by K. C. Wells
“Why shouldn’t you wear what you want?” Heath retorted.
Nick smiled at that.
Rob stared at Nick. “Astley… like in Astley, near Wigan?” When Nick nodded, obviously surprised, Rob beamed again. “Mate! We were almost neighbors! How long ago did you leave there?”
Nick frowned. “I left when I was eighteen, so it’s been twelve years.”
Rob’s jaw dropped. “You’re thirty?”
That made Nick grin. “I’ll be thirty-one in a few months.”
“Shit.” Rob scrubbed a hand over his head. “I thought you were eighteen. You look so young.”
“Yup.” Nick sighed. “Yet another reason people assume things about me.”
“Heath?”
He turned and found Xavier staring at him. “Okay, I have to go.” Heath patted Nick on the arm. “Nick, it was nice to meet you. I hope you stick around.”
“I think I might.” Nick gave a wink. “I’ve met a few nice people already.”
Heath shook Nick’s hand and led Rob to where Xavier stood. However, Rob stopped a few feet away and gestured for Heath to continue.
“Making friends, I see.” Xavier grinned. “Who’s that?”
“His name is Nick, and don’t assume he’s a sub. He’s… prickly about that.”
Xavier chuckled. “I never assume anything about anyone. When this place used to be Whispers, we had a Dom who was a crossdresser. She was tough as nails and could make any grown man cry, including most of the Doms. She was funny, had a biting wit, and brooked no shit from anyone.”
Heath sighed. “I know so little.”
Xavier frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if I knew someone who was a crossdresser, I’d have no idea which pronoun to use.”
Xavier laughed. “There’s a story about that. He used to say, if he was wearing large dangly earrings and a dress, but no lipstick, then it was safe to use he. But if she went to the trouble of putting on lipstick, that meant she wanted to present as female.” He smiled. “I guess in my mind, she was usually female.”
It was obvious from Xavier’s demeanor that this had been someone important to him. “What happened to her?”
Xavier sighed. “She moved to the US, believe it or not. We had a big going-away party for her, and the club was packed to the rafters with well-wishers. I wrote to her a few times, but then we lost contact. Still, she was a big part of my life, and I’m grateful for the things I learned.” He reached out and stroked Heath’s shoulder. “I’d like to think she made me a better Dom.”
It warmed Heath to hear Xavier say that. For some reason he had visions of Xavier popping out of his mum as a full-fledged Dom, complete with a harness. The thought made him snicker.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Rob was wondering if you would mind me going up to Subspace for a little bit. I want to meet some of the other guys.”
Xavier handed over a bottle of water. “Sure, that sounds good. Take this with you and make sure you stay hydrated. That was a pretty intense scene, and you need to make sure you’re not going to dry up and blow away.” He leaned in and kissed Heath. “Because I’d miss you.”
That was all it took for Heath’s dick to take an interest.
He turned to Rob, who had been joined by Vic. “Maybe we can see the room another time?”
“No.” Rob grabbed his hand. “You’ve said that for the last three weeks. Tim’s up there, and so is Ellis and a few other guys.” He stuck out his chin. “I’m not above whining to get what I want, you know. Vic says he’d rather gag me than hear that.”
Heath chuckled. “I get the feeling Vic would like to gag you pretty much all the time.”
Rob narrowed his gaze. “You know, I’m starting to think you know me a little too well.” He tugged Heath’s hand. “Let’s go. Xavier’s dick will still be here when we get back down.”
“Rob….” Vic’s voice held a familiar note of warning.
“Sorry, Vic! I meant his penis will still be waiting for Heath.” Rob lowered his voice. “Hurry up, or I’m in the corner until we go home.” He propelled Heath to the lift, and when the door closed behind them, he breathed out a sigh. “That man and his corners.”
By now, Heath wasn’t fooled. “You love it.”
A dreamy expression came over Rob’s face. “Yeah, I do. When he’s got me in the corner, he never stops looking at me. Oh, he’ll deny it, but I’ve seen him out of the corner of my eye.”
