Basic Information
Escort for a prestigious escort service that guarantees anonymity for its elite clientele.
Physical Description
Personality & Traits
Backstory & Relationships
Hasn't been free to make friends for the past five years.
Toby Carmichael never planned to become a prostitute. At twenty-one, he was a cocky Arizona State senior juggling bartending shifts, frat parties, and an ever-present buzz, more interested in free shots and fleeting hookups than anything resembling responsibility. But the night his younger sister, Khloe, showed up on his doorstep, everything changed.
Khloe had always been a wild child—strong-willed, impulsive, and constantly courting trouble. After dropping out of high school and disappearing for years, she reemerged frantic and strung out, tangled in a deadly mess with a violent cartel. She’d botched a heroin run across the border, and the loss of the supply had made her a target. Desperate, she begged Toby for help, convinced that the golden boy older brother who’d always pulled her from the fire could do it one more time.
High on ego and naivete, Toby followed her into the heart of the storm. The cartel offered him a choice: take her place for eight years, and they’d leave her and their family alone. Eight years. No real details. Just a vague promise of exoticism and sexual escapades. As a reckless, horny twenty-something, it almost sounded like an adventure.
But the reality was anything but.
The first few years were brutal—he lived in a brothel, slept on a cold stone floor with no privacy, and serviced clients without consent or comfort. Eventually, he was transferred to Chicago, where he became the property of a new handler, Joseph, who kept him on a tight leash. Toby was only allowed out of the house for jobs, and while the rules had relaxed over time, he still lived under surveillance and control. Even the smallest slip—like sneaking away for a single night—came with crushing consequences.
He hadn’t had direct contact with his family since that fateful night, but Joseph kept tabs on them—regularly showing Toby photos as a chilling reminder of what was at stake. Khloe, miraculously, had gotten clean. She even had a child now. And while Toby bore the weight of his past mistakes, he stayed in line to keep her, the baby, and their parents safe. If he ever broke the rules or tried to escape, he had no doubt the people he loved would pay the price.
Before all this, Toby had been an all-American kid—into sports, musical theater, and weightlifting. He was out and proud by high school, though his coming out was more of a confirmation than a revelation. He was popular, ripped, and straddled both jock and theater cliques with ease. But his only real relationship had been a casual college fling before the darkness took over. The rest of his adult life had been a parade of paid encounters, trauma, and emotional numbness.
Now, with years of indentured servitude under his belt, the cocky frat boy was long gone. In his place stood a man who’d traded his freedom for his sister’s life and endured unimaginable hardship to make sure she stayed safe.
Romantic Ties
Toby never expected kindness from a john. His life as an unwilling escort had trained him to anticipate objectification, not connection. So when he’s sent to a seedy motel to meet a high-paying client and instead finds an awkward, shy man who seems more intent on leaving than touching him, Toby is caught completely off guard.
That man is Landon Jenks—a professional athlete with fame, wealth, and heartbreak carved into his every awkward glance. Rather than performing a service, Toby finds himself suggesting they stay, take things slow, and simply share a quiet evening. They eat takeout. They watch a ridiculous movie. And for the first time in years, Toby finds himself wanting something more—not from a client, but from the man himself. He asks if he can kiss him. When Landon eventually agrees, something shifts. Toby’s body responds not from biological conditioning, but from real, raw desire.
The sex that follows is unlike anything Toby’s ever experienced. It’s mutual, intimate, real. And yet, that authenticity terrifies him. Afterward, when he sees something vulnerable and trusting in Landon’s eyes, he panics. He knows that whatever just passed between them wasn’t just physical—but he doesn’t deserve real. Doesn’t deserve connection. Not anymore.
Still, Landon surprises him again—asking not for more sex, but to simply fall asleep together. It’s the first time Toby’s ever held someone in the quiet aftermath of intimacy. And it breaks something open in him. When morning comes, Landon asks to see him again. The hope that blooms in Toby’s chest is as intoxicating as it is dangerous, so he slams the door on it. Literally. With a cruel jab about knowing the number and a swift exit, he leaves Landon behind.
But the mark Landon left on Toby doesn’t fade.
A month later, Toby finds himself back at that same motel, haunted by the one night that felt like more. And to his shock, Landon is there—offering another evening, no strings attached. Just companionship. A date. But when Landon confesses he wants more, Toby recoils. He’s not allowed to belong to anyone else. He’s already owned. So he walks away again, even as Landon calls after him, promising he’ll be waiting in that room if Toby ever changes his mind.
