Love & Stitches at The Asylum: Part Sixty-Three
Have a great Sunday everyone. See you next Saturday!
Happy reading!
Tibby & Bianca
*****
*****
It was a damned good thing the roof was strong enough to hold another six floors in case The Asylum Core ever decided to add on again. Seth had the not-so-random thought as Curtis went to help prepare the space for Wren.
Which left his mind free to contemplate the thousand-and-one things that could go wrong with the evening.
By the bar, Jared sat with his boy, looking like he consumed a last meal—which was irritating as fuck. Skin itching for a fight, Seth forced himself to calm the fuck down. And to stop thinking the word ‘fuck’.
I’m starting to sound like Shea...
Somehow, he made it through the time between the end of the poker game—which had worked out exactly the way he’d intended, with everyone too busy focused on his emotional ploys to notice the literal ace he’d had up his sleeve—and the time when he took control of Wren’s submission.
And handed over Pike’s to the man he trusted almost as much as Quint.
But I’ll never fucking admit it.
A buzz in his pocket prompted him to take out his phone. Glancing at it, he grinned when the photo Curtis sent showed nothing but a wall of static.
He sent a quick text to thank the man, then put his phone away and motioned toward the stairwell, as Wren glanced his way. “Shall we?”
“Yes, sir.” Wren moved closer to his side, but didn’t go any further. His brow creased as he glanced toward the stairwell door, reaching out to pull it open. “I have a feeling the etiquette lessons were a joke I don’t fully understand. If they weren’t, I really don’t mind, sir. In this instance, I will be walking a step behind you. Some Doms prefer two, but I haven’t quite figured out why. I think it might be a strange interpretation of royalty. My Doms prefer me closer, just in case. Not that there’s anything to concern yourself with at this moment. The club’s closed.”
Because he knew it gave Wren a thrill to think of his own averted demise, Seth shrugged a little. “I turned down the contract on your life. Twice. At this point, I’d be more comfortable with you by my side.”
“You did?” Wren’s expression lit up as he tried to hold the door and move to Seth’s side all at once, bumping into him, startling, then taking a step back. “You’re almost as big as Jared, I misjudged that, I apologize. How would you have done it, sir? Avery gave me the garotte he would have used. I wouldn’t mind seeing how the procedure to treat something like that would be handled. Why did you turn it down? It would have been not only profitable, but very good for your reputation.”
It was an unusual way to bond with someone, but nothing about this evening would be usual. Securing Pike’s safety in ironclad relationships depended on every line between himself and those here who held different aspects of power being absolutely locked into place. Anyone close to Rhodey, Jared, Noah, and Lawson would need to be considered.
Handled.
Mind traveling down multiple pathways at once, Seth channeled the energy that had at one time overwhelmed his brain into seeking out those connections, the multiple routes he might take—both now, and in the future—and arrived at his answer.
The truth.
“I wouldn’t have laid a hand on someone important to Jared. It was never on my mind to plan it, because it wouldn’t happen.” Thumbing open the screen on his phone, he brought up an old text message he’d saved, from an encrypted messaging app, and paused in the third floor stairway to show it to Wren. “This is the exchange with the foreign operative.”
Cocking his head, Wren studied it for a moment. Then lifted his gaze to Seth’s, his perfectly polished glasses reflecting Seth’s face. “What if they’d asked before I met Jared?”
Seth stowed his phone away, leaning against the wall where he knew Rhodey’s cameras would pick him up. “You’d need to go further back. To before you were connected with the Leonovs. Nobody I know touches anyone who belongs to him without a word from Vani or Rhodey.”
That got him a slow nod. And a slight twitch of Wren’s lips. “I understand, sir. It’s an almost impossible scenario. But the odds weren’t always zero. Before then? If it makes you uncomfortable to discuss it, I’ll change the topic. Jared said it’s good to use icebreakers with patients to relax them. You’re not a patient, but…it’s the closest point of reference that I have.”
“I’m not uncomfortable discussing my job. I couldn’t very well do it, if I were.” There had been a time when that wouldn’t have been the case, but it had long since passed. Pushing away from the wall, Seth stalked closer to his charge, letting him feel the electric thrill of danger he seemed to crave, and leaned a hair’s breadth from him to answer. “But, no. I wouldn’t have turned it down. You were billed as a threat to global stability and peace by those who wanted you dead.” He traced a line down Wren’s throat with his fingertip. “Tell me your safeword.”
Inhaling a slow, measured breath, Wren held his gaze. “Red, sir. It’s the one Noah gave me in prison. Where I was because I am that threat. I choose not to be, but you wouldn’t have known that. And it shouldn’t have mattered either way, right?”
Gaze sliding to the scar below Wren’s eyebrow, half hidden by the black frame of his glasses, Seth let himself feel how close this young man had come to death. How its shroud wrapped around him even now, in comfort and as a coping mechanism. The specter not so frightening, in friendship.
“It would have mattered, once I saw you.” He met Wren’s brown eyes, wondering if Jared saw the same innocence and intelligence in them. It would have been the first thing that caught the man’s notice, and what held him ever since. “I only kill killers.”
Another slow nod, Wren lowering his gaze and straightening a little. “I’m sure people have died because of me. I laundered money for criminals. Found ways to fund them. But it’s a morbid curiosity and it’s in the past. I’m grateful you never had to make that decision, sir. It wouldn’t have been the best way to meet you. Or a very long lasting…” He pressed his lips together. “Acquaintance? No, you’re more than that now. I’ll have to think of a better word.”
“Killing someone, taking their life, is one of the most intimate things you can do.” Using the same silky voice he’d heard Jared use with some of the subs he’d played with in the past, Seth placed a palm on the wall next to Wren’s head. “Only their mother is there for their gestation and birth. Truly there.” He held up his opposite palm, squeezing it into a slow fist. “I’ve looked into their eyes when they breathed their last breath, knowing that mine would be the last face, the last eyes they saw. If I had to, back then, with you. I would’ve made sure those eyes were kind.”
Hardly blinking, or breathing, Wren seemed to absorb his every word. Once Seth had finished, he smiled softly. “I like that, sir. I’ve come very close to having something much different in the end. I would’ve been lucky, if it had been you instead.” His expression turned serious suddenly and he nudged his glasses up with a fingertip. “You would’ve made sure I was alone. That no one else got hurt.”
Seth nodded, giving Wren the peace he clearly craved. “I would’ve made sure no one suffered.”
By no one, he believed Wren would understand he meant Jared. Noah. Keiran. The people at The Asylum who loved and protected him—who had built it into a fortress all for him. Though other shit had gone down since, the genesis of this place’s security had been entirely because of this man, for this man. Everyone here put their lives on the line at one point or another to protect him. Because he was worth that. Worth this.
“Good.” Wren gave a firm nod, not quite smiling, but he looked pleased. “Jared was right, icebreakers are a very good idea. Do you feel more at ease with continuing with the night? I do—not that I had an issue with you winning me. You’re a very good player. I didn’t watch much of the game, but you’re strategic. It’s one of the many reasons I hoped you would wager for me.”
“Hmm.” Straightening, Seth tried to shake off the sense he’d just been ‘handled’. Perhaps innocently, but handled nonetheless. “I believe I do feel better.” And he did. Which was the oddest damned sensation, all things considered. “I’m afraid I—” He blinked, finally replaying the rest of Wren’s statement in his head. “I’d heard you’d mentioned that to Pike, but I’m still surprised you wanted me to choose you.”
