Morning My Angel

by Sue Brown

  Josh licked and nibbled down the shaft before he took it in his mouth again and sank down until his nose touched Cal’s pubes. He trailed one finger along the line of Cal’s taint until he reached the ring of muscle, and pressed in just as he sucked Cal in hard.

  Cal bucked up and came, shooting down Josh’s throat. Josh suckled him through his orgasm, resting his cheek against Cal’s thigh. Finally, he let Cal slip out, licked his lips to capture the last taste of him and sat up.

  “Coffee and food?” he asked. There was no response from Cal. Josh looked over to see Cal asleep again, mouth open. “Should I be offended that my Sex-God skills put you to sleep?” Cal snored gently in response. Josh kissed Cal’s forehead and rolled out of bed. He looked down at his erection. “I guess you’ll have to wait for a while. Coffee and takeout, it is.”

  Chapter 15

  Monday 28th November

  Cal’s mattress wasn’t as comfortable as the one in the last hotel, but as Josh spent most of the night waking up to check Cal was okay it didn’t bother him too much. However, the lack of sleep meant he woke up grouchy and snarled at Cal from the moment he opened his eyes.

  “Go and make coffee,” Cal growled after the fourth or maybe fifth time Josh bitched at him. “I’m going to have a shower.”

  Cal stalked into the en-suite. Even in his cranky state Josh took a moment to admire the play of muscles across Cal’s back and ass, before he pushed back the duvet and hunted for the bag Rick had given him. Josh peered in the bag. He could tell with a glance that Landry had packed for him. Landry always remembered Josh’s shower gel and lotion.

  Josh pulled on a T-shirt and boxer shorts, and went to fix coffee. Not to make up for being a miserable bastard, but because he needed the caffeine – obviously.

  He set the machine going and scowled out of the window at the lackluster view, just another block of apartments similar to this one, while he waited impatiently for it to finish. The last drops were filtering through when a large, warm body wrapped around his.

  Cal nuzzled into his neck. “Feeling better?”

  “Not much,” Josh admitted.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Josh sighed and leaned back into Cal’s warmth, appreciating the scent of mint and watermelon tickling his senses. “One, no coffee yet. Two, we need to talk. Three, I’ve just woken up and I’m a miserable bastard—”

  “That should be number one,” Cal said.

  Josh twitched in annoyance at being corrected and tried to pull away but Cal hung onto him. Trying to fight his way out of Cal’s arms was futile and eventually Josh subsided with a final angry roll of his shoulders. “Let me go, dude. I need coffee.”

  “Go and sit on the sofa,” Cal said, turning Josh around and giving him a gentle shove toward the sofa on the other side of the room. “I’ll bring the coffee in.”

  Despite himself, Josh leaned back into Cal’s touch once more then headed for the sofa. Cal poured out the coffee and joined him a few minutes later.

  “Drink this, and then we’ll talk,” Cal ordered as he handed Josh a mug.

  Josh huffed but he did as he was told, feeling the caffeine’s magic fingers sooth his tangled nerves. He’d finished one full mug and Cal had gotten him another before Cal spoke again.

  “Now you can talk.”

  “Yes, sir.” Josh gave him a lazy salute. “How’s your back?”

  “Sore,” Cal admitted. “I’ve just taken painkillers. Now tell me what’s got you all knotted up?”

  “Us. I know it’s fucking selfish with everything going on, but what’s going to happen to us?” Cal’s brows beetled together but, now he’d started, Josh wanted answers. “You and me? Do we have a chance?”

  Cal licked his lips in a nervous gesture. Josh noticed they were cracked and his first thought was insisting Cal used lip balm. “I’m your boss.”

  “So that’s a no.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Oh yeah, chapter nine, section twelve, subsection five.” Josh curled his upper lip.

  “Three,” Cal corrected.

  “What?”

  “Subsection three, not five.”

  Josh shrugged. “Who cares?”

  “You do,” Cal said. “You’ve already asked HR how you can get around this.”

  Josh didn’t bother asking him how Cal knew that he’d emailed. Of course he knew. “So no more fucking.”

