by Delmire Hart
“What?” Daniel questioned, clearly confused.
“But it must be so lonely in such a big house by yourself, surely not having anyone to come home to is part of the reason you don’t stay around the house?”
“Mom! It’s been two weeks!” Daniel cried out indignantly. Looks like the blond had finally caught on. “It’s far too early to even be suggesting to live together and I like my apartment and the freedom that goes with it!”
“It’s never too early with your soulmate. Once you have found them, they are the one thing in life that’s certain,” Naomi scolded back.
“That’s not true-!”
“And I worry about you,” Naomi ploughed on right over Daniel. “You don’t have a consistent source of income so sometimes you struggle to pay the rent, let alone eat. What’s so wrong with relying on your soulmate, who is clearly very well off, to make sure you don’t go without? It’s not like you would be freeloading, you can cook and clean, you could play the part of a cute little housewife around your photography and we wouldn’t have to worry about you so much!”
William struggled to fight back a laugh at Daniel’s face when his mother suggested he could be a little housewife—it was priceless. Conflicting emotions had run across his face; anger, surprise, mortification. It was quite an intriguing thought but one that would have to be examined later when he had had the chance to unravel the photographer more.
“I’m fine!” Anger had been the winner overall, it seemed. “Stop being so nosy! I can look after myself and I don’t need anyone to baby me.”
“Daniel Miller, you will always be my baby, no matter how old you get. It’s a mother’s right to worry about her child.”
Daniel opened and closed his mouth soundlessly before finally stuttering out something that wasn’t coherent.
William was almost losing his battle not to laugh at this point while Daniel was now redder than he had ever seen. Naomi moved on, chattering away to her husband about their plans for the week while they ate before engaging William in small talk.
What an interesting family he had seemingly become a part of.
“Harold, dear, didn’t you want to show Dan your latest photographs?” Naomi asked her husband and William watched amused as both father and son’s eyes lit up with the same bright enthusiasm.
“Ah, yes,” the man appeared to be trying to contain his excitement but in his haste to stand up he nearly knocked his plate off the table. Naomi tsked good naturedly as she rescued the plate before shooing them both out of the room.
“Go on then, Will can help me clean up.” The two didn’t need any more encouragement and quickly disappeared further into the house. “I’m surprised they didn’t do this yesterday. Daniel got his love of photography from his father and they are always showing off their latest pieces,” Naomi explained.
William stood to help gather the breakfast dishes from the table and bring them into the kitchen.
“I could see the resemblance as soon as you mentioned photographs,” he replied with a small chuckle as he set his burden on the counter.
“It is nice to be passionate about something but I’m afraid he got his stubbornness from me.” Naomi sighed as she rinsed off the plates. “I do not want to intrude on your lives or push you into anything but I can’t help worrying about my boy. He’s as wilful and stubborn as I once was and I know it gets him into trouble. Having found you gives me a little piece of mind now that he has someone to keep him from getting into too much trouble but he’s still my baby, no matter how old he is. Please take care of him for me.”
“Of course,” William replied without hesitation. “He’s my life now.”
Naomi smiled at him, soft and sweet. It was the kind of smile a mother gave her son and the easy acceptance of him gave him pause. It wasn’t something he was used to. Perhaps this was where Daniel got his kindness from as well.
***
They left Daniel’s parents’ house late afternoon and were back in the car on the way home, much to Daniel’s clear relief. Naomi had been not so subtly bringing up living together for the rest of the morning and over lunch. William had to give her credit for persistence. Daniel had been hotly denying her at every turn, saying it’s too early to live together and that just because they are soulmates doesn’t mean that they would cohabitate well.
While Daniel’s father seemed very passive, Naomi was not afraid to speak her mind or go after what she wanted and William could see where Daniel got his fire from. It seemed like he inherited quite a lot from his mother. William had thought she would leave the topic alone after their little chat in the kitchen but apparently, she was determined to convince her son to see this her way.
The music suddenly muted as a ringtone sounded out through the car. William frowned as he pressed a button on the steering wheel to answer the call.
“You’re on speaker.”
“Sorry to bother you when you said you were not to be disturbed, sir,” his secretary said apologetically.
“It had better be an emergency, Ken.”
“It is. There has been trouble down at one of the clubs and we need you there in person tonight to smooth things out. I fear it will end badly without you.”
“Which club?”
“Syndrome.” So, Stefan was causing trouble again. He glanced at Daniel.
“We are about 30 minutes out from the club, I’ll come in personally tonight but we’ll need some appropriate clothes for Daniel first.”
“I’ll see to getting one of the stores open for you exclusively,” Ken replied before disconnecting the call and the music automatically started back up.
“Me?!” Daniel exclaimed as he turned to stare at him in confusion.
“You wanted to know more about me, didn’t you? I doubt there will be much trouble once I show up personally and you will stay in the VIP section of the club while I get it sorted. Then once business is concluded, you are coming back to the penthouse with me and I am going to introduce you to a whole new world of pleasure,” William replied with a dark smirk.
