15. Jake

The sun was in the sky and even with a little bit of a breeze, the temperature at the private beach was still mild. Jake was wrapped up in a warm winter coat and just in case that wasn't enough, he had Damian's big, strong arm wrapped around him too.

All in all, it was a wonderful morning in the Hamptons.

With the waves gently lapping on the shore and the beach only sporadically populated with other couples, Jake was enjoying the outdoors in the presence of a very special man.

The only question was precisely how special Damian was?

Last night was something else.

I wanted to scream how much I might love him.

But… it's still too soon to say out loud.

Jake turned and looked up at Damian. With his smart black winter jacket and elegant winter scarf, Damian looked far more like a suave businessman than a ruthless assassin.

But this was the dilemma that Jake had… who was the real Damian?

Was it the man with a higher body count than Jason Bourne?

Or was it the sweet and caring man-mountain who had taken Jake away for a weekend of luxury and relaxation?

Still, on a morning that was sheer perfection, Jake saw no reason to overthink things. But as happy as Jake was, he could see that there was something on Damian's mind…

‘Are you okay? You've gone quiet?' Jake said, hoping that he hadn't said anything silly that might have irritated Damian. ‘It's not… me, is it?'

Damian ruffled Jake's hair and smiled.

‘No, boy. It's definitely not you,' Damian said. ‘This place, well this beach specifically, reminds me of Gianluca. You know, my old mentor?'

Jake nodded. Jake knew just how much Gianluca meant to Damian, and Jake could sense that Damian wanted to talk about it.

‘It's just… I blame myself for Gianluca's death,' Damian said, a hint of deeply held regret in his voice. ‘It was such a long time ago. And I know that if Gianluca could talk to me now from beyond the grave he'd tell me to shut the hell up and get over myself. But… some memories are hard to forget. It's like his death has been lasered into my mind. Urgh. Crap. Sorry to be a bummer.'

Jake shook his head and smiled.

‘You could never be a bummer,' Jake said, stopping and cupping his delicate hands over Damian's large, manly hands. ‘I want you to talk to me. I might only be a kitchen worker, but that doesn't mean I can't help you.'

Damian didn't say anything. But he did bring Jake in for a tight, warm hug. Without words, it was clear that Damian appreciated Jake's support. This meant the world to Jake, who wanted more than anything to show Damian that he could be there for him, and that he wouldn't run away at the first sign of tough times.

‘I'm going nowhere,' Jake said, his voice muffled as he found his face buried up against Damian's large, solid stomach. ‘I'm sticking around forever!'

Damian let go of Jake and let out a large laugh.

‘Damn, who would have guessed that I'd end up loving your stubbornness?' Damian said, rolling his eyes. ‘Maybe it's not such a bad thing after all. Hell, maybe you could actually handle being a part of my crazy, occasionally totally fucked up mafia life after all?'

Jake beamed with pride at the sound of Damian's words.

I… I… I think he likes me.

Like… REALLY likes me.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

As the pair of them walked back down the beach and in the direction of the hotel, not even a sudden cold snap of wind could cool the sparks between them. It was time to head back to the hotel for some more fun.

* * *

With Damian in the hotel gym working out, Jake decided it was time to message his friends Lyle and Tommy. Both of them would be super-keen to hear about what Jake was up to in the Hamptons and Jake was equally as keen to spill the tea too…

Hey-Hey! You know I just HAD to message you from my *luxury suite* to say what an amazing time I'm having. Damian is really showing me how great he is, and as for the down and dirty… let's just say things have gotten seriously XXX-rated! Hope all is well back in NYC? Jake

Showoff! No, just kidding. I'm so happy for you, Jake. If any of us deserves to find a special man to look after them, it's you. I know you had your doubts, but Damian sounds like he could be someone special. Lyle

I agree with Lyle! The Hamptons sounds totally cool. I sure wish I had a a man to take me there. Send us some photos too, I want to see this big bed! Tommy

Jake smiled. It was great to hear from his friends back home, and the way that they were both so genuinely happy for him and his newfound happiness was so sweet.

Not everyone in the city was as lucky as Jake to have such brilliant friends, and Jake knew this all too well from having gone through high school without anyone to talk to about his feelings. Jake had struggled at times with feeling like he was always on the outside. With bullies around every corner too, life in high school could be tough.

