He wipes his face and shakes his head. “It’s nothing. It’s just … Everything’s about to change. Whether the Syndicate accepts us is one thing, but accepting what I did with Emily? They won’t come around as easily for that. We’ll be fortunate if there isn’t a fucking coup after this.”
“There won’t be any coup, Aron. We’ll be okay. We’ll talk with my officers, devise a plan for taking out Mom and Emily, and we’ll move on. You’ll see.” I grab his hand and pull him off the mattress. “Come on. We’re both filthy after last night. Come take a shower with me.”
He follows my lead, and for a few moments, I can almost pretend we’re back to normal. Well, whatever normal was after Javier’s attacks, that is.
In the shower, Aron kisses me, wrapping his hand around my shaft and slowly stroking me.
“Let me suck you off, baby. I want to look in your eyes as you come down my throat.”
I brush my fingertips across his cheek. “Are you sure? Especially now, when we just learned why Emily and I have the same color eyes.”
“I need this, Matt. I need you in my mind when I come. Every time.”
Dear God, there’s not a word in the English language to describe the rage I feel at Aron’s agony.
Aron doesn’t give me a chance to protest further; he kneels down and dives right in, using his lips and tongue to finish getting me hard again. I dig my fingers in his hair as he sucks and bobs, and, true to his word, his eyes never leave mine. The water beads on his dark lashes, and he blinks against the spray, but he never averts his gaze.
When I come, the corners of Aron’s lips twist around my cock in a grin. He swallows hard before pulling off with a littlepopas the suction releases. He rises to his feet and kisses me with such passion that my eyes widen in shock.
“Always you,” he murmurs as he presses his forehead to mine.
Much as I hate to break the spell of this moment for Aron, I know we’ve got to get out and dress before we wind up wrinkledand pruny. The shower took longer than I’d anticipated, and we need to be presentable when we meet with my officers. I reach around him to shut off the water, opening the shower door and grabbing the nearest towel.
Once we’ve dried off and dressed, I look at Aron to see if he’s ready. What I see, though, shocks me so much that I freeze.
His suit—one of his old ones, from my closet—drapes funny, emphasizing a weight loss that I had not noticed before. Has the stress from recent events affected him that much? I realize I haven’t seen him eat much lately. Unless I’ve cooked for him, he hasn’t really eaten more than the bare minimum to survive … and those were the times I was with him. Was he eating while he was with the Empire? God, I’m a terrible boyfriend for not noticing this sooner.
Pressing a button on my intercom, I buzz for the guard on duty. A voice that I don’t recognize answers, and I remember that Aron killed Rico.
“Yes, Don Matteo?”
“The meeting in my office … I want it catered. Full spread.”
There’s a moment’s pause.“Um … Don Matteo, the meeting is in ten minutes.”
“Then you have ten minutes to arrange for food.”
“Y-yes. Of course, Don Matteo.”
Aron frowns. “Why the sudden order?”
I try to smile, to hide my fear, but I doubt he’s fooled. My hands tremble as I straighten his tie for him. “You need to eat.”
“Guards don’t eat at the meetings. You know that.”
“You’re not a guard anymore. You’re … something more.” What would Aron’s title be? Are there such things as co-dons in our world? “My equal.”
Rather than making him happy, my statement only deepens his frown. “Matt, if you say that at the meeting, they’ll fucking riot. Second in command, next in line, whatever else, but if wecome outanddeclare me your equal—Matt, they’ll murder us both.”
Too late now. I’m committed to this. “They won’t. Not if they know what’s good for them.”
“We’re good, Matt, but we can’t take out your entire officer line without getting slaughtered ourselves in the process. Do you really think even one of them will let us live if we go in there as gay men, let alone as equal rulers of the Syndicate?”
“We have to do this, Aron. Otherwise, we’ll just spend the rest of our lives hiding and pretending. That’s not a life; it’s a sentence. I’d rather live out and proud with you at my side than subject us to that kind of existence again.” I place my hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “We’re doing this. You’re not going to talk me out of it. From now on, it’s you and me or nothing.”
Chapter 4
Aron
