by Delmire Hart
There was a moment of silence as Daniel let his head drop back onto the table with a muffled thump and a small groan. He pulled at his hair in frustration only stopping when he felt a gentle pat on the shoulder. He looked up to see both of his best friends looking at him with serious expressions.
“You've mentioned the nightmare thing before. You still haven't found anything out about it?” Daniel shook his head and Marcus frowned.
“That was when your soulmate sense went off, right?” Rafael leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on the palms of his hands. He continued talking after Daniel nodded. “That's pretty serious. It must be something big, more than just a nightmare.”
Marcus nodded in agreement. “Maybe it was a nightmare based off a memory?” Daniel looked at his friend in interest and he continued. “You know how you can dream about things that have happened, right? They tend to get warped and distorted but they are often far more powerful that any old dream or nightmare.”
“Oh!” Rafael exclaimed. “Like how people who have had really bad accidents get nightmares of what happened later? I used to get them after my car accident.”
Marcus nodded in agreement. “Maybe it's something like that and it's too painful for him to talk about? Like dredging up old memories. To heal properly, you're supposed to talk about it and come to terms with it but I've heard many people struggle with that.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair frowning. “That makes a lot of sense, actually.” He spoke slowly, trying to sort his thoughts out as he spoke. “It kinda makes me sad though. To have been through something so painful that even he doesn't want to talk about it. William is shameless.” He flushed as Rafael waggled his eyebrows at him. “He can talk about pretty much anything without batting an eye but then with all the underworld stuff, he never denied anything yet he refused to tell me at the same time. I guess his reaction to stuff he doesn't want to deal with is to not talk about it.”
“Do you really want to know about all his dirty dealings?”
“What do you mean?” Daniel replied, looking at Marcus in confusion.
“Well, what you don't know can't hurt you and as a journalist, aren't you supposed to turn anyone in if you find dirt on them? Like some kind of unspoken code?”
Daniel chewed on his lip as he thought. “I…I do want to know.” He took a deep breath and continued on more firmly, “I want to know everything. He's my soulmate, right? If anyone is going to find him out and turn him in, it would be me. I’m not sure if I would turn him in,” he admitted thoughtfully. “But I think if anyone should, it should be me. I want to know all of him and get rid of that stupid mask he wears that covers his feelings.”
“Does he have any friends you can ask to get help with getting him to talk?”
“I don't really know if he has friends, well, maybe Anita, but I don’t know how to contact her. I think he said he has known his secretary for the longest from his staff. I can ask him, I guess.”
“It seems pretty important to you to figure it out, so it doesn't hurt to ask,” Marcus said gently as Rafael nodded in agreement.
“Yeah and when do we get to meet this mystery man, hmm? Maybe we can help guilt him into talking to you! And I really wanna meet the person who can make you blush so easily!”
Daniel groaned as he felt his cheeks heating up again, just as the blush had faded too. “I appreciate the help but I doubt he's going to feel guilty or talk to you guys about anything. At the moment he's busy anyway, I haven't seen him in person for a few days. We've talked on the phone a little but that's it. I really want to talk about this in person, though.”
“You've got a key to his place, right? Why don't you go and stay over if you miss him?”
Daniel spluttered, “Miss him? It's not like that, it's only been a few days.”
Neither of his friends look convinced. “We do know what it's like to not see your soulmate in person. You start to miss them pretty quick.”
“Yeah, Dan! No need to be shy! He gave you a key for a reason. Just show up and stay over even if he doesn't come home till late. I'm sure he'll love coming home to find you in his bed,” Rafael said with a grin.
“Even if you can't get an answer right away about the whole nightmare memory thing, he's still your soulmate. Your other half. You have every right to want to spend time with him. Maybe hanging out will help him loosen up and spill.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Daniel waved off both of his friends who were grinning at him. “I get it. I'll talk to his secretary tomorrow as well. See if he can give me some help. You guys need to stop being mean to me, though.”
“Aw, but Dan, we aren't being mean! We're totally good friends. You just blush way too easily. It's way too fun.”
“Whatever...thanks for the advice, though,” Daniel mumbled.
“See! We're the best friends ever!”
Chapter Twenty: Jones
Daniel unlocked the penthouse door and let himself in. It was a little odd walking in as though it was his house. He had done so when he stayed with William for a week but then he had been invited and William himself would always be home in the evening to spend time with him. He hadn't even told William that he was coming to stay, although he assumed that he had already found out from his guards. Flicking on the lights and slipping off his shoes, he made his way further into the apartment. Daniel couldn't quite get rid of the weird feeling as he settled himself on the couch with his takeaway dinner. It was kind of nice, he decided after settling on a movie to watch while he ate. Much like when he stayed before, it was a surprisingly homey feeling. Familiar. It screamed William, all sleek modern furniture and tasteful décor. It really needed more clutter and photos on the walls. Maybe he should take a few and frame them.
Daniel froze partway through his musing and slapped his cheeks to distract himself. Why is it every time he stayed over housewife tendencies came out? It was so embarrassing. A far better distraction came in the form of a message on his phone. Upon unlocking the phone, he discovered a message from the man that caused all his current embarrassment.
