by JP Sayle
Changing into my work pants, I eyed the skinny black trousers. Could I hide my phone in my pocket? Hide might be a bit of a stretch, given the way they fitted my slender legs. With a sigh of resignation, I wandered away from the lure of my phone.
In the restaurant, I was distracted as Adam’s head popped out from behind the kitchen door. “Ohh Sawyer, just the man. Are you free for a sec?” Adam asked, his voice filled with excitement. His face was glowing with a healthy tan from his recent holiday. He’d been on his honeymoon with Carl, the head chef and half owner of the restaurant chain I worked for.
He disappeared back into the kitchen as I walked towards the door. The noise level increased as I stepped into the kitchen. My gaze swept the busy room and a smile lit up my face. Carl had Adam wrapped in his arms and he was attempting to kiss him. Although, Adam was putting up a little bit of a fight, I could tell it was just for show.
“You two need to get a room before things get too heated,” I joked. Adam and Carl's actions had a tendency to cause quite a stir with the staff. There were a few occasions where they’d been caught in the locker room getting up to all sorts of kinky stuff. The fact Carl was a Dom Daddy and liked to punish Adam for his sassy mouth gave the staff a lot to talk about. Not that Carl or Adam seemed to care.
No one needed to know about the surge of jealousy I felt at seeing how happy Adam looked in his Daddy’s arms. I forced a chuckle past my tight throat as Seb walked out of his office and gave a loud, defeated sigh.
“What have I told you about making out in the kitchen? I mean it, Carl. I’ll change Adam’s shifts so you never get to see him again at work.” The threat sounded real enough that Carl released Adam and gave Seb a wide arse grin.
“Now, there’s no need for that. I’ll behave,” Carl answered, not sounding in the least bit guilty.
Adam smirked and strolled towards me while Seb scratched his head. One of his dark brows rose. “Really, you’ll behave? How long have we known each other?” Seb didn’t let Carl answer. “Long enough to know that you’ll never behave, regardless of what I say, that’s how long.”
“Aww, give over. You know I can behave myself,” Carl mumbled, even as his gaze moved to Adam with a look of longing.
My chest tightened as I moved my gaze to meet Adam’s.
His smile dimmed, creases appearing around his mouth. “You okay, Sawyer?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“Yeah, I’m cool. What did you want?” I kept my voice upbeat in the hope Adam wouldn’t push. I wasn’t sure that telling him I was jealous of his relationship with Carl would go down that well.
“If you wanna talk to me anytime, you can,” he continued, keeping his voice down as he rubbed my arm.
I nodded and sucked in a breath before releasing it. “Thanks, I’m fine. Did you need me for something in particular?”
Adam held my gaze for another moment, concern still evident in his pinched brow. “I need someone to go over to Nathan’s to deliver the final layout for the new restaurant. I can’t go because I’m interviewing, and neither Theo nor Lachlan are quite sure where the place is. As you’ve been before, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind. We should be able to muddle along fine until you get back.” He gave me a sappy smile and fluttered his eyelashes at me. “I’ll get Carl to bake you a cake.”
“Something with cherries?” I asked, my stomach overtaking my concern at how difficult travelling across London at midday was going to be.
“Absolutely. Anything you want.” He leant closer and whispered in my ear. “I have an in with the chef.”
I chuckled as he pulled back “That you do. Okay, get me the stuff. I’ll go and get changed… again.” I stressed the last part.
Adam blushed, looking a little sheepish. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I was going to catch you before you got changed but I got distracted.”
I shook my head and went back to the locker room, knowing full well what had distracted him.
Five minutes later and dressed in my own clothes, I smiled at the message I’d found on my phone.
BB: I wake up with a good attitude every day. Then idiots happen ;)
Not wanting to get caught messaging, I shoved my phone into my coat pocket with plans to respond after I’d left. Any thoughts of stopping to message Boyd fled, though as I encountered shitty traffic and roadworks. Then ten minutes in, the sky turned an ominous grey before starting to rain. The traffic and wind made it impossible to avoid the rain. The journey through London was torturous. My jeans stuck to my legs, making it harder to pedal and my chest heaved as I tucked my head down to avoid the stinging rain from hitting me directly in the face.
