Chapter Text
“On your knees. Lick my boot.” Taehyung instructed absentmindedly, going through the motions.
The club was already busy and even though it was fairly early in the evening, a group of customers had already gathered to witness the humiliation of yet another, more than willing submissive at his feet. As a confident and experienced dominant, he was comfortable in the situation, but today, other things distracted him from the matter at hand.
Financial worry ate at his mind because earlier in the day, Taehyung had been dismissed from his day job without prior notice. His day job was what paid for the bills and the apartment, this job at the club was just a neat, monthly bonus for a bit of fun. It was enjoyable and paid well, but it wouldn’t be enough on its own to cover the cost of living. It made it hard to focus on the scene.
Casually, Taehyung slapped away the hand that dared to wrinkle the hem of his white shirt that hung on him, unbuttoned. He flicked his sandy waves off his forehead and hardened his voice.
“Hands off, slave. You do not get to touch me,” he hissed, annoyed at the slowness in which the hand slid down along his leather-clad thigh and away. Tonight was going to be one of those nights, Taehyung could tell.
The clients knew the rules – one of which was no touching the staff, since it was all just for show – yet there was always one who dared to try and grab him. The overall security at the club was good but the guards stood too far away from the stage to intervene, so Taehyung preferred to rely on his constant companion, the extension of his right arm – his favourite riding crop – for immediate management of unruly customers. Swift punishment followed for every transgression. Taehyung smacked the man’s scantily clothed ass with the thin, firm length of rod with a small leather hoop at the end. A satisfying gasp of pain left the poor soul at the administration.
The BDSM Club Sensations had been Taehyung’s part-time home for a few years. In all fairness, he was good at what he did, a natural, some would say. His job was surprisingly satisfying on occasion, especially when a true submissive would come his way. Taehyung lived for these moments, to see the look in their eyes, the peace that spread on the faces of his clients once he took full control of the scene.
When other dominants would speak of the power and the addictive nature of control, Taehyung was more fascinated by the nature of surrender and the trust it required between the dominant and the submissive. On the rare occasions that an experienced submissive would make an appearance at the club, the whole process was like a beautiful dance that allowed him, as the one in charge, to hold the submissive in the palm of his hand and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
It quickly became his addiction.
What Taehyung had never told anyone was that he actually wanted to experience submission for himself. Curiosity burned inside him to find out what it would feel like to surrender, to feel the fear and do it anyway. How liberating it had to feel. He wanted to experience the peace he saw on those submissives’ faces.
As the night dragged on, the only thing that kept Taehyung determined to be focused was the thought of the upcoming Shibari or Kinbaku bondage demonstration – it was one of his favourite BDSM tools. Not only was it delightfully calming and centring to be working with the rope, it was also the one time that he had any power over who he would be on the stage with – assuming his chosen customer was willing to participate.
It was the perfect opportunity to choose someone who was powerful, physically fit and impressive to look at and place them in a position of submission purely by the power of some hemp rope. Taehyung lived for the challenge. Sometimes he even caught a whiff of submission from people he’d never expected to be happy about being incapacitated. That was another source of intrigue for Taehyung who was curious about taking the step into the unknown in his real life, outside the artificiality of the club scene.
The only problem was the person to share the experience with hadn’t walked into his life yet. Taehyung was yet to meet someone who he trusted enough to risk it all.
The lucky individual would have to earn his trust, earn his submission – and that, wouldn’t come easily.
A small group of young men had arrived earlier. They stood at the bar, laughing and joking, having a good time. A group of close friends. One man in particular had caught Taehyung’s eye, so waving over a security guard, he sent over a request.
The man looked even better up close with long-ish hair that was darker than Taehyung’s, it had a soft wave to it. He had large dark eyes, a cute face and a wicked smile and above all, a deliciously fit and strong body hiding underneath the loose-fitting jeans and the leather jacket.
“Hi.” The man grinned, weight shifting from one leg to the other, his eyes flicked back to his mates to check if they were watching the exchange. Of course, every one of them had their eyes peeled.
“Good evening. I’m looking for a volunteer for a rope demonstration, would you be willing to assist?” Taehyung asked, keeping to a professional tone.
