by Sierra Riley
The plump, round tip of Briar’s cock pushed inside Gabriel’s tight hole slowly, and he tilted his head back to relish these first few seconds of being filled.
Inch by inch, that shaft slid into him in quick, shallow thrusts that made them both pant for breath. Gabriel stayed as relaxed as it was possible to be when his dreamboat was flushed and panting for breath and pushing his way into his tight ass with breathless little grunts.
Oh, those sounds were hot as fuck spilling from Briar’s lips.
Gabriel moaned his encouragement when Briar bottomed out, his balls brushing skin lightly. “Fucking hurry up,” he ordered to let Briar know he was ready for more.
A grin—swift but gorgeous, a flash of perfect white teeth—flitted over Briar’s face, and then he was pulling his hips back and thrusting again, filling him deep and hot and just right.
“Yes…!”
Gabriel’s back arched, and he dug his nails into the couch. Then he couldn’t resist grabbing Briar’s forearms, running his hands up to his shoulders to haul him in and down for a kiss.
Briar braced a knee on the couch and one hand behind Gabriel to get just stable enough, and then…
“Oh!” Gabriel grunted, then growled his approval. “Yes!"
Briar slammed his hips forward, thrusting inside him fast and hard, exactly the way Gabriel craved it.
Gabriel pushed forward into that thick cock without hesitation, rolling his head against the back of the couch while Briar sucked on the side of his neck. It was just hard enough to get his attention, but not enough to leave a hickey. He was thinking this through more than Gabriel, then.
“Fuckin’ hell,” Gabriel moaned, his toes curling again as Briar gave quick, hard thrusts into his ass. His whole body shivered with the desire roaring through him like a wildfire.
Those warm lips landed just below his earlobe, sucking gently on that spot on his neck. Gabriel couldn’t breathe for a second as the tip of Briar’s tongue flickered along his skin and then up to his earlobe, so gently tracing along it.
Gabriel couldn’t hold back. He reached under himself to jerk himself off in quick, sharp strokes. His whole body was tense and twitchy, burning with the need that seemed to redouble under his skin every minute.
He ran his hands up Briar’s back, under his shirt again, gasping at the way his back muscles rippled with each fluid thrust.
Every time Gabriel thought he was on the edge of bliss, Briar pushed him one level higher.
And then he came so hard his nails bit into Briar’s back, clutching at his shoulder blade and the hollow in his back as his body arched clear off the sofa, his legs locked hard around Briar’s waist.
Gabriel was pretty sure he started to moan Briar’s name so loud the whole office could hear, but by the second syllable, Briar’s mouth was on his.
He mumbled his noises of bliss into Briar’s mouth as his body tensed and released in quick, furious muscle shivers. Gabriel felt his own warm wetness against his chest and stomach and reveled in it, his toes curling again as he moaned for Briar’s benefit.
And then Briar was coming, too, driving into him in quick uneven motions of pure need. Gabriel untangled his hand from Briar’s shirt and pulled the back of his head in so he had to kiss him while he came.
The rough, quick pants of breath against his lips were so fucking hot.
At last, their bodies both went still for a few moments, Briar draped along Gabriel’s front, both of them collapsed against the couch as Gabriel slowly let his legs fall so his feet touched the ground. His arms were still loosely draped over Briar’s shoulders for a moment before he pulled them back to push his hair back and forth. God, he’d have to do that all over again, and some of his makeup too.
Briar pulled back to wrap the condom up well and toss it in the bin, and Gabriel finally spared a glance down at himself. He had to get himself cleaned up, pretty again, and dressed into another change of clothes.
As he cleaned up and Briar made himself decent again, there was an unspoken, companionable silence. Gabriel felt none of the tension that had knotted him up when Briar first dragged him into this back room, and the confidence he felt now was less aggressively projected and more…
More sincere.
“Wear that—and that. And those.”
Gabriel didn’t stop and question the choices. He slipped into the chinos Briar picked out for him without hesitation, buttoning up the shirt quickly. Then, Gabriel sat at the makeup chair to fiddle with his hair again.
“Good,” Briar told him, half turned away already to head for the door. Then, he stopped and turned back, gazing at Gabriel for a few long moments. Gabriel didn’t know what to say or what Briar was looking for, but he met the gaze without hesitation.
Faintly, only because of the silence between them, Gabriel heard the sudden rise in voices that meant someone—several someones—had come into the studio.
Briar abruptly turned again to unlock and open the door. Before the changing room door closed behind him, Gabriel heard him greet the photographer and chat with Julius. He sounded like nothing at all had happened.
God, even if that was a one-time fling, it was one of the best Gabriel could remember ever having had.
Briar Fields fucked me, and it was awesome.
Despite the pouty persona he wanted to show the camera, Gabriel couldn’t stop smiling.
8
Briar
“Holy shit. Gabe killed that photo shoot.”
Briar smirked as he strode down the hallway beside Julius, one hand tucked into his pocket. With the other, he clapped Julius’s shoulder. “I told you he was a good choice.”
“I didn’t think so when poor Hayes ran out.”
