Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Slowly, Vars turned his head toward him and stood still in the quiet hallway on the second floor that would eventually take them to their room. It was quiet, and with the old light bulb blinking above their heads, the atmosphere seemed eerie. And yet, when Vars was around, Jake found it easier to stay calm.
“I don’t need shackles or paddles to do my thing. I enjoy accessories, but I’m fine without them too.”
Jake reached out to Vars’s chest, hardly comprehending what he was agreeing to. “And you won’t use the collar for anything weird?” Just the thought of having it used against him at his most vulnerable twisted Jake’s insides. And yet despite wanting an answer, he somehow already knew what it would be, and most of all, that it would be truthful.
Vars’s tongue slowly moved along the seam of his lips. “I promise to never do anything you don’t want. Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” Jake whispered, terror-stricken despite the hot lust already overcoming his body. What awaited him at Vars’s hands would be different than anything he’d experienced with a man before. They were technically equals, but by the time this night was through, Jake would let Vars fuck him. He just knew that, the same way he understood that Vars was leaning toward him very slowly to give Jake time for pulling away if he wanted to.
Jake wouldn’t. He inched closer instead. He hadn’t kissed anyone in months. Not since King died.
Vars’s mouth was close enough to send hot air over Jake’s cheeks, his blue eyes softer as he looked back at Jake. The blaze of heat grew warmer between their bodies, and Jake found himself gravitating closer, as if Vars were a magnet pulling on the collar around Jake’s neck.
Two heartbeats later, a door burst open nearby, and Vars grabbed Jake’s clothes, pulling him into an open room. Jake wanted to groan in frustration at the sound of people talking, but Vars put his palm over Jake’s lips and that gesture alone made Jake’s heart pound faster.
Chapter 14 - Vars
Jake’s lips were hot against Vars’s palm. The boy might have been on the receiving end of so many illicit acts, and yet when he looked up at Vars, yielding to a power he didn’t understand, he was the picture of innocence. He stayed still, pressed against the wall in the dirty, disused room that smelled of dust, and he wordlessly gave up control to Vars.
It was a beautiful thing to witness.
The footsteps on the other side of the doorway became louder, approaching down the corridor along with two voices.
“Laurent,” Elliot groaned. “What are you doing here? It’s almost three in the morning.”
“Yes, we’re approaching the ghost hour.”
“You mean the witching hour? There is no ghost hour. Every hour is ghost hour.”
Jake closed his eyes with a quiet sigh, his breath tickling the sensitive skin of Vars’s palm. Slowly, Vars leaned closer and buried his nose and lips in Jake’s blond hair, just above his ear. He smelled so good, even now when the scent of sulphur still clung to the pale strands. Together, they’d melt into the dark room, like two beetles on the wall no one would pay attention to.
Laurent went on, “I’ve been trying to find you, and I remembered you walk these corridors at night sometimes.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“No, this is an issue of great importance, especially with just two weeks to go.”
Elliot groaned, but at least the two of them were moving farther along in the corridor. “Is this about your wedding? Seriously? I won’t be writing a menu with you in the middle of the night.”
“No, no, that would have been unreasonable. It’s about a matter much more pressing. I need a list of ghosts who reside in the building.”
“Why?”
Laurent cleared his throat. “Well, wouldn’t it be rude to omit inviting them to a wedding reception at their own house?”
Jake frowned at Vars but relaxed slightly as the voices disappeared into the night, and his hands ran up Vars’s sides.
Vars remained still, and so did Jake. In the dark, their faces were a collection of shadows, but the warmth of Jake’s body, the dampness of his breath between Vars’s fingers, were so real that Vars feared moving could somehow break the spell.
His entire body was burning for the man next to him, his cock still remembering Jake’s touch, and he was afraid something would shatter the intimate atmosphere. Jake’s chest worked against Vars’s elbow, but he didn’t move otherwise, as if not wanting to disobey the silent order to stay quiet. In the end, Vars moved the tip of his nose along the shell of Jake’s ear and slowly trailed his fingers down his face, brushing his fingertips over the luscious lips he wanted to kiss.
Jake gasped, but didn’t say a word, and Vars couldn’t help but put his hand over the steel collar that had molded to the size of Jake’s neck. Knowing that Vars had put it there himself send a spark of excitement all the way down to his balls. But as promised, he wouldn’t use the power he now held over Jake uninvited. He’d have the boy submit of his own will. Even if it took time, Vars could wait. He had all the time in the world.