Page 59 of Bottoms Up
Gavin walked in while the sleek, magnificent jaguar was tearing into his food. “One of my dungeon masters will monitor him. He might need another couple ofchanges, but he’s happy with his time with the two of you.”
He looked at me a few seconds and then focused on Julian again. “Your time as a slave made you stronger. I, too, was a slave during my first centuries, but I didn’t come out of it with asupport system, as you have. All the control necessary to survive the rigors of slavehood has given you…” He shrugged. “It might take a decade for you to figure it out, but it’s possible you’ll get there in a year or less. Draw on the power of your control.”
He focused on me again. “If I’d had someone who loved me from the start, I’d be a different vampire. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a truth I’ve only recently understood. The two of you are a matched set.”
He looked back to Julian. “The two of you regularly share a member of Marco’s flock, and I’d suggest you need to find a permanent pet. Not a third. Not a poly group. A pet you’d treat as a beloved animal — no romantic entanglement. Just stability for all.”
Gavin glanced at Atlas again and motioned for us to follow him.
Outside the door, a clear plastic bag waited. Gavin handed it to Julian — our clothes from earlier. It seemed their cleanup people were faster than we’d realized.
“Room service is twenty-four hours,” he said, “and Silver needs food. Your phones will tell you which restaurants are open, though I recommend the TexMex spot Lauren loves.”
We found ourselves at the elevator before I’d even processed half of what he’d said.
Back in our suite, which we’d only been in briefly, I had to decide whether to order room service or go out to eat.
“Let’s go to the TexMex place Gavin told us about,” I told Julian, and when he nodded, I opened my suitcase to figure out what to wear after I showered.
Something fast, because I really was starving.
Dressing like a man would get us out the door the fastest. A compression shirt might actually feel better on my sore breasts, once it was on. Silk boxers and loose jeans, though.
I took a quick shower without getting my hair wet, and dried my upper body with care so I could get the compression shirt on.
All the twinges, all the sore places, and I looked at myself in the mirror to see a very tired yet incredibly happy version of myself.
I had my Julian back in my life as he was supposed to be.
I felt tired, happy, and very, very owned.
Chapter 20
Julian
We were okay. Silver and I were okay. I’d been telling myself we’d be fine, but I’m not sure I’d completely believed it.
She showered and put a compression shirt on, meaning she wasn’t in girl-mode at the moment, though she didn’t smell especially male to me. I stepped into the shower, knowing I’d have to make it quick because my Silver can be ready in minutes when she dresses as a man.
And maybe that was the entire reason for her clothing choice, if she was hungry.
By the time I got out of the shower, maybe three minutes later, Silver wore jeans and a T-shirt with a ball cap. I donned clean dress pants and a dress shirt, took her hand, and we headed out to find this TexMex place.
It was supposed to be close, so we’d planned to walk, but someone exited a limo and opened the door for us. A quick trip in his head showed me Gavin had told him to take us wherever we wanted, so I aimed Silver inside, and I followed. The driver nodded as soon as I mentioned where we were going. “One of Lauren’s favorite late-night spots.” A few minutes later, we were there.
It was nearly three in the morning, so there wasn’t as much traffic, though still way more than I expected. I guess the statements about Vegas never sleeping are accurate.
Silver ordered a ton of food and kept the margaritas coming — with extra salt on the rim — so she was fairly tipsy when she abruptly changed the conversation from where she wanted to go shopping.
“The thing about having a pet, instead of just playing with people from the flock,” she licked the rim of her glass and took another long drink. “I mean, if it was someone who isours, we could maybe let them see me naked. I don’t know if they should see you hurting me or ordering me around, but letting them know what parts I have could make things more fun.”
“Agreed, but I’m not sure how we’ll go about finding the right person — a shapeshifter masochist who wants to be a pet without the relationship stuff? I know there are such people out there, but it might take going through a few dozen who say that’s what they want until we find someone who actually does.”
When we returned to our room three margaritas later, I could see in her head that she wanted to sleep a long time without hurting.
I’d probably wake around five in the evening, and if she went to bed now, she’d likely only sleep until two or three. They’d offered her a separate room so she’d be in the sunlight, but she’d told them we’d be outside enough, she’d be fine underground.
* * * *