“Why not?” The man rocked on his heels, hands in his pockets. Cute. Taehyung gestured to get him on the stage.
“Which name do you prefer me to use or would you prefer I used a pet name?” Despite the excited anticipation inside him, he spoke quietly, sorting through his ropes.
The man scoffed a little, like he thought the idea of a pet name was funny. “Jungkook is fine.”
“I’m Taehyung.”
“I know.” He pointed at the small poster attached to the edge of the stage. Taehyung found the answer irritating to the extreme. The arrogance.
For a moment, he turned to assess the man – he was young, fit, confident bordering on arrogant, not a submissive bone in his body. “Not into submission then?” he asked blandly, in a tone he’d learnt to suitably discourage the clients. He was more interested in providing a show than anything sexual but this was often confused by the most eager of the clientele. They assumed that just because he was a dominant, he’d have sex with them. Ignorance. Domination was all in the mind, sex wasn’t a strict necessity.
“I’ll try anything once. What gave me away?” Jungkook asked, grinning.
“Because you dare to look at me without permission, submissives prefer to keep their eyes averted until requested otherwise. You should remove your jacket.”
The stranger followed the instruction and Taehyung could barely keep quiet at the sight of the glorious expanse of muscle tightly encased in a close-fitting, white t-shirt. Both of the arms were completely tattooed, as was the chest, going by the few strands of black showing at the neckline. Under the artistic swirls, the guy was fit, really fit and worst of all, exactly Taehyung’s type. He gulped. The ropes would make him look even better. With a casual nudge on the chest, the mass of muscle easily toppled back into the chair in the middle of the stage.
“I’d do much more than look if it was up to me...” Jungkook flirted, blatantly.
“Well, it isn’t, so you’d better behave or you’ll get thrown out.” Despite his words, a forbidden warmth swirled deep inside Taehyung. His mind drifted as he wondered what those tattooed hands would feel like on his body, what wicked things they would do.
Jungkook chuckled, “Tough day at the office, sweetheart? I could give you a lovely massage to relax you after hours, if you’ll meet me at the back after your shift?” Taehyung rolled his eyes.
“In your dreams.” Keeping the coolness of his gaze, he smiled sweetly at the seated figure.
“Oh, absolutely, every night,” the flirty whisper answered, much to Taehyung’s continued, and by now bordering on fake, irritation. The guy was growing on him.
The vision of Jungkook was pure temptation, thick, muscular thighs spread wide on either side of Taehyung’s legs, dark eyes full of mischief and completely without malice. There were dark promises there in the depths of the gaze and Taehyung found his breath shortening. The man was the perfect embodiment of his every wet dream. His concentration wavered and the rope in his hands fell on the floor.
It was only a moment that nobody else noticed but when Taehyung went to pick up the rope that had fallen between those juicy thighs, he made the mistake of looking up into the dark eyes, then back down to the open crotch and back up again and like a fool, he faltered, blushing, when heated thoughts took over his mind. This never happened, he never wanted any of the clients, he just enjoyed the process. But this man here...
“Don’t get all flustered on me now, sweetheart...” Jungkook teased softly. “I thought you were the professional here...”
Taehyung stood up abruptly and started tying the rope around the tops of Jungkook’s shoulders. “It was a bet, right?” he pointed with his chin toward the crowd of young men staring at them.
“What?”
“Bet was a reason why you are doing this? You don’t actually have any interest in BDSM? Do you even know what it is?” Taehyung’s words had a hard edge to them. He would control himself and his wayward mind if it was the last thing he did.
Jungkook at least had the decency to look a little sheepish. “Well, I – I don’t really know much about it.” The first hint of hesitation Taehyung had seen on him.
“Shame.” He dared a glance to those dark eyes so full of promises.
“But I’m an excellent learner.”
“I wouldn’t have the inclination to train some wet-behind-the-ears, arrogant youth.” Taehyung tried rudeness, but it didn’t work.
“I’d make it worth your while...” The eagerness shone through the words.
“My services aren’t for sale, I’m afraid,” Taehyung said, hoping to end the conversation.