An hour later, I finally arrived at the warehouse where the new restaurant was going to be, looking like a drowned rat. The rain had soaked through all the layers of my clothes. My hair was plastered to my skull and my teeth were chattering from the icy water running down my neck into my coat.
My mood not at its best, I headed into the underground garage. Once inside and out of the wind and rain, my body started to shake. With my bike leaning against the wall by the lift, I tugged out the plastic wallet I’d tucked inside my jacket with trembling fingers. Thankfully, the plastic had kept the worst of the rain off the paper.
I made a squelching sound as I walked to the lift. I cursed and eyed my feet, a puddle starting to appear on the floor as I waited for the lift to arrive. My teeth continued to chatter as shivers raced down my spine. When the lift door opened, a cloud of warm air hit me. I all but jumped into it, my hand hesitating over the buttons. Where would Nathan be? Had Adam mentioned I was coming?
The warehouse had three other levels; I hit the button to take me to The Playroom. When the lift stopped and I got out, I avoided the puddle I’d created.
The plush carpet in the foyer was enough to make me pause.
No one is going to thank you for traipsing around in soggy shoes and dripping water all over the place.
“Why did I have to be the one that knew where the building was? Hey, why me?” I grumbled to myself, stripping off my coat, shoes and socks. I rolled up the dripping hems of my jeans for good measure as well.
That will have to do.
Doing my best to stop the sulk from taking hold, I walked into the club. I glanced around the room and spotted Isaac behind the bar. Pasting a smile on my face with difficulty, I strolled up to the bar acting like nothing was wrong.
“Hey Isaac, is Nathan about?” I asked through chattering teeth.
Isaac’s head lifted and I couldn’t fail to notice his eyes widening and a spark of amusement dancing in their depths as he took in my appearance. I’d had a membership to the club ever since I'd turned eighteen and I’d got to know Isaac pretty well over the years. He was a big bear of a man, who'd looked incredibly intimidating when I'd first met him. I’d soon discovered though that he was a big softie at heart. He was attractive, but he’d never ignited my interest. I was sure that the feeling was mutual as he’d never tried to initiate anything between us.
“Did you forget your coat and shoes, little man?”
“Ha ha ha! You’re real funny, you know? You could maybe give me a towel or something to help me dry —”
“Isaac, you got a minute?” asked a deep, husky voice, interrupting me.
My gaze locked on the guy who was hovering in the stairwell that led up to the second floor. Melted caramel eyes held me captive as they lingered on me. Heat spread through my chilled body as his gaze swept over me with a level of possession that caused me to shudder.
Is he really looking at me like that?
Stop being ridiculous, you’re seeing things that aren’t there.
Even as the thought lingered, the guy was striding towards me. He exuded power and confidence; his dark hair was slightly messy but his beard was neatly trimmed. His workman clothes didn’t do anything to conceal his solidly built body that looked like it was used to manual labour.
“You’re soaking. You’ll catch a chill if you don’t get ou
t of those clothes.”
Dumbfounded by the note of affection and concern the guy was displaying to a complete stranger, I didn’t know how to respond, his striking eyes continuing to draw me in.
“I’ll get Sawyer a towel, don’t worry about it, Boyd…”
Boyd?
I heard nothing else Isaac said as my brain latched onto the guy’s name. Boyd. Was Boyd, BB? There was no way this could be my Boyd? Could it?
I licked my lips and tried to get my shaking limbs under control. “I… are… I…” I wasn’t sure whether it was my teeth chattering, or that my mind was trying to figure out how to ask if he used a kink app that made it impossible to speak coherently.
When Isaac shoved a towel at me a few seconds later, I sighed and took it, doing my level best to pretend that everything was okay when Isaac gave me a questioning look.
I swiped at my wet hair. “Thanks.”
