Here’s chapter 49 of the new book, Dr. Clay, I’ve been writing since NaNoWriMo 2022. Enjoy reading. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Clay was beyond awe as darkness greeted him on the other side. He thought he already saw the darkest side of this man when he was in his atelier. But he had proven himself wrong. Again.
He flinched when he heard a ticking sound, and the electric torches on top of crystal stone skulls turned on one by one. So, when he looked down, he saw a stone staircase that spiraled down to his basement. He took a deep breath and hesitantly put his hands out to the stone walls. The air wasn’t musty. There was no creepy coating of moisture on anything. It was just dark.
“Be careful,” Valon warned.
Clay went downstairs slowly, feeling his way. The LED torches looked more like fireflies, lighting themselves rather than illuminating someone using the stairwell. While he took the time to take a step at a time, his eyes wandered, appreciating the astronomical height of the sculptures surrounding him.
And then he reached the bottom. The intimidating sizes of the Parthenon-shaped pillars welcomed his entrance. He flinched when he noticed the enormous chandelier had lit up, brightening the entire space. The once mellow orange had brightened the room.
When he reached the middle, he noticed a Jacuzzi with a big glass bottle of Chanel No. 5 standing on the stone surface. His hair stood as he came to the ground when he saw the walls with replicas of those seen in Pompeii.
Massive panels of painted images of scenes in arrays covered the red walls. From afar, his eyes caught the marbled boxes that wrapped the painted black lines arm-length-wide in width. That’s what he assumed until he stood nearer to it. His eyes widened when he realized they displayed more miniature caricatures of the gods having feasts while making love.
When he raised his face to the semi-dome-shaped ceiling, he saw the enormous chandelier hovering above the room. Its rims displayed a burning fire in an LED light instead of installing moldings. The place was exotic but beautiful. Loud but silent. Deafening silent. He could hear the drops of water from the faucet tapping down.
“What is this place?” he muttered, echoing the room.
“How do you feel?” Valon stuttered.
“Being here?” Clay paused and sighed as his eyes continued scanning each figurine placed around. “It’s interesting. Who would have thought a place like this existed?”
Valon scoffed. “Everything is possible if you’re rich and powerful. Like your family. You have more than enough money to shut people’s mouths.”
Clay walked around the Jacuzzi while glancing at him. “Why did you bring me here if you said we’re over?” He paused, lowering his face to see the details of the flooring. It was marbled, made of black granite, he assumed. “Please. Be honest with me. Do you feel uncomfortable when I’m here?”
Valon groaned and cleared his throat. “I am. How about you? Does knowing me better make you feel uncomfortable?”
Clay shook his head. “No. Why should I?”
“Do you still… like me?” Valon asked.
Clay looked at him, answering the weight of his gaze. “I still do. Nothing has changed, Master.”
Valon couldn’t stop watching the doctor roaming around his den. God, if others had only known how little he’d been wanted. If somebody would know how queasier he felt the longer he watched Clay here in his most hidden and private space.
“Wow, this place is awesome,” Clay paused and cleared his throat. He dug his hand into his thick, dark hair.
Valon tilted his head. There was something he couldn’t decipher in his tone. An achy pitch.
“And I’m going to shut up now before I make you feel more uncomfortable,” Clay continued. His eyes stayed on his face.
They were lovely eyes, Valon thought. So warm. And they held a lonely yearning as Clay looked at him. As if he was deprived. As if he was desperate to get what he wanted from him.
Clay laughed, a burst of sound that came from deep inside his chest. “How about I look around and not stare at you?” He crammed his hands in his pants pockets and focused on the floor. “Hey, this is a nice marbled floor. It matched the vibe of this place. I like it.” He flashed an awkward smile.
Valon’s body shot into overdrive.
“Why do you look at me as if you’re thirsty?” Clay asked.
Oh, God. He got that right. He was parched.
“What are you thirsty for?” Clay continued.
Then, Valon’s phone buzzed. He took his phone after it rang and answered the call. “Agatha…” As he watched the doctor, his eyes ran over, mopping a trickle of that sweat from his temple, displaying a lean forearm.
Clay walked around the Jacuzzi, one hand deep in his pocket, his head slightly bent.
“You won, Kuya. Congrats. You’ve done a great job,” she paused, sniffing as if she anticipated him to say something. But when she didn’t hear a word from her brother, she continued, “Fuck you for fucking things up.”
“I know how much I have fucked up, Agatha. But you know what, don’t tell me shit right now because I know you’re benefiting from this, too.”
“I thought you would say that,” Agatha replied.
Valon looked at Clay. “Clay’s here with me,” he answered as calmly as possible as if her words didn’t hurt him.
“I expected him to go there,” Agatha said.
“How about Liz? I bet you’re with her.”
“You’re right. Liz is with me. She’s alright.”
“Do you remember when you told me to stay away?” Valon paused, waiting for Agatha to answer. When he heard a hum, he continued, “So, what happened—”
“Look. I didn’t expect I would learn to love Liz as much as you love Clay. I understand how you felt when you had to let him go, even though you know you don’t want me to say it. You thought leaving him would make dad happy.”
At that moment, Valon’s tears streamed down his face. Although he didn’t speak in the conversation, his silence was loud enough for Agatha to understand what he was going through.
“I may not have liked everything you’d done, but you’ve done enough for me, Kuya. So, stop holding yourself back because of me. I guess it’s time for you to do something for your sake. If you love Clay, it’s time to listen to what your heart says.”
Her words stiffened his spine, counteracting any softening he’d felt. For a minute, he didn’t speak. He responded to the suggestion with a nonchalant twitch of his lips.
