Devil's Eye

Chapter 22

5' 8"-5' 9"

Erotic art? What did he mean by 'erotic'? Did he mean erotic, like, actually erotic? 'Erotic' like in the word 'erotica'? No way!

Noah was sweating and almost cried out in shame. Now he understood why his will to help made Ethan look confused a little. Morgan could've as well suggested Thomson practice French kissing. 'Do you what? Do you like kissing, and do you train on mannequins? How can you possibly learn how to kiss without kissing for real? Feel free to experiment with me. On the contrary, I, unlike the mannequins, have a tongue. I'm all yours!'

Jesus Christ, what a nightmare!

No-no-no, Noah was just whipping up tension. These were just ropes. Just knots. Who cares how these actions could be interpreted by other people. For Noah, it was something like stretching his muscles. Physical activity. That's all! His sexual organs didn't participate in this activity, which meant that there was nothing intimate about it. However, there was a smell of citrus and lavender coming from the ropes. He could smell the silicone gloves. He could also smell a vague smell of Ethan's perfume... All this weird mixture of smells was enveiling Noah, making his feelings even keener. Was there anything intimate about it? Of course, not. Morgan could feel every movement of Ethan's fingers, even though he didn't touch him, being focused only on the ropes. He felt the warmth of Ethan's body. He could feel the strength that Ethan used while knotting the ropes. He felt his breath on the back of his neck, despite Ethan's mask. Noah was writhing with these feelings and emotions so much like his nerves were fully exposed. What was the reason for that? Was it because of the tension from the ropes in his hands? Or from Ethan's quiet voice? His discreet odor? Or the silence surrounding them?

Who was Noah trying to fool?! It was incredibly intimate! DAMN INTIMATE! And Thomson, damn him, was talking about the details of his hobby like there was nothing special about it. Okay, Noah let (asked) him to bind himself due to his own ignorance; however, Ethan knew what was about to go on from the beginning. Then what the hell?! Why couldn't he say something like, 'I'm sorry, but I bind only those people I have a crush on.'? Or was he really ready to make a bondage with anyone who'd ask? No, Ethan was way too discreet. So, it means that he couldn't use just anybody. Could it mean that Thomson liked...

Noah's head was killing him because of all these assumptions.

Don't you dare to mistake the wish for reality!

It was easier said than done. What was Noah supposed to do if he had already mistaken everything in his head? He had already believed that Ethan liked him; he had already created their mutual future together, where they, of course, would've lived happily ever after. THOMSON WASN'T EVEN GAY! Probably. Most likely. Definitely! 'Devil's Eye' should've hinted to Noah about Ethan's orientation the day they met. Unfortunately, Morgan was concentrating on other things that day.

Ethan's voice sounded calm. Noah would've thought that it meant nothing to Thomson, and he wasn't into it if the ropes hadn't been shaking because of his hands.

He likes me.

Probably Ethan's hands were shaking due to the tension. Anyway, he had to pull the rope well enough, so Thomson had to use physical power for that.

Or he likes me.

His muscles became sore almost immediately. Ethan was still in the process of a bondage, while Morgan's shoulders and shoulder blades were already aching from tension. When Thomson had finally taken a picture of his artwork, a tingly feeling reached his elbows. However, it was the least important thing at that moment. Ethan's voice was humming in Noah's ears, talking about trust and helplessness, one person dominating the other. There was something spicy about it. However, Noah still couldn't understand why he was supposed to sit still like that for fifteen minutes. Why did Thomson have to dominate over Noah he also couldn't get.