Double the Heat Brewed by The Asylum-Part Nine

 

 

Good morning!

Another interesting day at The Asylum. I'll let the guys show you what's up! lol

Happy Reading! <g>

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6 

Part 7

Part 8 

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Early mornings at The Asylum were how Matt imagined living in a castle must’ve been like. The security, the luxury, except...with a sense of home real royalty probably didn’t have. How could they when they had to be all fake all the time? Kinda like...celebrities.

One of the things that really messed with him. Fake people. It was something Jamie did because of his whole boy band gig. Probably a weird trigger Matt had. Maybe if he got exposure therapy, knowing it was a thing, he’d get better.

See, did my homework. Maybe Jared will prescribe me a doggy treat.

Journal in hand, Matt trampled down the steps, enjoying the familiar echo, the scents that would probably have some rich socialite wrinkling their nose. But Jamie never did. He acted as though he loved this place way more than where he’d come from.

Something they had in common. Look at that goddamn progress.

Two treats for me.

Maybe he was still a little high from Jared’s magic drugs, but everything was looking up today. Crazy as things could be sometimes, he’d take the realness of this place over somewhere all perfect any day of the week, even if it meant regularly seeing a few people bloodied up. So long as they weren’t Lawson. Or...okay, Lawson always looked hot after fights, so Matt didn’t mind it then.

The day Jared approved his husband for the ring again? He’d be front row, screaming the loudest.

I can’t fucking wait.

Voices coming from the bar had him changing direction at the last second, slipping in to see who was hanging out. His eyes widened when Ana let out an ear shattering screech and raced across the bar, practically tackling him.

Todd almost tipped sideways off the stool he was sitting on. “Ana, careful, sweetie. You’ll hurt your knee again.”

“My knee’s all better, you’re the one who’s still broken.” Ana wrapped her arms around Matt’s neck and whispered in his ear. “I broke him, but I didn’t mean it.” From the way her bottom lip trembled, she felt horrible about whatever had happened. When Matt rubbed her back, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Jared said he’ll live. I wasn’t sure at first.”

The edge of Jared’s lips quirked as he inspected Todd’s palms. “You, my man, seem to be getting a crash course in parenthood. And passing with flying colors. Tracey is already very impressed, there is no need to injure yourself to gain any more of her favor.”

Todd gave the doctor a rueful smile. There was a twig in his gray hair, and his checkered burgundy sweater vest looked like it had gone through a few rounds with Jamie’s cat. “That’s kind of you to say, but this was my own foolishness. I should have called her brother after she took a tumble to see how to best handle it.”

“Nooo!” Ana wiggled free, racing over to climb up on Todd’s lap and give him a big hug. “You did perfect. It really wasn’t hurting, I just wanted to keep playing, I didn’t know you’d try to come up the tree too.” She put her little hands on Todd’s cheeks. “You need a lot more practice. I’ll help.”

Lips parted, Matt looked Todd over, trying to picture him climbing a tree. The way he looked made a whole lot more sense now. “Dude, aren’t you too…” Okay, pointing out his age would be rude, but the man wasn’t like the older fighters around here, who were conditioned to kick ass well into their sixties. He cleared his throat. “Umm, I mean… Yeah, I’m with Ana. You definitely need practice before you try chasing this little rugrat.” He ruffled Ana’s hair, smiling at her gap-toothed grin.

“After this experience, I think I’ll leave the climbing to the experts.” Todd breathed out a laugh. Then his expression turned serious. “Thank you for seeing us with so little notice, Jared. Tracey was up a lot with Coal last night. I’ve tried to give the young man space, while letting him know I’m here for him if he needs me, but neither seems to be the right approach. Keeping this little munchkin entertained this morning was the best I could do.”

Jared inclined his head, reaching behind the bar and handing Ana one of Reed’s lollipops. “I’ve known Tracey for a very long time—you do not have permission to consider me yet another step-son, even though she effectively ‘claimed’ me, as Noah puts it.” His tone was soft, like it always was when he talked about Noah’s mom. “My relationship with her is closer to the one she has with Rhodey. You have joined a rather large family and Tracey is the matriarch. She has no issue expressing what she expects from anyone. Ana needs a father figure. Coal has one. And your child is very fortunate to be coming into the world with two good parents.” He lowered his brow at the older man. “Do not ruin that by attempting to do more than you are able.”   

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Todd began lowering Ana to her feet, laughing as she twisted around in his arms like a monkey and held on tight. “Curtis offered to come by after he’s done fixing up the cafe to put up a new swing set for you. I think I’m up to pushing you on the swing after. Would you like that?”

