“What’s that?”
“What’s what?” Leo asks as he walks into the kitchen.
“That.”
He looks over the breakfast bar. “I don’t know. Maybe Santa brought my good boy something.” His expression doesn’t give anything away.
Remind me never to play cards with the man. He’s got a flawless poker face.
I walk over to the box, which looks in shape and size much like the one I just opened, except the wrapping paper is different.
I open it to find yes, it’s another necktie. A different one.
Except there’s small square of paper, a sticky note, with a smiley face and an E.
My heart races and I turn, holding it up to show Leo.
He walks over and pulls me into his arms. “He picked it out for you. Only you two have that one.” It’s a pretty, dark emerald green tie, with little flecks of royal blue. I imagine it’ll set off Elliot’s eyes perfectly.
“He picked it out himself?”
Leo nods. “He even wrapped it himself.”
My heart races. “He likes me?”
“Yes, he likes you, baby. This is a stressful time for all of us. Once we’re past the inauguration, the two of you will be able to spend time together to get to know each other.” He kisses the top of my head. “Wear it the day after tomorrow. That’s when he’ll wear his.”
I feel like my smile will split my face in two. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. He asked if I’d be okay with him buying you one. This is the equivalent of a mountainous leap for Elliot.” He lightly slaps my bare ass. “How about some coffee, baby?”
“Yes, Sir.”
But the thought of Elliot having gone out of his way to include me in this tradition warms my heart.
And here I just gave him a batch of cookies I made myself, because I honestly had no clue what to fricking give him. Leo passed them to him for me. Being friends and former coworkers with the security detail has its privileges, I guess.
Now, more than ever, I hope Elliot likes what I have planned for his residence.
* * * *
New Year’s sees us celebrating it together, with Leo pulling me into his arms at the stroke of midnight to kiss me.
Sad to say this is the first time in my life I’ve had someone besides Mimi and her friends to celebrate it with.
Over the next several weeks, Leo takes me shopping for suits, and we go with Elliot to get fitted for tuxes for the inaugural balls.
Leo, of course, gets the final say on everything.
I score brownie points with Elliot when I stand watch outside the dressing rooms so Leo can fool around with Elliot inside them. Later that night, Leo rewards me by tying me up and spanking my ass.
Yay!
Leo also informs me I will be staying with him at Blair House before the inauguration, sharing a room with him. A double room, meaning people won’t assume we’re sleeping together, but it’s next door to Elliot’s room.
I feel…conflicted about that. I’d almost rather be by myself at Leo’s—our apartment—and not intrude on Elliot’s moment. Being magnanimous isn’t a hardship because I can see what this all means to Elliot.
He literally has very little privacy now. Everything he does is in a spotlight.
Unfortunately, I’m also on a few radars. My name’s now listed on the incoming roster of East Wing personnel, and people are starting to introduce themselves to me.
Especially single women.
Single women who apparently think by dating me they’ll be closer to the center of power… or who are obviously angling for a way to meet the incoming vice president by befriending me.
Now I understand exactly what Leo meant that night outside my hotel room when he posed the hypothetical about someone offering me a lot of money to wear a wire. It’s not as far-fetched as I originally thought.
Leo’s taught me a lot, though. How to carry myself, how to professionally brush off requests without being rude—or how to be terse, if they’re asking something of me that would be an outright ethics violation.
This is literally a whole new world I’ve found myself immersed in, an alternate reality. My nerves feel close to snapping.
Three days before the inauguration, on my way home from meetings, I stop by the office late that night, when only Secret Service agents are present. There, I lock myself in a washroom and have a mini meltdown.
I don’t want Leo to see me cry, but an acute case of imposter’s syndrome nearly cripples me right now. I turn on the sink and let it run while I sit huddled on the floor in the corner, my arms wrapped tightly around me, trying to quietly sob so the agents in the office can’t hear me.
Twenty minutes later, there’s a soft knock on the door. I hear Bob’s voice, the agent who’s been driving me today. “Mr. Walsh, are you all right, sir?”
I choke back a laugh. How ridiculous is it that they’re calling me “sir”? This guy today actually worked with Leo and is nearly at the end of his career as a protective agent. We were talking today during our morning drive, and he’s looking forward to transferring to a teaching position with the agency, one that will give him more time at home with his family.
“I’m fine.” I wipe my eyes with my hands. “Started dealing with e-mails and lost track of time. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
But when I finally blow my nose, wash my face, and pull myself together so I can open the door, it’s Leo standing there waiting for me, and the other agents I know are in the office are nowhere to be seen. He opens his arms to me and I…fall into them.
Crying.
He steps into the bathroom with me and locks us inside. “Shh, baby boy,” he whispers into my hair. “It’s all right. I know this is overwhelming, but you’re doing great.”
“Great? I’m a fricking wreck!”
His soft chuckle rumbles through me. “I know. I’d be worried about you if you didn’t feel stressed.”
“And great, now I’ve got Secret Service calling my boyfriend and telling him I’m crying in a bathroom.”
