by A. P. Moraez
“Eric, I—”
“You know what was waiting for me the next day when I came home from school?”
Ash shook his head.
“A brand-new truck. The kind my family would never have been able to afford up to the very previous day. Shining there under the sun in the exact spot those fuckers had taken my brother from me.”
As the words sank in, Ash couldn’t help but bring Eric’s head flush against his chest. His heart was breaking for the boy and all he could think about was why? Why did kids like them had to go through so much shit?
Eric sobbed silently against his chest for a while, and Ash let him. Eventually, the boy pulled back, clearly embarrassed, and wiped the tears away with the hem of his pajama top. With a weak, wavering voice, he continued, “Two years passed and I don’t know how I made it. All I wanted to do was to run away and never come back. Having to look at their faces for those two years knowing what they’d done was almost impossible.
“But then, when I’d think of running away or telling the police, all I could think about were those words my mom had said to me; that if I did something like that, I’d be destined to whatever they did to Jack, so I stayed and I kept quiet.” He took a shaky breath. “That until one night when I’d forgotten to brush my teeth before bed. I was crossing before the door to the living room as quiet as possible when I heard my father talking on the phone.” He paused, wiping away a stray tear. “They were talking about me. Making arrangements with someone for the next afternoon. Talking money and how much more they could get for me.”
Ash’s spine was freezing. From indignation and shock and anger, it was freezing. “Eric, I’m so sorry.”
The boy just nodded curtly. “That night I slit their throats with a kitchen knife, then I got one of the hard liquors my dad always kept by the bottles in the house, drenched it all with it and set it on fire. And then I ran. The police caught me six days later.”
“But then… how are you here?”
Eric shrugged. “I’d barely been there at all when Leo arrived with Nate and got me out. Been here since then.”
Ash let out a small laugh, shaking his head. “Well, all that fits in with my theory.”
There was a moment of silence that lasted until Eric turned to him with worried eyes. “Ash, do you think Leo is, like, dangerous? Like a criminal or something?”
Ash didn’t want to scare him, not more than he already had. Deep inside he knew the answer to that, even though nothing specifically threatening had happened to him — yet, but he didn’t have any proof to back up his instincts, so he answered with the truth, “I don’t know, but we’re gonna find out.”
ENOUGH. THAT WAS the word flickering behind Ash’s eyelids as he leaned back from the window and let the small gap he’d pushed open on the curtains close, shrouding the room back into darkness.
If he spent one more minute locked up in this room, restless, listening to Eric’s soft snores, he was gonna go nuts.
He needed fresh air and his music. Needed to think.
It’d been two weeks since the night Eric had opened up to him about his past. Two whole weeks since he’d started to pay the in-house library secret nightly visits to do some research. Two weeks of frustration after frustration every time Google came up with nothing helpful about Leo and his past.
The most significant thing he’d managed to find was that fifteen years ago he’d founded Laz Labs, which rapidly grew to be one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country. At some point, however, after just a few years from its foundation, some sort of accident had happened while his wife and daughter had been there, visiting. Leo’d lost his wife and Natasha had lost her eyes that day.
That’s the point where finding more information got tricky, to say the least. It was like anything else relating to the day of the accident had been purposely erased from the world. So, two weeks later, he still didn’t know what had caused it, or who caused it.
What was pretty clear was that the accident had been the end of Laz Lab’s skyrocketing journey to the top. Leo had closed its doors at the end of that year and never turned back.
Plaguing his thoughts now were the gap years between Laz Lab’s last breath and Leo’s reemergence as Tompas’ major benefactor. A notorious businessman and philanthropist that donated millions of dollars a year to the city, helped kids to get out of the streets, and supported the local university in several researches.
All sunshine and rainbows, except none of it fit. Even if Leo had made some millions while the company was still thriving, he had got to have taken a major hit with the fall out of the accident. But even if he hadn’t, all of that had been years ago. No fortune lasts forever, no matter how big it is. Especially if you’re throwing it away with donations and charity all the time.
