Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

CALEB

The first thing I see when I get back home is Vortex and Seven on my couch. Seven is sitting in Vortex’s lap with his arms thrown around him while Vortex strokes his back.

On closer inspection, I realize that Seven is asleep.

“How long has he been like that?” I ask as I loosen my tie.

Vortex glances up at me, his hand going still on the small of Seven’s back. “I’m not sure,” he says. “He was downstairs, then Grant and Madeline got into it, so Madeline and I took Seven for a drink. He got… upset.” He shakes his head, continuing to speak in a low voice, “He ran off and I found him in the stairwell.”

“Ran off?” I take off my jacket and place it over the back of the armchair. “Something triggered him?”

I still don’t know what set him off the other night. As beautiful as he’d looked with the tears, as much as I’d wanted to give in and fuck him, part of me knew it would have been the wrong thing to do.

Funny, that I have morals when it comes to Seven.

“Madeline was showing off pictures of her wife when Seven started to get distant,” Vortex says.

I have to give him more credit than most. He looks like an average bruiser, but he’s more in tune with people than he might seem at first.

“Then she mentioned that Lorena is pregnant, then started talking about names,” Vortex goes on. “He got up and ran. Madeline thinks she did something wrong, so I’ll need to talk to her when Seven’s calmer, too.”

Seven starts to stir, but Vortex goes back to rubbing small circles along his back, hushing him.

It’s another clue to add to the mystery that is Seven.

Like the mysterious emails, with veiled questions trying to figure out my identity. I hadn’t answered, of course, but my hackles are up.

I grab two beers from the fridge, remove the caps, and set one down in front of Vortex before taking a seat in the armchair. I take a few sips while I consider what to do with Seven.

“I have a few more leads,” I admit quietly. “But if this is going where I think it’s going, it’s not going to be pretty. The people he’s running from…”

I stop when I notice Seven’s hand twitch. Vortex gives me a significant look, and I nod to let him know that I understand.

“The vet wants Nacho in for a follow up appointment, to make sure the neuter surgery went well,” I say instead. “You want to go with Havoc and pick up the new cat tree while you’re out?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Vortex says smoothly. “Hey, Seven. Do you want us to get anything else for Nacho? We’re getting him his own cat tree.”

Seven shakes his head, still limp against Vortex.

Vortex’s arms tighten around him, and he smooths his hand through Seven’s hair. I can tell he wants to ask more questions, but with Seven awake, we can’t afford to talk about any of this—not when he’s already been triggered this badly.

Seven is so small in comparison to Vortex’s large body. I know I should be jealous or upset, but all I feel is an unfamiliar warmth.

Vortex will protect Seven from everyone.

Maybe even including me.

I set my beer on the coffee table and get up. “One second. I’ll be right back.”

I head to my bathroom and check the various lotions and creams I have in the cabinet. I settle on one with a eucalyptus scent and another that’s lavender. Not the most traditionally masculine scents, but that’s unimportant when it comes to comfort.

I go back, and Seven is now sitting beside Vortex, curled up close but not clinging quite as much as before. Vortex still has his arm over Seven’s shoulder.

I perch myself on the coffee table in front of them. “Give me your arm,” I say to Seven.

Seven finally lifts his head, and I see that his eyes are puffy and red. He doesn’t look at me long, though, burying his face back against Vortex’s shoulder as he wordlessly offers me his arm.

“There you go,” Vortex says. “It’s going to be all right.”

Seven sniffles, then lets out a small, muffled sound that might be an attempt at a laugh. “Okay, Daddy.”

Vortex’s cheeks go bright red.

I stifle a laugh of my own as I dab a small amount of each lotion into separate parts of Seven’s arm and rub them in.

“There, smell those,” I order. “Tell me which one you like more.”

Seven obeys, sniffing first one, then the other. “This one,” he says, pointing to the spot I’d just put the eucalyptus lotion on. “But you don’t need to do… that.” He looks—and sounds—lost as he glances between us. “There are other ways you could distract me.” He might be going for sly, but he doesn’t manage.

