STORY EXCERPT

Ash was never going to take him back. He’d been cheated on and hurt. He wouldn’t believe him, already didn’t.

He got to his feet and put his laptop into its bag and grabbed his suit jacket and some pages from his desk. Cortez took the stairs down to Ash’s office to leave the papers for him.

He pushed the door opened and stepped into the dimly lit room, wondering why Ash had left the lamp on. That wasn’t like him. Maybe he got a call from Ashley or he and Malik went out for a drink.

“What are you doing?”

He jerked around to find Ash on the sofa pushed against the wall. Ash’s red eyes and sad look tore at Cortez’s heart. “Fuck, you scared me.”

“Begs the same question,” he said tiredly.

“I was dropping this off for you. It’s a plan for your new marketing and advertising head or the agency you hire and a list of projects I was working on that need to be closed out over the next two weeks.”

Ash got to his feet, ignoring the pages held out to him. “I hate advertising. I only hired you because I thought I was missing a part of my target market.”

“So, you don’t need this then. Well, I’ll get out of your hair, and get my office cleaned out tomorrow.”

“Anybody here?” a masculine voice called.

“Excuse me.” Ash stepped out of the office, and Cortez put the pages on the desk and was heading for the door when Ash came back in with a white bag in hand.

“Enjoy your dinner, Ash.”

“That’s why I wanted to fire you,” Ash said. “I didn’t want this awkwardness between us after the way things have been.”

“I think you fired me because you didn’t want to look at me and you didn’t want to see other men coming onto me. And since it’s over, I’m free to say yes.”

“That’s part of it,” he admitted. “I have enough for two, and you can tell me why.”

“Why what?” Cortez shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“Why you’d even be that close to someone else?” he asked angrily. “You weren’t kissing him in any of the pictures, but I keep thinking you could be. You almost were.”

“Adam was safe,” he said, setting his bag on the desk. “I knew I didn’t have to worry about him pushing me to do anything other than dinner.”

Ash studied him, his sapphire eyes stormy before he turned away. “Did you want to fuck him?”

“If I had, I’d be with him.” He went into the adjoining bathroom to wash up and returned to find Ash seated on the couch with the food spread out on the coffee table.

Cortez joined him, waiting for him to speak again. Ash handed him a set of plastic utensils enclosed in plastic with a napkin.

“All I could think about last night after everyone was gone, and I found the pictures still there, was that you had one foot out the door. The worst part is that you weren’t even going to tell me.”  

“I felt like you were pushing me away. We make love sporadically and when we do it feels more like you’re fucking me to release stress not show me you love me. You don’t communicate with me, which frustrates the hell out of me.”

“I’ve been under a lot of stress,” Ash replied as he dug into his pasta. “I didn’t think you were so weak you’d let that cause a serious problem between us.”

“Do you hear yourself, Ash?” he demanded. “You’re expecting me to just work with you when I have no idea what I’m working with.” He knew now, thanks to last night, but Cortez doubted Ash would bring up his mother and her need for a kidney.

In all the years he’d known Ash, Ash had said almost nothing about his parents or even the grandmother who’d raised him and his sister. That told Cort there was a hole in both siblings that allowed them to maintain a distance between themselves and the world.

Ash sighed roughly. “There are things I don’t want to talk about. I thought you loved me enough to respect that.”

“Haven’t I always, right from the start, sweetie?” he asked gently. “You say drop it, I let it go. If I don’t, you close up or leave the room, and I let you. I’m in love with you, Ash, so much so I’d die for you without a thought. I’d even die for your sister if you couldn’t get to her.”

Ash looked at him then, surprise in his eyes. “You can keep your job.”

“Thanks,” he muttered. “How big of you.”

Ash grunted, his lips twitching in amusement. “You’re good at your job, that’s all.”

Cortez snorted. “I’m glad you realize how instrumental I am to your success.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Cortez climbed into the shower and dipped his head beneath the water. His mother understood family and had made it clear that her children’s significant others—those they had a long-term relationship with—were family, as well.

And in his case, his partner would be more than welcome in their family along with any kids they adopted. However, one of his cousins had offered to carry a child for them.

He smoothed the water from his eyes as Ash kissed his shoulder.

“I’ll call your mother in a few days when I’ve decided which days we can take off,” he said.

Cortez smiled and reached back to stroke the back of Ash’s head. “Thank you, baby.”

Ash licked a droplet of water from the side of Cortez’s neck before lightly biting him and trailing kisses to his ear.

