Page 8 of Awakened Desires

“Truth or dare. Never Have I Ever.” His eyes light up. “Maybe we should get everyone together for a game tonight. Theo might be working, but it’s Sunday, so Stefan will have the night off. He’s a pro-Dom.” He pauses to drink, staring at me over the rim of his mug as he does so.

I remember seeing the term ‘Dom’ during my quick internet search on kink a month ago. Not that I fully understood everything I skimmed through.

“What does Theo do?”

“He’s a nurse. He has the room next door but doesn’t spend much time in it. He and Preston are in a relationship. Preston collared Theo a bit back.”

My head spins. “Preston’s another housemate?”

“Yes. There are eight of us. Fraser and Beau, who got married yesterday. Theo and Preston. Stefan and Quinn.” He sighs dramatically. “And then there’s me and Rory—the two singletons. Oh, and before Quinn, there was Oscar, but he got himself two sugar Daddies who fell madly in love with him. He doesn’t live here anymore.”

“I’d guessed.”

Hendrix goes to take a drink, pauses and stares into the mug. “But you were asking about Rory.” He lifts his chin and meets my gaze. “Bear in mind this is based on observations, not on anything Rory’s told me. He doesn’t tell me anything. But I think he’s got old wounds that haven’t healed. Maybe you can help with that.” He grins. “Bye.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything before he hightails it out of the room and down the stairs. I stare at the space he’s vacated. My heart aches. I can make a guess at what old wounds Rory is nursing. The trouble is, Hendrix is wrong. My presence will make them worse, not heal them.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come here. I sigh. What’s done is done. I’m here now. At the very least, I can let Rory know I’m okay. My old wounds haven’t exactly healed, but I’ve patched them up and learnt to live with them. Maybe he can do the same.

2

RORY

I feel cleaner after a shower, but my head is still thumping. I should drink water, but coffee is always my first port of call when I have a hangover. It’s one of the few times I drink the stuff. Chatter comes from the lounge as I walk past into the kitchen. I open my cupboard door and pull out some instant coffee. I pause and stare at the jar. Stefan would disapprove.

“Are you working tonight?”

I jump, almost dropping the jar. I spin around. Hendrix is standing in the doorway, grinning at me like he’s proud of sneaking up on me or something.

“No. Why?”

“Great. That means everyone’s home. Except the old married couple, obviously.”

“Beau and Fraser only got married yesterday.”

“Exactly.”

I roll my eyes. There’s no point.

“We’re playing two truths and a lie tonight,” Hendrix announces.

“No, we’re not.”

He folds his arms and gives me a stern look. “Let me rephrase. Everyone else is playing two truths and a lie tonight. You can join us or be boring.”

I sigh. “Why?”

“Why would you be boring?”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes again. “No. Why do you want to rope us all into playing another dumb game?”

“Because it’s tradition.”

“Since when?”

“Since always. Whenever someone new moves in, we play a getting-to-know-you game.”

My brow crumples. “No one has moved in.”