Page 78 of Gambler's Conceit
“Yeah, well, I’m not his submissive,” Seven snarls.
I stand up and ruffle Seven’s hair. “Vortex, carry him into the bedroom. We’ll tie him to the bed if need be.”
“He’d like that,” Vortex says dryly. He stands up, scooping Seven into his arms, and carries him into the bedroom.
“Not if you’re pretending to be nice,” Seven says.
“Who says it’s pretending, little one?” Vortex asks as he sets him down on the edge of the bed.
Seven goes still. “Don’t call me that,” he whispers.
Vortex’s lips purse, and he glances at me before he nods. “I won’t.”
I file that information away. Seven tries so hard to protect himself, but he’s handing out all the information we need to destroy him.
I sit down next to Seven and tug on his Roi de Pique shirt. “We’re going to give you a nice, slow, sensuous massage,” I tell him. “And if you’re very good, I’ll let Vortex fuck you when it’s done, when you’re so loose and pliant that you’ll barely feel him spearing you open.”
Seven looks between us. “Promise?”
Vortex raises his brows at me, which makes Seven scowl all over again.
“You can make your own decisions, you know,” Seven says.
I place my hand on Seven’s stomach. “Lie back, Seven. You said you’d obey my orders, but so far you’ve been doing a lot of fighting.”
“I didn’t mean it,” Seven mutters, but he lets me remove the shirt from his thin frame.
Vortex eyes him, his eyes going instantly to the fresh marks on his upper arms. He doesn’t comment on the scratches, but he lays Seven down and starts to work on getting his pants off of him.
While Vortex does that, I get back to massaging lotion onto Seven’s arm. This isn’t the usual order of things—I think typically backs get massaged first, but I don’t think Seven will complain. His eyes are on my hands, like he’s worried I’m going to do something more than simply massage him.
“Vortex, will you get started on his legs while I handle his torso?” I say, placing the lotion closer to Vortex.
“Sure,” Vortex says, taking the lotion and pumping some out into his hand. He goes to Seven’s feet to start, starting to rub it into the pads of his feet and onto his toes.
It makes Seven squirm, but he doesn’t argue—even though I can tell he wants to.
I work my way up to Seven’s shoulders, and I have to move so I’m kneeling behind Seven’s head. I massage his shoulders, which are just as tight as I expected, and massage his face too.
“You really don’t need to oil up my face,” Seven complains.
I bend forward and kiss his forehead. “Of course I do. In fact, I should probably get you an appointment with the skincare specialist so we can figure out which facial lotions are best for your skin type.”
“Who cares about what kind of lotion is best?” Seven asks. “It’s just… lotion. Get something generic. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need you to make me extra pretty for you.”
Vortex starts working his way up to Seven’s ankles. “It’s not about making you extra pretty,” he says. “It’s about you feeling better.”
“Oh, don’t tell meyouhave a skincare fetish now,” Seven says, lifting his head so he can stare down at Vortex. “Do you get massages?”
Vortex snorts. “No. But maybe I should. I need it after you stress me out all day.”
I rub the lotion into the skin of Seven’s neck, where the beautiful bruises still linger.
Despite all of Seven’s protests, I notice that his cock is beginning to harden. I share a glance with Vortex, who has definitely noticed it too.
We keep touching Seven, massaging the tense muscles, until Seven finally begins to relax.
“Let’s turn him over,” I say, just as Vortex is reaching for Seven’s cock. “His back needs some attention too.”