Will and Pleasure

Jake stuck his nose into the pages of the book and pretended to read. It was an excuse so he didn’t have to deal with the men in black suits sent to fetch him.

Well, snatch him was more like it, for that was what they did after they interrupted his class and asked the lecturer to see Jake. Once Jake set foot outside the classroom, he they grabbed him and escorted him to his parents’ limo. Only after he was tucked safely inside did the men spill the news. Jake’s father had passed away the day before and they were taking him home for the funeral. Jake was unprepared for such terrible news, not that he felt sad about it. His father had mostly ignored him. Welther Sr.’s silence regarding the decline of his health was unremarkable, and Jake was surprised that he was summoned home. He didn’t think his older brothers, Craig, Seth, and Tony, deemed him important. A mother’s darling, that was what they called him, an epithet Jake never attempted to deny. After all, he didprefer going home to her small house.

Someone cleared his throat and said, “We’re here, Master Jake.”

Jake blinked and looked out the filmed window of the limo as it glided smoothly down the driveway leading to the main door of his late father’s house on Hollywood Hill. Jake reluctantly entered the mansion. Welther Sr. was a lawyer and thanks to those over-the-top actors and actresses, Jake’s father could afford all the luxuries.

Again, one of the bodyguards interrupted his train of thought. “They are waiting for you in the library.”

Jake glared at him. He wasted no time, though. He wanted nothing more but to finish this discussion with his brothers. Then he would flee to his mother’s house and only return for the funeral

* * * *

Jake’s eldest brother, Craig, opened the door. His eyes were red from crying as he threw himself into Jake’s arms. Jake scrunched his nose, not hiding his repugnance at his brother’s exaggerated act. He knew his brother, and to believe he genuinely grieved over their father’s passing? Never. And what did he expect—that Jake shared his feelings? If so, he must be the most dim-witted person on earth.

“Come on.” Jake pushed Craig away from him. “What’s up? Why did you insist I have to come here?”

Craig sighed, still putting on the act, squeezed his brother’s elbow as he escorted him inside. He also feigned confusion.

“Ah, Jake. You know…it’s all about Father’s will and such.”

“I’ll take whatever I get,” snapped Jake. “Or whatever I don’t get. In fact, I’ll gladly throw away everything he decided to give me. I swear it. You should’ve just given me a call.” He glared and pushed away from Craig. “You know he hated me and never wanted me around. Well, the feeling was mutual.”

“Don’t be too hasty,” Craig said in a low voice as he shoved the heavy library door closed. “You’ll change your mind once you see this.”

“Wha—”Jake froze.

A young man, much younger than he, knelt in the middle of the library. The man was naked but for a loincloth covering his crotch and ass. His hands were bound behind his back and his head was bent low. His skin was very pale, so pale that Jake could see the blue veins. And his back—Jake swallowed hard when he noticed faded scars on the man’s back.

Jake voice was shaky. “What’s the meaning of this? Who is he?”

His brother Seth rose from the couch where he’d been lounging. His other brother, Tony, stayed on the couch, showing no interest in what was going on around him.

“Why, Jake? Don’t you feel yourself stir at this sight?” Seth smirked, nodding toward the young man. “Can’t you see? Father loved us so much he left his precious thing to us. Can you see why we loved him so much?”

“What do you mean ‘his precious thing’?” Jake fought the urge to throw up. He groped blindly sideways, grateful as he clutched the wooden slab of the nearest bookshelf.

“Yeah. Father’s precious thing. You know how generous he was…”

No, I don’t.

“And how he always wanted to share what he had,” Seth almost purred. “But not this!” He seized a handful of the young man’s hair and jerked.

Jake gasped at the porcelain-smooth column of exposed neck and the stunning blue eyes. He saw spark of apprehension there but it was soon hidden behind indifference and—even—was that defiance?

“Father would allow no-one to touch even one hair,” Seth continued. “He was kept constantly in father’s room, all day and all night. He ate, showered, slept, pleasured Father, you name it, inside.” That explains why he is so pale. He felt hypnotized by the intense gaze the guy was giving him. He forced his eyes away and faced Craig, who’d been jabbering on all the while.