“Only if you push me really really high!” Ana plucked the twig from Todd’s hair, then cocked her head. “And Jared’s right. I need a father. Can I call you ‘dad’? Would that make you Avery’s daddy too?”

Todd’s expression going from tender to a bit confused was fun to watch. He finally just nodded, giving the little girl a hug. “Yes, you can absolutely call me dad. But it will be up to Avery what he’ll be most comfortable with.”

“Good answer.” Jared chuckled, seeing the pair to the door. “You don’t seem to have hit your head in the fall, but do not hesitate to call if you’re feeling dizzy. Those pills I gave you and a bag of ice to sit on will help with any pain in your posterior.”

Matt managed to keep from bursting out laughing until the door was closed and Jared had buzzed Todd and Ana past the gates. He ducked when Jared tried to swat his butt, then laughed even harder. “Dude, I can’t…” He dodged another smack, eyes tearing. “You basically had to treat your step-father-in-law’s ass. Things are so freakin’ weird here.”

“If you’re quite done.” Jared folded his arms over his chest. “I did not have to ‘treat his ass’. He came out of concern for Ana, I simply made sure he hadn’t done himself any damage. He’s lucky he didn’t break his damn neck.”

That sobered Matt a bit. He chewed on his bottom lip. “Yeah, Tracey would be crushed if anything happened to him. I’m starting to get why she loves him, even though he’s so...normal. He cares about those kids as much as she does. I keep waiting to see…” He took a deep breath, looking down at the journal he’d almost forgotten he was still holding. This was probably something to put in it, but he needed to say it out loud. “To see him act like my dad. Or even some of the other dad’s we all had. Yours, or Reed’s or...Jamie’s.” Another check in the ‘things they had in common’ box. “But if he was like that, Rhodey probably would’ve buried him by now.”

“Yes, and I would have joined him digging the hole.” Jared put a hand on Matt's shoulder, guiding him toward the gym doors, then through them, toward the security room entrance. “There are good people out there, my boy. You’ve found several here. Some who became better people once they found one another. But I do understand how difficult it can be, trusting the good after seeing so little of it from a young age.”

Matt wrinkled his nose as they started down the steps, glancing back over his shoulder. “You don’t gotta tell me how good Jamie is again. I get it.”

Brow raised, Jared pushed open the door to the pool. “I did not say one word about him.”

“No, but that’s what all this therapy is for. Fixing my problems with him.” Matt rolled up the journal he’d jotted down a bunch of notes in over coffee with Lawson, before his husband had headed out with Noah for some business stuff. Maybe the drugs were finally wearing off, but the more he thought about it, the more this whole thing sucked. “How come you aren’t down here, talking over the shit between you and Seth? And Noah should be here all the time.”

Instead of getting defensive, Jared just kept giving him that same level look. “Stephan is here for a reason, my boy. We have all spent time speaking to him, for various reasons. But I’m not having nightmares about Seth.” He slowed, giving his head a subtle shake. “Anymore, in any case.”

All right, that made Matt feel a bit better. For some reason, he’d started to think he was the only one coming down here for something other than, like, problems with eating or phobias. Everyone had their own kind of trauma, he got that, but he hated the idea that he was the problem when it came to him and Jamie.

He lifted his gaze as Bram soared overhead, carrying...a pillowcase? His brow furrowed as the bird swooped down. Let go of the material.

And then the pillowcase hissed and started running in circles.

Groaning, Jared darted after it, grabbing the white bundle and holding it away from himself. He gave the raven a hard look. “Bad bird.” His focus shifted to the pillowcase. “This slippery feline is determined to start a war. How in the world did you get down here, LD?”

The cat obviously didn’t answer.

But Stephan did as he came out of his room, doing up the buttons of his blue plaid shirt, Koda trampling along at his heel. “He must have gotten in when Drew came down. Poor thing doesn’t seem to know what to make of sharing The Asylum with two new pets.”

I can totally relate, buddy. Matt stuck the folded journal in the back pocket of his jeans, then carefully freed LD from the pillowcase. He smiled when the cat purred and nuzzled halfway over his shoulder. “He’d be fine if the bird wouldn’t keep going after him.”

Stephan inclined his head. “Yes. And Bram would likely leave him be if he didn’t claw Koda’s nose. They’ll learn to co-exist, given the chance.” He gave Matt a thoughtful look. “Perhaps you can bring LD down sometimes when you visit. I’ll have Jamie do the same. Encourage them to spend some quality time together.”

