24. Jordan

If I wouldn't have brought Hartley home with me, I would have had nightmares of him freezing to death while he slept. What kind of asshole didn't take care of their tenants? While I wasn't a good man by any stretch of the imagination, the people who paid me to live or work in my buildings were taken care of. They didn't have to worry about heat or air-conditioning. They didn't have to wonder if there was asbestos or lead paint in the old buildings they were in. Before they moved in, I had professionals go over every inch. They made certain there were no hidden dangers or problems waiting to appear.

Yet, a man I cared about was living and working in a building with fucking space heaters. A growl worked its way up my throat, but I swallowed it down. I must not have done it fast enough because Hartley reached for my hand, causing me to startle. When I glanced at him, his eyes were wide, but he didn't pull his hand back. That said a lot about him, about the potential for there to be an us. There already was an us as far as I was concerned. Hartley needed more than my possessive declarations of him living with me and being under me in bed.

He tried again. This time, I didn't jump or move away when his hand slid my way. I turned mine over so our fingers could interlace. It was a foreign thing and far too intimate. That was what I wanted though. More than fucking. More than getting off. I craved the other parts of a relationship I hadn't had in so long. Those parts were dangerous. Both Hartley and Vail knew that, and they still wanted to be in my life as more than someone who worked for me or who I fucked. They couldn't be fucked like I'd done with the other nameless people I forgot once my cock slipped free of them. They weren't worth my time or energy. Hartley and Vail were.

Hartley grinned. "You'll get used to it." He gave my hand a squeeze.

"Just like you'll get used to having everything you want. And having fucking heat." My teeth clenched. I should find that man and kill him. Hopefully, I scared him enough where he didn't think of fucking over his tenants again.

"Growling again, sir?" Albert asked from the front seat.

My eyes met his in the rearview. He wasn't scared of me. I couldn't hurt him unless he did the same to someone I cared about. Albert never would. He'd die for my family. "Not the time for commentary," I bit out.

"He sounds like a bear. Doesn't he, Mr. Weathers?"

Hartley tried hard to hold his chuckle at bay by rolling his lips in. It didn't work. I saw his chest shake. Albert must have too.

"You can laugh, Mr. Weathers. Once you know how Mr. Altair works, you'll be able to decipher his irritation from genuine anger from when he's about to go on a murderous rampage." He spoke so calmly, like he was discussing the way someone cleaned a house.

That time Hartley chuckled. While I still thought of ways to punish Albert, I couldn't help but be drawn to the smile that curved Hartley's gorgeous lips. It was so enticing I dove forward until my lips pressed to his, catching him off guard. He gasped against me, before sinking into the kiss and the seat, fully relaxing as I pressed closer.

A sudden jerk in the car from Albert applying the brakes hard had me nearly slamming into the back of the passenger side front seat.

"I will kill you while you sleep," I growled to Albert.

"There was a squirrel crossing the road. I didn't want to squish the furred fucker." He smoothly maneuvered around a car going too slowly, like he didn't almost send me flying into the front with him.

"It's winter. The squirrels aren't out."

"That's not true. Squirrels don't hibernate. Yes, they spend more time in their dens, but they do appear. If you'd like, we can discuss squirrel activity based on the season."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Squirrels," he replied, very matter of fact, then his face hardened. "I've stressed to you repeatedly the importance of wearing a seat belt. Had you been wearing one, the little fucker who took his life in his hands when he crossed the road wouldn't have caused you much trouble. Your lips could still be pressed to Mr. Weathers."

"Oh my god," Hartley laughed. "This conversation is fantastic. Keep going."

"You're lucky if you don't find a squirrel carcass in your bed tonight when you go to sleep, Albert."

"Yes, sir. If I do, I'll be sure to fling it out the window for the crows, who are also still around for winter. They do love a treat."

"Do birds eat squirrels?" Hartley asked.