So, obviously, Leonardo Lazarus had to have another source of income. They wouldn’t call him notorious businessman for no reason. But what business was it? No clue. Why? Because no one talked about it. He’d ran search after search and there was no website in the whole internet that seemed to know what the man did for a living.
And after what Ash had seen that day in the garden. After the creepy-ass cryptic conversation between Leo and Vincent, damn if that wasn’t scary. The not knowing.
It was no wonder, really, that he was like this. All tied up in knots, restless, unable to sleep. For all he knew, he could be living under the roof of a psychopath.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief once he rounded the mansion and started on the small path to one of the nearby gardens. Getting out of the house without being seen was always the most difficult part. Once outside, though, he could breathe better.
The clear night sky, sprinkled with stars, made it easy to see. In just a few minutes he reached the stone benches where he liked to sit and play, hidden from everyone else. The mansion’s east wall was just a few dozen feet behind him, but it wasn’t the part of the house where the rooms were, so he was pretty sure no one would wake up.
With strenuous care, he removed the guitar from its battered case. He hadn’t brought the pen and notebook with him tonight. This wasn’t a night for novelty and the deep contemplation that always came to him in the process of morphing his feelings into new music. Today he only needed comfort and the familiarity of his fingers stroking the strings, without effort or thought.
That’s what he was aiming for when, at the same time, his hand closed around the neck and his eyes fell shut. When the light breeze muffled his too-long fringe and brought him the fresh smells of the night. And to his delight it worked, at least for a bit. For a few minutes the Beatles song brought him the comfort he sought and helped him choke all the worries that had been haunting him through the last few weeks.
So, no. Ash didn’t notice, at first, the moment it started. Only darkness ruled behind his eyelids when the first daisy petal invaded it, subtly blown before his eyes. And as much as it hurt, this time he let them. Ash just bit on the inside of his cheek and just let sapphires and daisies, years and years that he’d never get back, flicker and flash through his traitorous mind, all while the first of many tears ran down his cheeks.
The old song fell short before the impulse to match the scenes in his head, and when he realized what was happening, Ash had already fallen back to the instrumental piece he’d started to compose weeks ago. The violent, desperate dance of fingers over strings; the one that sought answers and found none.
As always, it didn’t bring him any relief; nor did the surprise in front of him when it ended and Ash opened his eyes.
How could a single man look so angelic and dangerous at the same time? All sound seemed to be gone, exactly as Ash’s own breath or ability to form words, as Leo stood there under the moonlight, right in front of him, hands in his pockets. Moments on end passed between them, in silence, until a half smile formed on the man’s lips.
“I didn’t know you were that talented,” he said, voice low.
Ash was still trying to recover, too shock
ed to reply. Encouraged, somehow, by Ash’s silence, Leo took a step forward. Ash sprang up from that bench so quick his head spun. The delay caused by the vertigo was enough for Leo to get to him, and when his warm hand touched Ash’s tear-streaked cheek, he shivered.
“You okay, kid?”
There seemed to be concern in his words, but Ash didn’t know if it was real. Nothing ever was.
“Ash?” Leo insisted when he didn’t reply.
“Yeah.” Ash opened his eyes and tried for a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He hated how his words were coming out all wheezy, but he couldn’t help it. Not with Leo’s clean, fresh smell cocooning him like this. Not with the way his still-wet golden hair framed his angelic face. Not with the malice shadowing his blue eyes, no matter how much they glinted under the moonlight.
A few seconds passed in utter silence, Leo’s hand still cupping his left cheek.
“Talent like yours shouldn’t be hidden, don’t you think?”
“I don’t think the guys would like the stuff I play.”
Leo smiled.
Ash’s heart jumped when the man brought his other hand to imitate the one already touching his face.
“Why do you cry?” Leo asked, voice so low Ash strained to hear it even with only a few inches separating them.