“Is this a metaphor or something?” Matt stroked the cat’s soft fur, following Stephan into his office when the Dom waved him over. “Me and Jamie spend plenty of time together. We’re gonna be spending even more time together with this plan he has to get more exposure for the cafe.”

While Matt and Jared each sat in the comfy armchairs—fuck, was Jared sticking around for the whole session?—Stephan carried in a tray with some water bottles, coffee and pastries, which Drew must’ve brought down, to the table. He served them each a cup of coffee before he took the last chair.

“I was very pleased to hear about that. But you had a difficult night. If you’re comfortable with it, I’d like Jared to stay for the beginning of this session so he can give me any insight he has from a medical standpoint.” His tone was the soothing one Matt really liked. It reminded him of how Lawson talked to him when he was stressed out. “I can prescribe something to help with anxiety, but it won’t have quite the effect of Jared’s special mix.”

Petting LD, who’d curled up on his lap, Matt lifted his shoulders. “I don’t think it’s anxiety, I just...had a nightmare about this guy from the gang. I tried to write some stuff about Jamie before bed, but I came up blank. This morning I did better.” He sat up a bit to pull the journal out and handed it to Stephan. “Umm, I don’t mind Jared being here, but...not sure what he can tell you. Last night was a shitshow.” He smirked when Jared made his unimpressed sound. “Sorry, sir, but no-swearing rules don’t apply here.”

Jared gave him a dry look. “Which I’ve noticed all the subs take full advantage of.” He shifted his focus to Stephan. “It was a rough night. Lawson came in looking like he was seriously injured. Thankfully, he wasn’t, but I can see it being a contributing factor.”

“I agree. And with that in mind, we’ll hold off on any medication unless the situation warrants it.” Stephan opened the journal, glancing down at it as he spoke. “Was the gang involved in what happened?”

“Yes, it was some kind of test for a new member.” Jared gave Matt a reassuring smile. “He’ll make a full recovery. And I believe, between Rhodey and Quint, he’s considering putting some distance between himself and the gang.”

What should have been a good thing made Matt’s stomach turn. He glared at his sneakers. “Hopefully he can get the fuck out of here because Dayes won’t just let him walk. Dayes will think he owns him, just like he owned Garet.”

Stephan exchanged a look with Jared, some silent communication passing between the Doms before Jared stood. He squeezed Matt’s shoulder. “With your permission, I’ll give Stephan access to your medical files. And, Matt?” He held Matt’s gaze when he looked up. “Don’t hesitate to come to me if there’s any way I can help. You have the full support of your family, and I hope you consider me part of it.”

As much as Matt didn’t always like Jared’s methods, he...really did consider him family. He was familiar. Safe...ish. And he was grateful for how fast he’d come to the rescue the night before. So he quickly nodded. “I will, sir. Thank you.”

Once Jared was gone, Stephan was quiet for a bit, reading over the same page of the journal for what seemed like a really long time. Setting it aside, he sat forward. “You use that word a lot when you’re talking about Jamie. ‘Own’. I’d like you to clarify what you mean by that.”

Frowning, Matt pointed at the journal. “Just what I wrote. He acts like he owns the whole world. Like he owns everyone.”

“So you see his behavior as treating people as property?”

“No, it’s mostly…” Matt’s brow furrowed as he tried to pinpoint exactly when he saw Jamie doing that shit. When no one else saw it. He could picture it so clearly. That look. “It’s in his eyes and…” His pulse quickened. LD rose in his lap, rubbing against his chest. He buried his fingers in the cat’s fur. “I look in his eyes and I see…” The pressure around his throat, against his chest, made air come in short bursts. A flash of green, then black, spotted his vision. “I see… No, I can’t… Tell Jared to come back. I don’t want to talk about this anymore!”

“Breathe slowly, Matt. Feel LD’s fur. Hear my voice. Look at something in this room. Give yourself some space from what you’re recalling. I will ask Jared to come back if you’d like, but only if it’s because his presence is comforting. He won’t give you medication unless you need it.” Stephan’s voice was calm, but firm. “We don’t have to continue with this subject if it’s too hard right now. I think you’ve touched on the connection, though.”

