Room at the Top (14 page)

“He didn’t do it for April,” Jay pointed out with more sharpness than Austin deserved. “Did you?” he asked, turning to face Liam.

“I don’t
care
why he did it,” Austin said. “I need some air.” He fled into the entranceway and then outside through the second door while Liam and Jay still stood there.

“He’s embarrassed,” Jay said. “He can’t be grateful because he’s too busy being ashamed of how she acts.”

“I take it she’s always like that,” Liam said.

Jay nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I’ve got to go see if he’s okay.”

Outside, Austin was leaning against the stone wall of the building. His shoulders were hunched, and he looked like he either needed the wall to hold him up or like he wanted to turn and punch the shit out of it. He gave Jay a tight, apologetic grin when he saw him. “God, I’m so sorry. Our night got ruined, and she wasn’t even appreciative. She thinks… Fuck it, I don’t know what she thinks. I’m so sick of her bullshit; I really am. Right now I’d be happy if I never had to see her again.”

This wasn’t the first time Jay had heard that particular sentiment, but he didn’t comment. “It was nice of Liam to pay the fine.”

“Nicer than I deserve,” Austin said bitterly as the door swung open and Liam came out to join them.

“Untrue.” Liam looked unruffled. “Are you all right?”

Austin shrugged and turned his head to look off across the parking lot. “I’m used to it. She’s been like this for years. I don’t know why.”

“I was actually referring to your face,” Liam said and came closer, turning Austin’s face toward the light. “We could get you an ice pack.”

Austin stood looking at Liam like he was the answer to some question never asked. “Thank you,” he said shakily. “For paying the fine. I’ll pay you back.”

“Not necessary.” Liam’s fingertips traced Austin’s cheek. “Besides, it isn’t your debt.”

“But Jay was right when he said you didn’t do it for April.”

Liam smiled gently, and Jay bit his lip at the tenderness in the expression. “Yes, he was right. I did it for you.”

“It’s too much.” Austin jerked his head away from Liam’s touch and threw his hands into the air, an uncontrolled gesture that told Jay just how unsettled Austin had to be feeling. Austin never got theatrical and over-the-top. Neither did Jay, for that matter. “
Gah
. I can’t do this. April. You. Hundreds of fucking dollars just
wasted
.”

“My money,” Liam reminded him, which wasn’t maybe the most tactful thing he could’ve said, in Jay’s opinion.

Austin glared at him. “Yeah. Your money. We’re costing you a lot,
Sir
. Maybe you should go with April’s suggestion and buy what you want. It’d work out cheaper in the long run.”

Liam stared at him in silence and then turned to Jay. “Why is he angry with me?” The words were mild, but Jay could see Liam wasn’t happy—with the situation, with Austin, with the loss of the evening he’d planned, so many possible reasons.

“I already told you.”

“So you did.” Without looking around to see if they were being watched, Liam took hold of Austin’s chin, forcing Austin to meet his eyes. “This is outside our arrangement.”

“I know.” For a moment, Austin sounded as sulky as April, and Jay saw Liam frown. But both emotion and expression were short-lived. Austin drew a shaky breath and leaned into Liam. “God, I’m sorry. Please. Don’t…don’t tell us it’s over. Not because of this. I’ll make it up to you. Do anything you want. Please, Sir. Please.”

“I didn’t do it to create any sort of debt between us, and I won’t end our arrangement over it. This was entirely separate. As far as I’m concerned, if it makes you feel more comfortable, pretend it didn’t happen.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“Then believe me when I tell you that it’s not important. Frankly it was pure selfishness on my part. I don’t want our time together disrupted, and this was the simplest route to that end. Now I want you to do something for me. Will you?” Liam’s voice was gentle and encouraging.

Austin nodded. “Anything.”

“I’d like you to take a few deep breaths, let them out slowly, and think about what sort of evening would be best for you. It isn’t too late to go back to my house for a session, or we could go have a few drinks or see a movie. Or you and Jay could go home and have a quiet evening on your own. What would you like to do?”

At that moment, movement at the edge of Jay’s vision caught his attention, and his focus sharpened as April’s car—Sarah Fisher’s car, technically—cruised past them. The smirk she directed at Austin must have felt like a punch to the gut if his wrecked expression meant anything, and as soon as she was gone, Austin gave Liam his attention.

“I want to go home with you. Can we?”

