Another long moment passed in silence, and Xavier trailed his fingers up and down my thigh. The pleasure of it shot straight toward my hard cock, and I swallowed hard, pushing myself to stay in the moment.
“I am,” he finally said. “Thank you.” Then he turned, his legs still tangled over mine, and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Can I kiss you again?” he asked.
I smiled and pressed my forehead against his. The sweet scent of him filled my nose, and then I brushed our lips together, taking him in for another, deeper kiss. When I released his lips, he spun back around, sighing happily.
“Okay,” he finally said, patting my knee after another long silence. “I’m ready.”
We stood together, and I took his elbow in my hand as I rose to my feet, giving him a boost. Xavier fastened his shorts, and his eyes immediately darted to the window. He looked relieved when there was no one there.
I felt relieved, too. It wasn’t like I wanted him to have to hide, but if he was as anxious about discretion as I was, I at least knew he was unlikely to go gossiping around town.
“So,” I said, rubbing my thumb across my jaw and noticing how thick my beard had already become. “I saw there’s a bar a few blocks away. Would you like to have a drink?”
He shook his head quickly. “I know you must have work to do. I feel good, and anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow night, yeah?”
I nodded. I couldn’t pretend my phone hadn’t been receiving endless messages the past hour. “Tomorrow night. And nothing too fancy, I promise.”
Xavier took a delicate step forward. His eyes looked nervous as he rose up, brushed one more soft kiss over my lips, and then stepped back quickly.
Fucking adorable.
It was almost painful to leave, but my work load was still itching at the back of my mind. “Until tomorrow,” I said, nodding my head slightly down. I hit a few buttons on my phone, and by the time I got to the corner, a Lyft was waiting for me.
I watched the quiet streets of the neighborhood roll by from the backseat. It took a moment to steady my breathing and pull myself back from the desire that was raging inside. Xavier was going to be a distraction, but I also knew that I was fired up in a way I hadn’t been since getting to town.
And just in time, too. My mind switched straight into work mode as I started answering messages on my phone and scrolling through emails that my assistants had tagged for me. By the time we were sailing along the highway and back into downtown, I spotted a few messages that demanded my attention and realized I was in for a long evening.
As the driver dropped me at the office, I popped in my ear piece and gave Zachary a call.
“You’ve got five minutes before I walk into this dinner party,” he said, answering the phone. “What’s up?”
“Not much. Just wondering what kind of contacts you have in telecom these days. We’re supposed to expanding this municipal broadband project, but it looks like some company producing routers is trying to force their way in. I need an expert to walk me through the details.”
My phone immediately chimed with a message. “There’s my contact,” Zachary said. “She owes me a favor. She’ll help you out. But tell me, buddy, why the hell do you sound so happy? Because normally broadband doesn’t tickle your belly.”
I stepped into the elevator, appreciating that it was empty. “I told you how I almost had a connection at that party the other week? Well, I finally let off a little steam.”
Zachary laughed. “About damn time. I was beginning to think you’d lost your edge. You leave him moaning and begging for more? Tie him up and show him who the boss is?”
I thought about the reality of what had happened. My hand had only landed against his cheeks six times, and I hadn’t so much as touched myself, but still, the feeling was electric. I was more satisfied by just touching Xavier and seeing his body tremble for me than I ever was by more extreme kinks.
“You know I don’t kiss and tell,” I said, stepping off the elevator and into a nearly empty office. “Anyway, go to your dinner party. Make sure you mention me a few times, too. I don’t want people to start forgetting I exist.”
It was nearing eight, and most people had gone home, but the office was practically never empty. There was always some team rushing to finish a project or a night owl on the way to a late dinner. I did my best to avoid small talk as I crossed to my office in the rear.
And then I saw Alex, the man from the green initiative that Patricia had cautioned me about. He was leaving a small meeting room in the back and parting ways with a few people from my team.
I cut across the floor and away from my desk. I hadn’t seen him since the meeting where Patricia pointed him out, and I wanted the opportunity to assess him. There had been so many headaches and crossed wires around the Baker redevelopment. I’d feel better knowing he wasn’t pulling one over on the city.
“Hello,” I said, intersecting his path and offering my hand. “Dominick Russo. We’ve met briefly.”
He looked surprised that I was talking to him but accepted my handshake anyway. “Of course. Alexander Lords. We’ve been in a few meetings together.”
I nodded to the room he had just exited. “Some business with the city project tonight?” I asked.
“More often than not, lately,” he said. “Not that I’m complaining. I’m overseeing a lot of the technical details for the basic utilities. Just lighting, electricity, gray water, that kind of thing.” He paused and seemed to assess me with his eyes. “Fussy details. I won’t bore you. How are things on your end?”
I recalled the logjam with the solar installation that had taken up a solid portion of my week. There was almost never corruption without at least a few projects falling apart, the funds and energy directed to someone else’s pocket. I had no problem appreciating a nice meal on a company’s dime and finding ways to turn work into play, but I avoided working with people I knew were pulling schemes.
