by Andrew Grey
“That’s it. Show me what I do to you.” Dante gasped as energy built inside him to the point of near bursting. He watched and listened to Beau, determined to hold off.
“What are you whispering?” Beau asked as he took Dante deep.
“Unsexy things so I don’t come too soon,” Dante admitted. He needed to keep his control for a little while longer, and that seemed to be doing the trick. Of course, Beau’s laughter had the same effect, until it shifted to soft moans of delight. Dante cut off those sounds with his lips on Beau’s, drinking in the sweetness and passion. He was so incredible. Dante adored every inch of him. He ran his hands along Beau’s chest, the now familiar lines and bumps only adding to his pleasure because they were uniquely Beau, his Beau… his Beauty.
Beau was the only person who had tried to look beneath the walls he’d put up. Somehow Beau had seen to the heart of him when Dante hadn’t even known what was there. He loved him, and Beau needed to know it. So Dante showed him in the way he knew how. When Dante threw his head back, squeezing his eyes closed because he was so close, Beau cried out, shuddering beneath him, clamping hard onto Dante’s cock, his release spilling between them.
He sent Dante over the edge in seconds, ears ringing, flashes behind his eyes. Dante had always thought that the whole fireworks thing during sex was some sort of metaphor, but it was real. Small points of light danced across his vision. Dante stilled and let the warmth and tingling of release wash over him.
Beau pulled him close, and Dante’s arms gave out. He held Beau tight, shuddering slightly through the effects of afterglow. This was where he was supposed to be. This felt right. For the first time in his life, this was perfection for him.
Beau ran his thumbs under Dante’s eyes. “There’s no need for tears. This is a happy time.”
Dante nodded, leaving his eyes closed. He rarely cried. In his whole life, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d cried for anything. Hell, even after Allison’s death, when his life and the decisions he’d made closed around him, he hadn’t cried. “I don’t understand why.”
“Maybe it’s for the times when they wouldn’t come.” Beau wrapped his arms around him, and Dante rested on top of him, Beau’s heat reaching bone-deep, soul-deep, warming Dante in a way he never thought possible. “It’s all right.”
“I did love Allison in a way, but not at all like I love you.” Dante clutched Beau and let that realization wash over him like rain. He was in love. This was what true love felt like.
“I love you too, Beast and all…,” Beau told him, and they shared another kiss that Dante felt to the depths of his soul.
WHEN HE woke again, Dante was alone once more.
Beau sat in the chair at the foot of the bed, reading. “Finally. I didn’t want to wake you up.” He put the book aside and stretched his arms over his head. Then he stood and stalked over to the bed like a cat eyeing its prey. Beau’s robe fell open and he slithered out of it, letting the dark blue fabric fall to the floor.
Music played from somewhere in the pile of clothing on the other chair, and Beau huffed for a second before continuing toward the bed. “It can go to voicemail. You’re more important.” Beau leaped and Dante caught him. They laughed together as heat built instantly between them. The phone rang again, and Beau groaned, then huffed as he climbed off the bed. “This had better be really good.” He searched through the clothes, his butt wagging a little as he bent over.
Dante sat up, enjoying the view as Beau found his phone and silenced the infernal ringing. He hated that ringtone, which sounded like the blaring phone from his childhood.
“Angie? What’s going on?” Beau said, sounding so chipper, and turned. They shared a brief smile, and then Dante watched as it slipped from Beau’s face. His eyes clouded and his mouth opened in surprise and near horror.
Dante pushed back the covers, got out of the bed, and hurried to him. In the few seconds it took to reach him, Beau had turned completely pale.
“Is anyone inside?” He shivered, and Dante took him in his arms. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but whatever it was had scared Beau to his core. “I’ll be right there.” Beau clutched his phone as he leaned on Dante. “Yeah. Do whatever you need, though word is going to spread quickly. Help them as best you can. I’m on my way.” Beau hung up and met Dante’s gaze. “The Center is on fire.”
