Assassin's Angst: The Santorno Series

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Well, you could pick me up, then we could go wherever you want. I don’t know where anything is.” His eyes entranced Paige.

  “Okay, I’ll come up with something.”

  Holy shit. Paige almost sighed. “Um, here’s my number.”

  “Joshua Reynolds, are you hooking up with someone other than me?” Britt grabbed on to his bicep.

  “Britt, we have never hooked up.”

  “Not from lack of trying… and trying… and trying.” Katarina rolled her eyes.

  “Shut up, Kat.” Britt threw her a nasty look. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

  “Paige. And you are?” Paige put her hand out.

  “Not interested in knowing you.” Britt walked off.

  “Wow.” Paige watched her walking away. “What a bitch.”

  “I knew I liked you for a reason.” Katiana smiled.

  After practice, the guys went in and showered. Katarina waited for Josh in the parking lot by his Jeep. She knew she was being stupid, and although Josh had dated a few girlfriends before, he had never looked at them the way he had looked at Paige. That worried her. She watched as he came out freshly showered, carrying his gym bag.

  “Hey, you. What’s up?” Josh greeted as he got close.

  Katarina held onto the car. God, but he was so gorgeous. “I… don’t think Paige is right for you.”

  Josh threw his bag in the Jeep. “Why not?”

  “I don’t know. Just something about her.” Katarina knew she was being a bitch, and right now — she didn’t care. She couldn’t lose Josh.

  “Okay, who is right for me then, Kat? Hmm? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t go out with her.”

  Katarina looked up into his eyes and wanted to scream at him. She wanted him — had always wanted him from the moment Josh had held her hand — but nothing would come out of her mouth.

  At that moment, Brody pulled up to pick up Katarina. “Your boyfriend is here. Later, Kat.”

  “Josh, wait!” Kat took his hand. “Please, don’t go out with her.”

  “Why, Kat? Tell me why?” Josh searched her face.

  “Because… I…” Katarina stammered.

  “Hey, beautiful!” Brody zipped out of his car and blasted through their moment. Josh pulled away from her.

  “ ’Bye, Kat.”

  Katarina watched him drive off and felt sick to her stomach. Josh was going out with someone else, and her heart was breaking.

  The bowling alley was packed. Sergio scanned the room. Damon and Tanner were in a lane with Colin and Josh, and there was a table full of girls next to them, checking out their asses. Sergio chuckled. He had been home schooled. After everything he had been through growing up, he used to not be able to stand being around large groups of people. Thankfully therapy had helped him get over that.

  “Sergio?”

  He looked down to find Lily standing next to him. “What is it, beautiful?”

  “Sergio!”

  The nice thing about hanging out with his family was that they all knew what he had been through and still treated him normally. He noticed the look on Damon’s face as Lily stood next to him and he almost laughed. It was like watching Nico’s face when Sergio was around Tanner. “I think Damon’s head is going to explode.”

  “I wish. I wish I could stop being so scared, you know? I know I’ll never be with anyone else.”

  “So, tell him. What are you so scared of? He’s in love with you, Lily.” Sergio cupped her face. “He always will be.”

  “Well, hot damn!”

  “Britt.”

  “Who is this gorgeous hunk of man?” Britt moved closer and ran her hand up Sergio’s bicep.

  “Don’t touch him.” Lily slapped Britt’s hand away. She could already see the panic on Sergio’s face.

  “Is he yours? I thought you wanted Damon.”

  “Please, stop touching me.” Sergio stammered, a panic attack coming on. No amount of therapy would fix this part — being touched by someone he didn’t know and having no control over it brought back every disgusting memory he had.

  “I could make you feel real good,” Britt cooed.

  “I said back off!” Lily shoved her, hard. She knew Sergio wouldn’t hit a girl. No matter how panicked he was right now, he wouldn’t lift a finger to Britt. He’d suffer instead.

  By now Katarina and Katiana had heard Lily’s loud voice and were running over to the snack counter. Katarina saw the look on Sergio’s face and her anger nearly boiled over. Britt was sliding her hand over his ass and Lily smacked it away.

