Page 43 of Touch In Excess

Skye almost jumped out of his skin, turning to see the guy from behind the counter. He was startled to see he was a wheelchair user, but that only lasted a second. He was very used to seeing Stone jet around on his.

“Christ, you scared the crap out of me.”

The guy let out a soft laugh as his hands squeezed over his wheels. “Sorry. I tend to creep up on people. My chair’s really quiet.”

“And I’m deaf,” Skye said, tapping his hearing aids, “so I suck at noticing anyway.”

The guy’s grin got wider, and he offered his hand. “I’m Pierce. I run this place.”

“Literally?”

“Literally. I own it. As a matter of fact, I have full ownership as of two days ago when my divorce papers were signed.” Pierce’s jaw snapped shut, and he ran all ten fingers through his short, dark hair. “Sorry, way too much information.”

“It’s cool. Sometimes shit’s hard, and you need to tell a stranger who isn’t invested, right?”

Pierce’s face softened. “You get it.”

“I do. And I’m Skye,” he said when Pierce offered his hand again. “The man having an existential crisis over anal toys in your very neatly put-together aisle.”

Pierce’s grin widened. “Can I help?”

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “I’m buying this for a friend.”

“Oh. For afriend,” the guy said.

Skye flushed and laughed. “Not like that. I mean literally for a friend. He’s never used anything like this before, and he’s never done any kind of anal play. I want something that won’t take too much adjusting to.”

“Hmm.” Pierce rocked his chair back a little, and his eyes scanned the shelf. “Are we talking plug, beads, probes, vibes? Dildo?”

That was the problem. Too many options, and Rami hadn’t given him any stipulations. He won the bid, so the choice was his. He swallowed heavily, trying not to think about the fact that sometime after Friday, Rami would use it. And if it was good, it would be thanks to Skye.

But if it was bad…it would be all Skye’s fault.

“You look panicked. Is this afriendfriend or a sex friend?”

“Both,” Skye said and signed at the same time. “It’s a new thing. No labels yet.”

“Got it. So this is potentially a huge deal.” Pierce rocked back again, then grabbed his wheels and paced up and down in front of the next rack over. “Will you be participating in this play?”

Skye bit his lip and shrugged. Maybe. Hopefully. Probably not the first time on camera, but after…there was a good chance. “I hope so.”

Pierce nodded, and then he pushed his chair to the wall, picked up a long stick with big pincers like a claw machine, andgrabbed a box from a shelf even Skye would have struggled to reach on his tiptoes.

It fell into Pierce’s lap with a dull thud, and he put the stick back before wheeling to Skye’s side. “I’ve found that the first time you go there, something more realistic tends to feel best.”

Skye took the box from the shop owner and turned it in his hands. The box was discreet, but the description said it was a soft, hyper-realistic silicone dildo. “Can I look?”

“Go nuts,” Pierce said. “But if you tear the plastic, you buy it.”

Skye laughed as he pried the top off. “Noted.” Beneath the cover, nestled in what looked like black velvet, was a surprisingly small, thin dildo with a suction cup at the base. It was peach-flesh colored, a little veiny, with a thick foreskin beneath the molded head.

It looked nothing like his own dick, which was fatter, longer, and pierced, but it wasn’t bad.

“Decent star rating?” Skye asked as he replaced the box top.

“My hus—my ex,” Pierce corrected quickly, “loved it. Even after being together for years, it was his favorite. I don’t want to get too TMI with a total stranger?—”

“Go for it. Trust me when I say I’m surrounded by sex talk more than I’m not,” Skye said without giving himself away.

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