Another chuckle. “No, they didn’t. I stopped by because I forgot my tablet charger on my desk. I realized Bob was here, so I asked where you were. I knew you weren’t home since I haven’t received a text from the alarm. They all pointed down here.”
That makes me feel only moderately less stupid. “Oh.”
Leo cradles my face in his hands. “You’re doing great, baby. I swear.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
He kisses me, and for a moment I can forget about the rest of the world. “You ready to go home?”
I nod.
“Did you eat today?”
“Yes, Sir.” I couldn’t not eat if I tried. Bob apparently has orders from Leo to make sure I’m eating and drinking water.
As do most of the agents driving me around the past several weeks, ever since there was a day I realized I barely ate or drank anything and nearly passed out late that afternoon from dehydration and my blood sugar tanking, and Leo found out about it.
“Okay.” He drapes his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go home, baby boy.”
I love it when he calls me that.
On the ride home, I lie on the backseat with my head in Leo’s lap. He doesn’t make me talk, but he chats with Bob like there’s not a thing wrong in the world.
Once we’re in our bedroom, Leo takes over, stripping me before he undresses, bathing me, then cuddling with me in bed, with me draped over him.
If we’re not having sex, like right now, we’re always cuddling. It took me a couple of weeks to realize it was because Leo was literally starving for physical contact.
I don’t know how Elliot can stand not being touched, how he can sleep alone every night. Now that I’ve been with Leo, I think sleeping alone for prolonged periods would suck. Sure, I don’t mind the occasional night or two alone. Hell, I didn’t have anyone to share a bed with before Leo, and I was surviving ju
st fine.
Elliot’s locked himself in a self-imposed prison. It makes me feel even sorrier for him, and makes me more determined to win him over.
Leo feathers his lips over my temple. “Try to get some sleep, baby. Just a couple more days before life settles down.”
Somehow, I manage to sleep that night. But it’s filled with nightmares of everything being screwed up, of all the furniture getting lost, of Elliot hating the final design—and hating me.
Of a shooter walking into the club, shooting Leo, who’s trying to shield me with his body, and then shooting me.
I startle awake in the middle of the night, gasping for breath, just to have Leo hook an arm around me and spoon against my back.
“I’m here, baby boy. You’re safe. It’s all right. It was just a nightmare.”
As my pulse slows, the nightmare dissolving, I try to anchor myself to Leo’s comforting scent. Sometimes he also has bad dreams. I know his usually have to do with the plane crash, but he doesn’t like to discuss that, or his nightmares.
He said he doesn’t have them as often as he used to, and even less so with me in his bed.
Maybe one day these nightmares of mine will clear up. I think I prefer my previous nightmares, of my father chasing me onto the plane and dragging me off it. Or of my parents showing up at Mimi’s house and dragging me out to an awaiting car and forcing me to attend some evil gay conversion camp.
As we approach Inauguration Day, I’m increasingly nervous and convinced Elliot’s going to hate the final result. To the point that I’m glad I have to be out the door at 4 a.m. Inauguration Day morning to attend a final prep meeting with the Chief Usher and the heads of all the work crews.
It’s too late to change anything now. If Elliot hates it…then he hates it. And probably me with it.
It shouldn’t bother me this much.
But I want him to like it. I want him to like me.
More importantly, I want to make Leo happy that I made Elliot happy.
Is that…weird?
All I know is I barely remember to drink water throughout the day.
Okay, so maybe Leo was right to ask the agents who shepherd me around to keep an eye on me in that way.
While it’s a little annoying…
I can’t say I don’t like that someone’s watching out for me.
The day flies by in a rush, with me panicking because there’s nothing to panic about.
Shouldn’t there be…I don’t know, some titanic fuckup to fuck everything up?
But no. There’s not.
Although I am running a little late when I return to Blair House that evening to catch up with Leo and get changed for the balls. He’s already in our room when I come flying in.
“Sorry I’m running behind, Sir! I—”
He pulls me into his arms for a kiss. “Shh. You’re fine. All done?”
“Yes, Sir. The vice president’s residence is finished, and they’ll wrap up the White House residence in about four hours. There’s nothing left for me to do there. They have it under control. They can’t move some of the furniture in until the painting’s completed.”
I can’t decipher the look on his face as he backs me against the bed and makes me sit. “Are you staying in DC?”
I don’t understand the question. “Sir?”
“Yes or no, baby. Are you, for sure, staying in DC? I need to hear you say it. Right now.”
Why does this feel…big? He knows I start working in the East Wing tomorrow. “Yes, Sir. I’m staying in DC.”
“With me?”
“With you.”
He kisses me. “I love you, Jordan.”
The entire world…stops. For the first time since I landed in DC, a mental hush fills my skull as I process what he just said. “I-I love you, too, Sir.”
He pulls something from his pocket. “You know Elliot has to be first in my heart and life, because you know how I feel about him. You also know we have secrets to keep. But I need you to know I’m not going anywhere. I love you, and I want you to be my boy. I want to know if you’ll wear this day collar, so you’ll always have this part of me with you as a reminder of how much I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Okay, yeah, this bitch right here starts crying, even as I’m nodding.
