Run

by Mary Wasowski

“Jake, I am not worried about a custody hearing. I have an army of lawyers on retainer who have assured me that my rights as Paxton’s father are solid. The only thing I did was not tell them about him, which is not against the law. Plenty of families are estranged from the other, and Carrie and her family were no different. They are not anything to me, nor do I owe them anything. Please don’t misunderstand what I am about to say to you, but you are responsible for putting them in my life, along with a twist of fate of a photo that was taken years ago. The fact remains is that they now know they do have a grandson out in the world, and I have to expect it’s only a matter of time before they come knocking on my door. By confronting them, I will stop that from happening. Tomorrow when you have your call, I want to be there and make my presence known.”

  “No, that’s not going to happen. I have a plan in place.”

  “Well, your plan sucks.”

  “Excuse me?” Jake practically leaped off from where he was on the couch and now was in my face, causing me to take a step back.

  “I’ve gone over your timeline with the Harpers, and although it hasn’t been a great deal of time, you haven’t exactly been forthcoming with them. What makes you believe they don’t have another plan in place in case you don’t succeed with the job they hired you for? For all we know, they are one step ahead of you and know exactly where I am. You’ve been so busy thinking with your dick that you’ve been sloppy and off your game.”

  I was totally serious with Jake and meant every single word I just said. He wasn’t saying much at the moment, just glaring at me, but he didn’t look pissed. He was turned on, which just amped up my arousal.

  He stepped back into my space and pulled me closer to him. Closing his eyes, he brushed his day-old beard against my cheeks, making my skin heat beneath him.

  “Look at me, Devan,” he commanded. I did with no hesitation. “Do you remember this morning how hot you got me?”

  “Yes, it’s coming back to me.”

  “Good, because after your little speech back there, I am hotter than ever for you. I need to be inside of you before I drive myself mad. Please, baby, let me have you again,” he said and then made a hot trail of kisses down my neck and leaving a bite mark on my shoulder.

  “I want to, believe me, but Paxton is upstairs asleep in my room, and you are loud when you come.” He smiled knowing I was telling the truth.

  “How about your office? Is it soundproofed?”

  “It is, but I can’t. Paxton already got up once tonight after a bad dream. I can’t risk him waking up again and not knowing where I am. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize, not when it comes to you being a good father. I’m the one that should be saying sorry. I just can’t think when you’re around me, and then to listen how you challenge me is just the sexiest turn-on I ever experienced. I fucking love it.”

  “Well, it wasn’t a sex game, Jake. That was me being real. The Harpers could have an alternate plan in place. You have to get on board with this and allow me to be there tomorrow.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Then you leave me with no choice, and I go to them on my own.”

  “No! I won’t let you do it. No, Devan, no!”

  “Fine, what time is the meeting tomorrow?”

  “Ten o’clock, our time.”

  “I’ll drop off Paxton at camp and then meet you back at your house for the call.”

  “I can’t change your mind on this, can I?”

  “No, you can’t. Paxton is my son, and as his father, I have to do what’s best for him. I’m not afraid of the Harpers. I never was. It will be okay.”

  The time for talking was over. Jake dropped to his knees and forcefully tugged my track pants down.

  “Jake, stop,” I weakly protested as he pulled my cock out and nestled his nose against the trimmed patch of hair.

  “If I can’t have you the way I want, then at least don’t deny me of tasting you,” he said and then began stroking my cock, as he licked his tongue lower, over my balls and down my taint.

  I was shaky on my feet, but Jake held me in place as I fucked his mouth, thrusting deeper down his throat with every bob of his head. I was so close, I wanted to scream it, but knowing my son was asleep upstairs stopped that from happening.

  I then whispered, “You feel so good. Yes, take all of me, Jake. Shit! I’m going to come so fucking hard.”

