“Daddy.” He pouted, running his hands up my arms. “You know I’m more flexible than just this.”
Switched up into missionary, I wanted to explore this flexibility he’d bragged about, my sweaty skin peeling away from his, only to go down hard again. His head was unable to go further back as he moaned for more. He might even have begged for more after I came as well, it all hazed together in thatmoment. I was unable to concentrate on anything but the tingle of my seed being collected. Not inside or on him, though, which was a shame.
“Worth it,” he said as I rolled off him.
“Good,” I said, taking his hand. I kissed it. “You’ve got another job.” I pushed his hand down to my cock. “You put it on; you get to take it off.” He did as he was instructed, removing the condom, tying it, and then holding it up looking at the cum inside with a big smile. “Good boy.”
“It’s a lot,” he said.
“Better in there,” I said. “We don’t have long to clean up before we’ve got to leave.”
“Where are we going?”
“Lie on my chest.”
In the embrace, I stroked a hand through his hair, trying to make sure we were both at ease and calmed. I was good at aftercare, at making sure my partner, the submissive, didn’t experience a drop. Even temporary partners needed it, the kisses, the cuddles, the soft finger paintings where it was the lightest touch possible.
“You’ll have to head home,” I said. “Then go back to New York, or somewhere. I’m needed back at work.”
He turned his head, eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “You were serious about that,” he said into a sigh. “I’m not—I—I know this can’t be a thing, but I can’t leave my mom. Not now. Not before her appointment on Monday.”
“Then stay, but stay with her. You can’t come back to Palazzo. Especially if you’re not going to quit your job. I’m serious, Kalen.”
“And you know that just makes me suspicious.”
If only he’d accepted the offer, I could’ve pulled him into the big game. Someone with his skillset, he’d be great at seeing if anyone was cheating the games. I wasn’t going to put him at thetable, he was a relative nobody. Except he wasn’t, and I didn’t want any harm to come to him.
With a hand at his chin, I pulled him in and kissed him softly on the lips. “You wanna see the shower?” I asked. “It’s got this waterfall feature. Sometimes I just sit on the floor in the dark, wondering what it would be like to live in the rainforest.”
He giggled. “I wanna do that.”
“It’s big enough for both of us.”
I felt his heart race as his chest was on mine. If he’d had any other job, this could’ve been a whole lot simpler.
Fuck.
8. KALEN
He was right, it was just like how I might’ve imagined it if I was a small animal or insect living in the rainforest. Of course, with the exception that there weren’t the right sounds—like birds or bugs chirping. It was actually kinda fun, and as he washed me with all his nice, expensive products, I was beginning to second-guess what it was I wanted out of this and out of life.
We left the loft apartment together, and the skies were clear with twinkling starlight now. I didn’t even know what time it was until he handed me my phone. It was nine. My eyes widened and I almost punched him in the arm—playfully, but I saw the seriousness on his face.
“Straight home,” he said. “Leave, and maybe eventually, when or if I decide it’s right, you can actually come back and we can spend another night together.”
My head spun. I didn’t want to be treated like I was something to be commanded away. It was almost a punch to the gut. The time we’d spent together in bed, in his shower. I thought something might’ve counted to change his mind, but he just didn’t want me around him or his businesses. And I couldn’t blame him. I’d pretty much told him I’d already tried to start an investigation into him—an investigation that would never have legs because of whoever he had working for him, and with the quickness he’d gotten the files, I knew it had to be someone high up on the food chain.
My mom was on the sofa under one of her many crocheted blankets, watching her shows on the TV. She barely looked away from it to me, just a cursory blinking glance. I went straight to the kitchen, guzzled down an entire bottle of water, and stood at the kitchen counter, contemplating life. I neededanswers, I’d always needed them, and there was no way I’d get any if I left.
“You have a nice walk?” she called out to me.
“I did,” I said. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes,” she said. “I ate with you earlier.”
“But you should have something more to eat,” I told her, peering into the living room at her. “And what about some tea?”
“Isn’t it too late for tea?” she asked. “I can’t have anything with caffeine in it. I’ll be up all night.”