Now Wren smiled, smoothing his hands over his uniform jacket and giving it a little tug at the bottom. “I didn’t think it would surprise you, sir. It’s the most logical choice so the game and the win served an actual purpose. We should keep going upstairs, Lawson doesn’t like it when people linger in the stairwell, he says it’s a fire hazard. Or something like that. He was speaking to the fire chief during an inspection. I overheard from the security room. Apparently the stairway is toeing the line to be regulation. It’s a bit narrow, but I never noticed before.”
“You bear a striking resemblance to a Dom in some moments, Wren. Careful there.” About to say ‘Quint’, Seth caught himself in time, smoothly pivoting to a less problematic observation. He hadn’t been lying way back, when he’d said Jared had a type. The man had a competence kink a mile wide. “Show me to your loft. We need to get changed. I left some things with Jamie earlier, in anticipation of our night.”
Eyes narrowing slightly, Wren looked up at him over the rim of his glasses. “Yes, sir. And I’ll let that very inaccurate description slide. I’ll go ahead now so the emergency system isn’t triggered. It would be very unpleasant for you to be locked in the entryway. It removes all the oxygen.”
Testy little thing.
“And after I so nicely shared all the information on your averted demise.” Boots clomping noisily up the remaining stairs in a way that was sure to make said security system roll its eyes, Seth followed Wren’s ass in the tight uniform slacks.
Moving in silence, Wren swiftly tapped in the first code, staring into the scan, then opening the door to the entryway. Inside, he waited for Seth to close the door. Shot him a slanted smile. “Did you know if I don’t put the code in within two minutes, the air starts being removed? Even with me here. The hope is that lack of consciousness would be better than someone getting into the loft. There’d still be time to save me and no one else would be in danger.”
Wren’s information only served to underline the point Seth had been making to himself. “No. I didn’t.” He frowned, recalling how often he’d lingered in the halls, wondering if the sub told the entire truth. “Grab your boots, mittens, hat, coat, and scarf. Oh, and your snow pants. Put them on.”
Once inside the loft, a door opened to the left, down the short hallway that he knew led to Wren’s office and Noah’s studio, along with a room where Jared sometimes did his own work. This part of the building was the long side, while the width in the living area and kitchen took up most of the space off the open entry, with the bedroom being at the opposite side of this section.
Matt emerged from Noah’s studio, a few items in each hand, then startled, turning red against his tux’s white collar. “Sorry, sir. I just...”
Walking by him, Wren muttered under his breath. “I should have brought him to see my dolls. That would’ve been more effective. Except Avery doesn’t mind them, but he’s a special kind of merc…”
“Oh boy...” Brows lifting to his sandy blond hairline, Matt tossed Wren a wary look. “That good, huh?”
Already pulling on his own snow pants, which Jamie had left on an entryway bench, Seth glanced between the two subs. Why would Wren’s collection of unusual dolls bother him? And was the boy complaining about something he’d done? He couldn’t help feeling as if he’d missed something vital that might have thrown the entire evening off its carefully laid track.
In the bedroom, a closet door opened and closed. Clothing rustled, then Wren came out, wearing his snow pants and carrying everything else. One top of the pile was a note that read ‘speech restriction’.
Ah... The silent treatment. Sub style.
Still standing motionless in the hall, Matt seemed to take everything in, his gaze landing on the note. He snickered. Not helping the situation at all.
“Where’s your Dom?” Irritation rolled Seth’s shoulders.
Jerking his thumb behind him toward the studio door, Matt met Seth’s gaze, all signs of his service sub demeanor evaporating. It was as if bad sub behavior were as catching as an explosion of silver glitter. “Unless you mean Lawson. I think he’s downstairs.”
“Well, go do something with him. Stop dawdling here.” Shoving his feet into his snow boots, Seth tried not to scowl. One miscreant he could handle. Two started feeling like an exponential issue.
From further into the loft, came Noah’s voice, his tone dry. “Don’t order my sub of the night around, Seth. Matt, did you choose your colors?”
Sweet and submissive as pie, Matt batted his lashes at Seth, answering Noah. “Yes, sir. Teal and purple.” He sashayed more than walked, clearly taunting Seth for Wren’s amusement, as he headed in the direction of Noah’s voice. “Seth put Wren on speech restrictions already.”
“I did no such thing.” Shrugging into his parka, Seth curled his lip.
“Stay here. With these.” Noah let out a heavy sigh, pausing on his way out of the room. “Not a word, I know you have no issue with pennies. Let’s get this over with so we can have some fun.” Continuing into the living room, Noah glanced at the paper, then gave Wren a level look. “You are not allowed to put yourself on speech restrictions. We’ve discussed this.”
Wren bit into his bottom lip. Immediately let it go when Noah’s eyes narrowed. “It was necessary, sir. I didn’t want to say something regrettable. I’m sorry to disturb your scene with Matt, but he couldn’t have known who put me on—”
“Ah, no. We’re not doing that now.” Noah picked up the paper and crumpled it in his hand. “He knew very well. I will deal with him.” His brow lifted slightly as his gaze shifted to Seth. “And Seth will handle you. You have a safeword, my little bird. That’s all you will be using. If you need it. I don’t imagine you will.”
“I have no idea what’s going on, but I intend to have a good night with you, Wren.” Crossing to Wren, Seth gently lifted the pile of clothing from his arms. “Thank you, Noah. I’m sorry, too, to have disturbed your scene.”
Shaking his head, Noah observed Wren for a moment, his sub standing perfectly still with his gaze lowered. His brow furrowed slightly as he looked at Seth again. “What in the world did you say to him?”
Before Seth had a chance to say a thing, Wren gritted out through clenched teeth. “I am not a Dom. I am not the least bit like that. I don’t try to take control.”
Seth closed his eyes, praying that he could count to ten and open them again before Noah decked him. He sighed and opened them. “Wren, we can discuss this and let Noah get back to Matt.”
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, Noah appeared to be doing his own counting. He blew out a breath, lowering his hand to his side. Inclined his head. “That would be best.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Wren’s head, speaking to him softly. “You will enjoy yourself. Give it a chance. He has very different subs. Maybe you’ll learn something from each other.”
“Yes, sir.” Wren wrapped his arms around himself, watching Noah as he walked down the hallways, closing the door at the end behind him. His throat worked as he swallowed, lowering his arms to his sides and turning to face Seth with his gaze on the floor near Seth’s boots. “I apologize for putting myself on speech restrictions, sir. And for trying to scare you in the entryway. I didn’t think that would actually work, but it would have been interesting.”
“I completely understand the impulse. I’m a bit of a revenge fantasy man myself.” This was the problem with not planning out every move he made and letting himself get lost in relationships outside his own triad. Things tended to go south very quickly. “How about we forget the entire thing happened and go enjoy the snowstorm?”
Lips parting, Wren jerked his gaze up to Seth’s face. “It’s snowing? I didn’t hear the alert.” Moving faster than he ever did, he darted for the door. Stopped and rushed back to Seth’s side, taking hold of his wrist. Then letting it go like he’d been burned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to touch you without permission, but please hurry, sir? I don’t want to miss any of it.”
“Jacket and boots first.” Setting the pile down on the sofa, Seth shook out Wren’s coat to hold it up. The sub’s reaction had him breaking into a grin so wide his face hurt. All of the work to set up the scenario had been worth this moment.
Slipping his arms into the sleeves, Wren attempted to shove his feet into his boots at the same time, smiling as he started moving toward the door again. “I hope there’s a lot of it. If you get cold, you don’t have to stay outside. I don’t get cold. That would be terrible, I wouldn’t be able to watch it for as long. There’s nothing more beautiful.”
“Do you like igloos? And penguins?” Posing the question casually, Seth followed with Wren’s mittens, hat and scarf, grabbing his own from the bench by the door as they passed.
