Gilded Agony

by K. A. Merikan

  The man was bigger than him, definitely older—at least thirty—and when Mark leaned back into the firm chest, it was as if his body lit up with fire. The stallion shifted gently under their weight, powerful and yet so tall that sitting on it was intimidating, despite the steadiness of the rider whose arms rested by Mark’s sides to grab the reins.

  Something told Mark he’d be bottoming tonight, and even though it had been months since the last time, he would forget all his troubles with this man on top of him.

  “I’m Mark.”

  The strong arms tightened on either side of Mark, and when his soon-to-be-lover nudged his mount, the horse moved forward, making Mark lean back when for a moment he feared he’d fall off.

  Long hair tickled his neck before the scruffy chin did.

  “Diego.”

  Chapter 4 - Seth

  Seth’s head wouldn’t stop rhythmically pounding no matter how hard he pressed it into the pillow. He reached to the side without thinking, but Domenico wasn’t there. Loud voices kept assaulting him from the corridor through the open door, but he couldn’t work out what the argument was about.

  He slowly sat up in the silky sheets and thanked the kind soul who had put water and pills on his bedside table. He quickly swallowed and rolled out of bed despite the ache in his muscles.

  “What was I supposed to do!?” Mark yelled.

  And Dom followed. “Not fuck her!”

  Not this again. Not another one of Mark’s sexcapades gone wrong. What did he do this time? Bed one of the priest’s illegitimate daughters?

  Mark let out a hopeless grunt. “She invited me into her house, and then bent over in a mini skirt to pick up sodas from the fridge. And she had no underwear. You don’t do that if you don’t want to fuck!”

  “Oh, spare me the gory details,” Domenico barked in distaste.

  “My point is that she’s the one in a relationship. I’m not the keeper of her marriage.”

  “Oh, that’s just brilliant. Wonder what you’d have said if you were in Bueno’s position. If someone laid their little fucking finger on my husband, they would be as good as dead,” Domenico roared so loudly his voice made Seth flinch while he was taking a leak, and he almost pissed on the floor.

  He washed his hands and face to feel that tiny bit fresher, and walked out into the corridor in last night’s jeans. “What’s this racket about?”

  Mark glared at him as if Seth were a fly he wanted to swat. “It’s nothing.”

  Both men let their eyes linger on him, and having seen the reflection of his pale, puffy face in the mirror, Seth knew exactly why there was pity on their faces.

  Domenico took a whole second to recuperate and went straight back into the conversation, without taking his gaze off Seth. “It’s not nothing. Mark fucked a middle-aged lady, who happens to be the wife of a government official whom he had to visit last night. And so the husband found out his wife is banging our son.”

  Seth crossed his arms on his chest and shook his head. "Ooh… That's not good, Mark. Not good at all.”

  Mark spread his arms. “Like neither of you ever fucked someone’s husband?”

  Seth rubbed his forehead. It was far too early for this kind of brain sudoku. “Dom technically did.”

  Domenico’s face soured. Seth was aware that technically Dom had fucked many married men, by his own account, but he was now likely thinking about the same thing as Seth.

  “The marriage is void if either of the parties is forced into it. And Lucrezia had it officially annulled, too.”

  “So… what happens now?” Seth asked and started walking downstairs in hope that the others would follow. The kitchen was calling his name.

  Domenico walked behind him. “Nothing. Mark’s gonna pay for an apartment for her, so that she and her husband have some time to think.”

  “He won’t retaliate against Mark?” Seth looked back at their all-grown-up son and got himself another glass of water as soon as they reached the kitchen.

  Mark only had a frown for Seth. “I’m not a child. I don’t need to be protected. If Bueno comes after me, I’ve got a bullet with his name on it.”

  Seth rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you the tough guy.”

  Domenico’s face eventually stretched into a smirk. “I mean… I don’t agree with what he did, because that man works with us, but the truth is that Bueno can’t really do anything. It’s more of a PR problem.”

