"Please...I can't..."He couldn't hold onwas what he meant to say, but he barely got the first part out before his orgasmwas hard uponhimand he cried out. "Liam!"
The next thing he knew Liam wasn't sucking him anymore, he was kissing him, hot and deep, his taste muskier and almost primalas his hand reached between them and stroked Skye tight and fast to completion. Skye didn't even have a chance to be disappointed Liam's mouth was gone because, before he could be, the pleasure just exploded, like he imagined a star going supernova was like, consumingeverythinginits path.
He might have screamed into Liam's mouth, but then it was over as quick as it'd started and he did let go, reaching down to push at Liam's hands. Even the light grip he had on Skye's cock was too much in the aftershocks of the orgasm. It was like his nerves were allonthe outside instead ofin.
"Oh my God...oh my God..." He didn't even have words for that. For any of it. Not the sex, not the bizarre curve ballhis psyche had thrownat himcourtesy ofLiam--it was alltoo much.
What on earth had he been thinking? Twelve sessions with this man might very well be the death of him, if this first one was any indication. Still...he knew he'd go throughwitheverysingle one.
Liam was going to teach him everything he knew. Even more than Skye had bargained for. A sound investment, he thought. Right then, though, he didn't want to think and reached for Liam, mouth already cravingthe taste ofhimagain.
Oh, boy. He was introuble, wasn't he?
Chapter 4
Liam fiddled with his cell phone, then tucked it away in his pocket with a sigh of frustration, but not before glancing at the clock--7:12 P.M. Skye was late. Which wouldn't normally raise much concern--clients ran late all the time--but considering what had happened at their first meeting, and the way Skye had seemed very quiet and thoughtful when Liam had left... Well, Liamwasn't sure the other man would even show
up.He glanced up as the cocktail waitress passed by,
shaking his head at her friendly, questioning look. He didn't want a drink. What he wanted was Skye to show
up.As if in direct answer to his thought, Liam's gaze wandered to the left and relief he probably shouldn't feel swept through him at the sight of Skye making his way through the gaming tables toward the bar in the center of the casino floor. Liam hadn't gotten attached to any client in a long time, but he already knew Skye posed a risk in that department. But he wasn't going to pull back, not yet. Right now, he still felt like he had controlofthe situation.
Control was what today's lesson was all about, in
fact.His lips twitched as Skye approached. The man stood out like a quirky, sexy sore thumb. He wore another faded, retro T-shirt and ragged skinny jeans clinging to his slim hips. A pair of narrow blue suspenders and his black-rimmed glasses finished off the look, topped with messy, black hair going every which way. Some might mistake him for just another hipster, but Liamknew different. Skye wasn't a coddled twenty-something trying to come off as "indie" and "underground." He was just awkward and probably hadn't bought himself a new wardrobe since he started college. The man was seriously obsessed with his numbers.
He was also mind-bendingly appealing. Liam didn't even like brainy, geek types. But, oh, he liked Skye. His cock was alreadyhalfwayto hard inside his jeans.
"Hey." Skye glanced around as he sat down. "I apologize. I'm still getting used to navigating these places. It's like they purposely make it impossible to find your way around incasinos."
Liam grinned. "They do. If you can't leave, you'll keep spendingmoney."
Skye blinked, like it hadn't occurred to him. "That actually makes sense." He shrugged and exhaled a nervous-sounding breath, looking around again. The Gaudi Bar was one of Liam's favorite haunts. There was something soothing about the vaguely under-thesea, stained glass feel of the place in the middle of the casino chaos. "Interesting choice. Why did you want to meet here?"
"Because things changed a bit withour first meeting. If we're going to continue in the direction we were heading, then a little renegotiation is in order. Neutral territory."
Skye's brows shot up. "Negotiations? We had a deal, and it was you who decided I wanted something different, not me. I don't think it's fair to change the parameters now."
Liamshook his head, gesturingto a passingcocktail waitress. "Two seven and sevens." Then he turned his focus back on Skye. "I'm not talking monetary negotiations. What I'm talking about is your submission and how deeply you want to explore that. Or don't want to explore it. Either way."
