Page 44 of Saving Mr. Bell

“And to play less,” I insisted, determined to hammer the point home. No one could endure a schedule like Rudolf’s for the last few years and stay sane.

“And to play less,” Rudolf agreed. “Although my schedule is set for at least the next year, so that won’t go down well.”

“They work for you. Not the other way round.”

“They work for my father.”

“Then let him play the damn piano.” Something about that tickled Rudolf and he cracked up, tears streaming from his eyes when he eventually stopped laughing. “Care to share the joke?”

“Picture the packed auditorium. The lights go down. A hush falls over the crowd as Jeremiah Bell places his hands on the keys. And then…Twinkle twinkle little starrings out. I did notget my musical talent from my father. It was all from my mother, God rest her soul.” Rudolf stood. “Thank you.”

I squinted up at him. “For what?”

“For showing me that things aren’t as dire as I’d imagined. Even if your method of going about it was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.”

“Would you expect anything less from me? You know, given I abducted you from outside a nightclub.”

Rudolf’s only response to that was a small smile before he left the room. I let him go, sensing he might need some time on his own to collect his thoughts. Once a few minutes had passed, I wandered into the adjoining room. It was empty, Rudolf either in the bedroom or bathroom. I picked one of the Christmas ornaments up, the box sitting next to the bare tree we still hadn’t decorated. Would Rudolf want to be involved in decorating it? The evidence of the past week said probably not. I hung the glittery snowman on a branch midway up the tree and picked up another.

“Arlo!”

“Yeah?”

“Come here! You’ll want to see this.”

See what? What could Rudolf possibly have stumbled across in the bedroom that he deemed that interesting? I placed the second snowman back in the box. “Coming.” The sight that met me when I poked my head in the door had me grinning from ear to ear. Rudolf had stripped off his sweatpants and positioned himself on his hands and knees so his arse faced the door. His look back over his shoulder was nothing short of provocative. “Doggie style,” he said with a leer.

“I can see that.”

“He held up a condom. Last one, so… no pressure, but make it worth it.”

I went over to my suitcase and pulled out a box. “Tada!”

“Remind me,” Rudolf said, “to take you to task later for denying you were bringing me here as a sex slave, despite making sure you had a shitload of condoms at your disposal.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Of course it wasn’t.”

“It wasn’t!”

“You’re lucky I’m more relieved we’ve got some.” Rudolf jerked his chin at my clothed state. “Clothes off. Only one of us is naked here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rudolf made a sound of pleasure in his throat. “Sir! I could get used to that.”

I rid myself of my clothes in record time, Rudolf’s naked perfection a lure that demanded action. It was funny that I’d ever thought I stood a chance of resisting him. He’d sealed my fate as soon as he climbed into the back of the rental car. I ran a hand over his flank, Rudolf arching his back in response. “I was thinking,” he said, “that this would be a perfect pose for those porn shots of me on the piano. What do you think?”

“I think only I should get to see you like this.” I winced. That had come out sounding far more possessive than I’d intended. Of course, other men would get to see him like this. All his future boyfriends. A husband one day.

“Oh, really,” Rudolf virtually purred. “Want me to have your name tattooed on my arse?”

Yes.“That won’t be necessary.” I rolled the condom on, my cock already hard enough to drill wood.

“What do you want it to say?”

“I don’t want it to say anything because I said no.” I dribbled lube on my cock and gave it a couple of strokes to get my fingers lubed up.

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