“Since it was one of the options I just gave you, then obviously, yes.”

Liam’s asperity seemed to do more to calm Austin than his kindness had. Jay felt a rush of gratitude toward the man that wiped out his earlier annoyance. He saw now how unreasonable it’d been of him to expect Liam to involve himself in something totally unconnected to the relationship they shared. At the same time, he realized it felt right for Liam to be here, somehow. Not because they needed him to take care of them—Jay could’ve just about covered April’s debt with his credit card and would have if Liam hadn’t stepped in first, solely to save Austin from April’s recriminations—but because…because—

“Jay.” Liam snapped his fingers, and as it always did, the sound brought Jay to a state of readiness, all his attention focused on Liam. “That’s better. I’ll see you both at ho—at my place. Don’t hurry. I want you to arrive in one piece.” He smiled, a brief flash of teeth. “I can’t promise you’ll stay that way.”

“That man knows how to make an exit,” Jay said as Liam walked away. He was rewarded with a shaky smile from Austin. “Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, he could be inviting us back for coffee, but I doubt it. If we go, he’s going to want—”

“He’s going to want exactly what we do.” Austin met Jay’s eyes squarely. “And tonight I want a hell of a lot more than usual. Don’t you?”

He walked away before Jay could reply, leaving Jay nothing to do but hurry to catch up and wonder if Liam knew how to deal with Austin in this mood. He wasn’t sure he did.

Chapter Eight

Liam took his time driving back to the house. He knew if he arrived much earlier than Austin and Jay, he’d have a hard time finding something to do with himself.

He still wasn’t sure why he’d followed them to the police station. It certainly wasn’t because Austin had suggested it as a possibility; in fact, that ought to have made him less likely to go rather than more. None of this was about what Austin or Jay wanted. That was the whole point, though somehow he was finding it more difficult now than he ever had before. He told himself it was purely due to the frequency of their sessions. Surely it was natural to become more attached to people one spent a great deal of time with, especially when they were as responsive and enjoyable as these two.

The house was largely the same as it had been before Austin and Jay had arrived earlier, so there was nothing to prepare. The bottled water Liam had set on the shelves in the den would be nearing room temperature by now, but that wasn’t important.

As soon as they arrived, while still standing on the front porch, Austin said, “Hi. I wanted you to know…I know this has been kind of a crazy night, and if you were just trying to be nice, or if you felt sorry for me, and it would be better for you if we rescheduled, well, I’d understand.”

It was clear from Jay’s expression that he didn’t feel the same way, and there was something in Liam that didn’t want either of them to be disappointed. They needed this tonight, or at least Austin did, and part of Liam’s role in all this was to figure out what Austin needed and give it to him.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Liam said brusquely and gestured to them to come inside.

Austin took off his shoes at the door and went immediately to the den.

“Thanks,” Jay said. “He really needs this.”

“I know.”

By the time Liam and Jay joined him, Austin had already taken off his clothes, folded them neatly, and was kneeling on the floor with his hands behind his back. Liam couldn’t help but admire his naked form—from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, of course.

“Good,” Liam said. “Jay, what are you waiting for?”

Jay gave him a reproachful look that would definitely require some sort of correction later in the evening, but for now Liam wanted to focus on Austin. There was a new toy that he’d been saving for the right occasion, and this was it.

“Austin, look at this.” Liam held it up. It was one of the biggest dildos he’d ever seen, with a slight curve to it and a flared base. “I’m going to use this on you tonight. Now, actually. I’d like to know how you feel about that.”

Wetting his lips, Austin said hoarsely, “Good.” He was erect, and Liam could see a bead of fluid at the tip of his cock. “I want you to.”

“Yes, I thought you would,” Liam murmured, more to himself than Austin. He’d sensed the tension in Jay as they’d walked toward the den—and he used each of them as a barometer for the other more than they realized—but it’d faded when Jay saw Austin. Liam trusted his judgment enough that he didn’t look for reassurance that he’d made the right call during a session, but it was still oddly comforting to know Jay didn’t see Austin’s dogged determination to push his limits as a worrying sign.

When it came down to it, Austin could push all he wanted; Liam didn’t intend to let anything go beyond what Austin could take.

