Manchester Ménage 01 - Saving Samuel

by Nicole Colville

  Milo couldn’t argue with him. He was right. His private life was his own and nothing to do with anyone else. “So, she’s messing around, or has she stopped since you found out?”

  “She doesn’t know I found out. We haven’t talked about it.” Dalton grabbed another jam tart and crammed it in his mouth. “You should see him. He’s this total prick. I ran a background check on him.” Milo frowned and Dalton shrugged. “Hey, you’d do the same. In fact, I remember some young guy being on your mind a lot when he started hanging around Danny.”

  Milo checked his fingernails. So he’d run a few checks on a couple of guys who Danny fucked around with, but he was just being concerned about his safety. “You have to talk to her. How can you sleep next to her and be wondering what she’s been up to while you were away. It must be killing you.”

  “I don’t like confrontations.”

  “You’re a police officer. A good one.”

  “Yeah, but that’s not confronting the wife.”

  Milo rolled his eyes and dragged his hair off his face. “Fine! Want me to talk to her?” Milo grinned at the look of shock on his face.

  “No.”

  “Okay, just asking.” He took the third tart from Dalton’s fingers and threw it in the bin. “I'm restricting your eating while you're around me. I'm not going to let you get any bigger.” Milo patted Dalton’s belly and smiled. “You should come to the gym with me after work. Help get yourself back in shape.”

  “We can’t all look like you. You spend far too much time in that gym.”

  “I like it. I enjoy running and lifting weights, I always have done. Won’t do you any harm to try it out. Besides, you keep this up, you’re going to struggle with the fitness tests later on.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Milo stood up. “I’m going to Danny’s to try and get some info from Sleeping Beauty about the fire. I want you there with me, but it might freak him out.” Milo didn’t want to go down in full uniform, but he had to keep this official and he needed a witness with him. “I’m thinking I go in, just chat for a bit, ease him, then introduce you to him. You’re everything I'm not, he should like you.”

  “At least I won’t be making googly eyes at him like you and Danny. You should have seen how you two drooled over him at the hospital. And you’ve spent all morning gazing at the pictures that I took of him sleeping. Don’t you dare deny it, Aladdin, you know it’s true.”

  Milo rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me that again, you know I hate it. And… I’ve been running background checks all morning, found out some really good stuff about his dad. I’ll tell you all about it while we drive there.”

  "What's his dad got to do with the fire?”

  “I don’t know, something’s strange though. I think they’re connected. I just need to try and prove it, and to do that, I need to find the fuckers who set that place alight. They took someone’s life in that blaze. It could have been worse, hell, Danny could have been killed. I want to find them.”

  “We don’t know they even exist yet.”

  “They do. I feel it. Someone came after Samuel and locked him in that room. I’ve got a statement from another lady we pulled out. She said she saw Samuel running through where she slept with a guy right behind him. I can’t fucking find her now. We need to get her back and get a more detailed description of the guy chasing him.”

  “Fair enough. Let’s go chat with your lover boy and Sleeping Beauty. Then we can have dinner, right? I'm starving.”

  Milo groaned and turned Dalton in the direction of the stairs. “Let’s walk down. It will do you good.”

  Chapter 13

  Daniel woke up late. It was twelve when he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. He’d need to catch up on his sleep tonight because he had work the following day. He felt horrible leaving Samuel alone all morning. When he’d dried and slipped on a pair of jeans and t-shirt, he jogged down the stairs and opened the sitting room door then stopped in shock.

  It was clean. Like really clean. It hadn’t looked like this since his mum last came round a couple of years ago and sorted out the house while he was on vacation in Spain.

  “Samuel?”

  “I'm in here.” Samuel popped his head around the kitchen door and smiled shyly. “I got bored. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Erm, no.” Daniel looked around again. “It’s like a different place.”

  “I just need to hoover up. I didn’t want to do it while you were in bed. I made lunch too.”

  “What with?” Daniel grinned. He knew there wasn’t much in apart from a few eggs and half a roast chicken.