Dante kept his thoughts clear. “Okay. You get dressed.” He set Beau on the chair and pulled open the bedroom door. “Roberts!” He closed the door and yanked clothes out of his dresser.
A soft knock announced their reinforcements. “Sir.”
Dante glanced at Beau, who had his pants on. “Come in.” Dante stepped into a pair of jeans as the door opened. “I need the car around front right away. If Juan isn’t available, then you’ll need to do it. The Community Center is on fire, and Beau and I need to get down there.” He turned away and pulled his shirt on. Dante never heard the door close or anything other than Beau’s groan of despair.
“It’s gone.”
“Finish dressing and we’ll be on our way.” Dante pressed some clean socks into Beau’s hand and sat on the edge of the bed. He was dressed and ready, helping Beau, who seemed in shock. When he was clothed, Dante guided him down the stairs and right out the front door to the limousine. Roberts was behind the wheel as they climbed in, and as soon as the door shut, they took off at a speed faster than Dante thought possible in the land yacht.
They could only get so close before they were stopped by barricades. Beau got out, and Dante hurried to follow him.
“Sir. I’m sorry, but you can’t get any closer,” a uniformed officer told them.
Dante stepped forward. “He’s the director of the Center, and you sure as hell know who I am.” He actually growled, and the officer blinked. “Now, let us through.” He allowed his tone to make the threat that there would be hell to pay, and the officer stood aside. Dante put an arm around Beau to help ensure he stayed upright, and they approached where Angie stood with a small group of others.
As soon as Angie saw Beau, she pulled him into a hug, and the two of them stood together, crying against each other’s shoulder. Dante turned and saw Mayor Grant standing a few paces away, watching. Dante looked at the building just as the roof collapsed, sending a flare of sparks and smoke into the air.
“Tragic.”
Somehow Dante wasn’t convinced by the mayor’s tone, given his eagerness to sell the property. “I’m sure you think so. Looks like you’ll get your way.”
“I’m not happy about this!” Mayor Grant snapped, losing his usual politician’s smarmy cool.
“Your Honor,” the fire captain said as he approached. Beau moved to stand next to him, and Dante automatically put his arm around him.
“Peter, what’s going on?” Dante asked. He wasn’t going to wait while Mayor Grant played politics. He didn’t have the patience.
“Mr. Bartholomew.”
“This is Beau Clarity, the Center’s director. What can you tell us?”
Peter turned to Beau. “Was anything stored in the building? Particularly anything flammable?”
“God, no. There were things in the basement when I took over, but those were cleaned out. We’re a health facility, and we help children as well as adults. I didn’t want anything that could be a danger in the building. Why?”
“We turned off the gas service as soon as we arrived. We were told that no one was inside, so after confirming, we wet the fire from the outside. Five minutes later something exploded, sending a rush through the center of the building. I was hoping you could tell us what that might be.”
“Nothing that we kept inside. The most explosive thing in there would be Angie’s coffee. There was nothing flammable, and the only chemicals we had were a few cleaning supplies. And I only got organic, water-based cleaners because some of our kids have allergies. Since we helped people with substance-abuse issues, there was nothing inside that would tempt any of them at all. Nothing alc
ohol- or ether-based. Not even a bottle of cough syrup. Nothing,” Beau said, adamant. “It was a 100 percent safe environment in that regard.”
Peter nodded and made some notes. “I thought the fire was behaving suspiciously, but that helps confirm it.”
“You mean it was deliberate,” Dante said for clarification.
“It looks that way. An empty building, even one of this age, will burn, but the fire will spread in an almost predictable way and time. This fire spread fast and hot. It was fueled most likely by an accelerant.” Peter turned as a hiss went up from the building and the flames began to die. Streams of water made paths into the now-hollow shell.
Dante turned to Mayor Grant. “Know anything that could help?”
