Page 3 of Expensive

“Would you be willing to consider a different alpha?” he asks.

I shake my head. It has to be him. He’s willing to be truly rough with his partners but also manages to be kind. He pushes them to the edge, but he checks in too. He cares.

And he lets his partners call him “Daddy.” I know it’s stupid, but I want that. More than anything.

“Just Timber,” I say.

Davey slides his phone back into his pocket. “Okay. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

2

Timber

“Alright, that’s a wrap,” the director, Stan, says.

Stargazer is still tied down with intricate Shibari knots. I begin prying the knot at the end loose. He can’t say anything because of the ball gag, but the tension on the rope is tight enough, I’m sure he’d rather I take care of it first.

“Makeup can handle that. Davey needs to talk to you,” Stan tells me.

I ignore Stan. He doesn’t understand that if you tie a man up, it’s your responsibility to make sure he’s set free. Stan’s still new to this business. I’m not. I’ve been doing this for over ten years. I’m not about to start disrespecting my scene partners now.

I loosen the tightest section of interlocking rope, then unhook Stargazer’s ball gag.

“How are you doing? Would you like more water?” I ask, lifting a water bottle to his lips.

He takes a sip. “I’m alright. Ready to be done.”

We’ve been filming all day. That’s never easy for any bottom, but Shibari is tough to handle for long periods of time. I continue unraveling the rope until he’s lying on the bed naked with beautiful pink stripes across his tawny skin. He’s a lovely man. Tall and slender with gray eyes and wild brown hair. He looks up at me with a vulnerability that makes me ache.

“Timber, Davey’s waiting,” Stan repeats, his voice laced with anger.

“Davey’s a patient man,” I say and begin massaging Stargazer’s calves. The rope was especially tight on that area of his body. Stargazer’s eyes close, and he lets out a sigh.

Stan steps in front of me. “He doesn’t have all day.”

“He has a few minutes. Stargazer was tied up for a long time.” I massage Stargazer’s thighs next. His body is nice and relaxed.

Stan finally walks off. The camera crew is still cleaning up lights and extension cords, but they’re not paying attention to us.

“Thank you for taking care of me. If… if you ever wanted… I’m not seeing anyone right now.” Stargazer’s voice is soft and timid. I wish I could take him up on the offer, but things aren’t that simple.

“I’d like that, but just so you know, I was muzzled.”

His eyes widen with horror. He shouldn’t be surprised. It’s common knowledge that I was rescued from the red wolf shifter breeding pits. Did he think they put me down there with a full set of teeth? I could have bonded to one of the omegas, and that would have rendered us both useless to them.

Every alpha from the pits has their teeth extracted. After I got out, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping human trafficking victims paid for very nice implants. Most people assume they’re real. But if I tried to give an omega a bond bite, it wouldn’t take.

“I’m sorry,” Stargazer says. He rolls over and hangs his feet over the side of the bed. Like every other omega in the world, he isn’t interested. Nobody wants to date an alpha who can’t bond to them. Especially not an attractive omega like him.

I guess I better go find Davey.

My clothes are in the corner. I pull on a pair of underwear and jeans before heading out the door. I run into Davey on my way to admin. He’s wearing a horrible suit and carrying a thick blue folder.

“Timber! Hey, do you have a few minutes? There’s a project I was hoping I could talk to you about.”

Davey transitioned from performer to admin a few months ago. Some of the boys who start in this business don’t know what they’re signing up for. Davey only lasted a few months before he realized that he’d rather be on the admin end of things.

“Alright. Your office?”

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