PureIndulgenceVSue (6 page)

“Two thousand, five hundred.” The quiet voice rang through the crowd. It was an older Dom Joe didn’t know very well. Callum had granted membership to quite a few of the Doms from Breathless for tonight. Joe saw Adam’s eyes shoot up at the voice and his smile dim slightly. Adam didn’t look too happy that the Dom had bidden, but Joe didn’t know whether that was because he didn’t know the Dom, or because he did and didn’t like him.
Shit.
If Joe hadn’t have been so busy tying up his cases this week, he’d have had more time to help Callum, and he’d have gone through the applications himself.

“Three thousand dollars,” Damon offered.

Shit.
Joe really didn’t want Adam to be bought by the sadist.

“Four thousand dollars,” the older man spat out. Joe didn’t like that—he sounded like he was getting annoyed.

He looked at the guy. The Dom looked about fifty, quite a florid face with a paunch. If being outbid was annoying him, Joe didn’t like the poor self-control he was showing, especially for a Dom.

“Four thousand, five hundred,” Damon returned. Joe didn’t know who he wanted to win. Shit, he didn’t want either of them to.

“Well, boy,” said the other Dom. “You’d better be something special.”

Adam flushed at the implied insult—no one had missed the disbelieving tone. Joe glanced at Adam, those green eyes were fixed straight on him.
I can’t
.

The Dom raised his voice. “Seven thousand dollars, but that’s for the whole weekend.” Everyone gasped, and all eyes turned to Adam. Callum bent down to Adam and whispered something. Joe couldn’t read lips, but he would bet Callum was saying Adam didn’t have to do this.

Callum nodded and straightened. “Do I have any other bids?”

Callum didn’t even bother looking at Joe this time. Adam looked at the floor. Surely he would refuse? It was insane to play with a Dom he didn’t know—or didn’t like—for a full weekend. Nearby, Damon shook his head.

“Adam?” Callum’s asked the boy in a low voice. Adam lifted his head, eyes glaring straight at Joe. Joe felt sick; he knew what Adam was going to say, and it was his fault.

Joe opened his mouth to say anything—to be honest the words, “Eight thousand dollars,” were on the tip of his tongue—but Adam turned his eyes to the front and quietly said, “I agree.”

Callum couldn’t even get the word out “sold”
before the clapping and cheering erupted. Adam stepped off the stage to receive hugs from the other subs. He calmly walked up to the older Dom and lowered his gaze. Without saying one word, the Dom just pointed to the floor. Adam knelt and presented.

Shit, what the hell had Joe done?

Chapter 5

The club settled down. Lee was bouncing around. They’d raised over twenty thousand dollars tonight for Derek’s charity, and everyone was thrilled.

Joe was quietly getting angrier. Adam was still presented in the middle of the floor in front of the stage. Lee had tried to go up to him twice, only to be almost physically restrained by Callum. It was a huge no-no to interrupt any scene unless the sub was in danger, or having his limits ignored. Half of Joe’s brain knew there was nothing he could do as neither of those things was happening, but he hated it the longer it went on. Adam hadn’t moved, and Joe didn’t know how he kept still. He’d been in that position for over an hour while the Dom talked and laughed with a couple of other Doms he knew. Joe hadn’t seen them before either.

“It’s Craig Stevens.” Joe looked up as Callum spoke. “I met him a few times at Breathless. He’s been fully vetted.” Callum looked sympathetically at Joe and nodded at Adam. “There’s nothing I can do. He’s not safeworded and he’s not being harmed.”

Just humiliated
, Joe thought. Like a light bulb going off in his brain, Joe knew that was exactly what the Dom was doing. Craig clearly hadn’t liked the attention Adam had gotten earlier and was establishing firmly who was in control.
Fucker.
It was like kicking a puppy.

How is it different from what I did?
the little voice in Joe’s head taunted him. Joe looked at Adam again. His shoulders looked like they were sagging a little, and there was a nearly unnoticeable tremble in his arms. This was ridiculous. It had been hot standing on the stage with the lights, and Adam hadn’t had so much as a drink of water in hours. He was going to…

Just as Joe was about to head over to Adam with a bottle of water, rules be damned, Craig stood up and headed over to Adam. He lifted him and tried to get him to walk back to his seat. Adam stumbled, of course, as he probably couldn’t feel his legs properly, and Craig just laughed and yanked the boy over to his seat. He pointed at the floor.

