Rialto

by Drake, Jocelynn

  Hollis groaned, kissing his jaw to his neck. He sucked the skin into his mouth briefly before moving to Ian’s shoulder and opening his lips over skin. “Love you,” he whispered reverently. “No more fighting.”

  “No more,” Ian agreed as he nuzzled into Hollis’s soft hair.

  Hollis returned to his mouth, sliding his tongue between Ian’s lips. Ian opened wide for him, and the kiss went on and on until they had to pull back to gasp air into their lungs. They stared at each other for long moments, the passion between them scorching Ian from the inside out.

  Ian stared just a bit longer before he kneeled and pulled down Hollis’s boxers until Hollis could kick them off. He took hold of his beautiful cock and licked the end, the flavor of pre-cum bursting on his tongue. The tile was cold under his knees, even through his pajama pants, but he didn’t care. He buried his nose in the pubic hair at Hollis’s root and took in the scent of his man. Musky and warm—it was his favorite smell in the world.

  Hollis stroked his hair, then grasped his head and led him back to his cock. Ian took him into his mouth, using his tongue to love on the silky skin. Hollowing his cheeks, he took Hollis deep, relishing the sound of Hollis’s moan above him. He pulled him deeper and worked to swallow around the head, choking as Hollis moaned again. His husband loved it when he choked on his dick, and Ian wanted to smile but his mouth was too busy.

  He wrapped his hand around the base and went to work, bobbing his head as that slick cock slid in and out of him.

  He loved giving Hollis head, loved the sounds that came out of the man, loved that he could bring such pleasure to him.

  When Hollis tugged him to his feet, he blinked at him in surprise. “Not good?”

  “Too good,” Hollis growled as he set Ian up on the breakfast bar.

  “This isn’t hygienic at all,” Ian muttered, though he really didn’t care. He’d scrub the place down in the morning.

  Hollis stepped between his legs and ravished his mouth, his big hands stroking Ian’s chest, then his back. He cupped the sides of his head and tilted it, his mouth going to Ian’s neck. Ian shivered, loving kisses there and when Hollis opened his lips over his pulse, he held his breath. Hollis returned to his mouth, spearing his tongue deep inside Ian.

  “I hate it when we fight,” he murmured against his lips.

  “We don’t do it often, thank goodness.” Ian licked into Hollis’s mouth, wrapping his legs around Hollis’s waist and his arms around his neck. “And we’ve never had one like that.”

  Hollis abruptly picked him up and walked toward the stairs.

  “I have to cover the brownies,” Ian said as he held on.

  “Fuck the brownies. I want you so much. We’ll be lucky to get up the stairs.”

  Ian smiled and went back to kissing his husband. Hollis was so damn strong as he carried Ian to their bedroom. He put him on his feet next to the bed and leaned down to tug off his pajama pants. He kissed Ian’s legs, then his hips, before stopping at his cock. He licked it and pulled it into his mouth, his hand coming up to cup his sac.

  “Agh,” Ian breathed as he dropped his head back and sucked air into his lungs. One of Hollis’s hands went around to cup his ass, and he pushed Ian into his throat. Ian fucked into his mouth, loving the feel of his tongue sliding around him. He was so wet and so tight. It all felt so fucking good.

  When Hollis moved up to his mouth, he sighed against his lips. They were going to be okay, and it wasn’t just because of the sex. Neither had made it through one night mad at the other, and his heart warmed at the realization that their relationship was that strong.

  Hollis devoured his mouth, his kisses deep, hot, and wet. Ian stood on his toes and opened wide for Hollis’s tongue as he stroked his hands over Ian’s shoulders and down. Hollis gripped his ass and ground against him.

  “What do you want, GQ?”

  “You. Just you.” Ian turned and bent over the bed. “Like this.”

  Growling, Hollis grabbed the lube and brought his slick fingers to Ian’s hole. He rubbed around it, leaning over to kiss the small of Ian’s back. He nuzzled the skin as he dropped soft kisses there, his fingers slowly sliding into Ian’s body.

