by Delmire Hart
“Not quite…” he trailed off as he jumped up to grab his coffee after his name was called before returning to the table. Both of his friends were now smirking with very predatory glints in their eyes and Daniel groaned internally.
“So Dan, what is this ‘not quite’ that causes you to blush instantly and without prompting?”
“I found my soulmate,” he said softly, not quite meeting his friend’s eyes, desperately trying to will away the increasing heat in his cheeks.
“Oh wow! Congrats, dude!”
“Nice work, Dan! Now you have to tell us all the details!”
Daniel sighed and took a sip of his coffee to buy time. “So, it’s a man, his name is William Hunt. He’s a lot older than me.” He ignored Rafael as he pulled out his phone. “Umm, he’s a businessman. Seems pretty successful. We are…uh…very different.”
“And a romantic soulmate too if that blush was anything to go by.” Marcus’s words just made the heat in Daniel’s face flare up more. His friend's grin widened. “I’m guessing something happened between you two? You can’t have known each other very long either.” Daniel didn’t have time to reply as Rafael interrupted them with a low whistle.
“Dude! I thought I recognised the name: ‘William Hunt, CEO of multi-billion-dollar Synnite Corporation and investor in numerous other companies and ventures. A notoriously private person, William’s personal wealth is undisclosed, but the man is rumoured to be personally worth almost as much as his company.’ It goes on to list a bunch of other companies and things he’s done. Holy shit, man. How did you meet someone like this?” Marcus whacked Rafael playfully over the head at his exclamation.
“Idiot! Soulmates don’t take wealth into consideration.”
“He still needs to tell us how they met.”
Daniel explained the day once again. He idly wondered how many times he would have to recount this. He could feel the exasperation as he got to the camera part. It still irked him even now, a few days later.
“Man! Marcus, why couldn’t you have been super rich? I could do with a sugar daddy right now too.”
Daniel, who had just taken a sip of his coffee, choked at that. He was still coughing as Rafael nearly fell off his chair with laughter.
“You’re too easy, man!”
Daniel groaned before replying, "It's not funny, guys. He took me out to Annisa last night. You know that fancy restaurant that all the celebrities try to get into? He picked me up in a freaking limo! He knows the owner and she organised a table for us. It was set up as some romantic dinner for two with candles and flowers! It was so embarrassing! The bastard just smirked at me and said he hadn't asked for that, Anita did it on her own. She gave us a bottle of champagne as congratulations for the whole soulmate thing and it was worth like 6 weeks of my rent. I was drinking 6 weeks’ worth of rent! Then the smug bastard just ordered for me so I wouldn't freak out over the prices and distracted me with the food once it arrived!"
They were both laughing at him now.
"Sounds like he has a pretty good handle on you if he's distracting you with food."
"Guys, this isn't funny!"
"No, it really is. You are the last person to care about money and that's who you get as a soulmate? It's freaking hilarious!"
Daniel's head hit the table with a soft thud. "I hate you two."
"Nah, you love us really," Rafael gasped out between giggles as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
"The food at a place like that must have been pretty good."
"Yeah," Daniel gave a wistful sigh as he remembered all the delicious smells and flavours. "It was amazing."
It sent his two friends back into fits of laughter after they had barely begun to calm down.
"He's got you by the stomach, Dan, you’re a goner."
Daniel glared at his two best friends, tears of laughter now running down their faces.
"I don't see what's so funny."
"Only you would get so upset over being taken out for dinner Dan. You should see you face right now."
Daniel decided that he needed better friends. “But I seriously don’t know what to make of him. I mean he’s just so… so…”
“I wonder if there is a picture of him.” Rafael had his phone in hand again. “There is! Oh wow, he’s pretty hot in a kind of intimidating way.”
Marcus leaned over to take a look. “Sure, if you swing that way.” He said and Rafael just shrugged.
Daniel bit his lip as he stared down at his finger drawing random patterns across the table. “He’s dangerous.” They both turned to look at him. “I had heard his name before as well but it was at the police station when getting info for scoops. No one could ever pin anything on him, but I was always warned to stay away from anything to do with him because he was that dangerous. They always treat me like a kid but they’ve had informants just vanish into thin air and others suddenly refuse to talk. I’ve glimpsed it, it’s like he keeps it toned down normally but turns on this aura of intimidation and power when he feels like not keeping it under wraps. He got angry about me refusing the camera and I saw it then.” He gave an involuntary shiver remembering that intense gaze staring into him, seeming to strip him bare.
“Maybe he’ll be good for you.” Daniel looked up at Marcus in surprise. “I mean, you’re an adrenaline junkie, Dan, you’re always getting yourself into dangerous situations with your camera. Maybe being with such a dangerous man will calm you down. Or at least if you really get into trouble, it sounds like he might be able to step in and save your ass.”
“I just don’t know what to make of it all.” Daniel sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
“He’s a romantic soulmate, right?” Daniel’s instant blush gave it away. “That’s pretty interesting. A man like that, huh. What happened to give that reaction, anyway? It’s only been what, a few days?”
