Page 8 of Just a Bit Captivated

They both shut up.

Aiden flushed, resenting his own compliance.

“If you’re both determined to be idiots, go ahead,” Zain said before looking at his brother. “That means you will not evenlookat men for a year. No flirting, no touching, no hooking up. And you know I’ll know if you attempt to lie to me.” Ignoring his scowling brother, he looked at Aiden. Something flashed through his eyes. “Enjoy my hospitality. I hope you like the room. I’ll see you in a year.” And with that, he stalked out of the room, leaving a tangible and rather awkward silence behind him.

Aiden pursed his lips, eyeing the younger guy warily. Gadiel looked harmless enough, but sometimes appearances could be deceiving.

“Let’s make something clear,” Aiden said.“I don’t care what your overbearing asshole of a brother says, but I’m not a sex pet and will never be your sex pet. Come close to me and I’ll punch your balls so hard you’ll never even think about sex again.”

Gadiel backed away, covering his crotch protectively.“Um… Look, this really wasn’t my idea, okay? I need to… go and digest all of this. Maybe I’ll be able to make Zain change his mind.”

Yeah, good luck with that.

Before Aiden could express his skepticism, Gadiel was gone.

***

At first Aiden thought things weren’t all that bad. He had a nice room, he could sleep as long as he wanted, he was left alone, and he was fed well.

But by the end of the week, he was bored. Very bored.

By the end of the month, Aiden felt like screaming. Just to hear his own voice.Anyvoice.

He’d never been claustrophobic like his brother Jordan, but now he was starting to understand what it was like to hate enclosed spaces. His room might be rather big, but it still had the same four walls he had to stare at all day long. The only people he saw were the silent male servants who brought him food three times a day, and those barely counted as interactions, since the men either didn’t speak English or were ordered bytheir asshole of an employer not to speak to him.

Christ, Aiden felt like he was going insane. He’d never been one of those people who were happy with their own company. He was a sociable, tactile person. He liked talking, he liked touching people. He’d always needed people around him to feel happy. This lack of any human contact and entertainment was making him more than a little anxious, his anxiety rising with every passing day.

By the end of the month, he couldn’t do it anymore.“Tell your employer to come here,” he said that day when he was brought lunch. “Tell him I won’t eat until he does.”

The man ignored him, as usual, showing no sign of having heard or understood him, and left.

Aiden plopped down on his bed and waited.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the door’s lock clicked and Zain entered the room, looking extremely irritated.

Aiden sprang to his feet, feeling inordinately excited to see him. Talking to that asshole was still better than talking to no one.

“You interrupted an important business meeting. What do you want?”

Aiden crossed his arms over his chest, hating how small he felt in this man’s presence. It wasn’t even the two or three inches Zain had on him. Something about this man’s sheer presence made him seem so much more imposing than he physically was.

“Let me leave,” Aiden said. “Your brother clearly has no intention of using me. He won’t change his mind. He seems to have some human decency, unlike you.”

“He’s a horny teenager incapable of keeping it in his pants. I’ll give it another week or two before he comes here, his horniness overruling his supposed human decency.”

Great. Fucking fantastic.

“About that,” Aiden said.“You do realize that I’m straight, right? I have no experience with men. How am I supposed to keep your brother’s interest for a year when I’m completely inexperienced when it comes to men? You would be much better off hiring male escorts who actually know what they’re doing!”

Finally that seemed to give the bastard pause. His eyebrows drew together.

“He’s a horny teenager,” Zain said at last.“Even bad sex with an attractive person seems good to horny teenagers. And escorts aren’t an option—even using the most discreet agencies is a risk. My father has eyes everywhere.”

Aiden raised his eyebrows. “And buying him a sex pet isn’t a risk?”

“Actually, buying you really was much less risky. As far as our authorities are concerned, you are nothing. Legally you aren’t even in this country. You don’t have a family or friends to spill Gadiel’s secret to. No one knows that you’re here, except for me and my people, and they’re absolutely loyal to me.”

Aiden’s stomach knotted up.

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