  “What the hell, Lily?” Britt looked at her. “You can’t have them both.”

  Katarina got there just as Britt was about to touch Sergio again, and she decked her, sending her down on her ass. “Don’t. Touch. Him!”

  Tanner grabbed Sergio’s hand and hauled him out of the bowling alley. They moved to the side of the building and Sergio threw up in the bushes. Tanner stood behind him, not sure what to do. “Are you okay? Do you need some water or something?”

  Sergio leaned against the building, breathing hard. He could kick himself. No amount of therapy was going to help. “No. I’m okay. Just give me a second.”

  “I’m sorry. We should have warned you about Britt.” Tanner sighed.

  “It’s not like I haven’t been with women. I’ve had sex.” Sergio looked at Tanner. He was blushing. “Sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay. You’re talking, so I’ll listen.”

  “I just can’t let them touch me. Does that sound weird?”

  Tanner knew that even though Sergio had overcome so much, he was still vulnerable. “Nope. I get it. When you’re with them, you have all the power.”

  Sergio nodded. Tanner did get it. “I mean, with family, it’s okay. You guys touch me all the time.”

  “And we happily do it as often as possible.” Tanner teased; he could see Sergio begin to relax.

  Britt stood up and glared at Katarina. “What the fuck!”

  “Did you not hear him say not to touch him?” Lily growled right in her face.

  “I was just flirting like I always do!” Britt wiped the blood from her lip.

  Lily gave an unladylike snort. “Flirting? Flirting is batting your eyes and smiling. You say hello by dry humping anyone with a penis, whether they even know you! Has it honestly never occurred to you that it’s insulting, demeaning, and not funny?”

  Britt ignored her tirade and turned to Katarina. “What the hell is wrong with him?”

  Katarina opened her mouth, then shut it. It wasn’t any of Britt’s business why Sergio didn’t want to be touched, and she wasn’t going to betray a confidence. “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe he thinks it’s rude and a violation of his body for a girl he doesn’t know to grab his ass! Come to think of it, it is rude and violating. Leave Sergio alone, Britt.”

  Katarina and the rest of the group walked outside and found Tanner and Sergio on the side of the building. Katarina noted that he was still pale. Britt had done a number on him. She wanted to kill her. As usual.

  “Hey, guys.” Sergio smiled. “Thank you for backing me up.”

  “I have always wanted to hit that bitch,” Katarina crowed.

  “Can we hug you?” Katiana asked tentatively.

  “You guys can, anytime.” Sergio put his arms out and all three girls hugged him hard. “What happened to the girl?”

  “We kinda made her leave.” Katarina shrugged.

  Damon had joined them and he watched his cousin. He knew what had happened to him, but just hadn’t thought about what it had done to him psychologically. He couldn’t even imagine what Sergio had suffered through. “Let’s go home.”

  The minute Sergio walked through the door, Antonio could tell something had happened to his son; his face was pale and he looked just as he had when he had come back from Panama. “Sergio.”

  “I’m okay, Dad.”

  “Do not lie to me. What happened?”

  “I’m never going to be normal, am
I?”

  Antonio clasped his shoulders. “Do not talk like that!” Sergio broke down and he held him close. It hurt him to see Sergio like this. “You are just fine, Sergio. There is nothing wrong with you.”

  Sergio closed his eyes and held on to his father. God, he wished he could believe that.

  Tanner was on his weekly phone call with Nico. They spoke every Sunday night, and tonight, Tanner had a special request. He summed up his courage and blurted it out.

  “Would you go to Homecoming with me?”

  Nico was shocked. “Homecoming?”

  “You know, big dance after a football game?”

  “I remember Homecoming, Tanner. I’m just surprised you asked me, that’s all.”

  “Well, I don’t want to go with anyone else. You can make it a birthday gift.”

  “I’ll check into it…” Nico looked at the picture of Tanner on his nightstand. It was recent, and he was shirtless. Nico had snapped it with his phone.

  “Nico?” Tanner lay back and ran his hand up and down his chest.

  “Yes?” Nico could hear moaning on Tanner’s end. “What are you watching?”

  “Porn,” Tanner teased.