I ignore the suggestion and start rubbing the eucalyptus lotion onto his hand. Seven appears completely perplexed as I massage it into each finger. I haven’t given a lot of massages, but I know how I like them.

He doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself, though, and he fidgets.

Vortex leans in like he’s going to kiss Seven’s cheek, but at the last second, Seven turns his head so their lips meet. Seven kisses him urgently, but I can feel Vortex’s tension.

I massage up along Seven’s wrist, until I get to his elbow. I dig my fingers into the muscles, and even his arms are tense. I don’t want to know what his back and shoulders are like.

“Maybe we should get Seven onto the bed,” I suggest. “So we can properly work him over.”

“I don’t want to be worked over with lotion,” Seven says, glancing at me. “I want to be worked over properly .”

Vortex strokes his hair. “Let us do more than just sex, Seven,” he says quietly.

Seven’s expression turns into a glare. “Don’t treat me like I’m fragile,” he says, his voice fierce. “I’m not some broken doll.”

I take Seven’s chin and force him to look me in the eyes. “I regularly get massages. Am I a broken doll too?”

Seven scowls at me. “No. But you know I don’t want things like that.”

“You don’t like being pampered?” Vortex asks.

“No,” Seven says flatly. “I don’t.”

I smirk at him. “All the more reason for me to do it. I think we can agree that I’m a sadist.”

Seven’s expression turns even more sour. “That’s not how it works,” he says.

Vortex is trying to hide a smile, but he’s failing. “At least he’s not making you say nice things about yourself. That would really be torture, wouldn’t it? I hear some people make their submissives do that.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not his submissive,” Seven snarls.

I stand up and ruffle Seven’s hair. “Vortex, carry him into the bedroom. We’ll tie him to the bed if need be.”

“He’d like that,” Vortex says dryly. He stands up, scooping Seven into his arms, and carries him into the bedroom.

“Not if you’re pretending to be nice,” Seven says.

“Who says it’s pretending, little one?” Vortex asks as he sets him down on the edge of the bed.

Seven goes still. “Don’t call me that,” he whispers.

Vortex’s lips purse, and he glances at me before he nods. “I won’t.”

I file that information away. Seven tries so hard to protect himself, but he’s handing out all the information we need to destroy him.

I sit down next to Seven and tug on his Roi de Pique shirt. “We’re going to give you a nice, slow, sensuous massage,” I tell him. “And if you’re very good, I’ll let Vortex fuck you when it’s done, when you’re so loose and pliant that you’ll barely feel him spearing you open.”

Seven looks between us. “Promise?”

Vortex raises his brows at me, which makes Seven scowl all over again.

“You can make your own decisions, you know,” Seven says.

I place my hand on Seven’s stomach. “Lie back, Seven. You said you’d obey my orders, but so far you’ve been doing a lot of fighting.”

“I didn’t mean it,” Seven mutters, but he lets me remove the shirt from his thin frame.

Vortex eyes him, his eyes going instantly to the fresh marks on his upper arms. He doesn’t comment on the scratches, but he lays Seven down and starts to work on getting his pants off of him.

While Vortex does that, I get back to massaging lotion onto Seven’s arm. This isn’t the usual order of things—I think typically backs get massaged first, but I don’t think Seven will complain. His eyes are on my hands, like he’s worried I’m going to do something more than simply massage him.

“Vortex, will you get started on his legs while I handle his torso?” I say, placing the lotion closer to Vortex.

“Sure,” Vortex says, taking the lotion and pumping some out into his hand. He goes to Seven’s feet to start, starting to rub it into the pads of his feet and onto his toes.

It makes Seven squirm, but he doesn’t argue—even though I can tell he wants to.

I work my way up to Seven’s shoulders, and I have to move so I’m kneeling behind Seven’s head. I massage his shoulders, which are just as tight as I expected, and massage his face too.

