Bound and Determined (12 page)

miss the part where he's a student?”

“But you said he's almost twenty-one,” Michael said. The sound of the

water running stopped and was replaced by the clinking of dishes. “And not

your
student, which I'd think would make a huge difference. Anyway, you

wouldn't get involved with him if you were really worried that he'd report you,

right? What would be the point? Besides, you
love
pushy and arrogant.”

“I know I do,” Owen admitted with a groan. “Shit, the thought of finally

getting to spank him after some of the crap he pulled…and the way he looks

when I say something that pushes his buttons… He just… It's all there on his

face, and he doesn't hold anything back.”

Michael snorted. “He sounds perfect. No wonder you're freaking out.”

“He's not perfect,” Owen said. He hesitated. Discussing a sub with

someone else wasn't something he did—but this was Michael, and he was half

a world away. “He only just found out a few weeks ago that all this worked for

him. I mean, that's not just new to the scene, that's… God, Michael, he's

groping in the dark for answers and he's got this weird hang-up about being

fucked and I
tried
to get him to leave me alone by telling him that sex was out

of the question until he was twenty-one and it
still
didn't work.”

He took a deep breath to shut himself up. He didn't mind letting Michael

see him lost and unsure, but he was too old to babble.

Bound and Determined

47

“You really
are
freaked out,” Michael observed. “Okay, first of all, are you

sitting down, or are you doing that pacing thing you do?”

“Sitting.”

“Good. Let's keep it to one word answers, okay? Yes or no.” Michael was

sliding effortlessly into his helpful mood, which at times had annoyed Owen to

no end, but right now he was grateful for it. “You like the idea that he's new to

the scene because it means you get to break him in.”

That wasn't even a question, but Owen answered it anyway. “Yes.”

“And you want to turn him on to being fucked?”

“Yes.” Reluctant, but an answer.

“And you like that he wants you so much,” Michael said. “It makes you

crazy that he'll do anything to get you, even wait.”

“
Yes
,” Owen snapped. “How the fuck could I
not
like that? If it wasn't

months away, I'd think you'd found me the perfect birthday present. Happy

now?”

“Yes, thanks.” Michael sounded so casual and breezy; it was infuriating.

“What I want to know is, why aren't
you
happy? You should be. Why can't you

let yourself enjoy this instead of brooding about it? You love a challenge. Do

you want to know what I think?”

“I suppose so,” Owen said grumpily, because if he didn't admit it, Michael

would just point out that he'd been the one who'd initiated the conversation in

the first place.

“I think,” Michael said, “that your perfect man just dropped into your lap,

naked and ready for a good spanking, and you're so neurotic that you're

looking for things to complain about instead of thanking the universe in its

infinite wisdom for giving you this incredible gift.” He lowered his voice to a

velvet caress that Owen needed more than he'd have guessed. “Honey, you

deserve to be happy.
Everybody
does, but especially you.”

“Big, bad, toppy Doms aren't allowed to tear up, or I think I might have

after that,” Owen told him, knowing that Michael would hear the unspoken

gratitude behind his words. The house felt empty around him, quiet rooms, too

many of them, sealing him in, but Michael was doing what he always did and

making him feel connected to the world. It had taken them both a while to set

aside the dynamics of their original relationship—and it'd led to some

spectacular arguments the first time Michael lost his temper and refused to

back down—but it'd been worth the effort. “If he ever lets me lay a hand on his

ass, I'll dedicate his first spanking to you.”

“You gave me
my
first spanking, remember?” Michael sounded a little bit

wistful. “I didn't know whether to scream or come.”

“You did both,” Owen reminded him. And his ass had been bright red by

the time Owen was finished with him. The thought of Sterling like that, laid out

across his lap, bare-assed, made Owen's hand clench on his glass of whiskey.

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“I know. It was amazing.
You
were amazing—you always have been. This

kid's lucky to get you, but it sounds like you're lucky too.”

“Not as lucky as Daren,” Owen said. God, Michael brought out the sap in

him. Not that it had stopped him from taking them both to the very edge of

their limits on more than one occasion—and now he was hard again, memories

of Michael and images of Sterling tangled together. Daren wouldn't approve of

that at all, not that Owen could blame him; Michael was worth getting

possessive over, and Daren held his leash very tightly indeed.

Which was just how Michael liked it, of course… Would Sterling get a kick

out of having every aspect of his life controlled, from the brand of his

toothpaste to the color of his socks? Owen shivered. Too soon for that level of

intensity and not very practical given the way things were, but it would be

interesting to see his reaction to the idea.

Michael kept quiet for a few long seconds, then said, “If I know you, you're

thinking dirty thoughts right now.”

“I'm thinking about the way you and Daren play it,” Owen admitted,

knowing that Michael wouldn't read too much into that. “You and I never took

it that far, even when we were living together, but every instinct I've got is

telling me that with this one, I need to start off strong and maybe ease back

later, instead of the other way around. It's like he's spent his life blind, and

now that he can see, he doesn't want to close his eyes even to blink. Seriously

eager. If I had him here for the weekend, I'd keep him naked the whole time

and watch him get more and more desperate for a touch or a kiss.” He

swallowed a gulp of whiskey and sighed. “I'm going to have to hang up soon, or

this call will qualify as phone sex, not two old friends talking. I don't want you

to have to confess anything tonight that would really piss Daren off.”