Mayor Grant looked at Beau. “My office and the council members have been getting letters and calls from numerous citizens for days. Dozens of people have stopped me on the street to tell me what your Center has done for them.” He definitely appeared sheepish. “I don’t think the sale was going to be approved.”
“Was anyone specifically notified of this change in enthusiasm?” Dante asked, already beginning to understand what the answer was going to be. “Did you notify anyone?” He let the authority ring in his voice.
“I might have told Bledsoe that he needed to back off. At least for a while.”
What a slimy piece of crap. Withdraw the offer now and live to fight another day when the climate might have changed. It’s what Dante might have done if the shoe were on the other foot. Still, it was a shitty thing to do with a town asset that was being used for the benefit of the community.
“And now, with this….” Dante motioned to the still-burning ruin. “What do you think the council will do?” He raised his eyebrows.
Mayor Grant blanched. “If they decide to rebuild with the insurance money, then the Center will get a whole new facility.” He glanced at Beau.
“He was with me all night, so don’t even go there.” Dante stepped closer. “You may have made yourself a party to arson, Mayor. I suggest you think on that very carefully and take the appropriate action before the good citizens of this town decide to take it for you. The sale Harper wanted was going to fall through, you told him so, and now the building goes up in flames. It doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to see who might be the one to gain from it.”
“I had no idea he’d set fire to the place… or if he even did.”
“Maybe, but I will be speaking to the police so they can investigate.” Dante glared at him. “Just to be clear, the state police will be called.” The mayor and the police chief were too close, in Dante’s opinion. “Now, I suggest you go on home and mull over whatever future you think you might have.” It was time the town had new leadership anyway. Fresh ideas were needed, and Mayor Grant was about as far from anything fresh and new as it was possible to get.
Dante turned away and found Beau still watching the Center burn.
“What are we going to do?”
“Find temporary facilities. No one was hurt, and it was just a building. The important components of the Center, the people, are still here and available. But right now, we need to get you back home. There isn’t anything either you or Angie can do. The police and fire officials need to do their jobs.” Dante turned Beau away from the building and back to where Angie had wandered.
“Well…?” she asked.
“No matter what we were hoping for, we’ll have to find temporary housing for the Center now. The kids and everyone we help are going to be so upset.” Beau clung to Dante. “I had such plans.”
“They can still come to pass.”
Beau shook his head. “Are you kidding? Most organizations fold over something like this. Insurance doesn’t cover all the costs of rebuilding, and the town is going to get the money, not us. We’ll get some for our contents, but that’s it. Then the board needs to allocate the money for the Center, and it’s too easy to send it somewhere else. So basically the Center ends up in the waste bin because the money is too good not to mess with.” Beau slumped his shoulders, sounding defeated. “It’s hard enough to get or keep a program like ours running, let alone make it come back from a loss of the building. That’s why I was fighting so hard to stay where we were.” He shivered, and Dante gently guided him back toward where Roberts had parked the car.
A crash rumbled from behind them, and Dante shielded Beau automatically as the outer front wall of the building collapsed inward, bringing the rest of the outer shell down on the interior. Beau took it like a blow.
“Angie, do you need a ride or anything?” Dante asked, but she shook her head, not looking away from the smoldering ruin.
“I’ll be fine.” She didn’t move, and Beau hurried to Angie and carefully tugged her over to the car.
“She lives just a block away.”
Both of them looked heartbroken. Dante opened the car door and let Beau guide Angie inside. Then he got in as well, and Roberts glided away from the scene. Dante had never been so eager to leave something behind as he was the scene of that fire. Angie and Beau hung on to each other, and Dante hated to admit that he was jealous. He wanted Beau’s attention.
“It’ll be all right. We’ll figure things out,” Beau told her with no conviction behind his words. He gave Roberts directions, and when they pulled up in front of Angie’s small house, Dante let her out. She half trudged up the walk and into the house like her world had come crashing down along with those brick walls.