Skye's cheeks went all ruddy and he ducked his head, giving Liama quelling look fromunder his brows. "I do not think this is the place to be having such an...intimate conversation."
Liamlet out a soft laugh as the waitress brought the drinks, reaching up to hand her his card. "No tab; give yourselfa nice tip."He gave the drink in front ofSkye a little nudge as she went to handle the bill. "Have a drink, Skye. This is Las Vegas. No one is going to overhear, first ofall, and eveniftheycould manage over the dinof the machines and the dealers and the tourists, they wouldn't care. Because this is Vegas, professor, and what you're doing, what I'm doing, isn't against the rules."
Skye gave him a look, lips pursed. "There are no rules here."
Liamgrinned. "Exactly."
Skye didn't say anything for a minute, then took a sip of his drink, shrewd black eyes examining Liam across the smalltable. "CanI ask yousomething?"
Liam didn't need to be psychic to know what was coming. The softer ones, the newer ones, always wanted to know why, how, what made himdo what he did. Like he might be a lost soul they could save. There was nothing lost about Liam's soul and nothing tortured about his past, whichusuallydisappointed them.
He shook his head. "I'd rather you didn't. There's no good answer to that question, professor, and whatever one I gave would just end up disappointing you, since youcan't imagine beinginmyshoes."
Skye gave him a wry smile. "Well, I'm in my shoes and those are uncomfortable enough at the moment. I rescind the question I was going to ask."He went silent as the waitress returned with Liam's card and a flirty smile. When she was gone, Skye met Liam's gaze. "WhyamI here, then?"
"I already told you. Because the other night you learned something about yourself you can't ignore. Shouldn't ignore, anyway. And if I'mgoing to teach you about it, whichI'd like to, thenI need some info."
Skye narrowed his eyes, expression wary. "Like what?"
"Do you know anything about BDSM?" Considering Skye's reaction the other night, he was going to guess no. You could never tell, though, so it was best to ask.
Skye shook his head. Thenshrugged. "I Googled."
Liam's brows lifted and he smiled. "You did? When?"
Skye shifted in his seat, taking another drink and not meetingLiam's eyes. "After. Youknow."
Oh, Liam knew all right. So Skye had grabbed his laptop and gone Googling for information. He wasn't at all surprised, now that Skye had mentioned it. It was the kind ofthinghe should have expected. The manwas a scientist. Of course he would want as much informationas possible.
"And what did youfind, Skye?"
Skye met his gaze. "A lot of very strange things. And ifyou think for one second I'mletting you do some ofthat"--he shook his head--"you've lost your mind."
Liam laughed. "Yeah, I imagine some of it made your eyes just about pop out ofyour head, didn't it?"
Skye snorted. "Let's just say I immediately cleared mybrowser historyjust incase."
"None of what you found intrigued you, professor? Nothing caught your interest and made your heart race?"
Skye shifted in his seat some more, narrowing his eyes at Liam. "This is a sillyconversation."
"Answer me, Skye."His voice was firm.
Skye's eyes flicked to meet his gaze, wide behind his glasses. "Yes. Some things maybe caught my...attention."
"What things?" Skye's response to his authoritative tone told Liammore thanthe other manknew.
Skye let out a breath as he glanced around again
. "I...here? Whycan't we go to the hotel?"
Liamlifted one brow. He didn't saya word.
Skye sighed again, squirming. "There was..." He lowered his voice. "There was some stuff about, um...I don't know, bondage. Leather bondage."
Oh, Liam liked the sound of that. Skye with his smooth, pale skin, bound in black leather shackles, ankle cuffs, even a chest harness... Liam's cock liked the idea verymuch. "Tellme more."
Skye's breath was quick and shallow, and if his eyes weren't so black, Liam was sure he'd see they were dilated in response to the subject and the situation
itself."What more? There were pictures. Lots of them. Very...well, shockingpictures."
"Oh, I bet there were. Was it just the bondage that
caught your eye?"
Skye gave him a pleading look, but when Liam
didn't relent, the other man let out a shaky breath,
lickinghis lips. "No, not just the bondage."
"No, Sir."
Skye blinked. "What?"
Liam smiled. "Sir, Skye. I want you to call me Sir
right now."
