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Overview
Rupert's society friends can call it an open relationship if they want. Leon still calls it cheating—and he's going to make sure it never happens again.
Leon knows he and Rupert come from completely different worlds, but it never occurred to him that Rupert would consider their relationship to be open unless otherwise stated.
He might not have the money, the experience or the social standing of Rupert's usual lovers, but Leon's still determined to fight for what he wants. And what he wants is to make sure he's exclusive with Rupert before his lover's "old friend" comes to visit next weekend.
Can he convince a man like Rupert to give up everyone else in favour of one inexperienced graduate student? Can he convince Rupert to make a commitment to him before he cheats? Leon doesn't know—but he sure as hell is going to try!
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780857155900 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Totally Entwined Group |
Publication date: | 07/04/2011 |
Series: | Perfect Timing , #5 |
Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 114 |
File size: | 233 KB |
Age Range: | 18 Years |
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Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Monday
"My, my! Does Rupert have you house-trained already? He doesn't usually trust his toys with a key until their spirit's been completely broken."
Leon Powell frowned as he glanced over his shoulder. "What did you —?" He quickly cut himself off when he saw who stood at the bottom of the steps leading to Rupert's front door.
Somehow James Campbell was still able to look down his nose at Leon, even while standing a good three feet below him.
Leon opened his mouth, but hurriedly closed it again, before he ended up something he shouldn't. Heaving his heavy backpack into a more comfortable position on his shoulder, he took a deep breath.
Be polite, he reminded himself. Rupert does business with the guy. It would probably be a really bad idea to call him an arrogant pillock and slam the door in his face.
"I'm sorry," Leon said in his best 'I'm dealing with a professor I need a good grade from' voice. "I don't think Rupert's home right now, but when he gets back I'll make sure he knows you called."
Turning his back on James, Leon once more offered his key up to the lock on Rupert's front door.
Toy ... Broken ... Trained? James' words niggled at the back of his mind, but Leon did his best to push them away as he opened the door and stepped inside. He had plenty to think about after a day full of lectures and workshops. He didn't need anything else messing with his brain.
Crouching down to pick up the day's post, Leon only just stopped his backpack sliding off his shoulder and scattering a dozen thick text books across the elaborately tiled entrance hall.
Suddenly, the front door jerked towards him, almost knocking him off his feet. Leon looked up just in time to see James stride past him in a blur of expensive tailoring, as if he were no more important than the damn doormat.
"Rupert's —" Leon begun again.
"I'll wait."
Before Leon could say another word, James had marched straight into Rupert's study, as if he was the only one who actually had a right to be there. Leon's fist tightened around his keys as he pushed the jagged bits of metal into his jeans pocket. He was the one with the keys. He was the one who Rupert actually wanted to find waiting for him when he came home.
Quickly slamming the front door, Leon tossed the mail on the hall table and rushed after James.
Backpack hurriedly tossed into its habitual resting place beside the big leather sofa, Leon shoved his hands into his pockets. A moment later, he pulled them back out and made a conscious effort not to look like a nervous little school boy as he watched James run a critical eye over the various books and ornaments on Rupert's shelves.
Leon barely held back a sigh when he realised there really wasn't any polite way to get rid of the man. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Doesn't Rupert prefer his boys to kneel when asking their betters if they can be of service?" James asked, as he draped himself languidly into one of the high backed chairs flanking the fireplace.
"Boys?" Leon repeated, blankly. As in boys plural?
James' laughter was like fingernails on a chalkboard. "Don't tell me Rupert has you thinking you're the only submissive in his stable."
Submissives and stables and everything else be dammed. The only fact that really registered in Leon's mind was the possibility of his boyfriend screwing other guys. A strong hand clamped around his heart and squeezed several beats out of it.
For just one brief moment, Leon was too shocked to try to school his features into displaying anything other than his honest reaction. Sod's law that he had to meet James' eyes during those same few seconds.
"Child, Rupert's one of the most highly respected dominants in the city," James said. "You didn't really think you'd have him all to yourself?"
Leon just stared at him unable to bring a single word to his lips as he slowly lowered himself onto the sofa. It was either that or collapse to the floor as his knees buckled beneath him.
James laughed again. "I should have guessed that you were very new." He paused for a moment to look Leon up and down. "The first cheque obviously hasn't even cleared yet."
At least that was an insult Leon understood. His gaze automatically followed the same path James' had traced, taking in all the same details that James had no doubt been so quick to note.
Battered running shoes — complete with dozens of scuffs from all those times where he'd stopped his bike on the gravel outside his hall of residence and hadn't had time to bother with complicated things like brakes. Jeans that weren't any particular make and that were already shabby at the edges. And, last but not least, a long-sleeved and slightly paint-stained hoodie that screamed his status as a lowly art history student.
Resisting the urge to straighten up, or even push his hair out of his eyes when the overly long blond strands slipped forward to obscure his vision, Leon held James' gaze as if his life depended on it. "I'm not after Rupert's money."
