch his chin where Dominic had held it. Nobody had ever done that to him before. Even when he was on set, everybody touched him like they were expecting him to take a swing at them. Dominic touched him like—
Austin shivered. Dominic touched him like he knew Austin would obey him.
As if he saw through all his muscles and tattoos and the gruff demeanor he’d been using for so long, he didn’t know how to let go of it, and saw the desperate boy underneath.
The one that was so eager to please he didn’t even make a smart remark, just walked to the car so fast the other security guards had to jog to keep up.
The other security guard—Brent, the new guy who joined not long after Dominic did—turned around from the front passenger seat. “Are you sure you don’t want me back there, Mr. Wayne? Protocol dictates—”
“Dominic’s not here,” Austin said, proud of how steady his voice was. “You don’t have to go all protocol when he isn’t here.”
Not like he’s all about the protocol anyway, he added silently to himself.
For as fantastic as Dominic was at his job, it wasn’t protocol to grab your client’s face when you told him to go to the car.
And it sure as hell wasn’t protocol to make him brush his teeth while he was wasted or put him to bed.
Austin had been convinced that memory was a dream for a long time. Until tonight.
“I just don’t want him to think I’m not doing my job,” Brent said, watching him in the rear-view mirror.
Austin let his voice sharpen. “You’re not coming back here, Brent.”
Brent blinked with surprise. The driver, Hatter—who was usually on the day shift but swapped around tonight due to some annoying kid-related stuff Austin didn’t listen to—glanced over at Brent with his brows raised. Austin didn’t often bring out his acting voice when he was off the job.
Like everybody else in Austin’s life except for his brother, father, and Dominic, Brent immediately caved to whatever he was saying in his scary voice.
“Got it,” he said.
Austin sagged back against his seat, relieved. If Brent came back here, he would see how mortifyingly hard Austin was. He couldn’t deal with that right now.
The car door opened. Austin crossed his legs in panic as Dominic leaned down and looked into the front seats.
“Out,” Dominic told Brent. “Your shift is over. I’ll take it from here.”
Brent and Hatter looked at each other. Dominic was in charge, but he’d never dismissed anyone before their shift was over before.
Not that Austin knew, anyway. It was hard to care when all the blood in his body had fled from his brain straight to his cock, which throbbed as he watched Dominic take control like this.
“But,” Brent began. “My wife’s picking me up from the house.”
“Mr. Wayne will pay for your taxi,” Dominic said. “Out.”
Brent and Hatter traded another look. Then Brent climbed out, closing the door behind them.
“What was the problem?” Hatter asked, rubbing the steering wheel nervously. “Just a car backfiring, right?”
“No, it was a gunshot. They found it in the wait staff lockers. They think someone snuck in with a stolen uniform.”
“What?” Austin said. “Why? Did they have a target?”
“We’re looking into it,” Dominic said. But there was something in the tight line of his jaw that told Austin he already had his suspicions.
Dominic slid into the backseat and nodded at Hatter. “Hatter, let’s go.”
The limo pulled into the street. Dominic pressed the button that rolled up the partition, and Austin watched it ease into place with his heart in his throat. Was Dominic even going to acknowledge it? He felt like he was going crazy. He was so hard, and Dominic had just touched his face.
“Why did you make Brent leave?” Austin asked breathlessly, staring into the dark partition that turned the backseat into its own little world.
“Couldn’t take the risk,” Dominic said, checking his watch, the deft, simple movement somehow making Austin even harder. “He’s good at his job, but he’s not very discreet. Hatter knows to keep quiet if he hears something he shouldn’t have.”
Austin’s chest flared with wild hope. He squeezed his crossed legs together, barely able to gather enough spit to swallow.
“Why? Are you going to kill me or fuck me?” he managed. He even gave Dominic a lazy grin, but it went wobbly at the edges when Dominic looked at him straight-on.
This was happening. It had to. Even if Dominic were actually here to kill him, Austin would enjoy Dominic’s hands around his throat for a few seconds before he started thumping the partition for help.
Dominic didn’t even look down at his lap. He was staring squarely into Austin’s face as he asked, “Did you touch yourself?”
“What? There were two guys in the front seat,” Austin protested. Then he rubbed his crossed legs together, the hard pressure making him wince. He had squeezed himself. Under the guise of adjusting himself, but still.
“Maybe a little,” he admitted grudgingly.
Dominic’s expression didn’t change. “Did I give you permission?”
