Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

H e watched Vinnie and Mason exchange a glance, still trying to get a read on their relationship with each other. Mason grinned triumphantly before turning to face Tomas, but Vinnie didn’t look nearly as excited at the idea. He sank back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing the same clothes he had been when Tomas found him on the side of the road, minus his hat, and was still sexy as hell. His tight curls were cut into a short Afro with a low fade on the sides, a hint of facial hair emphasizing his sharp jawline.

“I agree,” Mason said cheerfully, “the three of us should have a conversation.”

Tomas narrowed his eyes. “You’re already on thin ice after your little stunt, so I’d be very careful how you proceed.”

Shit, the honest-to-god pout he got in response nearly made him chuckle. He glanced at Vinnie, expecting to see him look a little smug or maybe rolling his eyes at Mason’s antics, but he looked exactly the same. He was shutting down. He might have still been in the room with them, but Vinnie was closing off, unwilling to hear what Tomas had to say or even contemplate the idea of what the attraction between the three of them could mean.

“Vinnie, look at me.” He waited until he held those stubborn eyes. “I don’t know exactly what happened between the two of you, but can you at least admit to me, in the privacy of this room, that you weren’t unaffected by what happened on the side of the road earlier?”

He caught a bit of surprise in Vinnie’s expression, like he couldn’t believe Tomas would just say it so plainly, but he was too old to play games. Seeing the two of them together in front of him gave him a surge of energy he hadn’t felt in a long time.

He may have thought it was time to give up on trying to find a few partners to settle down with, that he’d never be able to find the right combination of people to fulfill his wants and needs and occupy the empty space in his heart, but Mason’s sweetness, combined with Vinnie’s sass, had his attention. Had him eager to see what their dynamic could be.

Though Vinnie had every right not to feel the same way. Tomas had no idea about his history or if they’d ever dated a third like that. He’d been very careful not to press Mason to talk about why he was back in Michigan when his boyfriend—or maybe just best friend; he’d a hard time getting a read on that—was still on the other side of the country.

The fight that they’d had didn’t seem like it would be enough to drive him to return home without Vinnie, so he needed to learn more. He needed to figure out how they fit with each other before he could figure out if they’d fit with him.

Vinnie licked his lips and looked at Mason out of the corner of his eye before refocusing on Tomas. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean?” Tomas said, holding up a hand to forestall Mason when he started to speak. How could it not matter? Between what he already had with Mason?

“Because.”

“Because why?” he said, his tone firm.

“You met Mason first,” he said like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“Okay,” Tomas said slowly, drumming his fingers on his desktop. “Explain that to me like I’m a toddler. Explain to me why it matters which of you I met first.”

Vinnie huffed, visibly annoyed, and pushed to his feet. “How exactly do you see this going?” he said instead. “Do you want to date both of us until you figure out which one you like better? Trust me, if you felt a connection to Mason, whatever chemistry we may or may not have had was just a product of circumstances.”

Tomas began to realize what the situation was, why Vinnie was so reluctant to hear what he had to say. “I wouldn’t do that to the two of you,” he said, running his eyes over Vinnie and then glancing at Mason, who didn’t look quite as cheerful as before, his fingers twisting in the bottom of his V-neck shirt as he looked worriedly between Vinnie and Tomas. “I’d never try and come between the two of you like that.”

Vinnie threw up his hands. “Then what’s the point of this little exercise? You met Mason first. Mason’s a lot of things, but one thing he’s not is like me.”

Tomas cocked his head, deciding to hold off on clarifying things for another moment. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re both submissives, correct? Looking for a dominant?”

Vinnie rolled his eyes in such an exaggerated fashion Tomas thought he was going to fall over for a second. “Obviously. But where he is sweetness and obedience…” He paused, glancing away. When he looked back at Tomas, he held his gaze and said in a hard voice, “I’m all sharp angles and stubbornness. We are not the same types of submissives. We do not want the same kinds of things. We won’t be interchangeable.”

“Good,” Tomas said clearly, rising to his feet and moving around his desk.

Vinnie started moving backward, trying to keep space between them, but Tomas kept going. He was vaguely aware of Mason standing and hovering near them as he edged Vinnie all the way back until his shoulder blades bumped into his closed door.

