“Very impressive.”
“And the first week, he got in trouble for getting a first-grade girl to kiss him in exchange for a ladybug he’d caught.”
Gabe put his face into his hand, trying not to laugh. “You are really lucky you’re not a grandparent yet, aren’t you?”
James let out a long and long-suffering sigh. “You have no idea.”
Dylan heaped a slice of meatloaf onto his plate before passing the tray to James. James had tried to duplicate his mother’s meatloaf recipe many times over the years, but never got it quite right. He was convinced she left out something when she passed him the recipe. He took his own helping before passing the tray back to his mother.
“James,” his father started. “When do we get to meet this boyfriend of yours?”
James’ fork froze halfway to his mouth. “Never” was the first answer to come into his mind. But not for any easily identifiable reason. He and Gabe were on better footing after their last dinner—not perfect, but better. He was a good guy, certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, and the entire Bay Area, to say nothing of vast portions of the business and computer world, knew they were dating.
“Um…. He’s kind of in the middle of some complicated international business negotiations right now.” His father gave James a stern look that made him feel like a teenager again. “I’ll ask him about it, but he is really busy right now.”
“And what does he do again?” his mother asked.
James glanced at Dylan. He’d assumed Dylan had already told his grandparents every little detail about who Gabe was and with great glee, but Dylan shook his head.
“He’s an executive for TechPrim,” James half mumbled.
Dylan snorted. “He’s the CFO of TechPrim.”
James felt the eyes of both his parents drilling into him. He curled himself over his meatloaf and shoved a large forkful into his mouth.
“The CFO?” his mother repeated.
James chewed slowly as a delay tactic.
“His name’s Gabriel Juarez,” Dylan supplied. “And he’s the CFO and one of the founders.”
He gave Dylan a sharp look. Traitor, he thought toward his son. Dylan grinned at him.
“I see,” James’ mother said without emotion.
James swallowed as his cheeks began to burn. “You know I can still ground you, right?” he muttered in Dylan’s direction. He’d managed to pull himself together and fake a good mood well enough that Dylan hadn’t been aware of the falling-out with Gabe.
Dylan didn’t stop grinning. “Hey, Dad, what time is it?”
Without thinking James checked the time on his phone. His incredibly fancy, top-of-the-line, so amazingly cool it automatically set the timer on your Wi-Fi-enabled coffeepot so the coffee was dripping no matter what time you set your wake-up alarm for, phone. His father simply raised an eyebrow upon seeing it.
“There was a recall on my old phone because it didn’t handle humidity well.” James shoved it back in his pocket.
“When do we get to check this guy over?”
James sighed and reminded himself that he was thirty-two and not a teenager. He squared his shoulders. “He’s currently in the middle of working out a multibillion-dollar deal with a bunch of Russians. He’s on conference calls at two in the morning on top of all his regular work. I will ask him about his schedule.” In his heart James knew that Gabe would be willing to shift around his schedule, but he couldn’t help but feel jealous of the time he got with Gabe, knowing how valuable it was. He also didn’t want Gabe to feel like he was trying to push the relationship forward too fast, especially after he’d been the one to grind it to a halt. Not that James had any idea how fast things were supposed to be moving.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa, I’m keeping an eye on Dad, and I’ll drag Gabe in for inspection if I have to.”
5
Gabe had been the one to suggest a quiet night in. He had cooked for James, nothing extravagant, had a glass of wine each. They’d watched Young Frankenstein and laughed at the same moments. They began to kiss during the credits, and Gabe had suggested they share a bath.
Now James had the feeling he was on the edge of a full-blown addiction to Gabe’s bathtub, especially with Gabe in it. He could stretch his legs without touching the end, and he was sure, somehow, the water felt softer.
Gabe had one arm wrapped around him as he tilted his head back, leaning it against Gabe’s shoulder. Gabe’s free hand teased his cock and balls with careful strokes.