But with great friends and now a man like Damian too, everything was looking up. However if Jake thought that the messages from his friends were over, he had another thing coming. Lyle wanted more info, and he wasn't taking no for an answer…

We need some serious *deets*, Jake! How many spankings? How big is Damian's snake? What did it feel like when he was fucking you hard? What does it feel like to be a mafia man's boy? Lyle

Jake blushed. As much as he wanted to go into the juicy details, he wasn't sure if he felt comfortable doing it over text. After all, Jake didn't know whether Damian would be comfortable with having his sex life shared like that.

Instead, Jake sent Lyle a message saying that he would fill him and Tommy in on all the hot details when he got back to the city. Jake knew that they would be disappointed and try to get more details, so he simply put his phone on the bed face down.

With Damian still working out, Jake decided he would take his Kindle down to the hotel bar and do some reading. Jake was in the middle of a brand new book about a fantasy warrior who was on a quest to rescue his little prince. It was a fun read, a real page turner. And best of all – the action was full of blood, gore, and some seriously spicy scenes too.

After a quick hop and skip out of the hotel room and into the elevator, Jake was in the sumptuous hotel bar in under two minutes. With his Kindle open and a big mug of hot chocolate on the table next to him, Jake was ready to delve deeper into the story.

‘Anything else, sir?' the waiter said as he passed Jake's table. ‘I could fetch you a selection of our homemade cookies to dunk into your hot chocolate?'

‘Ooooh, yes please!' Jake said, grinning from ear to ear. ‘Thank you so much!'

Jake couldn't have felt happier. The way that the staff were all so friendly and accommodating was a sheer joy. Even the chilled bar music in the background was soothing Jake and helping him feel even more relaxed.

Jake began to read the book and quickly got fully involved in the storyline. Jake imagined what it would be like to be the prince and he even imagined Damian as the warrior coming to save him and then fuck him relentlessly in his royal chamber…

Damn, this is hot.

Maybe this could be a roleplay later…

I could just imagine Damian coming to my rescue too.

Jake continued to read and found himself flying through the chapters. Perhaps the sugar from the hot chocolate and the cookies was helping boost his energy, but soon enough Jake had read a whole six chapters in what felt like record time.

Putting the Kindle back down on the table, Jake looked at the remaining two cookies on the plate. One was a berry-surprise cookie that had a marshmallow center. The other cookie was triple-choc with hazelnut chunks. Both cookies looked absolutely wonderful, and Jake didn't know how he was going to choose which one to have first!

This kind of attention to detail and luxury was something that Jake hadn't experienced so much before meeting Damian. Sure, Damian probably had to do some awful things in his life, but Jake was beginning to see that there were plenty of upsides to the mafia life too.

But just as Jake was about to choose which cookie to go for, he felt a shiver run up his spine.

Looking across toward the table over in the corner, Jake noticed a man sitting quietly. He looked like a fairly regular man, nothing too out of the ordinary. But there was just something about him. Something not quite right. Jake couldn't put his finger on it, but every inch of his body was telling him that the man was bad news.

Wearing a dark grey suit and sporting a cropped black haircut, the man somehow had an edge to him. Jake didn't want to make it too obvious, so he continued to study the cookies for another minute or so.

But all the while as he did this, Jake could feel the man looking over toward him. This was creepy. It could have been that the man had the hots for Jake, that was definitely possible in theory. But Jake knew what it felt like to have a guy checking him out, and this didn't feel like that at all. This was something else and it was time to get out of the hotel bar and back up to his room.

Without further hesitation, Jake picked up the two remaining cookies and his Kindle and darted out of the bar as quickly as he could. All the way back to the elevator, Jake was terrified that he would turn around see the man following him. It was just a feeling, but Jake sensed that something was seriously out of place about the man - and Jake waste going to ignore his instincts.

Fortunately, a quick glance revealed that the man wasn't in fact following him.

But that didn't change the fact that Jake was scared. In that moment, he needed Damian. Fortunately, with Damian sure to be finishing up his workout any time soon, Jake would soon have his protector with him to provide a sympathetic ear. Or so Jake thought…