Illegal Contact (The Barons)

by Santino Hassell

  I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended my fingers were thicker, harder, and being shoved inside of me so hard I’d skid across the floor. That instead of the cold porcelain of a bathtub, it was one of his powerful hands holding my knee up. His lips were sliding all over my neck while he pounded me. His voice in my ear.

  “Oh fuck,” I whispered, pumping faster. “Oh fuck, Gavin.”

  Bounce on that dick, bitch.

  I shot like a rocket, spurting all over my hand and stomach. The intensity had me trembling as I gasped for breath with my mouth hanging open.

  I’d been sexless for months and my jerk-off sessions had been more of a sleep aid than anything else. But this? This had been a gloriously dirty fantasy. That moment of elation lasted for about half a second before the bucket of cold water called shame splashed over me. It was the kind of regret I’d only ever experienced after getting off to hentai back in high school.

  With a grimace, I got to my feet and cleaned up. What the hell had come over me? It was like some demon of lust had possessed my body and turned me into a frantic slut. Okay, it’d been so long since someone had dicked me out that I was a frantic slut, but goddamnit.

  Perving on Gavin came with the territory, since he was mostly naked at least sixty percent of my workday, but eavesdropping on his sex and getting off to it? That was low. I told myself that as I cleaned up and put my pants back on. Only then did I leave the bathroom and strip off my button-down for a T-shirt. Fuck business casual for today. The morning was starting out rough.

  Escaping the house before I could overhear anything else seemed safe, so I went to the market for my typical morning task. He’d eaten every crumb of food over the weekend, so it took a couple of hours to get everything. I also remembered, at the last minute, to buy things for myself. It was something I kept forgetting, much to Gavin’s irritation. He seemed frustrated that I didn’t view the mansion as my temporary home.

  At the register, I was splitting my purchases between Gavin and myself.

  “Hey, Noah.”

  I looked over my shoulder. “Case. Hey!”

  He flashed his quiet grin. “Early start?”

  “Always.” I glanced down at his purchases. A couple of packs of muffins and a large bag of coffee. “Let me guess—for the morning shift?”

  “You know it. We open shop at about five in the morning, and we were out of coffee. I need a time out. Coffee, food, and a book for at least twenty minutes.”

  “A book?”

  “Yeah. I like to read on my breaks. It helps me relax. Is that weird?”

  “It’s not weird. It’s charming.” I shuffled some of the groceries along on the conveyer belt. “What do you like to read?”

  “Different things. Sometimes science fiction, sometimes mysteries, and right now I’m into romance. It’s been a rough month. Happy endings are good for hard times.”

  “Agreed. Man, I love that you read. That sounds ridiculous, but you have no idea how many people say shit like, “Oh, I only ready self-help books. I only read useful books,” if I tell them I read fiction. Makes me want to punch them in the dick.”

  Case’s smile grew bigger, and I wondered why I couldn’t be breathlessly lusting for the adorable bookworm mechanic instead of the grouchy alpha football player who nailed women at seven in the morning. Maybe this was how Gavin usually got his workout in on Mondays. Maybe he’d spent his entire weekend with this woman. Maybe she was a girlfriend and not just a quick fuck. Why did that make me . . . unhappy?

  “It’s your turn.”

  “Huh?” I glanced back at the cashier and saw she was waiting for me to pay. “Oh! I’m so sorry.” Grimacing, I swiped Gavin’s card. “I’m paying separate for the rest.”

  The cashier nodded. She looked half-asleep herself, but still rang the rest of my purchases up with the speed of someone who’d been working here for a while and knew exactly how to get customers out of her face. I respected that.

  I gathered my belongings and waited for Case to finish so we could walk out to the parking lot together. On the way there, I admired his soft brown hair and green eyes. He was so damn handsome. Why oh why wasn’t my body reacting to him the way it did to Gavin? Maybe I did have a thing for men with a degree of power over me.

  “So, I know I had to bail last time, but am I ever going to get that date?”

