10. Chapter 10

10

H amish looked at Rory expectantly. “Well?”

“I haven’t heard anything else.”

“It’s been a month since we last visited.”

“I know that.” Rory sighed.

A month of playing chess with Sebastian.

A month of watching him strip off for bed, of Rory taking his clothes off under his watchful gaze. A month of waking up to Sebastian and trying not to steal glances at him as he stood in all his naked glory, morning erection bobbing as he got ready for the day.

It had been sweet torture.

“So, what have you been doing?” Hamish asked.

“I eat, I sleep, I play chess, I exercise in the gym, and I go to art class on Friday.”

Hamish slammed his fist down on the table. “This isn’t some holiday retreat!”

“You’ve been here over eight weeks now,” Morris muttered.

She paced back and forth in the governor’s office. “Surely, you’ve got something more for us. Sebastian Claw wants revenge, but we didn’t need you to tell us that. You’re in here to find out what form this revenge will take.”

“I’ve been getting closer to him.”

Morris stopped and tipped forward as she laughed. “Oh, really, getting closer?”

“Not like that.”

“Sure.” She smirked. “Not like that.” Morris rolled her eyes, then averted her gaze.

“I’m serious,” Rory snapped. “I know what he is, I know what he’s done. I’m not going to use my body to get closer to him despite what you think.”

“Then how have you got closer to him?” Hamish asked.

“Like…friends, I guess.”

“You’re friends with Sebastian Claw?”

Sebastian had let down some of his walls in the last month, not all of them, but enough that he and Sebastian were no longer existing in their cell in silence. They talked about books, movies, music and had found common ground in all areas.

Rory nodded. “I’m hoping he’ll open up to me, tell me what he’s planning on the outside.”

“It was a waste of time coming today,” Morris mumbled, then she sighed. “Do you really not have any new information, anything at all?”

Rory frowned at his lap, then lifted his head. “He’s got a phone.”

Morris rushed towards him. “See, that’s the kind of stuff you should be telling us.”

“I haven’t heard him use it, though, and I don’t know where he hides it, but I know he’s got one.”

Rory had been the one to pull it from the fake rat after all.

“We need that phone,” Hamish said. “I’ll talk to the governor, get the officers to search the cell.”

“What if he doesn’t keep it in the cell?” Morris asked.

“Then it’ll be up to Rory to find out where he does keep it. It’ll have contacts, messages.” Hamish rubbed his chin. “We need that phone, understand?”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, I understand.”

Hamish snapped his fingers. “Phone.”

Morris held the mobile out to Rory, who smiled at the thought of speaking to his sister. Her voice, her chatter, it was a stress reliever. Hamish left the room, Morris stayed, and Rory relaxed into his chair, greeting his sister with the predictable, “Hey Eric…”

Ollie was waiting at the gate. He grinned when Rory stepped back on the wing.

“Lawyer again?”

Rory nodded.

“Captain’s already in the gym.” Ollie checked his watch. “We’ve got thirty minutes until they bang us up again.”

“We’d better make the most of it then.”

Ollie nodded. “Hell yeah. I beat you yesterday.”

“You’ve been training with Captain longer, and remember, I was stabbed.”

Ollie rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you said that yesterday, a lot, especially after I got you in that headlock.”

“It wasn’t my finest hour, and it didn’t make me feel any better when Teddy gave you a standing ovation.”

Ollie grinned brighter. “He was proud of me.”

Captain and Zeke were engaged in intense conversation when they arrived. Zeke looked up, then excused himself.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt,” Rory said.

Captain shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. He’s trying to convince me to see the therapist again, says it helped him.”

“And?”

Captain rocked back on his heels. “I can still picture how frightened he looked when I started yelling. Maybe…maybe in a few weeks, I’ll have the guts to apologize.”

“Don’t wait that long,” Rory mumbled.

“Anyway, come on, stretches first…”

Ollie was wiping the floor with him, quite literally. Rory panted and made a time-out sign with his hands.

