Pushing Connor (The Dungeon #4)(15)

The rest of the scene had been intense. Perhaps too much so. There hadn’t been anything life threatening, nothing to make him feel unsafe. In fact, it had been hot. But in hindsight, there’d been a certain edge to Connor that hadn’t been there before.

Unable to sleep, Wesley turned everything over and over in his head. There hadn’t been any time to talk before the scene, and when it was done, Connor had fallen fast asleep. Now, sitting in silence and darkness, Wesley couldn’t help but think it was all connected to the scenes with Matthew at The Dungeon. Perhaps they’d affected Connor more than he wanted to admit.

Biting the inside of his lip, Wesley went back to that first time they’d gone out. It had been right after they’d met, and Connor had told him about Alin, his ex. Of how he died. Could his mood be related to Alin somehow?

Wesley left the bed and went into the kitchen. Standing before the open door of the fridge, he poured himself a glass of orange juice and drained it in one go. Refilling it, he took it with him as he went to stand at the window, while his mind wandered.

***

Connor heard Wesley leave the bed, and he finally allowed himself to relax. After the scene, he’d tended to Wesley, but when it became clear his partner was going to ask him questions he couldn’t answer, he’d pretended to sleep. He’d felt Wesley’s eyes on him for a long time after that, and for a while, he’d feared he was going to wake Connor up anyway. But Wesley hadn’t.

Now, he could hear him pacing the kitchen, and Connor longed to join him. But what if Wesley asked him what was wrong? What would Connor tell him? It wasn’t that he wanted to hide the answers from Wesley. He just didn’t know them for certain himself.

Looking back, he couldn’t recognize himself. He had wanted to hurt both Matthew and Wesley. It had gone beyond a game, and the limits of said game. It was as if he’d had limitless power over them, which scared the shit out of him.

This wasn’t what being a Dominant meant. He knew that all too well. Yet, when the time had come, common sense had out through the window. But at least he hadn’t hurt either of them.

God damn it! What was wrong with him? He’d had years—close to two decades—of practice. He shouldn’t go off the rocker like that. In his monitor days, when he’d supervised kink parties, he would have red-balled any Doms who acted as stupidly as he had.

***

The next day, Wesley knocked on his boss’s door. Pushing it open without waiting to be invited in, he stuck his head inside.

“Hey. You got a second?”

Lucas glanced up, and motioned him in, smiling. “Sure. Come on in.”

Wesley stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Sitting on the edge of one of the comfortable chairs facing Lucas’s desk, he rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his fingers.

“What can I do for you?”

Sensing the concern in Lucas’s tone, Wesley looked up at his friend and boss. “What do you know about Alin?”

Lucas frowned. “Alin?”

“Connor’s ex.”

“Oh.” Wariness replaced the confusion on Lucas’s face. “What about him?”

Taking pity on Lucas’s discomfort, Wesley shrugged. “Don’t worry. I already know about him.”

Relief flashed across Lucas’s face.

“That’s not what I came here to talk to you about. Or, not exactly, anyway.”

“What’s going on, Wesley?”

“You, we, have a new submissive coming to the club: Matthew.”

Lucas nodded.

“He did a scene with Connor.”

Another nod. “Was there something wrong? And why isn’t Connor here talking to me about it? It is his sub.”

“He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Lucas’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “I’m listening.”

“I think it may be too intense for him.”

“He didn’t say anything to me.”

“To me either.” Wesley rushed through the explanation, trying to convey his concern without giving too much away. “After the scene with Matthew, he came home pretty shaken up.”

Lucas regarded him in silence, his brow slightly furrowed. “You know the rules, Wesley. I cannot switch Matthew to another Dom without being asked directly by either the sub or the Dom, and not without a solid reason.”

Wesley’s shoulders hunched. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been expecting it, but he’d had to try.

As if sensing his mood, Lucas leaned in, resting his elbows on the desktop. “I know about what Alin put Connor through. You may not be aware, but I told Connor several times before Alin’s death that Alin wasn’t good for him. I pushed him to break up with Alin, but he wouldn’t do it. He’s too honorable.”

The jealousy eating away at Wesley was unwelcome, but expected.

“Wesley, I promise I’ll assign Matthew to someone else as soon as one of them comes to ask me themselves. Is that enough for you?”

No, it wasn’t, but there wasn’t anything he could say to sway Lucas, and applying any further pressure could well backfire. Knowing he had lost, Wesley nodded, and left.

He went back to his room and prepared everything for the day ahead, but he couldn’t put Connor out of his mind. The hours passed, session after session, and when Connor didn’t call during the day, as was their habit, Wesley’s concern grew.