  “Not if you stay at CDR. Not back in Seattle.”

  “Some fucking choice. Lose you or lose my job.” It was so fucking unfair. Charlie—Cal—had been part of his life for so long and now he’d finally offered himself to Josh only to impose conditions.

  “You’ve got to understand, Josh, I can’t break this rule.” Cal tried to capture Josh’s hand but Josh pulled away.

  “Not even for me?”

  “Especially not for you. I can’t insist it applies to everyone else and not me. It’s because of me it’s there in the first place.”

  Josh frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Cal exhaled and ran his hand though his still-damp hair, sending it in all directions. Josh wanted to lean over and pat it down, but he couldn’t make such an intimate gesture. Not yet. “When I started CDR I employed four men as security guards. One of them was amazing. Funny, gorgeous, God, I could barely keep my hands off him. I didn’t keep my hands off him. That was the problem.”

  “You fucked one of your staff?” Josh asked harshly, talking around the lump of jealousy in his throat.

  “Lyle became my boyfriend,” Cal corrected. “He moved in with me about three months after we met.”

  “What happened?”

  “Two years later it ended—messily. We nearly destroyed CDR. I had to fire Lyle. He lost his home and his job. God, if it hadn’t been for Dominic and Ryan we’d never have survived.”

  “What happened to Leon?”

  “Lyle. Dominic helped him find another job on the opposite coast. He’s happy now. Got a husband and two kids. He still won’t talk to me. Anyway, Dominic insisted nothing like that could happen again. I wrote that rule and we’ve enforced it strictly.”

  “Is that why Dominic was so angry when we had that meeting?” Josh asked.

  Cal grimaced. “He reamed me out later, made me go through everything that happened before and that I’d promised him it would never happen again.”

  “He didn’t know about ‘Charlie’?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone about him until my handler found out.”

  “So what now? I go home without a job?” Cal made another attempt to hold Josh, but Josh wasn’t ready to be held yet. He needed to know where he stood. It wasn’t like he didn’t have contacts in the industry, but he needed to know his options. “How soon are you firing me?”

  “We could arrange a notice period? Three months, something like that?”

  “Or we could not be in a relationship and I keep my job?”

  Hurt flashed in Cal’s eyes. “Is that what you want?”

  Josh pressed his lips together. “You’re given me the choice of fucking or keeping my job which, by the way, I’m good at and love.”

  Cal inclined his head. “I know you are. Despite the fact you drive Dominic insane you’re the best he’s worked with.”

  “But not good enough to break the rules for?”

  “I’m sorry, Josh.”

  He did look genuinely sorry which annoyed Josh even more. Josh wanted to have a reason to hate Cal and CDR, because his life was going to be torn up whichever decision he made.

  Josh ran his hands through his hair, grimacing at the sticky feel. “I need a shower.”

  “You do,” Cal agreed. “You stink.”

  “Thanks.” Josh got to his feet but Cal wrapped his hand around Josh’s wrist. Josh stopped, looked at Cal’s large hand then into his eyes.

  Cal licked his lips nervously. “Josh, I don’t think we’re just fucking. We had two years of getting to know each other first.”

  “You did
,” Josh pointed out. “I’ve still got to reconcile Cal and Charlie in my head.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever be able to do that?”

  “Maybe. Give me time.”

  “All the time you need,” Cal promised as he let go of his hand.

  “I’d better get a move on.”

  Josh hesitated but Cal didn’t say anything more, so he shuffled into the bathroom, backtracking only to pick up the bag containing his stuff. He stood under the shower for a long time, hoping the hot water would do something to wash away the sick feeling in his gut, but nothing seemed to work. In the end Josh got out and prepared to face the day.

  When he returned to the main room, Cal was sitting at the table, talking rapidly into the phone and making notes. “Get one of the boys to pick us up and we’ll go over there now.”

  “What’s happened?” Josh said.

  Cal looked over to him. “Someone’s ransacked Melissa Michael's’ place.”

  “Are the crime scene people there?”

