CHAPTER TWENTY

Tony

 

When I walked off the private elevator into the penthouse, I was disappointed not to see Cane. I’d missed him and had hoped to share a private look before I had to get to work. Even better if Bruder disappeared for a while and Cane and I could make out.

Bruder was on his phone and waved me toward the stairs. I went, glad not to have to make small talk with the man. Once in the office, I booted up the computer, and while I could still hear Bruder talking downstairs, I took the opportunity to insert a small flash drive into the port. Bruder had given me access to his files the day before, but it was difficult to look into what he was up to with the man frequently coming up to see what progress I’d made. That day, I was supposed to be checking out what his competitors offered as compared to the B-Natural line. He was pretty picky about the information he wanted. I didn’t have time to search his files, but I could download them and take them home to look at.

While the files were copying, I snooped around in the office but as I’d assumed, Bruder didn’t keep anything he wouldn’t want anyone else to see in there. I was sure most hard copies were locked up in the seventh-floor offices, but I quietly walked down the hall and peered into Bruder’s bedroom just because I might never get another chance.

Bruder’s voice droned on downstairs, still a distance from the staircase. It rose in anger several times. I bet it was a real bitch working for him, and I thought of Cane and how he’d been trapped with this guy for years and how that had made him stoic and withdrawn. My determination doubled to get him away from there for good.

I’d passed Bruder’s girlfriend in the lobby when I’d arrived, so I knew I was alone upstairs. She’d given me a wave and even walked me to the private elevator and punched in the code, sending a text to Bruder that I was on my way up. She seemed too nice for a guy like Bruder, but some women only cared about the perks that came with money.

I looked in the closet. Other than an array of suits and some of Shika’s clothes, I didn’t find anything interesting. I opened drawers. Bruder had quite the collection of sex toys, including blindfolds and handcuffs. Karl Bruder struck me as someone who would get off on having control, and that obviously overlapped into the bedroom.

Sudden footsteps on the stairs sent my heart into my throat, and I rushed back to the office. I’d barely gotten the flash drive out and into my pocket before Bruder appeared at the door.

“Everything going all right?” he asked.

“Fine,” I said giving him a distracted look and hoping I didn’t appear out of breath.

“Help yourself to drinks or whatever from the kitchen. I’m going to be on and off the phone all afternoon.”

I nodded, eyes riveted to the screen. I hoped like hell he wouldn’t walk over to get a look because what I’d pulled up in my haste was a Google search for underwear.

Thankfully, Bruder headed back downstairs, and I released a sigh of relief and re-inserted the flash drive. As I poked around, I found a few hidden files and copied them to the flash drive too before opening one.

My eyes widened at what I saw. Rows of faces, from about age thirteen to middle-aged, all looking back at me with the same fearful expression. God, were these the people Bruder had taken from their homes? My stomach clenched. There were names under the faces, but there was no way I could look into them now. Bruder would expect me to have made a dent in my work for the day. I quickly finished copying to the flash drive and got down to work.

 

****

Hours later when I walked down the stairs, the city beyond the window was lit up in the darkness. Karl sat on the couch in a circle of light from the lamp, sleeves rolled up over huge muscles, a drink in one hand and an open folder in the other. I could see a slight family resemblance to Cane, but Cane was much more handsome, in my opinion. Bruder looked up when he heard me.

“Finished for the evening?”

I nodded and started to leave, but he stopped me.

“Did you bring your portfolio?”

I held back a sigh. I’d hoped he’d forgotten. Taking a seat beside him on the couch, I opened my messenger bag and pulled out a binder with laminated photos of my best work.

“It’s not anything fancy.”

Bruder scrolled through the pictures. “Subtly erotic. I’m impressed.” He continued to look. “I like these very much.” He looked up at me. “I’d like to commission a painting of Shika for the master bedroom.” He handed back the portfolio.

“I’m flattered, but I’m really not that good. I’ve never sold any of my work.”

“I told you before; I know what I like. I’ll pay twelve thousand dollars for a large portrait to hang over the bed.”

I paused. “That’s very generous, but—”

“I’m not being generous. Your work is worth that much. Surely there are things you can do with the money.”

My phone buzzed, and when I glanced at it, it was like fate telling me to take the commission.

“I can prepare a studio. You can paint in the mornings and work on the computer in the afternoons,” Bruder said.

“All right. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I strode toward the elevator and answered the phone as the doors were closing.

“Hi, Mom.”

“You know what today is, don’t you, Antonio?” she asked without greeting. “Your father died ten years ago today.”

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. I hadn’t wanted to remember because it hurt so much. She wouldn’t let me forget.

