CHAPTER 1
“Fuck off,” Benji blurted.
Jerry cleared his throat. He didn’t seem to know where to look.
In his defense, Benji thought dazedly, the guy didn’t have a lot of options: there was the eviction notice in Benji’s shaking hands; Benji’s bare chest; his puffy face, cheeks still tacky with tears. And, of course, the billionaire CFO standing behind Benji staring at the eviction notice with a cold expression Benji had never seen before.
“On what justification?” Noah asked, voice dangerously low.
Benji shivered. His cock jerked against his thong, still half-hard from Noah toying with him before he opened the door.
Jerry threw up his stubby hands. “Look, Caulfield. I’m just the messenger. You have three days to leave, that’s all I can tell you.”
“You’re not just themessenger,” Benji seethed. “You’re theproperty manager.And you can’t just kick me out for no reason!”
“There’s a reason,” Jerry said, sweat sliding down his receding hairline. “We’ve had a lot of complaints. There’s been illegal activity here. Fighting, drugs?—”
“Fighting?” Benji yelled. “Drugs? Only if you count me and Max yelling over what movie to pick as fighting, and you countcough medicineas drugs! Get the fuck out of here, dipshit!”
Noah laid a solid hand on his bare shoulder. Benji twitched. He wanted to throw him off. Healsowanted to lean in and nuzzle him like a cat.
Noah asked, “Did Michael put you up to this?”
“Michael?” Jerry said, voice ratcheting up several notches. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He glanced nervously down the hall, then back at the eviction notice. He obviously wanted to get the hell out of here. But he wanted Benji to agree first. Benji wondered how much Michael had paid him. How fast, too. Jerry hadn’t had this eviction notice when Benji climbed in the elevator; that much was certain. He’d been too relaxed. Judging by the amount of sweat pouring down the man’s waxy face, he wasn’t good under pressure. He must’ve gotten a call after Benji stumbled out.
“Look,” he said, loud enough to drown out whatever Noah had been about to say. “You might not like it. But what I say goes. So… go.”
He gave them a nod that was obviously meant to be stern but wavered at the last second. He shot one last nervous look at Noah and then left, tripping over his own feet in his haste to get out of there.
Noah reached past Benji, closing the door.
“Hey,” he said. “This is fine. Everything’s going to be okay. Hear me, baby?”
Benji’s eyes burned. Keeping the apartment was the whole reason he put up the sugar baby ad in the first place. And here he was, getting kicked out anyway. At least he had the funds to stay in a motel until he found somewhere else. Somewhere, Michael couldn’t find him.
Warm hands gripped his chin, tilting his face up.
“Look at me,” Noah commanded.
Benji looked. Noah’s eyes were brown and beautiful and so steady that Benji couldn’t help but be comforted. He wasn’t the type of guy to believe everything was going to be okay. But when Noah swept his thumbs over his jaw, he was pretty damn tempted.
“Move in with me until we get this sorted out,” Noah said. “There are spare rooms for Max. He can take his pick.”
“He can pick the room furthest away from us,” Benji replied automatically. Then he tensed, panic rising in him at the suggestion. He couldn’tmove inwith Noah. Even if it was only while he was looking for a place. No matter what Benji’s traitorous heart insisted, they hadn’t even been seeing each other for three months. That was way too much trust to heap on one guy. Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t have the funds. He could stay in a motel formonthsif he needed to. Hell, he could stay in ahotel! A fancy one, even. Noah had been paying his baby well.
“No,” Benji said, pulling back. “I’ll get a hotel.”
Noah reached for his phone. “I’ll book you a room.”
“I have the money,” Benji argued, cheeks hot. It felt a little weird saying that, knowing it was technicallyNoah’smoney. Earned through the exceptionally hard work of going on dates with the most charming man he’d ever met and getting mind-blowing orgasms afterward.
Noah’s grip turned tight. Just for a moment. Then it relaxed, fingers loosening like he was having to physically remind himself not to dig in.
“What did I say?” he asked Benji.
Benji’s mouth filled with saliva. Noah had said alot. Benji still couldn’t believe most of it. He’d been expecting Noah to spit on him, threaten him; a hundred other things that felt wrong once he actually tried to put Noah’s face to the imaginary mansneering at him in his mind’s eye. Noah had promised he’d be nice to him. And he had. He’d been so fucking nice that he’d ruined Benji forever. No one else could ever measure up.
