Page 3 of Collin, Episodes 10-12 (The Residency Boys #4)

“Not really, but I get tax breaks on it because I’m willing for it to be used for non-profit utilization. Took a while to figure out the designations and all that, but at least I break even. If the area develops, then it will be worth something. At least I’m not losing money, and I’m helping out.”

Ash’s one visible eye looked beyond puzzled. “But you live with Mr. Reevesworth while you own all that stuff.”

Damian shrugged. “Sure, I own property. Not a lot, but some, but it’s not where I want to live, and it’s not like I need my own place.”

“See!” Ash pointed at Damian and turned to Collin. “He doesn’t need his own place either! If he doesn’t need an apartment, why do I?”

A laugh burst out of Damian despite his apparent best intentions. He pressed his fist against his mouth and held up his other hand. “Ash, I have a bedroom. And I use the apartment like I would my own place. We have a kitchen and a living room. There’s a gym downstairs.”

Ash shook his head. “I have the break room kitchen too. And I run up and down the stairwell every day, and there’s a shower and a washing machine and dryer in the basement. It’s the same thing.”

“You’re living at the office.” Damian shot Collin a look.

Collin nodded, making a serious face.

Damian shook his head and put his face in his hand. “Ash, dude. I’m pretty sure there are laws against that. You could get Mr. Reevesworth in trouble.”

Ash blinked. “For real?”

“I’m not completely sure, but it’s possible.”

Ash pulled his shoulders in and hunched down. “But why? I’m not hurting anyone.”

“Someone could argue that he’s forcing extraordinary labor out of you.”

“I work when I want.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “So was that work you were doing while we were waiting for food or was that fun?”

Ash glared. “What if it’s both?”

Collin put up his hand. “I don’t think Mr. Reevesworth is going to get into trouble, at least not tonight. Ash, I’m glad you’re safe. But we should probably at least find you someplace you can pretend to live before, say, your birthday. When’s that?”

Ash sniffed, poking at his curry with a piece of naan. “In three months.”

“Okay. Damian will tell us if anything starts to go wrong or if he finds out there’s a big legal problem, and you think about how you want to live, okay? Three months is a good amount of time.”

“What if I just live with you? You both live with Mr. Reevesworth.”

Collin and Damian exchanged looks. That would NOT work. They didn’t have to say it out loud. They could hear each other saying it.

Collin gulped some water. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

Ash’s eyes darted back and forth across the table. “Oh. Ohhhh. Uh! Are you two boyfriends?”

“No.” Damian shoved more curry in his mouth.

Collin shook his head. “It’s not that.

“If I’m annoying, just say so! I hate people who lie.”

Collin took a deep breath and put his hand on the table. “Mr. Reevesworth is very private. And so is his husband.”

Ash studied Collin’s face. “Fine. But don’t tell me it’s one of those things I’ll understand when I’m older.”

“Why don’t you ask Ellisandre about it?” Collin said.

Ash raised both eyebrows. “Are you jerking my chain?”

Damian chuckled. “No, he’s actually not. Ellisandre knows everything.”

Ash’s one visible eye took on a calculating gleam. “Did they tell you that you should get paid for arguing?”

Damian laughed. “No. But they do know who did.”

“Collin,” Ash said. “I need to buy alcohol.”

“Why?”

“Because Ms. Linda says that’s the best way to get Ellisandre to say all the interesting things. Eggnog and alcohol.”

Collin scooted away from Ash and covered his pocket. “If you want to get Ellisandre drunk, you get Ms. Linda to help you. I do not want to get in trouble for that.”

Damian shook his head, looking scared for the first time all day. “You’re on your own, kid. I’m not buying you alcohol for Ellisandre either.”

“Fine.” Ash made a fist on the table. “I’ll ask Paulsen.”

Damian frowned. “The PI guy?”

Ash smirked. “He owes me.”

“Oh, Lawd help us.” Damian put a hand over his face.

Damian and Collin got home just before eight thirty. Collin was ready to drop straight in bed, but Damian pointed him at the bathroom and held up the key. “Do you want to shower?”

Collin sniffed himself, then shook himself. Why was he even wondering? What was he thinking? Since he started submitting to Mr. Reevesworth, he’d never showered and cleaned so much in his life. “Yeah, I should.”

Damian nodded and leaned against the counter in the master bathroom. after removing Collin’s cage. “You should wash everywhere. I’ll wait.”

“Thanks.” Collin stripped off and headed into the shower. Once Collin was done, Damian locked the cage again and stripped off himself. Feeling pensive, Collin sat on the bathroom counter, brushing his teeth and waiting.