He cups my face in his hands and brushes my tears away. “I need you to ask me to wear it. I need to hear you say it, so I know it’s what you want, too.”
“I want to wear it, Sir. I want to be yours for life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too.”
Stunned, I watch as he fastens the bracelet around my right wrist. Then he kisses it and holds my hand against his chest. I can feel his heart throbbing under my palm. “Right for sub, left for Sir. Obviously, there might be times you have to take it off for security. But other than that, it’s always on your wrist, unless I take it off, or I’ve given you permission to take it off. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir.” This…
This is no goddamned necktie.
This is a day collar.
This is…
This is him wanting me.
He pulls me to my feet and wraps his arms around me. “I’m going to have more rules for you, more protocols. Still nothing that interferes with work.”
“All I want is to belong to you, Sir.”
“This is as serious as a wedding band, to me. It’s just you, and me, and Elliot. It means I’ll ask you, at times, to take care of him for me. To put him ahead of yourself and me. He’s got an important job, and he needs us in his corner.”
“Yes, Sir. Absolutely.” Of course I will. I’ll do anything Leo asks of me, anything to make him happy.
He slowly dances with me. He looks peaceful, serene. “You and I make a damned good team, baby.”
“I feel like I’m dreaming.”
He playfully pinches my ass. “You’re not dreaming.”
“What if he never comes to like me?”
“He likes you, baby.”
“You know what I mean, Leo. What if—”
He silences me with a kiss. “This is for life. I’m not letting you go unless you tell me you’re leaving. All I need is for you to say you belong to me, and that you’re my boy. I promise that we’ll figure out the rest as we go.”
“I belong to you, Sir. I’m your boy. For life.”
“Good. Now let’s get ready. I can’t wait to see you in that tux.”
I feel like I’m caught in a dream as we get ready and make our way through the first three balls of the night. Then we leave early and go to what is now officially Elliot’s residence, because I want to check everything one last time before he arrives.
It feels weird knowing I now have keys and an alarm code for the vice president’s house.
Other than Elliot’s detail, Leo and I are the only people allowed unhindered access to his residence. Even his household staff has rules about when they can enter.
Elliot doesn’t have a dedicated body man, but his detail has been told that Leo and I will act in that capacity at times, and he requires we always have unlimited access to him.
It’s…surreal.
I show Leo around and he reassures me he thinks Elliot will love it.
I hope he’s right.
We’re waiting in the front hall when Elliot arrives not long after. I offered to return to Blair House, so Elliot could have alone time with Leo, but Leo nixes that.
I’m so nervous that I’m not sure I won’t throw up as I show Elliot around. We finally end up in the master bedroom, where Leo closes and locks the door behind us. Elliot looks exhausted, and, to be honest, I feel kind of guilty that I’m here.
Elliot should be able to be alone with Leo right now.
I don’t begrudge him this night—he’s earned it.
Elliot turns to me. “It’s wonderful, Jordan. Thank you for all your hard work.” I even get a tired smile.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for trusting me to do this fo
r you.”
Then Leo pulls Elliot into his arms and…
Yeah.
I quickly find myself both a voyeur and second-hand participant in what is a sexy and scary routine for them. First, helping Leo with Duck—what Elliot calls his prosthesis.
Then, watching the two of them engage in a brutally vicious wrestling match in the middle of Elliot’s bed.
I’m simultaneously turned on and horrified as my sweet and tender Sir punches, bites, and grapples with the vice president of the United States.
Yeah, Leo and I play, but even when he’s being sadistic, there’s still a gentle, loving feel to it.
This man looks…unhinged.
Except there’s an eager, feral look in Elliot’s handsome blue eyes that makes my cock twitch. Leo warned me that their play like this takes on a darker tone than ours, but this is something else entirely from what I’d imagined.
Elliot naked is even hunkier than Elliot dressed.
Why does Leo want me when he’s got this man?
I don’t know why Elliot finally signals he’s done, but then their struggle transforms into sex, and Leo waves me in to blow him while he rides Elliot’s cock.
And that’s the last coherent thought I have for…a while. Even when Leo tells Elliot he can use me whenever and however he wants—sexually—it barely blips on my mental radar, because Leo has me so deep in subspace I can hardly see straight. That’s no shocker, though, because Leo knows it’s one of my hottest fantasies.
By the time we leave, Elliot’s already falling asleep, and I could easily keel over and collapse. I’ve been up a full twenty-four hours at this point. Leo and I return to Blair House, and basically faceplant onto the bed.
As I fall asleep, I feel Leo’s fingers encircle my wrist, where my new day collar now lays, and I smile.
This is a day I’m never going to forget.
Chapter Thirteen
“Yes, Madam President.”
I’ve never been more nervous in my dang life than when I utter those three words.
Right now, it’s day five of my new job, and I’m standing inside the Oval Office and discussing dining arrangements with President Samuels, Kevin Markos, and several other staffers.
Innocent (Inequitable Trilogy Book 2) Page 12