  Mark seemed happy enough with that and grabbed an orange from the basket on the counter, glancing at Seth as if it was obvious breakfast was about to be served. “I’ve moved on to bigger, better things now anyway.”

  Seth splashed his face with water again, because he still felt rough. “Are you trying to break Dom’s old record, or something? I hope you’re at least using rubbers.”

  Mark didn’t seem discouraged and grinned at Dom. “There’s a record?”

  Domenico groaned, looking up from his phone. His fingers kept tapping the counter. “I didn’t keep count. Don’t worry about Mark. He still remembers that one time he got gonorrhea.”

  Seth eyed Mark in challenge as the boy squirmed. “Oh, yeah. That wasn’t very nice, was it?”

  Mark groaned. “Are we eating, or are you still drunk?”

  Seth reached out over the counter to push him, but Mark pulled back in time. “Asshole. I’m getting there.”

  Domenico sighed loudly and switched on the coffee machine without a word. His eyes were still plastered to the screen as he typed some kind of message. Whether his exhale was a comment on Seth’s wine consumption yesterday or something he’d read on the screen was anyone’s guess.

  Because, as usual, he wouldn’t share.

  “I’ll get some eggs for us. Mark, bring Angelica over to eat with us.”

  “Fucking hell,” growled Domenico and slammed his hand onto the countertop before leaning forward and then rocking back on his heels. He quickly stuffed the phone into his pocket and poured himself some coffee.

  Seth stopped halfway to the garden doors. “What is it?”

  Domenico glanced at Mark, whose face instantly became more serious, but when Dom transferred his gaze to Seth, a neutral smile was back. “Just… a transport is late. Nothing you should worry about.”

  So that was why Domenico had been late yesterday. Maybe Seth shouldn’t have had such hard feelings about it after all? And why did he care so much about a wedding anniversary? Wasn’t it Dom who’d always been more into this kind of stuff?

  He took the few steps back to give Dom a quick hug. “I’ll get the eggs.”

  Domenico looked up at him. It almost seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end he nodded and offered Seth a tight smile.

  Seth went off to quickly feed the chickens and grab the eggs, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He wasn’t sure if he should ask, though. Dom had said he didn’t want to involve Seth, but by the time Seth had talked it over with the Borgias and came back, it was as if no worry had ever stepped over the threshold of their house.

  Angelica squealed with joy, babbling to Domenico about nonsense, and even Mark was smiling again. Seth kissed their daughter’s head in passing and poured a drop of rum into his coffee to get things going. He didn’t miss the way Mark’s gaze followed the bottle but chose to ignore it. Sometimes, a drink was the only way to get him back on his feet.

  “Noch mal, okay? Eier,” Domenico said in German. He insisted it was one of the languages Angelica absolutely needed to master if she was to get the best start in life, so Seth had no idea what Domenico was talking about whenever their kid was around. It was kind of discouraging, really.

  But then again, the moment Seth heard the language and met Dom’s eyes, something inside did a backflip. Seth should have gotten used to Domenico speaking German to Angelica, yet he could only think of Mr. Schwangau when that happened, even though Dom did use a different tone when speaking to their little girl.

  “You should talk German to me som
e time again.”

  There. Yesterday’s fiasco should be forgotten.

  “Maybe…” Domenico said in Italian. A happy yelp came from behind Seth’s back, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Dom approach with Angelica sitting on his shoulders and yanking at his long hair as if it was reins. She swung her tiny shoes and dug her heels into Dom’s upper chest.

  “Ride horse!” she squealed, which was followed by Domenico pretending he couldn’t understand Italian to force her repeat the same thing in German.

  Mark and Seth snorted at the same time. Angelica had no idea that she was the only person on the planet allowed to cause Dom such indignities.

  “She’s got you wrapped around her little finger.” Seth grinned and tickled her arm.

  No matter what was going on, their little ray of sunshine always brightened the day. He could still hardly comprehend some times that he was a father, and that Angelica’s wellbeing depended on him. Whenever he’d thought about children in the past, the amount of responsibility he’d imagined was overwhelming at best. What he hadn’t envisioned was the family support around and a nanny to help him through the process.

