by Sue Brown
“It’s still patchy like in the dreams, but I remember the dinner. It was chicken. Colin was in a great mood. He said it was because of a record deal he’d set up for me.” Sam closed his eyes, then he pressed his lips together. “I didn’t listen. I never listened. He made the deals; I made the music.”
“Then what happened?”
“He gave me sherry to celebrate.” Sam pulled a face. “I hate sherry. I remember gulping it down in the hope I couldn’t taste it.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I feel the same about brandy.”
Sam gave a wry smile. “It was sweet. I mean, I like sugary drinks but not sherry. I just thought he was being a dick. Who thinks their brother is going to drug them?”
It was far outside Gabriel’s thinking. “Is that all you remember?”
Sam’s mouth pinched together. “I remember waking up and not being able to move.”
Gabriel nodded, Sam had already told him that. “Do you remember anything else?”
“That’s what I suddenly remembered. The two men talking over me.”
Gabriel frowned, trying to remember the men’s names. “Mitchell and…?”
“Barrett. Mitchell was something to do with security and Barrett worked on the grounds of our home. I remember talking to him as I wandered around the garden. I used to talk to his wife and children in the village. Mrs Barrett always looked tired, although I guess with a young family, that’s hardly surprising.”
Gabriel was amused to see Sam blush a little.
“We used to talk about who was on the front of the celebrity magazines. She liked soaps and begonias. I kept thinking how stupid this was. Begonias and soaps won’t help me escape.”
A tear rolled down his cheek and he dashed it away impatiently. Gabriel leaned forward and wiped the trace of water left on his cheek with his thumb.
“They talked about all the reasons for killing me like it wasn’t important. Mitchell had gambling debts.”
Another tear slipped down his cheek.
“Don’t think about it anymore,” Gabriel murmured, cupping Sam’s cheek.
“Will you take me to bed.” Sam leaned into his touch. “Make me forget this day even existed.”
It was obvious he expected Gabriel to hesitate, to pull away and say he wasn’t ready, but instead, Gabriel tugged Sam to his feet and led him towards his bedroom. Gabriel knew his hands were shaking as he closed the bedroom door behind him and left the two of them cloaked in the darkness, the only light from the moon outside. It had been a long time since he’d taken anyone to his bed except Jenny, and he wanted this to be right for Sam. He would only get the one night to show Sam how he felt about him.
Sam turned to face him and reached up for a kiss. They fumbled in the darkness until their mouths fit together, and Sam moulded against him, his hands going around Gabriel’s neck to pull them closer together. His heady scent filled Gabriel’s senses, and Gabriel threaded his fingers through Sam’s hair. It was still damp from the shower Sam had taken, and he smelled of Gabriel’s shampoo and shower gel. It was as though he were wrapped in Gabriel, and it wasn’t as scary as Gabriel expected. Sam had been his from the moment he plucked him from a foundering boat. It just took him a while to realise it.
“You’re thinking too much,” Sam murmured against his lips.
“I’m thinking about you,” Gabriel confessed.
Sam smiled against his lips. “You take my breath away with your honesty.”
“What you see is what you get.” Jenny had always told him he was too honest for his own good but he couldn’t be any other way.
“My world is full of liars, fakers, and grifters. You stay honest, Gabriel Pennant.”
Gabriel heard the pain in Sam’s voice and dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead. “They’ve got no place here. It’s just you and me.”
“You and me,” Sam echoed, and the sharp pain was dulled, if not gone.
It would be gone, Gabriel promised himself. By the end of the night, Sam would think only about the honesty he’d found in Gabriel’s bed, under Gabriel’s caresses.
He kissed Sam on the mouth—no fumbling this time, one hand cupping Sam’s neck and the other on his arse—and focused all his attention on their kiss. Sam’s lips parted under his, and Gabriel slid his tongue in to duel lazily with Sam’s. There was no rush. They had all night. The tension and fear trickled away as they exchanged slow, tender kisses and Sam made sweet noises, little gasps that Gabriel loved hearing and captured with his mouth.
As they pulled away from each other, Sam sighed. “I need you in me.”