Skye's brows knit. "Why?"
Liam debated shifting the conversation back on
track, but he supposed this was on track, too, in a way.
The simple answer was, Because I said so, but that
wasn't allthere was to it.
"Because it puts youinthe right frame ofmind. Or it
willeventually."
"What do youmean?"
Liam lifted one shoulder. "I'm not with you twentyfour/seven, Skye. I'm not in control of you every moment. Even the times we are together, we might not be exploring your submissive tendencies all the time. However, when we are exploring it, when we're in that part of ourselves, it's a verbal cue. Sir is less about me wanting you to defer to me and more about getting you in the proper state of mind for what I have to teach you
next."Skye seemed to think about it--he was always thinking--and then met Liam's eyes. "What if you weren't teaching me? I mean, would another Dom expect the same thing?"
Liam stomach flipped at the thought--Skye with another Dom--but he pushed aside the odd sensationto focus on the question. "Probably. Sir or Master are pretty common. It's not for me, though. It's for you. It's about turning on the switch inside you that says it's time to stop being 'Skye the genius in charge of everything' and be 'Skye the submissive who wants to please his Dom.'"Liamtilted his head. "Make sense?"
Skye hesitated, then nodded after a moment's pause. "In a strange way, yes. I'd have never thought of it like that." Then he smiled, almost shyly. "Thank you for answeringmyquestion."
"You're welcome. Now I'd like you to answer mine. Properly this time. Was it just the bondage that caught your attention, Skye?"
Skye pushed his glasses up with one finger and met Liam's gaze. "Yes, Sir. Just the bondage."
Liamwas the one shifting in his seat now, heart rate kicking up. "What about it?" Liam was dying to know what had gotten Skye all worked up, sitting there alone inthe hotelroomwithhis laptop after Liamhad left.
Skye cringed a little, running his hand through his hair. "There was one site...there was bondage. All, um...leather and rope and things--" He cut off, and Liam smiled. It was cute, how Skye struggled with the words.
"And youliked it? Youwant to tryit?"Theyalready knew Skye liked beingheld down. Liamwould bet he'd also get offonthe idea ofcomplete helplessness.
"Maybe."
Bingo. Liamdid his best not to groan, gazing down to try to compose himself. He looked up after a minute and knew the smile on his face was wicked as hell. The sort of "Oh crap, what have I gotten myself into" look onSkye's said it all.
"Whichtype ofbondage caught your eye most? The leather, the rope, the prettyscarves?"
Skye rubbed the palms of his hands on his thighs as he shifted inhis seat. "I don't know."
Liam shook his head. "Not true. Tell me what you felt when you saw those pictures."He wished he'd been there to see it firsthand. To witness the way his eyes might have lit up, his cheeks turn ruddy with a blush maybe.
Skye gave himan indignant look. "I should fire you. I said I didn't think here was the proper place to have this discussion. Youwork for me, youknow."
"Yousound like a petulant child who's beingtold no for the first time in his life." Liam lifted his brows. "Is that it, Skye? You're not used to someone telling you no?"Probably not, actually. He was a genius, special, highly sought after by colleges and companies and the scientific community. Liam would bet he wasn't told what to do veryoften, ifever. Whichwas preciselywhy Skye craved it. Even if he didn't know what he craved,
yet.Yet. "What I'm not used to is people I hire insisting on not doing the job I hired them to do, but instead going offon their own tangent and choosing to do something I never asked for and certainlydid not agree to payfor."
Liamleaned back in his chair, taking another sip of his drink. "That's a valid point. Or it would be except you seemed pretty clear the other night our 'lessons' were going to be up to me. Since I am the expert, after all. You wouldn't be very good at deciding what I ought to teach you, since you don't have the knowledge, right?"
Skye's jaw clenched and he looked away, and Liamlet out a quiet sound ofunderstanding.
"Ahhh. I see now. Skye, there's nothing wrong with not being the expert in every single thing. Tell me this-did youenjoythe other night? WhenI took control?"
Skye peered up at himfromunder his heavybrows. "That's not the--"
"It is the point. Now answer me."He used the same authoritative, quiet tone from earlier. And, as before, Skye responded.
