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)
Still, Jake followed his gaze, flushing with heat when he spotted Vars chatting to Rev and Fox, who kept one of his kids in his arms. Megan was fast asleep already.
After talking to Gray, things started falling into place. Vars would get patched in, so would Jake, and if nothing changed they’d be in a relationship. Both part of the club, both understanding the values of loyalty and honoring the moral code of the Kings, which was all about freedom, respect, and when necessary, putting the interest of the club above your own, because the club was family, and family came first.
Maybe getting involved with Vars was actually the best thing to happen to Jake in a long time?
He followed Vars with his gaze, smiling to himself as he watched the man walk off, so handsome in his gray suit, his tie so perfect, his beard so well groomed. Knowing of all the tattoos hiding underneath that crisp exterior only made the thrill of watching Vars greater.
Vars pulled out a pack of cigars and left through one of the doors while Fox passed his daughter to his wife and joined Beast. Jake relaxed, with the rum and cherry-flavored cake melting in his mouth when Gray suddenly stiffened next to him.
“What the hell?”
Jake understood his reaction when he spotted a man in a back hoodie making his way along the wall, on the outskirts of the party where he evaded everyone’s attention in the hustle and bustle of music and booze. He was tall, with a handsome, young face and a thatch of blond hair sticking out from under the hood. Unbothered by anyone, he followed Vars outside.
Chapter 17 - Vars
Vars entered one of the empty rooms that were only furnished with beds, for the comfort of guests who wanted to fuck right away during parties. The music was still loud in the background, drilling its way into his head, but the vacant space provided an opportunity to be alone with his own thoughts for as long as the cigar lasted. As much as he enjoyed the company of like-minded people, he was not used to large celebrations that he was required to attend.
He put a cigar to his mouth and lit it, enjoying the first hit of warm smoke.
It had been a while since he’d attended a wedding, and he’d never been to one celebrating two men. The entire world had shifted around him like a carousel, and he’d barely even noticed, too entrenched in a spot where the different aspects of his life needed to be separated.
When he’d first realized that he was attracted to men, he’d been elated to finally understand his feelings, even if homophobia was rampant and made it impossible for him to be honest about his sex life outside of the elusive world of men like him. To be fair, twenty-something years on, there were still far too many assholes who thought they had the right to police other people, but at least gay people were no longer just a topic of controversy.
Even though Jake said his family wasn’t entirely fine with his sexuality, the fact that they’d rather take that over him being a biker already told Vars everything he needed to know, because the necessity of hiding the truth from his own parents had been like a solid wall between him and them until their sudden death.
The smoke had a pleasant earthy aftertaste, and Vars smiled, remembering how adorable Jake’s confusion was when Vars had taken him out suit shopping. The boy still had plenty to learn and lived a life far different from Vars’s, but they worked oddly well together, both just sliding right into that cozy spot at one another’s side now that Jake’s empty animosity was gone.
An experienced man himself, Vars enjoyed teaching Jake about things, building him up as a man. Only the thought that Jake would grow and age while Vars stayed the same kept nagging at Vars. Not because of selfish indulgence in Jake’s youthful beauty, but because it meant that even if Jake decided to stay at Vars’s side, he would pass through life and eventually disappear the way any other man in the past had. But Vars knew already that while some of his previous subs had left behind voids, Jake would leave behind an emptiness that couldn’t possibly be ignored.
Vars couldn’t explain why his attachment to Jake had grown so strong in a short time. Maybe it was because it was the time when a man started longing to share his life with someone after years of shallow connections? Maybe they’d grown so close through working together, through having fun together outside of the bedroom and dates? He’d never shared anything like this with anyone, even the men he’d thought he loved.
Jake needed him despite there being nothing broken about him. It wasn’t about the monster residing inside his body or past traumas that made Jake long for two strong arms around him. The boy wanted guidance and the kind of connection no one had previously offered him while Vars needed peace and someone to want him for who he was, not only for his skill with ropes and floggers. With Jake, Vars could be himself—both authoritative and gentle, and Jake accepted it all with open arms, as if it was everything he’d been waiting for all his life.