And Toby does.
Bruised and battered after another run-in with his handler, he takes a risk and returns to the motel. Landon meant what he said. A room key waits at the front desk, along with Landon’s number and a plea to call him. What follows is another night of passion, tenderness, and truth. Toby finally reveals the truth about his contract—the years he still owes, the strings he can’t cut—and Landon listens. He offers an escape, a life beyond the walls Toby’s been trapped in. But Toby knows the cost of freedom is too high. He says goodbye again.
Until Landon buys him a week. Not for sex. Not for ownership. For time. And that week becomes everything.
They fall. Slowly, deeply. Dates, laughter, lazy mornings. Kink and vulnerability. Love, though neither says it out loud. But the end looms, and Toby plans to make the final goodbye stick. One last perfect day. One last perfect memory.
Then disaster strikes.
Landon’s ex shows up, spinning lies that land like daggers in Toby’s already fragile heart. Convinced he was nothing more than a fling—permission granted before Landon’s engagement to another man—Toby flees. Back to captivity. Back to emptiness.
Until the impossible happens.
Landon shows up at his handler’s home. Not to buy Toby, but to free him. He’s bought out the contract. Toby belongs to no one. He can go anywhere, be anything.
And what does Toby choose?
To return to the one place that held more truth than anywhere he’s ever known: the rundown motel off I-55. In that small, grimy room, he finally says the words that have been building since their first kiss. I love you. And Landon says them back.
No money. No power. No contracts.
Just love. Real and entirely theirs.
Toby’s brows drew into a tight V, his vivid hazel eyes darkening. “Are you trying to get rid of me, Landon?”
Yes. No. “Of course not.” Landon swallowed and rocked on his heels. “But I don’t want to ruin your day.”
“It’s impossible to ruin my day so long as I get to spend it with you. Lying in bed holding you sounds a thousand times better than going into the city alone.” Toby took a step forward, a soft grin pulling at his lips as he reached for Landon.
But Landon dodged his touch, trying to pull off the deliberate parry as an unfortunate coincidence by skirting around the closest chair and grabbing his phone off its seat. “No, really, you should go enjoy yourself. It’s beautiful today.” He motioned out the windows with his chin. “I-I won’t be good company.”
“Okay.” Toby folded his arms in what was likely meant to be a defiant gesture, but it came across as more of a self-protective hug, and Landon’s heart constricted beneath his sternum. “You know, if you’ve changed your mind about having me here, I can plead your case to Joseph. He might be willing to give you a refund for what’s left of the week.”
“Jesus, Toby, no.” Landon tossed his phone onto the chair again and speared both hands into his hair as he paced in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. “I don’t want you to leave. I just…”
“Don’t want me around, either.” Toby tightened his arms across his chest and lowered his gaze to the floor. “It’s okay, Landon. I understand. The last thing I want is to be a burden. I can keep out of your hair until you’re ready for me. And if you decide you don’t want that anymore either, let me know. I’ll bow out gracefully, I promise.”
Landon’s heart slammed into his throat. Jesus. He was making Toby feel like the whore he never should’ve been. He was hurting this beautiful man to alleviate his own guilt and unease.
What was his fucking problem? Why was he being such an ass? How was he…
It hit him like a two-ton elephant had copped a squat square in the middle of his chest. Landon turned away from Toby, his heart thundering within the hollow cavity of his chest. He dropped his forehead to the glass, then slumped to the ground.
He’d fallen in love. Sometime between the first night he’d paid for Toby’s attention and now, he’d lost his heart. And yet he couldn’t even be sure Toby had exercised free will in their relationship. There was a distinct possibility Landon had fallen in love with a man he’d inadvertently forced to be with him. God, what was wrong with him? He was a bigger monster than any of Toby’s other “clients.” At least they weren’t wolves hiding in sheep’s clothing.
Landon drew up his knees and hugged them to his chest, burying his face in the space where his body hunched together. Toby’s strong arms encircled his shoulders and pulled him into a tender embrace.
Selfless, brave, kindhearted Toby. He’d lived through hell and still found a way to put the world’s troubles above his own.
“If I’m stepping over a line here, tell me, and I’ll go.” Toby’s voice was thick, and his words pierced through Landon’s heart like an arrow covered in poisoned brambles, leaving it fractured and bleeding.
