Gilded Agony

by K. A. Merikan

  “Seth, open this door.”

  “No, I said ‘go away’!”

  What had Domenico ever done to God to earn such a stubborn husband? He made sure to confess. Was it punishment for seducing a priest off the right path? No. That was too long ago. He’d already suffered for that crime.

  “Seth, I mean it. Open this door or I will,” he said, yanking on the handle in rapid, jerky movements.

  "No." Something shoved against the door on the other side, but the sound was so soft Dom imagined that it was Seth pushing back.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Domenico growled. “Open up. Do you want to wake up Angelica again?”

  “You’re the one who’s making noise.”

  “Let me in! Final warning.” Domenico started to put pressure on the door. Fortunately, it was opening into the room and not the other way around.

  “You’ll break the lock, dumbass!”

  “Then open!”

  “Fuck off.”

  That was it. Domenico pulled away only to throw his weight at the door with the flimsy lock. Seth barricading himself with his own body wasn’t helping Dom’s cause, but it only took three attempts for the lock fall out of place. He’d managed to force the door open by a few inches before Seth slammed it shut again.

  Domenico stepped away, took a deep breath, and then stormed the closed door. When the wood budged, he slid his knee into the crack, but Seth pushed back, trapping Dom’s leg in a vice-like grip that felt like it would cut through his flesh.

  Pain radiated all the way to his ankle, and he gave a choked grunt, banging his fist on the wood. This could have been the end of his perfect mobility, but Seth stepped away instead of crushing Domenico’s joint. Dom could finally push the door open, but Seth was already facing away from him, headed for the bed.

  Domenico spread his arms wide, following him. “What the fuck’s wrong with you? Why would you lock yourself in here?”

  “I don’t want to talk to you. And you wanted me to shut up, so here we are. Go away.” Throughout those few sentences, the slight slur was a constant.

  Domenico grabbed Seth’s shoulder and spun him around. “You ripped my tuxedo. You tried to stop me from disciplining Mark. What the hell? How do you think I keep this stupid boy in check?”

  Seth shoved his hand away, but now that Dom could see his face, the bruise all over his jaw and a battered lower lip looked like a physical manifestation of a guilt trip.

  “You don’t listen to me, so why would we talk?”

  Domenico licked his lips and carefully touched the discolored flesh. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to push you this hard.”

  “But you did, so fuck your Armani tuxedo!” Seth slapped Dom’s hand away and stepped back.

  Domenico watched him for several heartbeats, but every time his gaze brushed over the blood and swelling, he couldn’t convince himself to give it time. “It was an accident. I didn’t think you hit yourself so seriously either. Please, let me take a look.”

  “No! My tongue is still bleeding, and I don’t wanna be around you. All I wanted was some time on my own. I can’t leave this house, and now it turns out I can’t even have space inside of it. Didn’t you force Mark to change your sheets? Go there—Fuck!” He growled and held on to his face.

  That was enough for Domenico. He pushed Seth down onto the guest bed and touched his jaw. “I need to see if it’s not broken, or do you want to have issues if we miss something?”

  Seth remained still and let Dom touch him, but he wouldn’t meet his eyes, stubbornly glancing at the wall. “Why? You worried I would no longer look like a prize next to you?”

  Domenico frowned, gently probing the skin. Nothing about the swelling was alarming to the touch, but he still made sure to be very thorough. “What the hell are you talking about? I’ve had mine broken, and it’s a fucking nightmare.”

  Seth sat there, breathing hard through his nose as if he were a steam-operated time bomb about to explode. His fists were curled on his thighs, but his shoulders slouched.

  “What about your teeth?” Domenico tried, searching for understanding in the boiling anger of Seth’s eyes.

  “They’re fine. Where’s Mark?”

  Domenico sat next to Seth, putting his arm over the wide shoulders. “He left. Come, let me put some ice on that.”

  “Why can’t you just leave me be?” Seth shrugged off Dom’s arm.

  “Because I love you, and I want to take care of you.”