If LD wasn’t in Matt’s lap, he might’ve gotten up and walked out. Or...thrown something. He glared at Stephan, not even sure why he was so pissed. This was stupid. They hadn’t fixed anything. “What fucking connection? That I can’t stand looking at Jamie? That I look in his eyes and I know that he’s fucking got me by the balls?” Bringing his hands up to his hair, he raked his fingers into it, gripping it tight. “I don’t care what he does to me, but Garet…” No, that wasn’t right. Face flaming, he lowered his hands. “Shit, this is messing with my head.”

“You consider Jamie a threat to Garet?”

“No, he’s cool with Garet. But…” Matt’s vision blurred. He looked at Stephan. “Fuck… Oh fuck, this...isn’t about Jamie, is it?” This time, he set LD down on the floor and stood. Every time he blinked, he saw Jamie looking at Garet. Laughing and smiling, his green eyes sparkling. Then when Jamie glanced over at him, he saw those same green eyes. Changing. Cruel and calculating. Dayes’ eyes. “Dayes’ eyes are the same fucking color as Jamie’s. It’s so close I thought he was Jamie for a second in the cafe. What...what the actual fuck? So this is all me? I hate the dude because of his fucking eyes?”

Shaking his head, Stephan reached out, picking up a bottle of water and handing it to him. “I don’t think you hate Jamie. I think different backgrounds makes communication difficult at times, and sharing the things you do, a home, a family, makes those differences more obvious. The physical resemblance to someone who brings back traumatic memories explains why it’s harder to work past those things.”

Bottle uncapped, Matt brought it to his lips, gulping down half. He braced his shoulders against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. “This shit isn’t just hard, it’s fucking impossible. And now that I know why I can’t stand the dude, I won’t be able to unsee it.”

Stephan tapped his fingers on the journal. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. Since opening the cafe, you’ve already begun to interact with Jamie in a much better way than you did before. What stands out to me was when you first saw this man, Dayes, you thought it was Jamie. And you were happy to see him.”

Yeah, well look at how well that turned out. Matt finished the water and tossed the bottle in the trash. “But it was Dayes. And he ain’t going away.”

“Neither is Jamie. Which gives you the opportunity to separate the two in your mind in a very real way.” Stephan held out the journal. “I get the impression you’d like to have a better relationship with Jamie. And you’re on the right path. As for Dayes, do you feel as threatened by him as you did before?”

I wanna say no, but… He swallowed hard. “I faced him. It felt good at first, but then I freaked out a bit. Jacks stepped in. I hate...that Dayes is around. I hate how pathetic I get. I could probably kick that guy’s ass now.”

“Probably.” Stephan chuckled when Matt blinked at him. “Don’t forget, I am not your standard therapist. If you need to fight him, then do so. But I think you’ll find it a waste of your time. You have more important things to do.”

“Yeah…” Matt folded the journal and stuck it back in his pocket. “Is it weird this fucking sucks, but also…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t feel good, but it’s like something clicked.”

“It’s not weird, but it may take some time to absorb. You should be proud of the progress you’re making.” Stephan kept a watchful eye on LD, who’d noticed Koda, sleeping with his muzzle on Stephan’s shoes. “Focus on this project you and Jamie have together. It’ll be a good way to explore the positive feelings you have for him.”

Matt grinned, picking LD up when he looked ready to attack the puppy’s tail. “You know what, I’m actually...kinda looking forward to it.”

After finishing up with the session, talking about grounding and stuff he could do when he had flashbacks, Stephan let him go without any official homework—his hint about continuing with the journaling was a total cheat, though. Leaving the office, carrying LD, Matt felt a bit like he’d been in the ring for a few rounds. Kinda worn out and sore, but...like he’d won the fight.

Except it was one inside his own head.

Back on the main level of the club, he let LD go when the cat squirmed. Crossing the bar, he put his hand on the door, tempted to check out the progress across the street at the cafe. Shaking his head, he spun around. Sprinted through the gym to the dance club.

In the DJ booth, Jamie had a pair of massive headphones on. His shirt was off, tossed to a nearby table, like he’d gotten overheated rehearsing or something. Eyes closed, he bopped around the small space, a little smile on his lips.

Matt quietly opened the door to the booth, his gaze drifting over the other man. Like this, Jamie looked so different from Dayes, it was hard to wrap his head around how he’d twisted them up in his head. The way Jamie moved, the smooth flow of his hips, the way the beat seemed to pulse through him, was...all right, Matt wasn’t gonna lie. It was sexy as hell. His passion was magnetic, radiating from him like some inner light barely contained.

While Dayes was all intimidation and hate and anger. The kind of control that made something ugly of what was given freely in The Asylum.