It was good to know that love was a possibility for couples in the lifestyle. Most of the books Heath had read ended up with the men being together, but he’d always assumed that was because it was a romance.
The door opened on the third floor and Rob peered around the corner. “Okay, the coast is—”
“Robert James Daniels, don’t you dare think about moving.”
He winced and turned. “Hey, Maggie.”
“Don’t you ‘hey, Maggie’ me, young man. You weren’t at the knitting circle last week.”
Maggie turned out to be a small elderly woman with bright eyes that Heath swore would miss nothing.
Rob sighed and turned to face her. “Because Vic had me in the tank. It was… a rough week. My mum called, and she was complaining about Dad moving out. I finally told her I’d had enough of her bleating. She was shocked that I spoke to her that way, but I was so over it. I started in about Tim and what happened to him.” He turned to Heath. “You’ll hear that story later.” Then turned back to Maggie. “Anyway, I told her that with an attitude like hers, that could have easily been me or Alex. Then I asked if she would have even cared if we were on the streets.” He groaned. “She did something I’ve never known her to do. She cried. I felt bad about it. After I hung up, I called Alex. He said what I did was right, and that our mum needed a wake-up call.”
“And you needed Vic. I understand.” She reached out a wrinkled hand and brushed it over Rob’s short-cropped hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
He shook his head. “Nah, it’s me who’s sorry. I should have at least called.” He bit his lip. “Think I could have a hug?”
The woman opened her arms and Rob stepped into them. Heath had a feeling this was a regular occurrence.
Rob sighed. “Thank you. Vic says hugs heal, and I find myself needing them a lot more now.”
“My arms are always there for you, you know,” she said softly.
It should have felt awkward. It should have felt as though Heath was intruding on a very private moment.
It felt like none of those things.
Rob stepped back and gestured to Heath. “Maggie, I’d like you to meet Heath. He’s pretty new here, and I’m taking him to Subspace. You’re welcome to join us.”
“I’d like that.” She put a hand on Rob’s arm. “Lead on.”
Rob glanced around. “Hey, where’s your shadow?”
“He is allowed time off, you know. We’re not joined at the hip.”
When they reached the door, Rob gestured to the guard at the end of the hall, who buzzed them in, then gave Maggie a wink.
She nudged Rob with an elbow. “He wants me.”
Rob snorted. “Who doesn’t?”
When Rob opened the door, he let Heath enter first. Ellis was on the couch, talking with a young man Heath hadn’t met. There were two more young guys playing Mario Kart, while a third stood behind and watched them. They waved when Rob said hi.
“I get to play the winner,” Maggie called out, moving toward the couch.
They groaned. “You cheat, Mags. You know that.”
“No, I play to win.”
Everyone laughed, including Heath, though he wasn’t sure why.
Rob was back to his normal exuberant self. “All right, let me do the introductions. You’ve already met Ellis.”
Heath greeted Ellis with a smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thanks. Took almost a week before I could put weight on the damn thing. Wayne grounded me and
told me I wasn’t allowed out of the bed unless I had to use the bathroom or the house was on fire. Considering how bad I was hurting, I wasn’t about to argue.”
“I’m glad.” Heath reached out and shook Ellis’s hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise.”
Rob pointed to the young man seated at Ellis’s side. “Okay, now this is Tim. He’s got two Doms!”
Tim gave an exaggerated eye-roll. “Ignore him. He’s been fantasizing about it since he met me.” They shook hands.
“Good to meet you.” Heath took a seat on the plush sofa and leaned back. It felt good to be with his friends.
Rob joined him, then leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “So, I was thinking….”
Ellis groaned. “Okay, I don’t like this already.”
“What? Why?”
Ellis snorted. “Your ideas are… let’s say, not conducive to me staying on Wayne’s good side. The whole biscuit debacle from Christmas? He still has me on restrictions from sweets. I don’t know what else he can take away, but with my luck, he’ll put me in chastity and make me watch while he strokes himself off.”
