“I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement.”
“So um… what do I do? Is it horrible that I’ve learned a demon wants to destroy the world, but all I wanna do is bend over for you?” Jake bit his lips, more excited by the second. Vars wouldn’t think any less of him, whatever happened. The kind of trust that had developed between the two of them since they met was something he’d never experienced before.
Vars laughed. “No. It’s entirely normal. You’re pumped full of adrenaline. I can help you with that,” Vars said, and his thick fingers slipped under Jake’s collar, making it clear who was in control.
“You can? ‘Cause so far, you’re only turning me on.” Jake lapped at Vars’s lips as his heart beat faster.
Vars grinned and spun Jake around to face the door. He put his hand on the collar at the back of Jake’s neck and made him move. “Let me show you to my playroom, boy.”
Jake swallowed, but even with his knees soft, he started walking as soon as Vars made the gentlest push. “You can use the collar,” he said, and it came out weirdly raspy, so he cleared his throat. “Within reason I mean.”
Vars inhaled a large gulp of air and massaged Jake’s skin. “Undress.”
The moment Vars said the word, Jake stopped walking, and his limbs got a mind of their own. His hands reached for the hem of his T-shirt and pulled off the garment.
Silent footsteps resounded to Jake’s left. Vars was circling him like a lion would his chosen mate. He watched the scene with a hot glint in his blue eyes and his mouth slightly crooked. “Is this reasonable enough?”
Directed by the command still lingering in Jake’s muscles, he removed his pants and underwear too. With his body doing as it had been told, Jake’s attention was focused entirely on Vars’s towering form and the blue eyes that drew him in and made excitement explode all over his skin like fireworks. “Y-yes.”
A smirk tugged on one side of Vars’s mouth. “If you want to stop anything we do, you will say red, like the red light. I want you to do it even if you think I might be disappointed. Is that clear?”
Jake nodded, even though disappointing Vars was the last thing on his agenda. But Vars’s wish was Jake’s command, so he would do as told. What was hiding behind the door to Vars’s playroom? How far did the rabbit hole go? And would Jake be able to stop once he started falling?
“I understand… sir.” Jake actually smiled at the last word. Saying it out loud made him burn up, as if the fire inside his stomach spread to his flesh and crawled beneath his skin. He was now naked, covered only in goose bumps in front of a dressed Vars, and his flesh already itched with the expectation of touch.
“Good, now I want you to undress me,” Vars said, once again switching to the form of speech he used most of the time to avoid taking control of Jake’s body.
The fact that they were still in the bright living room made Jake’s skin feel tight, and he could almost sense eyes on him, even if the nearest buildings from where anyone could get a glimpse of what was happening here were all the way across Central Park. The huge windows put him on display nevertheless, but he didn’t try to cover himself, because he knew that wasn’t what Vars would have wanted.
“In any specific way, sir?” he asked, wondering why Vars hadn’t used the collar despite being permitted to. Answers flooded Jake’s mind almost immediately, drizzling down his body like warm honey.
Vars didn’t want a puppet. He wanted to see Jake obeying the order out of his own will. Jake stepped close and met his lover’s gaze without shame or fear, gently pulling the cut off him. The prospect patch was prominent on the leather, yet Jake felt like he was dealing with the club president himself—a man so confident Jake’s fingers trembled when he put the vest away with care.
Knight had been rough sometimes, King had been unflinching and demanded absolute obedience, but even though Jake had always complied with their wishes, he’d never before given in this way. He’d handed over the reins of his life to Vars when they first used the collar, and despite the mistake Vars had made when Damon attacked him back at the clubhouse, he was sure Vars wouldn’t abuse that power ever again.
They were both quiet, savoring the moment, with Vars’s breathing soon becoming the most prominent sound. He watched Jake with attentive eyes but remained still, only moving his limbs when it was necessary. Jake’s skin tickled where Vars touched it with his gaze, but serving this impressive man naked was now his sole purpose.