Surely, to God, he wasn’t going to ask Adam to present again? Joe took a step over toward them, only to be casually beaten to the task by Callum, who very calmly had produced a bottle of water, giving it to Adam while engaging the other Doms in a conversation. Adam had slumped down on the floor again, but was sitting this time. His hands shook as he drained the water. Joe wanted to take him home. Then Joe brightened—he
was
taking him home. He quickly made sure all his new dungeon monitors were okay. The club was closing earlier tonight with no private rooms available as Callum had felt the attention should be on the auction. Tomorrow was Saturday though, and the club would stay open until three in the morning. He watched until Craig stood up and looked at Adam. Craig bent his head and said something, and his friends laughed. Joe wanted to go shove their tongues down their throats.

As soon as the others had cleared out of the club, Joe shot over to Adam. He put his hands out to help him up but as Adam turned, he brushed them away. Joe sighed; he deserved that. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Adam looked up at Joe determinedly. “Yeah—yeah I do. Seven thousand dollars will help a lot of kids.”

Joe swallowed. There was nothing he could say. “You’re done tonight anyway.”

Adam nodded towards the bar where he could see it being cleared.

Joe nearly growled. “You’re done. We’re going home.”

“When do I get my apartment back?” Adam still had the pinched look on his face, and Joe’s fingers itched to smooth it away.

“On Monday. Cops can’t find anything else.” Adam’s shoulders tightened.

Joe had already booked a specialist cleaning firm in to have the apartment ready for Adam. To be honest, Adam could have had the apartment back on Sunday, but he wanted him back with him every night over the weekend. “You’re back with me tonight.”

Why? Why do I want that?

“Why, Joe?” Adam echoed his thoughts.

Joe didn’t miss the drop of the honorific Sir and he felt the loss deep in his gut. “Callum and Lee are at a hotel while they remodel. I thought it’d be easier.” He shrugged.

Adam stood and gave him a hard look. “No Joe, I think it will be harder.” Joe sighed. He knew exactly what Adam meant. He knew he shouldn’t be interfering. Joe absently rubbed at the tightness in his gut. He should have got his head straight and bid for Adam in the first place, then he wouldn’t be in the position of having to watch him scene with someone else. It wasn’t just that though, he didn’t trust the Dom that had bid for Adam one bit, and he wanted to make sure he was okay after every weekend session with him.

Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.

Well, whatever his motives were, and Joe didn’t want to examine them too closely, there was still the issue of Adam’s trashed apartment and those notes. He knew the cops were looking at it, but really, compared to the unsolved homicides and other crimes they were faced with, a trashed apartment was small in comparison.

“Go get your things,” Joe said.

Lee had just come back downstairs and practically ran over to Adam hugging and exclaiming. Joe’s fists tightened. Who was he kidding, really? He should have admitted his attraction to Adam and bid for the damn boy. Then he could be spending the weekend getting him out of his system in a very pleasurable way. No one cared here who Joe scened with, so why on earth had he got himself tied up in knots over it? He’d seen Callum’s face when Joe didn’t bid. Confusion, yes, but disappointment also.
Fuck
.

Callum came and stood quietly next to Joe when the boys disappeared to get Adam’s things.

“Joe, this is none of my business.” Callum hesitated, and Joe raised an inquiring eyebrow. He kind of knew what Callum was going to say anyway. Callum treated all the subs with care, and Joe knew he felt responsible for Adam.

“He talks the talk, Joe, but I think he’s more fragile than anyone realizes.” Joe remembered how Adam’s face had changed in the auction. Yeah, yeah he was. He quietly acknowledged the very friendly warning from Callum. He knew he had to get his shit together.

“What’s happening about his apartment? I’m not sure I like the idea of him going back there,” Callum said.

Joe knew exactly what he meant. “He’s staying with me tonight.” Joe sighed. “Callum—”

Callum held his hands out. “I trust you, Joe. Maybe you should trust yourself?” And with that enigmatic statement Callum walked away just as the boys came back downstairs. Adam looked a bit better, and he was carrying a nearly empty bottle of water.
Good.

Joe waited while Lee hugged Adam again and said he would see him tomorrow, then Adam came over to Joe with his head down.

Joe put his hand out and firmly tipped Adam’s chin up. He’d had enough of this shit. “Adam, I messed up. I got all hung up about things that shouldn’t matter. Let’s get through this weekend, and then we’ll talk.” At the very least, they could have a three month contract and see how that worked out.

