Assassin's Angst: The Santorno Series

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Helloooo? Tanner?”

  Bradley whipped Tanner out of his thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  “So, this fictional Nico guy. Where is he?”

  “He couldn’t come. Pressing Santorno business — and he’s not fictional.”

  “Why have we never met him?” Tyson smiled.

  “You’d probably fall over from the weight of your boner if you saw him.”

  “Aw, Tanner. You complimented my package,” Tyson bragged.

  “Shut up.” Tanner watched Colin head his way.

  “Now that’s one dude I would love to have my way with.” Bradley eyed Colin.

  “Not gonna happen. His heart belongs to Nik Markov.”

  Bradley shuddered. “Yeah, I’ve met the guy. He’s not here, right?”

  “No.”

  Colin hugged Tanner, then eyed the other guys. “Nice tuxes.”

  “I can say the same. You look delicious, Greystone.” Tyson licked his lips.

  “I’ve never heard that one.” Colin shook his head and turned to Tanner. “I’m sorry about Nico.”

  “Well, what are you going to do, huh?”

  “I thought you graduated, Greystone?” Bradley asked.

  “I did, but I’ll be back for the graduation ceremony with you guys. Maybe you should have taken extra classes. Then you could have graduated too.”

  “Nah, I’m good.” Bradley smiled.

  Tanner was thinking back to the conversation on the phone with Nico. He had been apologetic, but stressed that he could not leave knowing they were having a shareholders meeting, and being a Santorno meant he had to be there. Tanner didn’t give him shit for it. Nico was older and had a life, so he made sure Nico didn’t feel guilty — all while screaming on the inside how unfair life was.

  “Well slap my ass and call me a bitch. Who the hell is that? A teacher? I want that class.” Bradley looked as though was going to pass out.

  “Where?” Tanner looked around.

  “Front door. My dick just started singing.” Tyson’s eyes were glued to the man standing by the front of the gym doors. The black hair was short but styled and his blue eyes were mesmerizing, even from halfway across the room.

  “It’s him,” Tanner whispered.

  “It’s who?” Bradley couldn’t stop staring. He’d pay money just to touch that man’s ass.

  “It’s Nico!”

  Nico’s eyes caught Tanner’s and he started over.

  “I think I just came,” Bradley whispered.

  The closer he got, the more Tanner leaned on the table. Every head in the room turned to follow Nico’s progress across the room to Tanner. And then he was there, taking him in his arms, and Tanner closed his eyes and held on.

  “You made it,” Tanner whispered.

  “Anything for you.”

  “Oh, my God! That is so sweet!” Tyson almost screamed.

  Tanner chuckled and pulled away, checking out Nico. His tux hugged all the right places and Tanner grabbed a napkin, pretending to cough, almost positive he had drool hanging from his lips.

  “Nico, these are Tyson and Bradley, my teammates.”

  Nico extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. I hear you guys take good care of Tanner, on and off the field.”

  “Uh huh.” Bradley looked him over. “You could take care of me.”

  Nico laughed. It was a deep, reverberating laugh that came from deep inside, and Tanner loved it; it sent tingles through his whole body.

  “I’m here tonight to take care of one person.” Nico took Tanner’s hand. “May I have this dance?”

  Every girl in that room wanted Tanner Youngblood’s date. They watched Nico expertly dance with Tanner in his arms, his cheek pressed against Tanner’s, murmuring how beautiful he looked. Tanner closed his eyes and made a mental note of everything — how Nico smelled, the soft hint of cologne on his neck. He had shaved and his face was smooth as he rubbed it against Tanner’s cheek.

  He placed his hand right at the small of Tanner’s back. His thumb made a slow but deliberate movement back and forth and their fingers linked. The feel of Nico pressed against his chest as they moved slowly together was indescribable. Tanner wanted to remember it all.

  “Surprised?” Nico whispered in his ear, sending a wave of tingles up his spine and goosebumps down his arms.

  “Yes.”

  Nico was acutely aware of all the eyes on them, but he didn’t care with Tanner in his arms. He nuzzled Tanner’s neck softly. “Good. I wanted you to think I couldn’t come.”