  Ian groaned and spread his legs more, bracing his hands on the bed. When Hollis entered him, he held his breath at the sting, knowing that pleasure would soon follow. The last time they’d made love he’d just been hurt, but he was fine now, so he hoped Hollis would pound him into the mattress. He loved when the man came over him and pinned him down.

  Hollis didn’t disappoint and before long, he was ramming Ian’s prostate and making him see stars. He howled into the bed, gathering the covers in his fists. Hollis’s fingers dug into his hips as he held him and thrust into him over and over.

  Fuck, Ian loved this.

  Sweat built on their bodies and Hollis grunted when he bottomed out inside Ian. “You feel so damn good,” he said on a moan.

  Ian looked over his shoulder to find Hollis watching where their bodies connected. It was dark in the room with only lights from outside filtering through the blinds, but Ian’s sight had adjusted enough to see the glazed lust on his husband’s face. He loved him like this—loved when he gave over to his pleasure and took Ian like this.

  He leaned over Ian’s back and sweat dripped from his chest. He lifted Ian onto the bed and crawled up behind him on his knees before spearing into his body. Ian lifted and reached behind him to touch Hollis’s face and Hollis grasped his chin, his fingers going into Ian’s mouth. He sucked on them, gasping at a particularly strong thrust.

  Hollis pulled out his fingers and reached to wrap his hand around Ian’s dick. Ian cried out, the dual sensations rocking his whole damn world. He pushed into Hollis’s hand, then back onto his cock, so fired up, he hovered on the edge of his orgasm. When it hit, he yelled and shuddered and came all over Hollis’s hand and the bed. Hollis stroked him through it, groaning softly behind him.

  “So fucking hot,” he panted, pulling out and using some of Ian’s semen to stroke himself before pushing in. Ian gasped and cried out again, coming up to reach behind him for Hollis. Hollis’s wet hand held his chest as he sucked on Ian’s neck. His rhythm faltered, and his breaths picked up until he was panting hard in Ian’s ear. Then he went mostly still with only his hips rocking into Ian as he groaned long and loud. Ian felt him pulsing inside him as he quivered with the force of his orgasm.

  He loved feeling Hollis lose it on him, loved knowing he affected the man as much as he affected Ian. Ian collapsed onto the bed, grimacing at the huge wet spot he’d left. But he didn’t have time to relax before Hollis was hauling him up and into the bathroom. Hollis turned on the water and when it was hot enough, he stepped into the spray with Ian.

  They washed each other slowly, their gazes mostly locked, and it was so intimate and loving, Ian didn’t want to ruin the moment with words. Though they needed more words. After they dried off, he stripped the ruined comforter off the bed and grabbed a blanket out of the closet to replace it.

  Crawling into bed, he held his arms out for Hollis, and Hollis settled on his back and pulled Ian half on top of him.

  “We still have baggage,” Ian whispered against Hollis’s chest. He swirled one finger in the hair there before looking up to meet Hollis’s gaze. “I’m going to call tomorrow and make an appointment for me.”

  “If that’s what you need, then it’s important. I should have told you about seeing Jagger’s enforcer. Should have realized you’re strong enough to handle that kind of information.” Hollis palmed his back, softly running his fingers over Ian’s skin.

  “I am. I’d gotten too relaxed about things since Jagger’s death. It was nice to not be looking over my shoulder all the time, and I resent that I’m having to do so again.” He sighed and snuggled closer. “I don’t want to spend my life doing that, so we have to get to the bottom of this.”

  “And the foster classes?”

  “We’ll finish. We’ve come too far to stop now,
and I still want it. I let my anger speak for me earlier. My anger and fear. But I am worried. I won’t bring in any children until this situation is resolved.”

  “We will resolve it. I promise.”

  Ian sighed and kissed Hollis’s chest. “No more yelling at each other, either. I didn’t like it.”

  “Me neither, baby,” Hollis whispered, nosing into Ian’s hair. “We should try to sleep. Maybe tomorrow things won’t feel as bleak.”

  “They don’t now. As long as you and I are good, I can deal with the rest.”

  “I promise, we’re good. Hell, we’re great.”