“Have to go. Bye,” she said lowly.
“Bye,” Valon replied, pressing the screen to end the call. As he tucked his phone inside his pocket, it was the moment he moved his attention back to Clay. “Agatha called me just now and expressed her wishes for us,” he paused and flashed a broad smile, “Thanks to me that I am alone now.”
Clay shook his head. “No. It’s not true.”
That same smile faded. “Come on, Clay. I’m not in the mood to be funny right now.”
“Why would you feel alone when you have me? You’re my everything. You’re the only one I have, too,” Clay said, inhaling deep and exhaling silent agonies in his heart. His eyes were red and teary, twitching as each drop fell and crawled down his cheeks.
Me, too. “This isn’t the right time to be sentimental. Because this isn’t great news. What we did was all part of a professional and possibly a career plan. It was a try-out to test and see if it worked or not. So, I’m not getting why. I mean, did you realize what you’ve done?”
“How about the feelings we felt the entire time? Do you think I was happy when you began avoiding me and making me feel like this terrible person?”
“If that’s how you felt, why are you trying to push yourself on me?” Valon looked into his eyes with his lips slightly open as if he wanted to express something he wanted to tell deep inside. But at this moment, he struggled to coin the words he wanted to choose.
“Because I can’t deny our connection and what we need from each other,” Clay replied.
And then there was a long pause.
Valon was speechless. He’d often wondered if there was something wrong with him.
The extended dry spell in his sex life was as much from the lack of interest in any moral thing. He had it at the least of his priorities for most of his life, though he knew he could date a bunch. After all, he was attractive and sexy.
Maybe if he’d had more dating practice, he would have been prepared for this. But when was the last time he’d slept with anyone? A long time. Longer than the shelf life of a box of condoms.
Ah, hell. The doctor did something to his brain. Somehow managed to unplug his well-developed self-control and put himself in touch with his inner fricking psycho. It was a connection he wanted to avoid. But what the hell! He had come this far. He might as well play along. “Don’t you feel too hot in your clothes?”
Clay nodded, smirking. “I can take them off for you.” He glanced at the Jacuzzi and back to him.
Valon glanced at where the doctor was looking at. “Do you like to come?” he said, then regretted it the moment the words were out because, behind his glasses, Clay’s eyes darkened. He paused and bit his lower lip. He flicked his head in that direction while sparing him time to watch like a hawk. “I mean—”
Clay’s brows drew together in a brief frown before he managed to drag his eyes back to his.
Shit. Wrong word choice. But it was late to take it back again. He had already said it. So, it’s done. Black and white. However, he hoped Clay would let this sweep under the rug or forget about what he had said.
Clay was silent, giving him a long look. His expression was a mystery in the dark. The look in his eyes made him feel like the words hung in the air. Even more, his gaze. It was firm and hard.
Valon held his breath and held his gaze without a blink until he noticed the shift on his face. Finally, sounding even-tempered and calm—the Clay he’d known.
Even though he finally allowed someone to enter his forbidden area in his home, he constantly reminded himself not to cross the line. Of course, he was a gentleman. For him, Clay was a special guest. He didn’t want him to feel uneasy. But was he too aggressive or pushy? Was he talking too much?
“Sure. I want to come with you,” Clay replied, unbuttoning his polo while eyeing him.
Valon stiffened while his eyes couldn’t stop looking at his chest revealed from one button to the next. His concentration was fierce as his eyes explored his face, arching his brows down.
Unable to resist, he didn’t feel the need to reach the last button. He was too thirsty to wait. So, he reached for him with one of his arms clamped onto the base of Clay’s neck. The other pulled his hips tight against him. He watched him close his eyes, bending his neck to the side as if he was inviting him for something more. Every inch of his skin came alive. His temperature rose. He hated the reaction whenever he was with Clay. But, like the man, he had no control over it. But was he willing to bet his life on his control?
An overwhelming possessive instinct flashed through him. With dread, he realized he wanted to mark him as his. Clay wasn’t just a muse to him anymore. He took a deep breath, drawing Clay to him. “You don’t know this yet. But you are mine,” he said grimly.
For a split second, Clay swayed toward him. He raised his hands to his face, trying to shut him up. “Always,” he whispered.
Author’s Note:
Thank you so much for spending time reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did when I wrote this part three months ago. This chapter, in particular, reminded me of those times when I sat before my desk, seemingly prepared to type in words, but I struggled to keep it up.
It took an external motivation to get it through, and, at that time, the NaNoWriMo event was upcoming. At that time, I thought, “This could be a great opportunity to try and give this a shot one more time. You’d done an excellent job with ‘The Rival,’ so you could do it, Mecyll.”
You know, it’s easier said than done because writing a chapter with a clear intent to finish it requires more than just a skill. Since I started writing fiction, I realized how much this work demands my ability to be naked and the guarantees to answer whether I was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepared to face my fears, conscious or unconscious.
So, being able to write this down meant I managed despite the countless times dancing around with depression and enjoying the roller coaster rides my anxiety provided me.
This is why I don’t know how to thank you for your support, regardless of the scale or contribution size, from sharing my work with others or buying my books. It doesn’t matter because, for me, every small act you show is appreciated.
Again, thank you, and have a great day!
If you like to support my writing life, here’s what you can do:
- Get a copy of “The Rival” Uncensored Gay Romance Novel.
- Check out my upcoming book, “Non-Native Speakers Only.”
- Find more writing tips on my website (i.e., content writing, freelance writing, copywriting, self-publishing, novel writing, and many more!)
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