On Contract • Lashton AU

Part Thirty Three

Ashton left Luke in the kitchen to deal with the minor wound. It wasn't even mild, not really, but should be enough to show him that Ashton wouldn't hesitate to slit Luke's throat.
Except, Ashton would hesitate. Not as much as the next man, but it wouldn't be easy for him to do.
And today had been a total set up for Luke. Mostly as a way to create a situation Ashton could use to exert his control over Luke. And that part had certainly worked.
He also knew that he would have to make it up to Luke, in order to regain some trust he'd lost. That wouldn't be difficult, though.
The blonde boy had visibly changed since the first night - he had lost a certain spark of denial and it had been instead replaced with an acceptance.
He was also of the mindset that setting Luke off to do more domestic tasks would come somewhat of an embarrassment to him.
Ashton sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It turned out that Luke seemed easier to manipulate than Ashton had first thought and that was a good thing.
When Luke emerged from the kitchen, he seemed shaken and a little pale. It took only a few seconds for Ashton to realize that this would be the perfect moment to bring Luke's mood back up.
"Did you eat lunch today?" Ashton asked, and Luke shook his head.
"Nothing at all?" Ashton's voice held a little concern - and that wasn't on purpose.
Hemmings shook his head again, keeping his distance from the older man. It didn't take much to work out just how wary Hemmings was.
"We can order take out if you want," Ashton offered, leaving Luke speechless.
Moments passed and Ashton began to get impatient.
"So? Are we ordering take out?"
Luke nodded slightly, finally saying something.
"Yeah... I mean... If you want... Um..." He trailed off, but Ashton understood what he meant.
Neither spoke as Ashton brushed past Luke in order to find a menu in the kitchen, only exchanged an imbalanced glance, one side holding confidence and control, the other fear and trepidation.