Please say, ‘yes’...
Wren smiled up at him. “Penguins can’t fly. I like them very much, sir. I’ve never been in an igloo, but they seem like they’d be a very good way to stay in the snow for a very long time. That would be wonderful.” He hurried up the steps, almost losing one of his boots. “Have you ever been in an igloo? Do they take a long time to make?”
He hadn’t been in an igloo before today, but he could say that it took at least four men and a lot of Keiran’s hot cocoa to make one. The quad had helped him to put it together, brick by snowy brick, complete with a viewport in the ceiling so they’d be able to watch the stars through the roof once the ‘snowstorm’ stopped. Downy sleeping bags and mugs of hot rum would keep them warm.
“They do take a while, yes.” Seth handed Wren his mittens, slowing him down to plunk his knitted cap on his head.
Stopping short and dropping his mittens, Wren gaped open mouthed at the snow covered roof. His gaze went to the igloo, then the penguins. He pressed his eyes shut. Let out a soft laugh as snowflakes landed on his cheeks. “Did you…? You made all this, sir? How…?” Turning in a circle, eyes opened wide, he let out another delighted laugh. “This is incredible…” He threw himself at Seth, wrapping his arms around his waist. “I apologize if this is improper, but I can’t help it. Thank you.”
Rocked backward on his heels, Seth brought both arms around Wren to hold him. He pressed a kiss to the top of his head much as Noah had done, breathing him in. Breathing Jared’s scent—cigar tobacco and brandy’s sweetness—with a deep inhale. He watched the penguins tottering around, their flippers out to the sides as they played, sliding on their bellies down a small mound Curtis had helped him make.
“I had a lot of help.” Kissing Wren’s head again, he noted the soft purr of the electric snow machines that were artfully hidden at intervals around the roof and on top of the stairwell lean-to. “Keiran wanted to be here to see your face.”
Lifting his head, eyes glistening, Wren glanced over as Keiran stepped into view. He smiled at the other sub, slipping away from Seth and grabbing Keiran’s hand as he crossed the roof. “I didn’t know when it would snow again, but look!”
“Yes, well we couldn’t leave it to chance.” Keiran blinked fast, crouching down in front of Wren to adjust his jacket and tie his boots. “I’m so happy you get to have this. So damn happy.” He sniffed, rubbing under his nose with a tissue he pulled out of his pocket. “Ugh, now Rhodey’s going to beat my ass. I promised I wouldn’t cry.”
“The machines are yours, Wren. As long as it’s cold enough out—and you’re willing to shovel after—you can make it snow whenever you like.” Placing a hand on Keiran’s shoulder, Seth gave a gentle squeeze. “I guarantee you’ll have plenty of people here willing to come hang out with you in it.”
Nodding, Wren used his thumbs to dry Keiran’s cheeks. “You can’t get punished for happy tears. You’re alive. That’s a good reason for them.” He turned his head, tipping it back so more snowflakes landed on his face. “I think this is my new favorite place.”
Keiran rose gracefully, looking over his shoulder at Seth with a brilliant smile. “This was an amazing idea, sir. Thank you for letting me be part of it.” He lowered his voice as Wren wandered over to the penguins. “I know I don’t need to tell you this, but he means it when he says he doesn’t get cold. It’s not stubbornness or anything. He’s a very good sub.” His cheeks reddened as he canted his head a little, listening to the voice in his earpiece. “Yes, sir, I’m going down now.”
Catching Keiran’s fingers, Seth gave them a little squeeze, then nodded. “He can get frostbite even if he can’t get cold, but I’ll make sure he’s comfortable.”
“Thank you, sir. Again.” Keiran breathed out a laugh. “Jared and Rhodey trust you, so I won’t do any less. I’m just…overprotective when it comes to him. I hope the two of you have a great night. This is good. For both of you.”
Letting Keiran’s hand slip from his grasp, Seth nodded again, not wanting to give Rhodey any more of a voyeuristic head trip than the man had already gotten. “Thank you for helping. I hope you have fun with Jacks and Shea. I know they’re looking forward to what they have planned.”
Keiran’s lips curved as he moved in a little, brushing some snow off Seth's jacket, at the center of his chest. “And Quint. Yes, sir. It’s going to be very fun. I can’t wait to see what they do to us. The possibilities are endless. Between this and the anticipation for my own scene, it’s been incredibly hard to contain myself.”
Chuckling, Seth let his appreciation for the sexy sub’s attention shine in his eyes. Someday, he’d be betting to win this man, and everything he had to offer, both sensual and kind. “Good. You’ll go off like the firecracker you are.”
A movement out of the corner of his eye nearly had him bringing up the gun concealed at his hip when Curtis popped over the side of the ledge. His forehead appeared, then his eyes peered at Wren and the penguins, before moving to Seth. “The one down here was giving me a little trouble, but it’s fixed now.”
“There’s so much of it.” Wren crossed over to the edge of the roof, close to Curtis, but Keiran still tensed up as though he fully intended to go over there and draw Wren to a safer distance instead of leaving through the now open roof door. Completely oblivious, Wren crouched down in front of the switch. “Do you think it will stay for a while? Will you come up here tomorrow to look at it with me, si—Curtis? I’m supposed to shovel it, but I don’t think I ever knew how to do that.”
“I gotcha covered, F.F.” Using his personal shorthand for the nickname he’d given Wren—Freaky Friday—Curtis held out his fist for a bump. “Laurel and Hardy need a pen, and we’ll get them set up to be comfy even in the warmer months. So you don’t have to worry about a thing.”
Looking at the penguins again, Wren’s expression fell. “But…aren’t they just visiting? They’re meant to be in the wild. They can’t stay here. Tracey will know how to get them where they need to be. Will you call her? I’m not touching phones anymore.”
Seth stood back, letting Curtis handle the moment with the sub who trusted and knew him. Slinging one leg over the ledge, Curtis rolled into the soft, fluffy snow and lay on his back to stare up at Wren, the snow pattering all around them and sparkling on Wren’s rosy cheeks.
“They were born in captivity and don’t know how to live in the wild.” Curtis rolled his head to glance at Seth, then Wren again. “Seth rescued them from a zoo that wasn’t taking good care of them. They’re going to be much happier when we get them settled with us. Well fed, and who knows? Maybe they’ll breed and we can help their babies go free.”
Making a distressed sound, Wren turned and crossed the distance to Seth, taking hold of his hand. “Sir, they aren’t pets. Maybe a nature reserve? Please? Somewhere natural. I can’t take care of living animals. Especially not wild ones. I’m still learning not to picture L.D. stuffed every day.”
Laurel, the smaller penguin waddled over to Wren, carrying a little ball in his beak that jingled as he walked. Reaching Wren, he flapped his wings and dropped the ball, then made a little squawking sound with his excited full-body shake. He looked up at Wren like he’d found his long-lost brother, then shook again.
“I think he wants you to pick him up.” Seth knelt down in the snowbank next to Wren’s feet to jingle the ball. “Do you want this, little buddy?”
“Penguins aren’t lap dogs.” Wren shook his head, chewing at his bottom lip and looking toward Keiran now. “Tracey will know.”
Keiran nodded, not having moved an inch. “I’ll call her, mi alma. It’s all right. They’re fine right now. You can just watch them play.”
“Or, I can bring them to her?” Already on his feet, Curtis started toward Hardy. “I don’t want you to worry about it, Wren. You have fun with the snow.”