“What do I have to do to get your number, please tell me. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
Taehyung stifled a smile. “Not gonna happen.” He yanked the end of the rope, tightening the harness he had created around the devastatingly plump pectoral muscles. It also held the muscular arms down to the sides. Jungkook gasped, surprised.
“Nice, hm?” Taehyung smiled and for the first time, it was genuine. Perhaps there was hope yet. For what, he wasn’t sure.
“Woah, this is actually really comfortable... So what exactly does one do with this on? If we were somewhere more private...” Jungkook’s voice dropped lower and Taehyung felt it in his spine. Damn. How could the man have this kind of confidence, even while thoroughly tied up, like he somehow possessed the power to rip through his ties like they didn’t even exist. Taehyung’s heart pulsed in his ears.
He went to check the tightness of the harness and, by accident, his fingers brushed against a pert nipple he could see pushing under the tight fabric. Jungkook hissed through his teeth, letting out a small sound of pleasure that hit Taehyung right in his cock. The dark eyes seemed even darker and more determined as they lifted and their gazes locked.
“Ever tried it?”
“Being tied up?” It took everything in Taehyung not to react when the thoughts of doing just that with the man currently so helpless in his hands bombarded his mind. Would he be as firm with his hands as he was with his demeanour? “Not my cup of tea.” He forced the words out, refusing to divulge his secrets to this stranger with the delicious glint in his eyes.
“Liar.” The small word drifted between them so quietly that for a moment, Taehyung wondered if it had been just a figment of his imagination.
Somehow, he survived without an incident. Despite the constant stare, the teasing words whispered at every opportunity, Taehyung survived the demonstration and he undid the ties to let Jungkook bow to the applause of the small gathered crowd around the stage.
His legs were trembling by the time he hid in the changing room to catch his breath. What the hell just happened? He never lost his cool like that, ever. Jungkook had momentarily brought something out in him. It was as if he’d coaxed out the other side of him, the one he kept hidden from the world for fear of being too vulnerable.
The whispered words would not let him be, all he could think about was whether Jungkook would be waiting for him at the back door of the club, like he had said. What were those promises in his eyes, what was he offering, exactly? It was impossible to stop wondering, secretly hoping. Despite his youth and obvious inexperience, what if he was the one who could unlock the secrets Taehyung held close to his heart? A yearning blossomed inside him, a want for a deeper connection with someone... Someone to whom he could tell his secrets.
Without allowing himself to think about it, Taehyung headed out the back way, despite normally always leaving by the front door. His curiosity simply got the better of him. It didn’t have to mean anything, he just wanted to know, he kept telling himself, quieting the needy voices in his mind. The promise of adventure tempted.
The second half of the club was steamy and dark, loud music played for the dance floor, people milled everywhere, nameless faces. Taehyung pushed through the gyrating bodies and walked through the tight corridor that led towards the restrooms and the fire exit. On autopilot, he followed his feet, feeling the inevitable happening.
When there was no Jungkook, he felt equally relieved and disappointed. He wasn’t allowed to date the clients anyway, so why had he even considered it? Sighing, he pushed through the back door and into the warm night, only to run into the very man he had been searching for.
The eyes were even darker in the gloom of the night, with only the distant street lights shining off them. Taehyung inhaled sharply and the clean scent drifting between them beckoned him closer.
“I’m sor –” Before he could finish his words, hands cupped his cheeks and a warm mouth kissed him softly on the lips.
“No, I’m sorry. I should have asked first.” Jungkook pulled away, grinning. “But I was always taught it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
Taehyung simply stared, wordless. The cheeky confidence simply oozed out of every pore of Jungkook, like failure never even occurred to him.
“Never do that again without my permission,” he said, quietly. His only choice was to ignore the heat on his cheeks, even though there was no chance of hiding it, not even in the semi-darkness.
Jungkook pulled out a note out of his back pocket and slipped it into Taehyung’s chest pocket. “Here’s my number, give me a call.”
Taehyung scoffed but a voice calling from inside the club interrupted his clever remark. “Jungkook, let’s go!”
“Bye, sweetheart, I’ll speak to you soon, yeah?” Jungkook winked.
