STORY EXCERPT

“How old are you, Bradley?” Julian asked. He could have a blast teasing this man until he teetered on the edge of the cliff, only to discover he would suffer with that hard-on until Julian allowed him release.

“Thirty-one.” When Julian dragged his gaze up to Bradley’s, he quickly added, “Sir.”

“Married?” Julian already noticed the lack of a ring.

“No, Sir. I, um, I prefer men.”

Julian nodded once. That was a pleasant surprise. “Boyfriend? Partner?”

“No, Sir.”

A flash of something unreadable crossed Bradley’s eyes. Julian closed the gap between them, holding Bradley’s gaze. They were the same height, but Bradley outmuscled him without a problem. Still, Julian owned the space occupying their two bodies. He inhaled the potent tinge of musk and cologne, and absorbed the waves of heat rolling off Bradley. The man’s hair hung carelessly over his forehead, brushing his ears.

“Marcus hired you, correct?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Are you acquaintances with Marcus outside of Sinn?”

Bradley blinked. His jaw worked. Julian narrowed his eyes.

“I expect an answer,” Julian said, lowering his voice to a threatening rumble.

“I thought there’s a confidentiality rule.”

“Marcus is my brother, Bradley. He hired you without consulting the management team, and I would like to know why.”

The consistent prodding was making Bradley visibly uncomfortable. Good. Better to keep him on the edge.

“I–I’m from a small town outside San Francisco city limits. I know Marcus through my older brother,” Bradley admitted. Julian caught his chin between in his hand this time, pulling his face within a hairbreadth from him. Well, Marcus’s inclination to hire this man made more sense, but something was still missing. Julian could feel it in his gut.

“Your brother has been in my employ for five months. I’m aware of who he is.” He held Bradley for a moment longer, then released his chin and circled to the back of his desk. With the crop caught between both fisted hands, Julian braced his arms on the top of his desk and leaned forward, nailing Bradley with a dead-serious look.

“You haven’t been truthful with me, Bradley. You are hiding something from me, and I’ll figure it out. I will get the truth out of you, but not today. If that scares you, then I will give you this one opportunity to walk out that door and never show your face on this island again.”

Bradley’s eyes widened, those sea colored orbs filling up with fear. “Sir, please. I needed a job. I was on the brink of losing everything I had. I’d been laid off with all of the economical problems happening and I was desperate. My brother introduced me to Marcus a few months back and asked him if he would give me a position here until I could get back on my feet.”

“He hired a transient?” Julian groaned and shook his head.

“No, it’s not like that. It’s, well, Marcus hired me in good faith. I promised him I’d stay at least six months. I signed an employment contract with my time as a clause. I’ve given Marcus my word, as I’ll give my word to you, I’m good for my time, and I’m in debt for being allowed this opportunity.”

The man was desperate. The fear Julian watched flicker in his eyes and melt into his expression was one he couldn’t relate to, but one he understood. He may have tossed any other employee on a yacht back to the States, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to let Bradley go.

There was more going on than Julian was privy to, and that small hint of mystery appealed to him about as much as Bradley himself.

So many opportunities with a virgin.

“Why, Bradley, are you interested in Midnight?” Julian asked, emphasis on the why. He tried his damnedest to read the man. Fear dissipated, but he couldn’t decipher the new emotions making a debut.

“I want to become involved in the lifestyle.”

Julian regarded Bradley, taking another sweeping glance over the man’s naked body. There was potential. He wanted to learn. Julian could teach him, mold him, and create a perfect submissive out of the broad-shouldered handsome man. A long time had passed since Julian had taken an innocent under his wing to teach him the basics of a lifestyle Julian thrived on.

But while Julian was teaching this man a thing or two about being a perfect sub, he was going to find out the reason behind his outstretched desire to be part of Midnight.

ADULT EXCERPT

Julian dipped his head and closed his eyes. He kept his nose mere inches from Bradley’s neck, inhaling the scent of fresh soap and shampoo. Heat radiated off his flesh. His mind was quickly filtering away, leaving him in a state where control was not the front player.