I'll be late, don't wait up.
He snorted. He hadn't planned on waiting up for him. Daniel already lacked sleep after the stakeout last night and his dithering over which photos to hand in. On top of that, after meeting up with his friends, he had been called in on late notice to cover a fashion photo shoot, which had been an exhausting event in itself. How Emily was still a model with her ridiculous attitude, Daniel would never know. He typed out a quick reply.
Wasn't planning on it, too tired. See you in the morning?
Daniel chewed his lip in thought, then typed out another message without waiting for a reply.
When I was at the paper this morning, they said they had intel on a meeting with your name on it. I refused the job but…
It had been eating at him all day. He didn't know exactly what information they had but what if William was in danger? He didn't want to have anything happen to his soulmate, especially when he could prevent it. Why was nothing ever simple? It was messing with his conscience as a journalist. Tip off the man that the tip off was about? But no one was allowed to bring him down except Daniel. He had already come to that conclusion and wasn't about to back off or change his mind. He would be the only one to judge William and make that decision. His ringtone brought him back to the present and he looked down to see ‘Will calling’ on his phone.
“Hey.” Argh, he sounded almost shy. He felt a little shy suddenly. What the hell was this man doing to him?
“Daniel.” The way he said his name should be illegal. All dark promise and smoothness.
“I uh…hope it’s okay I'm staying over even though you aren't here?”
“Of course, that's why I gave you a key.”
Daniel nodded and had to remind himself that William couldn't see him but before he had a chance to speak William continued.
“As for the intel, don't worry about it.”
He let out a breath he
hadn't even realised he had been holding. It felt like a massive weight off his shoulders.
“It's fake, right? All the ones I chased ended up being fake, anyway.”
“It is,” William replied with amusement. “But even if it wasn't, you don't have to worry about me.”
“Of course, I do! You're my soulmate, right? You're important to me.” Daniel was glad he wasn't saying this in person. His cheeks burned bright red and at least over the phone he could hide his embarrassment. Although William probably knew somehow anyway, he always seemed to know. “And if anyone is going to bring you down, it will be me.”
“Oh?” Daniel was sure he could hear surprise in amongst the amusement. Good.
“Yep,” he stated proudly. “I told you, I will know all of you. So it will be my decision if I want to bring you down once I have the info.”
“I see. I'm surprised that you will ‘make a decision’ and not just sell me out. Isn't that against the journalistic code you’re so proud of?”
“You're my soulmate,” he repeated firmly, confidently. “This isn't about journalism. No one else gets to make that choice but me.” He left out the fact that in all probability he wouldn't be able to sell the man out. Not now, anyway.
“I'll hold you to that,” William replied gravely before continuing in a far warmer tone, “Now I have to go, don't wait up and sleep well, kitten.”
Daniel only had the chance to splutter before the line disconnected. He still hadn't been able to convince William to drop the awful nickname. He was fighting a losing battle with it but he would not give up until the bitter end. He would never live it down if William ever called him that in front of his friends.
With a small contented sigh, Daniel turned back to the movie that still played on the TV and settled in to eat the rest of his dinner.
***
It was still dark as Daniel groggily came awake. He was disoriented and his limbs were heavy with the vestige of sleep still clinging to him. He could still feel the warm comfort offered by William's expensive mattress under his back and the fluffy pillow cushioning his head. His eyelids fluttered as he tried unsuccessfully to get them to open and see what woke him up. Movement at his side caught his attention and then large hands were roaming over his shoulders before gently rolling him onto his side. Immediately he felt the warmth radiating off the body next to him and Daniel snuggled forward with a small noise of content.
“William…”
Arms slid around his waist, pulling him forward so he was pressed up against his soulmate’s muscled form. The embrace was warm and comforting and Daniel soon felt himself drift back off to sleep. That was until teeth started nibbling on his ear and a familiar hardness poked into his hip. He probably should have expected this, actually. The mouth moved to his neck as the hands holding him close wandered, caressing his body knowingly. Little mewls of pleasure bubbled up unhindered from his throat and Daniel arched his back in response to the attention.
“Wi- ahh… William!” he whimpered, “Tired…”
“It's okay, you don't have to do anything.”
He moved back a little and Daniel whined at the loss of contact. It didn't last long as William leaned in for a messy open-mouthed kiss as he reached down to stroke his rapidly hardening cock. A few strokes was all it took to bring him to full hardness and Daniel moaned into the kiss as William lined himself up to take both their lengths in hand. The older man greedily swallowed the small cries and Daniel let himself get swept away in the gentle waves of pleasure as he slowly brought them both to their peak.
Had Daniel been more awake, he would have been embarrassed by how quickly he came but as it was, he was still half asleep and he lay limp, soaking in the bliss after his orgasm. His limbs were too heavy to respond to his futile efforts to move, anyway. He felt William move away and off the bed only to return a few minutes later with a warm wet cloth to wipe him down. Another few minutes and William climbed back into bed but on the other side. Gentle hands rolled him over and arranged him so he was cuddled into his soulmate's side with an arm and leg draped over his body.
