Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“We’re okay.” He didn’t loosen his hold on me, but he leaned in and rubbed our noses together. “Everything’s okay.”
“Promise,” I choked out.
“I swear to you. But let me hold on to my anger.” He nipped at my upper lip, and I let the relief wash over me. “Because I’m gonna do more than hunt you down tonight, boy. I’m gonna ruin you.”
“Hnnghh.” I tried to buck into his touch; I tried to kiss him.
He didn’t let me. Instead, he let me go and smacked my cheek, just hard enough for me to feel the sting.
“You reek. Go shower off that filth,” he commanded. “We’re leaving in twenty minutes.”
I rubbed my cheek as he stepped away from me, and I didn’t know what’d struck me hardest, his hand or his comment on me reeking. He was one hell of a Sadist, that was for sure. And I had a feeling it wasn’t over.
“You’re gonna let Franklin take care of your cock, aren’t you?” I couldn’t keep the accusation out of my tone.
He chuckled on his way out of the kitchen. “You bet your fucking ass I am. Jesus Christ, I’m surrounded by whores.”
I gnashed my teeth.
The last thing I heard when I went into the bathroom was Lee telling Franklin to, “Open wide. Swallow every goddamn drop.”
Half an hour later, it felt bizarre to be heading out of the city. We’d both showered and changed. Our overnight bag was packed and sitting on the seat between us. We’d maintained a good front to give Franklin instructions to stay in touch and to contact us at any point if he felt a drop in his mood. That shit was important.
We’d also had to assure him everything was okay, and it was. We were fine, but we had this tension we couldn’t shake, nor did we want to. That was the whole point. We wanted to use all these emotions as fuel tonight.
Lee had done a good job at explaining our primal-play kink to Franklin, who had gone home with only one concern—that we might play too hard and “bruise our beautiful faces.”
Bless him.
Bruises were nothing.
I yawned and shifted my half-empty Big Gulp between my legs. It wouldn’t fit in the cupholder…
Since we were spending the night at the house, we’d stopped at a 7-Eleven for snacks and soda, and now I was having regrets about the Big Gulp. I needed to pee.
“Should we stop and pick up dinner too?” I asked.
“There’s a barbecue tonight,” he replied.
Urgh. That meant hot dogs and burgers. During our breakup, I’d spent a lot of time at the house, mostly in Penelope’s cabin. At least one week, I’d had hot dogs every freaking day. I was sick of them.
Lee side-eyed me. “Why are you squirming?”
“I gotta go to the bathroom.”
He found that amusing. “Shoulda thought of that before you inhaled a year’s worth of soda.”
Ya think?!
“Thank you for your helpful advice, Master. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He laughed.
I’d never checked us in and darted up to the third floor so fast in my life. “Checking in” meant running behind the front desk, opening a cabinet, grabbing our key, and adding our initials to a notebook.
I had to pee so bad that my stomach hurt. Lee hollered after me, saying he was gonna do something in the kitchen, and I didn’t even respond.
I’d booked us the same room we’d shared on our first night back together. Private bathroom, small terrace with a view from the side of the house. It was all trees, the Founders’ cabins, and fields in the background.
“Sweet relief!” I flushed the toilet then washed my hands.
Lesson learned. Don’t buy a Big Gulp when you’re on the road with a Sadist who seizes the opportunity for bathroom restrictions.
I felt much better now. After checking my reflection and making sure my hair still looked good, I walked out and decided saying hi to my friends was next.
On my way downstairs again, I received a message from Franklin.
Have you ever heard of something called Grindr?
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
We were gonna have to teach him hookup etiquette, and I was playing fast and loose with the word etiquette. Still, plenty of ins and outs to know.
“Tate! Just the man I wanted to see.”
I glanced up from my phone and spotted Kit in the lobby. “Hey, you.” I pocketed my phone and ran down the last steps. “What’s up?”
He shuffled his weight and hesitated a little, and for a moment, he became the shy kid he’d been before he’d met Colt and Lucas. “Well, I was wondering…” He cleared his throat. “If maybe you wanted to help me make Gael feel more included…? He’s very shy. I’d do it myself, but I fear I’d make things more awkward.”
He was too damn sweet.
“But it’s come to my attention that he hasn’t made any friends yet,” he said. “I feel bad for him. I know how intimidating this community can be on the outside. Everyone’s so close.”