  “Milo took me shopping.” Samuel stepped into the sitting room wearing some tight fitted, skinny grey jeans and a matching t-shirt with a cream waistcoat on and turned for him. “Milo chose them. Do you like them?”

  Daniel nodded his head. Trust Milo to buy the sexiest clothes he could lay his hands on to dress Samuel up in. Was he trying to test him or something? “You look great. Really gorgeous. But then you could wear a bin bag and make it look good.”

  Samuel smiled softly. “Milo said the same thing. I just have no meat on my body, so anything works.”

  Daniel tutted. Milo was a flirt. It wasn’t a surprise he couldn’t stop it, not even for Samuel. “You buy any food while you were out?”

  “Loads.”

  “I suppose it’s all organic and mainly vegetables?”

  “Yes.” Samuel grinned. “You should eat better.”

  “So should you.”

  “I will be doing. Thanks to Milo.” He laughed at the frown on Daniel’s face. “Come on, I made a chicken and ham pie with vegetables.”

  Daniel lifted his brows and joined him in the kitchen, which had also been cleaned. “Wow! You didn’t have to do all this. I feel bad you’ve cleaned up while I've been in bed.”

  “You were in bed because you were helping me all night.”

  “Well…” Daniel cleared his throat. “It smells good, Sweetheart.” He laid a quick kiss on Samuel’s forehead and pulled the ponytail at the nape of his neck. “Can we take this out now? I like it hanging around your face.”

  “When I've given the food out, I will.”

  Daniel made them both a cup of tea and sat down. “How did you get along with Milo this morning?”

  “Fine. I was surprised to see him here when I woke up, but he was okay. I think I like him. I'm not sure.”

  “Yeah, I know how that feels.”

  Samuel placed the pie on the table and grinned. He was proud of it and so he should be, it was perfect and smelled amazing.

  “Samuel, this looks great. Thank you.” Daniel groaned and moaned his way through the meal. Missing out on a few hours’ sleep was worth it to eat a home cooked meal. “I don’t think the oven has been used before.”

  “You can tell. It was so clean.” Samuel laughed loudly as Daniel felt himself blush. “You're really busy, Daniel. I understand. You need someone to look after you.”

  “Well, I got you to do that.”

  Samuel chewed his food then looked into his eyes. “I meant when I leave.”

  Daniel’s stomach flipped and the disappointment he felt must have made it onto his face because Samuel grabbed his hand.

  “I didn’t mean now. I meant… I don’t know. When this is over. When Milo knows I didn’t set the place on fire. I've got to go, Daniel.”

  “No, you don’t. I thought you’d decided to stay until we found the guys who took you.”

  “You won’t get anywhere with them. And if you do, they’ll hurt you. I don’t want that to happen. I still want to go to Scotland.”

  “Scotland isn’t exactly far. If you wanted to get away from them, you’d need to leave the UK. Go abroad.”

  “I would do if I could afford to go and had a passport.”

  “Just… just think about staying.” Daniel’s phone buzzed next to him. It was Milo. “Hey.”

  “I'm on my way. I'm bringing Dalton. I need t
o talk to Samuel this afternoon. I’ll leave Dalton in the car and come in for a quick chat before we move on to the official stuff. Can you let him know we’re coming?”

  “I will do. How long?”

  “About twenty minutes.”

  “Okay. See you soon.” Daniel took another bite of food and looked at Samuel. “Milo’s coming back soon. He can try out your cooking.”

  "Oh, good.” Samuel smiled.

  “Samuel… he’s coming from work, so he’ll be in uniform. I don’t want you to worry.”

  “Okay.” Samuel looked a little more nervous.

  “He’s on duty, so his partner will be with him, but he’s going to stay in the car so you don’t get too overwhelmed.”

  Samuel nodded.

  “Eat up.”

  Samuel clock-watched all the time, busying himself with washing the dishes. Daniel took hold of his shoulder then held him from behind.

  “Calm down.” He gently brushed his fingers through the ponytail hanging down Samuel’s back and smiled. “Can I brush your hair?”

