Page 55 of Various Intentions

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, Juno, don’t be so dramatic.”

“Oh, Nic, I shall be as dramatic as I please.”

I laughed. “What was I thinking?”

“Juno. Charles,” Matteo greeted them with a smile.

“Matteo! How is the fabulous cook? You know, I envy Nic so much, having you in the kitchen and the bedroom whenever he pleases. I know you’re talented in the kitchen, so I can only imagine how wonderful you are upstairs.”

Matteo inclined his head. “My talent lies purely in my cooking skills.”

“Oh no. Nic would not stand for less than perfection in the bedroom. Don’t be modest.”

I steered Juno into the living room. “You have Charles, who is quite delightful. And I’ve no doubt that if he can keep up with you, he must be very skilled indeed…in all sorts of things.” I winked at the sweet young man who followed us.

“Well, yes, he is. You’re right. Charles looks after me very well.”

They sat on the sofa and pulled Charles onto their lap. Charles immediately dipped his head into the crook of Juno’s neck and wrapped his arms around them, whispering his thanks at the high praise.

“Of course, I have Vincent to thank for Charles’ latest accomplishment,” Juno murmured.

Vincent raised his eyebrows. “Oh? What have I done?”

Juno narrowed a devilish gaze toward my boy. “You, my dear, have shown Charles that a teeny tiny metal cage is nothing to be afraid of.”

All four gazes drifted to Charles’ crotch.

“Is he—right now?” Vincent asked.

“Why, yes, he is, Vincent,” Juno said.

“I don’t know that ‘like’ is the right word, exactly,” Charles said, his voice muffled in Juno’s neck.

“Hmm-m, let me rephrase. He seems to tolerate being caged for the sake of going into such a heightened state of arousal that he can barely think straight. I’ve had to end his sessions ahead of schedule every time because the poor boy becomes hopelessly agitated. But he’s getting better. We’ve been able to go longer. How long has it been this time?”

“A week.” Charles drew back with a frown. “Juno, it’s been a week! I just realized. You said you would—”

Juno gazed at Charles, non-plussed. “Well, I can’t exactly remove it right now. You’ll have to wait until we get home.”

Charles looked crestfallen at Juno’s words. He glanced at me and Vincent and Matteo, obviously mulling something over. Then he leaned down and whispered into Juno’s ear.

“But, Charles—” Juno muttered with some exasperation.

Charles kept whispering, his hand clutching Juno’s shirt with an intensity that spoke to the urgency of his predicament.

Finally, Juno turned to me. “Nic. May I take Charles upstairs for a moment?”

I knew what would happen upstairs. But I couldn’t think of a reason to deny them.

“Of course you can. Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you,” Juno said. They urged Charles up off their lap and whispered something to him. Charles walked over and sank to his knees in front of me.

“Thank you, Nic. I am forever grateful.”

Oh, for Heaven’s sake. Does Juno need to make a production out of everything?

I stroked Charles’ silky-soft hair. “You are a very good boy, Charles. You deserve to be rewarded.”