Leaning back against the vestibule wall, Seth let everything play out. There were many things he had control over in life, and many he didn’t. Picking his battles seemed prudent. What mattered was Wren’s happiness. Who cared if he’d been excited himself to rescue and work with the little fellas on the tricks he’d been told they loved to play? It wasn’t a gift for himself. It had been for Wren, who could do as he liked with them. If that was getting them to a nature preserve full of wolves, he wasn’t going to burst the boy’s bubble.
“I’d be…really grateful, Curtis.” Wren went over to the igloo, brushing his hand over the side. “It was a wonderful gesture. I hope I can go visit them one day. In their habitat. And this is mine.”
Saluting him, Curtis went into the lean-to and came back with a cage that he set on the ground. As soon as he opened the door, Laurel ran to Seth’s feet, grabbed his bell ball and ran back in, making happy sounds. Hardy tried to go in through the door at the same time and they briefly bumped into each other, making sounds Seth swore said, “Sorry, no, you first. No, after you.”
Wren sat in the snow at the mouth of the igloo, smiling a little as the penguins got into the cage. He closed his eyes, looking like he soaked in the snowflakes falling, maybe even listening to the soft hush of them landing all around him. His breaths came out in slow, even puffs of condensation, leaving little white clouds in the air.
“Maybe I should stay.” Keiran watched Wren, looking torn. “Will you be all right with him, sir?”
“Is there a reason I wouldn’t be?” It was a legitimate question, given that Keiran knew the sub better than he did.
Curtis saluted them both, leaving over the ledge with the cage and presumably climbing down the scaffolding with it to his SUV, which rumbled to life a few moments later, like he’d pressed the auto-start in his pocket on his way down.
Shaking his head, Keiran didn’t look quite sure. “I…didn’t know you’d intended to have Wren keep them, sir. I would’ve told you he wouldn’t like the idea. It might’ve thrown him off a bit. But…” He nodded, almost to himself. “You’re a great Dom, sir. I’m sure you can handle it. I’ll get out of your way.”
“I’m human, Keiran. But thank you.” Seth stared at the empty spot where the cage had been, and the mound where the penguins had been playing. “Wren, tell me about snowflakes.”
Wren opened his eyes. “They’re one of my favorite things in the world, sir. But I don’t…I haven’t studied up on them. They’re the one thing I wanted to let keep a bit of magic.” His lips curved as he met Seth’s eyes from where he still sat in front of the igloo. “Because I felt them and saw them, along with Keiran, the night I didn’t die. They’re part of my second chance at life. Being able to come home to Jared. To Noah. To Jamie.”
“One of the most magical things about snowflakes is that they’re like nature’s fingerprints.” Standing, Seth moved closer to Wren, then sat by his side to watch the swirl of snow dance on the wind, a blanket of stars visible overhead in a way they never were during a storm. “No two are alike.”
Inclining his head, Wren held out one mittened hand to catch a few. “That part I knew. It’s quieter when they’re around. So quiet you could hear a heart beating. I love that sound.”
With the snow machines, it wasn’t quite so quiet. The chug of the engines wasn’t as loud as the diesel and gas powered ones they’d tested, and the latter had been more powerful. Still, there was only so much snow the roof could hold.
“We don’t need to stay in the igloo, but if you’d like to get the sleeping bags we can sleep out here. I have some pretzels and Red Bull if you like.” Seth motioned toward the igloo’s curved entrance, wondering if Wren would’ve had fun building it with them.
“Yes, please, sir.” Wren shifted onto his knees, crawling inside. “I wanted to see all of it. You did amazing work. You didn’t need to go to all this trouble for me, but I’m very grateful for the experience. And for the ability to have snow whenever I want it. I’ll still look forward to when it falls on its own from the sky, but this will help when I’m missing it a lot.”
Seth strained to catch Wren’s words with the thick igloo walls muffling the sounds of his movement inside. He had made it large enough to sleep two, but remained outside to allow the sub the freedom of movement to explore the space. Each of the snow bricks had been packed together with more snow and smoothed out to create the curved walls that culminated in the open circle of ceiling. A few LED lanterns hung inside, embedded in the snow. There was a food chest and two sleeping rolls, as well as a cooler of beverages.
“It wasn’t any trouble, Wren. It was fun figuring it all out.” The kind of fun Seth didn’t often get to have with the Core. “Would you bring me a beer from the cooler, please?”
The sound was even more muffled now, whatever Wren said in reply not reaching him. Several moments passed, completely silent except for the steady ones coming from the snow machines, filling the air with dancing flakes.
Leaning to one side, Seth peered into the entry tunnel. “Everything all right in there?”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, the cooler’s stuck.” Wren made a frustrated sound. “I’ll get it, sir. One moment, please.”
Seth crawled in after him, gently brushing his hands aside. “I’ll get it. Don’t worry. If you toss the sleeping bags out of the roof, they’ll roll down the side easily.” He tipped his head toward the bedrolls. “Would you like that Red Bull?”
“Could we…?” Wren’s gaze trailed around the igloo. “If it pleases you, sir, I’d like to sleep in here. I love the snow, but I think it would be difficult to sleep with it falling on me. And you worked so hard to do something so amazing for me. I appreciate it. I should be the one serving you so I can show you how much. I know you only want basic service from me, but I am very good at it. I could light you a cigar, or…I’m decent at massages. Jamie showed me a few things from the classes he took.”
It had been Seth’s plan to spend the evening watching Wren delight in the snow, perhaps a little snowball fight. Some happy, Pike-like chatter over the penguins. Maybe answer some questions about what Jared had been like when he was a surly young C.O. who strutted around trying to prove he was worthy of all the trust his superiors had put into him, while soothing the feathers of nervous newbies like Quint. What he realized, as he met Wren’s gaze, was that he’d been thinking of him like the two subs he’d known and been close to, but couldn’t have been further from. Which meant he had to adjust on the fly and figure out how to meet him where he was.
Sometimes, D/s was a well orchestrated dance, and sometimes it felt like waking up at three a.m. to a house on fire and putting your pants on backward. “I’d like a cigarette and to sit out in the snow with you for a while longer. Unless you’re cold?”
“I don’t get cold, sir. I’ll set up everything for your comfort.” Moving with more certainty, Wren collected everything they’d need and brought it out of the igloo. Returning, he began patting the other bags. “Where are your cigarettes, sir? I’ll remember where you keep them next time.”
Seth gently patted his jacket front, lips curving at Wren’s use of the words, ‘next time.’ “They’re always close to me, along with my lighter, phone, and gun.” He finally unjammed the cooler, which had gotten some water on it and frozen shut. “Do you not like alcohol? Or do you just prefer the Red Bull?”
“I usually have Red Bull when I’m working, sir.” Wren slipped his hand into Seth’s jacket, feeling around for his cigarette case and lighter. He turned his head, likely to avoid bumping his face into Seth’s. “I enjoy several different kinds of alcohol. Nothing too sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever liked beer.”
Absorbing the information, Seth held his arms out a little to give Wren greater access to his jacket pocket, observing his movements. They were fluid, self-assured. Indicating that his head injury hadn’t affected centers of motor control. Not having known him prior to the incident, he couldn’t say whether the sometimes odd flow of his thoughts was the result of that or a personal quirk of nature.
“What time do you normally go to sleep?” It had been eleven p.m. when the poker game had ended, about two hours ago.
That had Wren’s lips twitching as he lifted his head, Seth’s cigarette case and lighter retrieved, close enough to Seth that almost anyone else—definitely Pike—would have rammed their head into his chin if he didn’t move fast enough. But Wren seemed aware of his movements and managed to shift back a little with a fair amount of grace. “Various times unless I’m told otherwise, sir. Sometimes I stay up to study, or read, or do exactly as I should with Jamie and nothing more.”
