by Zoey Marcel
“Which friends?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Heath gently pushed against him. “I’ve said too much.”
Heller’s hands moved to his back, keeping him pinned against his body. It made him feel safe and cared for, enticed.
“Is it the McAlisters?”
“I’m not saying.”
“You don’t start talking, I’m just gonna go over there and beat up all their male servants.”
“Oh yeah, that’s justice.”
“They’re the only friends with servants that you have, unless you’ve got middle-class friends with hired help.”
“I do.”
“It is the McAlisters.” Heller’s dark eyes stared down at him knowingly. “When I asked you if it was them, you said you weren’t telling. Then why I asked you if it was anyone else, you jumped on the opportunity to throw me off.”
Heath bowed his head.
“What if he hurts Danielle?”
“He won’t because she’s straight, otherwise I’d say something.”
“What about the McAlisters?”
“They’re grown men and a lot stronger than I was when he did that to me. They can take care of themselves.”
“What about Brighton?”
That hit a nerve. Heath’s voice weakened. “What about him?”
“He’s just a little guy. It would take nothing to overpower him.”
“If he hasn’t yet, he probably never will.”
“So it’s someone who’s been working for them for a while?”
Damn it.
Clever bastard tricking him.
Heath’s eyes slid from his.
“Brighton’s bisexual.”
“He might not even know that.”
“What if he does? Brighton’s not exactly shy about who he is, thinks he’s the only guy in the world who ever swung both ways.”
Heath’s lips swerved sideways a little. “I know. He’s pretty proud of himself.”
“Brighton’s about the size you were when you were eighteen. What if he hurts him?”
“He won’t.” Heath locked eyes with him, tone firming. “I don’t know if the pervert actually believed he was doing me a favor by trying to cure me, or if he was just indulging his own desires. I don’t care. It’s over and done with. Brighton is safe. He’s been out for a while and nothing bad has happened to him. I’ll keep an eye on him if it makes you feel better.”
“Fine, keep it to yourself, but remember this, I’ll be watching you very closely. If I see you clam up around one of their male servants, or one of them pouncing on Brighton, they’re dead.”
Heath pursed his lips, holding Heller’s glare.
“Come on.” Heller put his arm around him and strolled with him. “I’ll buy you a hot dog and a drink.”
“Getting me drunk won’t get it out of me.”
“If you get drunk off soda you’ve got issues.”
Tittering, Heath snuggled into his body while they meandered toward the parking lot. “Thanks for looking out for me.”
“Anytime. It meant a lot to me when you told your old man that you loved me and wanted to take my name.”
“I meant it.”
Heller kissed his head, making Heath step sideways with the way the biker leaned into him.
“That time when I came with you in the shed when I was eighteen was my first orgasm.”
The bodybuilder peeked down at him, smile radiating with smugness. “I was the first to set off Vesuvius, huh?”
Heath grinned. “Don’t flatter yourself. Give my hand some credit. I meant you were the first person who ever made me come.”
“That means a lot to me,” Heller said gently. A wry smile crawled up his face. “You know why, don’t you?”
“Well, I assumed it was because you—”
“‘Cause you’re my bitch.”
They said that last word at the same time.
“Should have seen that one coming.” Heath shook his head, but he was grinning.
Heller stopped him, turning his body to face him and tipped his face up. “You’re so much more than that.”
“You can be really charming sometimes,” Heath said gently.
“When I’m not being a thug?” Heller teased.
Heath smirked. “Yeah.”
They indulged in a tender kiss right there in the parking lot. Heath didn’t care who saw them.
Chapter Eleven
“Seriously?” Raquel, his roommate, texted him. “Sugar Bear, you do know that I’m a lesbian, don’t you? You’ve met my girlfriend, Tiffany. You know, the one who’s raising your daughter?”
Aiden Friel texted her back. “I know. It’s only temporary, mostly until Sean leaves for school, the occasional facade in public after that. It won’t affect your life.”
Raquel called him. He figured that was coming.
“I was grand with texting,” he complained upon answering her call.
“That’s tough. You don’t get to proposition me to be your beard in a text.”
“Don’t use that word. You wouldn’t be a beard. I’m a grieving widower. It’s just to shut people up. They keep tryin’ to fix me up with women. It gets old. Sean needs guidance.”
“Darling, if he likes men, no dating women on your part is going to change that.”
“He doesn’t like men. It was just S&M.”
“Then why this masquerade with me if you’re not worried he’s gay?”
Aiden became annoyed, tone turning brusque. “I already told you I don’t like people tryin’ to set me up with women.”
“You can just say no.”
“If they see me with a woman they’ll quit harassing me.”
“Sounds fishy to me.”
“Stop bein’ suspicious and give me your answer.”
“Fine, I’ll do it, but no sex.”
“Don’t flatter y’rself. You’re not my type.”
“That’s obvious.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” A buzz came from the phone at his ear. “I’m gettin’ another call. I’m gonna hafta drop you. It might be someone important.”
She laughed. “Such love.”
He smirked. “I meant it could be work related.”