“No, you’ll like this one. I promise.”
Ellis blew out a breath. “Fine.” His gaze met Heath’s, and Ellis grinned.
Tim snickered. “I can’t wait to hear it. Go on, Rob.”
Rob held up a hand. “One sec.” He went to the phone. “Hi, this is Rob up in Subspace. Could you ask Jarod if he’s got time to come talk with us? … Okay, thanks.” He hung up and turned to the other guys who were in the room. “Freddy? Sean? Jason? Can you come sit with us for a few minutes too? I’d love to share this idea with you.”
Ellis peered at Heath. “Run. Now. While you still can.”
Heath smothered a chuckle.
The other guys stopped what they were doing and took a seat. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Heath recognized one of the two owners.
“Mother, what are you doing in here?”
Maggie gave him a hard stare. “I was invited, so hush.”
Jarod sighed, then addressed Rob. “All right, what’s going on?”
Rob glanced at Heath. “Vic tells me one of us owns a bookshop.”
Uh-oh. Heath held up his hands. “I think I might be with Ellis on this one. Your idea already scares me.”
Rob shot him a scowl. “Just listen to me.”
“Give him a chance, will you?”
That got Tim a grateful smile. “So like I was saying, Heath owns a bookshop. What if once every two weeks, we get together on Wednesday nights—assuming the bossy ones allow it—and have a book club?” Rob gave a wide smile. “Don’t you think that’s a great idea?”
Ellis groaned. “No. Wait. Not just no—no way in hell.”
“Why?”
There was no mistaking Ellis’s distaste. “I hate reading. Do you know how many things I had to read when I was a copper? And how many things I have to go through for the contracts here? Plus, Wayne’s moving ahead with Jarod’s suggestion and hiring people to work security for outside venues. I get to be the one to do all those applications too.”
“That’s reading for work.” Heath frowned. “Don’t you read for fun?”
Ellis glared. “Read my lips. I. Hate. Reading.”
“Bullshit,” Heath replied bluntly, and everyone stared at him.
Ellis blinked. “What do you mean?”
“What’s the last book—not an instruction manual or anything like that—you read, cover to cover?”
“Probably something when I was in school. I don’t remember what it was. I just know I hated it.”
“That’s stuff for English, so that doesn’t count. What about Harry Potter? Have you ever read that?”
Ellis shrugged. “I saw the films. Those were okay.”
“Then read the books they’re based on. Rowling’s world is much more vibrant and alive. The characters are fleshed out better, there’s more to the action, and the relationships between the characters are much more organic.”
Ellis’s expression hadn’t changed. He plainly wasn’t buying it.
Rob reached out and put a hand on Ellis’s arm. “Come on, Ellis. I love reading. Mysteries, romance, science fiction. Books are like TV for your brain. Or don’t you have any imagination?”
“Probably not.” Ellis shrugged. “And I’m okay with that.”
Tim sighed. “God, I hope I never get as old as you are.”
Ellis’s gaze narrowed. “Excuse me?”
Freddy and Sean snickered. Jason turned away, but Heath was sure he heard him stifling a snort.
Tim’s eyes were wide. “Reading is amazing. Sam and Aaron have a library that will take me years to get through, and yet I still buy more books. Think of it this way. If this is something we decide to do, we can support Heath and get to know more about one another in the process.”
“But… it’s still reading. I hate reading.” Ellis was whining now. “There are just so many words.”
There was no mistaking Rob’s guffaw.
Heath rolled his eyes. “Okay, how about if we make a deal? We’ll start with something easy. Have any of you read Duck! by Kim Dare? It’s about a world of shifters—think like werewolves—but they’re all birds. There’s a boy named Ori, and no one knows what kind of shifter he is. He gets the shittiest jobs handed to him at the club where he works, and he’s treated horribly.”
Jason leaned in closer. “Like Cinderella?”