“Want me to stay?” Damian asked as he came out.

Collin nodded.

Damian dried off and left his towel over the shower door, heading into the bedroom. He dropped down on the small bed. Collin crawled under the covers in the larger one and lay on his side, facing Damian.

“Why did you really cancel your date tonight?”

Damian dropped his eyes. “There is someone, okay? But it’s not possible. Not for me. Not now. But…”

“No one else is them?” Collin guessed.

Damian nodded. “No one else is them.”

“Are they a sub?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t really care. I think they are, but…it wouldn’t matter. I just want them.”

“Do they want you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if they know what they want.”

“Guy or girl?”

“Guy. I think. But if they told me they were changing their pronouns, I wouldn’t even care.”

“What do you like about them?”

Damian’s eyes unfocused, looking at something far away and not present. “The way they move. The way they smile—when they really smile. How much they care. Their hands. Their voice. The way they think. What I feel when I’m around them.”

“So, you have spent time with them. They aren’t someone you’ve just seen around.”

“No. I’ve spent time with them. But it’s a secret. I’m a secret.”

“They’re closeted?”

“It’s complicated. I think they’d come out if they could. But…sometimes people aren’t free.” Damian sighed.

“Can they get free?”

“I don’t know.” Damian gripped his pillow more tightly. “I can’t think about it too much. Mr. Reevesworth and Mr. Moreau, you, Linda, Ellisandre, and I guess we’re adopting Ash now. It’s enough.”

Collin chuckled, eyes half closed. “Do you think Ash will really get Ellisandre drunk?”

“Shit. I better send them a bribe.”

“Paulsen or Ellisandre?”

“Ellisandre!”

“So does that mean you’re not going to move out?”

“Dude, you’re not even making sense. Go to sleep. Why would I move out?”

“Just… that… if you found someone, wouldn’t you have to leave?”

Damian huffed, eyes already closed. “Guess that would depend. I’m not ready to be a dom yet, though. And why the hell would I want to go home to a cold, empty apartment at the end of a long day when I could have this?”

Collin smiled, eyes falling shut. “You should stay forever.”

Mr. Reevesworth woke Collin up in the morning with kisses on his neck.

Damian was already awake, but he left the small bed and joined Collin and Mr. Reevesworth in the big bed.

Collin woke by degrees to the sounds of Mr. Reevesworth making out with Damian.

When he was awake enough, it was his turn.

Then they all put on workout clothes and went down to the gym.

Damian had his routine, and Mr. Reevesworth supervised Collin on a gentle program: interval training on the treadmill and elliptical followed by a small amount of weight lifting.

“I could do more,” Collin groused as he stood by, waiting to clean the machine after his dom finished with yet another round of weights.

“You will, upstairs, after this,” Mr. Reevesworth said pointedly.

Collin blushed and shut up.

Mr. Moreau was still traveling back from Japan and not expected to arrive until Monday afternoon. So it was just Mr. Reevesworth and Collin after Damian headed out. There was work on the inheritance case that couldn’t be put off, but Damian promised he’d knock off before dinner.

“I think it’s time,” Mr. Reevesworth said to Collin when they were alone.

Collin finished putting away the last of the dishes from breakfast and hung up the towel. Everything in the kitchen was almost perfect. Mr. Moreau would have nothing to fuss about when he came back. “Sir?”

“There’s one room in The Residency where you’ve never been. émeric and I agree it’s time you see it.”

Tingles ran up Collin’s arms. “Yes, sir.”

The walk down the hall seemed to take longer than usual. Collin forced his hands to hold still by his side. Mr. Reevesworth unlocked the door behind which he had disappeared several times with Damian.

Instead of overhead fixtures, ambient light radiated from the upper edges of the room, filling it with a red glow. A similar glow came from near the floorboards. The floor was dark wood, sealed with something shiny and thick. It wasn’t black but a deep, rich brown, like coffee.

In the center of the far side of the room was a freestanding Saint Andrew’s cross in the same deep wood stain.

Near the door and against the wall was the already familiar pet kennel.

The entrance was all the way to one side of the room, leaving the rest of the room available and empty of either doors or windows.

Entirely private. The walls were also paneled in wood.

Here and there were pieces of art, and what had to be fake greenery ran around the top of the room.

There was a spanking bench to the left, and an old armoire dominated the short wall to the far left with ivy tumbling down the side.

To one side of it was a heavy chair of wood framing and leather padding.

A large table, folded in half and on wheels, was stored against the back wall beside the cross.