“I took flowers to the cemetery. I had to take a cab. It was very expensive.”

“I’ll be sending you a check at the end of the week,” I said wearily, a lump forming in my throat.

“Money can’t take the place of the only man I loved,” she said bitterly.

“But it helps,” I said, unable to help the resentment welling up inside me. I was a piece of that man she’d loved so much, but she didn’t see me. I didn’t matter except for the money she felt I owed her.

She disconnected.

My phone buzzed again. “Shit.” I looked at the screen and was relieved to see it was Cane this time. Just talking to her for those few minutes had shaken me. Dashing at my wet eyes, I cleared my throat and answered.

“Are you still in the building?” Cane asked. The deep, smooth tone of his voice made my breath catch in my throat.

“I just reached the lobby.”

“Come to the eighth floor.”

I pushed the button. “Okay. What’s going on?”

“Just come.” His voice sent shivers down my spine in the best of ways.

When I stepped off the elevator, my eyes immediately latched onto Cane leaning against a door at the end of the hall. As I walked toward him, he opened the door and led me into a spacious apartment.

“This is my suite of rooms. I rarely use them,” Cane shut the door behind us.

I walked farther into the apartment and looked around.

“It’s a nice place,” I said. It really was. Not nearly as extravagant as Bruder’s penthouse, but a million times nicer than the clubhouse. Muted colors, tasteful paintings, a nice view, but I soon realized there was nothing that said anything about the man. In his room at the clubhouse, Cane had hung pictures of the vintage bikes he loved on the walls, and the rows of DVDs on the shelves by his bed displayed an eclectic mix of action and romantic literary films. I’d gone through them recently when Cane had told me and Skitz to choose a movie and had been surprised by some of the titles. There were even a few foreign films in the mix.

“I suppose. It doesn’t feel like home, though, and when I’m here, Karl’s watching me.”

I walked over to the large window on the other side of which a beautiful sunset colored the harbor. Cane moved behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. My breath stuttered when he leaned in and gently ran his mouth over my ear. I automatically settled back against him. I’d been going to talk to him about Bruder and the pictures I’d found, but he’d evidently brought me there for a little privacy, and I was all for that.

Turning in his arms, I took him by the collar and pulled him down to my eager mouth. We met with open-mouthed kisses, exploring each other with abandon. Cane tasted like ginger ale. I sucked on his tongue, bit his lips, pushed my body against his until there wasn’t a bit of space between us. He wrapped his arms around me, one hand moving down to my ass to squeeze it in time with the thrusts of his tongue.

I was hard and wanted everything from him, but the highest on my list at the moment was his cock in my mouth.

Dropping to my knees, I kept my gaze glued to his while I unbuckled his belt. I pulled out his cock from his underwear and wasted no time wrapping my mouth around it, dipping as close to the base as I could get and then pulling back up, making him nice and wet, moaning in my throat each time the head touched the back of it.

Cane groaned, big hands shaking as he held each side of my face.

“Fuck,” he whispered. I brought my mouth to the tip of his cock and sucked, then I took him in hand and stroked while I gave his balls the same concentrated attention. I loved the taste of him. I loved the smell of him. I loved the way the muscles in his thighs bunched up under the palms of my hands when I sucked his cock back down my throat. And I loved the way his fingers tightened in my hair to warn me when he was getting close.

I groaned, letting him know I wanted to swallow it all, and he came with a loud cry that reverberated through the quiet room and made my cock jump inside my pants. I fumbled with the zipper, anxious to get myself off. Cane pushed my hands away, stretched out on the floor, and slowly and sensually returned the favor, his mouth a warm and welcome vice around my throbbing shaft.

I definitely saw stars.

As we lay on the floor in each other’s arms, recovering, something occurred to me, and I stiffened.

“Cane?”

“Yeah?” He kissed my cheek.

“Have you ever thought your cousin might have cameras on you?”

Cane chuckled. “Of course. He doesn’t though. I have this place checked out every so often.”

I relaxed a little. “What about at his place?”

“Karl has cameras all over this building, but not in his own penthouse. Why?”

“I…might have snooped a little today. In his bedroom. I also inserted a flash drive into the computer to copy files. It was really stupid of me not to consider cameras.”

“I should have told you it was clear.” He kissed my mouth, and we got caught up in sliding our tongues together. Being in Cane’s arms was like a dream come true, and I still couldn’t believe we were together.

“Can we take this to the couch?” I asked after a moment. “This floor isn’t very comfortable.”

“I have an even better idea.” Cane got to his feet and reached down to help me up. “Let’s take this to the bedroom.”