  He increased his pace. With my hands gripping the sides of his head, I arched back and blew like a fucking geyser in his mouth and down his throat. I barely could remain standing after that. He milked my cock until he was so full of my cum. When he finally stood, he grabbed my face and slammed his mouth down to mine, making me taste myself on his tongue and lips.

  It was dirty and erotic all at the same time. To have this with Jake felt like a dream. I never had this connection with anyone before him. He was perfectly tuned to what I needed and when I needed it. His reactions to my words were so sexily charged with desire. He then took those desires out on my body as if he was punishing me in a way, but all I felt was rewarded with pleasure.

  Never breaking our kiss, he lifted me off the floor and dropped me down on the couch. I felt so high and exhilarated as we laid in the other’s arms. I wanted him to stay with me tonight, but we both knew he would have to leave to avoid Paxton seeing him. As accepting as my son appeared to be when I explained that Jake was my “boyfriend,” I still wasn’t sure if he truly understood what that meant.

  Let us get through tomorrow, and then we will deal with everything else. I mean, Jake has a business and life waiting for him back in Seattle. How will this ever work between us? The more I questioned, the bigger beast he became. I decided to just revel in the post-coital bliss we were both now enjoying and not poke the bear anymore tonight.

  “Stop overthinking everything, babe,” he said to me.

  “I’m not, just laying here, holding you.”

  “Liar! It’s going to be okay. Just let me hold you for a little while longer, and then I’ll go.”

  “Okay,” I agreed and kissed him to put him at ease.

  I closed my eyes and prayed on our angel up in the sky to watch over us and keep us safe. I believe Jake with everything he has, but would it be enough? We would know one way or another by tomorrow. We still had tonight to be together and not worry about the outside world hurting us.

  Carrie always believed that everything happened for a reason, and although some of it we may not understand, there would always be some kind of sign leading us in the right direction. I prayed on that tonight when I found her star. No matter how he came to be in my life, he’s here now with me, and at least for a few more hours, I am going to enjoy the hell out of him.

  I had to at least have a small part of him and decided to return the favor. He stopped me though and just kissed me instead. I tried not to feel dejected with his refusal, but he said time wasn’t going to run out for us, and we would have this right here and so much more to look forward to.

  I believed him. I trusted him. I loved him. Closing my eyes, I listened to his heartbeat and let the doubt fall away and replaced it with thoughts of the good that was yet to come for us.

  It was nearing five o’clock in the morning by the time my eyes opened up again. Neither of us moved from the other’s embrace once we were settled into bed. It was becoming too uncomfortable on the couch, so he gave in and brought me upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. I loved him for that gesture because it meant I wasn’t alone in my feelings and he wanted me here just as much as I wanted to stay. He found his place on my chest, and I was relieved when Devan finally turned his mind off from worrying. I should have left hours ago, but I wanted every minute spent with my man to count.

  The worrisome look that he fell asleep with had now been replaced with peace. He barely shifted once I got out from under his body-hugging limbs. I would do anything to just lock the rest of the world out and climb back into bed with him, but I needed to leave before I was cau
ght. As it was, I took a chance staying this long with him. Paxton could have awakened during the night, and how would we explain to him the compromising position he found us in? Once I had everything I needed, I crept down his staircase as quietly as I could. Once outside, I breathed a sigh a relief.

  A few hours later, and after some much-needed coffee, I was seated in front of my laptop back at my place, getting ready to conference call with the Harpers. Paxton should have been at camp by now, and I expected my doorbell to ring any moment now. Where was Devan? Had he changed his mind about being on the call with me today?”

  I texted him a good morning message, getting no reply in return. I checked in with Miles, and he told me all the campers had arrived, including Paxton. So where the hell was Devan? I had no time left as it was time to begin. Once the call connected, I was face to face with Tobias Harper.

  “Mr. Mercer,” he said boorishly in his tone. “So, you asked for this meeting. I take it you have something I want to hear.”

  Yeah, asshole, but I’m not sure you will like it once I’m done with you. His wife, Ruth, sat beside him in silence as he led the call.