Chapter Seven: Strings
Daniel was sulking. He was angry at his mother for butting into his life, trying to make decisions for him and trying to manipulate the situation. He could deal with the same room and bed thing. If he was honest that shouldn’t have been unexpected. He knows by now what she was like and waking up wrapped in William’s arms had been nice. The event that followed had only left him curious for more.
But discovering that his mother had put them together to try and get William to let Daniel live with him? That was going too far. They were both adults and could make their own decisions. He could even grudgingly admit to understanding her worry but that was still no reason to stick her nose in. William was no help either, he stayed out of the argument and looked like he found the whole thing entirely too funny!
And now they would be stopping by some fancy clothes shop on the way to one of William’s high class clubs before he would be dragged back to his soulmate’s lair. He had tried to argue himself out of the clothes but the businessman was having none of it. Apparently, he wasn’t allowed to show up to one of his venues in a t-shirt and ripped jeans.
So, Daniel sulked as they left his parents.
“You have a very cute pout, Daniel,” William commented with a smirk. That deep voice still sent little shivers down his spine. Even worse, the bastard seemed to have noticed the effect it had at some point.
“I’m not pouting and keep your damn eyes on the road,” he replied sulkily. A rumbling chuckle met his words.
“Have you gotten over your shyness yet?”
“What?”
“Since this morning, you’ve been very quiet.”
“Uhh…” Daniel shifted in his seat uncomfortably as he tried to think of a response.
“It’s not that embarrassing.” Amusement filled the other man’s voice, and he glanced to Daniel before focusing back on the road.
“That’s different.” He felt the flush
spread across his cheeks at the memories of the morning. “It’s…I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s different. But my mom… She shouldn’t have pushed us like that.”
“I see. I’m sure I can find a way to make you agree.” Daniel looked over at William with wide eyes. “It’s amazing what you can get someone to say or beg for.” Golden eyes glanced at him again, this time filled with dark promise and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t filled with terrible curiosity. “We will have all night to explore the ways once I’ve sorted out Syndrome.”
“What’s going on anyway?” Daniel asked, glad for the change of topic.
“I only have some idea about what is going on, my secretary will fill me in when you are getting clothes. You don’t need to know the details.”
Daniel huffed in annoyance. What was with everyone today? “What’s the point of taking me then?”
“I’m not allowed to show you off a little?” William countered, smirk firmly back in place.
“What?”
“I think you would look particularly delectable in nice clothing and this is an excellent opportunity to test that theory. And you get to know more about me. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, but why do I feel like I’m going to get the watered-down version of what’s going on?” Daniel pressed.
“Because you don’t need to know,” William replied shortly.
“Then why am I even coming with you?”
“So I can take you home afterwards.”
“We are going to buy expensive clothes to wear for a few hours to one of your pretentious clubs purely so you drag me home afterwards?!” Daniel exclaimed, incredulous. Who did he think he was?
“Pretentious, huh? It caters to a younger crowd so there’s a dance floor and you’ll have free drinks. I’m sure you can entertain yourself for an hour or so. I might even join you for a dance.”
“I doubt that,” Daniel replied with a snort of derision. “Somehow I can’t see you dancing at a club. I feel like you’re more likely to be perving at the sidelines.”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind watching you shaking that ass,” William replied with a mock lecherous grin aimed his way.
“William!” Daniel’s indignant squeak earned him a small laugh.
“You know, you can call me Will.”
He shifted uncomfortably at the sudden jump back in topic. The whole name thing felt weird to him but then he also felt stupid for feeling weird. He knew it wasn’t that big of a deal, yet it felt… Odd. They sat in silence for a long moment before Daniel responded slowly.
“You’re supposed to call people who are close to you by their nicknames, but you’re still just a big mystery to me. I mean, I get the whole soulmate argument but… I dunno, it just feels weird.”
“You can call me whatever you want, Daniel,” William’s eyes were set firmly on the road and Daniel wasn’t able to make out his expression. “A privilege only entitled to one.”
***
The rest of the ride was spent in companionable silence as the music played softly in the background. It was broken only by a short call from the businessman’s secretary informing them about which store to go to. Daniel had used the time to think more on what to call William. He knew what he should call him by but it seemed so at odds to the man and so intimate.
Something so short didn’t seem to fit his complex character or proud bearing. He sighed. His thoughts just went around in circles, it was pointless to spend so much time on something so trivial. Unfortunately, what ultimately pulled Daniel from his thoughts was them pulling to a stop.
“Time to play dress up, Daniel,” William all but purred out. The man was far too keen for this.
“What?!” Daniel yelped, flustered by the tone of voice but also by the jarring feeling of being pulled abruptly from his thoughts.
“I told you, you aren’t going into one of my clubs dressed like that.”