  Seth gently put his hand over his swollen jaw and got up. “Let’s go then. Since you won’t give it a rest, will you?”

  Domenico locked his gaze on the broken door. Even the frame was wrecked. “No. I won’t.”

  Chapter 11 - Seth

  The pitcher of Bloody Mary was just what Seth needed in the morning once Domenico finally left. To say that things were tense between them would have been an understatement. He was so self-conscious about his appearance that he’d called Natalia and asked her to leave the villa out of the maids’ schedule until further notice. The bruise spilled to half his face, his tongue still ached, and all he wanted was to sulk alone, without anyone seeing the signs of his husband’s temper. Which meant that there would be no crossbow training until the discoloration faded.

  Mark hadn’t even showed up in the morning, and a part of Seth believed it was for the better because he was ashamed of what Mark had witnessed, ashamed of the humiliation he’d suffered yesterday. And the fact that his morning wood had been hindered by the cock cage, and he awoke to an ache in his dick had not helped his mood at all.

  Giulia needed a single look at him to decide Seth and Angelica should be separated until Seth healed. She had a lot more to say, but he didn’t want to hear any of it.

  Laid out on a sun chair by the pool, he let the liquor and the heat cook some of the anger and bitterness out of him. Because what else could he do? He had no friends here, no one he trusted outside of his closest family. Even Miguel could be a bit of a wild card.

  He yelped when Caterina, one of his favorite chickens decided to land on his stomach out of fucking nowhere.

  “What is wrong with you?” He yelled and pushed her down, getting up abruptly and spilling some of his drink. “I let you out to roam and this is how you repay me? Jesus Christ…” He rubbed his bare stomach where her claws had scratched him and looked at the other chickens watching him in alarm from a far-off spot in the garden. “Come here.” He sighed and picked up Caterina, glaring into her mindless eyes. “You can’t find any food, or what? Am I supposed to dig up worms for you now?”

  She gave a sharp cluck and hid her neck in her wings, completely calm under his arm.

  “Let’s find your friends. Look how many you’ve got. You’re not stuck like me. You can talk to them whenever you like. Maybe I should get you girls a rooster.” He stroked her smooth feathers and started walking through the warm grass. It always calmed him down to interact with his birds, and he sure as hell needed that today. It wasn’t even the pain in his jaw that hurt so much. It was the disrespect from Domenico that was a constant throbbing ache and made Seth feel as small as never before.

  He was supposed to be Domenico’s partner, yet his yearning for protection had been taken so far he didn’t know anymore whether he was safe or trapped. No amount of luxury items in their house could change that.

  He was halfway to the chicken coop when a loud knocking came from one of the two gates that allowed entry to the villa. Seth frowned, but called back for the person to wait and carefully placed Caterina in the chicken pen before making his way to the entrance. Knowing there was thick bars between him and the guest, Seth opened the wooden gateway, expecting a delivery of some kind, but the sight of Diego had him almost shut it right back.

  He cocked his head after a while of them staring at each other, and the way Diego looked him up and down, reminded Seth that all he was wearing was a pair of tight swimming trunks in which he’d been sunbathing.

  He leaned a
gainst the wall, safely behind the bars. “What’s up?”

  Diego nodded toward the top of the wall surrounding the villa. “I was passing by and heard you talking to someone.“

  Seth shook his head but hissed at the pain when he laughed. “Are you spying around my walls? I was having a private conversation with my chickens.”

  Diego’s mouth twitched, and he pointed to Seth’s face. “Did he do that to you?”

  Seth’s chest sank, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh. “Shit happens.” The vain part of him enjoyed the way Diego watched him. Seth worked his ass off at the gym, and had barely anyone to show the results to.

  Diego hummed and pushed his hands into his pockets. Behind him, the bushes and trees provided enough privacy for no one to notice their interaction. It could be Seth’s little secret from Dom, who so obviously disliked their guest.

  “If I had a man like you at my side, I’d have never done that,” Diego said.