Warm and content, Daniel finally slipped back to sleep with his head tucked under William's chin and his steady heartbeat thumping in his ear.
***
While Daniel had every intention of tracking Ken down and interrogating him the next day, with how busy he was it wasn't until a week later that he could finally get the man alone. He should have realised that if William was too busy to even have a lunch date with the photographer, his secretary would be just was busy. In the end, Daniel had messaged the man to schedule an appointment time to talk with him and asked him to not tell William. He seemed suspicious, but surprisingly agreed without fuss. Which was how Daniel found himself sitting in the secretary’s office waiting for his meeting to finish.
Thankfully he didn't have to wait long before Ken walked into the room, gently closing the door behind him. He nodded in greeting before talking a seat at his desk and placing some folders off to the side. There was a moment of silence as they observed each other. It was Ken who broke it as he pushed up his glasses before speaking.
“Daniel, I was surprised when you asked to speak to me personally.”
Suddenly awkward, Daniel rubbed the back of neck and cleared his throat before answering. “I uh…yeah. I wanted to talk to you about William.”
Interestingly the secretary didn't seem surprised and merely motioned for him to continue.
“I don't really know if William has any friends as such and he said he's known you the longest from Synnite, which I figure is a long time so I thought of anyone you might know and be able to help me.”
He took a deep steadying breath before ploughing on. It was harder to talk about than he had expected. It was one thing to ask his best friends he had known for years and completely another to ask someone who he barely knew.
“A few weeks ago, William had what I think was a nightmare.” Ken froze at that but Daniel carried on, wanting to get it all out before it became too hard. “But it really seemed to affect him. He was clingy for hours afterwards but every time I try to talk about it, he shuts me out. Not even an ‘I don't want to talk about it’, he ignores or distracts me. I think…I think it's from a memory or from something that happened in the past. Because he wouldn't act like that over just a nightmare, no matter how bad. And I felt it.”
Daniel brought his hand up and scrunched his fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt over his heart. “I felt his pain.” Ken’s eyes flew wide but Daniel ploughed on, the words falling from his lips in a rush. “It was like someone was tearing out my heart. We were in bed at the time and he squeezed me so tight as though he needed the support. Yet afterwards he shut me out. And I can't…I can't just leave it. I can't leave him to face that pain alone. I felt it. It was awful and I want to help but I don't know how.”
Ken remained silent throughout his entire speech and sat completely still, staring at him. He finally sat back with a small sigh and pushed his glasses up to rub at his eyes. Settling his glasses back in place once more, he looked back at Daniel with a serious expression.
“You felt it through your soulmate bond?” He waited for Daniel to nod before continuing. “I tell you this not as his subordinate but as Will’s oldest friend.” Daniel didn't miss the significance of the secretary using his first name over the usual ‘Mr Hunt’. “I've known him since we went to university together taking several of the same classes. I was also the one who dealt with him after everything happened. You are right in that it would be a memory. I know it's not really my place to tell you this, but if anyone can help him it's you. Perhaps knowing the details will be enough to force him to confront the past with you. God knows I tried and failed.”
Ken sighed again and readjusted his glasses. “Although of all the people you could have asked, I suppose I am the most qualified to tell you. Of the few who know what happened, there's only one other person you know: Anita.”
“So they are friends.”
Ken nodded and continued. “She’s a good friend to both of us but I should start from the beginning. Amelia Jones is the person you want to know about.”
“Is that—?”
“My little sister. Was my little sister,” he said with a sad smile. “The ten-year anniversary of her passing is coming up. They met through me, of course, she's three years younger. I think Will came over for a group project, I was still living at home, and that's how they met. It was a slow fall for both of them, a year of slowly getting to know each other before they started dating. My sister was very sick. She was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was small and battled with it as she grew up. It was the reason I still lived at home, so I could help look after her when she had chemotherapy treatments. She was frail and sickly, but her eyes always sparkled with life and determination. She would not give in to sickness, she would never let it get the best of her. She always said she had far too much to do yet. Didn't want to waste away in a hospital bed. You're similar, I think. Same passion for life, same sense of honesty and morals. You've a little more backbone, however.” He smiled again, a little less sad this time.
“If anyone could have saved Will from his dark path, it would have been her. Hers was a quiet strength that eroded over time. She nearly had him I think, except her death ended up causing the exact opposite of what she wanted. You are far better equipped to handle all of his nature though. You're the first person I've seen in years that is willing to go toe to toe with him.”
Ken rubbed his eyes under his glasses again. It seemed to be a struggle for him to be thrown back into his memories.
“The crux of the matter is, he blames himself for her death. They had been together for around two years; we had not long graduated and Synnite was becoming more than just a dream. With Amelia's influence, Will was moving away from his dabbles in underworld dealings and looking to use his already vast profits to start Synnite as a fully clean and legitimate business with help from myself and a few others. Unfortunately, there was bad blood with a young upstart group that considered themselves yakuza.
