Tokyo Heat

by A. M. Salinger

  “Nuh-uh!” he repeated doggedly.

  Ethan arched an eyebrow.

  “Really? I’ve thought about topping Joe.”

  A hand landed on Ethan’s head and briskly ruffled his hair.

  “What bullshit are you spouting now?” Joe Cavendish said as he loomed over the bartender.

  Ethan brightened and gazed eagerly at his lover.

  “I was talking about topping you.”

  Joe blinked lazily at Ethan, his unfazed expression eliciting a surge of admiration from Gabe.

  “Not happening,” he said gruffly.

  Joe turned toward the shelves and grabbed a bottle of Scotch.

  “How about I finger you?” Ethan suggested.

  Oh God. Gabe considered putting his hands over his ears.

  “Nope,” Joe muttered, pouring himself a double serving.

  “Lick you?” Ethan proposed.

  Gabe groaned. Sweet Jesus.

  Joe dropped ice into his tumbler and narrowed his eyes at Ethan.

  “No.”

  Ethan pursed his lips. “How about if I just look at it?”

  “Holy shit,” Gabe mumbled.

  Akihito rolled his eyes as he walked past, his expression indicating he’d heard it all before.

  Joe grabbed Ethan’s chin and planted a long, hard kiss on his lips.

  “Let’s make something clear right now,” he muttered against the bartender’s mouth as the latter melted into him. “The only thing getting penetrated in this relationship is your achingly sweet ass, and the only thing doing the penetrating is my rather splendid dick, capeesh?

  Ethan hummed his acquiescence, his expression dazed, his fingers digging into Joe’s shoulders.

  “For the love of—Will you two keep it in your pants?!” Akihito hissed at the pair.

  Gabe chuckled, his heart lightening for the first time that evening.

  Chapter 6

  Cam swore as he studied the figures on the screen.

  “Damn it! I thought we had everything sorted!”

  One of the firm’s junior managers hovered next to his desk, his expression pale.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Sorvino. We only spotted the error just now—”

  Cam bit back another curse.

  “It’s okay, Keith.” He glanced at the young man and the people lurking in the doorway behind him. “You did a good job, picking up on this. It would have been a disaster if we’d sent these files to the client.” Cam took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. “Here’s what we’re gonna do.”

  Cam raked a hand through his hair as his team scattered to do his bidding. He was angry with himself for having nearly made such a colossal rookie mistake.

  It was his responsibility to do the final check on their client’s investment files before submitting them. Although it had taken over a month to broker this deal and Cam had driven himself and his people to near collapse in the process, they had achieved the results they wanted and more. To have come so close to screwing it all up at the last minute was inexcusable, no matter how exhausted he may be.

  Yet Cam knew it wasn’t just fatigue that was messing with his usually unflappable intellect. A certain dark-haired man with ice-blue eyes had been at the forefront of his mind for the past three days, occupying his every waking moment and even his dreams.

  The stupid argument he’d had with Gabe still weighed heavily on Cam’s conscience. He knew he’d acted like a giant fool and should have picked up the phone and apologized by now. He’d even brought up Gabe’s number several times but stopped at the very last moment, finger hovering above the call button on the touch screen.

  What Cam needed to say and do would be best achieved in person, especially after the startling breakthrough he’d made in the last twenty-four hours of intense self-reflection. He’d poured all his energy into finalizing the business deal he’d been working on for over a month, anxious to return home and see Gabe, to tell him the decision he had finally come to. A decision that would impact both their lives and one Cam was eager to see through straightaway. It was the only way to shift this heavy weight from his shoulders, to get rid of the bitter taste that had been lingering in his mouth for far too long. To reclaim his lost future.

  The sun was low on the horizon when he finally hit the “send” button on the last email. Cam let out a ragged breath, pushed back from the desk, and glanced at his watch.

  There were only three hours left before his flight. He’d anticipated he would have the entire afternoon to do what he’d initially planned.

  Cam gritted his teeth.

  There’s no way I’m gonna let that stop me.