"Yes, I did."
"Sir."
Skye's look could have sliced a lesser man to ribbons. "Yes, Sir, I enjoyed it."
Liamsmiled at his petulance. He was going to be a handful, for sure. Liam fucking loved a bratty sub; he couldn't even lie. Training them without breaking them was his favorite part. Because that kind of spirit ought to be protected, just turned to a more productive direction. This was goingto be so muchfun.
"Then why wouldn't you want to explore it? And exploring it means letting me teach you. Who else is going to teach you? It's what you hired me for, Skye, to show you all the pleasures you didn't know were out there. Doesn't it make sense to focus in on the things you show a clear aptitude for?" He leaned forward a bit. "When you were little and you showed an aptitude for math, for science, didn't your educators zero in on that gift and hone it, nurture it? Did theywaste their time trying to get you to enjoy other subjects and avoid the one youexcelled at?"
Skye let out a breath. "You should maybe have beena lawyer instead ofanescort."
Liam laughed, leaning back again. "Actually, I was in construction before this." He almost didn't continue, then shrugged. "The economy hit hard and here I am. Believe me, I never had the brains to be a lawyer or even finish college." A vocational school... sure, he'd gotten a certificate from one of those, but a real university? Withlaw school, too? Ha.
Skye didn't say anything, just looked at him with those piercing dark eyes for a minute, then let out a sigh and reached for his drink. "All right, so you made a good point. I would expect a good teacher to focus on mystrongpoints, yes. And I did enjoyit. Verymuch."
Liam smiled at the sort of embarrassed look on Skye's face. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, professor. I enjoyed it, too, youknow."
That got Skye's attention. "You did? I mean, it seemed like it, but you must be very good at faking it..."
This was always a very touchy subject he tended to avoid like the plague with any client. They all wanted to know if he'd really enjoyed it, if they were special somehow and had made the jaded whore feel again. The truth was, he did enjoy it. Every time. In some way or another, he could find something to desire in anyone, whichmade what he did withthemless a dutyand more a pleasure. Sometimes it took a little more looking to find the thing he could desire in a person, but the vast majority of his clients were lonely, average Joes, not mo
nsters or hideous freaks.
"I don't fake it, Skye. I certainly didn't fake it the other night with you." If Liam were honest, he'd admit he'd spent a hellof a lot of time thinking about Skye the past couple ofdays. More time thanhe should.
"Really?" Skye looked like he wasn't sure if he should believe him, or even whether he wanted to, and Liam decided a change of subject was necessary. This was getting way too personaland way too real. Time to get back to fantasyand Skye's lessons.
"Yes, really. Now, you still haven't answered my question. Stop evading, professor. What was it about the bondage that caught your interest?"
Skye didn't say anything, but Liam didn't think he was being ignored. He thought Skye was just thinking about his answer. Which was good. Finally, Skye met his gaze.
"I didn't understand it. And yet...I did."He frowned and sighed, took off his glasses to rub his eyes, then slipped themback on. "It doesn't make sense."
"Sure, it does. It's not as if you had any reason to evenknow this kind ofthingexisted before. Whywould you understand it? You can, however, be viscerally drawn to it. Because some part of you recognizes what it needs, even though you didn't even know you needed
it." Skye pursed his lips and shook his head. "That is not how I do things. It's not efficient." Liam tried not to laugh because he got the feeling Skye was dead serious. "Efficiency is for air conditioners and car engines. Not for emotions and feelings."
"But...okay, I'm intrigued by it, but that doesn't mean it's this bigneed, Liam. Maybe it's intriguing because it's new."
"Maybe." Liam didn't think so, not after the other night, but he'd playalong. "Thenmaybe we ought to test it out. How else willyouknow for sure?"
As expected, Skye's response was to tense, straightening in his seat. Those heavy, expressive brows drew downover his eyes. "I don't know..."
"I do. Trust me." That was a lot to ask, he knew, but it was necessary. Liamcouldn't teachhimanythingabout being submissive if, as a Dom, Skye didn't trust him. He just about held his breath waiting for Skye's response. It wasn't a longwait.
Equation for Love Page 4