After only a few seconds of trying to soak up the water, I could see it was futile. I was going to have to get out of my wet things.
Maybe Boyd would like to help?
Boyd
It was as if I’d somehow conjured Sawyer up. I’d been thinking about him as I’d entered the club, and there he was. Only the state he was in had affected my brain and I’d rushed over there, acting more like an anxious boyfriend than a stranger.
Now I didn’t know what to do.
Should I come clean? It was evident from the confusion on his face when Isaac had used my name, as well as the stuttering that had followed, that he'd probably figured out who I was. But with Isaac stood watching us closely, I'd kept quiet about our connection.
“Isaac, can he use the changing rooms to get out of his wet things? You have robes in there, don’t you?” I swallowed a sigh at the level of concern in my own voice that I was unable to mask. There was no way Isaac wasn’t going to get suspicious, never mind Sawyer, who was eyeing me like I was a bug under a microscope.
There was a pause before Isaac answered. “Yep there is, but we have the robes laundered by a company. We don’t have a drier or any spare clothes.” He shrugged his massive shoulders as he moved his gaze from me to Sawyer, who was shaking hard enough for his teeth to rattle.
Something that I didn’t want to examine too closely, demanded that I help Sawyer, regardless of what Isaac might think. “I’ll figure something out. Come on, let’s get you out of those wet things and warm you up.”
Isaac coughed and his eyes filled with what looked like amusement, but he gave me a nod before wandering off. Sawyer, on the other hand, blushed. His mouth opened and shut before he closed his eyes. His chest rose quickly, several times, before he opened his eyes and chose to look at me again.
“Seriously, we need to get you dry before you catch your death.” Not giving him a chance to say anything, I took the wet towel from him and laid it on the closest table. Cupping his elbow, I guided him across the room. He came without protest, his gaze occasionally drifting in my direction as we walked into the changing room. Once we were inside, I let go of his arm, albeit reluctantly.
When Sawyer just stood there doing nothing more than shivering uncontrollably, I gave in to the urge to take care of him. “Let me help you get these wet things off?”
I took his silence as agreement and gently lifted one of his arms, and then the other tugging them out of the sleeves of his top. I slipped my hands under the bulky, wet jumper and widened the neck to ease it over his head. A breathy gasp was his only response as his face came back into view.
His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared as he met my gaze. There was a vulnerability about him as he stood there trembling, allowing me to help him. Emotions flowed through me, leaving my own hands quivering as we faced each other. The moment of connection resonated within me, his trust doing strange things to me.
“You’re… BB?” he mumbled through blue lips.
Seeing no point in denying it, I nodded. His expression was hard to read with all the fleeting emotions that crossed it. “Are you… disappointed?” When his brow pinched, I wanted to curse my own neediness.
“Why would I be disappointed?” he questioned with a look of confusion.
Unsure how to answer, I dropped the jumper I was still holding and assisted with removing his T-shirt.
His icy hand came up and took hold of mine, stopping me. “Please, why would I be disappointed?” His eyes implored me to be honest.
Taking a deep breath before exhaling, I clasped his hand in mine. “You’ve been reluctant to meet up with me. And now you’ve had the choice taken from you.” He gave me the most beautiful smile and I had to will my heart to listen to reason when all it wanted to do was leap out of my chest and land at his feet.
You’re just out of one relationship, are you really ready for another one so soon?
With that thought running through my head, my lips clamped together to stop any chance of a silly confession popping out of my mouth.
“I’m not disappointed. I’m a little shocked to find you here. But in a good way, I suppose.” His uncertainty as he finished speaking didn’t instil confidence in me.
“Oh, right,” I answered lamely. Releasing his hand, I took hold of the edge of his T-shirt for something to do. “Lift up, angel boy.”
He did as I asked, although I hadn’t missed the look of yearning that crossed his face. It took a second to register that it was probably connected to the term of endearment I’d used. It was how I’d thought of him ever since I’d seen his profile picture on the app. The soft light behind him in the picture had given him an ethereal appearance that made me think of angels.