It hadn’t been discussed. Gabriel hadn’t considered whether he would top or not. He snorted gently because it was a discussion he’d forgotten over the years with Jenny. He caressed Sam’s cheek. “Are you sure?” He couldn’t see Sam’s eyes, so his words and tone would have to tell Gabriel what he needed to know.
“I’m sure,” Sam assured him. “Maybe next time I’ll take you.”
Next time?
But Gabriel didn’t want to think about whether there would be a next time. He bent his head to kiss Sam again, but tension suddenly flooded Sam’s body.
Gabriel raised his head. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh… condoms and lube?”
“In the bedside table.”
“You had supplies?”
Gabriel heard the surprise and an element of suspicion in Sam’s voice. “Toby must have put them there,” he said sheepishly. “I discovered them a couple of days ago.”
Sam rested his head against Gabriel’s shoulder, shaking, and for one horrified moment, Gabriel thought he was crying until he heard a snort and realised Sam was shaking with laughter. Finally Sam raised his head and chuckled again.
“We should count ourselves lucky he didn’t set up a hidden camera to check on our progress.”
Gabriel grimaced because that wasn’t so far from the truth. In the months after he lost Jenny and Michael, Toby had threatened to set up a baby monitor in case Gabriel needed him during the night. Only strong intervention on Damien’s part had stopped that piece of idiocy.
Sam chuckled as he slid his hands under Gabriel’s long-sleeved T-shirt. “If he is watching, let’s give him something good to watch.”
“I didn’t know you had a kinky side,” Gabriel grumbled, sucking in a breath as Sam’s hands roamed over his stomach and then snaked up to thumb over his nipples.
“Doesn’t everyone?” Sam said airily.
Gabriel’s reply was cut short by a fierce kiss from Sam, followed by his top being tugged over his head. Sam’s teeth nipped at a spot under his jaw while his hands slipped under the waistband of Gabriel’s joggers to cup his arse.
Playtime was over, it seemed.
Gabriel tugged on Sam’s T-shirt, anxious to run his hands over Sam’s smooth skin.
There was a moment of flailing as Sam became entangled in the long sleeves, but then he was free and Gabriel threw the shirt to land somewhere unnoticed in the dark.
Sam’s shoulders and torso gleamed in the soft light from the nightstand lamp. Gabriel stared at him for a moment and then ran his hands down Sam’s torso, relishing the soft skin over lean muscle until he rested his hands on Sam’s hips.
“You don’t have to… if it’s too different,” Sam whispered.
Even now Sam was giving him the out, the chance to back away.
“Shut up,” Gabriel said roughly and sank to his knees.
He undid the button on the fly of Sam’s jeans, eased down the zip, and hissed at the sight of Sam’s hard bare cock, framed by dark curls. He didn’t want to be hampered by clothing, so he yanked the jeans down Sam’s thighs. Sam rested his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder as Gabriel slid the jeans off and pushed them to one side. Then there was nothing stopping Gabriel’s access to his prick. It had been a long time since he had sucked dick, but it was like riding a bicycle, wasn’t it? He leaned forward, licked a long stripe from root to tip, and then swirled around the head. Sam dug his f
ingers painfully into Gabriel’s shoulder, and Gabriel smiled in the darkness. Oh yeah, he could ride that bicycle again. He repeated the motion, and Sam whimpered somewhere above him. Gabriel pressed a hand down on his own erection. It was as though Sam’s little moans were connected to his own cock, but Gabriel willed himself to keep it together. This night was for Sam.
He cupped Sam’s arse as he pressed kisses along the top of the curls and around Sam’s thighs and did the same on the tight sac. Then he trailed kisses up the hard shaft until he sucked lightly on the head and lapped at the slit until precome burst across his taste buds, salty and good.
“Gabriel.”
His name was a plea for more, and Gabriel obliged, wrapping one hand around the long shaft and sucking on the head—more flavour, more moans from Sam. Gabriel was going to come before he even got inside Sam. Then Sam tugged on his arm. Gabriel raised his head, but Sam’s was in shadow. Only his husky words gave him away.
“I need you to fuck me, Gabriel. You can suck me off another time, but tonight I need you to fuck me until I can’t remember my name—again.”