James had tried to keep still but couldn’t hold it much longer. His hips jumped, hoping for a firmer touch. They hadn’t had sex since James had walked out of that restaurant a few weeks earlier. Gabe hadn’t pushed, as James had felt slightly off balance and unsure even after Gabe’s apology and James’ acceptance. Gabe ran his thumb around the tip of James’ cock, and he felt far surer.
Gabe let go. “Roll over,” he whispered in James’ ear.
He turned over easily in the spacious tub and settled his head back on Gabe’s shoulder, his lips at Gabe’s neck. Gabe cupped his ass for a moment, then slowly eased just one finger between his cheeks. James hummed and snuggled closer. Gabe liked to play with his ass every time they took a shower or a bath. He didn’t jump out of his skin like he did the first time, but Gabe hadn’t gone past the single finger. A finger, slick with waterproof lube, slipped in.
They hadn’t talked about it, but it had been building for a while, and James had a feeling that Gabe wanted to try to ease him a little further than one finger tonight. He had thought long and hard about it. He’d tried to imagine what it might feel like. He’d read that there were amazing moments of unbelievable pleasure. He’d also read that it was painful, uncomfortable, and pointless. Gabe did seem to fly apart whenever James pushed into him. His back would arch and he would beg for James to go harder and faster.
He relaxed as Gabe slowly worked that one finger in and out. He decided at the end of the day that if it was too much, he could simply say stop, and he was sure Gabe would stop, no matter what.
“Take a breath,” Gabe whispered.
James did as told, and just as his lungs were filled, Gabe slid a second finger in. There was a bit of pain, a little burn, but the lust that shot through him in the same moment drowned all that out. He moaned, and his body shook. He pressed his cock hard into Gabe’s thigh, looking for some friction.
“I love hearing you make that noise.” Gabe slowly worked his fingers in and out while twisting them. “I love all your noises. Your moans and sighs and screams. Do you like it when I make you moan?”
James nodded, his ability to speak already shorting out. He shamelessly rubbed himself against Gabe’s thigh, the water making it hard to build up heat. Gabe kissed his ear. “I think about this a dozen times every day. You in this tub, hard against me.” Gabe gave a quick twist of his fingers. “Me, making your breath catch just before you whimper.”
Gabe twisted his head around so James could look into those dark eyes. He felt that hard squeeze in his chest again. He was starting to develop a theory about what it meant, but it scared him as much as all the things Gabe could give him. He told himself it was just the lust of the moment. Gabe kissed him softly, then leaned his face against James’, all the while still sliding his fingers in and out of James’ body.
Then Gabe curled his fingers and hit just the right spot. James jumped and squeezed his eyes shut, even as he squeezed down around Gabe’s fingers. Gabe stroked at that spot, and he felt his lungs begin to burn as his breath became fast and hard. He ground down on Gabe’s thigh, sending water sloshing over the sides.
“That’s right. I want to hear you cum for me.” Gabe’s fingers were working faster, driving in hard. Suddenly there was an extra burn. A tiny detached part of James’ brain told him that Gabe must have slid in a third thick finger. He rocked forward hard, biting down on Gabe’s shoulder. Gabe cried out and twisted his fingers around.
James pressed forward, a bellow escapin
g his lungs as he drained himself into the water.
He fought for breath, eyes still squeezed shut, his body aching from the force of it all. He could still feel Gabe hard against his hip as Gabe stroked his head. He opened his eyes and took in the rough bite mark on Gabe’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” James mumbled.
“Don’t be.”
“I meant about your shoulder.”
“So did I.” Gabe kissed his face. “Was I too rough on you?”
“No.”
“Good.” Gabe kissed him again. “Think you can get to the bed?”
James did a quick mental once-over of his body. He ached in strange and wonderful ways, and his limbs felt weak, but he was pretty sure he could stand. “I think I can manage.”
“Good.” Gabe stood and rinsed off the both of them before making a break for the bed. He curled against James, staring at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” James asked.
“Because I like looking at you.”
“That’s so weird.”
