Page 9 of Rock Bottom
My throat tightened, and I had to look away for a second because no one had ever said anything like that to me. No one had ever seen me,all of me, and wanted every part.
“I look forward to playing with your asshole when we have more time,” he continued, almost conversational, “but such things shouldn’t be rushed.”
He kissed me again — slow and thorough, the kind of kiss that felt like a promise — then tucked the blankets around me like I was something precious he needed to keep safe. And then he left, leaving the room too quiet and too warm, my heart still thudding in my ears.
Chapter 4
Julian
“Thank you for remaining silent during my time with Silver,” I told Adelaide in the elevator on the way to the ground floor. I was trying to get along with her, and being constantly irritated over her icy disposition and perpetual disapproval wasn’t helping, so I’d try being nice.
“I apologize for attempting to undermine you with Silver when the two of you met. I’m unaccustomed to treating slaves as…” She breathed out an elegant sigh with a clear undercurrent of how much better than me she considers herself. “Marco insisted I apologize, so I have.”
She hadn’t, but rather than point it out, I told her, “Thank you. This is odd for all of us. I hope you had an enjoyable evening with the Drake Security people.”
“It wasn’t terrible, but I’m looking forward to feeding before the dawn takes me. An evening with such strong shifters has my mouth watering.”
I checked my phone once we were in the SUV, opened an email from Marco, and noted a list of things he needed me to complete before the sunrise took me out of commission. I got to work on what I could from the passenger seat, and went to the office and finished everything else before I made a mad dash for my room so I could be on my back behind a locked door when the sun took me.
I always rise hours after Master Marco, and the following day was no different. I had another list of things to handle when I rose, and I took care of the most critical items before calling a member of the flock to me so I could feed.
Five minutes later, the owl shifter was on his way back to his room, and I was back at my computer when Marco stepped into my office.
“Have you texted Silver to tell her you had an enjoyable time and hope to do it again?”
“No, Master. Is that proper protocol?”
“It is, but you and I need to talk about where you hope to go with this.”
“I don’t know, Master. She and I need to spend time together outside of a scene so we can properly negotiate the power exchange. Also, I don’t want to just fuck her. I want to get to know her.”
“You know my schedule. For now, I’ll allow an evening a week with her, but please try to schedule it when I’m least likely to need you. Text her and ask her out. You can use the limo to pick her up if you like, though it might be better to use an SUV so you don’t draw so much attention, considering her status with Mythic Beast. Adelaide will drive you. It’s my understanding your new friend goes out without security when she’s dressed so she isn’t recognizable as Silver.”
I stared at my phone, trying to figure out how to word the text, and I finally searched the internet for examples of what others had written. After much self-debate, I texted her,I enjoyed our evening more than I can say over text. Would you be interested in an evening of billiards? I’d like our next encounter to be one that allows us more time to talk.
She texted back almost immediately.I had fun as well and I’d love a chance to get to know you better. My schedule is wide open for the next couple of weeks. When would you like to go?
I checked Marco’s schedule and gave her a date five days out, looked to see when sunset would be, and told her I’d pick her up twenty minutes after. It meant Adelaide and I would need to take our repose downtown rather than on the mountain, but I didn’t think it would be a problem. Silver agreed to the day and time, though she wanted to meet me there rather than be picked up. I asked Cora about her response, and Cora assured me this was normal. “Women want an escape strategy for this kind of date. If things go bad, Silver can leave. She won’t be trapped with someone she doesn’t know that well yet.”
“Would a young man feel the same?”
She nodded. “I’m not up on the gay scene, but I feel that would be the case as well. I don’t think you can use this as a barometer for whether she feels she’s more male or more female.”
I put our date on Marco’s calendar so he’d know not to add something to his schedule that required me during those times, and I began to make plans. I could drink alcohol, but I couldn’t eat food. How could I explain this?
When I asked Adelaide, she said, “Put a suggestion in her head so she doesn’t notice you’re not eating. It’s the simplest solution.”
Her tone made it clear she thought the question barely deserved an answer — like I’d asked how to walk across a room.
But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted Silver to be a companion, not a puppet I controlled and programmed.
Thankfully, Kirsten heard me asking Adelaide, and told me, “Tell her you have all kinds of issues with eating and talking. Apologize for it. Be embarrassed. Pay attention to how she soothes you, and then try to replicate it in some way when you find something she has issue with.” She sighed. “It’s a trick, and not one I’d tell most people, but I believe you genuinely like her and could be good for her. You accept her as she is, yes? You’re intrigued with her as a person, not as an oddity. Right?”
I nodded, and she said, “I want to give the two of you the best chance possible, so that’s my advice.”
“It’s good advice,” Adelaide said. “I prefer my method, but Kirsten’s can work too.”
Adelaide drove us to TBC when the night finally arrived, and I’m pretty sure she made me more nervous on purpose, when what I needed was someone to help me calm down.
