Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 51803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Valenti found himself hauled up a short flight of steps and onto the stage. He could see O’Brian more clearly now. The bindings they had put around his partner’s wrists and ankles were cruelly tight, and the blindfold he wore was black silk that stood out against the reddish-gold of his tousled hair.
“What are you expecting us to do?” Valenti asked, although he was terribly afraid he already knew the answer.
“Why, Detective Valenti, I thought that would be obvious. I expect you to fuck.”
Chapter Thirteen
All the air seemed to leave his lungs at once at Conrad’s words. Valenti just looked at him, hoping he had heard incorrectly, knowing he had not.
“Yes,” Conrad continued. “You will fuck each other. Or rather, you, Detective Valenti, will fuck your partner. You kissed him so deliciously the other night that I find myself longing to see more. I have provided all the amenities; you need only to look in the drawer of the nightstand to find everything you need to ... ah, ease your way. I will be recording your performance although you will not see me. Attempting to escape is useless; the glass is shatterproof, and there will be armed guards waiting at the entrance to the Viewing Room even if you should manage to break out of the box.” He indicated the glass enclosure at center stage.
I’m supposed to fuck O’Brian? My best friend -- my partner? Valenti’s mouth was dry with desire and self-hatred. The ultimate expression of his love. The ultimate betrayal.
“How ...” He licked his lips nervously, trying to think how to phrase the question. “You said yourself we’re straight, Conrad. We don’t swing that way. How the hell do you expect me to get it up and do the job when that’s the case?”
“You had better ‘get it up,’ as you say, Detective,” Conrad said grimly. “Otherwise, at the end of a one-hour period, you will be forced to watch as Thad and Brutus take turns with your partner. I assure you, they are both most eager and will have no problem ‘doing the job,’ as you put it.” A burst of trollish laughter from either side of him reminded Valenti of the two goons flanking him and reinforced Conrad’s threat. “And then I will allow them to have a taste of your charms, as well,” he continued, smiling coldly. “I assume that a forced union with your partner, however distasteful to you, will still be more agreeable than being left to the tender mercies of my guards. Am I correct?”
Valenti stared at him, refusing to answer, and Conrad finally shrugged. Producing a small key from the pocket of his cream-colored vest, he unlocked a glass panel that served as a door in the large box.
“Well, only time will tell. One hour, to be exact, gentlemen. After that, Thad and Brutus can have their fun. I assure you, it’s immaterial to me which outcome I capture on film; either one will be sufficient to ensure your silence.” Valenti was shoved rudely into the glass box, the backs of his knees hitting the bed where his partner lay. O’Brian stirred and moaned softly from behind the gag.
“How do we know you’ll keep your word and let us go if we do what you say?” Valenti asked, suppressing the urge to go to his partner at once.
Conrad placed a slim, elegant hand over his heart. “Why, Detective Valenti, you wound me. It would be in the poorest taste to go back on my word as a gentleman once it has been given. There are certain things one does not do. Did you not notice how courteously I waited until you had gotten your full rest before having my men escort you down here?”
Valenti swallowed and closed his eyes briefly. So O’Brian had been lying here bound on the bed for hours while he lounged around in the luxurious suite upstairs, licking his wounds and feeling sorry for himself. Conrad’s code of honor was a twisted thing indeed, but Valenti tended to feel he would be bound by it.
“Have you any further questions, Detective?” Conrad asked solicitously, as though they were at a cocktail party and he was asking if Valenti wanted another drink. “No? Then I leave you to your task. Let me warn you that I expect a good performance, which includes full penetration of your partner. I will know if you attempt to fake the act, and the consequences will be most dire. I abhor dishonesty. Good day, gentlemen.” He withdrew, and there was a small snicking sound as the door closed and locked.
Valenti did the only thing he could do and turned toward the bed.
Chapter Fourteen
“Sean?” Valenti whispered softly, kneeling next to the bound man on the bed. Gently he loosened the gag from his partner’s mouth and began to work on the knots that held his wrists and ankles. “You okay?” he asked, fumbling in his haste to get his partner untied.