  “She’s gonna be a spoiled little princess,” Mark said and winked at her.

  Domenico laughed and swung the tiny body in his arms, making her float through the air, all the way to the high chair. “Of course she will be spoiled. She’s our little girl,” he said and pinched Angelica’s cheek gently.

  “I might take some horse riding lessons when I have free time,” Mark said while Seth was getting the food ready for them. Today, it was his take on a croque monsieur.

  “Oh! We could do that together, I’ve always wanted to learn.” Seth looked back at Domenico with a wide smile.

  “As long as it’s together,” Domenico said, sipping his coffee. His other hand served as Angelica’s plaything.

  “Why? It’s a horse. What’s gonna happen? It’s not gonna bite—” Seth turned around with a gasp. “I could learn to shoot a crossbow from horseback!”

  Mark stared at him for so long it seemed he couldn’t physically tear his eyes away. “What?”

  Domenico didn’t move by an inch, but the smile he’d had for Angelica moments before was gone. “This again? We already have so much on our plates. I don’t need to worry about you on top of that.”

  Seth groaned and turned around to put the sandwiches into the oven. “Sorry, maybe another time then.”

  “What if you got on the horse drunk?” Mark said softly, but he clearly intended for Seth to hear it.

  “Just shut the fuck up, okay?” Seth snapped at him so abruptly it scared Angelica and made her cry. The sobs only subsided when Domenico took her onto his lap and soothed her with a song. Above Angelica’s head, he shook his head at Seth, with a mild scowl twisting his features. He took a deep breath and leaned against the counter, listening to Domenico whispering soothing German words against the head of dark curls. Was this the day Seth did everything wrong? Guilt twisted inside him at the thought of frightening their little girl, and he had to take deep breaths in order to avoid getting any more agitated.

  Seconds passed in relative silence until Domenico finally spoke louder again. “Let’s change the topic, shall we? There’s gonna be two more people at our pre-Christmas get together.”

  The news made Seth perk up. “What? English speaking? That brings us up to seven. Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

  Domenico petted Angelica, who sat on his forearm with her small arms around his neck, still flushed from crying. “Because I just found out myself.”

  Seth leaned down to take the sandwiches out of the oven, but his mind was spinning. They technically had enough food, but he’d lack some of the ingredients to whip up more portions of the menu he’d come up with. He plated the croque monsieurs for Dom and Mark, and grinded fresh black pepper over the bubbling cheese.

  “I need to go shopping then. Are you leaving? We could go together otherwise.”

  Domenico leaned back in the chair, watching him with a somber expression. “I’m really busy. Couldn’t you borrow from the kitchens in the main house?”

  Seth groaned and pushed the plate Domenico’s way. “Sure, if you want your party food to be shit.”

  “Is Moreno’s man coming already?” Mark asked, as if to rub in Seth’s face that, unlike him, Mark knew what was going on.

  There were times when Seth wanted to go back on his word, ask Domenico to involve him, to pull him out of this hellish paradise and let him do shit. But how was he supposed to turn their life on its head like that after two whole years?

  Domenico rubbed his nose, but when Angelica leaned back, he had a smile for her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Yeah, he is. And it’s for the best,” he said, gently putting the girl back into her chair.

  “Dom, I’m not kidding. I want this little party to be great. I’ll just get what I need at the market myself if you can’t come. I can’t just ask one of the maids to do it for me, because they might choose the wrong things.”

  The moment Mark got to stuff his face with bread, ham, and cheese, his expression turned from hard to blissful. “So good.”

  Domenico licked his lips, briefly glancing at him before settling his gaze on Seth. “Fine. I’ll have Miguel escort you,” he said and picked up his croque monsieur.

  That was a compromise Seth could stomach, even though it made him feel like a child. He walked over to Dom and hugged him from behind, craving the attention he’d missed out on yesterday. “I’ll need money,” he said quietly, embarrassed that Mark would hear him. He spent most of his time in their house, so he didn’t need to physically have cash, yet any time he tried to negotiate some kind of pocket money, Dom said he’d buy him whatever he needed, and the discussion died.

