being that obvious.”
Zen chuckled. “Don’t ever play poker.” He leaned forward a bit and patted Braylin’s knee, before relaxing against the sofa arm again. “It’s all right. I like that you aren’t crafty. You seem like an honest young man.” Zen rubbed his head. He was fading a bit, tired from the boisterous performance he’d given. But now that he had Braylin alone, he wasn’t going to let him go until they’d made some progress toward understanding each other. “So, fill me in.”
“It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Don’t care. I’m not gonna laugh or make fun. I have too much respect for you to ever do such a thing.”
Braylin lifted his gaze. “Yeah?”
Zen stared into Braylin’s beautiful sea green eyes and smiled. “Yeah. Can I give you a little help? If I’m not being too bold.”
Braylin shook his head. “You’re not. And sure. I can use all the help I can get.”
Zen laughed. “I don’t know about that. But what I’m thinking is that you got upset by Sal’s rant on the opening night of the tour. Am I right?”
Braylin sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. But I know it’s stupid for me to feel that way,” he quickly added. “It’s not as if, you know…” He lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “as if you’d ever be interested in me.” Braylin cleared his throat. “Like that.”
“What if I am interested?” Zen arched his eyebrows.
Braylin’s jaw went slack but then he snapped it shut. “You mean to fool around with while we’re on tour, right?”
Zen leaned his elbow against the back of the sofa and propped up his head with his fist.
“Not the way you’re thinking, or Sal was saying. I’m interested in pursuing more. See where things go—if my lifestyle is one you think would appeal to you.”
Braylin blinked several times. “Oh. I-I don’t know what to say.” He licked his lips and Zen held in a groan. “You mean all the kinky stuff, right? I wasn’t sure if all that was true, exaggerated in the press or only part of the act.”
“Some is. A lot isn’t. And the kinky stuff isn’t just about getting freaky. I’m a Dom, baby. What do you know about the BDSM lifestyle?”
This time, Braylin’s wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression was so comical, it took all of Zen’s self-control not to burst out laughing.
“Like that Christian Grey guy?”
Zen snorted. “Never seen that flick, but I’m doubting it. However, you’re on the right track.”
He reached out to Braylin, the movement slow as he took a chance at brushing a few strands of Braylin’s shoulder-length brown hair back from his cheek. Zen resisted frowning as he noted his boy’s hair was a bit damp. They needed to continue their conversation before Zen went full-Dom. But he did consider the moment a small victory when Braylin didn’t recoil from his touch.
“Um, okay.” Braylin noticeably swallowed again. “I guess I don’t know much, but I’m going to assume you’d want to…” Braylin frowned. “What would you want to do?”
“Explore, baby. Connect with you on the most intimate level possible, and not only through sex. Guide you, protect you, care for you. Delve into your kinky side and help you discover your inner truth. Be your Dom with you as my boy. My only boy, I need to add.” Zen combed his fingers through Braylin’s hair. “Sal said what he did because he could sense our attraction. The dude isn’t happy unless he’s destroying either his own life or someone else’s.”
“So, he was lying?”
“Not entirely. I’m not gonna lie to you ever. That’s one of the promises a good Dom makes to his boy, one he keeps no matter what. Yeah, I fucked around with a lot of guys early on. When we hit it big, it was too easy to find willing groupies who wanted a night with Zen Diamond. I wasn’t attached, never set out to break hearts. Other than one roadie who got obsessed after the tour was over, everyone I messed with was fine with us having a good time and nothing more. I don’t use people, don’t play like that.”
“Oh, wait.” A light of understanding sparked in Braylin’s eyes. “Was that the guy who stalked you? I remember reading about that.”
“Yeah. Turned out he wasn’t truthful with me in the beginning, thought he could make me fall in love with him or something even as he was telling me he wasn’t interested in anything else.” Zen scooted a bit closer to Braylin. “Look, I get it. Sometimes you get