Page 14 of Exchange
Epilogue
Eight months later
“Well, aren’t you Mr. Perky tonight,” Larry sniped, sliding into the bench beside Hank.
Hank poked Larry in the belly. “Darn right I am.”
Larry snorted but gave him a half-smile. “Collar looks fab on you, babe.”
Touching the steel-link collar with two fingers, Hank nodded. “Thanks. Too bad you couldn’t make it to the collaring ceremony.”
“Yeah, I toldyou a million times I’m sorry.” Larry put an arm around Hank’s shoulders. “Figured since I’m back in town, I’d tell you in person.”
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Hank asked. He hadn’t been certain Larry would come back, ever, and hadn’t known where Larry had been for the past four months.
Larry pursed his lips and glanced around the club. “So where is your owner?”
“Larry—” Hanksighed and didn’t remind Larry how much he hated Master Thomas being referred to like that. There was a difference between a Master and someone being an owner, at least to Hank. He had his freedom to the extent he wanted it. Master Thomas didn’t make every decision for him.
But Master Thomas certainly had full control when it came to sex, and Hank was all for that.
“Stop drooling and tell mewhere he is,” Larry said a few seconds later. “I can’t believe he’d let you come to the club on your own.”
Hank managed to keep from rolling his eyes at his friend. “Larry, Master Thomas knows I’m not going to cheat on him. He trusts me.” And yes, he was there, but not for the reason Larry might think.
Larry chuckled at that. “It’s not you he needs to worry about, but all those goofy Doms eyeingyou, ’cause you’ve got that sexed-up, happy-in-love look.”
“Oh.” Hank touched his cheek, not surprised to feel that it was hot with a blush. “Thank you?”
“Yeah, thank me.” Larry yawned, and Hank noticed the bags under his eyes.
“Hey, are you okay?” Hank was immediately worried about Larry. They hadn’t seen each other in months. They’d spoken on the phone and via emails often, though never aboutanything much. “Did something bad happen while you were gone?”
Larry rubbed his eyes and yawned again before answering. “Sweetie, does anything good ever cause someone to be gone for months?” Then he held out one hand. “I don’t want to talk about it. Everything’s fine now.”
Hank wasn’t certain about that, but arguing would get him nowhere with Larry.
“Oh, there he is. My, my, doesn’t he looklike a powerful stud,” Larry mused. “Has he got a really big dick? Does he fuck hard all the time, or is he sweet and tender sometimes?”
Hank sputtered and swatted at Larry’s arm. “Shut up!”
Larry shrugged. “I’ll ask him myself.”
“Don’t you dare,” Hank growled, and knew as he said it that he’d just thrown down a gauntlet.
“I see you two found each other,” Master Thomas said as he joined themat the table, sitting on the bench across from them.
“Uh-huh,” Larry replied. “I told Hank you wouldn’t let him come here alone, not with all the Doms ogling him.”
Master Thomas arched both eyebrows at Larry. “Hank can come and go as he pleases. I wouldn’t be here tonight except that I got called in to work the rooms.” He shrugged. “I like to help out when I can. After all, this is where I metmy future husband.”
Hank’s mind blanked and his heart might have skipped a beat. He couldn’t even form a single word.
Larry gasped and swatted him much like Hank had done moments before. “You dick! You didn’t tell me you were getting married!”
Master Thomas pulled a small black-velvet box from his leather vest pocket. “That’s because I haven’t asked him yet. Since you missed out on the collaringceremony, I wanted to make sure you were here for this.”
And with that pronouncement, Master Thomas slid out of the bench and onto one knee while Larry skittered up and out of the way.