“I’m always happy to please you,” he said and kissed the back of Cortez’s neck, drawing a moan from him.

“Ash.” It was too bad they didn’t make love like this often anymore. In fact, it had been almost a month since the last time Ash had touched him sexually.

Cortez turned to face him and reaching up, he pulled Ash’s head down for a long, slow kiss. Ash drew him closer on the mat beneath their feet that prevented slippage. Cortez curled his arms around his lover’s neck and welcomed his tongue into his mouth.

The kiss was sweet, a loving that only Ash could give him, and his toes curled as he pushed his fingers into the hair at Ash’s nape.

God how he loved this man. There was no one else on earth who could compare to Ash. No other man’s touch set him on fire, and no other man’s stare made his heart beat fast.

How was he going to save their relationship?

Cortez hoped that trip to Italy would help. That’s why he’d called his mother today. Ash was slipping away from him, and he was afraid of losing him to an enemy that didn’t even have a face.

Ash backed him against the cool stone tile and broke the kiss. His breathing was ragged as he placed a kiss on Cortez’s mouth before licking down to his shoulder.

From there, Ash nipped his way to Cortez’s dark areola and swirled the tip of his tongue tip around it before scraping the erect nipple with his teeth.

Ash bit him and Cortez groaned, the slice of pain making him harder. Ash sucked hard while working the nipple with his fingers, plumping and tugging it.

“Oh fuck, Ash.” A rough cry escaped Cortez as pre-cum leaked from his cock. He pushed his fingers into Ash’s hair, burying his fears for now. Ash removed them and straightened to push Cortez’s arms up above his head.

Cortez kept them there, knowing that’s what Ash wanted as he lowered his head to curl his tongue around a tight point. Cortez closed his eyes, pleasure snaking through him like a hard wind through trees.

“God!”

Ash sucked harder while pinching the other nipple, tearing a gasp from Cortez. The pain was nothing more than a warm kiss to lonely skin.

Ash abandoned the point, moving to the abused one. He flicked his tongue over it before biting it hard enough to rip a cry from Cortez.

“Shit, Ash.” He knew something had Ash stressed because his normal S&M games took on a slight edge as if Ash needed an extra release.  However, Cortez favored the pain, craving more.

Ash sucked at the caramel peak. Ash moaned and straightened as he leaned in close to stare into Cortez’s eyes. The blue of Ash’s eyes was liquid fire that caught Cortez in his flame, and he shivered.

“I want you,” he said so softly Cortez almost didn’t hear him.

“I’m right here,” he crooned. He was always here. All Ash ever had to do was talk to him, make his needs known. He stroked his hands down Ash’s shoulders, over his arms. “Anytime you want me.”

“Turn around.” Ash turned Cortez to face the wall. “Keep those arms up,” he ordered.

Ash kissed the back of his neck, tracing kisses down Cortez’s back before landing a stinging tap on his ass. Cortez gasped, the pain a biting delight.

“You’re so beautiful, Cort, you take my breath away every time I look at you.”

Ash landed another tap on Cortez’s ass before reaching for the back brush and using it to tap out a tattoo on his skin, leaving Cortez’s ass cheeks burning.

“Ash, baby,” he said roughly. “That feels so fucking good.”

Ash gave him another hard tap with his bare hand and Cortez groaned. “You like that?” he whispered and used the brush again, hitting him hard enough to create waves of searing pleasure that had Cortez grinding against the tiles.

“That’s a no-no,” Ash said and hit him again with the brush. “Stay still or I’m going to let you watch me jerk off while you go without.”

“Ash,” he protested but remained motionless, and Ash chuckled darkly.

“I thought you wanted me more than a cheap thrill from the tile,” he teased and delivered another tap to Cortez’s ass before setting the brush aside and reaching into the built-in caddy.

A moment later, cool lube slithered down the seam of Cortez’s ass. Ash kissed the side of Cortez’s neck as his fingers slipped into Cortez’s tight ass. Ash sighed roughly when Cortez clenched around his finger.

Then, he hit him. “I didn’t give permission for you to do anything but passively enjoy my touch.”  Ash withdrew his fingers and added more lube. “So, behave before I make good on my promise,” he whispered against Cortez’s ear.

Cortez moaned as Ash thrust two fingers inside him. “Baby, I need you so bad.”

Ash didn’t make him wait, and Cortez knew it was because Ash was on a fine edge himself.