“I’m just teasing you. Talk to you later.”
“Cheers.” He ended the call with her and accepted the one from his business partner, Shane Huntington. “Yeah?”
“Hey, it’s Shane. I figured you’d want an update on the situation. Felicia says Sean had iced tea to drink that night at the club.”
“Long Island?”
“No, just regular. He didn’t have alcohol in him. Sean was probably in subspace. That’s why he was acting dazed and intoxicated when you got there.”
Aiden’s mood soured. “You smelled alcohol on him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then Felicia is obviously mistaken. She serves loads of drinks. Do you really expect her to remember everyone’s drink?”
“That’s true. Ronny says he didn’t smell any alcohol on the kid. Even if he had, there’s a one-drink limit for folks who come there to play. I figured I’d call your son and get his side of the story if that’s all right with you.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Just checking. Ronny says Sean was sober when they went in there. He paddled and caned him and Sean went into subspace. They played safe. The members are all tested. Ronny’s clean, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Why would I be worried about that?”
“Because they fooled around.”
Aiden stopped walking, feeling his stomach knot. “What?”
“Ronny’s careful anyway. He always uses condoms and gloves.”
“They had sex?”
“No. Ronny said they were going to, but he changed his mind when he found out Sean was a virgin. They just fooled around.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, I’ll question Sean and we’ll get this straightened out.
Everybody’s got a different story. I’d hate for Ronny to get kicked out of the club unfairly.”
“No, we wouldn’t want that.”
“Your son’s not a member. I don’t have his phone number.”
“I don’t have it memorized since it’s stored in my phone. I’m callin’ over to see him anyway. I’ll have him talk to you on my phone in a bit.”
“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure.”
Aiden ended the call. Sean was in so much fucking trouble.
* * * *
Greg let him in. “Aiden, I didn’t know you were gonna stop by.”
Aiden brushed past him. “My son here?”
“Yeah, he’s in the dining room. What’s wrong?”
He quickened his pace, getting even more pissed when he saw Sean.
“Hi, Da.” Sean’s smile drained as Aiden approached. “What is it?”
“You fuckin’ lied to me!” Aiden jerked him up from the chair.
Sean swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“How many fuckin’ lies have you told that you don’t know which one I’m talkin’ about?”
“Just tell me what I did.”
“You said it was just S&M. That nothing happened between you and Ronny.”
He knew. Even if Shane hadn’t told him, the look on Sean’s face was a dead giveaway. The little fella looked cornered, apprehensive.
“It was,” he whispered unconvincingly. An eejit wouldn’t have bought it.
Aiden let go of his arm and gripped his jaw. “Don’t you fuckin’ lie to me! Shane said Ronny told him the two of you fooled around.”
“We didn’t have sex.”
“Then what did you do?”
“Aiden, let go of him,” Greg said in the background.
“I’m waiting,” Aiden growled.
“We...we just kissed,” Sean squeaked.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re lyin’ to me again?” Aiden asked.
“Could we just sit down?”
He let go of Sean. “Start talkin’.”
“It was just kissing. The S&M clouded my judgment. You were right. It’s bad. I’ll never do it again.”
Aiden gave him a warning look. “Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear. He said foolin’ around. That implies more than kissing.”
Sean’s fake little grin infuriated him. “After the paddling and the caning, I went into subspace. How can you expect me to remember what happened?”
“Aiden!” Greg shouted.
Aiden put his hand down, startled by the shock on Sean’s face. He wouldn’t have done it. He’d never even spanked his kids.
Memories of Sean flashed through his mind—holding him as a baby, crouching and crooning to him as a toddler during his first steps, the first time Sean said “I love you” to him in that cute little voice back when he was still in nappies—it all came rushing back.
But the person standing in front of him was a man, possibly a gay man.
But it was still Sean, his baby boy.
Why men? More than anything he wanted for his son to find a good woman to love him, take care of him. At worst she might get bitchy once in a while, but she wouldn’t hurt him. If Sean found a docile one, they could have a nice life together.
But men weren’t nurturing by nature. They were powerful and aggressive, sexual. Some of them were sadists, and Sean was crazy enough to think he was a masochist.
An image of that cute little baby flashed back through his head. He’d been adorable and tiny, cuddly in his need for affection and protection.
Now he was stubborn, independent, and Aiden swore sometimes the boy didn’t have a single brain cell in his head. Sean was going to get himself killed if he ever got entangled with the wrong man. Aiden had to save him from himself.
Someday Cara would be a teenager. God help him. Something told him she would be as much of a drama queen as Sean was an angsty little shite.
With everything that had gone wrong in his life, Aiden didn’t think it was too much to ask for God to make his son straight and his daughter asexual or even a lesbian. They would always be safe that way. Life owed him that much.
Aiden wiped his mouth roughly. He gestured toward the table, lowering his voice. “Sit down.”
Sean pulled a chair out and sat.
Aiden heaved a sigh and crossed his arms. “Tell me what happened.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You two went a lot further than kissing, didn’t you?”