“Geez, Dan, did you sleep with him on the first date?”
“What?!” Daniel waved his hands in front of his face in denial. “No, no! It was just a kiss.”
Both of his friends were giving him a sceptical look.
“He’s just…really good, is all.” Which changed their sceptical looks to rather evil grins. Daniel groaned. “I really hate you guys.”
***
It had been just over a week since Daniel's fateful encounter with William. The businessman had taken him out for lunch twice more since but something was going on as they were interrupted both times and William was called away. Daniel wasn’t sure if his soulmate having to leave hurriedly was a good thing or a bad thing. He enjoyed spending the time with William, which surprised him somewhat, but each time the businessman had cornered him and kissed him senseless only to have the interruption occur as his hands were moving under clothing.
And that growl.
Oh god.
A deep, rumbling growl of displeasure greeted the interruptions, and the sound sent heat running through him.
Daniel was torn. He desperately wanted to know what the dark promise was that lurked in those golden eyes. With all the skill William had shown with a few kisses and touches, Daniel was breathless to know more. Yet he was hesitant, as he knew that whatever happened, all he would be able to do is hold on for the ride. Did he trust this man enough to just let go? He assumed he did because every time William got hold of him he would melt into him and be left aching for more. Yet every time he could clear his head of the intoxicating presence of his soulmate, he started to doubt.
“Argh, he messes me up!” Daniel groaned, that statement was true in more than one sense. He sprawled out on his couch at home, attempting to watch TV but getting distracted again and again by thoughts and memories of that man. He wondered if it would always be like this. A beep from his phone indicated a new message, and he picked it up, glad for the distraction.
Remember, it’s your father’s birthday this weekend! You have to invite your handsome new soulmate down to meet us as well!
Oh no. It had only been two weeks
and already his mother was wanting to meet William. Daniel was hoping to put that meeting off for a bit longer. But he could never manage to lie to his mother; she would know straight away if he hadn’t actually asked. William had been very busy lately, he probably wouldn’t be able to come down for a whole weekend. They could just reschedule for another time. Hopefully. Daniel took a deep breath and found William’s number on his phone. It would be the first time he called him.
“Daniel.”
“Hi! Um, sorry if I’m calling at a bad time?” he asked hesitantly, chewing on his lip worriedly.
“It’s fine.”
“Okay, good. Um, it’s my father’s birthday this weekend and I will be staying back home for it and my mother wanted to let you know that you are invited too. But I know you’ve been busy lately…”
“I should be able to manage that.” Daniel winced at the acceptance. After a short pause, William spoke again, “I feel like that wasn’t the correct answer?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just that Mom is…nosy? And…well, you’ll see anyway. Oh, and um, I usually just bus down but I figured that you wouldn’t want to do that?” A deep laugh met his words.
“I’ll drive.”
“We are not going down in the limo!” he protested.
“Relax, I said I’d drive. I have other cars.”
“… are they just as flashy as the limo?”
“Possibly,” William replied, clearly amused, and he could damn well hear the smirk.
“I’m not going to win this one, am I? Fine. I’ll message you with the details.”
“I look forward to it, Daniel.” The line disconnected, and he felt heat pool in his belly at the way his name rolled off William’s tongue. He was so screwed.
Chapter Five: Mortified
It was early Saturday morning and William was due to arrive to pick Daniel up any minute now. He was worried about what kind of car he would be showing up in. His parents lived in a sleepy suburb full of old gossips and some flashy car just showing up would attract a lot of attention. It was a close-knit community, and he really didn’t want to be the hottest gossip around. His mother would have a ball with that, though.
Please, just once could William own something sensible and not ridiculously outrageous? A few minutes later he heard the deep rumble of an engine outside, then his phone flashed up with a message.
Outside.
Please, was it too much to hope for? Daniel took a deep breath and picked up his bag before heading outside. He stopped dead in his doorway.
“Oh, for fucks sake.”
There was what appeared to be a million-dollar red sports car sitting outside his apartment. It was all smooth sleek lines, low to the ground, with a deep rumbling purr for the engine sound. William got out and the freaking door opened upwards instead of outwards and Daniel swore he was going to punch him in the face to remove that damn smirk once and for all. He locked up his apartment and made his way down to the car. If he could call it that.
He should have known that a quiet, discreet trip home was far too much to hope for. The bastard was just leaning against the rear of the car with that infuriating smirk in place, dressed in casual slacks and a polo. How did he look so good in everything?
“Do you own anything that doesn’t look as though it cost more money than a normal person could dream of?”
“No,” William replied with a wider smirk. He really, really wanted to punch him. “A quick Internet search of my name and your parents would find out about the money anyway, so why hide it? Just enjoy being able to ride down there in comfort.”