James chuckled politely, as if Leon had just told an amusing anecdote at one of those fancy dinner parties Rupert had occasionally dragged him to. "Let me guess," he drawled. "You're just using him for sex — very Pretty Woman. Julia Roberts gets all the good lines, doesn't she?"
"I'm not a prostitute," Leon snapped.
James smiled the same fake smile so many of Rupert's friends pinned to their lips whenever they didn't want to waste a real smile on someone like him.
Leon frowned as he dropped his gaze to stare at the coffee table in the middle of the room, wondering at what precise point in the last six months he'd started thinking of himself as 'someone like him'?
Maybe it wasn't their fault, Leon told himself as he folded his arms across his body and tried his best to be charitable when he wasn't really in the mood. Rupert was rich, after all. Stupidly, impossibly rich in the way Leon had thought people only were in the movies.
Rupert had his own business, three sports cars, this stunning town house, another place in the country and a slew of gold diggers of both genders throwing themselves at him at every opportunity. And Leon had ... well, half a dorm room, a rusty mountain bike, an insufficient scholarship and three quarters of his master's degree left to complete.
Of course people thought he was after Rupert's money! The important thing was Rupert knew he wasn't and he knew he wasn't, Leon told himself. James wasn't important — he was just a necessary evil.
"Rupert's meeting probably ran late," Leon muttered, in a half-hearted attempt to remain polite.
James didn't even bother to indicate he'd heard anyone speak. Silence fell over the room. Leon turned his attention to trying to rub away the smudge of oil paint he'd acquired on the pad of his thumb during one of his practical workshops. As he scrubbed at it, his mind wandered towards the topic of his latest project.
He jumped when the phone on Rupert's desk suddenly rang.
"That's probably his now," Leon said, not quite able to hide his relief as he pulled himself to his feet and quickly strode across the room. Stopping next to the desk, he waited patiently for the answering machine to pick up, just in case it wasn't actually Rupert calling to tell him he'd be home late.
Even if James was looking at him as if he was crazy, Leon was cheerfully willing to be damned before picking up the phone and finding out it was anyone else.
What the hell would he say? 'Hi, I'm sorry Rupert isn't here to take your call, but I'm his much-younger and completely skint student boyfriend, and I'll be happy to take a message for you'?
Finally, the answering machine picked up.
"Hi, Rupert, it's Gerald," the contraption reported to the world in general. "Sorry I missed you last weekend but it turns out I'm going to be in town this Friday after all. Give me a call if you're up for some fun. I've got a new flogger that I'm dying to try out!" The rich male voice left a number and hung up.
Leon was pretty sure he hadn't displayed any visible reaction until James' grating laughter filled the air again. "Oh, dear. It seems I was right. You've got some competition!"
Unable to think of a damn thing to say, Leon stayed mute for a full half a minute, just staring down at the phone. Eventually, as the silence dragged on and Leon's heart rate threatened to reach a critical tipping point, he had to say something, anything, to break it.
"He's probably just a friend." Even Leon wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. The voice had sounded very friendly.
"He sounded more like one of Rupert's submissives to me. And a sub whose much closer to his usual calibre of lover too. I'll bet you can't take one of Rupert's floggings half as well as he can ..."
"No," Leon said, with every ounce of confidence he could muster. The guy had said 'last weekend' and no matter how kinky they both might be, he couldn't have had a date with Rupert then.
They'd spent every minute of the previous weekend together — just as they'd planned to for as long as Leon could remember. And Rupert had never even mentioned the possibility of him needing to cancel or having any other engagements. And, anyway, Leon told himself firmly, Rupert wasn't the type to cheat. For several seconds, Leon watched the little light on the answering machine blink off and on, announcing that there was one message waiting to be listened to. Rupert wasn't that type at all.
"You're sure?" James pushed.
"Yes." Leon was sure. He trusted Rupert, and he was going to keep on trusting him, even if an evil little voice in the back of his mind chose that moment to remind him that possibility of Rupert being more interested in double choc chip with extra sprinkles, rather than simple vanilla, had occurred to him more than a few times before.
"So, Rupert's told you that you're to be his only submissive?"
The question hit the air just as Leon forced himself to tear his eyes away from the blinking light and turn back to his guest. For just the briefest moment, his guard failed him. Something of his horror at the idea must have shown in his eyes.
"Oh, I see. How very quaint!" James laughed. "But, really, child, you surely can't expect Rupert to understand your — shall we say, rather less than sophisticated? — ideas. If he hasn't raised the matter of exclusivity, anybody who is anybody would realise he has every right to play with Gerald, or any other sub who catches his eye."
Leon looked down at his hand. His knuckles were white. His fingers were starting to cramp, but he couldn't quite convince himself to unfurl his fist.
Of course they were exclusive! A moment ago there'd been no question in his mind about that fact.
"You know, it's quite usual for dominants to take several lovers at the same time. And Rupert has never been short of offers."
James rose unhurriedly from the chair and crossed the room to stand directly in front of Leon. He stroked his fingers across Leon's cheek before Leon had a chance to pull away.