Opening his mouth, Seth snapped it shut again with his frown. “Exactly as you should...?” It was a strange turn of phrase that seemed to mean something. Definitely not gibberish. “What does that mean?”
Wren plucked out a cigarette and set it between his lips, wrinkling his nose a little. “I’ve found it best if you don’t come straight out and say you’re doing something you’re not supposed to. But sometimes we’re supposed to be sneaky, because Noah appreciates that. So if I’m sucking Jamie’s dick or letting him… I can use that word sometimes when I talk about sex, but not always. I’m sure you know what I mean. Anyway, I’m doing what I should and nothing more. To cover everything.”
That seemed a rather complex bit of logic that covered, as Wren had said, everything. Why their Doms didn’t simply proscribe this play, like Seth had with Pike and Quint, was a mystery, but Jared had never seen his way to doing things simply, and Noah would definitely enjoy complicating things further.
“It’s important that you and Jamie are able to maintain your own bond.” His intelligence had told him the two developed an affection for one another soon after the pop star’s arrival. “I can see where you must be very clever to navigate that line. For Pike and Quint, it made sense for me to give them daily tasks that would make them feel I was with them even when they were taking care of each other. I think it has helped lessen ambiguity that might be problematic for Pike.”
Flicking the lighter, Wren lit the cigarette, holding it out for Seth as he retreated out of his personal space. “I’ve learned there are many different approaches to this lifestyle, sir. I don’t understand all of it, but I enjoy learning…pretty much anything. As well as all kinds of experiences, even if I’m only observing them. I try to give different things a chance, but it’s not always pleasant. Like certain foods. Or cigarettes. I don’t like them as much as cigars. Did you ask me for something else, sir?”
Seth nodded toward the cooler, taking a long draw off the cigarette. He spoke around it, letting the smoke wisp from between his lips where it drifted upward and toward the sky. “Beer, please.” He called back, crawling out of the igloo to lean against its outer wall. “And grab yourself what you’d like to drink. I know you don’t enjoy hot beverages, but there’s a thermos of buttered rum. Are you hungry?”
“No, sir. I will try the rum, though. I do like some hot drinks, but, again, nothing too sweet.” Wren slipped away, taking out a beer and using a bottle opener to pop off the cap before bringing it to Seth. Only then did he go back for his own drink. He settled down next to Seth, taking a sip like it was part of a science experiment and he needed to examine his own reaction to the taste to determine the results. “It has a pleasant spiciness to it. Did Matt or Keiran make it?”
“Keiran. It’s Pike’s family’s recipe, though. Something he remembered the adults making when he was a kid.” One of his rare pleasanter memories, if you ignored the part where the teens had gotten him drunk on it as a youngster. Dangling the beer between his bare fingertips, Seth drew up his knees and focused on the tip of his cigarette. “Tell me about the first time you saw Jared. Where were you? What were you thinking?”
Frowning at the drink clasped between his mitten covered hands, Wren was silent for a long moment. “I had just gotten out of prison and started working here behind the bar. I was under Noah’s protection. Mostly on speech restrictions because I had a very bad habit of telling anyone who asked far too much. I haven’t gotten much better, but I try not to reveal anything I shouldn’t.” He took a sip of his drink. “Why did you wager for me tonight, sir?”
Because it brings me closer to Jared, and any sub he chooses is lovely as fuck.
Seth cleared his throat, startled by his internal monologue. Stamping the cigarette out on a bit of rooftop that hadn’t managed to be covered in snow, he didn’t look up when he spoke. “I wanted to get to know you better, and perhaps heal our relationship. Which, when I think about it, we do have.” He met Wren’s gaze. “Because we care about the same man.”
“That’s very reasonable, sir. I’d like that, too.” Wren dipped his gaze back down to his drink, swirling it a bit as snowflakes landed inside, making them melt and breathing in the rising, fragrant steam with a sound like he was enjoying this new experience. “I was curious what it would be like to submit to you. And to see what Jared must have felt when he was with you. It’s been a long time, so I guess things have changed. I’m happy to hear you still care about him. That makes me like you more, even though I very much want to stomp on your foot when you give him dirty looks. Not that I would. I don’t give in to every temptation.”
A myriad of emotions and responses at his disposal, Seth tipped his beer to his lips to buy himself time. Cold and sharp, the liquid woke up his taste buds, bringing with it an alertness he needed in order to follow the winding nature of Wren’s thoughts.
He stuck out his boot, within range of Wren’s, a grin playing about his lips. “Go ahead. Retroactive revenge.”
That had the edge of Wren’s lips twitching up. “No, thank you, sir. I’ll reserve that for the next time. I don’t doubt that there will be one. You can be very calculated, but you slip when you’re caught off guard by anything. Jared catches you off guard more than almost anyone. Except maybe Pike, but that’s mostly by his being likely to find interesting new ways to end up on the floor.”
Beer at his lips, Seth barely managed to swallow in time before he spat out a laugh. “That he does. They both do.” He shook his head, still chuckling. “I wouldn’t recommend stomping on my foot around Noah or Lawson. Pass or no pass, your ass would suffer. Jared would probably let it go, because he not-so-secretly wants to do it himself.” Dropping his arm around Wren’s shoulders, he took a chance on pulling him close, watching his body language, prepared to move away if he stiffened at all. “And to answer your earlier question, most of what Jared felt when he was with me was annoyance, and tolerance because I was important to Quint.”
“I don’t mind harsh punishments if I’ve earned them. And I don’t mind earning them for the right reasons. It only bothers me if I’m punished for doing something thoughtless that upsets my Doms.” Wren lifted his drink to his lips again, leaning into Seth a little. “That must have been a very…unique situation. You and Jared, both very powerful, intelligent men, trying to co-exist without being sure how, all while loving the same sub. With the way you challenge one another now, after having both matured considerably? Back then it was probably only Jared’s rank that kept both of you alive. There are a lot of places to bury bodies in the desert.”
Mirth rumbled through Seth, tightening the arm around Wren’s shoulder when he shook with laughter. “Nailed it.” He wiped the corners of his eyes with a finger he uncurled from the neck of his beer bottle. “Quint saved me from Jared’s wrath more than once. But when we first met, Jared took it on himself to train me up so I wasn’t so, shall we say, frenetic? Quint wouldn’t have looked at me twice if I hadn’t been steadier, so my blessing was Jared’s curse.”
Those brown eyes locked on his face with open interest, as though Wren was trying to soak in every word, his lips curving a bit. “Quint likes people. I think he would have looked at you, sir. But you wouldn’t have had much of a chance with him if Jared had claimed his full attention. You being steadier would have definitely been necessary for you to appeal at all when Quint caught Jared’s eye. It sounds like one of those romance books Noah got from his mother that he reads to discuss with her, but always grumbles about. I think the first book he ever threw was Twilight. I haven’t read it, the storyline doesn’t interest me in the least. Have you read it?”
Poor Noah. The man can’t catch a break.
Shaking his head, Seth sipped his beer, listening as The Asylum’s gates opened and closed.
“Quint fell for me first.” He frowned. Or did he? “I think.”
Wren smiled softly at him. “I’ve seen him with Pike. I saw how quickly he grew attached to him. With how much he loves you both, I can see him having fallen very hard and very fast. He’s been a merc for over a decade and still doesn’t guard his heart as so many would. Back then? I don’t think he would have even tried. I can’t imagine feeling that way and ever having to choose.” He took a deep breath. “But he chose you. I can’t say I’m sorry about that.”
