Jack Addison vs. Doing the Right Thing
“Mr. Addison… I’m so sorry to impose, but I was hoping you would sign my venator card?”
Jack thought he had it all: a powerful family ready to offer a helping hand in times of need, success and fame, and the most amazing lover in the person of Roux Chat-Bonnes. Problem is, his family would never accept a nonhuman as Jack’s life partner, so for months he was stuck trying to keep his relationship hidden. But when Roux found out Jack had given in to his father and agreed to give a speech at an anti-creature conference, Jack’s beloved chat left him.
Ashamed and heartbroken, Jack needs to choose whether he should go against what he believes in and support his Father’s cause, or follow his heart and try to win Roux back.
Deep down, Jack knows what’s right, but choosing to do the right thing is a whole other matter when it means standing against the world.
Themes: pride, love, trust, self-discovery, tolerance, fame, monster hunting, interspecies relations, deception, lies, keeping secrets, Paris, France, rejected lover, lack of acceptance, prejudice
Genre: M/M romantic erotica, horror-comedy
Erotic content: Scorching hot, explicit scenes
WARNING: This story contains morally ambiguous characters and scenes of sex that might be considered taboo.
Jack sat in his opulently decorated room with hastily made notes. How had he even gotten here in the end? He should have ditched the conference being held for an idea he despised and tried to find Roux, but if he made Father look bad by ignoring the keynote speech, their relationship might not survive. He would never spew anti-creature nonsense the way he used to before he discovered the truth, but stories about his travels could hardly do any harm. After his family supporting him for so many years, he owed Father that much
It wasn’t a big deal.
So why was his stomach in knots? Even the view of the grand Versailles gardens couldn’t lift his mood.
That was pretty clear, no matter how much his mind tried to deny facts. Ditching Roux like this and, trying to hide the truth from him made him a lousy person, and an even lousier partner. The only thing keeping his heart from collapsing was the thought that maybe his stories could shed a different light on creatures and sow the right seeds in at least some minds. Ones that weren’t completely hardened yet.
He squeezed the paper as his chest tightened again.
He didn’t want to be here, socializing with people who’d likely treat Roux like trash or with polite hostility, at best. He wanted to be at Roux’s side, stargazing and walking the narrow streets of Montmartre, cuddling into his warm, fragrant fur.
The knock on the door made him groan. Was it really his time already? He glanced to the tall window. Despite the cold weather outside, the garden beckoned him with promises of freedom.
“Come in…” he groaned without enthusiasm.
A hotel worker in a neat burgundy uniform entered, carrying a tray of food and two glasses of wine. “Good afternoon, Mr. Addison.”
Jack offered him a smile, because what was the point of unloading his frustration on anyone but himself? “What is it?”
Cute dimples appeared in the man’s cheeks when he smiled. “Mr. Addison… I’m so sorry to impose, but I wanted to treat you, and I was hoping you would sign my venator card?” He put the tray on the bed and fished a little collectible wallet out of his pocket.
Jack’s shoulders slumped, and he grabbed a pen from the nightstand before scribbling his name on the back of the card featuring a photo of him holding a whole bundle of necrorats.
He didn’t deserve the high stats he had in the Game of Venators.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you very much!” The man blew at the ink to make it dry faster, but he didn’t seem ready to leave. “About the symposium… I cannot wait to hear you speak, Mr. Addison. I’ve read so much about you.”
Jack’s lips tightened. “The reporters exaggerate all stories. I’m just a venator like many others.”
