STORY EXCERPT

Blaize left his grandfather’s office and marched to the elevator. It was waiting at the top floor, and he took it all the way down to the ground. He noticed a man standing by the reception desk, talking to a security guard there, and the receptionist and security guard shaking their heads at him. Normally he would have continued walking straight out the door, but something in the resigned slump of the man’s shoulders made him change direction and cross over to the desk.

“Is there a problem, Henry?” he asked the security guard.

“No, sir, Mr. Carmichael. This gentleman is just about to leave.”

“Carmichael? Mr. Carmichael?” The man turned huge, pleading, dark brown eyes toward him.

Blaize couldn’t resist those eyes. He stuck out his right hand and said, “Blaize Carmichael. Can I help you?”

The man juggled an old-fashioned laptop bag onto his left arm and shook Blaize’s hand. “I’m Locke Parkes, Mr. Carmichael, sir. My older brother has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound. He spends most of his time on the Internet where he talks to his friends and, well anyway, he was browsing the Carmichael Industries website at nine a.m. yesterday looking for one of your original engineering designs, when—”

Blaize instantly knew what was coming next. His laptop had become infected with one or another of the many viruses the IT company was still busy cleaning up.

Exactly as he’d guessed, the man continued, “His computer is completely locked. Something on your website has infected Prince’s laptop, and it’s unusable. I hoped your IT people could fix it for him.”

“I’ve already explained to the gentleman, sir, that his brother’s computer problems have nothing to do with us,” said Henry.

But Blaize was very much afraid that this man’s computer problems, and possibly dozens of other people’s computer problems as well, were indeed going to be their problem.

“It’s okay, Henry. I’ll take Mr. Parkes up to IT.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Having access to the Internet means everything to Prince. Since he’s wheelchair-bound, and I’m at work all day, the Internet is how he communicates.”

Blaize nodded, not really listening. He was already convinced their damn website had probably infected any number of people’s devices, and fixing the problem was going to be hellishly expensive. Damn Grandpa’s obstinacy. The man’s a public nuisance!

The IT department should have been half-empty since the departure of his brother, Quade, and Quade’s second-in-command, PJ, but the IT company, still hard at work cleaning up their data and computer systems, seemed to fill every inch of the spacious room. There were snaking lines of cables along the floor, half a dozen open laptops with data scrolling across the screens, and four IT techs, their heads bowed low over their own computers.

Parkes stopped still in the doorway looking down at his feet, but Blaize picked his way through the room to the head geek, cleared his throat, and said, “Rick, we have another problem.”

The head geek stared at him. Blaize knew the man was about the same age as him, thirty-four, but he looked as if he was barely out of high school with pimples on his cheeks, forehead, and nose, huge black-framed eyeglasses, and battered athletic shoes on his large feet. Still, he was making headway against a vast number of viruses, scams, phishing attacks, and hell only knew what else, so Blaize didn’t care what he looked like as long as he could save Carmichael Industries’ data.

“What’s the problem?”

Blaize beckoned Mr. Parkes over. “Tell Rick your story.”

Parkes’ curly black hair bounced as he nodded and said, “This is my brother’s laptop, sir. He was surfing the Carmichael Industries’ website at nine a.m. yesterday when it locked up, and he can’t use it. His laptop is his entire life, sir. He has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound, and I work all day and can’t be with him, so all his friends and activity is via the Internet. And now his computer has been damaged by this company’s website, and I hope, I need… please, sir, you have to fix it. He’s completely alone and helpless without it.”

“How does your brother know it was this website that caused it? Maybe it was something else he had open at the same time?” said Rick.

Parkes shook his head. “No, sir. Prince only has the use of his right hand and almost never has more than one window open at once because toggling between sites is difficult for him. Besides, his laptop is no longer new, and it’s too slow if too many browsers are open at once. He has all day and nothing else to do, so doing one thing at a time is perfect for him. His hand doesn’t ache, and he can get full enjoyment out of each individual step.”

Blaize stared at Parkes, closing his mouth with a snap. What an incredible attitude this man—and presumably his brother—had, making his disability into something that gave him pleasure. Instead of moaning about an old laptop, or about not being able to use both hands, here he was reveling in going slowly and enjoying the journey. In that moment Blaize determined to help him, even if it wasn’t a Carmichael Industries problem. Although he was almost certain it would be a company problem. The whole “nine a.m.” thing was the key. That was the exact time the IT security program had expired.

ADULT EXCERPT

Locke wiggled closer to Blaize and wrapped his arms around him. “We could start with some full-body cuddling. You have a mighty fine body.”

Blaize pulled them closer together. “Not as fine as yours. I go to the gym every day, but you’ve got the better musculature.”

“All the better to hold you with,” Locke replied and then wondered if Blaize would understand the line said by the Big Bad Wolf. He must have because he answered, “Ah, but I’ve already eaten you all up.”

