Skeletal Equation by AE Lister
General Release Date: 26th October 2021
Word Count: 30,378
Book Length: SHORT NOVEL
Pages: 135
Genres:
BONDAGE AND BDSM, CONTEMPORARY, EROTIC ROMANCE, GAY, GLBTQI, HALLOWEEN, MÉNAGE AND MULTIPLE PARTNERS
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Book Description
What do medical kink, pup play and Halloween have in common? Scott Vernier. A visit to the local leather bar offers an unexpected treat!
Scott Vernier is lonely and bored, but he’d rather sit at home and mope than go out. A promise to a friend forces him to attend the annual Halloween party at Sonny’s, his local leather bar. Amid the tacky costumes and seasonal desperation, Scott meets two people he never expected to encounter.
Can a man well-versed in medical kink and his leather-pup boyfriend introduce Scott to a whole new world of illicit pleasure?
When Dr. Jericho Griffin gets down to business, Scott finds himself responding in explosive ways.
Reader advisory: This book features discussion only of scat, enemas and needle play. There are scenes of pup play and a scene involving voyeurism.
I turned and made my way to the stairs. Nobody had gone up as far as I’d noticed, and now I was very curious which group had booked the space. Sonny’s catered to all sorts of fringe fetish groups, since the top level was intimate and secluded. I’d been up there once for a medical-kink demonstration—my only ‘slightly fringe’ interest. The people involved had been friendly and informative, although I’d never had the opportunity to follow up. Maybe it was the same group there tonight.
As I crested the narrow staircase, the loud music from below faded and I gazed into a dark, dimly lit space with a scattering of men drinking on their own, as they casually watched another group of—I narrowed my eyes—Oh, no.
Were those…leather pups?
I almost turned and went back downstairs. Sure enough, my gaze fixed on a sign with a large red bone over a black-blue-and-white-striped background—the official symbol for the gay leather pup community.
I’d heard about them. I’d seen photos online and the Pride Parade always contained a small contingent. But I didn’t get it. Why would grown men want to dress up as dogs and chase balls around? Even if those balls were attached to another man, it just seemed silly.
But I’d promised Duke that I’d make an effort to get over myself, so I resisted the urge to flee and moved forward into the room. I could at least observe the pups from a scientific, sociological point of view. I had a master’s degree in anthropology, for heaven’s sake. I should be able to approach all sorts of fringe groups with objectivity and an intellectual interest.
As I moved closer to the cordoned-off area, I casually observed the men who were standing around, not dressed as pups. They seemed harmless, and at least they weren’t in costumes. Although one guy, about my height and with a slim build and messy brown hair, had made an effort by slinging a stethoscope around his neck. I appreciated his minimal attempt to comply with the costume party more than any of the die-hard guys on the floors below. I raised my beer as I passed him.
“Great costume.”
He grinned and nodded at my glow-in-the-dark shirt.
“Same to you.”
I appreciated that he kept leaning casually against the wall and didn’t immediately think I was coming on to him. A person had to be careful in these places. One innocent comment could lead to a quick misinterpretation and a heavy-handed invitation to screw in the basement. Maybe I wasn’t forty yet, but my days of fucking in hallways and bathrooms were a long way behind me, and I didn’t care to revisit them.
As I moved closer to the pup mosh pit, I had to give the group props on the set-up. There was a metal chain fence sectioning off the space, with a gate in the center that could be opened and closed to let people in and out. The vinyl floors in the fenced-off area had been covered with gym mats so the pups could move around without hurting their knees and wrestle without bruising each other when they fell over. Dog toys, such as rubber balls, bones and ropes had been strewn about the space, and a few large bowls at one end held water. One bowl held some kind of cereal, if not real dog food.
I doubted it was dog food. I hoped it wasn’t. A person could break a tooth on that stuff. Don’t ask me how I know.
There were five leather pups in the mosh pit, and I determined to observe them with a scientific detachment, because it looked silly to me at first glance. But I had to admit they were fully invested. A range of body types were represented, and the men acted like real dogs, sniffing each other’s privates, growling, barking and rolling onto their backs in submission when a more dominant pup approached.
It was interesting to see men behave in such a primal way, and I supposed that was the attraction. A person couldn’t go around sniffing other guys’ asses and dicks in public, even if they wanted to—not that I’d wanted to. But I could admit to seeing the appeal of connecting on a purely physical and chemical level, without words to get in the way.
I moved toward the wall, finding a tall table where I could set my beer and stand close enough to observe but not get involved. Nobody approached me, which I appreciated, and it was nice to hang back in relative quiet and watch.
I found myself drawn to the leather pups whose body types were to my taste and who seemed like more dominant players, as opposed to the submissive ones who rolled over at the slightest approach and made a travesty of the wrestling matches, giving in right away and making it sexual—although I had to admit I didn’t exactly hate that, either. They were highly charged interactions, enhanced by the use of the intricate pup hoods that hid the faces of the men and turned them into mysterious canine beings. As a teacher of anthropology, I could appreciate the ritualistic function of using an animal persona to enhance the human one. But as a gay man—or rather pansexual person—it still seemed foolish and, well, not exactly dignified. Again, my British heritage was showing, but there was nothing I could do about that.
I took a swig of my beer and let my gaze swing around the room.
Almost immediately I locked eyes with the man with the stethoscope. He must have been watching me. I didn’t mind, and I let my gaze drift over him, appreciating the way his jeans and black button-down shirt looked on his slim body and the subtle curl of his dark hair. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes in the dimness. When he smiled at me, I smiled back.
Maybe the pups didn’t tempt me, but this guy was another story. Was the stethoscope a signal that he was into medical kink? I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to explore that with another person. Maybe this man, who, like me, had thrown on the bare minimum in costuming for a Halloween night at Sonny’s, would be able to offer it.
My evening had begun to improve, and I felt a small burst of excitement in my gut as he pushed off the wall and moved toward me.
He sauntered over, not in a rush to reach me, and when he did, he put his beer on the table beside mine and shoved his hands in his pockets, nodding at the pup mosh.
“Nice set-up,” he commented.
“Yeah,” I said.
I didn’t really want to talk about the pups, though.
“I, uh, like your stethoscope.” I tried to make that comment sound as dirty as possible.
He cocked his head to the side. “You do, do you?”
I blushed. “I do.”
“Well, you see, I’m a doctor, so…”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
He laughed. “Well, just for tonight.”
“Oh. You had me for a second.”
His gaze traveled down my chest and belly and legs. “I’d like to have you for longer than a second, if you’re at all interested.”
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AE Lister 
AE Lister/Elizabeth Lister is a Canadian non-binary author with a vivid imagination and a head full of unique and interesting characters. They have published 10 books, one of which received an Honorable Mention from the National Leather Association – International for excellence in SM/Leather/Fetish writing.
“Sensual and visceral BDSM.” – Amazon.ca
Find out more about AE Lister at their website, and follow them on Instagram and Patreon.
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