Inching closer, Matt didn’t bother looking away from Jamie’s lips, moving silently to the lyrics of whatever song he was listening to. He brushed his fingers over them, heat crawling up the back of his neck when Jamie’s eyes flew open.

Trapped in the brilliant green, torn between jerking back to escape the chill that washed over him, and claiming that strange contrasting warmth, Matt forced himself to close the distance between them. Covered Jamie’s lips with his own, hands curved on either side of the other sub’s neck.

Jamie made a surprised sound. Then groaned, stumbling against the soundboard. He brought one hand to Matt’s chest as his tongue slipped past his lips, the piercing adding a new sensation to a kiss that was like stealing a taste of cherries from a garden surrounded by high fences. Forbidden was an understatement.

And maybe they were electric fences.

Because Jamie’s hand connecting with his cheek fucking stung.

“What the fuck was that for?” Matt took a step back, lifting his hand to his face.

Letting out an incredulous laugh, Jamie stared at him. “Dude, I should be asking you that.” He touched his fingers to his lips, a mixture of lust and confusion in his eyes. “Do you and Reed have some kind of bet going or you trying to catch me off guard so you can kick my ass?”

“You’re the one who hit me.” Cheeks blazing, Matt backed up a little more. “It’s not a fucking bet, I just… Nevermind. Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Brow furrowed, Jamie shook his head, grabbing Matt's arm before he could slip out of the booth. “I’m not letting this go that easy, man.” His tone gentled as he kicked the booth door shut and pressed Matt against it. “If it’s not a trick, what’s the deal?”

“I don’t know, it’s...fucking stupid, okay? I just had a session with Stephan and I’m a bit of a mess.” Figured the man had to make an embarrassing situation even worse by making him talk about it. “Not sure if you saw him, but the guy who got Garet in the gang? He came to the cafe and I finally figured out...you remind me of him. So I was more of a jerk to you because of that. I’m sorry.”

Before he could make a grab for the door again, Jamie stunned him by cupping his cheek. Holding his gaze with a soft look of understanding. “Hey, some of our fights I was a total dick to you, too. This might’ve made things worse—especially for you, because holy shit—but we both have stuff to work on. I’m really happy we’re finally getting a chance.” He wrinkled his nose. “I hate that I look like that guy. Is it my nose? Because I could totally get that changed again.”

Matt spat out a laugh, shaking his head.

“My ass?”

“Nope.”

“I’m getting it’s not my lips, you seem to like those.”

The heat spread over Matt’s cheeks. “Yeah, umm...sorry about that, too. I shoulda made sure you were cool with it.”

Lips curving with a bit of mischief, Jamie cocked his head. This close, with the way his eyes were sparkling, little hints of gold and blue in the green, he looked absolutely nothing like Dayes. But he was still driving Matt a bit nuts, holding him there. “I might be cool with it, you’re pretty good. But we gotta clear this up first.”

“Okay.” That was fair. And it was really hard to argue with anything the man said when he started licking his lips, making them all shiny. Matt took a deep breath, trying to give his brain some oxygen, because all his blood was pulsing down to his dick. “It’s...your eyes. But don’t change them. I think...I think I’ll seem ‘em different, now that I know. I wasn’t sure before.”

“So the kiss was therapeutic?” Jamie rose up against him, speaking close to his lips. “I can definitely donate another. For the cause.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah.” Jamie flicked his tongue over Matt’s bottom lip. “Under one condition.”

Bringing his hands to Jamie’s back, Matt slid them down, stopping just above the curve of his ass. It took all his strength not to keep going. To remind himself there were rules. And this was definitely breaking a few of them.

Not that the other sub seemed to care. “What do you want, man? You’re fucking killing me here.”

“Admit it.” Jamie grazed his fingers along the side of Matt’s neck. “You like me.”

This time, there was no need to hold back. No reason not to give the other man what he’d been wanting from Matt for a really long time. But there was something between them Matt didn’t want to lose. He couldn’t quite put a name to it. That competitiveness. The way they got under each other’s skin. And yeah, the way they weren’t afraid to call each other on their shit.

Maybe it was a different kind of friendship, he really couldn’t say.

But he wanted to find out.

He let out a soft laugh, brushing a kiss over Jamie’s lips, pulling back when Jamie let out a soft sound of pleasure. Whatever this was, he obviously wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of crossing a few lines. Wanting to see what happened if he trampled over them all.

One thing at a time though. So he gave Jamie what he was waiting for.

“I’m getting there.” He smirked when Jamie blinked at him. “Wanna give me another reason?”

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Part 10