  “Yes, I do have an update for you, quite the telling story.” I began to go through my notes when another call was coming in, and then another window popped up on my screen, showing the sexiest man I had ever seen in my life. It was Devan. He fucking hacked my system!

  “Hello, Mr. Harper. I hear you’ve been looking for me. Well, here I am,” he said so boldly and bravely, leaving me speechless.

  Marcy was listening in but only could talk to me. I heard her say “Oh shit!”

  Yeah, that was one way to react to what just happened. What the hell was Devan playing at? This is not what we discussed or agreed on last night.

  “Mr. Mercer, what is going on?” Ruth Harper questioned, finally finding her voice.

  I let out a breath and got myself in check. I couldn’t show them that Devan was anything more than a job to me.

  “I think it’s pretty clear. I have located Mr. Knight for you, and it’s obvious he has something to say to you, so I would advise you listen.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Mercer. I’ll take it from here,” Devan said.

  I watched Harper’s face turn a few shades of red, but he remained quiet and waited for Devan to speak. Yeah, that makes two of us.

  “It has come to my attention that you have hired this man, Jake Mercer, to locate me. Well, he found me, and now so have you.”

  “Yes, we have, and you have something that belongs to us,” Harper said.

  “Oh? And what might that be?”

  “You know damn well what it is. You have our boy! Our grandchild. You have kept him from us all these years and never said a word to us. We have rights and are prepared to fight you in court to get him back from the likes of you.”

  I waited with bated breath, not knowing what Devan would say, but he seemed to be handling the Harpers well enough.

  “Let me be clear, so there’s no confusion. You have no rights to my son. Not now. Not ever. I’ve been here all along, not hiding like you may think, but living a quiet life where hate does not exist. As long as I draw breath into my lungs, my son will never know hate, and that means not knowing you, Tobias.”

  Ruth interjected, “Devan, please, he’s the only living and breathing connection we have left to Carrie. Please allow me to see my grandchild. I can come to you. I just want to get to know him.”

  “No, it’s not going to happen. You see, you lost your rights a long time ago when you turned your back on the daughter you claim to have loved.”

  “We did love Carrie. How could you say these things? She was our daughter.”

  “Don’t you mean your gay daughter? The same daughter that your sick motherfucker of a husband molested over and over again, and if he wasn’t so disgusted that his daughter was gay, he might have succeeded in raping her? Yeah, Ruth, I know all about it. Where the fuck were you while this was going on? Clearly, you were living under a rock while your daughter was being abused. And then there’s the girl at the halfway house. When your loving husband couldn’t get it on with your daughter, he moved onto another unsuspecting and innocent girl.”

  “No! You don’t know what you are talking about, Devan. My husband would never do the things you are accusing him of. Tell him, Tobias! Please tell him that he’s wrong.”

  I watched and listened to Ruth Harper come unglued before my eyes. Devan never faltered with his words. He took what I had on Harper and used it to his advantage to get leverage over them. And now he had Harper cornered.

  “Tobias, answer me!” she demanded, but he said nothing to his wife to defend himself. “Devan, I don’t know what is going on here, but I swear that I will get to the bottom of it. I swear I didn’t know. Please, don’t punish me for his mistakes,” she cried.

  “Carrie was my best friend. My family. My love. The mother of my child. I promised her every single day she carried our son that I would always love and protect him. I’ve done that since the minute he came into the world and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. You have no rights to my son. If you try to seek custody or attempt to come into contact with me, my son, or my family in any way, I will stop and expose you as the treacherous people you are. You can’t imagine what you are up against, so heed my warning and stay the fuck away, or I promise you will regret it.”

  Devan’s call disengaged, and he was gone from the screen, leaving me to deal with the Harpers.

  “You were supposed to bring our grandson back home to us, Mr. Mercer, not destroy our lives. Why? Why did you do this to us?” she asked as she cried into her hands.