Joe didn’t wait for a response, he just took Adam’s backpack. But he nearly danced when he heard the quiet, “Yes, Sir,” as Adam followed him out.

Joe opened the door to his truck for Adam. “Have you had anything to eat?” Adam had seen Lee disappear upstairs with sandwiches earlier. Adam shook his head.

Joe drove through a burger place on the way home. He’d already turned on the radio quietly to drown out the total silence he was getting from Adam, and he’d noticed his hands still shaking a little. He passed the water he’d bought with their order over to him. Joe parked the truck, and as Adam got out of the car, he took his backpack off him and also the sack from the burger place. He was pretty sure Adam was spacing out—he’d barely registered what Joe had ordered from the burger place—and not in a good way. Adam just clutched his water and kept his head down.
Shit.
How the hell am I going to repair this?
Joe hadn’t been able to get more out of Adam than a yes or a no all the way home. He put the sack in the kitchen and walked over to his spare bedroom door with Adam’s backpack. At the last second, he deliberately walked into the master with Adam’s things. No need for him to know he’d had a bed delivered. He had no intention of letting Adam be more than a foot away from him all night. This was his fault, and somehow he had to try and make it right.

Joe came back into the kitchen just as Adam was getting the food out. Adam paused at the burgers he lifted out, and for the first time looked Joe right in the face. “You got me a vegetarian one?”

Joe leaned back on the counter. “Was that wrong?”

Adam ducked his head, but Joe felt the quiet, “No, Sir,” right in his gut. Good. Adam didn’t think he noticed anything, but Joe was glad he had got something right. Joe thought about all those times when he’d thought Adam was stupid over avocado sandwiches; Adam wasn’t stupid; he just hadn’t wanted to make a big deal about not eating the other stuff in them.

Thank the fuck Joe had finally woken up and noticed something. He was a Dom with nearly ten years’ experience, and he should be ashamed.

Joe was ridiculously pleased when Adam ate the burger. He would have been happier if he’d polished off the fries as well, but Adam was yawning so much when he’d finished his burger he looked in danger of falling asleep on the kitchen stool.

Joe made a quick decision. He glanced at Adam moving a fry valiantly around his plate. His drooping head was propped up by his hand and sweat-slicked hair stuck to his forehead. It had been hot in the club.

Joe got off his stool and motioned Adam to drink his water. He disappeared into the bathroom. His original intention was for them to share a shower, but Adam might think he had expectations of him in there and worry. Being a Dom wasn’t about games and kink. Being a Dom meant he took responsibility for things, and he couldn’t dominate someone halfheartedly. In fact, the more he thought about it, he wasn’t sure how good a Dom he was at all. But Adam, Adam made him want to step up, stop playing silly games and start living the life properly.

Joe calmly ran the bath and added some soothing bath salts. They’d actually been a present, but he’d never used them as Joe didn’t do baths. He grinned; they were not manly enough for him. But tonight they would be perfect.

“Sir?”

Joe straightened up and gazed at Adam’s worried face. Yeah, he’d been right. Adam had had enough decisions asked of him today. Joe eased a lock of hair off Adam’s face carefully, ignored the slight wince from Adam as Joe’s fingers brushed his skin. “Just relax. This is just a bath, nothing else.” Adam didn’t look convinced. “Take your clothes off.” Joe pointed to the bathroom stool.

“Sir?” Adam bit his lip.

“Now, boy.” Joe fixed a steady look on Adam, half-smiled at the tiny sigh, but was gratified at the capitulation. Adam was probably thinking he’d had enough of Doms that day. Well, Joe was about to teach him things could be different. Adam needed someone to look after him for a change, and the boy wasn’t getting the choice.

Joe calmly stripped off as well, ignoring the anxious little glances that Adam kept giving him. He finally turned the bath water off and checked the temperature. Without glancing at Adam, knowing he would probably look resigned, he carefully stepped into the bath and sat down.

He put his arm out to his hesitant boy. “Come here.” Joe wanted to smile at the astonished look Adam gave him, but kept his face straight and calm. Adam stepped in and wobbled. Joe grasped him firmly. “I’ve got you.” He had, and he needed Adam to know it. He placed his hands on Adams hips, twisted him around, and pulled him onto his abdomen. Perfect. He heard the little grateful whimper as Adam lowered himself into the water. Joe smiled. Adam was holding himself stiff, and he needed him to relax, to trust that Joe knew exactly what he was doing, that he would make the best decisions for both of them.