“I tricked him into choosing me.” That was no lie, and even though it had saved Quint’s life, it would always be the pebble in Seth’s shoe. Their relationship was stronger now, but at its start it had been built on sand. “I wish I could say I was entirely sorry. But I’m not.” He shrugged a bit, prepared for Wren to move away from him. “Given half a chance when I re-entered his life, he would’ve chosen Jared. So, I owe you.” He tipped the neck of his beer bottle to clink it against Wren’s cup. “Thanks.”
Lifting his own glass, Wren carefully tapped it against Seth’s. He looked slightly amused. “I guess I could say the same to you. There was always a place in Jared’s heart that belonged to Quint. It’s still his. I don’t mind it so much, so long as Quint deserves to be there. But he might have kept it all and left no room for me if things had been different. Except they weren’t.” He sipped his drink. “My Dom gets to have it all and that makes me happy, even when things are complicated. Besides, having you and Quint around lets him get more sleep. He needed that.”
“I’ve noticed he tends to get more fragmented when he’s tired. I’m glad we can help.” The fact of the matter was the Jared he’d known as his C.O. was a very different man in some ways to the man he knew now. “He’s more vulnerable.” Seth spoke his last thought aloud. “There was a shell before, a different sort of confidence, that’s been shaken. Not that it’s entirely bad, but I do regret it’s a result of what happened after we left. When I couldn’t convince him to go with us.”
Wren bit into his bottom lip, drawing his knees in and resting his glass on them while looking out at the snow. “That haunted him for a very long time. I wish… Even though it would mean I probably wouldn’t have met him, which hurts more than I have words for, when I really let myself consider it? I wish he’d gone with you. No one deserves to suffer the way he did. I would give anything so he never had to feel that pain.”
“Meeting you was inevitable.” Giving comfort where he could, Seth sank his beer into a little well in the snow so he could use his free hand to stroke Wren’s hair back from his ear. “He would’ve been a merc, and that would’ve changed him. So you might not know him as the man he is now, but with his relationship with Noah? Yeah. He’d have been here.”
Strangely, that had Wren letting out a soft, delighted sound that was not quite a laugh, but close. “I never thought of that. He’d have made an interesting merc. Very frightening. I should ask him how he’d have killed me… Wait, no, he probably wouldn’t like that question very much. He’s had to see too many people try. Some people don’t find the same kind of imagining as fascinating. They just get scared. Or sad. I try to avoid that when I can, but I’m not great at it.”
“It’s called mastering your trauma.” Thinking back on a few conversations he’d had with Stephan, Seth nodded a little, his fingers skimming Wren’s cheek. “It makes sense. Your brain is controlling the experience in the best way it knows how. There are therapies to help with it if it becomes problematic, but it sounds like it’s not something that causes issues for you.” He laughed a little. “Only for people like Jamie and Danny, who are not horror buffs.”
“Yes, but I try to be more sensitive for their feelings. I care about them, I just don’t always understand the things that frighten or upset them, which makes it harder to avoid. I’ve spoken to Stephan about that and it’s helped me to get a bit better at weighing on the side of caution.” Wren leaned a little into Seth’s touch. “For me, it’s not a huge issue because…I got through it. I’m alive and I get to be here. There’s so much more to it for many, and I understand when they can’t make it that simple, but I prefer to. It lets me focus on other things.”
The snow blew past in a horizontal dervish driven by the wind that had kicked up as the night wore on. It bit at Seth’s cheeks and nose, prompting him to check Wren’s skin for signs of frostnip and tugging his hat down over the tips of his slightly reddened ears. “Tell me about your doll collection. I’ve heard it’s pretty amazing.”
Pleasure filled Wren’s eyes, making it clear this was a good subject to explore with him. “I didn’t have any interest in them at all until I went on a road trip and discovered one with an incredible story behind it. After that, and hearing how creepy a lot of people find them, I wanted more. Not just any dolls. More with stories. History. I like looking at each one and imagining the whole past they had. And the people they belonged to knowing they have a new home now, someone that will take care of them, makes me happy.” He ducked his head. “That they don’t need more than dusting and being kept in a safe place is good. I couldn’t do that with a pet. They need caring for, and all kinds of time and attention, which would get overwhelming. Having one cat is my limit. Almost beyond my limit, but L.D. gets his emotional and physical needs met by others. It wouldn’t be fair to him if it was just the two of us. We don’t particularly like one another.”
“My sisters liked dolls.” Memory made Seth’s gaze go distant as he looked out over the rooftop toward the lights of downtown. Some clouds had rolled in, and the brightness bounced off of them, making the world seem a little more hushed and close. Intimate. “Theirs didn’t have any good stories though, other than the Barbies. Those, they had dating a lot of the other dolls, and making messes of their lives in ways that would rival those soaps Jacks loves.” Unable to recall exactly whether Gracie and Meredith had gotten married, and which one had the kid when she was sixteen, Seth frowned. Their lives seemed to have turned out a bit like the ones they’d built in that world they’d made up as kids. He decided to refocus on the original subject. “There’s a flea market in the park some years. I’ve seen a lot of old dolls there.”
Wren made a thoughtful sound, his gaze going to the general direction of the park. “Maybe I can go see it this summer. If things are safe enough. I don’t like being far from home, but that wouldn’t be terrible. Noah would like all the old books, and the new ones…and the books in general. Jared would enjoy the antiques. I think Jamie would have fun browsing and taking in everything. So long as people let him just…be.”
“He must miss them. The antiques.” Continuing, he changed the subject as perhaps too close to home for Wren. “Yeah. Jamie and that park. Not so much. We caught chatter the other day that there’s a plot by the gang to nab him and hold him for ransom. I meant to mention it to Noah, but I wondered if that was the right move.”
No hesitation, Wren shook his head. “No, you telling him wouldn’t be good. I’ll speak to Jared and Rhodey, they’re very good at knowing how to approach situations like that in a way that won’t throw Noah off balance. Please make sure Jamie doesn’t hear about it? I don’t want him scared, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t go out. I’ll have either Danny or Reed tell him. Yes, that would be good. I might be too blunt. We’ll keep him safe, though, no matter what.”
“I’ve got eyes on him, sweetheart.” The endearment rolled off Seth’s tongue, feeling right as he took in Wren’s earnest expression. “And he has an entire security team. You don’t need to mention it to him. Or anyone. That’s my job. I’m sorry for worrying you.” He held up his beer as his excuse. “I am a bit of a lightweight on an empty stomach.”
Giving him a level look, Wren huffed before relaxing into his side again. “If you hadn’t told me, someone else would have. Avery, maybe. Or Keiran. I’m part of the security here as well. I should be, I’m a big part of the reason it’s needed. I won’t let anyone else be at risk, whether it’s because of me or not. Don’t apologize, I appreciate you being honest with me. I can handle it.”
“May I say that your protective streak is one of my favorite things about you?” Observations about Quint on the tip of his tongue once again, Seth ran his thumb over the swell of Wren’s lower lip, wondering for the first time if it tasted as sweet as it looked.
Breath puffing over Seth’s thumb, Wren blinked at him. “It’s…what anyone would do for the people they love, sir. Or…anyone I care to know. That’s one of the reasons the Core is what it is. Not a single man, Dom or sub, wouldn’t do everything in their power to protect the others.” He held Seth’s gaze. “There might be a lot of things I don’t fully grasp, but that is something that’s very clear to me. Both of your subs have it. Which I can appreciate much more when it’s aimed outward, rather than in. I am trying to be patient about it, since they might not know yet they don’t need to protect one another from any of us.”
