Free Screwing the System by Josephine Myles Page A

screen below the phone’s default black-and-white silhouette. He should have taken a photo when he had the chance, but wouldn’t that be more torture, seeing that gorgeous face staring out at him?
    To ring or not to ring? He could make it sound like a casual check-up on how Cosmo was doing. Ask if he had any questions about what they’d done. It was a responsible Top’s duty, really. Trouble was, Cosmo would know he was full of shit after the way they’d parted. Not that Alasdair had said anything he regretted, but he’d seen the hurt radiating from every inch of Cosmo’s slouched body.
    What he really owed him was an explanation, but that meant going into the whole Jon thing, and he really wasn’t ready to talk that through with anyone yet. Seeing as how it had been fifteen years now, he was forced to conclude perhaps he never would be ready.
    Alasdair heaved a deep breath and lifted his gaze to the scene outside the window. He could see West Wycombe Hill from his office, rising in the distance over the urban sprawl of the valley below—the golden dome from the church on the top gleaming in the sunlight. Maybe it had been a stupid idea, taking on these premises with that reminder of his first night with Jon always in sight.
    But it had given him some measure of solace, hadn’t it? Shame it didn’t seem to working anymore.
    Screw it. He needed to take some action. Right. Alasdair pressed Dial before he could second-guess himself and turned his back on the view. As the phone rang, he fixed his gaze on the spot of carpet where Cosmo had knelt during his interview. All the better for getting into the right mindset for dealing with an insolent brat.
    “Hello?” Cosmo’s greeting sounded unusually cautious, but maybe he always answered the phone that way.
    “Hi. It’s Alasdair.”
    A sharp intake of breath. “Right. And I should care why, exactly?”
    Alasdair chose to ignore the attitude. “We need to have a debriefing session about last weekend. See if you have any questions about what happened. A first scene can be pretty intense for a novice.”
    “De-fucking-briefing? Are you serious? Coz the only kind of debriefing I’m interested in with you is out of the question now.”
    “And why is that exactly?”
    “Because you acted like an arsehole and turfed me out?”
    “Are you somewhere we can talk about this right now?”
    “Give me one good reason why I should.”
    “Were you in any way unsatisfied with the sex?”
    The line went quiet at the other end. Alasdair waited Cosmo out. He wasn’t going to show weakness by repeating the question.
    Eventually it came. “No. The sex was just fine.” The grudging tone betrayed just how very fine it had been.
    “You don’t have any concerns about your reaction to pain?”
    “Nope.”
    This was going nowhere fast. Alasdair tried a different tack. “What was your favourite part of what we did together?”
    He didn’t think he was going to get an answer this time, but eventually it came in a low, throaty whisper. “The spanking was amazing. And afterwards, when you fucked me, I could feel it again, every time you slammed into me.”
    Alasdair stifled a groan. Oh yes, he could feel it too. The heat of Cosmo’s body clenching around him. “And what about the power dynamic. How did you feel about taking orders?”
    “I don’t know. I mean, it was good while we were fucking, but I wouldn’t make a habit of it. Outside of sex, that is.”
    Interesting. “So you’re curious to explore this further?”
    “Maybe. I dunno… Oh, what the fuck. Yeah, okay, I want to find out more. Happy now?”
    “Only if you are.” Alasdair fought back the grin trying to work its way into his words. “Listen, could we meet up again on Friday night? We can discuss this in more detail. Talk about your limits and what sort of things you’re interested in trying. I can come up with a set of questions for our appointment.”
    “Great. An appointment. Do you ever switch off