“I don’t want two submissives who are interchangeable.”

“What do you want, then?” Vinnie asked, raising his chin, but he couldn’t quite disguise the wobble in his voice, the yearning in his eyes.

As much as he wanted to pretend like the connection Tomas felt was one-sided, they both knew it wasn’t true. Vinnie had felt the same thing, that instantaneous chemistry. A part of him, deep down inside, knew that the thing he craved, that firm hand to help guide him, was something Tomas could give him.

“Both of you,” Tomas said, his voice low. “At least, I think so. I haven’t had a chance to get to know you, and I’ve been keeping my distance from Mason since I wasn’t sure what was happening between the two of you. But it’s very clear to me there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“What’s that?” Mason piped up. He was standing a few feet away from them, his eyes practically glowing with eagerness as he watched the two of them stand off against each other.

Tomas smiled at him and then turned it on Vinnie. “I assumed Ollie told you I was polyamorous, and that doesn’t appear to be the case.”

Vinnie sucked in a breath.

“And that means I’m not looking for one kind of person as a partner; I’m looking for multiple people that will fit my life and my needs and who I can care for in the way that they need.”

Swallowing, Vinnie said softly, “We want really different things.”

“No, we don’t,” Mason argued, stepping forward.

Vinnie squeezed his eyes shut. “Mase, don’t.”

“No,” Mason said, sounding almost angry. “You always do this. You always say this. You act like just because we have different kinks and we want to try different things, that makes us completely different, but what we want is exactly the same.”

“And what is it the two of you want?” Tomas asked, raising a hand so he could rub his thumb just beneath one of Vinnie’s tantalizing cheekbones.

“Someone to take care of us,” Mason said clearly. “Someone to make our relationship whole.”

“Is that what you want?” Tomas asked Vinnie, utterly captivated by the way his long eyelashes fluttered at the gentle touch on his face. He was so angry, but just beneath that, he craved soft touches too.

“Yes, but it’s more complicated than that.”

“Life is complicated,” Tomas whispered, “but this doesn’t have to be.” He stepped back, giving Vinnie some space. “And we’ll never know if the jagged edges of our pieces fit together if we don’t even try.”

“We’ve tried before,” Vinnie said, lids slowly opening so he could hold Tomas’s gaze. “We’ve never been able to find someone who can fulfill both of our needs, who doesn’t end up liking one of us more than the other.”

Tomas nodded. “You both keep hinting at wanting different things. Why don’t you tell me? Let’s stop beating around the bush and speak plainly.”

Vinnie chewed on his bottom lip, obviously reluctant to reveal something so personal. Tomas understood that. They didn’t know each other that well, but he had a feeling that for the chance to get to know Vinnie, they needed to get over this hurdle. He needed to pass whatever test it was Vinnie was so sure he’d fail he wasn’t even going to give him the exam.

“I like praise,” Mason said, moving closer to Vinnie and pressing in against his side.

Vinnie raised his arm to give him more room in what looked like an automatic gesture, wrapping the limb around Mason and tugging him a little closer. Tomas wondered how often that happened, how often Mason asked for comfort in a nonverbal way and Vinnie gave it to him, whether consciously or unconsciously, attempting to step into that dominant role and give Mason what he needed.

Did it go both ways, or was this part of the bitterness that he’d glimpsed? He couldn’t imagine the psychological toll it would take on a sub to try and be a switch when it wasn’t in their DNA.

Tomas smiled at Mason. “That’s unsurprising, and considering what a good boy you are, I’m sure you get it quite often.”

Mason sank his teeth into his bottom lip and squirmed against Vinnie.

“What else do you like?”

“I like impact play and exhibitionism.”

At that, Vinnie snorted, but Mason ignored him other than to pinch him in the side and kept going.

“And I like doing role-playing scenes.”

Tomas nodded. None of those were deal-breakers. In fact, he was interested in all of them as well. Some of them, like impact play, he’d even tried during parties. He’d used a crop and flogger a few times on different subs and found it almost hypnotizing, falling into a rhythm and turning the skin pink and then red. And sending a sub soaring into subspace when done correctly?