“No, not from any of us. But that rocky start wasn’t so long ago, and though time moves quickly here it feels like it was just yesterday some days.” Even Seth hadn’t been able to entirely divorce himself from the worry that at any moment one of the mercs would put a bullet in Pike and shove him and Quint out of the door. “You really think everyone in the Core is willing to lay down their life to protect the others?” Finishing off the beer he plucked from the snow, Seth licked his teeth to lessen the chill on his tongue. “Does Jamie even know how to fire a gun or wield a knife?”
Wren gave him a look like he thought he was being very silly. “Noah wouldn’t allow that. He makes sure he can defend himself to a point, but it’s more important to him that Jamie is always safe. That doesn’t mean Jamie wouldn’t do anything in his power. We all have our own skills. I can’t shoot a gun either… I don’t know how I’d react to holding one. Maybe I should find out. It would not be good to only learn of my own reactions in an emergency. I’d like to think I could do whatever’s necessary, but what if I froze up? There’s no code to fix that.”
Jared’s sub isn’t wrong.
Taking out his gun, Seth removed the magazine and checked the chamber to make sure it was empty, then held it out to Wren. “Here. Feel the weight. That’s one of the things people find surprising.”
Wrapping his hands around the handle, Wren sucked in a breath. Brought the gun from one hand to the other, using his teeth to remove his mitts in between. His throat worked as he pointed it straight ahead. Closed his eyes. “I still remember the sound. Not from that night. Other times. And I can see so many situations…” Eyes still closed, he went motionless, like one might if faced with a venomous snake. That they’d somehow found their hands wrapped around, feeling it squirm in their grip. “I don’t like it. I can’t.” He dropped the gun to the roof between his feet and shook his head, shifting away from it. “I’m sorry, sir. Thank you for… I would fail. I know I would. I wouldn’t be able to stay in the right headspace. I’d be useless.”
“And now you know this isn’t your weapon of choice.” Taking the gun from the snow, Seth dried it off with his shirt, and tucked it away unloaded before he pulled Wren into his lap. “Hey.” He lifted Wren’s chin with a knuckle to meet his gaze. “Avery uses knives and throwing weapons. Intimate ones like garottes. I’m a sniper. I like long distance kills and prefer not to be up close with a target where my emotions get pulled in.” Searching the sub’s eyes, he tried to determine how best to help him. “If your weapon of choice is a computer? Then you’re a pretty powerful merc, because you know how to point and shoot without a miss.”
A breathless laugh escaped Wren as he smoothed his hands over Seth’s jacket, like getting rid of any wrinkles in the fabric soothed him. “Yes, well…Avery is capable of using any weapon you give him. He’s also agile and a very fast thinker. I’m not at all athletic, I keep in decent shape by scrubbing a lot of things and carrying laundry. I’m an asset, not a merc, but…thank you for saying that, sir. I need to be able to contribute in some way. I’m…very grateful we have your skills in addition to the others. That you’re…here. On our side.”
Which hadn’t always been a given. Not in the least. He’d been on Jared’s side, on Quint’s, then Pike’s. Everyone else, he might’ve given fuck all about. Now, he’d opened his heart to Wren, it was impossible to deny that there would be others who could worm their way into its rotten core. Sighing a little, he tucked the sub closer.
“I am too, my boy.” Chin on top of Wren’s head, Seth enjoyed the flakes of snow the wind buffeted their way. They melted on his cheeks like frozen tears. “If we pointed you at the world, at anyone, you could take them down. It makes you as much of a merc as I am. I couldn’t do what you do, but it doesn’t mean I can’t get the job done in a different way.” He wasn’t sure if that was helpful or not, but it wasn’t like he was ashamed of what he did for a living. Ridding some fucked up people from a fucked up world. “You’re special.”
Making a quiet, noncommittal sound, Wren tucked himself snug against Seth’s chest. “I prefer it when someone else does the pointing. I can be tempted to take aim without access to knowledge that goes beyond the facts that are set before me. The way you approach things takes more into consideration. Like how you said you would have looked at me. I have…gotten a bit better at seeing there are real people beyond the screen and the numbers. I want to learn how to make better judgment calls, when…when I need to.”
“I rarely make a judgment call on my own. I refuse jobs, but I don’t seek them out. It’s why we have the Vanis, Rhodeys, and the people who trained them up. They figure that shit out, and we trust them to know what’s what.” It was one of the reasons why he took work exclusively from them. “It’s not that I haven’t been tempted, like you, but I know if I step over a line with Vani and Rhodey, and go take a contract on my own, that it’s going to mess with the trust that needs to go both ways.” Discussing his work with Wren was oddly soothing, and the way the snow whirled around them like they were inside a glass globe with the clouds skating overhead completed the insulated sense they were the only two people in the world. “I’m glad they’re good people. It makes my life a lot less complicated.”
“I feel the same, sir. That trust…it’s very important.” Shifting on Seth’s lap, Wren positioned himself to meet Seth’s eyes again. “I also like…being able to shield others from the worst when I can. The horrors out there make the movies I watch seem trivial. Usually, those movies have simple solutions that weren’t explored. And the things that bring that surprise, the thrill of being a little afraid, are contained. I’ve tried to get some of my friends to see it the same way. Most don’t. Reed doesn’t mind them, but they’re not his favorite.” His lips curved slightly. “Pike actually surprised me. He gets very animated when he watches them. He enjoys yelling at the characters and trying to change the direction of the story by insulting them.”
Seth snorted, knowing very well exactly how invested his little pixie got about things both on screen and off. “I’m glad you’ve been able to spend time with him. He chatters about those movies and the treats you make sure are there for him for hours after I get home.” Lips curving, Seth adjusted Wren’s mitten back onto his hand, tugging it so his thumb went into its little pocket. “His way of comforting himself afterward is also a win. He loves kissing.”
“He does seem to be very affectionate. I think Jared will enjoy that.” Wren fussed with his mitten, wrinkling his nose a little. “I don’t mind things like that sometimes. Cuddling. But not as often as some. In more limited doses.”
“So you wouldn’t want a lot of kisses, or any kisses really?” Feeling Wren out some more, Seth tried to determine whether that biteable bottom lip wanted to be bitten. “What...do you enjoy?”
Wren tilted his head to one side. “Kissing can be very nice. Not when there are other things to do, though. And sitting in someone’s lap in the bar seems very impractical. For me, not for others. I feel like it would disturb whoever attempts to hold me if I had to get up and down constantly. And I don’t like having to ask to be let go if I need to tend to something. Or if the position is uncomfortable. Or whether it’s simply me who’s uncomfortable, but my Dom is fine and I’m not relaxing enough.” His cheeks reddened a little as he gave Seth a sheepish look. “Noah tells me not to think about it so much and it won’t be an issue. I suppose that’s true, but you can’t shut off your brain.”
Unimpressed with the other Dom, not for the first time, Seth barely refrained from rolling his eyes. “That’s a bit shortsighted. Subs have their own feelings. It can be fun to lean into that discomfort and make them squirm, but really there’s no reason for you to be uncomfortable outside of a scene or if it’s not for your safety.” He glanced toward the spot Wren had occupied. “Would you like to sit back over there or stay here?”
The level look Wren gave Seth was hauntingly familiar. “Sir, with all due respect, Noah knows me on a level that is only matched by Jared. He is…aware of me in ways that can…settle me when nothing I try works. I can overthink absolutely anything presented to me. Being reminded to stop is… Sometimes, I need that. I need the choice to be taken away. I need to be held and not to consider how else I could be of service.” A bit of a challenge filled his eyes. “Where would you prefer me, sir?”
