Page 75 of Sin Deep
“I love him. I want to sleep with him at night, huh?” Already? Was it too soon?
“Oh. Well. I get that. It’s just… I’ll be…alone. I’ll talk to Raymond.”
“So much chatter from a boy who is supposed to be silently contemplating sobering up.”
“Harley just told me he is moving out, Sir.”
“I know. I heard.”
“I’m sorry, Ollie, but this is—” What? Important? Saying that just made Oliver seem less important, and that was shitty.
“Oliver. I asked Harley to move in. We need each other, it’s that simple. I’m sure you can understand.” Winter handed him his mug. The coffee was hot and smelled so good.
Oliver nodded. “He loves you, Sir.”
“And I love him too. Finish your coffee.”
“Yes, Sir.” Ollie took a big sip.
“If you’re ever scared or need me, I have my phone, Ollie. You can call.” He wasn’t deserting anyone.
“Any of us at the club will help if you need it, Oliver. Or you can call Raymond. Perhaps it’s time to take a long, hard look at that relationship.”
“I—I want to.” Oliver sighed softly. “It’s complicated.”
Wasn’t everything? Harley didn’t understand how the world spun, not really, but he could handle it. Sort of.
This time instead of barking, Winter smoothed a hand over Ollie’s head. “Breathe right now, Oliver. You’re not losing Harley; he’ll be around to spend time with. How about a hot shower?”
“Yes, Sir. Please. My head hurts so bad…”
“Oh, dude. That sucks so hard.”
Winter took Ollie’s empty coffee mug and set it down, then helped Ollie up. That was more the man he knew, nurturing and kind. “Come with me, boy.”
Winter gave Harley a smile and a wink.
He smiled back, and snagged half of a cronut, leaning back and nibbling as he thought about what he’d learned this morning.
It wasn’t long before Winter was back, going straight for his coffee. “He’s going to take a nice long shower, and then we can send him home.”
“Is he—Did he just get fucked up?” He’d been there. More than once.
“Oliver is complicated, from what I know of him. I think he was probably coming off something, and he knew better than to be alone. I don’t think he would have come to me ordinarily, except that you are here, and he trusts you. His current Dom isn’t a lover; he’s solely Oliver’s Dom, so there are boundaries. Raymond may have not been available.”
He didn’t understand. “How does that work? He doesn’t love Oliver?”
“Well, he may, or he may not. He cares about Oliver’s well-being. He takes care of…a portion of Oliver’s submissive needs and gets some of his Dominant ones fulfilled in return. But that is as far as their arrangement goes, as I understand it. Unless something has changed, Oliver is free to date as he pleases.”
“Oh.” Yeah. No. He still didn’t understand. It was okay. He didn’t have to. He was cool with that, and he would ask Ollie if he needed to. Oliver couldtalk.
Winter sat with him. “Are you all right, petit?”
Honest. Be honest. “I’m a little confused, but this is all new. You were…different. It was intense—not bad. A little hot, but intense.”
Winter’s eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, yes, I’m sorry. I imagine that was—I don’t like to raise my voice, but Oliver was spinning out and needed a firm response. He needed to get out of his head. It’s not my style, but like anyone at the club, we take care of one another.”
“Fair enough. You were what he needed. That rocks.” He reached out and took Winter’s hand, kissed it.