Locke laughed. “No problem. Maybe we could do that again some time.”

“Soon. But not until after I’ve fucked your ass. I can’t think about anything else right now.”

Locke pulled out of Blaize’s hold and rolled over onto his front. Suddenly all he could think of was Blaize’s cock pounding in and out of him. He wanted it so much he didn’t even attempt to get up on all fours. He knew he’d be too weak from lust to hold the position. Flat on his face was the best he could manage right now.

Locke heard the soft pop as Blaize unscrewed the lid of the jar of lube, and then a slippery finger was gently rimming his ass. Locke sighed with released tension as Blaize’s finger circled his rosette, rubbing the oil into his tight muscle ring there. It’d been too damn long since he’d been in a relationship. Much too damn long since he’d been fucked. But this wasn’t just about getting his rocks off, no matter how much he’d enjoyed his orgasm in the shower. It was also about Blaize, a man he instinctively knew was kind and good, a man he could relate to, and a man who’d treated his brother as a person, not as a cripple. That was incredibly special. Locke was coming to believe that Blaize was special.

He thrust back on the finger now inside his back channel, needing Blaize to move faster, to finish the preparation and shove his cock in there instead of a mere finger. Already his own shaft was a hot, thick ridge jammed between the bedding and his belly. Locke found it difficult to accept that he’d gotten hard so fast. Only a few minutes ago, his entire body had been limp and weak from the power of his orgasm. Now he was revved up and ready for another one.

“I’m ready,” he murmured.

“Show me.”

Locke scrambled up onto all fours, and without removing his fingers from Locke’s ass, Blaize reached around his body with his other hand and stroked down Locke’s erection.

“Mmm-hmm. I think you can wait a little longer.” Blaize tugged on Locke’s cock again, adding a little twist over the cockhead that made Locke hiss with need.

“If you wait too long, you might find out you’ve missed the opportunity to join the party,” Locke said, struggling to breathe and speak simultaneously.

“Bullshit. I’m sure you’ll continue to rise to the occasion.”

But Locke noticed Blaize was breathing heavily between each word now, too. He was just as aroused as Locke. The paramedic was proven correct when, only a matter of a minute later, Blaize picked up the condom and rolled it over his shaft with shaky fingers. He then scooped up some lube, spread it over the condom, and stared straight into Locke’s eyes. Locke thought his neck might be stuck in this position since he’d been staring back over his shoulder for so long, but it was worth it to see every movement Blaize made.

Locke watched, his mouth dropping open and his throat suddenly as dry as it’d been after he’d screamed for the girl to win the race against the steam train. He knew Blaize was deliberately drawing out the tension, making him wait as he slowly, so fucking goddamn slowly, placed his cock at Locke’s backdoor and then paused before pushing it inside.

Locke closed his eyes and his mouth, swallowed hard, and held his breath, determined to wait until Blaize was ready instead of begging. Fortunately Blaize must have been almost as desperate to continue as he was because, only a few heartbeats later, he pushed his cockhead at the entry and began wiggling his way inside. As soon as the head of Blaize’s cock breached the muscle ring, Locke slammed back against Blaize’s body.

“No more messing around. Let’s do it,” he said, noticing that once again his tone was rough and hoarse. He was sure it was from lust, not from rooting for the runners, but maybe he’d buy some honey and lemon balm to drink tomorrow just in case.

Then his brain fried as Blaize pulled out of his ass, paused for a second, and then rammed himself back in, right to the hilt, his balls jammed against Locke’s skin and his arms wrapped tightly around Locke’s waist.

Locke braced himself on hands and knees, rocking back into every stroke Blaize made, wiggling his hips to add tension to the fucking, and twisting his neck back to watch Locke whenever he could manage the movement. His entire body was on fire with lust. His balls were so full of seed it was as if he hadn’t come in a month, instead of fifteen minutes.

Once he was fully involved in the thrust-and-retreat rhythm Blaize had established, he lifted up one hand and petted and stroked whatever bits of Blaize he could reach—a sweep of his side, a touch of his thigh, a stroke of his forearm. Then he swapped hands and did it again on Blaize’s other side. But it was all too damn hard. Like his cock. That was so fucking hard he needed to touch it, to stroke himself off, to explode his cum everywhere. He couldn’t wait much longer.

Locke reached for his aching dick, but Blaize brushed his hand away. “Let me do it.”

Blaize gave one long tug with a wicked twist at the end, and that was all it took to send Locke right off the cliff. Moaning his release, he bent his head and watched as his cum coated Blaize’s hand and his own belly.

Blaize licked the joint of Locke’s shoulder and neck and then shuddered as his own orgasm overtook him. Locke could feel the heat in his ass as Blaize’s entire body shook before Blaize lay flat on Locke’s back.

He dropped his body down onto the bed, panting, and then Blaize rolled them onto their sides. “Now that’s what I call an orgasm.”

“Hell yes.”