Briar’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “Poor Hayes? He was being a dick. I don’t blame Gabe for dicking him right back.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Presumably not dicking dicking him,” Julius muttered under his breath, then snorted.
“I want someone to yell at Hayes before we bring him in again. He lays a hand on our models while he’s pissed off, he gets escorted out next time.”
Julius nodded sharply. “I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “But the second guy worked a lot better with him. What did you say to Gabe to knock the diva out of him?”
I fucked the diva out of him. Briar cocked his head. “I just reminded him why he’s here.”
“And why’s that?”
Briar hummed under his breath. “You know, I don’t think he knew until today. He didn’t walk in expecting to be a model. But I saw the switch flip.”
“You gonna let him do that instead of be your assistant?”
“He’s a useless asshole behind the desk,” Briar laughed. “And I’m a useless asshole on the other side of the desk. I can’t delegate. Dayne should know that by now. Put Gabe’s talents to work where they’ll do more good. You want him?”
“If you’ll let me have him.”
“Sold. Guess I better tell him, then,” Briar grinned, turning around to head back to the photo studio.
He was about to make Gabriel’s day.
“You’re what?”
Briar’s lips curled in an amused smirk as he watched the expressions—shock, joy, then embarrassment at his sudden display of emotions and an attempt at neutrality—flit across Gabriel’s face.
“I’m gonna give you your big shot in London. That’s two weeks from now. You better be ready for model boot camp, ’cause Julius is not gonna ride your ass with as much lube as I did.”
The photographer was still in the room—hell, so was one of the interns setting up for the next shoot—but it didn’t matter. Everyone would think it was a metaphor.
Everyone but Gabriel, of course.
Again, Gabriel caught his breath with surprise, and again, he tried to push through it. He casually stretched as he pulled his shawl back on—the last piece of street clothing. “Of course.”
“That obviously means you won’t be working with me, and a whole new se
t of paperwork. You’ll work when Julius tells you to work, and with the photographers he gives you. Your paycheck won’t be regular like the assistant job. Julius will be your agent—manager or booker, some people call them—”
“I know all that,” Gabriel impatiently muttered.
There it was: the sassy spark again.
Oh, that attitude made Briar grin more than it should have. He knew it was only encouraging bad behavior, but there was something about Gabriel’s refusal to indulge fools that he recognized in himself.
“Until you’re more developed,” Briar stubbornly went on. “You have natural talent, that much is obvious. You killed this photo shoot.”
His heart warmed with pride, but Briar quickly clamped down on that emotion. Don’t get invested in him.
Instead, Briar turned for the door. “You’ll do great.”
“Thanks.” It was a casual word thrown out there behind Briar’s back, but it was the first time Gabe had said it. When he looked back over his shoulder, from the way Gabriel watched him, Briar sensed it wasn’t just for the compliment.
Briar jerked his head in a quick nod, then headed back out of the studio.
Austin had been one hell of an act to follow, and one Briar had sworn never to follow again.
But Jesus Christ, that was before he’d met this kid.
He reminded himself that Gabriel wasn’t a kid at all—only five years younger than him, and that was everything in front of the camera but nothing in the rest of life. But his attitude…
Just like Austin’s, only Gabriel was different.
Gabriel hadn’t walked in knowing exactly what he was going to achieve, and how to fuck over as many people as he could to get it.
Unless he had. He could have been acting the whole time, waiting until Briar picked him instead of forcing his way through the door. But down that road lay paranoia and suspicion. Briar had to take him at his word.
Even if Gabriel fucked him over like Austin had… well, Briar was willing to walk that path again if it meant seeing Gabriel shine as bright as he was obviously meant to.
If that made Briar a romantic sucker with his heart on his sleeve… so be it.
9
Gabriel
The kettle whistled upstairs, and Gabriel stretched and uncurled from the couch. “Want me to bring you a cup?”
“Yes—black, two sugars.” Sandra, his landlady, was sewing a hem with quick, precise stitches that never failed to impress Gabriel.
“I know how you take your tea,” Gabriel laughed, heading for the bottom of the stairs. “Anything else?”
“Something for yourself. You can’t starve all that weight off.”
“I can try,” Gabriel retorted. By the time he got to the top of the stairs, he was a little dizzy, but he’d had worse. He only needed to lose five pounds for the show—Julius had told him he was damn near perfect already.
Good thing he barely ate.
Sandra was right, though. He had to feed his body, too, or he wouldn’t be able to work out and maintain any kind of muscle mass.
As he waited for the tea to steep, Gabriel watered the plants along the windowsill. The little herb garden was soothing to look at, and they were allowed to use fresh parsley or basil from the potted plants.
The other guys who lived here, each paying six hundred bucks a month for their room and these shared facilities, rarely cooked. One worked in the finance industry, another was on an unpaid media internship, there was a tech guy, and one was in the fashion business like him.
He was in the fashion business now.
Gabriel grinned, leaning on the counter and checking the teapot. Good enough.
He poured them each a cup and headed back down to Sandra.
“So, you were telling me about the test shoot,” Sandra reminded him once he handed over her cup. “The second one really went that well? I could tell you’re a natural.”