  “So no meeting?”

  “Oh no, there’s a meeting. You’re more important.”

  Tanner forgot how to speak. There was lust in Nico’s eyes. He could see it. It was on his skin… in his breath. Nico wanted him, and he knew it.

  Katiana had just noticed Nico with Tanner and she smiled. She glanced around the room and saw Josh with Paige. Lily had come with Colin and she now joined them at the table. Katarina, however, was watching Josh. Kat could see she was ready to go over to Josh and Paige and drag her off of him.

  “Kat?”

  Joe pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned to him. “Yes?”

  “You want to go back to my house after this? My parents are out of town.”

  “You know I can’t. Curfew.”

  “So, we leave now,” Joe suggested.

  “I’m not missing my Homecoming dance so you can try to fuck me, Joe.” Kat pushed him off. “I’m not like that.”

  “I wasn’t talking about that,” Joe hissed, pulling her back toward him.

  “Problem?”

  Joe looked up into very angry blue eyes. “No.”

  “Kat?” Nico asked, not moving his attention from her date — who the group also couldn’t stand.

  “No. I’m fine, Nico. Just a misunderstanding,” Kat assured him. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Well, I haven’t killed anyone this week.” Nico looked at Joe. “Yet.”

  “I get it, you know. You don’t have to threaten me.” Joe tried to pull himself up to Nico’s height. It didn’t work.

  “I don’t make threats, Joe. If you have any problems, Kat, flash the bat signal.”

  Joe watched him walk away. “Is he for real?”

  “Don’t test Nico, Joe. You won’t like what happens.”

  Arielle had her head on Damon’s chest. She could hear his slow, steady heartbeat. Everything she had worked so hard to achieve was wasted the second Damon Youngblood pulled her into his arms. It was stupid, really. Damon and Tanner looked exactly alike, but that’s where their similarities ended. Tanner was sweet and gay. Damon was, well — Damon was Damon. He had an infectious charm that pulled you in, and in all the time they had known each other Arielle had managed to stay beyond the range of his magnetism. That was… until tonight.

  “Are you thirsty?”

  “No, not yet, thanks.” Arielle had to look away from his eyes.

  “I’m sorry about this.” Damon pulled her face up to his. “I know you probably wanted to come here with someone other than me.”

  “It’s fine, Damon. Just filling in.” Arielle smiled.

  And that was the other reason she had stayed at an arm’s length. Lily Youngblood. Although they had gone out on dates before, Lily made no effort to keep Damon to herself, but it was painfully obvious that Damon Youngblood was in love with her.

  “You’re more than that, Arielle, and you know it.”

  Arielle needed to change the conversation, and fast. “I see Nico made it.”

  Damon looked at his brother in Nico’s arms. They moved together slowly and Nico’s eyes were closed as he held Tanner tight.

  “They’re so good together. I wish they would just date.”

  “I’ve been praying for that since we were ten.”

  The music changed and Katarina looked for Josh. She finally found him and walked over to him. “Hey, you want to dance?’

  Josh checked with Paige. “Do you mind?”

>   “Not at all.”

  They moved onto the dance floor and Josh put his arm around her waist, pulling her in. Their fingers threaded together and Kat lay her head on his chest, and closed her eyes.

  “Are you having fun?”

  “Yes. Paige looks beautiful.”

  “So do you.”

  “Thanks.” Katarina swayed to the music. Josh wrapped his strong arms around her and she almost sighed. He had a slight hint of cologne on and she nuzzled his neck.

  Josh tried to keep himself in check. Having Kat in his arms was better than anything he could ever imagine. He closed his eyes and swayed to the music, pulling her in closer.

  “If I were you, I’d break that dance up.”

  Paige turned to find Kat’s boyfriend looking at her. “Why?”

  “Does it look to you like they’re just friends?” Brody eyed Kat in Josh’s arms.

  “I’m not going to do anything. Josh is here with me, not Kat.” Paige turned and Brody took her wrist.

  “You might not… but I will.”