  Exhaustion pulled Ian nearly under before he remembered something. “I never covered the brownies,” he murmured.

  He fell asleep to the deep, rumbling chuckle in Hollis’s chest.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hollis stood to the side, smiling as he watched Ian talking animatedly with another couple they’d made friends with in their foster training class. It turned out that they were unable to have their own children and were now looking to adopt but wanted to start out as foster parents. They were currently chatting about the anxiety and stress of preparing their home for the first check to make sure they’d made all the necessary changes to accommodate young children. He and Ian had yet to go through that, but it was coming soon. They’d agreed to get through the mandatory training classes first.

  Reaching into his pocket, Hollis pulled out his phone and turned it on. The classes were the only time they both turned off their phones as a way of making sure there were no distractions. The world could get along without them for three short hours. Right?

  He looked up from his phone as Ian started to make sounds of wrapping up his conversation when Hollis’s phone started buzzing and vibrating like a thing gone mad in his hand. He stared at it, his brow furrowing as missed calls and frantic texts started rolling in.

  “Everything okay?” Ian asked. His hand came to rest on his bicep, his gentle touch meant to soothe.

  “Turn on your phone. I’ve got calls and texts from James as well as Jude. Something bad happened.”

  Ian released him and immediately reached for his phone. Hollis shoved his own phone away and grabbed Ian by the shoulder so he could get them both walking toward his car while Ian dealt with whatever was happening on his phone.

  He’d just gotten Ian into the car when his phone finally booted up and messages started scrolling through along with missed calls. “James, Jude, and Isabella for me.”

  Hollis shut Ian’s passenger door and hurried around the car to jump behind the wheel. The Chevelle roared to life, and Hollis carefully backed out of the parking spot, planning to head directly to Rialto, though he couldn’t understand how Jude Torres was involved in anything to do with the restaurant. Had he and Snow stopped there for dinner and something happened?

  “Oh, God!” Ian gasped, his fingers partially covering his mouth as he pressed the cell to his ear. Hollis could only guess that he was listening to a voice mail. “Go to UC hospital.”

  “What? What happened? Is Snow okay? Jude?” Hollis demanded.

  “Wade and Sean were attacked in the parking lot as they were leaving tonight. They were both taken to UC.”

  A heavy weight sank in Hollis’s stomach and he stepped on the gas so that they sped down the quiet street. They were no more than fifteen minutes from the hospital, but Hollis was determined to get them there in ten. “Fuck. Are they okay?”

  “James said he didn’t think it was too serious, but he sent them both in an ambulance to get X-rays and checked by a doc.”

  “Which would explain Jude. He and Rebecca must have been the ones to get the call,” Hollis said, mentioning Jude’s perpetual partner in the ambulance. He hated to admit that he relaxed a little to know that it wasn’t their small family that had been attacked. Jude was a great guy, and even grumpy Snow was growing on him. Particularly when he and Snow teamed up against Lucas.

  “I’m calling James to get more details.”

  Hollis nodded and turned his attention to getting them to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible. Though he was also keeping one eye on the rearview mirror to make sure no one was following them. The bad reviews and report to the health department were annoying and financially troubling, but whoever was out to hurt Ian was definitely stepping up their game. First the physical attack on Ian at their home and now a physical attack on two of Ian’s employees. He wasn’t sure if this was just a scare tactic or something more. They needed to figure out who the fuck was doing this and why. It had to end now.

  Hollis was only half listening to Ian’s conversation with his business manager as he mentally ran through their options for securing Rialto and protecting the other employees.

  “Thanks, James. We’re pulling into the garage now. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Ian said as Hollis started looking for a place to park.

  “What’d he say?”

  “Both Sean and Wade are in for X-rays now. Sean definitely has a concussion, so they’ll probably be keeping him overnight for observations. He’s not happy about that.”

  “He knows your insurance will cover it.” Hollis glanced over at Ian to find his husband giving him a look that said he was being obtuse.

  “Sean doesn’t want to be away from the restaurant any more than I do. He knows I’m going to make him take some time off to recover.”