Daniel sighed and handed over his small bag packed for the weekend away. William threw it in the boot and slammed it shut before pulling him in for a quick kiss. A quick kiss William style that still left him gasping for breath. William had to give him a brief demonstration on how to actually open the damn car door before he could slip inside and buckle the seatbelt. The interior of the vehicle was just as nice as the exterior but in a softer, classier kind of way. The leather seat was more comfortable than any of the furniture in Daniel’s apartment and he could see many little flashy lights and buttons on the car’s dashboard.
William hopped in, revving the engine, then they were pulling away from the curb. Daniel had to admit he didn’t know riding in a vehicle could feel so smooth. He was used to the loud and bumpy ride of public transport or his little scooter. He settled back into his seat with a small sigh. At least it would be comfortable, although it still wouldn’t make up for the inevitable gossip. William gave him an amused glance.
“Is it really that bad?”
“You don’t understand. My parents live in a really tight-knit little community in a quiet suburb and showing up in this thing,” Daniel gestured vaguely around himself, “will cause me to be the next hot gossip topic for forever.”
“And? It’s not like you live there and have to deal with it. Who cares what anyone else thinks?”
“We are still down there for the weekend. And what do I tell my parents? Oh, yeah, my soulmate is some old crime lord who has so much money it doesn’t even have value to him anymore.”
“Crime lord, huh? That’s not quite right.”
“’Not quite right’. Not going to deny it?”
“No,” William replied shortly.
“Typical. I say crime lord because you are clearly good at whatever you do in regards to the underworld and seem to have particularly high standing. Especially if no one can pin anything on you. And I have heard enough to know you are, in fact, involved in this city’s seedy underbelly. I just don’t know how.”
“You don’t have to,” William glanced at him before returning his eyes to the road. “You’re too naive for my world.”
“Give me some credit, I’m not that naive.”
“You are. You’re like a shining little angel compared to me. My hands are stained with blood and sin and that is all you need to know on the matter.”
“I’ll find out,” Daniel crossed his arms and set his jaw in determination. “You’re my soulmate. There’s a reason for whatever this is, right? I can’t stand beside you if I don’t know all of you.” When William glanced at him again he seemed slightly taken aback. “It’s not going to happen straight away but you will not be able to keep me out and you damn well better not try to.”
“Is that a confession already, Daniel?”
“What?!” Daniel almost squeaked as he flushed red. “No! Don’t take what I’m saying and twist it around, you pervert!”
“I’m not twisting anything; that was exactly what it sounded like.”
Daniel huffed. “That’s not how I meant it.”
William hummed in response, clearly unconvinced. After a small spell of silence, William showed Daniel how to turn on the radio and alternatively, how to connect it up with the music on his smartphone. They spent the rest of the trip playfully arguing over music choices with William being labelled as old and Daniel as a brat more than once.
***
Finally, Daniel began to notice familiar surroundings and the GPS showed not much further to go. He was a little nervous, honestly. It felt way too damn early to be introducing William to his parents but apparently everything to do with William refused to be taken slowly. He felt like he had been thrown into a whirlwind.
“I can’t believe we are showing up in this thing!” Daniel said yet again with a groan.
“I don’t understand why you are so stressed about this. As I’ve said before, don’t put so much stock in what other people think.”
“It’s not what other people think, it’s what my parents will think! You better behave.” William barked out a laugh at that.
“Do I get a reward for being good?” Daniel looked at him wide eyed and a blush tinted his cheeks. “Oh? Just where did your thoughts go? Your blush gives you away every time.”
“It’s only because it’s you asking that, that my mind goes there,” the young man replied with a pout.
“O
h? Do I get another confession already, Daniel?”
“What?! No! Argh, you’re impossible.” William was grinning by this point. The genuine smile softened his face and made him look almost boyish. It sent Daniel’s heart fluttering. He reminded himself just how doomed he really was when it came to this man.
They finally arrived at the correct house and William smoothly pulled up to the curb before killing the engine.
“Don’t look so nervous. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I’m doomed.” Daniel played with the door handle, trying to work up the courage to just open the door and get out.
“Did you want me to open your door for you?” That goddamn smirk was back.
“Don’t you dare. I can manage by myself thank you very much.” He watched his mother coming down the porch steps and with a sigh, opened his door. William followed suit. The upwards motion of the door caught him by surprise again but he managed to get out and shut the door before he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.
“Dan, darling!”
“Mom.” He returned the hug although with considerably less force. “You know, I come back often enough that it shouldn’t be this big thing when I arrive.”
“But we always miss you, darling! You’re our only son after all.” Naomi stepped back and Daniel gave his dad a quick hug.
“Happy birthday, Dad!”
“Thanks, Dan, it’s good to see you again.”
“Now you must introduce us to this handsome man over here!” Naomi beamed at William, who stood off to the side with a small smile still on his face.
“Ah, this is my soulmate, William Hunt. William, these are my parents.”
“A pleasure to meet you both.”
“How polite! And please, call me Mom, you’re part of the family now!” Naomi reached up and gave a rather amused-looking William a hug. Daniel had groaned at the family comment. Doomed. “And this is my husband, Harold.” Harold settled for a firm handshake.
“Then, likewise, please call me Will.”