  “Yes,” I said quickly. “I ended up moving in with my boss after all, so I’ll be around more.”

  “Wow. Living there.” Case whistled. “That’s rough. Beck and call and whatnot, right?”

  “Right, but it hasn’t been so bad. We’ve come to an understanding, and he doesn’t demand my services at all hours of the night.” I winced. “That sounded awful. You know what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean,” Case laughed. “I have a busy couple of days ahead of me, but do you want to have lunch on Wednesday?”

  “Ye—oh no. That’s fan day. I was invited to watch the Barons practice and whatever else.” I rolled my eyes. “I should have said no since I’m trading my Saturday to have that day off, but I already invited my friend.”

  “Okay. How about Friday night?”

  “Friday night would be perfect since I’m staying on the island.” Setting an actual time for an actual date was starting to make me feel better. Case was smart and handsome, and a potential way to escape the ridiculous crush I’d started to develop on Gavin. “Do you need my number?”

  “Nah. It’s in the computer at the shop. I’ll snag it from there.”

  “Great.” I hefted the bags, backing away and smiling. “Talk soon, okay?”

  Case waved and walked to his own car.

  I returned to the mansion feeling a little better about the state of my personal life. The buoyancy crashed and burned once I dragged the bags from the garage and into the kitchen.

  Gavin was there, and he was tongue-deep in someone’s mouth. A someone who happened to be a man. A man in skintight jeans and a silky black T-shirt, and who had a body that had clearly been sculpted from hours and hours put into the gym.

  Holy shit. Gavin Brawley wasn’t straight.

  That point was illustrated when his eyes slid open and landed on me. We stared at each other while he ravished the other man’s mouth, and that same tidal wave of heat raced across my body again. Only when I managed to retreat a single step did he pull away. He was wearing a loose pair of sweats and no shirt, his torso and the jut of his hipbones exposed by the sagging pants. He was tousled and freshly fucked, a fact evidenced by his messy hair and the reddened areas on his shoulders and the bite marks on his neck. When the man in the black T-shirt turned to look at me, it became apparent that he was just as wrecked.

  Was this why Joe had wanted me to keep an eye on who came and went?

  “Oh, hi,” he said, tilting his head. “You must be the assistant.”

  “Uh. Yeah.” I looked between him and Gavin. “Sorry, I’ll—”

  “Max was leaving,” Gavin said. “You’re not interrupting.”

  “Yep.” Max flashed a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Will I hear from you later?”

  Gavin shrugged. “Your cab is rolling up.”

  “Okay. I’ll just assume you’ll want a repeat.” Max ruffled Gavin’s hair. “It was a good time.”

  Gavin said nothing. He just watched blankly until Max sighed and wandered out of the room. At that point, he turned his steady gaze to me.

  “I’m bisexual.”

  “Okay.”

  The only sound, for a solid minute, was the birds chirping wildly outside. I needed to tell the landscaper to stop feeding them. Fuck animals.

  “Have a good weekend?” he asked.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Good.”

  More awkward silence. Why was he making small talk? Why wasn’t I unpacking the groceries? Why couldn’t I stop staring at the red marks and imagining the wild sex that must have been going on all night for him to be so covered in scratches and bites? Given to him by a
man.

  “You okay?” Gavin ventured finally. “You’re acting stupider than usual.”

  “Yeah. Well, I was thinking about uh . . .” Your dick. You moaning. Those bite marks. “I ran into the guy from the car shop. We’re gonna go out on Friday.”

  Gavin dragged his teeth over his lower lip. “So you’re going out with Simeon tomorrow, and car dude on Friday.”

  “I’m not going out with Simeon. It’s fan day. I’m bringing my friend Jasmine.”

  “Right.” Something about Gavin’s tone was off, but I wasn’t capable of dissecting it just then. “Yeah, well, when you go out with your little car boyfriend, make sure you keep my name out of your mouth. Especially about what you just saw.”

