Tallen smiled. "You look better than good. Plus, with the way the boss is staring at you, I'm sure he's going to drag you to some dark corner and devour you whole."
Des smiled shyly hearing that and looked down, hoping his cheeks weren't flushed at how happy the thought made him.
"Go on over. I'm sure he's wondering what's taking you so long." Tallen patted him on his shoulder, chuckling as he walked away, leaving Des alone. Just as he was about to walk over, someone else interrupted him.
"We meet again, or should I say formally, meet for the first time."
Des turned to the person who had stepped up beside him and couldn't for the life of him figure out who the person was or why he was talking to him.
"I'm sorry, but I think you’ve confused me with someone else," Des said.
"I feel hurt, Doctor Ellington. Ah, that's right. You aren't a doctor anymore." The man grinned, showing his pretty white teeth.
"Okay, now that you know my name, who the hell are you?" Des didn't raise his voice because of where they were.
"I'm Cassio Ricci," the man said, and Des shrugged when nothing came to him. "We met at the Celeste Grand Plaza a few weeks ago."
"I hate to be rude, but I still don't know who you are," Des told him.
"That's fair," Cassio said, moving in front of him and blocking Des's view of Othello. "How about we take the time to get to know each other?"
Des smiled, really trying not to scream and get the fuck out of his face because he needed to make a good impression on Othello's parents. Although he didn't get along with his own parents, he was taught manners, and it was rude to enter a person's home and not speak to them. Even though it was not the Romanos' home, it was their event.
"Can we do that some other time? I need to greet the Romanos."
"What a coincidence, so do I. Should we go together?" He smirked. Des really hated his smug expression for some odd reason.
"Do as you wish." Des stepped around him.
As he walked away, he felt a hand touch the small part of his back, making him flinch, but Des didn't move away immediately because he didn't want to draw attention to them.
However, when he locked eyes on Othello, there was no missing the storm brewing in his honey eyes or the ticking in his chiseled jaw. Clearing his throat, Des moved a little faster, wishing the Romano family had stood at the door to greet their guests and not at the far end of the large hall.
Fuck, I'm going to have to find a way to soothe the angry beast.
A few minutesearlier
"Oh, that's interesting," Iago said, catching Othello's attention. "When did Tallen and the doctor who operated on you start dating? I thought he was into Lucy."
Othello scanned the room, and his eyes landed on Tallen. They instantly shifted to the gorgeous beauty dressed in dark blue that made his eyes sparkle in the golden glow of the ballroom.
"Are you sure he's dating Tallen?" Othello asked Iago, not taking his eyes off Des.
"How else would he get an invitation? I didn't see his name on the guest list."
"What if he's here with someone else?"
"You think?" Iago said thoughtfully. "Oh, I think you're right. I mean, look at the way Underboss Ricci is eyeing him. Or maybe he's doing them both. I didn't think the doctor had it in him to be a tease."
Othello ignored Iago’s words and continued watching Des. He could tell his lover was nervous and wanted to go over and ease his worries, but he'd promise Maria he'd stay and greet the guests. However, Othello became irritated when Cassio stepped beside Des and moved to block his view so he couldn't tell what they were discussing.
Fucking asshole.
A minute or two later, they began to move through the crowd. Othello had put his hand in his pocket, hiding his fist, when Cassio placed a hand on Des's back. Then he looked at Othello, smirking as if daring him to do something. But he had to keep his cool for now.
The second they made their way over, Othello reached out and pulled Des into his arms, kissing him before his lover could speak. He heard gasps around him as Des's arms circled his neck, and he cupped the back of Des's head, deepening their kiss.
Tasting and feeling his lover's lips moving against his felt like coming home after a very long trip, not a couple of days. He wanted to continue kissing Des but knew they had to stop because of where they were, but with one last lick of Des's mouth, he promised that he was going to fuck him raw until he couldn't walk later tonight.