Embarrassed, Ash tried to take a step back, but Leo didn’t let him; he didn’t let go. Instead, he started wiping Ash’s tears away with his thumbs. Circular motions, slow and steady; they brought all of Ash’s blood to his face.
“Hm?” Leo pressed. “Why the tears?”
“It’s nothing.”
Leo searched his eyes and Ash forced himself to keep calm. After a few seconds, the man finally released him. Immediately, Ash crouched and reached for the guitar case.
“I’m sorry for breaking the rules, Leo,” he said to the man at his back. “I know I shouldn’t be wandering the property alone at night.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t.”
Leo’s voice was way closer than it should’ve been and that realization turned Ash’s whole body to stone for a few seconds. He made himself snap out of it.
“I’m sorry,” Ash repeated, while he strapped the guitar on his shoulder, his back still turned. “I… I won’t do it again.”
Damn the grass for muffling Leo’s steps. He’d have given anything for just one chance to escape the hand that clasped his waist tight.
“I think you will,” Leo whispered at his ear. He was so close his heat covered Ash’s entire back; his warm breath against his neck and cheek.
“It’s late,” Ash tried. “I should go back inside.”
Leo chuckled and circled Ash’s waist with the hand that’d been gripping it, and Ash wanted to rip his heart out of his chest and crunch it under his feet for the way that gesture made him feel. He was so done with feelings. If only he could just flip a switch and not feel anything anymore.
“You know what else I think?” Leo asked as he pressed forward and started walking them forward, toward the mansion wall behind the bench. “I think you like breaking the rules.”
“No, I—”
Leo whirled him around and pressed him against stone, cutting him off. He had one leg between Ash’s thighs, one hand cupping his cheek and the other trapping him, pressed against the wall. The malice glistening and shifting in his blue eyes seared Ash’s own thoughts and all he could do was shiver and breathe against the taller man’s mouth, which by now was practically touching his own.
“For days I’ve been trying to get you alone like this,” Leo whispered against his lips, while he started the circular caress on Ash’s cheek with his thumb, “but you seem to always be hiding from me.”
“What do you want?”
The corners of Leo’s lips tipped. “That depends.”
“Depends on what?”
Leo grinned, and Ash shivered. He wanted to just not feel; wanted to be strong enough to not feel turned on by the man caging him in against the solid mansion wall behind him. A man he knew close to nothing about; someone that was probably dangerous. He wasn’t, though, for when Leo pressed impossibly closer to him and the move made his solid thigh brush against Ash’s balls, he couldn’t exactly contain the moan that left his traitorous mouth. The sound only added to the hot malice twisting in the clear, icy eyes that were regarding him with emotions Ash couldn’t quite discern.
“You didn’t tell anyone what you saw that night, did you?” Leo finally exhaled against his mouth. Ash wasn’t fooled; his voice was low and soothing, even… seductive, but there was danger in the air.
“No,” he offered; maybe too quickly. Too late now. “I swear I didn’t.”
Leonardo’s lips tipped up again. Ash could swear the enticing melody created by both their heartbeats was audible in that moment, which wouldn’t be too far-fetched, given how close they were. For a few moments, Leo didn’t answer, neither did he move.
Until he did.
Ash stopped breathing when the man brought his firm lips to his cheek. Leo didn’t kiss him, though, just let his lips kinda resting there at the same time he resumed massaging Ash’s waist, his hand slowly trailing upwards. It was good, and Ash was freaking out because of it.
“You liked watching it, didn’t you?” the man murmured against his skin. He’d managed to get his hands under Ash’s shirt, and the rush he felt for having those hands finally brushing against his own skin was making his head go fuzzy. “I could see it in your eyes.”
Leo breathed against his cheek and slid his lips down until they got to Ash’s jaw. This time, Leo opened his mouth and kissed him right there. The heat, the scraping of the man’s stubble over Ash’s otherwise smooth skin… it was turning his legs to jelly. “Even as it scared you,” Leo murmured, giving Ash’s jaw a small hint of tongue, “you wished it were you on your knees back then.”