  He mulled over his conundrum for a full minute before rising to his feet and walking out of his office. He frowned at Keith and the rest of his team where they sat at their desks in the open-plan space outside.

  “I’ve got a question for you,” Cam said gruffly.

  Their eyes widened at his request.

  Gabe rubbed a hand across his eyes and stared blearily out of his office window.

  It was past seven in the evening on a Friday. Night had long since fallen across Tokyo and car lights streamed on the busy streets outside, bright beams merging with neon signs. The riot of flashing colors mimicked the storm inside Gabe’s heart.

  Three days had passed since Gabe had hung up on Cam during their argument. Three days during which his lover had not rung or even texted him. Three days during which Gabe had barely slept.

  Although they’d disagreed on things in the past, this was the first time they’d ever had a proper fight. Gabe was at a loss as to what he should do to bridge the growing distance between them. For all that he wanted to say sorry to Cam, Gabe also knew he deserved an apology for the selfish way the man he loved had acted that morning when he demanded Gabe not visit their friend’s club.

  “Go home,” someone said harshly from the doorway.

  Gabe startled. He twisted in his chair and eyed the brooding figure looming in the shadows outside his office.

  “Hey, Wade,” he muttered, his racing pulse settling. “I didn’t know you were still here.”

  “Well, I am,” Wade said gruffly, his blue eyes dark in the gloom. “I’m heading home, so it’d be great if you got your ass out of here too. I don’t want word spreading that I’m a slave driver.”

  “But you are!” Gabe blurted out before he could stop himself. Heat flooded his cheeks in the next instant. He stared at his boss, chagrined at his sudden outburst.

  A tired smile curved Wade’s full lips. “You cheeky bastard.”

  Gabe relaxed. He looked past Wade’s shoulder to the office at the far end of the floor.

  “Has Rhys left?”

  A strange emotion flashed across Wade’s face before his expression grew shuttered. “Yes, he has.”

  Gabe blinked at his guarded tone. “Hey, are things—,” he hesitated, “—are things okay with you guys?”

  Wade stiffened.

  “Why do you ask?” he said, his voice cool.

  Gabe grimaced. “A blind man can see the tension between you lately.”

  Wade’s smile turned bitter. He propped his shoulder against the door frame, just like Rhys had done several weeks before. “There’s always been a lot of tension between Rhys and me. It’s just never shown before now.”

  Unease filtered through Gabe as he studied Wade.

  “Does this mean something is likely to happen to the company?” he said quietly.

  Wade frowned.

  “Why? Have the staff been talking?”

  Gabe shook his head. “No. But we all hate seeing the two of you like this. And not just because Damon & Tucker is the kind of company anyone would kill to work for.”

  Wade’s shoulders drooped for a moment.

  “Don’t worry about the company, Gabe,” he said in a worn-out voice. “Damon & Tucker isn’t going anywhere.”

  “I’m pleased to hear that,” Gabe murmured after a pause. “You go on right ahead. I’ll be out of her
e straight after.”

  Wade hesitated before nodding. He turned and disappeared in the direction of the elevators.

  Gabe sorted through some documents before he shut down his computer and gathered his things. He’d just entered a lift when his cell rang. His pulse started a drumming beat as he stared at the caller ID. He tapped the screen and took the call.

  “Hi,” Cam said quietly from the other end of the line.

  Gabe closed his eyes and leaned against the steel cabin, his knees going weak at the sound of Cam’s voice.

  “Hi,” he said hoarsely.

  Static suddenly jumped and echoed across the connection.

  “Gabe—,” Cam’s voice came through brokenly as the lift rode to the ground floor, “I—we—”

  “Cam?” Gabe stiffened and stared at the cell. “Cam, you’re breaking up!”

  He reached the lobby seconds later and jogged out of the building, checking the bars on his cell. The humid summer heat hit him like a wall, an oppressive mantle weighing him down instantly.

  “Cam? You still there?” Gabe shouted in the mouthpiece as he rocked to a stop on the sidewalk, oblivious to the people slowing and staring at him.

  “Going—tunnel—will—”

  Gabe gritted his teeth in frustration as Cam’s words reached him in fits and starts through a buzz of static. He headed briskly down the road.