“Weird that I want to look at my boyfriend? That I want to memorize every inch of his postorgasm blissed-out face so I can bring it out fifty times a day and just think about how gorgeous he looks to me?”
James felt that squeeze and for a half second thought he might cry. He took a deep breath instead. Even that was proving hard. “You are completely insane.”
Gabe smiled. “Possibly, yes. But I think I make it work.” Then Gabe was on him, pinning him to the bed, kissing him, enveloping his body as if he could somehow take James completely into himself. James ran his hands along Gabe’s spine, then tangled them into his hair. He had noticed that if he pulled lightly on Gabe’s hair he started to come undone. Gabe tilted his head back and ground his cock down against James.
He ran his fingers across the bite mark. Even in the pleasantly dim light of the bedroom, he could make out the impression of his own teeth. He ran his hand down over Gabe’s shoulder until he could feel the rough scars left by road gravel and safety glass, minor injuries considering the speed at which Gabe flipped his car years before they ever met. He briefly considered where he’d be that night if Gabe’s luck hadn’t held. Almost certainly at home with a trashy book and a cup of cheap tea. Instead he was laid out on fine sheets while Gabe looked at him with unflinching desire. He could still feel the stretch where Gabe’s fingers had twisted around and the pleasure of it was still fresh in his mind.
“If you want…,” James whispered, then cleared his throat. “If you want more. I’m….” James swallowed hard but hoped the expression on his face might convey the words he couldn’t quite get out.
Gabe kissed him. “Thank you. For tonight, I just want this. My body against yours. Is that okay?”
James nodded. He hadn’t recharged yet, but he was still losing himself in the feel of Gabe’s smooth skin and warm scent.
He set one hand to Gabe’s backside, pulling him in close, and twisted the other carefully back into Gabe’s curls. He thrust harder, working up the friction between them. James tugged; Gabe groaned. The bite mark caught his eye again. He put his lips to it and carefully sucked.
Gabe cried out and shuddered while James felt splashing across his body.
Gabe managed to collapse onto the bed instead of onto James. He gave a funny little giggle, then closed his eyes. James got up and retrieved a washcloth, hanging up the damp bath towels as he went.
When he returned, Gabe blinked sleepily at him, a soft smile on his face. He looked younger, even with the few strands of silver at his temple. James cleaned them both up without a word, then dropped the cloth into the hamper. When he got back to the bedroom, he found Gabe had crawled under the blankets. James joined him and was pulled close. He let the sound of Gabe’s breathing lull him to sleep.
Gabe only half dozed while James slept. James was prone to taking little naps after sex. Not terribly long ones—thirty minutes, sometimes up to an hour if it was the end of a long day or week. He never begrudged James a moment of sleep. Gabe’s doctor liked to regularly remind him how stress can render even a full night’s sleep useless, not that he got many of those. If he wasn’t dealing with problems on the other side of the planet, he just had good old-fashioned insomnia, nights where his brain wouldn’t shut down, and he stared at the clock, feeling the seconds drag. He was sure James was in worse shape. He had a bet with himself that if he could ever get James off on a proper vacation he would spend the first few days doing nothing but sleeping.
He kissed the top of James’ head. He’d managed to hide his amazement when James offered himself up like that. He had desperately wanted to say yes, to slide into James and watch his face as he broke apart. But Gabe was the partner who had been around the block a few times and had to be the responsible one. James wasn’t ready for that, yet.
But that he’d offered…. Gabe felt himself trying to twitch toward life again. He let his mind roll around his new favorite/frustrating fantasies filed under the heading of “Things I Would Do For/With James if James Would Let Me.” He knew a particular men’s store in London that Gabe would love to clear out, having now gotten a brief close-up look at James’ wardrobe. Of course James would hate it and resent being used as a living doll a hundred times worse than Gabe’s own squirming discomfort at his first item of clothing that cost more than twenty dollars.