  Samuel looked over his shoulder and lifted a brow. “You want to brush my hair?”

  “Only if you’re okay with me doing that.”

  He thought about it, and then nodded before he went into the sitting room to get his brush. He walked back in, standing in front of Daniel and handing him the brush.

  Daniel freed Samuel’s hair, draping it around his shoulders and combing it through with his fingers before he took the brush and began to drag it through the thick locks. It smelled beautiful, fresh and heavily scented from his bath the day before. When he’d finished, it shone in the light, hanging around him like a mane.

  “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Samuel turned around, looking into his eyes before he pressed a soft kiss on his lips. Daniel stood still, his heart beating a million miles an hour. Samuel pressed a little harder on his lips and moaned softly. “Daniel…”

  Daniel was already more than semi-hard by the small bit of contact, and when Samuel’s hip brushed against his cock, he jerked back. “We can’t do this.”

  Samuel looked teary eyed, but he nodded. “Okay.”

  “You know I want you, Samuel. I'm sure you could feel how I want you.” Daniel looked to the ceiling and sighed. “You don’t want me like that. I'm not even sure you want to kiss me.”

  “I'm confused about a lot of things. But when I'm next to you, that all goes away and I know what I need. It’s you I want, Daniel. It doesn’t matter to me which box I fit in. I've never really fitted in anywhere all my life—straight, gay, bi. I don’t care. All I know is I feel alive when I'm near you, that I feel things I've never felt before, want things from you which I’ve never wanted with anyone.”

  “You could also just be feeling guilty and want to give me something in return. Like the housework or cooking for me. You don’t have to do these things.”

  “I wanted to do them. I enjoyed them. Just like I enjoyed kissing you. I wanted to do it.” Samuel frowned. “I won’t kiss you again.”

  Daniel held him in his arms. “I want you a lot, Samuel. I honestly don’t know how I'm holding back from you. Don’t feel like I'm being a prick by doing this. I'm looking out for you. I don’t want to hurt you in any way.”

  “I'm not interrupting anything, am I?” Milo’s voice made them both jump apart.

  “Milo…” Daniel ran his fingers over his head. “No, Samuel was just… worried.”

  Milo flashed a look at Samuel and then turned to him. “Can I talk to you outside for a moment?” He didn’t wait and was standing in the garden while Daniel followed him. “Come round here.”

  Daniel followed him around the back of the garage and was quickly pinned against the wall by Milo as soon as they were out of sight. “Danny—”

  “It wasn’t what it looked like. I was just…” Danny groaned. “He kissed me and I was explaining why we couldn’t do that when you came in.”

  “Let’s get one thing straight before we move on, because this didn’t come up in our conversation last night, but it’s important. I'm not seeing anyone else. I haven’t for a long time. You, on the other hand, have fucked God knows how many men, and now you’ve got your heart set on Samuel. So tell me this, Danny, if he was in a different place head-wise right now, you’d have had him in your bed the first night you took him, right?”

  Daniel looked into Milo’s angry dark eyes. “Yes. If he’d just been someone I rescued, with nothing else going on, I would have taken him to bed, if that’s what he wanted. We weren’t together—”

  “In your mind we weren’t.”

  “Milo, we tried the monogamous thing for three months. We both messed it up by seeing other people. I had no idea you decided to stop fucking other men. You could have told me.”

  “Would you have stopped?”

  “Would you have told me you loved me?”

  Ha ha! Stalemate.

  Milo stepped back and flung his arms in the air. “So, here we are again, only twelve hours later, and things are fucked up. You have feelings for him. I'm not blind to how you look at him. He’s already in here.” Milo tapped Daniel’s chest with his finger. “I need to know where I stand with you. Is it just us or… if things change with Samuel, will you and him be…” Milo ground his teeth. “Jesus Christ, Daniel. You play with my mind constantly. I don’t know how to make this work as it is with just us two. Now you and him…”

  “I love you. You love me. I want Samuel, I won’t lie to you. Being around him is difficult, but I won’t abuse that trust.”