  Her husband came back into focus and shouted back toward the computer screen. He was despicable. It was one of many words to describe the man trying to turn this around on me.

  “I’ll tell you why, Ruth, because he’s fucking him. You and Knight are in this together. Well, I don’t care what he says, I will come for my grandson.”

  “Yeah? And I will stop you. What the hell is wrong with you, old man? Give it up! You lost. Go back to your life and forget about Devan Knight, or I promise you that you will not like what happens next. Consider our relationship finished. And Ruth, keep in mind who you are married to. He hurt your daughter. He hurt Amy. How many others? Innocent girls betrayed by someone who they trusted to take care of them. You think about that.”

  She covered her mouth and cried hard, but I couldn’t deal with it any longer and cut off the feed. I leaned back in my chair and palmed my eyes with my hands. What the fuck was Devan thinking? I have to see him, but first I have to call back Marcy and my team.

  “Wow, boss, that was unbelievable,” Marcy said.

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Your man certainly has steel balls to go over your head like that. Are you okay? I know we’ve been giving you a hard time, but this was just crazy. What will you do now?”

  “I don’t know, Marcy. I have never been in a situation like this before. He keeps surprising me at every turn, and I’m left speechless with his actions. He’s blown my case wide open, and now it’s going to come down to a waiting game. Who knows what the Harpers will do now? Listen, assemble Mike, Jonah, and keep Foxtrot on standby. I need to find Devan, and then I’ll figure out what I’m going to do next.”

  “Are you coming home?”

  Home is where Devan is. That’s what I wanted to say to my longtime assistant, but I kept my reply vague with an answer she would expect from me. If she suspected anything else, she wouldn’t say it now, not with how stressed I am after that fucked up call.

  “I can’t answer you right now. I’ll be in touch,” I said.

  “Okay, we will be here.”

  I called Devan and got his voicemail. Through gritted teeth, I said, “Don’t even think of trying to avoid me today. I’m coming for you, and there will be no place to hide.” I ended my call and held the phone over my heart.

  Fuck! This man has me spinning and unraveling
piece by piece. I grabbed my keys off the table and flung the door open, only to find Devan halting a knock in mid-air.

  He said, “I figured I would find you this time. Are you going to invite me in? Or just stand there like the brooding Hulk?”

  “You want the Hulk? Well, you’ve got him.” I said, and then grabbed Devan by his shoulders and hauled his sexy ass against me. Crushing my mouth down to his, I didn’t need to ask permission this time, I had it. He opened beautifully for me, and our tongues glided over the other in a wicked dance of ownership. He was mine, and I was going to brand him with every swipe of my tongue. I broke our kiss and lifted him over my shoulders, carrying him straight to my bedroom.

  “Fuck, you’re sexy. Take off your clothes, Devan. I need you naked.”

  His clothes were tossed to the floor and mine quickly joined them. I closed the distance between us and made my way over to hover above his gorgeous body. “What you did today was a risk.”

  “I’m not here to talk. You know what I need, and this is me taking it. I want you, Jake, all of you.”

  I inhaled sharply and breathed him in. Can he be any more perfect for me? He can easily switch from a top dominating the hell out of me, and then to a bottom where he submits perfectly, giving me back my control. And right now, he is begging me to fuck him. He’s a dream come true.

  “As you wish. Roll over for me,” I commanded.

  He didn’t hesitate and got into perfect position. It took all my strength and control I possessed inside not to pin him down to the mattress and fuck him hard, but I had other plans for my sexy man to experience first. I reached for the condoms and lube and placed them beside me. He raised his body on all fours and teased me with his perfectly pink hole. I had never done what I was about to do with any man before, but it was calling out to me to try. I squeezed the firm globes of his ass and then separated them with my hands as I moved in closer to rim his asshole. The instant my mouth was on him, he bucked back against me.

  “Does that feel good, baby?” I asked.

  “Yes, fuck yes! More, Jake,” he demanded.