COMPLETED | Take Me Down The Rabbit Hole (BDSM | 18+)

XLII

Aspen left Aphrodite with a paper bag in hand. Leo had put the books inside it, and Aspen had piled some PR sex toys on top. Leo had assured him that the ones with an unbroken seal had never been opened and urged him to lie to Alan about where Aspen had gotten them from.
Leo had also kept the quiz Aspen had filled out with the promise that they could discuss it over breakfast the next morning.
Aspen was awaiting that conversation very anxiously.
If Alan had been able to figure him out without a quiz, what would Leo say? And would Aspen like to hear those things?
Probably not.
Then again, Aspen could accept the Silva siblings' brutal honesty. It was different from the way Alan demanded it of Aspen. Thea just had something about her that made it impossible for Aspen to lie to her, and Leo, though he was not as scary as Aspen had thought he would be, still gave him the impression that if he was lied to, Leo would retaliate with a cane or belt.
The fact that the man seemed to command people's attention enough and be good enough at fucking people into submission to have multiple dungeons across the country was a wild concept to Aspen — especially because Leo didn't seem to hold himself in high regard at all.
He probably got his ego boosted and his ass kissed by clients enough to not have to present himself like those insufferably misogynistic alpha males. He could let his work speak for him.
Could Aspen?
He knew he was a successful lawyer for his firm, but could he say the same of the things Alan would expect of him once the club opened and Aspen had finished his training?

"You look even more puzzled than you did when you left," Thea noted as Aspen stumbled into her apartment. He flinched, not expecting her to be standing there, waiting for him.
"Oh," he made. "Yeah. I just— The more answers I get, the more questions I have. But..."
"Leo helped?"
Aspen shrugged. "I guess. I'm sorry, Ma'am, I need to call Master Alan, or Spencer, and see if I'm needed over there."
Thea nodded, and Aspen kicked his shoes off before he brought his bag into his bedroom.
Upon checking his phone, he found one missed call from Alan and a text message:
This is Spencer. Alan is sick. Call me. With a phone number — Spencer's obviously.
Aspen dialed the number and Spencer picked up.
"Yo," he greeted.
"Hey," Aspen returned. "How's Alan? Do you need me to come over?"
He heard a door shut, and then Spencer responded. "On behalf of Alan, who has influenza, I am letting you know you need to stay away. At least for a week. Maybe longer, if I catch it. But I have it under control."
"Alrighty-o. But you can call if you need anything. Tell Alan I say hi. And hang in there, both of you."
The phone call was obviously rather short, Spencer hung up without a word of parting because Alan was commanding his attention from the sick bed.
And Aspen...
Had to get his thoughts in order.
He returned to the living area and took over the dinner prep from Thea, who proceeded to complain to him about how booked she was.
Aspen didn't lose a word about the phone call between Leo and his family member. He just nodded and hummed in acknowledgment and reminded her that he was there to support her however he could — He didn't expect her to take him up on any offers to help out in the kitchen, though, so he didn't offer that specifically.
"How's your Master?" Thea asked, while they both stood over the pot of chili con carne, Thea with her hands full of spice tins and Aspen with the wooden spoon.
"He has Influenza."
Thea's mouth formed into a o-shape. "You're welcome to stay a little longer."
Aspen just nodded. Maybe he should take the opportunity and take a staycation at his apartment, to get his shit sorted and his mind off of things.
"I think," Aspen said softly, "I'd like to—"
He trailed off.
"Be alone?" Thea offered.
"Yes."
She nodded. "That's fair enough. When was the last time you were truly alone?"
Aspen shook his head. "Not since I started this whole thing with A- Master Alan. It's been very emotionally demanding, but I think the realization is just... happening now. Months later."
Thea nodded again. "What did you talk about with Leo?"
"I asked him why he's not in contact with Alan anymore. I can't say I like the answer he gave me. But Leo is ... He knows things. And he made me fill out paperwork he gives to clients."
Thea laughed. "We worked on that quiz for two years. It's what separates us from our ... competition, and thanks to it, we have glowing reviews."

Ten minutes later, they were sitting at the Thea's kitchen, chili con carne served over rice, and ate in silence. Aspen could feel Thea's eyes on him all the while as he was busy scarfing down his first, then a second and third helping.
"It's good?" she asked gently, when Aspen had finally set an end to his ravenous hunger and was busy scraping the remnants from his plate with a spoon.
"Best food I've had in a while." He looked from his plate to Thea, and then said, "Your brother reads an absurd amount of erotica. He has a whole wall full of it, and what looks like a shrine dedicated to this one particular author."
Thea laughed. "And every time he tells me about Luna Luther as if I had never heard of her before. He's absolutely mystified by that woman. She barely has any internet presence, but she's been following us on Instagram since the day we opened Aphrodite, and every time Leo tries to get ahold of her for something, she... just doesn't respond. Her work is amazing, though."
"So you've read it?"
"All of it. And I am as mystified as Leo is. I'm wondering how she advertises herself because she's only ever active around a book release."
"But isn't anonymity a big thing in the kink community? And with authors especially? What if she has a day job like me and just doesn't want people to make connections."
"It's very likely that's the case, yeah. Alas— Do you want to go to sleep or should we watch a movie?"
Aspen hesitated for a moment, heat rising to his cheeks before he said, "Mistress, I want to play. Please."