  “On their way.”

  Josh ran his fingers through his damp hair. “Tell them to look for dyed hair.”

  “You think it was Jon?”

  “Yeah. Could be.” Josh was going to need more caffeine.

  As Josh refilled the coffee pot, Cal said, “’Kay. Jesse, did you get that?” Cal talked for a few more minutes before he disconnected the call. “Rick’s going to be here in thirty minutes. We’ve got time for breakfast if you want something to eat.”

  “Toast’ll be fine. You ought to eat something too. You didn’t get dinner last night.”

  Cal’s stomach growled in response. “What did you get?”

  “Chinese food delivered by a very sweet young man.”

  Cal chuckled loudly. “Freddie.”

  “Oh?” Josh tried not to let a dangerous growl enter his voice, but he didn’t like Cal’s warm tone in.

  “Down boy. He’s got a wife and two kids.”

  “Doesn’t usually stop them.”

  Cal caught Josh around the waist and grinned at him. “Freddie is devoted to his family so you can retract those claws.”

  “You think I’m jealous?” Josh tried to pull away.

  “’Course you are. I would be too if it was me. How do you think I felt about the flight attendant and all the other men you’ve fucked?”

  “How did you know about him? Where’s the chip?”

  Cal snorted. “This isn’t a movie, Josh. I just know you. All I ever asked was how was he? You automatically assumed I knew.”

  Josh gaped at him. “You bastard. You played me. Every time. Fuck, I really am that predictable.”

  “Sorry.” Cal didn’t look remotely apologetic.

  “Lying bastard.”

  Still laughing, Cal tugged Josh into his arms. For a moment Josh thought about struggling, but he was happy where he was, and he snuggled back against Cal’s chest.

  Cal stroked Josh’s hair. “Don’t do it again.”

  “Don’t do what?” Josh asked.

  “Fuck other men.”

  Josh raised his head. “You want me to be monogamous?”

  Cal brushed Josh’s lips with his. “Would that be so hard?”

  “Dude, I dumped you for you. What more do you want?”

  Cal smiled. “So you did.”

  “Fucker,” Josh said happily and buried his head in the crook of Cal’s neck, wincing at the stubble burn. “You need to shave.”

  “So do you.”

  “Coffee, toast and shave in half an hour. Do you think we can do it?”

  “Yep.”

  Cal squeezed Josh hard, eliciting a squeak which made him laugh. “I’ll make the toast. You go and shave. There are spare razors under the sink.”

  Josh shuddered at the thought of a cheap razor anywhere near his sensitive skin. “Landry packed my shaver.”

  “He’s a good man.”

  “They both are,” Josh agreed. “I’ve been lucky to have them as a team. The first one I had was a nightmare. Is the coffee ready? I’ll take it with me.”

  Cal moved away to pour him another mug. “Are you talking about Ian and Martin?”

  “Good memory. Yeah.”

  Cal’s brows knitted over his forehead. “You never told me… Charlie… this.”

  “It wasn’t important. We just didn’t get on.”

  “Why?” Cal seemed determined to pick at an old wound.

  “They didn’t like the fact I was a fag.” Josh shrugged. “It’s not important. Gil and Landry don’t give a shit who I fuck.”

  “It is bloody important. Half the men at CDR are gay, bi or trans. I’m not employing homophobes. Dominic should’ve told me.”

  “He rearranged the teams. It’s all cool.”

  “It’s not cool. Go and shave.”

  Cal thrust the mug at Josh. Hot coffee spilled over the rim, burning Josh’s hand, but Cal didn’t seem to notice as he stalked toward his phone.

  “Uh… Cal, it was a long time ago.”

  “What?” Cal looked shocked to see Josh in the same room as him. “Yeah, go get ready or they’ll be here.”

  Josh retreated to the bathroom and stuck his fingers under cold water for a few minutes. Cal looked genuinely furious. It wasn’t like homophobes were rare in their industry. Josh met them all the time. He’d fucked a few of them, too.