Clutching at Toby, frightened he’d leave despite being the one pushing him away only moments before, Landon hiccupped out a sob. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Shh.” Toby placed a gentle hand to Landon’s temple, urging him to nestle against his chest. “Don’t be sorry. I meant what I said before. No response is wrong if it’s honest. It’s okay to change your mind about what you want. I certainly don’t blame you, and I won’t make it difficult on you. I hope you’ll accept my apologies if I did something wrong. If you felt pressured in some way, or overwhelmed, or… or forced. That wasn’t my intent. I thought… Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. I’m sorry either way.”
Landon’s swollen eyes drifted open as he took in Toby’s words. Fuck. He still thought Landon wanted to send him back to that horrible man and that terrible life. And yet, despite that belief, he was down here, on the floor, comforting Landon. He even apologized in case he’d done something wrong, for Christ’s sake.
“Jenks, you’re an asshole,” Landon muttered the self-directed insult under his breath, then pushed out of Toby’s hold. He swiped at his eyes in a vain attempt at clearing his hazy vision, but as soon as he’d wiped those tears away, more rushed in to take their place. He shifted to find Toby blinking at him with terror and hurt brightening his gaze.
“You are such an asshole.” Landon cursed himself a second time, then widened his eyes and shook his head at the look of dejected pain flashing over Toby’s face. “No, no, that was directed at me, not you.”
Landon scooted forward to close the distance between them and took Toby’s hands in his, threading their fingers together and squeezing. “I’m the asshole. I… I thought I was doing the right thing, but I don’t know what that is anymore.”
He groaned and lifted one of their joined hands to his lips so he could brush kisses over Toby’s knuckles. “You were right. Way back at the beginning, you said this could never work, but I refused to believe it. I refused to see the truth.”
Toby crooked his head to the side. “There’s zero pressure here, Landon. You know that, right? I’m yours in whatever way you want me to be, and that includes giving you space if that’s what you need. I shouldn’t have pressured you to let me stay. That was wrong.”
Anger shot through Landon’s chest like a bolt of lightning. “Toby, why are you here?”
“Because you were generous enough to buy me this week of freedom.” He wrinkled his brow. “And because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Landon sighed and brought one of Toby’s hands up, pressing the warm palm to his own bearded cheek and holding it there. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be either. I don’t want you to leave; even when I said I did, I didn’t. I’m… scared.”
Closing his eyes, Landon allowed himself a moment to steel his resolve before continuing. “I trust you, but I don’t trust myself. And I certainly don’t expect you to trust me. If I’d known the truth of your situation, that first night never would’ve happened. I thought I was paying someone who’d chosen that line of work. Someone who wanted to… Hell. Even then, I don’t know what I was thinking. Everything about this is wrong. You deserve so much better. So much better. And instead of giving you the true freedom you deserve, I trapped you here. I made you… I mean, I paid for this. Again. God, I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Toby’s voice broke as he pulled Landon in for a sweet, passionate kiss that left Landon dizzy and off-balance. “Please don’t think, for one minute, I’m not here by choice. I told you that first night, if I could have, I would’ve refunded you. It wasn’t about the money then, and it isn’t about the money now. Not with you. But no matter how much I want it to be, how much we want it to be, what we have can’t last beyond this week. Come Saturday, I’ll go back to Joseph’s, and you’ll move on and find someone worthy of sharing a bright, beautiful future with you.”
Landon’s jaw tightened. No way in hell was he going to let Toby go back to that bastard and that existence. He would find a way to fix this, no matter what it took. But in the meantime, he wouldn’t press the issue. He couldn’t blame Toby for being skeptical and guarding what little hope he had left. He’d lived a life of fear and pain and horrific obligation for far too long to believe it would all disappear because Landon said it would.
Fun Extras
Landon wrapped his arms around Toby’s waist, squeezing until Toby’s cracked ribs could take no more and a whimper drew past his lips. Almost immediately, Landon’s arms fell, and he stepped away from Toby with a horror-stricken gasp. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry… Jesus, I’m so sorry.”
Toby shook his head and once again invaded Landon’s space. “Don’t apologize. I want you to hold me. I want your hands on my body.” He snaked his arms around Landon’s middle and yanked him close, pressing their foreheads together. “I need to feel you, to touch you, to taste you, because I need to believe this is real. Right now, it feels like a fantasy. Make me believe, Landon. Please, make me believe.”
