Page 54 of Just Business
Francis’s apartment hadn’t been this big, but it had been as spotless and as full of all the luxuries Justin could have wanted, save the one he needed.
Freedom.
He would not be drawn into that trap again. Schoolwork was as good an excuse as any to get the hell out of here. Last thing he wanted to be was the happy little submissive for another rich guy. Been there, done that. Didn’t have the t-shirt because whores didn’t get to own anything.
He liked being a sub. Loved the flogging and the sex and obeying, withinreason. For guys like Eli and Francis, reason came down to gold watches and money in the billfold. Chains made from gifts and presents. He wouldn’t be locked up again.
The creaking of the stairs signaled Eli’s arrival. Justin took another sip of coffee to fortify him and faced Eli.
Eli worejeansand a dark green sweater that clung to every inch of his tall, slender frame. Justin gripped his mug tighter. Entirely unfair that Eli was even hotter when dressed casually.
Uncertainty in Eli’s expression. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, hand on the banister. “Are you all right?”
No, he wasn’t. How could he want someone so wrong for him this much? “Just... catching my breath.”
A gentle smile, as if Eli had heard the lie. Limp apparent in each careful step, he entered the room. “It’s okay. I understand.”
No, you don’t.Not when you buy coffee at thirty bucks a pound.Justin studied the photos above the mantel. “Did you take those?”
Eli stood next to him. Too close. Not close enough. “Yes, a couple years ago. I needed to go and see.” Eli stared at the photos. Pride and sadness marred his expression. “I don’t have the easiest relationship with my heritage.” He folded his hands behind his back.
So many things in this room spoke of Judaism. The photos. The menorah. A silver cup with obvious religious symbols on it. Sure, there were other objects that didn’t. A small bear on a bookshelf, a cat sculpture, a rainbow mug, but everywhere Justin turned, there were hints of Eli’s background. Hebrew lettering. A Star of David.
That set this house apart from Francis’s. So different from Justin’s stark, undecorated apartment, too. All his mementoes were gone, shoved into a storage locker by Francis. Even his diploma. Probably sold off as abandoned property by now. “I don’t have much of a heritage at all.”
Eli shifted with his whole body and Justin looked up into gray eyes. Not feigned interest, either.
“I’m a military brat from a long line of military brats. I was born in Louisiana, but we moved around so much...” Justin shrugged. “First kid not to go into the service.”
“That’s a heritage, too.”
So much compassion. Unusual for a Dom, even more so for a wealthy one. Justin retreated to the kitchen because he couldn’t take any more of Eli’s understanding. “I guess.” He finished his coffee and put the mug down on the expensive countertop. “It’s nothing special.” He paced to the breakfast bar and sat on one of the stools.
“Neither is mine. It just—shaped my past.” Eli pulled a mug—another pride one—from a cabinet and poured coffee from the French press. “Would you still like breakfast? I was serious about making pancakes.”
“I—” No. Yes. Whatdidhe want? With Eli so close, so different from the cold bastard of two months ago, it was hard to decide. “I don’t know.”
No count, no note of infraction, though there should have been, given the long pause. With another master, there would have been. Hell, Francis would have bent Justin over the nearest stool and spanked his ass until he cried.
Eli leaned against the kitchen counter and took a swallow of coffee. “Justin, would you like me to drive you home?”
“No.” That came out without thought. “I’m not ready to leave yet.”
“But you’re not sure you should stay.”
Was he so obvious? He didn’t need to be played, least of all by Eli. “I guess the morning after is old hat to you.”
“Hell no.” Eli didn’t move. “I’ve woken up next to three guys in my life.” He paused. “You’re number three.”
Good thing Justin was sitting, because that would have taken his legs out. He grabbed on to the edge of the bar to steady himself. “What? How is that even possible?”
Eli set his cup down and hoisted himself up on the counter. “Simple. I either go home after we play, or he goes home after we play.”
“I think I need more coffee.” Justin retrieved the last of the coffee from the press. “Why? I mean, if you’re dominating and fucking the guys, why not take them home?” That’s what Francis had expected, for Justin to be available around the clock. That had meant living with the fucker, basically.
Eli picked his coffee up and sipped. “The whole Dom/sub thing is easier when there are no complications. And I’m... a bit complicated.”
No shit, Sherlock.Justin’s brain spun trying to piece all the bits together. Everything Eli said—as odd as it was—made things safer. “Butwhyme?”