His throaty laugh made Gabriel smile, and after one last kiss to Sam’s dick, he got to his feet and buried his tongue down Sam’s throat, wanting to share his taste. Sam hung on to his biceps as though his legs would give way without Gabriel’s help, and Gabriel wrapped his arms around Sam’s back and held him close. The kisses lasted a long time and grew more heated as their hard cocks pressed together through the soft fabric of Gabriel’s joggers.
Sam wrenched himself away and stood back, chest heaving. “On the bed, now!” he growled.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow, though the gesture was completely lost on Sam in the darkness. “I’m still dressed.”
With a growl that made Gabriel smile, Sam launched himself forward and tugged Gabriel’s joggers down his thighs. His cock slapped onto his belly. From Sam’s hungry stare, he wanted to feast on Gabriel’s prick in spite of his previous words. Gabriel felt himself harden in anticipation of Sam’s hot, wet mouth around him. Sam pulled the joggers off completely and threw them aside, not caring where they landed. He pressed his cheek against Gabriel’s dick, kissed softly along its length and then got to his feet.
“Now fuck me.”
Gabriel really liked confident Sam taking what he wanted. He held out his hand, Sam took it, and they fell messily onto the bed with Sam underneath. Gabriel straddled his lean hips, and their mouths sought each other in desperate need. Gabriel needed the closeness and intimacy almost more than the fucking, and it seemed Sam was prepared to give it to him.
For a while, at least.
Sam tangled his hands in Gabriel’s hair and drew him closer. Gabriel kissed him, tongues sliding together, until his lungs burned for oxygen and he wanted his dick buried inside Sam’s body. He raised his head, kissed Sam’s cheek, and fumbled in the drawer of the bedside table for the condoms and lube. Then he sat back on his heels and rested on Sam’s thighs.
Gabriel laughed as he tried to open the packet of condoms. “God bless Toby. He took the plastic wrapper off already.”
“Thank him later. Fuck me now,” Sam growled.
It took Gabriel a moment, but he undid the lube and smoothed gel onto his fingers. He moved, and Sam spread his legs with a contented sigh. Gabriel held his breath as he slid a slick finger behind Sam’s balls to his hole and pressed against the muscle.
“Please,” Sam begged.
Gabriel pressed a finger in and gently fucked Sam. He added more lube and then added another finger. Sam hissed in appreciation, and his thighs parted wider, as though he were begging for more. It was clear Sam was used to this, and when Gabriel curled his fingers and Sam arched off the bed, Gabriel knew Sam could take him. He pulled out his fingers, wiped them on the sheet, and reached for the condom. Sam moaned and tugged on Gabriel’s hip when he was ready. Gabriel nestled between Sam’s thighs, lifted Sam’s legs over his shoulders, and pressed into the tight wet heat that had been waiting for him. Sam held on to his arms, and even in the pale moonlight, Gabriel could see Sam’s eyes fixed on him with a need and desire that took his breath away.
Gabriel pulled back, and Sam clutched tighter. Then he pressed in again. Smoothly he repeated the motion and Sam let out a moan. Gabriel loved the noises he made and did his best to make Sam moan on every thrust. And when he leaned over and changed the angle, Sam yelled as Gabriel brushed his prostate.
“Close,” Sam gasped out.
Gabriel grunted, his own climax coiling in his balls. He thrust again, harder, and they both yelled. Sweat dripping down his temple, he thrust and thrust until Sam stiffened and arched up, his channel clenching around Gabriel. Half a dozen thrusts, and Gabriel was there too, filling the condom with warm spurts, his orgasm drawn out by Sam’s muscles around him.
“Sam,” he murmured when they were quiet again. “Sam.”
THEY LAY side-by-side, too hot to do anything more than entangle their fingers, their chests heaving. Gabriel felt the sweat trickle down his temples, and Sam laughed.
Gabriel turned to look at Sam. “What’s so funny?”
“I never thought I’d get you into bed.”
Gabriel snorted and smiled at him. “It was either going to be that or the wall.”
“Not the sofa?”
“Never the sofa.”
Gabriel wasn’t possessive about most things, but the sofa was off-limits.