  “Oh, really? You’re a gentleman? Why do I doubt that?” Seth eyed Diego and stepped closer. He wondered how much Diego actually liked him, and how much he wanted to get into his pants.

  Diego laughed and approached, sinking into the shadow of the tall fence and out of direct sunlight. His wavy dark hair hung in shaggy strands in the windless heat. “You don’t have to be a gentleman to know one shouldn’t use force against their partner, right?”

  So bitterly true it stung Seth all the way to his aching tongue. “We’ve known each other a very long time. Sometimes things get out of hand when we fight,” he said, making sure it didn’t sound like Dom had just beaten him up, even though Seth hadn’t tried to punch him back. Those excuses might have worked in the past when his and Dom’s tempers had gotten the best of them, but something was different about the way things went last night. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. “You want a drink? I’ve got a pitcher of Bloody Mary.”

  Diego grabbed the bars and gave Seth a wide smile. “I’d even drink dishwater if you were the one to offer it to me.”

  It gave Seth his first genuine smile of the day. “Charmer. Wait up. I don’t know the code for the bars, but I’ll get you a glass.” He walked off without hurry to allow Diego a look at the goods he would never get to sample. But Seth was fine with being ogled—knowing someone was so into him added a bit of spice to the boredom of his day, something he desperately needed after last night’s argument.

  Despite warnings, Domenico never changed the locks and codes, but Seth wouldn’t risk Diego’s presence in their home. Not with Angelica living here, and not with Diego having no inhibitions whatsoever about stealing kisses from a married man.

  All Seth wanted was some company and attention. He came back with a tray containing not only two glasses and a pitcher, but a fruit tart too. He’d made it for Dom, but didn’t feel like treating the asshole while his entire face still hurt. Dom could consume his body weight in mass-produced food for all Seth cared, but he would not be getting homemade cake. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not this week.

  He briefly halted when he saw fabric hanging off the bars, but as he approached, Diego’s tanned chest emerged into view—firm and dusted by dark hair, with brown locks falling to Diego’s tanned shoulders. Were they both playing the same game? Seth suspected Diego had a very different agenda.

  “And what is that?” Diego inquired with a wide grin.

  “It’s with fruit I’ve grown myself.” Seth held out the tart to Diego, already eager to hear compliments on it. And Diego’s chest? Looking at handsome men was not a sin.

  Diego glanced at the plate, only to blink. “No! Are you the person who made Mark’s lemon cupcakes?”

  Seth stalled, but then remembered Mark had taken all of the cupcakes he’d made for his and Dom’s anniversary. “He offered you some? I really like lemon sweets, I’ve got my own tree here. They’re both sweet and sour. Like… a lot of good things in life.” Including his marriage.

  Diego smiled, sliding his forearms through the bars while his gaze drilled into Seth, so full of longing Seth felt more than a little flattered. “I’m trying to make life only sweet. You are incredibly sweet, you know?”

  Seth put down the tray, and even though he knew he shouldn’t, the adrenaline rush was there, and he fed Diego the tart through the thick steel bars. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Diego had beautiful forearms, with veins crisscrossing his skin like rivers flowing under dark hair, but when their eyes met, the connection was so magnetic Seth didn’t notice Diego grabbing his wrist early enough to step away. For a moment, Seth stiffened in panic, but Diego did nothing unpleasant, just held Seth’s hand in place as he bit into the tart.

  A deep grunt left Diego’s chest as he chewed, licking the chantilly cream off his lips. “How do you do this?”

  Seth’s heart beat in an erratic rhythm. He was walking a tight rope, and slipping wasn’t an option. “With love.” Seth winked at him, feeling safe behind the bars. This was fine. Nothing illicit could happen in this setup.

  Diego had more of the tart, greedily swallowing the crust, the cream, the jelly, the fresh fruit, as if he couldn’t get enough of what was on offer. “Does that mean I have your love now?”

  Something dark fluttered inside Seth’s chest and rendered him mute. Was it really such a bad thing that he enjoyed the compliments of another man? That maybe he liked the attention a bit too much? He didn’t intend to do anything that would break Domenico’s trust, and with barely anyone to talk to, Diego’s brief presence here was just a fleeting pleasure the same way watching erotic pictures was.