Perfection.

“What else? What do you want from a Dom?”

Mason glanced at Vinnie, but he just shook his head, still unwilling to say. “A strict daddy.”

Tomas scratched at his jaw, the soft sound of his nails on his beard filling the space between them. “Like Six and Ollie?”

They were the strictest D/s relationship he knew personally, so he wanted to make sure they were on the same page of what strict meant.

Mason nodded. “I love the rules that Six gave him. And his cage.”

He raised a brow but only nodded. He knew about the cage. Ollie was a little too free with discussing the things he and his daddy got up to for anyone in the clubhouse not to know, but he’d have to ask Six about the rules.

“Thank you for telling me.” He glanced at Vinnie. “Are any of those things you’re interested in as well?”

For a long moment, he didn’t think Vinnie would answer, that he’d stay clammed up, and Tomas would have to try and pry it out of him. But finally, Vinnie said, “Role play.”

That was it. Out of the list that Mason had given, that was the only thing he was willing to cop to wanting as well.

He’d take it.

“I’ve had a few discussions with some other Doms about different role-playing scenarios, and I’m definitely interested in trying.”

Mason perked up. “Really?”

“Really,” he said, offering him a small smile. “I heard of a very interesting scene from a friend of mine where he played the professor, and the sub was the student who was going to fail the class but was willing to do whatever it took to pass.”

Mason practically skipped across the room toward him, stopping just in front of him and gripping the front of his T-shirt. “Yes. That. Please.”

Tomas chuckled, gently carding his fingers through the wild waves Mason claimed to hate but hadn’t cut in the near month he’d been there. He was grateful. He liked the length and the way he’d be able to grip the top of it easily if need be.

He glanced past him at Vinnie. “Would something like that interest you as well?”

Vinnie shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but there was a bulge in the front of his jeans that begged to differ. Tomas nodded and put the plan into the back of his mind. “Is there anything else you’d like to share with me?”

He left it open-ended, like he was asking both of them, but he was hoping that Vinnie would share something else. But he just shook his head, staying pressed against the door and not making any effort to get closer.

Mason looked back at him. “Do you want me to tell him?”

Vinnie hesitated, and Tomas held his breath. As much as he wanted to know, he wanted Vinnie to be the one to tell him, to open up to him and start to trust him.

“No, not yet,” Vinnie said.

Tomas let his breath out slowly. “That’s alright. There’s no rush.”

As interested as he was in exploring the dynamic between the three of them, he wouldn’t pressure Vinnie to start something he wasn’t ready for, especially after what had apparently happened in Atlanta.

“Where are you staying?” he asked Vinnie, letting him know the tough conversation about their BDSM kinks was over.

Vinnie shrugged and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m just going to stay at the hotel by the university until I can find an apartment.”

Eyebrows scrunched together, Mason peered back at Vinnie, and then he looked up at Tomas with round, innocent eyes. “Can he stay here with me, please? I promise we’ll be good.”

Tomas was in deep shit.

That look combined with the soft pleading? There was no way Mason didn’t know how irresistible it was. He figured there was no point in pretending otherwise.

He gently chucked underneath Mason’s chin and stepped around him. “Sure, he can stay here if he wants.” He looked at Vinnie. “If you want. You don’t have to, and you don’t have to stay in Mason’s room either. There’s one more empty bedroom upstairs between Six and Knuckles.”

Vinnie perked up at that for some reason. “Knuckles lives in the clubhouse?”

Tomas narrowed his eyes. “He does. He’s also straight, so don’t get your sights set on him.”

Snorting, he shook his head like Tomas was being ridiculous while Mason snickered. “Yeah, that won’t be an issue,” Vinnie said dryly. “But he’s nice. I was helping him in the kitchen earlier before you and Mason got here.”

“He is nice.” And he could use a few more friends, but he didn’t add that last part. Knuckles had been struggling with some personal revelations over the last year, taking stock of his life and trying to figure out what he actually wanted and not what he thought he should want.

“I’m going to go check and make sure Ollie isn’t burning the place down out there, but you guys can use my office for as long as you want to talk.”