“You’re getting better,” Captain said.

“Really?”

“Slightly better.”

Rory laughed and accepted Ollie’s hand. He tugged him off the floor, then patted his back. “That’s six-nil to me.”

“Whatever.”

Rory bowed forward and rested his hands on his knees. His heart thumped hard enough to distort his vision, and Captain held his shoulder to steady him.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, just dizzy.”

“You need some water.”

“In a sec.”

“Hey, Rory.”

He looked up at Vince, who’d rushed in. “Yeah?”

“You might want to get back to the wing.”

“Why?”

“The officers are trashing your cell.”

Rory stopped panting and stood upright. “What? Why?”

“No idea, but Sebastian’s fuming.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Captain grunted, then held out a bottle for him to take. “Not before you drink.”

Rory drank the whole bottle, then hurried out of the gym.

Sebastian’s eyes followed him the whole trek up to the cell. The glare was back, more intense than before, and Rory’s gut churned. He stared at the metal walkway as he approached, then leaned on the railing beside Sebastian.

“Can you believe it?” Sebastian hissed.

“What are they looking for?”

“Anything we’re not supposed to have. The question is, who’s trying to piss me off?”

“What?”

“They wouldn’t do this randomly; someone’s tipped them off.” Sebastian pointed his finger at Pauly hovering by the stairs. “And I reckon it was him.”

Pauly snorted and turned away.

“I’ll get him back for this,” Sebastian warned.

Rory craned his neck to see inside the cell. Their clothes were scattered, and the mattresses were getting vigorously patted down. One of the officers stepped out and held up a small pot.

“What’s this?”

Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. “It says what it is on the pot.”

“Don’t go getting smart with me, Sebastian.”

“Don’t ask dumb questions.”

The officer untwisted the lid and took a sniff.

“It’s Vaseline,” Sebastian mumbled. “For sore lips.”

The officer narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you use it for…”

He gave Rory a pointed look.

“What?” Rory backed up a step. “We don’t do anything like that.”

Sebastian snorted, then flung his arm around Rory’s shoulders. “No, we go at it raw, like animals .”

The officer shuddered and wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Look, it’s not banned. I bought it downstairs in the canteen.”

The officer huffed, then tossed the pot back into the mess of their cell.

“Come on,” he shouted over his shoulder. “There’s nothing in there.”

The other officers trudged out, and Sebastian beamed a manic smile at them.

“Arseholes,” Sebastian growled.

He still had his arm around Rory, and when he pulled it away, he dragged his hand along the back of his damp T-shirt. “Someone’s been working hard.”

“I was in the gym with Captain.”

“Yeah, sorry I sent Vince down to interrupt, but I thought you’d want to know about the cell search.” Sebastian stepped into the cell and whistled at the mess. “Utter arseholes. It looks like a bomb’s gone off, doesn’t it?”

Rory froze and stared wide-eyed at Sebastian’s back.

Sebastian picked Rory’s mattress off the floor and threw it on the top bunk. “But it’s not going to sort itself out.”

Rory started sorting through the clothes. He folded each item and placed it in the closet. He couldn’t look at Sebastian, and each time their bodies bumped or brushed, he shivered.

Sebastian’s hands lingered on Rory as he seemingly steadied him while he squeezed past. At one point he came up behind Rory and pressed his crotch to Rory’s arse as he put the pillow back on the top bunk. Pleasant chills ran the length of Rory’s body at the contact. He scrunched his toes and flexed his hands to stop blood flowing to his cock.

They’d been sharing a cell for almost three months, but they rarely stood up at the same time. Rory usually waited on the bed until Sebastian was done.

Sebastian placed his palm on Rory’s chest and stopped him reaching for any more clothes. He thought he’d been found out as a rat or that Sebastian could smell his arousal. In that moment, he didn’t know which was the worse option.

“Your heart’s going crazy,” Sebastian murmured.

