Page 3 of Moon Blind Hearts
“I can do it,” I reassure him. And I’m confident I can. This isn’t a one-off decision. I’ve thought about this for years, looked into the mechanics of it. I’ll do what I have to do, but I can’t stay here. I can’t be a Ward any longer.
He looks at me, and I know he sees my decision made. “Okay,” he breathes out, and reaches for a backpack. “Essentials only. Leave electronics behind.”
“You could come with me,” I try.
He shakes his head. “I’m not in immediate danger. Besides, who else is going to tell you when he gets too close?” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flip phone. “I got this to chat with Deigo without being spied on. It’s unhackable apparently. I’ll get another. I’ll call you once I do.”
My eyes well. “What am I gonna do without you?”
He smiles gently and drags me into a brutal hug. He doesn’t cry—he’s almost lost the ability for that—but I can feel all his emotion in that hug.
“I don’t want to leave you here in this prison,” I choke out, squeezing him back.
“It’s not a prison for me in the same way, Jules. Don’t worry. I’ll be able to step out of the cage soon. And then you can come back.”
I sob as I pack my backpack. Great, big, ugly tears drip down my face as I grab what I can. Essentials only. A few pairs of sensible clothing. The jewelry worth anything that I can sell. The cash I’ve been stashing away. Toiletries. And finally, a picture of me and Albie together that I have framed on my desk. That’s it. That’s all I get to take away from this life.
I wait until everyone goes to sleep, and then Albie helps me slip from the back door without the cameras seeing, the pathway we’ve followed a million times to avoid being seen. When you’ve grown up under the eyes of cameras, you learn where they don’t look fast. And I use that to my advantage now.
Before anyone even thinks to check for me, I’m long gone . . .
Chapter 1
Jules
Four Years Later
“Now, slowly slide your hand from your chest down to your stomach, feel the flesh there. Dig your nails in, a reminder of what a good boy you are,” I purr into the mic, chuckling a few seconds later as if I can see the person doing these actions. This is all pre-recorded though. It’s a scene I’m setting, not one I’m participating in live. “Beautiful,” I continue. “Look how desperate you are to be touched. No, you can’t wrap your hand around your cock yet. I want you to stroke along the edge of the base, teasing. I want you to leak for me. Can you be a good boy and leak?”
I sigh as I finish up the scene and sit back in the seat, the yawn coming out of nowhere as I finalize the file and shoot it across to the client who requested it. Voice scenes are a lucrative part of my cam business, bringing in about twenty percent of my income. They aren’t cheap, but because my brand has been built on mystery and a darker, gothic aesthetic, requests roll in. Five minutes after I send the audio clip, a message pops up along with a very generous tip. I smirk. Another good boy. My good boys definitely fund my lifestyle, even if I can’t be showy. Being anonymous takes most of the effort anyways. I can’t let anyone know who I really am. Not even the people I work with know, and my personal assistant has literally helped shove my boobs into a corset before. Yet she doesn’t know my last name.
Another email pops up before I can close down my laptop and I frown when I see the subject line.
COLLABORATION REQUEST – PLEASE WORK WITH US!
All caps. Desperate sounding. Hungry.
I click it open and read through the email.
Good evening, Ms. Vanta Vyxxxen.
* * *
My name is Cash and I’m one of three parts of The Velvet Rodeo. We’re an up and coming successful business that’s looking for collaboration with beautiful cam workers like yourself. We offer a generous profit share and a damn good time. Our stats are attached to this email so you can see our growth and trajectory as well as all our links to see some example work. These three cowboys would be thrilled to work with you out in Steele, Wyoming, for a three-week collaboration. I look forward to hearing from you.
* * *
Cash (BootScootNBooty)
1/3 of The Velvet Rodeo
I click the attachments to view their growth and raise my brows in surprise. Oh, they’re growing rapidly. Their channel is only a year old, too, but they’re doing very well for themselves. Cam cowboys? I get why it’d be popular. When I click on the links of their example work, I really understand how they’re growing so fast. Clearly, they know what they’re doing.
“Holy shit,” I whisper as I watch video after video of cleverly edited videos and perfectly taken photos.
I check the location on a map and study the city nestled between two mountain ranges. Well, it’s not too far of a drive. Three weeks is a little long, but it makes sense when there are three of them and we’d have to work out the collaboration logistics. But I can’t just do a collaboration without rules and protections. One slip up, and my family will find me. It’s why I never show my face on my streams. Facial recognition software has gotten too good and it’s not like I have a beard to hide behind. So, I wear masks in all my content or use some creative angles to make sure I’m not recognized. But if I join this collaboration, they’ll see my face, which means I must have rules in place well before we ever meet.
I hit “Reply” and attach my requirements to the email.