  Domenico blinked, swallowing the food. “Oh… yes, sure. How much do you need?” he asked and pulled out a thick wad of cash.

  Seth didn’t even know all that well how much things cost in the local currency, so he gave a random number and pushed the bills into his pocket, eager to change the topic. He pointed to the sandwich. “I elevated it. It’s stuffed it with roasted pistachios.”

  Mark gave an eager nod, though Seth doubted he could tell a pistachio from a pecan. “I knew there was something more in there.”

  Domenico’s hand squeezed Seth’s, and he pressed his face against Seth’s neck, to kiss his throat. “It’s really good. Hope you’re up when I come back tonight.”

  Seth swallowed the bitter pill of the double meaning in Dom’s words and stroked Dom’s hair in silence as they ate.

  Miguel’s stoic presence was welcome after the chaotic morning, even though Seth sometimes got the impression that he was spending more time with him than with Domenico. Maybe things would change next year, now that Domenico had fully grown into his role as the new Toro.

  They left the car in front of the city hall and used a well-known shortcut through a narrow alley between two rows of old houses. The drying laundry hanging above their heads reminded Seth of the same practice at home, and he smiled, squeezing his yute bag tighter. It had been almost two weeks since he’d last left the vast property on the outskirts, and while he’d much prefer spending a pleasant afternoon with Domenico, Miguel was a perfect sounding board. He never said much, unless directly asked, but since Seth knew Miguel wouldn’t answer questions about Domenico’s work anyway, Seth spoke to him about the upcoming pre-Christmas party, about Angelica learning how to make sandwiches, and about his new favorite topic.

  “Have you ever used a crossbow?” he asked, frowning at two dirty stray dogs, which growled at one another, clearly about to fight. He sped up.

  Miguel’s lips formed a brief pout, and he tapped the assault rifle he never left the house without. “Why would I use a crossbow when guns are so much more practical and efficient?”

  “No they’re not! Bolts can be re-used—” Seth flinched when a frantic howl of pain tore through the air behind them.

&n
bsp; “But there’s plenty of bullets to go around, so that’s hardly an advantage. A crossbow only makes sense during a hunt, because it’s quiet.”

  Seth’s lips stretched. “Ha, so it would be perfect for taking down multiple targets.”

  “Not really. They’re big and heavy,” Miguel answered in a flat voice. The damn spoilsport.

  They joined the flow of people in the main street, which was bursting with the pre-Christmas crowds shopping for last-minute presents and food. It wasn’t unusual for people to ignore him or instantly look away whenever they met his gaze. He was in a gay relationship with a powerful gangster, and that was one of the many reasons why Dom insisted Seth didn’t leave their property on his own. Sometimes, Seth could see the logic behind Domenico’s fears, but most days, he saw his isolation as the cost of passing the entirety of the business side of things into Domenico’s hands. If he didn’t want to join the typical gang activity that was the same all over the world, then he needed to suffer through the indignities until they moved out of El Encanto.

  The only people Seth interacted with in the outside world were those he approached himself, and they always had a smile for him. Produce sellers whose stalls he frequented often seemed genuine, so he made an effort to at least say hello and thank you in Spanish, even if Miguel needed to translate everything else.

  There were days when Seth’s frustration with the arrangement he’d established with Domenico felt like it was about to overflow. In such moments, he wished that a seller would attempt to swindle him, or that a pickpocket slipped their hand into his bag. This would have warranted retaliation, a fistfight in the middle of the bustling market, for everyone to see that Seth was not just ‘Toro’s boyfriend’.

  He’d had fantasies about a seller talking back to him in a rude tone. If that happened, Seth would grab the man’s collar, drag him over his own counter, making fruit roll down the street—but nothing like this ever happened. No one dared to confront the lover of the most powerful man around, regardless of his gender.