“You really don’t need to oil up my face,” Seven complains.

I bend forward and kiss his forehead. “Of course I do. In fact, I should probably get you an appointment with the skincare specialist so we can figure out which facial lotions are best for your skin type.”

“Who cares about what kind of lotion is best?” Seven asks. “It’s just… lotion. Get something generic. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need you to make me extra pretty for you.”

Vortex starts working his way up to Seven’s ankles. “It’s not about making you extra pretty,” he says. “It’s about you feeling better.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you have a skincare fetish now,” Seven says, lifting his head so he can stare down at Vortex. “Do you get massages?”

Vortex snorts. “No. But maybe I should. I need it after you stress me out all day.”

I rub the lotion into the skin of Seven’s neck, where the beautiful bruises still linger.

Despite all of Seven’s protests, I notice that his cock is beginning to harden. I share a glance with Vortex, who has definitely noticed it too.

We keep touching Seven, massaging the tense muscles, until Seven finally begins to relax.

“Let’s turn him over,” I say, just as Vortex is reaching for Seven’s cock. “His back needs some attention too.”

Seven whines, watching as Vortex’s hand withdraws. “You were just getting to the good part. You can’t stop now.”

“He can,” I say, guiding Seven into rolling over. I place his head in my lap, massaging his scalp gently.

Vortex moves with surprising grace, straddling Seven’s calves. He takes care not to settle too much of his weight onto Seven’s slight frame, but he leans down so he can start to massage the knots and tension out of Seven’s thighs. “How does that feel?” he asks.

“Like my dick is being neglected,” comes Seven’s sullen, muffled reply. His mouth is directly over my clothed cock.

I lean forward so I can massage his shoulders. Seven groans and presses harder against my crotch. I can imagine what it would feel like if I weren’t still wearing my dress trousers.

The dry cleaners are going to have fun with this one.

Seven lets out a long moan, and I glance toward Vortex to see that he’s now massaging Seven’s ass. I nod at him, and he takes that permission to spread Seven’s ass cheeks and massage the sensitive skin.

Seven starts to squirm, nuzzling my cock through my pants. His hands come up to unbutton them, and I let him.

This isn’t like the other night, when he’d been panicking and trying to use me to hurt himself.

At least, I don’t think it is.

I pet Seven’s head. “Shh. You don’t need to do anything,” I say in a whisper. “Just let Vortex make you feel good.”

“But I want to,” he says, looking up at me with those big puppy eyes.

Vortex rises up, starting to unfasten his own pants. “You sure this is what you want?” he asks Seven.

Seven nods fervently. “I want both of you… please.”

I’ve already denied myself twice with Seven. I don’t know why I’m taking so much care with him, except that I can see how easy it would be to break him—and I don’t want him completely broken.

I want him to be mine .

“All right,” I say to him, shifting him aside enough so I can get my cock out. “Get your mouth nice and loose for me.”

He moves with me, and his mouth is already open when I press my cock against his lips. Behind him, Vortex has started to finger fuck him, and Seven makes soft, needy sounds as he takes it.

I want to keep going like this, but prudence has me reaching for the bedside drawer. I pull out a handful of condoms and toss them in Vortex’s direction. “Here. Suit up first.”

Vortex nods, grabbing one from the bed.

“I want you to take me bare,” Seven whispers.

“One day,” Vortex tells him. “After your tests come back, and you’re on PrEP for a while, and we’re sure it’s safe. All right?”

“Fuck safety,” Seven says, but we all know better. Seven hasn’t exactly shown an abundance of caution when it comes to his own well-being.

“Safety is for you, too,” I say. “You don’t know where Vortex or Havoc or I have been, either.”

Vortex nods in agreement, even though Seven can’t see it. “I’m getting tested, too,” he tells Seven. “And so are Caleb and Havoc. That way, we can take you bare. You’d like it if we filled up your greedy little hole, wouldn’t you?” His hand comes down in a smack on Seven’s ass, making Seven hiss before he’s taking my cock into his mouth again.

