Page 31 of Moonstruck
Asa leaned into Zane’s space, inhaling the scent of spicy soap and clean skin as he slipped one cuff around Zane’s wrist and the other to the bars of the metal headboard.
When he finished, their faces were barely an inch apart. Fuck. Asa wished he could just take what he wanted with impunity, wished Zane would just consent to being his. His to own, his to fuck, his to care for. “You comfortable?”
“You serious?” Zane countered, though with no real malice.
Asa gave a humorless laugh, then stood, undressing as he locked eyes with Zane. Zane’s eyes struggled and failed to stay on his face, his gaze sliding lower to Asa’s hard cock, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip before he dragged his gaze away from Asa entirely.
Yeah, he wanted Asa, too. This was going to be torture. Zane was too proud to give in, and Asa had given him an ultimatum, all but guaranteeing he would never get laid by him again. Was this what relationships felt like?
He slid under the covers, rolling to face Zane. He didn’t have total trust in Zane either. Asa might be the psychopath, but Zane was clearly pissed, and nobody knew better than Asa what people could do when they felt backed into a corner. And Asa had done exactly that. But nothing could be done about it now, so Asa closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Zane did not pretend to sleep. He shifted restlessly for the next hour, causing Asa to keep a wary eye on him before finally asking, “Can’t sleep?”
“No, I’m sleeping with a metal ring around my wrist, chained to a bed next to a man I despise.”
Asa smirked. “You would have ended up chained to this bed tonight one way or the other, if that makes you feel any better.”
“Yeah, okay,” Zane said, voice dripping with disbelief.
Asa scooted closer, closing the distance between them to push Zane’s hair out of his face.“It’s true. I can’t help it. There’s just a part of me that likes you helpless, that likes you completely at my mercy. There’s a part of you that likes it, too. If you’d just stop fighting it.”
“Do you talk like this to every guy you sleep with?” Zane asked.
“I don’t sleep with anybody. People fall into two distinct categories. Those I have boring vanilla sex with and sex workers I pay when I need to…release all this aggression. Neither of those groups have ever warranted an invite to spend the night.”
“But you said I would have stayed the night.”
Asa caressed his knuckles along Zane’s cheekbone. “Mm, you were the exception to the rule.”
Zane stared at him, seemingly too curious to pull away from Asa’s unwanted touch. “Why is that?”
Asa could have lied, but he didn’t want to. “Because you let me play with you.Reallyplay with you. No holds barred. By the time I came inside you, I’d already thought of a hundred different ways I wanted to defile you the next time. Does that scare you?”
“I don’t know,” Zane answered, studying Asa’s face like he could somehow gauge the truth of his words. When Asa slipped his hand beneath Zane’s pillow, he flinched. “What are you doing?”
Asa pushed the button on the cuffs that caused them to release in an emergency, freeing Zane’s wrists, then dropping the cuffs between them. “There. You’re free. You really can’t leave, though; this house is Fort Knox.” Zane stared at him in disbelief. “You’re welcome to try, like I said. If you want to sleep elsewhere, there are a dozen bedrooms. Pick whichever one you like.”
Zane blinked at him. “Just like that?”
Asa’s chest was inexplicably tight, but he forced himself to keep his tone light. “Yep, just like that.”
Zane frowned hard. “What if I call the cops and tell them you’re holding me hostage?” Zane countered, almost like he wanted the cuffs back on.
Did he? “What if you did?” Asa asked.
Zane shook his head in wonder. “You get off on this, don’t you? The danger. You like knowing I could destroy you if I wanted. That’s twisted.”
Zane was trying to provoke him. Why? All he’d done since stumbling upon Asa in that cabin was demand to be free. Now, he was free, yet he was still there. Why? Because he wanted to be. He wanted to be there with Asa and he was pissed about it.
Asa raised a brow. “As twisted as how upset you are that I uncuffed you?”
Zane thrust his jaw forward. “I am not.”
Asa dipped his head until their lips were almost touching. “Oh, you are. Because when I was forcing you to stay in bed with me, you could convince yourself it wasn’t your choice. But now, you have to either admit that you want to be here, with me, or go sleep alone somewhere else. And we both know where you want to be.”
“Fuck you,” Zane muttered.
Asa couldn’t stop himself from wrapping a hand around Zane’s throat and squeezing just enough for Zane’s pupils to dilate. “You want this so badly. I bet if I slid my hand under these covers right now, I’d find you’re rock hard.” He bit down gently on Zane’s lower lip. “You like this, like being my sole focus. It’s okay. I like that you like it. If you don’t want to admit it, if your pride is too great, then I can take the choice away from you, if that’s what you want. Slide that cuff back on your wrist and I’ll give you what you want.”