  “I still can’t hear you, Cam. You’re—” he started to say.

  The static suddenly dissipated. Cam’s voice came through loud and clear in the next moment, his words so stark Gabe thought his heart would stop.

  “We need to talk.”

  Gabe’s breath locked in his throat, his feet stilling on the ground. The rest of Cam’s words washed over him as if from a distance, his gravelly voice saying things Gabe couldn’t hear, didn’t want to understand. The dial tone sounded as the call ended abruptly.

  Gabe stared blindly into the night, the hand holding the cell falling limply at his side, the pain stabbing through his chest so sharp he knew this wound would never heal.

  Oh God.

  Bile twisted Gabe’s stomach and rose in his throat. His worst fear was coming true.

  Cam was going to break up with him.

  Gabe swallowed the moan of agony building inside him and stumbled to the curb to hail a cab. There was only one place he wanted to be tonight. One place where he could lick his wounds and drown his sorrows. He couldn’t go back to the apartment he shared with Cam. Not right now. Not like this.

  Gabe gave the driver the address before leaning against the backseat and burrowing his face in his hands, the hot scald of tears prickling his eyes.

  Chapter 7

  Ethan stared at the sophisticated blond sitting at the bar four feet to his left. His gaze moved to the dark-haired man lounging against the mahogany counter at the blond’s side, a relaxed expression on his handsome face while they conversed in low voices.

  It was rare to see Joe talk so easily to a stranger. Although Ethan knew the brooding club owner to be a wonderfully devoted and affectionate lover, it still irked Ethan that he had yet to uncover all of Joe’s secrets.

  Ethan finished mixing a couple of drinks, handed them over to the club patrons with a seasoned smile, and sidled up to the pair.

  Joe looked at him with a quizzical smile when he stopped opposite them.

  “Hey, Ethan.” He glanced at the blond man next to him. “I don’t think you’ve met Rhys before.”

  Ethan looked into a pair of curious baby-blue eyes while Joe made the introductions. He pressed his hands flat on the worktop behind the bar and leaned in closer to the two men.

  “So, hey, I’m curious about something,” Ethan said in a low voice, his gaze switching from the baby blues to Joe’s hazel stare. “Did you guys used to be fuck buddies or something?”

  Joe choked on his Scotch.

  Rhys Damon blinked while the club owner went into a coughing fit. “Wow, so uncouth,” he muttered. “What’s it to you, kid?”

  Ethan narrowed his eyes. He indicated Joe with a tilt of his head. “Well, that’s my property right there, so I want to know if anybody’s made any previous claims on him. And I kinda get this vibe when I look at the two of you.”

  Joe cleared his throat and gazed hotly at Ethan.

  “Oh, so I’m your property now, am I?”

  Ethan leaned in further and brought his face up to Joe’s. “Why, yes. From your beautiful head all the way to your delicious toes.” Ethan’s gaze dropped to Joe’s groin. “And I’m not even gonna mention that gorgeous co—”

  Joe grabbed the back of Ethan’s head with one hand and took his mouth in a searing kiss.

  Ethan’s pulse sped up at the electrifying feeling that wound through him and filled the space between them. It never ceased to amaze him how hot he could get for this man with a single touch, even though they had made love countless times before and knew every inch of each other’s bodies.

  “You minx,” Joe whispered against his lips while a couple of customers clapped and cheered close by.

  All the regular patrons at Saron knew of their relationship. Although some were chagrined at the fact that both Joe and Ethan were now officially off the market, most had been delighted at the unexpected development.

  “Fuck me,” Rhys said. “Are you two an item?”

  Ethan dropped back on his heels, his ears warming at the promise he read deep in Joe’s darkening eyes.

  “We are,” Joe replied gruffly, his heated gaze still on Ethan.

  Ethan smiled slowly at his lover. “All shacked up and everything.”

  Though Joe still had the apartment above Saron, Ethan had sold his place in Bunkyo and they’d bought a new condo together in an exclusive area of Chiyoda, where they’d had their first date.

  Ethan looked between Joe and Rhys again.