“We’ll celebrate by filling you up. All three of us. You’ll be completely leaking. Completely marked ,” I say, and my cock throbs at the thought of it. Yes, Seven would look gorgeous completely wrecked by us.

Seven moans around me, his hands coming up to grip my thighs. He’d say yes if he could, if his mouth wasn’t completely stuffed with my cock.

If Vortex wasn’t shoving his cock inside of him, making him groan as he digs his fingernails into my thighs. “That’s right,” Vortex says in a low murmur as he caresses Seven’s ass cheeks. “We’ll fuck you ‘til you see stars, then keep fucking you some more.” I can tell he wants to say more, but with Seven in a fragile condition—whether Seven wants to admit that or not—I’m not sure he dares.

We go slower than I anticipated, with Vortex taking his time as he drives in. I feel it every time he bottoms out in Seven, the way Seven moans around my cock and sucks harder. The pleasure builds, and I grip Seven’s hair to remind myself that I need to stay in control, that I want Seven to come before me.

“Are you getting close, Seven?” I ask, petting him and tugging his hair in turn. “Let go, and let Vortex feel you convulse around him. Make him lose control, pet.”

Seven is breathing hard around me and sucking even harder, and he gives a slight nod.

Vortex lets out a choked sound, and I have to assume Seven is doing exactly what he’s told: clenching his already tight ass around Vortex’s huge dick.

Fuck.

Vortex fucks him harder, faster, pushing him onto me over and over again until he’s panting hard. “You ready to come, boss?” he asks, squeezing Seven’s ass cheeks.

“Not until… not until Seven does,” I say in a strained voice. I let out a small chuckle. “So come now, Seven, because I don’t know how much longer I can last.”

Seven whimpers around me, and Vortex squeezes his ass hard enough to make him give another choked sound. It must be enough for Seven’s taste because he lets out a wail around my cock that reverberates through it and leaves me feeling almost dizzy with pleasure.

I finally let myself give over to it, and Seven sucks my cock harder, drinking down every last drop of my cum.

When the pleasure abates, I’m aware of my own heavy breathing, and the fact that Seven is still suckling on my cock like he’s chasing my taste. I let him do that until it gets uncomfortable, then I gently lift his head off my lap.

Vortex has already gotten damp towels for us from the en-suite, and I take one gratefully.

“See? Massages aren’t bad at all,” I say.

“Mmph,” is all Seven can manage as we carefully turn him over so Vortex can wipe him down, too.

Vortex chuckles, taking the towels and returning them to the bathroom. When he returns, though, he looks between us in clear indecision. “I should probably go,” he offers.

I glance down at Seven. “What do you think, pet? Do you want your Daddy to stay or go?”

Vortex snorts, pulling his pants back on. “You’re lucky you’re my boss,” he says.

“You were just as nice to the drag queen,” Seven points out. “Which…” He sits up, then settles against me bonelessly.

“Yes,” he says, picking up on some train of thought Seven has dropped. “I was going to see if you’d mind if Seven went to see the queens here and there, boss. He enjoyed hanging out with Della Mortay.” He looks at me like there’s something else he wants to say, but he holds it back.

“Why would it be a problem?” I ask. I settle myself against Seven, and I feel the exhaustion of the day catch up to me. I yawn and kiss the back of his neck. “As long as he’s on premises, it’s fine.”

Vortex exhales slowly, and I don’t miss the relief in his expression—or the pleasure in Seven’s. “Great. You’ll probably have to tell the guys at the door, but I can escort him a few times.”

“Thank you,” Seven says, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me. I can taste myself on his tongue, but I kiss him deeply anyway.

I don’t remember the last time I actually liked slow sex like this.

I don’t remember the last time I cared about my partner this much.

This is dangerous. Seven’s past is going to catch up to him, and I could get caught in the crossfire.

That only steels my resolve.

Seven belongs here, at the casino, with me.