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“Leave.” He didn’t turn his head toward me, either because he couldn’t or wouldn’t, neither of which were great developments.
“Were you attacked?” I demanded. There was no one else in the room, but I still kicked to raise the bed skirt and rolled over to check the bathroom. Empty. No signs of a struggle. “Was there a break-in?”
“No. Leave, please.” He ground out each muffled word, face buried in a pillow. “I did it to myself.”
“You did it to yourself?” Now I was seriously alarmed, my worries about self-harm flooding back in. I glanced at the empty desk and bedside table. No evidence, but that didn’t mean anything. “Did you take something? Too many pain pills?”
“Chill, officer.” Cal let out a mighty groan but still didn’t look at me. “It’s a…kink thing. I’m sober. Not self-harming.”
“Oh. Um. Okay.” My gaze continued to flit around like a hook-up partner might materialize at any moment. Anxiety retreating, I took note again of his nude state, more leisurely this time, registering one hell of an ass and a toned back with an impressive backpiece featuring a ship on a churning ocean between his shoulder blades. “Kink? Like bondage? By yourself?” Not waiting for him to answer, I added, “How do you get free?”
“You want a demo?” Even tied up, Cal managed to be cranky and commanding. And hot, although I had no business registering that. If my pulse pounded, it had to be from residual fear and adrenaline, not desire. I forced my eyes away from his ass as Cal continued, “There’s a key safe by my right hand. It’ll open in a bit and drop the key into my palm so I can loosen the rigging.”
“And what if it doesn’t open?” I was picturing all the ways in which Cal could die from this little hobby.
“Christ. Come closer, push 9292, and put me out of my misery so I can sit up and show you I’m fine.”
I didn’t need a second invitation to approach the bed and get him loose from the rope. Putting the brakes on my chair, I steadied myself enough to stand and punch in the code on the little box with a countdown timer. Thankfully, the key code worked, which loosened the central attachment point and allowed Cal to slip free even before I finished untangling him.
“There.” I lowered myself back into my chair.
“You can go now.” Scooting around, Cal wrapped himself in the camp-themed quilt from the bottom of the bed, sitting up in the middle of his messy sheets.
“We’re not going to talk about this?” I made no move to head for the door.
“No.” Cal pulled the quilt more snuggly around him, ending my cataloging of his various injuries and tattoos and one hell of a nice chest with sparse hair and dark-pink nipples. When I stayed put, Cal huffed a breath. “Sorry. Thank you for the help. It won’t happen again while I’m here, I assure you. I don’t often do this.”
“I’m not worried about what you do when you’re alone. Jerk off all you want. Watch porn. Enjoy the good Wi-Fi and privacy. And I’m sorry that I and the smoke alarm interrupted your solo time.” I tried to counter his stiff, formal tone with relaxed concern and humor. “But I’m worried about you. Are you okay? Safe?”
I wasn’t sure precisely how to inquire about Cal’s mental state, and from the looks of his tight-lipped frown, I’d missed the target.
“I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.”
“It’s natural to be a little embarrassed and awkward, but we need to talk about this. I can’t pretend I didn’t see.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” Cal gave a long-suffering groan. “And you could pretend you saw nothing. That would be appreciated. I like what I like as far as getting off. Have you never known anyone kinky before? You’re awfully close to pearl-clutching and calling for the manager at the horror of someone liking a little rope.”
“I’m not a prude.” I held up my hands, trying to relax my body language more. I didn’t want to kink shame. I only wanted Cal safe. “And sure, I know kinky people. I have a few turn-ons some might find kinky myself. I’m only trying to understand why you’d do something potentially risky solo?”
“Okay. Apparently, we’re having this conversation. One, I don’t play the hook-up game, even for kink. I tried once and…” Trailing off, Cal wound a fistful of the quilt around his fingers, and my heart twisted. I wasn’t a violent dude, but the idea of someone hurting Cal had all my protective instincts awake and growling.
“It’s all right. You don’t have to tell me details.” I kept my voice soothing even though that protective part of me wanted names, dates, and addresses.
“No, nothing happened. I chickened out. Deleted the app. That’s the thing. Can’t trust strangers for the sorts of things I like. And like I said the other day, I do pining much better than random lust anyway.”