“Duly noted.” The smile slid off Sam’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I know this is the bed you shared with Jenny.”
Gabriel propped himself on one shoulder and stared down at Sam’s worried expression. “It’s okay, Sam. She would understand.”
Sam cupped Gabriel’s cheek. “You know I’d never try to erase them from your life.”
“I do.” Gabriel pressed a kiss to Sam’s palm. “You respect her and Michael. Thank you.” He kissed his palm again. “You’re an amazing man, Sam Maitland.”
Sam’s face crumpled. “I think Sam got lost along the line.”
“He got buried,” Gabriel agreed, “but he’s still here.” Gabriel pressed a hand over Sam’s heart. “I see you.”
“I think you’re the only one who does. Somewhere along the line, I became a commodity, even to my brother.”
Gabriel held back the growl rumbling in his throat. Especially to his brother. The man had used Sam and then was prepared to discard him when he wasn’t needed. Colin was out of the picture, but who was the next user lined up to take advantage of him?
“I’m okay.” Sam reached up and smoothed out the lines of Gabriel’s frown. “He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“Your brother can’t, but what about the next arsehole?”
Sighing, Sam rolled onto his side, his pose mimicking Gabriel’s. “I need to take charge of my career. I’m not a kid anymore. I let Colin make every decision for me. It’s going to take a lot to unravel what he did, but it’s down to me to sort it out. My next manager will be working with me, not in spite of me.”
It was too dark to see Sam’s expression, but he could feel the ferocious intent in his words. He wouldn’t be caught off guard like that again.
Gabriel nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. You need to get professional advice too.”
“That’s what managers, personal assistants, etc. are for.”
“Then you need someone who has your back.”
“I thought that was Colin,” Sam murmured, and the crack in his voice was heartbreaking.
“It should have been,” Gabriel said fiercely as he gathered Sam against him. “It should have been.”
Sam sighed again, his breath warm against Gabriel’s neck. “I should sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
Gabriel bit down on his lip. Sam was going to take a step back into his real life, barely remembering any of it. Gabriel wanted to beg… no, demand that Sam stay with him until his memory was sufficiently restored that he could protect himself against grifters. But he didn’t
have that right, so he wished Sam a good night and held him close until Sam’s breathing evened out and he fell asleep.
Sleep proved elusive, despite the stresses of the day. Gabriel lay in the wreck of the bed and watched the shadows of the trees outside dance and play on the ceiling. His eyes were gritty, and he badly needed a shower, but he didn’t want to leave the man at his side. Finally, the storm blew itself out. He rolled onto his side and watched Sam sleep, weak moonlight bathing the pale skin. Sam was on his back, his arms above his head and the duvet around his hips. No one ever got to see Sam like this, relaxed and asleep, an erotic study in white, with dusky shadows in his armpits, a patch on his chest and just above the duvet. Gabriel was privileged to see him just this once.
He had a few hours left before Sam left to resume his celebrity life, and he wouldn’t waste it sleeping. Sam would wake up, the limo would come, and he would leave Gabriel behind forever. He was going to rock the world, and Gabriel would guard the cliff, alone again.
Tears prickled the back of Gabriel’s eyes, but he impatiently blinked them away. This wasn’t the time for tears. He leaned forward and brushed a kiss on Sam’s cheek, light enough not to disturb him. “I think… I’m falling in love with you,” he murmured. He could say the words in the cover of darkness that he couldn’t say in the cold light of day. Then he held his breath, but Sam didn’t move, and Gabriel relaxed.
He didn’t want to put more pressure on Sam, who’d lost so much in such a short time, but he never expected to fall in love again. Gabriel had loved Jenny deeply and had thought he’d spend the rest of his life with her. He was a man who loved with all his heart, and he never expected to find someone else to hold it close. But what the sea had taken away, it had also given—a sweet, gentle man with a fiery heart. Gabriel couldn’t hold on to him until they were old and wrinkled, but he could hold him close for this one night.
“Promise me you’ll be happy. Reach for the stars, baby.”
Sam sighed and rolled toward Gabriel until his head was buried against Gabriel’s chest and his arm was over his waist. One tear ran down Gabriel’s cheek to soak into the curls below.