  “Is everyone at Rialto a workaholic?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Hollis pulled the car into an open spot and shoved it into park. He pointed his finger at Ian. “You’re a bad influence.”

  “I know. I know,” Ian muttered as he threw off his seat belt and climbed out of the car.

  “Did James say anything about who attacked them?”

  “No.” They started to quickly walk toward the area marked as the emergency room. “Sounds like they didn’t see who it was, but it was just one attacker. Apparently he knocked out the light over the parking lot and attacked them with a baseball bat, then got away. The police have been called and are checking the area. They’re also going to keep a squad car in the area until everyone has left for the night. James has already called someone to replace the light.”

  “Shit.”

  “Why go after Sean and Wade? I thought this was a personal attack on me,” Ian demanded, lowering his voice to a near whisper as they entered the hospital.

  “Because attacking your people hurts you too.”

  Hollis looked over at Ian to see the pain, anger, and helplessness clearly etched onto Ian’s face. It was working, too. Ian was more shaken up about the attacks on his employees than he was about the attack on him in his own home. Enough had happened to Ian over the years that he’d learned to shrug off personal physical attacks, but attacks on his family and restaurant were deep wounds that he didn’t quickly get over.

  “This is a clear attack on you and your business,” Hollis murmured. “Do you want to take this to the police? You’ve got a definite case now.”

  Ian’s fast steps slowed to an almost halt, and he stared up at Hollis in surprise. It was clear that he’d not considered it yet. Hollis could almost see the thoughts zipping around in his mind as he weighed the pros and cons. It took only a couple of seconds for Ian to shake his head.

  “No. Not yet, at least. The police are keeping an eye on the restaurant, and we can ask Rowe to send over some bodyguards as well so that everyone at Rialto is safe.”

  “I worry about the people at Rialto, but my main concern is your safety,” Hollis pressed.

  “I know, but what if Rowe is right, and this is someone from Jagger’s old crew? That’s going to raise a lot of questions as to why I’m being targeted when very few people know I have a connection to Jagger. I don’t want my past getting out and dragged through the news if I can help it. We can take precautions. I just want to get more information first before I willingly blow up my life.”

  Hollis wrapped his arm around Ian’s tense shoulders and pul
led him against his side as they continued to walk. “Then we’ll keep it in the family,” Hollis whispered as they started down the hall again.

  He understood Ian’s desire to keep his past hidden. The strong man at his side had worked far too long and hard to rise above that sordid ugliness and make a great life for himself. If the world found out the truth, they would never let him move on. He’d forever be labeled Jagger’s victim. No one would care about his other accomplishments. It wouldn’t matter if he was the world’s greatest chef or owned a string of five-star restaurants that had lines of people waiting to get a table.

  Ian deserved better than that.

  As they reached the waiting room, they found Jude talking to a pretty brown-haired woman in the same uniform as Jude. This had to be the infamous Rebecca. Jude straightened from where he was leaning against the wall when he spotted them and ended his conversation with the young woman. They waved and Jude turned to meet them, a tentative smile on his lips.

  To say that Jude was a fucking catch was an understatement. The dark-haired man with the swarthy skin and constant five o’clock shadow looked like he should be modeling clothes and not riding in an ambulance, covered in blood and other fluids. If Hollis had never met Ian, then yeah, he would have definitely hit on Jude, convincing them they’d have a wild night. But Jude had eyes only for his General, just like no one would ever catch Hollis’s attention but his husband beside him.

  “They’re okay,” Jude said before Ian could even speak.

  Ian breathed a deep sigh of relief and Jude immediately pulled him in for a brotherly hug. “I’m so glad you were the one called to the scene,” Ian replied.

  “Honestly, I wasn’t really needed. Don’t get me wrong. They took a good beating. Sean definitely has a concussion, and it looks like Wade has a few fractures. Maybe some internal bruising. But I wouldn’t expect either of them to be here for more than a night just for observation.”

  “Thanks, Jude,” Hollis said. Jude wouldn’t normally share patient information, but they all knew Ian was about to barrel into those rooms and get the information from his employees. It was better that they weren’t allowed to sugarcoat it for Ian. They would both need some time off work to recover.