All Ash managed to do was swallow. He couldn’t deny it. The memory of how turned on he’d been that day, while he watched Vincent pleasure Leo, was still too fresh; his dick too hard. Denying Leo’s statement would be stupid. He had been turned on then, and he was beyond aroused now too.
“It shocked you and excited you because it’s…” Leo’s mouth had trailed slowly until it reached the spot behind Ash’s ear, which had always been his weakness. When Lo— no! No! Leo nuzzled the spot and Ash shivered, pleasure electrifying his system at the same time he fought against the pain of his past. “You don’t know what it feels like, do you? Being with a man.”
Ash was biting the inside of his cheek so hard, he was afraid he’d eventually tear the skin and taste his own blood. All of it so he wouldn’t reply, because any confirmation he gave would only fuel Leo, no doubt.
Leo’s eyes were on him again, their breaths mingling as their lips kept doing that thing where they touched for just a millisecond and then separated again. Over and over. It was driving him crazy.
Leo inhaled slowly and, equally slowly, exhaled. “Oh, Ash, I can practically smell it… your innocence.” He cupped Ash’s cock and, in that moment, Ash’s legs gave out. Lucky him, Leo quickly circled his waist with a strong hold of his solid arm.
“The things I could teach you, Ash,” Leo said just after he pressed a soft kiss to the left corners of his mouth. “The things I could do to you.”
A drop of sweat ran down Ash’s left temple and Leo swiped it away. Everything was so quiet; the night so absolutely serene. Even the little sounds of the woods that encircled the mansion were nowhere to be found. It was like time had stopped when Leo had cornered him here and decided to make him feel these things he didn’t wanna be feeling.
Again, Ash couldn’t suppress the little whimper that left his lips when Leo massaged his erection from a particular angle that made his fingers brush right at the ring of the head. He was breathing so hard, heart galloping in his chest. And the worst thing was that he knew this was wrong, but it all felt so good that he never wanted it to stop.
Leo chuckled low in his chest. “You wanna
come, Ash?”
Cheeks burning, Ash gave him the barest of nods, unable to voice desire that came with such shame.
Something shifted in Leo’s eyes, then. It was like Ash had freed some deep hunger the man had so far kept somewhat on a leash.
Leo’s kiss was everything he was: brazen, unapologetic, dominant… hot. He tasted so good, but also so wrong. Of alcohol and control and man. Nothing like when L— no. He’s past. He’s gone. He’s never been real.
Ash didn’t have time to dwell in the past. Not with those warm hands gliding over his abdomen and behind. Not with that tongue and firm lips taking possession of his mouth, stealing his breath away. He didn’t even register properly the moment Leo unzipped his pants and got a firm hold of his cock. The weirdest part were the piercings that he couldn’t help licking as he reciprocated Leo’s own ardor. Silly, though. Leo didn’t seem to give a damn that Ash might hurt him by accident, pulling on the metallic hoops.
When Ash, suddenly bold, slowed down the kiss for a bit and bit on Leo’s lower lip, dragging it a little by the piercing clenched tight between his teeth, the man growled, and the sound ran down Ash’s spine and landed on his groin. Leo’s hand that had been massaging Ash’s behind squeezed him hard, and he moaned in response.
“I can’t figure you out, Ash Reid. You’re… different from the others. You don’t fit.”
Leo kissed him again, seemingly unable to control himself. This time, he pressed his whole body weight against Ash, never stopping pumping his cock with a firm grip. Ash was surrounded by firm muscles and Leo’s crisp smell, chocking on his insatiable tongue, and it all felt good. Why did it have to feel so good?
“And, Ash, I gotta tell you: I don’t like it when things don’t fit.” Leo decided to use that moment to squeeze his cock close to the crown, and Ash lost it. He came hard, seeing stars behind eyelids that involuntarily squeezed shut. He couldn’t contain a single thing his body was doing, and Leo used his mouth and tongue to muffle Ash’s screams.