Sean’s eyes closed and he nodded, face contorting in misery.
Aiden wanted to beat the shite out of Ronny, but that would be right suspicious after all that had happened. He couldn’t make Ronny pay for what he’d done, but Sean would.
“You have a problem, Sean.”
“It was a mistake,” Sean said quietly without looking at him.
“A mistake you’re gonna pay for.” Aiden pulled his mobile phone out and started dialing.
“What are you doing?” Sean asked nervously.
“Callin’ Brodie. Forget school. You’re going to that ex-gay camp.”
“No, wait!” he pleaded.
“I’m done waiting.”
“I was in subspace. I didn’t even know what I was doing.”
“If you went into subspace from gettin’ caned by a man, guess what that makes you?”
Sean stood suddenly, expression imploring. “It won’t ever happen again. Please don’t send me there.”
Greg spoke. “Aiden, school’s a great opportunity for him.”
“He fuckin’ blew it.” Aiden put the phone to his ear.
“I’m not gay,” Sean’s voice cracked.
“Then you admit it wasn’t subspace?” Aiden asked. “You were drinkin’ that night, weren’t you?”
“Not until—”
“If you’d been drinkin’, that would be different. You could go to school and pretend this never happened. But if it was subspace ...”
Sean scrubbed his hands over his face in desperation. “I was drinking. I wasn’t drunk, but I was tipsy.”
Aiden ended the call. “As I said before, liquor clouded your judgment. It was a mistake you’re not gonna repeat, right?”
Sean nodded quickly, eyes misty. “Right.”
Aiden looked down at his buzzing phone. “Shane wants to talk with you about what happened. Tell him what you told me.”
Sean took his phone and answered it. “Hello? Yeah, it’s Sean. Iced tea.” He hesitated, a tear trickling down his cheek. “Long Island. I wasn’t drunk, but I might have been a bit buzzed. It was my fault. He didn’t know. Okay. Thanks.”
Aiden took the phone back and put it to his ear.
“I’ll tell you what I told your son. Felicia and Ronny can both stay,” Shane said on the other end. “She obviously forgot what she made for him. It was a busy night. It happens, and Ronny didn’t do anything wrong either since Sean wasn’t drunk. If you want my opinion, I think he was in subspace and you mistook it for drunkenness because you’re his father and felt protective of him. I don’t blame you.”
“Well, that’s your opinion,” Aiden spat.
“Thanks for letting me talk with him and get that cleared up. Ronny stays. I’ll just have someone there with him for a while to make sure he’s doing things right. He’s new, but he seems like a good guy. I’ll let you go.”
“Cheers.” Aiden hung up and then put the phone in his pocket.
Sean sat there, head bowed. He looked hopeless and miserable, bitter.
“You can go to school. Get a new phone if you want, but don’t think for one second that you’re livin’ a debauched lifestyle in New York. I’m gonna check in on you every now and then. You won’t know when, so be on your best behavior at all times.”
Sean’s eyes closed, but Aiden didn’t need to see them to sense his resentment. It was for the best. Someday the lad would thank him.
“Greg, give us a minute?”
“Okay. I
’ll be outside.” Greg walked out the front door.
Aiden pulled up a chair and focused on his son. “I don’t wanna hafta keep havin’ this conversation with you. Do what you’re supposed to. I know you don’t give a damn about what I think, but what if your mother is lookin’ down watchin’ you? You wanna disappoint her?”
Sean shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes down.
“Then quit playin’ with fire. If liquor causes you to take a fancy to men, then avoid it. If you’re bi-curious...well, at least then you’d have a choice.”
Something in what he said caused Sean’s eyes to close and his face to distort.
“You don’t hafta tell me, but if you are bi, just ignore that part of you. We all have our dark side. Just find y’rself a nice girl. All right?”
Sean nodded, still not looking at him.
“Right, good chat.” Aiden patted the table before rising.
“Da.”
He paused in the doorway, turning to face his son.
“If I was bi, would you send me to that camp?”
Aiden walked back over. “I wouldn’t hafta. If you like women, too...not everyone has that fortune. If you have a choice of either sex, then you’ve got no excuse, have you?”
Sean shook his head. He still wouldn’t look at him.
“Then you can go to school, settle down with a woman eventually, and we don’t ever hafta have this conversation again, do we?”
“No.”
“Good. If you’re bi, I forgive you.”
Sean’s head shot up and his lips parted.
“And you thought your aul’ man was judgmental. I’m cynical, you’re right.” Aiden forced a grin, trying to fend off the awkwardness of the situation. “I was worried you were completely corrupt and here your nature is only half perverted. I should have looked on the bright side. Lesson learned.”
Sean just gawked at him.
Aiden cleared his throat. “I’ll let you get back to whatever it is you were doing. Glad we got that sorted. Enjoy your afternoon.”
He walked out.
Greg looked up from where he sat on the porch. “Did you guys make up?”
“Sure,” Aiden said. “He’s bi-curious. You know how young people are. It’ll pass.”
“I see.”
He walked down the steps.