  “So, you still haven’t answered the fuck-buddy question.”

  Joe hesitated.

  Rhys stirred his drink and directed a taunting grin at Ethan.

  “A gentleman never tells.”

  Ethan frowned at the blond. “Somehow, that smile pisses me off big time.”

  Movement to the left distracted Ethan. He turned and saw a dark-haired figure heading for the bar, oblivious to the interested stares he drew from the men around him. Ethan stilled at the expression in the ice-blue eyes he knew so well.

  Rhys turned and frowned at the newcomer.

  “Gabe?”

  Gabe looked blindly at the blond. He blinked, recognition dawning on his face as his sightless gaze focused for a moment.

  “Rhys? What—what are you doing here?”

  Rhys shrugged and indicated Joe. “I know this guy.”

  Gabe glanced dazedly between Joe and Rhys.

  “What’s wrong, Gabe?” Ethan asked sharply.

  Gabe looked at him then. The pain reflected on his beautiful face made Ethan’s stomach twist. He scowled.

  What’s that asshole gone and done now?

  Joe cursed and shifted Gabe’s dead weight against his left hip. He patted the unconscious man’s pockets, found the keys to Cam and Gabe’s apartment, and let himself in.

  Joe had never seen Gabe this drunk before. That the normally reserved man had downed four double Scotch in rapid succession within half an hour of walking into Saron had even shocked Ethan, who’d excused himself to the other two bartenders and dragged their friend upstairs to Joe’s old place.

  It was only after closing time that Joe got to the bottom of what was eating at Gabe.

  “Cam’s gonna break up with him,” Ethan said bluntly when Joe entered the apartment.

  Joe’s alarmed gaze switched to where Gabe slept on the couch, his head on Ethan’s shoulder, the dark shadows under his eyes telling Joe all he needed to know.

  Joe frowned. “That’s impossible. Cam is crazy about Gabe.”

  Ethan sighed, his expression stormy.

  “That’s what Gabe seems to think though. Cam phoned him tonight
and said they needed to talk.” He hesitated. “They had a fight a few days back.”

  Joe sat on the coffee table opposite Ethan and took his lover’s hands in his own before studying the sleeping man beside him.

  “What the hell happened between them?”

  Ethan looked at him steadily, his green eyes darkening. “Gabe confessed.”

  Joe’s pulse stuttered at the expression on Ethan’s face.

  Although they were now in a happy, committed partnership, it had taken over a year from the day they’d first met for them to get there. They’d both had to overcome Joe’s stubbornness and his difficult past before they finally consummated their relationship. It hadn’t helped that Ethan had been violently attacked by a stalker during that time.

  Though Joe had imagined confessing his love to Ethan would be the hardest thing he would ever undertake in his life, it had been shockingly easy to do in the end. In fact, it had been as straightforward as breathing.

  Joe wasn’t sure Cam would find the process as painless. His best friend had even darker demons to fight than he ever had and was ten times as stubborn. It was plain to Joe that Cam and Gabe were meant for each other. Gabe clearly knew this, too.

  Joe squeezed Ethan’s fingers. “I’ll take him home,” he said gruffly. He rose, hooked one arm under Gabe’s shoulders, and lifted him off the couch.

  “I’ll call a cab,” Ethan murmured.

  The car arrived a few minutes later. Joe settled Gabe on the backseat and turned to Ethan where the latter stood in the private entrance leading to his old apartment.

  “You going back home?”

  Ethan hesitated. He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.

  “No, I’ll wait here for you.” He looked over his shoulder at the stairs leading up to the top floor. “It’s been a while since we slept in this place.”

  Joe nodded and kissed him before climbing into the back of the cab.

  The drive to Cam and Gabe’s place in Ebisu took twenty minutes. By the time he got Gabe to their apartment, Joe’s arm had started to ache from supporting the nearly unconscious man.

  He sighed presently, hoisted Gabe over his shoulder, and flicked on a couple of lights as he headed down the corridor to the master bedroom. Gabe stirred when Joe lowered him to the bed. His lashes fluttered as Joe took off his shoes and socks.