Now, as he stood before me, his body language betraying how much he wanted to be taken care of, I wanted him to be my angel boy. I couldn’t come up with a reasonable rationale for why I felt like this, so all I could do was just go along with it. Understanding dawned on me that nothing had been the same ever since I’d started to search for more in my relationship with Glenn. Look how that ended for you.
I ignored the snippy voice.
This is different. I know it is.
Something inside of me was pushing for me to let go of the past and just go with the flow. For the life of me, I couldn’t deny this thing between Sawyer and myself.
To avoid dwelling on it, I removed his top. His pale torso was slim and hairless and his nipples were a dark pink and pebbled, making my mouth dry at the thought of touching them. I clutched at the wet T-shirt as I stepped back from temptation. My gaze moved to the clinging material of his jeans and I exhaled in a rush. Oh fuck!
A flash of heat rode up my neck and I blamed it on the warmth in the locker room. Get a grip, you’ve seen naked men before.
That is so not the same.
With that thought ringing in my ears, I dropped his top and hesitantly stepped closer. “Do you want me to help take off your jeans… and pants?”
The sound of a low moan was followed by a full body shudder. Sawyer’s eyelashes lowered to hide his eyes from me as he nodded.
My fingers felt clumsy as they worked to open the button, the back of my hand touching his damp, silky skin. Gritting my teeth at the sensation, I gave a sigh of relief as the button popped open. I got down on my knees and tugged the zip down. As the wet fabric clung to him and drew my gaze to his crotch; the air became stuck in my lungs. Was this arousing him?
The cock pressing against the front of Sawyer's jeans said yes, but when I glanced up at his face, I wasn’t so sure. Seeing a great deal of uncertainty clouding his face, I quickly pulled his jeans down his slim legs.
Keeping my gaze from straying to his arousal, I asked, “Lift your leg, Angel.”
His response was to place his hands on my shoulders to steady himself and then he lifted one foot at a time, waiting for me to release his legs from his jeans. The sight of him stood in just his underpants gave me a fluttering sensation in the pit of my stomach as I stood up. “I’m sure you can take your pants off while I get you a robe.”
Wh
en he huffed out a sigh, I met his gaze. “Is there something you want, Angel?”
He fidgeted for a moment. “You said… you’d undress me,” he finished in a breathy whisper, his cheeks turning crimson.
His eyes locked with mine, begging… but for what?
“Do you want me to take your pants off?” I asked, wanting to be sure what he was asking for. I worked to keep my voice neutral, even as my pulse rammed itself into my throat, trying to choke me.
“Yes.”
That one word nearly brought me to my knees.
What the fuck was I doing? Removing Sawyer’s pants, evidently. The snarky answer was nearly enough to make my knees buckle as I realised I was going to do what he'd asked. My hands clenched at my sides as I lowered myself at his feet again. I kept my gaze averted from his crotch, praying that I could do this. His hands returned to my shoulders and I gingerly tugged the damp material down his pale limbs. The silence seemed to stretch between us as I held my breath, waiting for him to lift his legs for me. As he did, the movement drew my gaze to the arousal that was only inches from my face. His actions had caused his cock to raise towards me as if in offering and the scent of arousal filled my nose as I breathed in.
With shaking hands, I quickly removed his underwear. I averted my gaze from the beautiful bare cock bobbing in front of me. Then I found my gaze had shifted back to his lower body.
Realising what I was doing, I jumped up, forcing him to release my shoulders. When he wobbled, I grabbed hold of him. “Sorry,” I growled, my fingers digging into his soft flesh for a moment before I released him.
Needing a moment to get myself under control, I went to get one of the robes I could see hanging on the far wall next to a row of lockers. When I returned, I ensured my gaze remained on his face. Convinced there was amusement there, I rolled my eyes heavenward. The fucker was testing me. Slipping the robe around his shoulders, I ensured that I didn’t touch his skin and kept my body well away from his.