  “Okay, Gavin. No need to go into dick mode.” I stopped running my eyes all over him and plopped some of the grocery bags down on the counter. “I won’t tell anyone you stared at me while playing tonsil hockey with some other athlete person.”

  “He’s a fitness model.”

  “I don’t even know what that means,” I muttered.

  “Neither do I.”

  “Does he take pictures while holding dumbbells or something?”

  “Probably. While wearing compression shorts in different colors.”

  I snorted out a laugh and looked at him again. His mouth had twisted up into the tiniest of grins. “Dude, we’re seriously gabbing about the guy you spent all weekend fucking like it’s no big thing. I had no idea you were bisexual. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it’s none of your business.”

  “Right.” Jesus, so much for casually shooting the shit. “Welp, it’s been nice chatting with you, Gavin. Feel free to not deny it next time I point out the fact that you’re incapable of having a full conversation with me.”

  At that, Gavin scowled. “Besides Simeon and Marcus, I waste more of my life talking to you than anyone.”

  “What about Max?”

  “What about him?”

  “Don’t you talk to him?”

  “No. I dick him down until he nuts sometimes and face fuck him others. There’s no need for conversation. And he didn’t spend the whole weekend. He got here last night.”

  Somehow the matter-of-fact words painted such vivid portraits in my mind that I had no choice but to look away. I was getting overheated again, especially because he’d moved slightly closer until I could smell the sweat and musk on his skin.

  “If you need privacy in the evenings, just let me know so I can stay out of the way,” I said. “It’s awkward to walk in on things like that.”

  “Why is it awkward?”

  “Because.” I pulled out multiple cartons of eggs and stacked them on the counter. “It’s just weird. I don’t know, Gavin. Just let me know if you want me to stay out of the way. Whether it’s during the day or in the evening, I’ll keep to myself and not bother you while you have company. I’m sure you’re going to go stir-crazy locked in here, and I’m sure you’re used to getting laid constantly, so don’t let me stop you or thwart you or make things weird.”

  Gavin grabbed one of the bags and began unloading it. “You’re the only one making it weird. It’s just fucking, Noah. I’m not gonna have him over for date nights like you and your dumb mechanic. I don’t roll that way.”

  “Uh-huh. You just have weekend sleepovers with fitness models.”

  “And I told you he just came over last night. And we barely talked the whole time.” Gavin set a box of Frosted Flakes down on the counter. “What are you and your mechanic gonna do? Watch movies? Have dinner? Discuss the inner workings of a fucking import car?”

  “Ha. Funny. For your information, we’ll probably talk books. He reads a lot.”

  “Shocking.”

  I grabbed my Frosted Flakes. “I’d think you of all people wouldn’t go around stereotyping people. If I went by stereotypes, I’d be shocked you’re as sharp as you are. Most people think jocks are idiots.”

  Gavin gave me a dry look. “We play a sport that will likely result in our brains being covered in lesions until we get brain damage. We are idiots.”

  I have no idea why, but that single sentence cracked me up. I didn’t miss his pleased smile or the way it lit up his eyes. He jerked his chin at the box of cereal.

  “I don’t eat that shit.”

  “Good. ’Cause it’s mine.”

  “You’re hopeless.”

  “When it comes to eating healthy? Yeah. I am. I prefer to enjoy my time on this earth by eating the deliciousness of sugar-frosted flakes. I am making us omelets for breakfast, though. A billion eggs for you. Two for me. Is that cool?”

  “Yeah. Sounds good.” Gavin turned to unload the rest of the bags. When he was done, he backed to the door. “I’m gonna shower.”

  Thank God. He reeked of sex. It was distracting. I watched him head to the archway leading out of the kitchen, and he looked over his shoulder. I chose that moment to ask, “Why did you let me know now? About being bisexual?”

  “Because Simeon was right.”

  “About what?” I asked.

  “You are trustworthy. And I’m tired of always hiding.”

  Chapter Ten

  Noah

  “Why are you letting me use your car?”