The confidence was almost overbearing but Taehyung felt himself warming up to it, despite himself. This was trouble and he knew it.
The morning sun already promised another hot day by the time Taehyung finally got up, past ten o’clock. His phone was ringing.
Clearing his throat, he answered.
“ Taehyung, I have great news, someone has already requested to come and see the room later today, I can’t quite believe it! ” Hee-Jin, Taehyung’s friend and an estate agent, spoke with too much enthusiasm and vigour for his taste, it was too early for that kind of energy. Then again, she’d always been like that, even when they were younger. “ I’m surprised someone was interested with the high rate, you’d better accept them, I don’t think you’ll get many offers. He’s coming over at 3pm, be ready! ” Taehyung couldn’t get a word in edgeways.
“Okay, thanks, Hee.” The line was already dead.
Relief flooded Taehyung, he didn’t care that he’d have to live with someone else for a while if the rent from the room would help him cover the cost of the mortgage while he was looking for another job. He just hoped the person wasn’t some psychopath.
Three o’clock came and went and there was no one. Finally at quarter to four, the doorbell rang. Annoyed, Taehyung opened the door, ready with a few select words about time keeping.
“Hi, I’m Jungkook, I’m here about the – ” You could hear pin drop in the silence when they locked eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Taehyung gasped.
“Hi... I... really need a place to stay and your advert came up at work.” Taehyung had no idea what Jungkook was talking about, Hee-Jin had organised everything on his behalf.
“I guess you’d better come in.” He sighed, remembering the words of warning. Being picky wasn’t really an option right now. Jungkook was obviously employed and seemed clean, whatever was complicating this would have to be ignored.
“Thanks.” Jungkook removed his shoes and nodded his thanks when Taehyung offered the guest slippers.
“So, you work locally?” Taehyung tried to put on a disinterested, neutral tone, like they hadn’t just kissed less than a day ago.
“Yeah, you know the gym around the corner? I’m a fitness instructor there.” Jungkook smiled that annoying disarming smile of his and Taehyung couldn’t help but to return it.
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Very much, best job I ever had. I get to work with people and exercise to my heart’s content, can’t really complain. Did you know they even have a pool?”
“No, I did not.” Taehyung stopped between the living space and the open plan kitchen. “So this would be the shared space, I’ve made some room in the cupboards... there’s the TV.” Taehyung felt awkward as Jungkook was not looking at what he was pointing, the dark eyes seemed more interested in him.
“Cool.”
“And this is the bathroom.” Taehyung opened the first door on the left. Jungkook was curious, stepping towards the end of the corridor, where Taehyung’s room was. “And that – is not the guest bedroom.” He shut the door right in Jungkook’s face. “But my room, which will be out of bounds for you. This – ” Taehyung pushed Jungkook on the arm to make him move back toward the intended room. “ – is the guest room, I mean your room, should you take it.”
It was a sizeable double bedroom with a bed, desk and a wardrobe, nothing magnificent but also nothing to be sniffed at, a very decent room.
“Nice. Would we share the bathroom?” Jungkook asked, eyes dark as he gestured toward the corridor and the door opposite.
“No, I have one just for me.” Taehyung managed to keep a straight face despite the flush of heat inside him at the thought of sharing a shower with Jungkook. How would he look naked...?
“How long are you planning on renting the room out for?” The words interrupted Taehyung’s thoughts and he shook his head, trying to remember the most basic things.
“For the summer, if that works for you?” Taehyung said, hoping it wouldn’t have to be any longer than that.
“That works, I’m not sure what I’ll do at the end of the summer, I have a fixed term contract at the gym and I don’t know if it’ll be renewed. It all looks great. When could I move in?”
“If you sort out the deposit with Hee-Jin, you can move in straight away. She already showed you the contract? Are you happy with the terms?”
“Yes, it’s all sorted.” Jungkook seemed to hesitate and there was the elephant in the room that needed dealt with. Taehyung straightened his spine and came out and said it.
“Nothing is going to happen between us so if you are planning any more of your shenanigans, it’s not going to be possible for you to live here.”