“I was sparring with Ollie.”

Sebastian frowned, then pressed the back of his hand to Rory’s brow. “And you’re burning up. Captain better not be working you too hard. You’re still not 100 per cent after…”

“After?”

Sebastian slipped his hand under the bottom of Rory’s T-shirt. Rory gasped. His eyes slipped shut as Sebastian traced his thumb over the scar, no longer hidden under a bandage but pink and slightly tender.

Sebastian took his hand away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” Rory breathed, reopening his eyes.

“You smell like sweat.”

Rory looked down at himself. “Sorry, I’ll go shower.”

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.”

Rory grabbed his towel and rushed out of the cell. He needed a shower. An ice-cold one.

Rory rested his head against the tiles and let the shower spray down his back. He rubbed his thumb along his scar with the same gentle pressure Sebastian had used. It didn’t feel the same, though. His fingertip wasn’t as rough as Sebastian’s thumb.

Sebastian was a monster.

He’d murdered and done other horrendous things. Things he’d gotten away with.

“Hey?”

He jumped at the voice and looked over at Sebastian. He hooked his towel on the railing and walked towards the showers. He didn’t use the one next to Rory but left a gap between them. He thumped the button on the wall, then hissed as the water hit him. It ran down his muscles, through his grey hair, past his cheeks, over his lips.

Rory couldn’t breathe.

His heart began drumming, and his skin tingled under the spray. He felt too hot and adjusted the temperature on the wall.

For almost twelve weeks, he’d managed to avoid having a shower at the same time as Sebastian, but it was just the two of them now, and the officer watching on the other side of the glass.

Sebastian started soaping up his chest, and the smoky, dark scent of his body wash travelled to Rory’s nose. His mouth watered, and he turned the shower temperature down another notch.

He’d seen Sebastian’s cock, it was unavoidable when they shared a cell, but this was different. Sebastian stood in all his glory, under bright light, soaping up his body.

Rory didn’t know what to do with himself.

Bubbles clung to the hair at the top of Sebastian’s cock and ran down his legs.

Rory knew he should leave the shower room, but he couldn’t.

“You okay over there?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah, fine.”

Rory forced himself to look away, but three seconds later, he was flashing looks Sebastian’s way again. Sebastian soaped up his cock, and it was hard in his hands. Hard, and thick, and red with arousal. Rory’s eyes fluttered, and he panted at the tiles.

“Jesus…” he breathed.

“What was that?”

“N…nothing.”

Sebastian looked down at his cock. “Sorry, I can’t help it. I said it before, you’re my type.”

Rory swallowed hard, unable to say anything back.

“Looks like I’m your type too.”

Rory hadn’t looked down at his cock once, tried to pretend he couldn’t feel the pressure, and the ache. He was hard, and adjusting the shower had done nothing to dampen his arousal.

He slammed his fist on the button, cutting the water, then hurried to get his towel. He wrapped it around his waist, turned away from Sebastian, took ten deep breaths, then left the shower room.

Rory dreaded lock-up that night, but Sebastian didn’t mention the shower incident. He went through his nighttime routine, then Rory slipped down from the top bunk and went through his. After Rory had finished, they didn’t speak but lay in silence until the lights cut out.

“Was that the first time you’ve got hard looking at a man?” Sebastian asked after a few minutes.

Rory bit his lip. “No. I…I like men.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Problem?”

“You’re avoiding looking me in the eye again.”

“No, I’m not.”

Sebastian smirked, then Rory felt the bed jolt as he climbed out. He stood up. “You don’t have to worry. I told you, I’m not going to force myself on you.”

“I know you won’t.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Do you really know that?”

“Fine, I hope that you won’t.”

“How many times have you jerked off since you’ve been here?”

Heat flooded Rory’s face. It didn’t matter that the lights were off; he imagined Sebastian could feel his embarrassment radiating from his cheeks.

“I haven’t.”

“God, you must be frustrated .”

Rory swallowed hard.

