Breck drew to a stop beside the mats and turned to Kai. The very same place he’d stood over a month ago when he’d descended on Kai in a rage. A few feet over was where they’d shared that scorching kiss. Kai’s body roused at the memory. At where things could’ve gone. If only he’d let it. But the timing. The energy. It’d been all wrong. Two meteors on a volatile collision course that’d finally made impact.
He frowned, questioning yet again his decision to seek Breck’s help.
The kid was young and clearly didn’t handle infatuation well.
Maybe Kai was courting disaster. He eyed Breck from the entryway.
Too late to worry about that now.
Relocking the door, he turned and joined Breck, looking him over. Gorgeous as ever. All lean and cut. Snug gray tee. Black basketball shorts. Adidas slides.
His eyes lingered on Breck’s dark, naked toes. How he’d love the opportunity to make them curl…
He forced himself to focus. “So,” he crossed his arms, “the reason I texted you.”
Breck crossed his arms, too. “To cash in that favor.”
Kai smiled. “Correct.
Breck shrugged. “Well, here I am. What’s the damage?”
“I’m in need of a model. My usual canceled, and now I’m kind of in a jam.”
“You need a model?” Breck’s brows furrowed. “For what?”
“I teach Shibari. A type of Japanese rope art. But since I use my own designs, I conceptualize them ahead of time on a model. The creation process needs to be solid in my mind before I can present it to my students.”
“Why can’t you use a mannequin?”
“Because I need feedback. Can’t get that from mannequins.”
Breck frowned, his brain palpably churning. He shifted his weight. Flexed his folded arms. Cleared his throat. “So… what you’re saying is… you wanna practice this stuff on me.”
Kai nodded.
“And you’ll be doing what exactly, with this rope?”
“Binding you. It’s bondage art.”
Breck blinked, then coughed a weak laugh. “Wait, bondage? This is a joke, right? You’re fucking kidding me.”
Kai shook his head. “Think back to Scott’s that night. When I took on Max’s sub. I told you I’d been prepping him. Do you remember how?”
Breck went silent, then muttered, “By tying him up.”
Kai smiled a little. “And not just his wrists.”
Breck considered that, doing the math. “You bound his body, too.”
Kai shrugged. “Parts of it anyway. It was our first meeting. I didn’t want to freak him out.”
Breck swallowed, a flicker of heat in his eyes. Kai wondered if he was envisioning himself in a similar boat. Tied up just like Sean, at Kai’s mercy. Completely vulnerable. Kai’s heart beat faster at the notion of bringing that scenario to life.
But then Breck sobered and swept his gaze around the room, looking wary as he regarded all the windows and the large glass entryway. “And you want to do this… here? What if someone came to the door?”
“Oh, uh, no.” Kai scratched his cheek. “We’d be using my apartment.” He pointed up. Would that privacy ease Breck’s concern of being seen, or totally freak him out? He’d be bound, after all, and totally defenseless. Which meant it came down to trust.
Pensively, Breck chewed his lip, then finally gave a nod. “Yeah… That’d be better.” He met Kai’s gaze. “But that’s all this’ll be? Just you tying me up? No crazy shit… like torture… or whatever the fuck?”
Kai grinned, amused. “Nope. No crazy shit. Although, now I’m curious. Why would you even ask something like that?”
Breck tamped a tight laugh. “I do know about BDSM, which I’m assuming this is a form of since B stands for bondage. But there’s an S in that acronym, too, that stands for sadism.”
“Or submission,” Kai pointed out.
Breck leveled him with a look. “Right. But then I think about what you did with Sean. More than tie him up. You said he didn’t like your nipple clamps. Which tells me they hurt, that you were deliberately causing him pain.” He chuckled darkly. “My name’s not Webster, so do correct me if I’m wrong, but that sure sounds like the definition of torture to me.”
Kai inclined his head. “Point well made, but we were doing a scene. And just so you understand, things aren’t so black and white when consent is involved.”
Breck didn’t argue. Seemed to chew on that a bit.
Kai waved it away. “But that’s another discussion. What I’m doing with you is completely different. No pain. I promise.”
Breck’s expression turned thoughtful, like he was actually considering it.
Kai added more reassurance. “If you ever want me to stop, just say the word. I’ll untie you immediately.”
Breck nodded, his gaze settling absently on Kai’s mouth.
Kai’s heart thumped. He held his breath.
Would Breck say yes, or would he walk out the door?
What Kai was asking of him was no small thing. He wanted to tie him up.
Breck swallowed and pulled his gaze back to Kai’s. “How long will it take?”