“Don’t call it dress up! I’m not some doll for you to throw fancy clothes on or dress up for your own amusement,” Daniel hissed out with his arms crossed, refusing to make any move to get out of the car. “I can’t see what store we are at but knowing you it will be ridiculously expensive! I don’t want you to spend that much money on my clothes, particularly not for just one evening! In fact, I don’t want you to buy my clothing at all!”
“It’s a necessity,” William replied flatly.
“Me, coming to your club just because you want to drag me home later is not necessary!” he retorted.
“If you want to pay for your things that much, I’m happy to attach a few strings.” Daniel didn’t even have time to respond before he found his head being turned towards William who was leaning in close. The hand stayed holding his chin, and he felt a thumb trace along his lips. “I was going to get you some nice clothes as a gift and leave it at that but seeing as you want to play with fire, I’m happy to put a condition on them. I can think of several ways you can pay me back.”
Daniel stared at him with wide eyes. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t form the words to scoff and tell him no. His mind raced, thinking of all the possible ways William might ask him to pay him back. The thumb still tracing his lips gave a pretty good hint which direction he would go. It was almost tempting. Those golden eyes bored into his and he was so close, too close, it was affecting his ability to think rationally. Daniel knew it was exactly that, playing with fire, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious.
“Oh? You want to play with fire then? You always manage to surprise me, Daniel. I thought you would have called me a pervert and run away.” The photographer felt his cheeks heating up. He was right, that’s what he normally would have done. But William’s touch from that morning lingered on his mind and he could feel himself falling into the abyss that was this man. William leaned forward so that his lips where ghosting over Daniel’s with their eyes still locked together. “Dance for me at the club.”
“Wha-?” He didn’t have time to question the request as he was drawn into a deep kiss. They were both breathing heavily when they finally parted. William gave him that stupid trademark smirk and got out of the car leaving Daniel sitting there feeling rather dumbstruck. Quickly attempting to pull himself together, the blonde jumped out and strode after his soulmate.
“Why a dance of all things?”
“Not going to protest my choice? You’ve mentioned before that you like to dance and I’ve already told you that I would like to see you shake that ass for me.” Daniel let out a small splutter at the filthy insinuation. “Besides, we’ll be at the club for a few hours. Plenty of time to have a drink and get some liquid courage before you hit the dance floor.”
“Fine. But you have to dance with me,” he replied with a defiant tilt to his chin.
“Oh? I’m not the one paying back for the clothes.”
“You said earlier that you might join me, didn’t you?” Daniel asked, ignoring the seemingly permanent flush to his cheeks. “And it’s easier to dance for someone when they are with you.”
“Are you suggesting an interactive show?” He imagined leaning with his back against that hard chest, moving to the driving beat, large hands hot against his body. Oh god, now he was turning into a pervert. “It’s an interesting idea, you’re just full of surprises today.” Daniel groaned at William’s too smug tone of voice. Something of his dirty thoughts must have shown in his face because William looked like a cat who had gotten cream and the bird.
In his distracted state, he had missed the fact that they had entered the store until a female voice called out, “Mr Hunt, it is a pleasure to be of service to you again. We have closed the store down for your viewing convenience and have picked out some things ahead of time to start off with. If you and your companion would please follow me.”
Daniel sighed. Time to play dress up.
***
Daniel stood staring at himself in the full-length mirror with two giggling shop assistants fussing behind him. As expected o
f such a high-class place, they seemed to know exactly what they were doing and he had been dressed and then re-dressed as they decided what he would wear tonight. They mentioned brand names he had heard models cluck over during photo shoots and he refused to pay much attention to it after he caught sight of the price tag on the pants he was trying on. There had been too many zeros, and he had had to bite back a curse at William and his ridiculous lack of concern for money.
The man in question had been watching the proceedings with a small upturn of his lips, spending most of the time admiring his ass, until two of his staff arrived. Apparently, they were taking the limo to the club, as one subordinate had taken the flashy sports car keys from William with a bow and retreated, leaving the other two discussing what must only be business, probably about whatever was going on tonight at the club.
“You look great! You’ll be the envy of everyone tonight!” the store clerk gushed as she fixed his collar.
The enthusiasm of the two assistants as they dressed him up like a doll was unparalleled. He assumed their normal clientele were too snobby to let them go to town and when he had told them they could choose whatever, both had lit up and acted as though Christmas had come early. In all honesty, he wasn’t wearing anything that different from normal. Dark jeans that hugged his skin matched with a nice but casual shirt. They had even accessorised him with a fancy watch that was thankfully simple in design. The main difference between what he wore now and his normal attire was tidiness. No rips or creases in any of these clothes and the outfit looked expensive.
Was that really the only thing required? Make it look as though it cost a lot and suddenly he could enter this crazy high-class club that catered to the young with too much money? William himself had even forgone the usual three-piece suit. He kept his casual slacks on and just switched out his polo for a shirt. Of course, he looked just as good in that as he did in everything else.