  Seth froze when Diego’s warm tongue tickled his finger. His first instinct was to pull back, but the grip on his wrist was steel.

  Stuck in limbo, he stood there, unsure what to do anymore as the handsome man on the other side of the bars licked the last of the crumbs off his fingers.

  Diego’s eyes shone back at him, so temptingly close he couldn’t look away.

  The warm touch on his ass was a wakeup call, but before he could twist away, the rough, thick fingers dove under Seth’s swimming bottoms and into his crack.

  “Get your hand off,” he whispered, too afraid someone would hear to use a harsher tone. How had he gotten himself into this? Why could he never make the right decision?

  He stood on his toes and grabbed hold of Diego’s arm, but instead of taking it as the warning it was, the bastard smiled and pressed his fingers harder into Seth’s flesh, pulling him to the bars so hard the metal clashed with Seth’s cock cage and pulled on his flesh.

  “The things I would do to that ass…”

  “He will kill us both if someone sees this.” Seth tried a bit of theatrics as the insistent fingers tried to reach deeper, violating his personal space beyond the definition of that expression. He leaned in and gave Diego a quick kiss on the lips to distract him.

  It worked.

  Diego loosened his hold for long enough that Seth managed to effectively back away. It happened so fast he bumped into the half-open door, panting, but this time it wasn’t out of excitement. He’d flown much too close to the sun and deserved to feel burned.

  Diego moaned, leaning against the bars with a smile brightening the scowl he was trying to show instead. With his gaze holding Seth prisoner, he brought the offending hand to his face and sniffed it loudly.

  “I can’t do this,” Seth added in panic, heat throbbing in his aching face. “It’s too dangerous.” But most of all, I don’t want you. The man whose attention he so constantly craved wouldn’t be coming home until late, if at all. Though truth be told, he would rather not tell Domenico about Diego’s attempts, because fuck knew what he’d actually do then.

  “Why not? There’s no one here to see us,” Diego whispered. He opened his pants.

  Seth licked his lips, unable to focus. Was this really happening? “But there could be. You’ve seen my bruises.”

  “I do see your face,” Diego said, plucking out his cock. It w
as quite thick, and it hardened before Seth at an alarming speed. It was like a dangerous animal salivating for Seth’s flesh. But on the other hand, with the divider in place, it was safe to watch nature unfold.

  “And I would love to see it by my dick,” Diego whispered. “I can see you’re hungry for that too. If you put your lips around my cock, I wouldn’t last long.”

  Seth watched him in silence. How did they even get to this point?

  Diego stretched by the bars, so touchable with its warm color, with the flush already emerging on tanned skin as Diego caressed his dick a few steps away from Seth. “I would take you to my bed and thrust into you until you could only think about me.”

  Seth swallowed hard, hating that his body was so weak, even though his mind had already stepped away. He shouldn’t be getting turned on by this, yet here he was, a huge lump of self-hate with a growing erection that would soon be restrained by the steel extension of Domenico’s will. For Seth’s horny body, Diego was a hot guy with a thick cock, jerking off. Of course it got him excited.

  He had no idea how long it all lasted, but in the end, Diego pushed his dick through the bars and came hard on the tiled path between the gate and the pool. A drop of his sperm fell on Seth’s foot, and its heat seemed to burn more than acid.

  Watching Diego spent and panting was too much. Seth shut the door in his face and slid down the wall until he sat in the grass. “I can’t do this again,” he said loudly and meant every word. Diego would never be a friend, and he’d shown that much from the second they’d met.

  Diego’s breathless laugh was like a red marker pointing out all the mistakes in Seth’s perfect life. “Won’t you show me how you do yours?”

  “No, the nanny’s coming back any minute now.” Seth rushed off without waiting for an answer.

  He slipped into the water of the pool, desperate to cool off, feel clean again, and for once happy about the device that kept him from getting fully erect.