  “And if he wants you? If he sorts his life out and comes back one day, ready and willing to be in your bed, in your life. What then?”

  “That won’t happen.”

  "Fuck you, Danny. That’s already happening. You’re falling for him. I can see it your eyes.”

  “I'm not.”

  "Yes, you fucking are. You've known him, what? Three or four days and you’re falling in love with him.”

  Daniel turned from him. It was true. “I haven’t changed how I feel for you. This isn’t real. None of it is real, Milo. How I feel for you, that’s…” Was it different?

  “That’s what, Daniel?”

  “It’s stronger with you.”

  “That’s because you’re not there with him yet. In another week, or month, what then?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “YOU DON’T KNOW!” Milo was on him again. Angry sex with Milo was the best.

  Before either of them knew it, Daniel was on his knees, pulling Milo’s cock out of his pants and sucking his cock like a whore, watching Milo lose his mind above him. His cock hit Daniel’s throat, Milo thrusting his hips forward and forcing it in his throat, fucking him as he got closer. Milo fisted his hand in Daniel’s hair, working his mouth over his cock, and running his fingers over his lips wrapped around his length.

  “That’s it, suck me dry, Danny.” Daniel sucked harder, swirling his tongue around as Milo plunged his cock into his throat. “I'm coming, open wide. I want to shoot over your tongue. “ Daniel opened his mouth, catching the first jet of cum on his tongue, waiting for the next before he swallowed and took Milo’s cock back in his mouth, licking him clean and moaning for more. “You're so fucking good at that.”

  “Feel better?” Daniel smirked up at him.

  “Sort of. Less mad, more relaxed.” Milo pulled him up to his feet. “This isn’t over.”

  “I know. But just leave it for now. I want him, I care for him. That’s all that’s happening.”

  Chapter 14

  The profiles in front of Milo had caused a stir in the department. So much of a stir, the Criminal Investigation Department had been called in immediately as soon as Milo requested them.

  These were the two men who’d tracked Samuel down to the abandoned warehouse four days ago. As soon as he got a description from Samuel that afternoon and heard he’d seen them before while he was being held captive, he called for an artist to do
a sketch of them and ordered the files from the gang Samuel’s dad had been investigating. He got all the new info on the members who were currently active and which had been investigated and had them brought over for Samuel to look at.

  Seeing Samuel so afraid when he came face to face with them made both Daniel and Milo forget about the confusion they were feeling over him and they just concentrated on comforting him as best they could.

  “This kid’s important.”

  Milo almost rolled his eyes at the detective from CID.

  “He needs to be watched constantly. I'm talking twenty four hour surveillance. I want detailed interviews with him on record and fast. Every name he’s given, every person he’s come in contact with, I want them all.”

  "He won’t talk to you. He barely talks to me.” Milo took a sip of his coffee and checked his watch.

  “You can do it. You and the fireman he’s shacked up with.”

  Milo paused with his cup to his lips and sighed. “I can’t be involved in this. Me and the fireman are involved.”

  A sly smirk made it onto the guy’s face. “Really? All the more reason to get this kid out of the way then. But seriously, this kid’s a runner. We need him watched, and who better to do it than you two.”

  “I’m not spending the next God knows how many months baby-sitting him.”

  “You don’t have to. Once we get the information from him, we can take him into protective custody. We could do it now…”

  Milo shook his head. “Not until we’re forced to. He’ll have me or Daniel with him all the time, and an officer watching the house.”

  “I'm not taking any chances with him, but if he’s going to clam up when we take him in, I'm prepared to wait until we get all the details, and then move him.”

  “Look…” Milo looked at his badge again. “Detective Taylor, they’re after him, they’ve been tracking him for over a year since he escaped. Whatever he knows, it’s important. They’ve tried to kill him once. Who’s to say they won’t set Daniel’s house on fire the first chance they get? I don’t want to put Danny in danger, or myself. Samuel’s important, but I'm not willing to sacrifice Danny for him. If this is heading to a bad place, which it is, then I want to know about it.”