Austin made an awful, pitiful whine, one he could never take back. He looked down, embarrassed at the strain in his slacks. He was so hard he was getting lightheaded. He didn’t know that was possible.
Dominic took his jaw again, twisting his face up to meet him. “I said, did I give you permission?”
“No,” Austin said, too fast. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know that was a rule. If it were a rule, I wouldn’t have done it. Would you touch me now?”
As soon as he said it, he knew he’d said the wrong thing. Dominic’s fingers tightened on his jaw, and Austin heard himself moan.
“You’ll wait,” Dominic said. “Once I get you home safe, we’ll go over our options.”
“Options,” Austin repeated, dizzy with the sensation of Dominic’s hand around his jaw. “Like what?”
“That depends on if you behave.”
With that, Dominic let him go. It felt like an icy bucket of water, and Austin swayed toward Dominic before pulling himself back up. He felt like he had run a marathon. No, scratch that, he felt like he was on some powerful new designer drug, and he was coming down.
Dominic sat motionless next to him, looking as unaffected as always. It made Austin want to squeeze himself into the footwell and beg. But he still had some pride, so he stayed seated.
“Hey,” Austin said awkwardly. Then he heard the next words in his head and winced. Was he really going to say this shit? Maybe it was better to suffer in silence. He was being weird; why was he making it weird?
“What?” Dominic asked. He didn’t sound mad, which was a relief. For some stupid reason, Austin cared if Dominic was mad at him.
“Austin,” Dominic said, his voice softer than before. “Tell me what you need.”
It made him feel less like he was spiraling on a concoction of drugs he didn’t know the symptoms of. But it didn’t make him feel like less of an idiot.
“Can you—” Austin waved his hand uselessly, already hating himself for asking. “Touch me? Like, not even— Just my leg, or something. Feel like I’m spinning out here, man.”
He waited tensely for Dominic to tell him to wait patiently like a good little boy or whatever. But to his surprise, Dominic reached over and took his knee, squeezing hard.
It was like a life preserver. Austin’s breath left him in a loud whoosh, some of that heady golden feeling rushing back.
Everything was fine. He was getting what he wanted. Even if he still wasn’t convinced it was actually happening. He’d spent so long wanting this, he couldn’t let himself believe it was happening until it was over.
The rest of the car ride passed in a blur. Dominic rubbed his thigh, a gentle rub that made Austin’s poor cock pulse in his slacks, then reached for the door.
“Stay,” he told Austin.
Austin grumbled something unintelligible.
Dominic paused, raising his brows. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” Austin replied. “I’m good. I mean, I’ll be good. Or whatever.”
Dominic looked him over. Austin sat up, trying not to look like he was strung out on something.
He was sweating, beads of salt along his hairline.
He’d started undoing his collar before Dominic told him to stop.
Which he had, obviously. He’d do whatever the fuck Dominic wanted if he just kept telling him what to do.
“Wait ten seconds,” Dominic said finally. “Then follow me inside.”
Austin wanted to make some jab about Dominic not always having eyes on him for once. But he just nodded, rubbing the spot where Dominic’s hand had been holding his leg.
Dominic climbed out of the car. Austin counted ten seconds, even throwing in a Mississippi between them like he was in grade school, and then climbed out so fast he fumbled the door.
When he finally slammed it shut, Dominic was standing next to the front door. His hands were folded neatly in front of him, just like any other night. But the look in his eyes gave him away.
He looked at Austin like he was going to eat him.
Austin shuddered pleasurably and stumbled over. He was so hard it was genuinely starting to hurt. He still couldn’t believe it had stayed that bad for the whole car ride. Dominic had touched his face and his leg, and that was it. How was he going to react when Domnic got his hands on him for real?
He stabbed the door code in. Red buzzer.
“Shit,” Austin muttered. “One sec.”
He inserted the code again. His index finger fell off the eight and onto the seven. Another red.
“Fuck,” Austin hissed.
Dominic stepped up and pressed the code in seamlessly. His hands were steady. Practiced. Austin thought back to that night Domnic helped him home when he was apocalyptically wasted, remembering how longingly he’d watched Dominic’s hands as he pushed the door code in.
He’d wanted him so badly that night. Now he was finally getting him.
The door light went green. Austin wrenched the door open and stumbled inside, not even turning to nod at Hatter as he drove away.
“Can I touch myself now?” he blurted. “Come on, man. I’m dying here.”