Satiation of raw lust was.

He was thankful to have left any sort of protection at his apartment. As it stood, the idea of fucking Bradley without the aid of anything was as tempting as allowing the man to stay and continue to work for him.

And he never, ever, fucked a sub.

Julian slid a splayed hand around Bradley’s waist until his fingers encircled the base of his cock. The velvety sheath of flesh was feverish against his palm. He learned each tunneling ridge along his wide shaft, listening to the quiet moans of delight fall from this man’s mouth. Bradley’s head fell forward, strands of damp hair draping over his forehead and exposing the nape of his neck.

The sudden burn that shot along Julian’s lips was unexpected. So was the way his body leaned into Bradley as he brushed an airy kiss along that stretch of neck. He spread the man’s cream from the tip of his cock down to the hilt, working each stroke of his hand in a slow rhythm meant to drive him insane. He drew his lips along the disks of his spine. Once he reached Bradley’s shoulder, he nipped the taut skin.

A fierce tremor shook his slave. Julian nipped again and lifted his head as Bradley shivered. Turning his mouth against Bradley’s ear, he whispered, “Beg for me to make you come.”

“I beg you, Sir. I beg you to make me come,” Bradley said, his voices soft, strained.

“Louder.”

“I beg you, Sir.” Bradley lifted his head and turned to look at him. Julian grabbed a handful of his hair and jerked his head back, keeping his mouth away from his. As tempted as he was to kiss the man, that was another boundary he never crossed.

“Beg me to what?” Julian pressed. He scraped his teeth along the stretch of flesh over Bradley’s throat. The man’s cock jerked in his hand.

“Make me come, Sir.”

Bradley’s breathing turned into ragged gasps. Julian increased the steady tempo of his fist pumping along his cock.

“Louder, boy.”

“Sir, please!” Bradley thrust his hips, forcing his dick through his fist faster than Julian wanted. “Make me come!”

Any other man would’ve suffered a severe case of blue balls had they pulled a stunt like that, but Julian couldn’t bring his hand away from the man’s erection. He held the base of Bradley’s cock, refusing to stroke until his hips settled and the fine tremors that rippled along his arms soothed.

“Don’t move or you’ll be handling your hard-on with your own hand,” Julian warned. Bradley nodded against his grip.

“Yes, Sir.”

He had the man strung tight, the white of his knuckles a giveaway. Julian returned to his slow, methodical strokes, smearing fresh cream along Bradley’s dick. He licked the man’s shoulder, the clean taste of his skin soaking into his tongue. A strangled cry squeezed out of Bradley.

“Come, Sir. Please. God, I beg you, Sir. Let me come now.”

Julian couldn’t suppress the grin that came over his mouth at the whimpering moans. He released his grip in Bradley’s hair again, angling his body for a better grip on his cock. The man had enough juice to use as a natural lube, but Julian still silently cussed at leaving his personal stock at the apartment.

“Are you not enjoying what I’ve generously given you?” Julian asked.

“I am,” Bradley said quickly. “I am, Sir. So much.”

Julian turned his head up and caught the man’s earlobe between his teeth.

“Yeah?”

“Damn, yes!”

“Sir.” Julian licked the palm of his free hand, reached around Bradley’s waist, and latched onto the base of his cock. He moved both hands in synchrony, squeezing, releasing, increasing the speed of his strokes until Bradley was gasping and whimpering. He slowed down.

“Fuck, no! No, Sir. Don’t…don’t stop, Sir.”

“Do you hurt, boy?” Julian leaned over enough to glimpse the deep creases along Bradley’s forehead. “How much does it hurt?”

“My balls are burning up and my dick is so swollen that I can’t see straight,” Bradley said in short bursts of words before sucking in air. “Sir.”

“How do you like my hands on you?”

A sharp rush of air fled his lips. “Pure heaven, Sir.”

“What will you do for release, boy?”

“Anything, Sir. Anything.”