“You think? They said that, too,” Gabriel grinned. “They told me they’re giving me a big break in London. I’m being thrown in the deep end.”
“And you love every moment of it. Look at you glowing,” Sandra laughed.
Gabriel’s cheeks burned as he rubbed his face and tried to cool his jets. “Right. Yeah.”
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s just unusual for anyone in that industry to be so… well, non-ironically passionate.”
“Yeah,” Gabriel snorted. “Everyone acts like they’re too good for the place. I mean, I am the best damn new face they’ve ever signed, but even the secretary has an attitude there.” He sighed as he pushed himself to his feet. “I gotta do laundry and sort through my closet. I hope they pay me for my couple days worked soon. That’ll buy another few key pieces…”
Sandra looked up at him, setting down her needle for a moment. “I’m glad for you, Gabe.”
“Yeah.” Gabriel glowed. Just days before New York’s fashion week, when the city was flooded with the best wannabe-models, it felt damn good to be recognized. Not just acknowledged, either. Invited to join the elite ranks of models being flown to London next week.
He hadn’t seen Briar since he’d told him he was giving him his big break. That wasn’t the surprise, though. It was that he wished he’d seen him around more.
Gabriel fidgeted with his brass ring as he headed upstairs to sort out his wardrobe for the next intense week. Having something to do with his hands kept him distracted from thinking about why he missed seeing Briar around.
10
Briar
“It’s a small fuckin’ world. You’re going to see Austin in London. Are you ready for that?”
Briar ran a hand across his stubbly face, then pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead. “I… I expected that.”
Vince was watching him evenly from across the table, his hand delicately wrapped around a bright blue cocktail. In addition to being the new faces department head, Vince was one of Briar’s closest friends and one of the four original guys who had helped him get this shit off the ground.
He was also kinder to Briar than most others. He had that way of watching Briar that told him he knew exactly what Briar was trying to hide, every damn time.
And he’d seen the Austin shit show coming from two miles off, but Briar had been too damn stubborn to listen to him.
“So? Do you need me to whisk you away when you see him?”
“No, no,” Briar hastened to answer. That would only tell Austin that he’d gotten to him, and Briar wasn’t prepared to let him win.
No how, no way.
“I’ll deal with it,” Briar added, drawing a heavy sigh. “It’s not like he’s traumatized me.”
“Mmm.” Vince’s noise was that perfect mix of noncommittal skepticism so he didn’t draw Briar’s ire, but expressed his real thoughts on the matter.
Briar glared at him, then downed the rest of his cocktail. “Shots. We have to talk about next week, and London, and…”
“No shots ’till you tell me what’s going on.”
“What?” Briar frowned.
“Why you’re avoiding talking about him. And why he’s so determined to be in all the places you are. All week, at every fuckin’ show you go to, he’s there.”
“Small world, like you said,” Briar shrugged. “He has to be in the same places to get work.”
“He left you for Jordan O’Malley, didn’t he? What’s he doing this year?”
Briar flinched but nodded. “O’Malley’s the guy with the ugly little anchor and elephant prints… ocean safari, he called it.”
“Oh, him.”
“O’Malley.” Briar rolled the name off his tongue. He couldn’t see it working. “He’s the guy to watch, though. Rumor has it he’s starting a modeling agency now. Doing the circuit starting this week, trying to collect big names to hire.”
“It’s working.” Vince tapped his chin thoughtfully. “And Austin’s a pretty big name to tap. Sorry.”
Briar shrugged it off. It was true—there was a line somewhere b
etween a few thousand and tens of thousands of Instagram followers where you became a really big deal online, and that usually translated to being a really big deal offline, too.
Austin wasn’t the first guy to cultivate a perfect online persona so he could become bigger than his agency.
He was just the first guy to take Briar’s heart along with him when he ditched the agency for his own endeavor.
“Anyway,” Briar mumbled, “we’ll deal with him when we see him. It’s not like he’s the top or bottom of my list of enemies.”
“But he’s the one you’ve tried the hardest to fuck over,” Vince told him, watching him evenly.
Briar flinched. He hadn’t become a household name by playing nicely. And Austin… well, he might have taken it a step too far when Austin left.
“What’s done is done,” Briar concluded, then pushed himself to his feet. “Shots.”
“Shots,” Vince agreed.
When Briar brought them back, they clinked them and downed the tiny glasses of amber liquid without a second thought.
Then, Vince leaned in. “Speaking of London… You’re looking forward to seeing our new guy perform, aren’t you?” He gave a conspiratorial smirk.
“Which one?” Briar tried to bluff, but it was no use. Vince was the guy who could always see through that.
“Oh ho, there is something there,” Vince grinned. “Or you wouldn’t be avoiding the issue.”
Briar grumbled under his breath and leaned back, rolling his head back as the whisky burned down his throat and heated his chest up.
Like Gabriel did, every time Briar thought about watching him shift from pose to pose for the camera like it was his first language.
“He’s exactly your type. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed, or you wouldn’t have hired him,” Vince laughed. “Dayne didn’t just magically convince you you needed an assistant after all this time.”