  Paige watched him go over and tap Josh on his shoulder. Josh handed Katarina back over to Brody before returning to Paige.

  “Dance?”

  “Sure.”

  Josh pulled her in and Paige closed her eyes. Brody’s words came filtering back to her and she thought of how comfortable Kat had looked in Josh’s arms. His eyes had been closed, and the way he held Katarina — it was different than the way he was holding her right now.

  “You could at least stop staring at them,” Brody sneered.

  “I’m not staring.”

  “He likes you, Kat. You know that, right?” Brody pulled her face up.

  “Josh and I are friends, Brody.” Kat put her head back down and closed her eyes.

  Brody looked up to see Josh watching them. He knew Josh had feelings for Kat. He always had.

  For some reason, watching Tanner with his friends was turning Nico on. This was an older Tanner, an older Tanner who played football, who watched porn, who probably jacked off to it. Nico started to sweat and walked over to Tanner.

  “Can we get some air, please?”

  “Sure. I’ll be back, guys.”

  “Take your time, sweetie.” Bradley winked.

  Once they were out in the parking lot, Nico loosened his bow tie, checking out Tanner in his tux. He couldn’t get over how much taller and how much bigger he had gotten. His tux fit him just right. It showed off Tanner’s ass. Nico couldn’t stop looking at it.

  “Is this better?”

  “I just needed some air.” This wasn’t helping. Tanner looked even better outside.

  He sat down on the hood of Tanner’s car and motioned him over. He spread his legs and Tanner slid between them. Nico undid the buttons on his jacket and ran his hands down Tanner’s torso and around to the back, resting them right below Tanner’s ass.

  “I missed you.” One of Nico’s hands came up to caress his face; the other one still propped right below his ass.

  “I missed you too.” Nico’s hand was still caressing Tanner’s face and he couldn’t stop staring at his lips. Nico leaned in and softly brushed his lips against Tanner’s cheek. He pulled away slowly, and now his mouth was inches from Tanner’s. He stopped, waiting for a reaction from Tanner. Either he would pull away… or he would close the gap.

  Their breath mix and Tanner leaned forward to close the gap. Their lips barely touched when they both heard a loud crash, and Tanner jerked back. Someone was breaking car windows in the parking lot.

  “Go back inside and find a teacher!” Nico yelled, and took off.

  Tanner took off back into the dance and yelled that someone was outside breaking windows. Most of the football team ran out along with the principal and a few teachers. Josh ran alongside Colin and Tanner with Damon right on their heels.

  “Hey!” Josh ran after one of the guys who was breaking windows.

  “They’re from Sabino!” Colin yelled.

  “And football players.” Bradley turned and glared at Brody, who played football for Sabino.

  “Don’t look at me,” Brody insisted.

  “Did you do this Brody?” Kat demanded.

  “My Jeep!” Josh looked over his Jeep. There were multiple dents in it and the windshield was totally shattered. He whirled around, staring at Brody. “This is your fault!”

  “I was at the dance!”

  Nico was chasing one of the punks down and he lunged for him, catching his ankles. He pulled the guy up and dragged him over to Brody.

  “This one of yours?”

  “Brody!” Kat demanded.

  “I didn’t do anything. I was in the dance the whole time.” Brody looked at Katarina. “I don’t give orders.”

  “Well, we’ll let the cops deal with him,” Nico said.

  “Everyone back inside. The police are on their way.” Principal Burns looked at Josh and gave him a sad smile. “You have insurance, right?”

  “Yeah.” Josh sighed.

  “I’m sorry, Josh.” Katarina reached for his hand.

  “You can’t seriously think he didn’t have anything to do with this, Kat.”

  “He was with me Josh —”

  “And there’s no way he could have arranged it in advance? Oh, forget it!” Josh took Paige’s hand and turned to Colin. “Can you take Paige home, please?”

  Josh gave her a hug and Paige touched his face. “I’m sorry about your Jeep.”

  “I’m sorry. I wanted this night to end differently.”