Heath thought it was an adorable comparison. “Yes, something like that, except Ori’s got a dozen wicked stepsisters. When a guy named Raynard spots him, he takes Ori under his wing and—”
Maggie burst out laughing, and when everyone looked at her, she blushed. “Sorry, they’re bird shifters, and he takes Ori under his wing and…. Okay, I’m done.”
They all snickered.
Ellis sucked in a breath. “So? What happens?”
Heath hid his amusement and shrugged. “You’ll have to read the book if you want to know.”
Ellis glared at him. “Fine. I’ll read the stupid book, but I’d better not regret this.”
Heath grinned. “I hate to tell you this, but just by asking that question, you’re showing you’re already interested. Why not go in with an open mind and see where it leads you?” He lifted his chin. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll order a copy. Okay? A free book on me. Read it and we can talk about it if you like it. If we go ahead and move forward with the idea, I’ll get books for us at a—” He grinned. “—substantial discount.”
Ellis groaned and chucked a cushion at Heath.
“Come on, Ellis. Give it a try,” Rob cajoled him.
Ellis threw his hands up in the air. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll read one book. I suppose it can’t kill me.”
Heath nodded enthusiastically. “If you like it, we can move on to Harry Potter or something a bit longer.”
“Well, I’m in.” Jarod reached out for Maggie’s shoulders and kneaded them gently. “Mum?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. I already read the book. I love her work. So count me in.”
“Then it’s settled. Heath will get us the books and we’ll meet back here in two weeks to discuss it.” Rob beamed. “This is going to be so good.”
“I just know I’m going to regret this,” Ellis grumbled.
Everyone laughed raucously. When they’d calmed, Jason suggested they exchange numbers, in case anyone had questions about the books, or if they just needed to talk. Once that was out of the way, they settled in for a bit of fun. Heath glanced around the room, perfectly content.
Rob might have something here. This is going to turn out okay.
Chapter Thirteen
WHEN XAVIER had suggested dinner, Heath hadn’t been sure what to expect. Would he want to discuss future scenes? The club? It didn’t take long, however, for him to work out that it wasn’t going to be that kind of evening.
The venue wasn’t what he’d expected, for one thin
g. The restaurant was a lot more upscale than the one Heath had taken Xavier to. There were linens on the table, and the menus were in leather binders.
Then there was Xavier himself, dressed in a suit that fit his frame perfectly. Heath was grateful he’d asked for a hint—his dark blue shirt and black jacket didn’t feel out of place.
Finally there was their table. Xavier had spoken quietly with the young man who’d led them through the restaurant, and they’d ended up in a corner. Far from feeling out of the way, its position spoke of intimacy and privacy.
Heath knew exactly what was different. The evening so far felt like less of a simple dinner and more of a date.
He had no problems with that whatsoever.
Heath glanced at the menu and smiled. “Are you trying to show off? I would have been happy to go to the pub.”
Xavier’s smile made Heath’s insides melt a little. “I might be trying to show off just a bit.” He leaned in. “The thing is, I wanted this to be a night where we didn’t talk about work or scenes or anything else. Just two men getting to know each other. Is that okay?”
Oh God. “Yes.” Heath cleared his throat. “It’s perfect.”
Xav beamed. “Good. I was thinking we’d start with a bottle of wine and some appetizers, and then we can think about dinner. Unless you’re hungry, in which case we can get everything at once.”
“No, that’s fine. I had a late lunch, so I’m not starved.” And now that it felt even more like a date, Heath’s stomach was jumping all over the place.
“Good.”
The waiter came over, placed a basket of bread on the table, then poured them some water. “Good evening, gentlemen. I’m Thomas, and it’s my pleasure to serve you this evening. Would you like to start with something to drink or an appetizer before you order?”
Xavier folded his menu and placed it aside. “We’d like a bottle of syrah with some carpaccio of beef. We’ll order dinner after we have that.” He spoke with a confident air that put Heath at his ease.