The dildo was certainly going to prove a challenge, though. Liam ran his palm down it appreciatively, feeling the slick heaviness and picturing it buried in Austin’s arse, stretching him wider than he’d ever been stretched before. Neither of them had been fisted; he’d asked them and been amused at the furtive glances they’d exchanged, silently asking each other if they wanted that to change. Not that it was entirely their decision, of course. He wouldn’t do it to them without their agreement, but equally he wouldn’t do it on their schedule either. The dildo wasn’t as big as his fist and forearm, but it was a significant step toward that potential goal.

“Are you going to use one like that on me?” Jay, now naked and kneeling himself, sounded unabashedly eager. Liam had to fight to keep a grin from showing, though Jay’s lack of manners didn’t amuse him at all.

“No. You get a ball gag and a nice view of the wall until I decide you’ve had long enough to learn that you don’t speak without permission, you don’t try to anticipate or influence what I choose to do to you, and you don’t interrupt me.”

If they thought he’d gone soft after he’d rescued them and dealt with that dreadful girl, Liam intended to disabuse them of that notion in short order. They needed calming, and the best way to do that was to give them no room in which to panic. He was going to take away every thought that didn’t center around what he was doing to them, control them as utterly as he could, fill their vision.

And by God, he was going to enjoy doing it. When he’d thought he’d lost these hours with them, he’d come as close to losing his temper as he ever did, not with his boys, but with Austin’s sister. When she’d struck Austin, his anger had turned to ice, his innate possessiveness triggered—which hadn’t surprised him—and an unfamiliar protectiveness, which had.

They were his. Worried, tense Austin, fretting over so many people he loved, and Jay, whose frequent small rebellions were less of a challenge to Liam than his dreaminess when Jay went somewhere deep inside himself.

His.

“Austin, forehead to the floor, and keep your hands where they are. Arse up, knees spread,” he rapped out, going over to the new filing cabinet in the corner that’d become a storage space for the toys he used on them.

Jay had been correct when he’d said Liam was spending a lot, but Liam didn’t regret a penny of it. He bought the best, avoiding the gimmicky novelty items with a curl of his lip. Or he used everyday objects. He got a kick out of walking into a supermarket and buying a basketful of items that were intended for the kitchen, office, or laundry room and would all end up here, being used on Austin and Jay.
Too
much of a kick sometimes. Paying for wooden spoons, clothespins, and a wheel on a stick designed for cutting out pastry had been awkward to say the least with his cock half-hard, his face flushed. Worth it, though. Jay had shuddered and yelped in a very satisfying way when the pastry cutter was run along his thighs, but the spreader had made it impossible for him to do more than that.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Austin move smoothly into what was a rather awkward position to achieve. Humiliation wasn’t something Austin enjoyed, though Jay’s limits became fluid when he was aroused, something it’d taken Liam a few sessions to appreciate. On a normal night, Austin would’ve hesitated noticeably before assuming a position quite that blatantly suggestive and exposed, but tonight he seemed to welcome the chance to be instantly obedient.

That fucking money. Liam took down the gag from its shelf and added a handful of clothespins. Jay could pay part of the price for his irritation over Austin’s suspect submission. Austin would foot most of the bill, though.

Jay’s eyes widened when he saw the pins, but he had enough sense not to comment. He cooperated when the ball gag was fitted on him, his lips spread obscenely wide, a trail of drool appearing at the corner of his mouth within moments, his throat working convulsively.

“Good boy,” Liam said lightly, dismissively. He patted Jay’s head as he would a dog’s, tousling his hair, knowing exactly how much Jay would both hate and revel in it. He tossed the pins from one hand to another, juggling them casually. “What a shame I won’t be able to hear the sounds you’ll make when these go on. Let me see, how many do I have? Five. One for each nipple, so that leaves three to place. The skin of the inner arm high up, that’s very sensitive…or the inner thigh. Of course, if I’m there, I could just give your balls a treat or decorate your cock.”

He’d avoided touching their cocks at first, more for their benefit than from any reluctance on his part. As far as he was concerned, when they were here, every inch of them was his to play with, but he respected their limits. That’d gradually become less of an issue, though Liam didn’t think sliding a cock ring into place or adjusting the fit of a harness qualified as foreplay. He’d felt the weight of their aroused cocks in his hand, or the soft, fluid shift of their balls. Nothing to really concern him about that, even when he’d been tempted once or twice to slide his hand along the stiff, ripe flesh and hear Jay or Austin moan. He had the same organs hanging between his legs, after all. It meant nothing.