“Why?” Jungkook smiled in that annoying way of his and Taehyung felt himself rise to the bait.
“It’s just not appropriate, it’s messy. I don’t want any trouble in my own home, I just want to live in peace and get on with my life. Understood?” He crossed his arms to make a point.
“If you say so.” It somehow didn’t sound like a full agreement, but Taehyung was out of options.
He reached a hand out. “Alright then... flatmate.”
Jungkook’s hand engulfed his, it was hot and calloused with a firm grip. Taehyung gulped at the feel of it around his slender fingers.
Taehyung was clearing out some space in the fridge when the buzzer rang for the door downstairs. He checked the familiar face on the security screen and buzzed Jungkook in. “I have your keycard, if you want to come and pick it up so you don’t have to keep buzzing,” he said to the screen.
“On my way!” Jungkook disappeared from view.
A few moments later, the knock on the door announced his arrival and barefoot, Taehyung patted to let him in, all the while trying to ignore the butterflies flitting inside him. Calm down , he told himself, to no avail.
“Hi.” The devastatingly cute smile encased in a set of matching sweats and a hoodie greeted Taehyung when he opened the door. He nodded, flat out refusing to return the friendly gesture. He told himself fraternising with the enemy helped no one. He had to keep his distance – for his own sanity.
He dug out the key card out of his pocket and passed it over to Jungkook. “Here you go. Don’t lose it, you’ll have to pay to replace it.”
“Thanks, I’ve got some boxes...” Jungkook started but Taehyung offered no help.
“I’ve cleared some room in the fridge for you. You can also use the small cupboard in the bathroom for your things.” He turned on his heels and headed for the kitchen without so much as a smile. He could do this. No problem. Breath trembling, he settled to cut up some vegetables for the food preparation for the week ahead.
Taehyung’s resolution to stay detached took a serious hit when his new flatmate started carrying boxes through the flat into the bedroom wearing nothing but a tank top and a small pair of running shorts, the previous clothes nowhere to be seen.
Devastatingly fit, slender and firmly muscled, Jungkook carried the obviously heavy boxes like they weighed nothing. Taehyung gulped into his vegetables, blinking in shock. This was the worst idea, ever. How was he ever going to avoid getting entangled with his flatmate if he couldn’t even keep his eyes from licking every single contour on the man’s body?
“Phew! That was more than I thought it would be but it’s all done. Guess you always accumulate stuff without realising?” Jungkook chatted away in a friendly tone as he approached the kitchen. “Could I trouble you for a glass of water?” That damned disarming smile was all over the face again.
“Help yourself...” Taehyung said, eyes firmly on his frying pan on the hob. He mixed the vegetables and added some sauce. “Glasses are to your left. The space I cleared out for you is here...” he pulled open the tall cupboard and pointed at the empty space among the neatly organised shelves.
“Thanks...” Jungkook took a long swig of the drink and Taehyung stared at the muscular neck with a sheen of damp when the muscles rippled. He gulped and turned to empty the food into the awaiting containers, counting the seconds for when Jungkook would make himself scarce. He had no such luck. The man was determined to be friendly.
“Hm... That smells so good, I’m starving... Any chance food is included in the rent?” He stepped closer, leaning in. The fresh cotton and laundry detergent smell drifted into Taehyung’s nostrils and he inhaled, greedy for it. Heat flushed inside him when he remembered the kiss.
“You’ll have to cook your own food,” Taehyung blurted, without rising to the flirt.
He placed the empty pan into the sink and walked further away to the fridge even though he didn’t need anything from it. He stared at the contents, desperately trying to figure out what he could pick out so it would look natural, hoping all the while that Jungkook would just disappear with his perfect arms and thick thighs and what the hell were those juicy pecs? Jeezus H . Breath trembling, he slammed the fridge shut and dashed into the privacy of his bedroom. Closing the door he leaned against the back of it, staring into the ceiling.
“What have you done? Taehyung, this will not end well...” he muttered under his breath.
It was too late to do anything, money had changed hands, contracts had been signed. Taehyung was trapped to spend at least three months in the apartment with the sexiest man he had ever laid eyes on.