  Paige stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Lily couldn’t stop looking at Damon with Arielle. She knew it was a friendly date, but it still bothered her. Arielle was beautiful, with long blonde hair to her waist, and eyes an unusual shade of blue-green. Lily got in the car with Colin and waved at the rest of the group.

  “ ’Night guys.”

  Damon took Arielle home. He walked her to the door and smiled when she turned around, clasping her hands together.

  “Well, thanks Damon. You didn’t have to walk me to the door.”

  “Isn’t that what the date does?” Damon asked.

  “Well, this wasn’t a real date, so…” Arielle reached into her purse for keys. Damon grabbed her hand, stopping her.

  “Says who? I got dressed up, you got dressed up, I picked you up, and we went somewhere. That’s a date.”

  “Damon…” Arielle sighed. “You don’t have to do this, okay? I know why you asked me. Lily said no, and I was happy to help you out.”

  Damon pulled her into his chest and tilted her face up to his. His thumb brushed her lips and he looked into her eyes. “It’s still a date. I’m entitled to a kiss goodnight.”

  “Entitled?”

  “Entitled.”

  Damon’s warm mouth covered hers. His arms went around her, pulling her in closer, and then he searched her mouth slowly, taking her breath away. She finally snapped out of her daze and kissed him back. Damon let out a low growl and crushed their bodies together, and Arielle gasped at the intensity of the kiss. Damon pulled away, slowly running his tongue over her bottom lip and leaving a light kiss on her lips.

  “Goodnight, Arielle.”

  “Goodnight, Damon.” Arielle got in the house as fast as she could and leaned up against the door. “Holy shit.”

  Damon sat in his car and stared at his erection trying to wave hello in his pants. He leaned back on the seat. “Holy shit.”

  Nico and Tanner were home in the living room, comfortable in sweats, gobbling popcorn and watching a movie. His uncles were in the bedroom playing Monopoly. Nico laughed when they had said that but winked and motioned for them to go do what it is they were going to do.

  “I didn’t know Monopoly was a moaning game.” Tanner threw his popcorn up in the air. Nico stole it. “Hey!”

  “They should have said Yahtzee. Then they could yell all they wanted.” Nico gave Tanner a piece of popcorn.

  “Did
you ever hear your parents?” Tanner asked.

  “Are you kidding? All the time.”

  “Eww… but at least I know they’re happy together.”

  There was another loud moan and Tanner covered his mouth. Nico stood up and offered Tanner his hand. “We should probably go to your room. It’s way in the back of the house.”

  “And turn the sound up loud.”

  They crawled into Tanner’s bed and set the food up around them. Tanner leaned into Nico and put his head on his shoulder. Nico pulled him close, kissing his forehead. “Did you have fun?”

  “Best night of my life up until they trashed the cars in the parking lot.”

  “Thank God I parked mine way down the block.”

  “When are you going back?” Tanner snuggled closer.

  “Tomorrow morning.” Nico ran his fingers through Tanner’s hair.

  They watched the movie quietly and Nico closed his eyes, feeling Tanner’s heartbeat. He had missed him a lot and they had almost kissed tonight. Having Tanner in his arms… he loved feeling him against him. Tanner was in his later teens now, and Nico thought maybe… just maybe, they could finally start some kind of relationship.

  “I know we haven’t really talked lately, but I wanted you to know I think about you every day. I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I was thinking that maybe we should date. I want to be with you, Tanner.”

  Nico closed his eyes and waited. When Tanner didn’t say anything, he got nervous and looked down to see Tanner’s reaction. Tanner was out like a light. Nico sighed and closed his eyes. “Fuck.”

  Damon stood in Tanner’s doorway the next morning with a huge smile on his face. Tanner was nestled into Nico and they had their arms around each other. They belonged together, they always had. Damon snuck over to the bed and lay next to Nico, smiling. He ran his hands through his hair and heard him moan softly.

  “Good morning,” Damon whispered.

  Nico rolled over to look into Damon’s eyes. “Nice try.”

  “Dammit!” Damon laughed. “We look exactly the same. How do you always know?”

  “You don’t look the same to me. Tanner is way hotter than you.”