Gabe snorted. Twenty dollars seemed like nothing now, and if the last few deals fell into place…. It wasn’t the money, though. Gabe had a stupid amount of money already. It was about changing the world and cementing TechPrim, the stupid little tech company with the typo in its name, into history.
He carefully rubbed his shoulder. He had never been a masochist, a little hair pulling aside, but sweet, mild-mannered James sinking in his teeth like that had taken him to a whole special place. Knowing that he would be walking around with evidence of James on his body for at least a week was going to be very distracting. Not that he minded. Other boyfriends had tried marking him in the past, like they were claiming territory. Those boyfriends got tossed out of bed. Not James, though. He wasn’t “other boyfriends.”
James hummed and opened his eyes. “What are you thinking about?” he half mumbled.
“Not much, just a bit of free-form thought flow.”
“Don’t believe you.”
“Thinking about how sexy you are when you let yourself let go.”
James lowered his eyes. “What else are you thinking about? It can’t all be about me.”
“Thinking about work, a little. Thinking about all the things I’m going to need to do to get the ball rolling on certain plans. Thinking about this place I know in New York that makes amazing donuts.”
“That’s a lot of thoughts.”
Gabe ran his fingers through James’ hair. James pressed into his hand as if he was about to start purring. Gabe did have a lot of thoughts, and too many were swimming around alone, unvoiced, and disconnected. “I haven’t told the guys about the company I just bought off Simon. Only Tamyra knows, and I didn’t tell her about it in advance.”
“You told me.” James’ voice was still soft and sleepy.
“I had to tell someone. It’s too good not to. And besides, I don’t think you’re going to swoop in and try to buy the patents out from under me.”
“No. Probably not.”
He pulled James in close. It felt strange to put voice to ideas and plans that for so long had existed nowhere but inside his own head. But they were clamoring to be freed. “Do you know what rare earth minerals are?”
“Minerals that are rare?”
Gabe chuckled. “Basically, yeah. But they’re used in a lot of modern technology. Flat-screen TVs, cell phones, things like that. Wouldn’t be so much of a problem except the Chinese are sitting on about 97 percent of the world’s deposits, and for a bunch of Communists, they’re not big on sharing.”
“And it means they’re able to make devices using the elements cheaper than other coun
tries and keep the export price up on the raw materials.”
“I knew Dylan got his business sense from somewhere.”
“Not a hard concept.”
“No. Some new deposits have been found recently that look really good, except they’re in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan and other places ending in ‘stan.’”
James tilted his head an inch to the left. “But if you could get to them or some other new deposits, dig them up, and process them by yourself, then TechPrim could circumvent the Chinese, cut a huge amount of money off the manufacturing overhead, undercut prices on its competitors, sell the leftovers at higher prices to cover the mining costs, and get major public relations bonus points by putting manufacturing jobs back in developed countries where most of your products are still sold. And that is why you’re buying up a lot of little companies that seem really random.”
The speed at which James put it all together surprised Gabe, but he chastised himself for that surprise. Despite a lack of experience in the business world, James was no idiot. He slid his hand down James’ spine, resting it at the small of his back.
“What did you want to be when you grew up? Before Dylan came along.”
“I’m not sure. Either an astronaut or a museum curator. I liked the idea of deciding where the dinosaurs should go or the paintings should hang.”
“Was high-powered business mogul anywhere on your list?”
“Not that I can recall.”
“Too bad. Most people wouldn’t have strung all that together that fast. I mean, it’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s the rough outline.”
James gave a little shrug as was his habit when faced with any praise. “It’s not rocket science.”
Gabe twisted to put a peck of a kiss on his lips. “You’d be surprised. Anyway, a poor bastard of a Russian who was basically trying to be TechPrim but with alcoholic business partners and an embezzler for a son, managed to have a similar idea and found some good deposits in a slightly more stable area than Afghanistan. Right now he’s squatting on a shitload of europium, indium, neodymium, vanadium, and a bunch of other stuff that he can’t afford to dig up himself and doesn’t want to leave to his son when he dies of lung cancer in a year.”
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