Beau settled next to him, curling on the seat, and Dante gathered him close. “What do you want me to do?” Dante asked. “I can make sure you have the finances and the location to rebuild. You know that. I can put pressure on the council to make sure they don’t touch a cent of the insurance money and only use it to rebuild. I can make my own donation to start the ball rolling.” He stroked Beau’s soft hair. “What do you want?” He had never cared so much about what someone else wanted in his life as he did right at that moment.
“I want to find out who did this and make them pay. Those kids…. They’re going to be heartbroken.” Beau stayed still, and Dante knew it wasn’t the kids who were hurting, but the man in his arms. Beau lifted his head. “It was that Bledsoe guy, wasn’t it? Allison’s brother? He wasn’t going to get the property as it was and wanted to tear the building down anyway, so now he gets what he wanted.”
“We don’t know that or have any proof.”
“Then get it. You asked what I want. Get me that. Find out who hated us so much that they burned down a mental health center.” Tears glistened in Beau’s eyes, and Dante pulled him closer. There were some things in his control, but getting people to confess to a crime wasn’t in his wheelhouse. He knew that, and so did Beau. This was the grief and anger of loss, and Dante held him as Beau fell quiet. “I’m sorry.”
“We will figure things out.” Dante had no doubt they would, but right now he needed to get Beau back to the house. The professionals needed to do their jobs, and then Dante would get some of his people on the problem of helping Beau figure out a temporary location for the Center.
The car glided into the drive and then up to the house. Dante got out of the car and helped Beau inside and down to the kitchen.
“I heard what happened,” Harriet said, opening the refrigerator and pulling things out. From the looks of things, she was getting ready to feed an army, but within minutes she had the entire kitchen smelling of onions and peppers, then placed a plate with one of her fluffy omelets in front of each of them.
Harriet could be described as a rather tiny woman in her early forties, but she was a force to be reckoned with. She also had a heart of gold and showed love with food. It was one of the things that had helped him get through the loss of Allison.
“Thank you.” Beau shared a smile with her, and she patted his shoulder.
“You’re a sweetheart.” She turned to Dante. “Don’t let this one get away.”
Dante smiled. “You like him because he used your kitchen and didn’t make a
mess.”
“Unlike some people I could name,” Harriet groused, though Dante knew it was an act.
“Is he really that bad?” Beau asked.
Harriet scowled. “Did he tell you about the cookies?”
Beau nodded.
“That man is a menace in the kitchen. He could burn water.” Her lips softened to a gentle smile. “Don’t tell him, but he’s the best employer I’ve ever had. I just don’t want him to get a big head.” Harriet winked at him and went back to work.
“What are you making?” Dante asked as she pulled out a large bowl and a container of flour.
“Cookies. I figure you’ll need them later. I’ll bring some to you once they’re finished.”
Dante was grateful, and he ate his omelet quietly, watching as Beau picked at his, eating a little, his lips narrow with worry.
“I’m sorry for being… I don’t know….”
The wind had been knocked out of his sails, and Dante would give anything to have them full again. He knew it was too soon, and Beau needed a chance to grieve and try to figure out what he was going to do.
Dante finished eating, and once Beau was done, they thanked Harriet and Dante carefully led Beau to the sitting room.
“I’m going to make some calls. Is that okay? If you need me, I’ll be in my office.” He turned on the television and made sure Beau was comfortable, then went into the office and picked up the phone. “Yates,” Dante said as soon as he answered.
“Dante, what can I do for you?”
“I need you to get in touch with the Foundation board. We need to find a new location for the Community Center. The building burned down this morning. The authorities believe the fire was set on purpose. They’re looking into it, but the staff will need temporary facilities. See what you can come up with. Their old building was about five thousand square feet or so. Mostly it was activity rooms, as well as smaller spaces for counseling sessions and things like that. It doesn’t have to be perfect because it will be temporary.”