  By the time he returned, Cal was buttering toast and Dave was sitting on the sofa with coffee and toast on the coffee table.

  “I’ll go and shave. Be back in a moment,” Cal said.

  Dave watched him and looked at Josh. “What’s the matter with him?”

  “I’m not sure. I told him about my first team at CDR. They don’t like queers. Cal kinda lost it, but I’m not sure why. Dominic sorted it.”

  Dave grunted. “Maybe because Cal went through hell at boarding school.”

  Josh bit down hard on his lip. These were the things he didn’t know about Cal. “I’d better call Dominic. He’ll be furious with me.”

  “Not your fault. You didn’t know. Is there more coffee?”

  “Help yourself.” Josh called Dominic while he chewed on a mouthful of toast.

  “Thought you’d be next to call,” Dominic said.

  “What the fuck just happened?”

  Dominic grunted in Josh’s ear. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

  “For once I believe you.” Dominic sighed. “Don’t worry about it, Josh. It was my fault for not telling Cal at the time.”

  “Ian and Martin?”

  “Not your problem.”

  Josh growled under his breath, but Dominic was right. What the owner and manager of CDR decided to do with their employees was nothing to do with him. Except… “Has he spoken to you about me?”

  “We’ll talk when you get back. I’m not going to screw you over. Unless you fuck this assignment up, in which case don’t bother coming back.”

  “I found Jonathan Michaels,” Josh protested.

  “He found you, and then you lost him by getting on a bus.”

  Josh opened his mouth, and then shut it again. He really didn’t have anything to say about that.

  “Fuck off and get to Michaels’ house.”

  “Yes, sir.” Dominic disconnected the call and Josh took a long slurp of coffee. “Fuck me, is the day over yet?”

  “Not yet.” Dave looked amused.

  “Let’s get going.” Cal had already put on his coat and shoes. He looked edible, and despite Josh’s current mood, his dick popped up in approval. Cal didn’t seem to notice Josh’s sudden arousal as he said, “Come on.”

  Ignoring his erection, Josh shoved a slice of toast in his mouth, forcing it down with coffee. He let Dave wash the mugs and plates while he searched for his shoes. Cal stood by the door, waiting impatiently for them to be ready.

  Dave had parked in the underground parking lot. As Dave went to the car, Josh grabbed Cal by the arm and halted his progress.


  “Cal, are we okay. You and me?”

  Cal huffed and bit his lip. Then he gave a wry smile. “I’ve behaved like a tit, haven’t I? I just hate the thought of anyone hurting you.”

  “What the hell is a tit? It was years ago, Cal. And I protected myself.”

  “You should have told me about the fact you took them both down in the office.”

  “I thought Dominic was gonna fire me for that.”

  “He should’ve given them their pink slips.”

  Cal growled again, which was sweet, but Josh needed Cal to get his head in gear. “I don’t need a white knight. I’ve seen the way you go all alpha about me. You’ve gotta stop that.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Forget about the past. Pick me up and slam me against the wall. Focus on me, not the dicks in the past.”

  Cal nodded but he didn’t look happy. “Whatever. We’ll talk later.”

  Josh tangled his fingers with Cal’s as they approached the car. Cal squeezed them and they got into the vehicle.

  Dave handed Cal a file. “Barton’s autopsy results.”

  “Did they find the dyed hair?” Josh asked.

  “Hold on.” Cal skimmed the results. “Yeah, and it’s a match to Michaels’ DNA. How did you know?”

  “I didn’t, but the strands are tying up. We know for sure they’re all involved. Michaels and Adlington, possibly Barton. And it’s all connected with this gambling syndicate. We’ve got to find them.”

  “And soon before someone else, or one of us, dies,” Cal agreed.

  Josh looked out of the window at the gray heavy skies. “If you die I might feel slightly sad.”

  From the front Dave started laughing.

  “Oh thanks.” Cal didn’t sound impressed but he grinned at Josh who smirked back.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Cal leaned over and breathed heavily in Josh’s ear. “If I die, I’m going to haunt you forever. You’ll be fucking other guys and you’ll remember me.”