“Wait,” Mason said, holding up a hand, even though he was several feet away. “Six said he was going to send Kenneth in here to check on you.”

Tomas waved him off. “I’m sure he’ll find me at the party and then poke and prod at my face. But I’ve had a fractured eye socket before. This isn’t that. It’ll just take a little time to heal.”

Vinnie looked at him when he said that, a strange expression on his face, then shuffled out of the way so Tomas could open the door. He gave one last look at the two of them and then headed out, closing the door softly behind him.

As he entered the main area of the clubhouse, he had to smile at the controlled chaos Ollie so easily managed. If he ever wanted to become a member of the club, Tomas figured he’d be President within a year. Luckily for Tomas, he seemed to be satisfied with sleeping with a biker instead of becoming one.

The birthday boy had arrived. He was off in the corner, CJ sitting on his lap and his hair still damp from his shower. It was still kind of weird for him to think of the two of them living a few miles away instead of just upstairs. They’d fit in so seamlessly with the club, Tank patching over and then bringing CJ in to live with him immediately afterward.

Tomas and Demarcus had worried the dynamic in the clubhouse would change or be too much for the two of them, but instead, the club seemed to be adapting, changing in a way he hadn’t anticipated but approved of.

While he wasn’t always gung ho for the changes, he couldn’t help but admit that even if the rumors of their kink parties were causing problems in the community, it had brought the club closer together. So many of his brothers and sisters had apparently been secretly craving different aspects of the lifestyle, and it wasn’t until it was brought out into the public by first CJ and Tank, and then Ollie and Six, that D had realized more people wanted the same types of relationships.

He moved closer to where Tank was sitting in a recliner, his hands possessively on his boy as CJ told him something animatedly, gesturing toward the ceiling over by the bar.

“It was hilarious,” he heard him say as he got closer. “He’s taking your birthday party very seriously.” CJ saw him walking up before Tank did, and he smiled at him. “I can’t even imagine what the other guy must look like if that’s your face.”

Tomas snorted. “All three of them looked pretty worse for wear, that’s for sure. Though Marv barely had a scratch on him.”

Tank shook his head, a small smile behind his beard. “That man, I don’t know how he gets into these fights and manages not to get hit.”

“I guess he’s just faster than his opponents.”

It was true. Marv had studied some sort of martial arts since he was a kid, though he rarely used the skills he had honed over the years outside of the studio.

“Where are Mason and Vinnie?” CJ asked, glancing around the room. “Is everything okay with them?”

Tomas nodded. “They’ll figure it out. They’re talking in my office.”

“Uh-oh, incoming,” CJ said, using his chin to point to something behind Tomas.

He didn’t even have to look to know who it was. He sighed when Ollie reached his side, planted his hands on his hips, and demanded, “Somebody going to tell me what the hell is going on with my best friends?”

Tomas turned an unimpressed face at him. “I think you should talk to your best friends about that. But not right now,” he added quickly when Ollie started to stomp toward his office. “They need to settle things between the two of them first.”

Ollie sighed long and loud, but before he could try and pester Tomas into giving him any information, a man around the same height as Ollie with light brown skin and blue scrubs appeared at Ollie’s side. He held an overnight bag in one hand and a familiar-looking medical kit in the other.

The first time the club had met Kenneth, he’d come to stitch up Six’s back since he was the one who usually did the sewing and couldn’t quite reach it. He’d brought his supplies in a plastic bag that time and when he came to take out the stitches a few weeks later.

But since then, he’d started carrying a leather bag, like what doctors used to for house calls, whenever he was around the club. Tomas wasn’t sure of all the contents, but it always seemed like Kenneth had exactly what he needed whenever one of them got into a scrape or did something stupid when drinking.

“Good lord, Six was right,” Kenneth said, studying his face. “Sit down so I can take a closer look.”

Tomas sighed and sank onto the couch next to Tank’s chair. “You know what I miss?” he said dryly.

“What’s that?” Tank said, his low rumble nearly getting lost in the music that started to play on the sound system.

“I miss the days when there weren’t so many subs fussing over me.”

CJ and Kenneth smiled, and Ollie cackled. “No, you don’t.”

No. He supposed he didn’t.