One of the things that had driven Jared crazy about Seth’s form of Dominance had been his tendency to draw lines sparingly. If his subs were comfortable, he was comfortable, by and large. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy his little games with them, primarily because it gave them pleasure to know he watched how they performed and obeyed, but outside of their enjoyment it wasn’t a whole head trip thing for him. At least not as long as they weren’t in the bedroom. Then things got a little tighter as he assumed the full mantle of his control.
“I put you where I wanted you, but I asked you where you want to be because part of my pleasure in being a Dom is making my subs happy. In spoiling them. I wouldn’t find any happiness having you in my lap unless it made you cozy. Or aroused.” He tipped his brows up, lowering his chin to meet Wren’s gaze. “I’m getting to know you, so I’ll ask more questions than you’re likely used to because of my style. And I’ll do my best to meet you where you are.”
Chewing on his bottom lip, Wren seemed to be trying to figure out how to reply. He released his lip as though suddenly recalling he wasn’t supposed to be doing that and inclined his head. “This could be a different kind of experience. That’s the point of tonight, right? Jared asked a lot of questions in the beginning. He saw…my needs were different, and we adapted to one another. It feels good, not…having to wonder so much, but I’ll try, sir. It’s reasonable, you can’t read my mind.” He gave a little nod. “I am cozy in your lap. The moment felt…right. Like you wanted me closer and I wanted to be closer. I think I missed any attempt at arousal, I apologize. I’ll try to be more attentive.”
“There wasn’t one. Not really.” Smiling at the seriousness with which Wren approached the topic that usually was more lighthearted in his own trio, Seth adjusted his hips. “You and I haven’t had a chance to talk, much less understand what each other might like. I’m going to try to win you a few more times so we can enjoy the aspects of the power exchange. Tonight is for getting to know you. And you me. I wouldn’t mind one of those rare kisses though.”
Wetting his bottom lip with his tongue, Wren gave him a small, hesitant smile. “Neither would I, sir. But…I agreed to submit to you. That was not an order. I…feel much more comfortable with orders. Clear orders, that aren’t idiotic. Not that you would give me an idiotic order, sir, but that’s what Jared taught me. Not to obey those ones.”
“I can hear him saying it now.” The man’s distinctive growl had been part of him for as long as he could remember, even in the moments when they were apart. Hearing his voice in his head had even saved Seth from an idiot move or two himself over the years. “Did you know I’m older than he is?” Running his palms up Wren’s chest, Seth explored the solid feel of him under the parka. “Pissed off more than one person in our unit when they found out how quickly he rose through the ranks.”
That seemed to please Wren, more than surprise him. “Jared is one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever known. And I’ve known a lot of very smart people. I didn’t know that, but with your profession, it does make some sense. You’re still young enough to have been close to the top of your own class, sir.”
Hands on Wren’s shoulders, Seth adjusted him so they faced each other. He cupped the back of the sub’s neck, drawing Wren closer, meeting him halfway. A hair’s breadth apart, he said his, “Thank you,” then slanted his mouth over snow dampened, surprisingly warm lips. “Mhm...” He smiled into the kiss, drawing back for a moment. “I knew you’d taste like him.”
Chuckling quietly, Wren looked into his eyes. “Yes, sir. I think you’ve imagined kissing him again a lot. I hope I’m there when it happens. Nothing so brief as the kiss he gave you earlier.”
Heat unfurled low in Seth’s belly, and the need that had awakened him more than a few nights before he’d reunited with Quint embraced him like an old friend. He was so familiar with it he barely needed to acknowledge its presence when it walked onto his emotional landscape. Rather than answer Wren’s assertion, he took the easy road, reclaiming what was his for the evening, deepening the contact until the pressure of his mouth parted his boy’s lips with a sweetly yielding quietness that brought with it so many memories it became almost painful.
Gripping his shoulders, Wren gasped in a breath, like this was the part he hadn’t expected. His tongue met Seth’s, letting Seth guide him with the depth and pressure, slipping in a subtle glide, like he was searching for something he needed. He moved his knees to either side of Seth’s hips, rising up a bit to give Seth more access to his mouth.
Arm banded around Wren’s waist, Seth cupped the back of his head and leaned forward without breaking the kiss. He brought them both to the soft fluffy pile of snow, in direct line of where some of the thickest flakes swirled on the night air. Stretching out, careful not to let his full weight press into the sub, he enjoyed the pressure against his rapidly hardening dick against Wren’s thigh, and changed his angle to a slant that allowed deeper penetration. Gathering Wren’s wrists in one hand, he stretched his arms overhead into the drift, lengthening his torso and removing the opportunity for resistance.
Wren opened his eyes, tugging a little at his wrists as though needing to know if Seth was serious. His pupils dilated and he hissed in a breath, arching his back, then stilling, like he was wrestling with an order not to move that hadn’t been given. His lips twitched upward into a self-conscious little smile. “This is not a position I’ve ever found myself in, sir.”
Finding that very difficult to believe, Seth drew back a little and cocked his head. He tightened his hold. “In a snow drift with a man who desperately wants to fuck you?”
“That too.” Wren gazed up at him, settling a bit, the look in his eyes saying he’d gotten the answer to a question he hadn’t considered voicing out loud. “Before Noah, all my partners were online. Noah takes what he wants in a way that leaves no doubt. Jared communicates what he will do in a very direct way. Both in complete control. I didn’t think you wanted me that way, sir. The kiss gave me some idea. Now…now I know. And you…” He bit back a smile, tugging at his wrists again. “You’re a very capable Dom with much more command than I gave you credit for.”
Dipping down, Seth nipped the indent at the middle of Wren’s lower lip, then gave it a sucking pull. He shifted his hips, letting Wren feel how hard he’d become and how quickly, enjoying the pillowed strength of his boy’s thigh. He wanted a chase, and Wren wanted direction, neither of which needed to be exclusive.
“I like a little fight in you. Keep tugging. Don’t give in too easy. I want the chase.” Seth leaned closer to Wren’s ear, he breathed a Jared-like growl. “What would you do if I were here to take you away?”
Whole body jerking, Wren twisted, both his body and his wrists at once. He latched onto the closest bit of skin he could find, in the open part of Seth’s jacket, right below the base of his neck, where it met his shoulder, and bit down. Hard.
Now would’ve been a really good time for a safeword. If he’d ever thought to have one.
Seth rolled, bringing Wren with him, the searing pain so close to his carotid making him wonder if the artery had been hit. Warmth spread down his chest, inside his shirt, his shout ringing against the night. Instinct brought his arm up, as well as his knees, and reflex had him flinging Wren away from him as hard as he could.
Except his teeth were sunk into the bone of his clavicle. Around it, in fact, like he gnawed a good piece of brisket, and was even more reluctant than Koda to let it go.
There was scrambling in the snow, several boots hitting it as someone rushed toward him.
The first voice was Shea’s. “Wren, let him go and come to me.”
Knees hit the snow by Seth’s shoulder. Pressure came over the wound with one hand, Quint speaking over him, his tone sharp. “Stand down, Keiran. That’s an order.”
“Fuck your orders.” Keiran’s voice held a dangerous edge. “Jacks, get Wren out of here. Shea, call Rhodey. Neither you or him better fucking move, Quint.”
Snowflakes swirled above, dancing like fireflies between Seth and the sky. Panting, he noted his respirations had become quicker, his pulse juddering.
Wren had been right.
At that moment, all that mattered, all he could see and feel?
Was the snow.
*****
Check back tomorrow for PART 63!
Poor Seth, all that trouble and a very happy sub and one misunderstanding and it ends in a cliffhanger. But I love the two of them together ❤️
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