“Why haven’t you?” Sebastian asked softly.

“I…I don’t know, it’s weird…when you’re not alone.”

“It’s your cell too.”

“I know, but…”

Sebastian pursed his lips, ducked under the bed, then returned with the pot of Vaseline in his hand. “Tell you what, I’ll do it at the same time, and then you won’t feel weird.”

Rory’s cheeks caught fire. “What?”

Sebastian unscrewed the lid and held out the pot. “Take some, get your cock nice and slippery, that’s how I like it, it’ll feel better.”

His eyes glinted, challenging, smug, confident. Rory couldn’t work out what was going on in Sebastian’s head, but he held the pot out for a few minutes and neither of them spoke. The way Sebastian stared at him reminded Rory of their games of chess. The intense eye contact and the mounting tension between them as they tried to anticipate the other’s next move.

“You want me to…” The words got stuck in Rory’s throat, but he managed to force them out. “To jerk off?”

“Yes. I do.”

Rory reached hesitantly, and Sebastian gave him an encouraging nod. He chuckled when Rory finally scooped out some Vaseline with his fingers.

“That’s it,” Sebastian mumbled. “Enjoy.”

He disappeared under the bed, leaving Rory to stare at the ceiling with sticky fingers and a hard-on in his boxers. He didn’t touch himself but stayed perfectly still and listened.

He heard the pot of Vaseline again, Sebastian screwing the lid back on. Then Sebastian groaned, and Rory bit his lip when he heard the wet sound, the slip and slide of a hand on a cock. Sebastian was touching himself, and Jesus , the headrush that fizzled through Rory’s brain left him blinking back black spots as all his blood rushed to his cock.

A whimper clawed its way from Rory’s throat, and Sebastian laughed breathlessly.

“What are you waiting for?” Sebastian asked.

Rory’s heart pounded so hard in his chest the whole bunk was shaking. He held his breath so he could listen to Sebastian jerking off. He gasped in a breath after he began to feel light-headed.

“Rory,” Sebastian said, sounding stern. “Touch your cock. You need this.”

Rory’s fingers twitched. He reached beneath the sheet over him, slipped his hand into his boxers, leaving a slippery trail from the Vaseline, and then wrapped his hand around his cock. He didn’t need the lube, his cock leaked with vigour and his boxers were sopping wet, but there was no denying how good it felt when he used his coated hand to stroke himself.

Sebastian groaned and panted beneath him, but Rory stayed as quiet as he could, holding himself instead of stroking. He wanted to listen, and he shut his eyes, allowing himself to be seduced by the sexy sounds of the man below. Sebastian’s hand moved faster, the wet sounds got louder, and Rory shivered, tightening his fist around his cock, squeezing it to anchor himself.

“Goddamn it, Rory,” Sebastian growled. “Touch yourself.”

Rory’s cock throbbed, his balls tightened, and the tingle-like itch of an inevitable orgasm began. It only took three fast, firm pulls on his cock, and his orgasm smacked into him. His cock seized and relaxed, seized and relaxed, shooting his load onto his chest with each contraction of pleasure. He pressed his head back into the pillow and heaved for breath.

“Fuck,” he groaned, squeezing as the last rope of cum left his cock and landed on his stomach.

The bed shook, and Sebastian’s breathing got faster and faster until a long, drawn-out groan rumbled out of his chest. Rory’s eyes fluttered just knowing Sebastian had brought himself to orgasm on the bunk below. He fought an irrational urge to drop down and see the aftermath for himself, to ask to see it, to beg to see it.

Rory bit his lip until he tasted blood, hoping the pain might sober him from his depraved thoughts.

Sebastian’s light chuckle drifted up from the bottom bunk. Rory could barely hear it over his thumping heart and short, sharp inhales of breath through his nose.

“Feeling better?” Sebastian asked.

Rory swallowed. “Yeah. I…”

“Needed that,” Sebastian finished.

Yeah. Rory had.