Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 74548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“I didn’t even know what most of that stuff was.”
“Everything in that room serves one of two functions: either it’s for tying someone up, or it’s for beating them. Because that’s what gets him off, plain and simple.”
“I’m really inexperienced when it comes to this stuff, obviously,” I admitted. “I only had one boyfriend before Dante, and we actually never went farther than oral sex. I kind of feel incredibly clueless about…well, pretty much everything.”
“Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate you being so open with me.”
“You didn’t ask, but I’m going to tell you something else, because you might worry about it down the road: he used a condom with me one hundred percent of the time. For the record,” he added, “I’m clean. I don’t know how the hell that’s possible, given all the shit that’s been done to me. But anyway, just so you know, he always played safe.”
“Good to know.”
“You also didn’t ask this question,” Austin said with a smile. “But he hasn’t fucked me since he met you. Mr. Dombruso actually texted me the night he met you in a bar, because we had an appointment that night. He cancelled on short notice, and hasn’t rescheduled since then. You know, just in case you were wondering.”
When we got ready for bed that night, Austin traded his tight jeans for a pair of my sweats, which were ridiculously big on him. He cinched them up the best he could with the drawstring, and between that and the toothbrush I gave him out of the twin pack I’d bought at the dollar store, we made do pretty well.
Finally, I shut off the lights and we got under the covers. We were about two feet apart and facing each other, our bound hands at shoulder height between us. Austin watched me for a while, his eyes full of some sort of emotion. And then he said quietly, “You know you can fuck me if you want, I’m bought and paid for. You can do anything you want to me. I’m a full-service whore.”
I reached up with my free hand and gently brushed the blonde curls back from his face. “You really don’t want me to do that. So why would you bring it up?”
He shrugged, breaking eye contact. “You didn’t ask to be stuck with me. And it has to be wearing on you, being forced to spend all this time with a prostitute. So I thought…I don’t know. Maybe if I could make you feel good, this would seem like less of an ordeal to you.”
“You know, were I stuck with anyone else, this probably would seem like an ordeal. But you’re incredibly easy to get along with, Austin. You’re a nice person, and I actually really like spending time with you.”
He met my gaze. “You do?” I nodded and he smiled shyly. “I like you, Charlie. I’m kind of glad we’re stuck with each other.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning when I awoke, I was laying flat on my back on my side of the bed. And Austin was wound around me like a cute blonde boa constrictor. He lay partially on top of me, his head on my chest, his thin arm holding me tightly, straddling one of my legs with both of his and snoring softly. When I shifted slightly he woke with a start, and realizing he’d intertwined himself with me, got off me quickly with a mumbled, “Sorry.”
We got up and dressed, and I placed a quick call to the hotel and spoke to Dante’s grandmother, who assured me she was fine. Then Austin and I teamed up to wrestle Peaches onto his leash and took him for a walk. When we got back to the apartment, I had some cereal while Austin again claimed not to be hungry. I was beginning to wonder if he ever actually ate.
As I was cleaning up after breakfast, Austin chewed his thumbnail and glanced at me, then quickly looked at the floor.
“Go ahead and ask me,” I said.
“Man. Am I that obvious?”
“Yup. Is there something you need to do today?”
“I mean…I’m on the clock. So it doesn’t really matter.”
“I was sprung on you with absolutely no notice, Austin. So if you have something you need to do today, please tell me and we’ll make it work.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not a sex thing,” he said.
“That didn’t even cross my mind.”
“Well, I actually have a class at ten a.m. And I’d blow it off, except that I have an assignment that’s due today, and I don’t want to get marked down.”
“That’s not a problem. How long’s the class?”
“Ninety minutes. My day’s wide open after that. Oh – beforehand though, I need to swing past my apartment and change, and pick up a couple things.”
“Sure. And if it’s ok with you, I’d like to try going in to work after class. Waiting tables while chained to another person might be…problematic. But I already blew off yesterday, and I don’t want my ex to think I’m making a habit of it.”