"You're such a silly little thing, but don't feel too bad. Keep your jealousy under wraps and Rupert might yet keep you around for a while longer. Do remember to tell him that I dropped by, won't you?" James offered Leon another obviously fake smile, turned and walked out of the study as if he didn't have a care in the world.
A few moments later, Leon heard the front door close behind him. He waited for the house to take on the safe, comfortable aura it usually possessed. No luck. It still felt like ghosts were tap-dancing up and down his spine.
Rubbing irritably at the back of his neck, Leon stood right in the middle of Rupert's study. Every conversation he'd ever had with the older man rushed through his head, as he searched for a conversation that he was sure had to have taken place.
Nothing.
Mentally scrolling through every curse word he knew, Leon turned back to the desk and studied the flashing light some more. It announced there was only one message waiting to be replayed.
Don't be jealous. Leon shook his head. Bloody stupid advice. He and Rupert were ...
Spinning away from the desk, Leon pushed his hand through his hair and tried to think clearly. But, what the hell did he actually know about how two guys acted when they were ... dating? Leon rolled his eyes at himself. He didn't even know if that was the right bloody word for what he and his first ever boyfriend were doing.
With a girl it would have been so easy. Leon had no doubt that if a guy and a girl got to the stage where they spent all their free time together, left half their wardrobes at the other person's house and the guy couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept at his own place, a certain amount of seriousness was implied.
Of course, none of his relationships with women had been conducted with a pink, leather-clad elephant in the room — that thing they both knew was there but neither had actually mentioned aloud to the other. Leon's teeth nipped at his bottom lip. He glanced over his shoulder and stared at the flashing light again.
They should talk about Gerald's call. When Rupert got home, Leon had no doubt he should calmly ask the other man exactly where he stood. He'd be sensible and mature and he'd make it clear to his boyfriend that he wanted them to be exclusive from that moment on. Maybe he'd even gather enough courage to ask Rupert exactly what he was into when it came to leather and ...
Leon took a deep breath.
Yeah, like that was really going to happen. No, the best thing to do would be to make sure that when he finally acquired the balls to ask Rupert for them to be exclusive, he would be very inclined to say yes.
Leon nodded to himself. If there was one thing he really was certain of, it was that Rupert wasn't someone who anybody with half a brain gave up without a fight. His finger hovered over the buttons on the answering machine before he snatched it away.
Turning to pace the room, he considered his options. He'd been brought up to fight fair, but suddenly, the taking part didn't mean jack. Leon strode quickly back to Rupert's desk and carefully erased the message.
He was just going to buy himself some time, that was all. If the guy wasn't interested enough in Rupert to phone back then he didn't deserve a chance with him anyway.
* * *
By the time Leon finally heard Rupert's key in the lock, he had a plan. It was a good plan. He was proud of it. It would work. Okay, Leon silently admitted to himself, maybe it wasn't exactly guaranteed to work, but it was still a good plan. Well, maybe it wasn't the best plan ever, but it was the only one he bloody well had.
He might not have screwed his way through half the aristocracy the way everyone else in Rupert's life had, but he wasn't a closeted virgin any more either.
"Hello? Leon? Are you home?"
By the time Leon plucked up the courage to step out of the study, Rupert was standing by the hallway table sorting through his mail.
Leon squared his shoulders. There was no time like the present, best to start as he meant to go on, and all that bull.
Rupert glanced up. He smiled when he saw Leon lurking in the study doorway.
As he looked back at the envelopes in his hand, Leon took a step towards him, then several more in quick succession.
"Did you have a good —?"
Quickly covering Rupert's mouth with his own, Leon licked the rest of the question from his boyfriend's lips as he sought to deepen the kiss.
Rupert was tall. Leon had to go up on his toes to bring his mouth to the right height. Curling his hands into fists against Rupert's jacket, he tugged at the expensive fabric, trying to pull the larger man down for easier access.
Several aeons passed. Rupert remained perfectly still, frozen in place, unrelenting to his lover's pleas. Leon's confidence faltered. Damn, but this really was a stupid idea. The guy had just come in from work. Why the hell would he want some idiot throwing himself at him before he'd even had time to take his coat off?
All his courage bleeding away in a swirling red mass of pain, Leon took half a step back, ready to stutter out an apology. Just in time, he heard the letters in Rupert's hand tumble to the floor. He slid his arms around Leon, pulling him closer as he seemed to catch up with current events and decide he liked being welcomed home that way.
Relief pounding through him, Leon arched into his lover's touch. Slipping his hands past Rupert's jacket, he shoved the perfectly cut material aside, only to realise that Rupert's shirt was still in his way.
Letting out a frustrated groan, Leon tugged at the buttons, desperate to feel skin under his palms, to feel the strength in Rupert's muscles as they wrapped around him and reassured him that, despite all evidence to the contrary, everything really was okay.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Before He Cheats"
by .
Copyright © 2011 Kim Dare.
Excerpted by permission of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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