  Nico sat up straight in bed. “You’re watching porn?”

  “Yeah. Haven’t you ever watched porn?”

  “Not while I was on the phone!”

  “Well, I was in the middle of it when you called, and it would be rude of me to stop it when they’re so excited about what they’re doing.”

  “What are they doing?” Nico couldn’t help himself. “Is it guy-on-guy?”

  “Well, duh. I’m not about to watch some chick get banged.”

  “Tanner!” Nico laughed. “Such language.”

  “Shit. Please think about it, Nico? It would mean a lot to me. Now I’m going to get back to these guys doing dirty, nasty things.”

  Nico laughed hard. “Okay. Goodnight, Tanner.”

  “ ’Night, Nico.” Tanner disconnected and smiled. He’d just given Nico more than one thing to think about tonight.

  Josh got ready for his date, then headed out to pick Paige up to go out to eat. He approached her front door and rang the bell. Paige opened the door.

  “Hey.”

  “Hi. You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Paige took his hand as they walked to the car.

  “So, I thought we could eat at Sal’s. They have really good food.”

  “Sounds good.” Josh opened her door for her. “Wow, a gentleman.”

  “Always. Just the way I raised.”

  “Your mom did a good job.”

  “No mom.” Josh put his seatbelt on.

  “Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

  “Oh, no. I mean, I never had one, except a surrogate. I have two dads.”

  “Oh!”

  “Ready?”

  “Yep.”

  They took a booth at Sal’s and Paige ordered a burger with fries and a large milkshake. Josh’s jaw dropped as he watched her eat. “Wow.”

  Paige wiped her mouth before speaking. “What?”

  “I’ve never seen anyone eat like that, except maybe Kat.”

  “Well, I’ve never been the salad-eating kind of girl. I like real food. You and Kat are close, huh?”

  “She’s my best friend.”

  They went to the movies. It was an action-packed movie and Paige was all into it; she ate popcorn and had two boxes of candy along with a large soda. “You’re not normal, are you?”

  “Huh?” Paige looked at him.

  “Nothing.” Josh took her hand in the dark. “Is this okay?”

  “It’s more than okay.”

  They were sitting in the back of the movie theatre, which had at the most ten other people in it. Josh leaned over and whispered, “I’d like to kiss you.” He searched her face.

  “I’d love it if you did.” Paige leaned in.

  Their lips touched lightly and Josh’s hand moved into her hair. He caressed her face with his other hand. Their tongues met and Josh could taste the sweet and salty mixture in her mouth. He eased her closer and searched her mouth slowly. Paige let out a small whimper. No one had ever kissed her like this. Josh broke from the kiss slowly, leaving light kisses on her lips.

  “Was that okay?”

  “Seriously? Where did you learn to kiss like that?”

  “I’m a Reynolds.” Josh winked.

  They left the theatre and Josh asked if she wanted to meet his dads. Paige agreed, and they pulled up in front of his house. It wasn’t huge, but she could tell they had money. “What do your dads do?”

  “One’s a lawyer… and he does… other stuff. The other one is the CEO of an electronics firm.”

  Josh walked in with Paige and called out. “Dad?”

  Josh stopped mid-thrust and looked down at Jason. “I’m hearing things, right?”

  “Nope. We’ll be right out!” Jason yelled. “You have forty seconds to get me off.”

  “I only need thirty.”

  Paige walked around the house and looked at all the pictures. She looked at one of Josh and another guy. “Who’s this?”

  “My best friend, Landon.” Josh smiled. “He’s in New York at school.”

  “Who are these guys?” Paige pointed to another picture of Josh and the rest of the guys in Alaska.

  “Well, this is Nikolai. You’ve met Colin. That’s Conner, then Jensen and Hunter, Evan and Ryan, and you know Damon and Tanner.”

  “Who’s that?” Paige pointed to Nico and Stefan.

  “That’s Nico and Stefan. They’re my cousins.”

  “Wow, hot.” Paige fanned herself. “All of them, actually.”

  “Well, here’s a picture of my uncles.” Josh handed her a frame. He hadn’t even gotten it into her hand when his dads came out.

