Page 12 of Primary Seduction
Frederick just nodded as him as if he had no voice. Trent huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes. Gemma chose that moment to come over with their drinks.
“I saw your group had grown so I brought extra beers, hope that’s okay?” Gemma knew them well.
“Thanks, Gemma,” Logan answered.
“No problem. Are you guys ready to order?” she asked.
“Yes, please. God, I’m starved,” Ethan interjected.
Gemma took the order from each of them, except Frederick. Seemed like he wasn’t an eating person either.
“Brilliant, I’ll get these to the kitchen. You might have a little wait though. Things are crazy as you can see.”
“That’s fine, Gemma. No rush. Well, not for me anyway,” Logan replied.
Gemma walked away as they all countered what Logan had said. “What do you mean ‘no rush for you’? There is always a rush for you when it comes to food.”
Logan smirked. “I ate before I came out.”
Everyone laughed, except for Frederick, Trent noticed. He seemed a bit stuck up to him. He had no idea what Max saw in him.
“So, Frederick, what do you do?” Sean asked.
“Um, I’m an accountant,” he said.
Trent raised his eyebrows at that—and the Yorkshire accent that came out with it.
“Wow, that must be exciting.” Trent could tell that Sean was trying to get Frederick involved in the conversation, but it seemed like Frederick wasn’t interested as he didn’t answer except to smile. Max needed to find someone better suited to him.
****
Chapter 3
Max
Max could tell this meeting was not going well. He didn’t quite understand why Frederick didn’t want to engage with his friends—Max had specifically told him he was going to meet them but that they were more bark than bite, and Frederick had said it was fine, but now it seemed like he didn’t want to.
Hewasa little shocked at Trent’s reaction though. All that huffing and eye rolling he’d been doing had not gone unnoticed. He didn’t know why Trent seemed bothered about who Max brought with him. Unless he was just worried about how Frederick was going to treat Max, like Sean was.
Sean knew about Max’s predilection for BDSM. He also knew about the app that Max regularly used for hook-ups; that was why Sean was grilling the guy. Sean never outwardly told Max he disapproved, but Max could see that Sean worried every time he told him he went out. He thought Sean believed that one day Max wouldn’t come home. Naturally, there was a small chance but the company who owned AN were very stringent with their checking of each applicant. Max had asked the questions when he’d first been accepted and had been happy with the responses. He just wished he could alleviate some of Sean’s worries. Unfortunately, he was bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
Their food arrived after half an hour of catching up on each other’s lives. Max saw Sean and Zak regularly but Ethan not so much. He’d become closer to Asher, obviously, because he was with Sean a lot of the time. Trent and Logan, however, were still on the outskirts, although he was trying to get to know them better. Logan was a bit harder to pin down because he was always working, but he had managed to speak with Trent many times over the past year, even if they were short conversations instead of meaningful discussions.
That was how his infatuation had started. Trent was gorgeous with his chiselled jaw, barely-there scruff, blue eyes and just got out of bed hair style. If Trent had been gay, Max would have tried it on with him many times. Max realised he was staring at Trent and looked away, catching Logan’s eye as he did. Logan raised one eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.
Max blushed and turned to focus on Frederick, who was busy shredding a napkin. He tried to keep their conversation going while he finished his food. He’d known Frederick for a while now, which was why he’d asked for him on the app. They were a good match when Max felt as he was: down and unwanted. Frederick was a perfectly, domineering top and would put Max back together tonight, just like he needed. He realised Frederick had gone silent and glanced over at him when he felt a hand smooth across his back.
“Relax, Max. I’m not playing boyfriend here remember, but if my conclusion is correct, there is someone here you want to make jealous. Even if it’s subconsciously.” Frederick’s quiet voice in his ear, made him close his eyes in mortification. His hand rested on the back of Max’s neck, massaging the muscles there.
Max’s head fell forward as the massage continued, pleasure and pain coursing through him as Frederick pressed the tense areas. He’d be asleep if this continued for too long.
“Get a room!” Sean shouted. Max’s eyes shot open to see the whole table looking their way and Sean grinning like a fool. Sean mouthed, “Payback.”
Max laughed. “That might not be a bad idea.” He pushed his plate away—luckily, it hadn’t been too close to him when he’d dropped his head; otherwise, that would have been embarrassing. “Would you tell Tom congratulations for me please? I’ve not seen him around yet.”
Sean nodded. “Sure. I saw him when we first came in but nothing since. I’ll seek him out.”
“Thanks.” He turned to Frederick. “You ready to go?”