“I'd have to hang up on you before it went that far, and I don't want to

have to do that again,” Michael said, then changed the subject. “So call me

more often, okay? I want to know what's going on with you. Plus now you've got

me all interested in how things with this kid will turn out. What's his name?”

“Sterling,” Owen said.

“Sterling,” Michael repeated. “That's unique.”

“It's his middle name,” Owen said. “He's named William after his father—

not someone he gets along with from what little he's said, so he refuses to use

it.” He pursed his lips in thought. “I might if he starts to act up, though… He'd

hate it, but then, that's the whole point.” Owen shrugged, pushing it aside to

think about later. “Enough about me; tell me what you did over your winter

while I was working on my tan. Did Daren take you skiing again?”

“
And
snowboarding, and I didn't even break any bones!” Michael gushed,

and Owen made himself comfortable for what was probably going to be a long

conversation.

Bound and Determined

49

Sterling was almost vibrating with excitement when he left Owen's house,

and it hadn't really abated by the time he got back to the dorm. His roommate

Brian was out—maybe working; Sterling never
could
keep track of Brian's

schedule—and that was just fine with him, even though they got along okay.

Mostly he wished he could be living off-campus at this point, like most of the

other students his age, but his father had only been willing to pay bills that

came directly from the college, and he'd have had to work a hell of a lot more

hours at his part-time job scooping ice cream to afford rent, even in a place

with multiple roommates. This way he only had to deal with one, and he had

more spending money in his pocket to boot. It seemed a small price to pay.

He considered playing some music loud and dancing, something that

worked when he needed to blow off steam, but it was getting late, and he didn't

want to piss off the floor's RA. He could go run a couple of miles, but the idea

just didn't appeal to him considering the darkened campus.

Sighing, he threw himself down onto his bed, winced because the mattress

just wasn't as padded as it should have been, and thought about his dick. It

was difficult
not
to when he'd been hard off and on all day, and Owen had said

he wouldn't be allowed to come any time soon. That made him want to come

more
, of course, but he'd be good. He wouldn't so much as touch himself. Well,

except in the shower and if he had to take a piss, but even in those instances

he'd better check with Owen first just to make sure.

He remembered he was supposed to call Alex and report how things had

gone. He felt a little weird about it—not because he and Alex hadn't already

talked about sex, because they had, a lot, but because he wasn't sure what

Alex's reaction was going to be.

He always kept his word, though, so he dug his cell phone out of his

pocket, checked to make sure it had enough juice, and dialed Alex.

“Tell me everything,” Alex said immediately, which put Sterling in a
really

awkward position as he knew Owen wouldn't like him spilling every juicy

detail. It wasn't as if Alex was connected to the campus at all, though, and he

was deep enough into the scene to know that discretion was a given. “Did you

get him to agree, or did he just blow you off again?” Alex gave a soft moan.

“Okay, I need to hook up with someone soon, because the thought of him

telling you to get lost, all icy eyes and stern as hell, is getting me hot. And it

isn't hot. It's a tragedy. Or does this story have a happy ending?”

“Semi-happy,” was what Sterling decided to go with. “He didn't tell me to

get lost, but he did tell me he won't have sex with me until I'm twenty-one.

Which is four months away.”

“I'll throw you a huge birthday party to celebrate,” Alex promised rashly.

“So what
will
he do, if sex is off the table?”

“I can't come unless he gives me permission.” That felt strange to admit

and already too close to the unspoken line that Sterling thought Owen would

draw if asked about what was allowed to be discussed. “Is that, you

know…normal? For this kind of thing? I mean, I know it says it is online, but

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Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow

there are so many cases where online and in-real-life are two totally different

things.”

“It's not something I've ever done,” Alex said, “but Ray wasn't—well, he

was just playing around. It got him hot, but I don't think he really thought

through a lot of what he did. It was all about the sex for him, and he wouldn't

have done anything that stopped him from getting it.”

It hadn't occurred to Sterling that he wasn't going to be the only one going

without. Not that Owen had said they were exclusive or anything.

“He sounds like he's treating you like you belong to him,” Alex said.

“That's kind of intense this soon. Are you down with that?”

“I think I'd pretty much say yes to anything he wanted,” Sterling said

honestly. “And yeah, I know how that sounds. It's just—there's something

about him. The intense thing, yeah, but there's more to it than that. I guess I'm

just not interested enough in anyone else to chance screwing things up with

him.”

“Definitely intense,” Alex said again. “So does that mean no more sex for

us? Damn, I was just getting used to the fuck buddy thing. I liked it.”

“I did too.” Sterling wished Alex hadn't brought it up, because the topic

certainly wasn't contributing anything toward getting his erection to fade. “I'm

not allowed—but I could talk to him about it.” He didn't think he would,

though, because he had a feeling that it wasn't a subject that Owen would be

mellow about.

Maybe he was wrong about that, but he didn't think so.

“Dude, it's fine. Whatever you want to do. I mean, I like you. It's cool.” Alex

snickered a little bit. “And it'll be extra cool if you're willing to share the dirt

once in a while. Just be careful, okay? Don't get hurt.”

“Emotionally or physically?” Sterling asked.

“If he's as good as people say he is, you won't have to worry about the last