  Gavin looked at me over his book. I had no idea where he’d gotten it, and I wasn’t even sure he was actually reading it, but the man was holding an honest-to-god book. Even after all his sneering about Case.

  “Why are you wearing such tight pants?”

  “They’re not that tight.”

  “Yeah they are.” He rested the book on his chest, and I saw it was a football novel. Figured. “You trying to fuck Simeon?”

  “No.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive. He’s not my type.”

  Gavin scoffed. “Simeon is everyone’s type.”

  “Well, not mine. I’m not into jocks.”

  I’d been hoping to draw Gavin into the kind of banter that was usually more fun than him accusing me of being a “jersey chaser,” as he called it, but I got nothing. Just a flat stare before those golden eyes returned to his damn book. I held up the keys again.

  “Why are you letting me take it? You said I could only drive your cars on the island.” He flipped a page. “I’m going all the way to the training center in Jersey with a pit stop in Queens.”

  “What’s the pit stop for? Your father?”

  “To pick up my friend Jasmine. My father didn’t want to go.” Because he thinks you’re a complete psychopath. “He’s unwilling to go out because he doesn’t have extra cash, and he hates looking poor. Even though we’ve always been poor. He’s always cared about what other people think.”

  “Fuck other people. He should go out.” Gavin tossed his book to the side and sat up, broad shoulders hunching forward. “Fan day gets a little crazy with the rush of football fanatics and kids, but people usually treat the old folks with a little respect.”

  “Well, that’s the thing. He’s not that old. Just depressed.”

  Gavin frowned, and I wondered why he cared. “Tell me how he lost his job again.”

  I glanced at the clock, realized we were ticking closer to the time I needed to leave, but couldn’t bring myself to cut the conversation short. He never asked about my life. So I gave him the rundown of my father’s old company, how they’d dumped the long-time assistant manager position to make room for “shift team leaders”—an identical job that got paid six dollars an hour less. At the end of the day, there was no way to fight such a change without a union, and most corporate chains didn’t have unions.

  “Anyway, it just sucks. He loved working there because he’s so into sports. My father is like an encyclopedia of different kinds of equipment and athletic shoes. He spent twenty years at that company, but . . . it didn’t matter. And now other jobs at that level are requiring college degrees, even though he has two decades of experience. It really sucks.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Gavin agr
eed, still shaking his head. “This country sure as hell knows how to prevent people from getting ahead. As if a piece of paper from a university is worth more than real experience.”

  “Right? It’s so frustrating. I don’t know what he’s going to do.”

  Gavin studied me while chewing on the inside of his cheek. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Why don’t you let me see his résumé?”

  “His résumé?” My eyebrows flew up. “Why?”

  “Maybe I can put it in front of someone at Under Armour, since we’re doing this donation with them. It sounds like working for a company like that would be his thing.”

  My jaw dropped. “You’d do that?”

  “Yeah. Why the fuck you so shocked?”

  “Because . . .” His stormy gaze was now locked on me. “I don’t know. I just didn’t expect you to go out of your way.”

  “It’s me sending out his résumé to the corporate heads me or Mel will already be talking to. Not out of my way. Besides, what the hell else do I have to do with my time? May as well try to do something constructive.”

  He sounded almost defensive about his desire to help, which sent a slight smile curving over my face. It was the second time I was seeing this side of Gavin—this desire to make a difference in someone’s life—and my heart sped just as fast this time around. Even faster.

  “You’re really kind sometimes.”

  “You’re delusional.”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t change that you do kind things. Actions speak louder than words.” I held up the keys again, jingling them. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Now get the hell out so I can read and update that Instagram shit you started.”

  I perked up. “What are you gonna post?”

  “No clue,” he said, grouch tone in full effect. “My middle finger.”

  “You should post a picture of the book on your chest. People are a sucker for a hot man reading. Nipples and pecs are bonus. There’s even an Instagram account dedicated to men reading on trains. Also, it’s so different from your usual persona that people will be shocked and share it.”