  “Well, well, someone is home early from their date.” Josh raised an eyebrow.

  “Hey, Dad. I wanted Paige to meet the men who raised me right.”

  Josh and Jason studied the young lady. She was beautiful. The long dark hair and green eyes reminded Josh of Paul Greystone and Parker Greco.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Jason shook her hand. “I hope our son behaved himself tonight.”

  “Nothing but a gentleman. I see where Josh gets his amazing looks, Mr. Reynolds.”

  “Why thank you.”

  Jason smacked him. “Thank you.”

  “Well, I’m going to get Paige home. Should I spend the night at Colin’s?” His eyes held an amused glint.

  “No.” Jason smacked him upside the head.

  They left, leaving Josh staring at Jason. “What?”

  Josh picked him up. “Now, for the other ten seconds.”

  “Really?” Josh carried him to the bedroom and put him down on the bed. He took off his shirt slowly and Jason got harder. “God, babe. You just get sexier.”

  Josh unzipped his pants and let them fall to his ankles before kicking them across the room. He stroked himself, watching Jason on the bed. Jason crawled to the end of the bed and kissed up his thighs. His tongue licked around Josh’s belly button, then continued up, licking and kissing his sides softly, his hand caressing his ass.

  Josh wrapped his hand in Jason’s hair, pulling him into a kiss. Jason moaned as he deepened the kiss. Josh laid him back on the bed before hovering over him.

  “I know that look.”

  “This look?”

  Jason closed his eyes and gripped the headboard. Josh’s warm mouth was all over him, licking, nibbling, driving him to the edge, then pulling back, leaving him breathless and wanting more. Expert fingers twisted inside, pushing in deeper, hitting his spot time after time. Just when he thought he couldn’t take anymore, Josh was stroking him, his tongue playing with his hard cock, then taking him in deep.

  Jason almost flew off the bed then Josh entered him with one thrust. He moaned loudly and Josh took his mouth, silencing him as he thrust into him. His hands were pinned and Josh played with him, teased him
, bit and licked his lips, all the while thrusting increasingly harder.

  He loved the way Jason looked when they made love. He was so damned stunning. He leaned down and licked Jason’s bottom lip, and slowed his thrusts. He was right on the edge, and he knew Jason was too. The low moans and small gasps when he slid in told him all he needed to know. Josh gripped him and stroked as he sped up. He came with a loud cry and Jason came seconds later.

  “Wow! Twice in one night? That was a lot longer than ten seconds.”

  Josh chuckled. “You were counting?”

  Even after all the years they had been together he still loved Josh, still found him to be the sexiest man he had ever seen. “Not even a chance!”

  Josh drove Paige home and walked her to the door. He took her hand and Paige’s heart raced. “Can we go out again sometime?”

  “Is that a trick question?” Paige leaned in for a kiss.

  Joshua kissed her briefly. “ ’Night, Paige. Thanks for not freaking on the whole gay dads thing.”

  “Your dads are gay?”

  Josh busted out laughing. “Goodnight.”

  “ ’Night.”

  Paige turned to go inside, but Josh stopped her. “Would you go to Homecoming with me?”

  “I wouldn’t go with anyone else, Josh Reynolds.”

  Josh watched her go into the house. Paige was beautiful, she had a sense of humor, and had no issues with gays. She was perfect.

  The Homecoming dance was well under way. Tanner was standing near the drink table with two other guys from the football team, both gay. Tanner was watching the couples on the dance floor.

  Damon had asked Lily first, but she had turned him down flat, once again. Damon had been in a funk about it. Introduce Tanner’s friend Arielle, and, voila. Problem solved.

  Josh was dancing with Paige and, he might not be attracted to her, but Tanner thought she was beautiful. She had swept her black hair on top of her head with little ringlets dancing down. Her dress was navy blue and hung off her shoulders just right. Josh had her in his arms and they were dancing slowly.

  Katarina was with Brody, but her eyes were constantly on Josh. Brody attended their arch-rival school, but Kat had invited him as her date, which had not gone over well with the group — who couldn’t stand him regardless of his school.