I groaned and dropped my head back. Hartley was hooked on one of the many conversations Albert had while driving. There had been numerous occasions when I'd learned far more than I wanted to about the animals who dwelled in and out of the city, including the ones where my son lived with Dexen and Greer.

One day, I had to hear about bears and what to do if I encountered one that was aggressively charging me. I told him I'd shoot it. Albert launched into a conversation about bear hunting afterward.

His point wasn't lost on me about seat belts. Hartley wore his. I didn't like them. They were too restrictive. There was no way I was saying that out loud. Albert's son died in a car accident over two decades ago. Had he been wearing a seat belt; he probably would have survived. Albert made a point to tell the people on my staff to wear theirs when they were in a vehicle. I was a prick and didn't unless Vail asked me to, apparently. I also kept my mouth shut on the topic. This wasn't the first time Albert stopped short, causing me to collide with the seat in front of me. He'd never put me in harm's way. He wanted to get his point across.

Thankfully, we were rounding the corner to my building and driving down into the garage a minute later. Hartley was getting an education about birds, their diets, and also their habitats. The pileated woodpecker was next on the list, but the car stopped before Albert could educate Hartley on more than the sheer size of the bird.

"I'd like to see one," Hartley said to me. "Have you ever seen a woodpecker that big in person?"

"I have not and don't care about them."

"But they're big birds. Think about what it would be like seeing one up close. It's not a crow."

"Hartley, I don't give a solitary fuck about the pileated woodpecker or squirrels or river otters."

"River otters?" Dear god that only got him more excited.

"Oh, river otters, good topic, Mr. Weathers," Albert said while holding my door open. "Did you know there are otters in the Schuylkill River? We could drive out there when the weather is nicer and you could see all kinds of things, though I'm not sure if we can spot an otter."

"No," I said as I stood and held my hand out for Hartley. He took it and exited the car as well. "No more of this. I'm taking Hartley upstairs where there will be no talk of animals, but there will be lots of moaning."

Albert grinned. "Yes, sir, as you wish."

"As you wish," I grumbled. "I'm going to show you?—"

"Come on, Jordan," Hartley said, pulling me toward the elevator in the garage.

"It was nice talking with you, Mr. Weathers," Albert called.

"You too, Albert!" Hartley waved as he kept pulling me.

When we were in the elevator with Reghan in front of us, Hartley asked, "You love Albert, don't you? He's such a nice man. Although, I have a feeling he could kill someone easily. He's not small."

Reghan's shoulders shook in front of us. Lifting my foot, I kicked him behind his knee, causing his left leg to buckle before he could right himself. I didn't hurt him, just reminded him where he was and who he was with. He didn't laugh the rest of the way up. Hartley did though.

"Thank fuck," I said when the doors opened and I was home again. It was my turn to pull Hartley up the stairs and into my bedroom. There was no Latte, which meant she was out for a walk.

"Yes, please," Hartley begged, as his back hit the bed with a bounce. "I've been waiting the entire car ride for this."

I took off my jacket as I climbed over him, my thighs straddling his. "I don't have the patience right now to take my time with you."

"That's okay. An orgasm is an orgasm and since you moved me into your home today, the least I can do is blow you. Or maybe you should blow me for not putting up a fight when you went all alpha male on me." He tapped his finger on his chin.

"Enough," I growled and undid my shirt, one fucking button at a time. "You're lucky I like you or I'd stuff your mouth so full you wouldn't be able to do more than whimper."

"I know you're a badass mafia boss, but that threat needs work. You shouldn't try to intimidate me with a good time." His hands went to the front of my slacks to work them open. "Put your dick anywhere you like, and I'll gladly take it."

I rid myself of the shirt and planted my hands on either side of his head. "I want to be buried in your ass, Hartley. Bare, but I understand if you feel more comfortable with a condom."

"You won't hurt me, Jordan."

"No, I won't."

"You're clean?"

I nodded. "I haven't been tested since I was with Vail but was before him."

"I was tested a couple months ago and haven't been with anyone since." He wiggled beneath me until he got his jeans open. "Fuck me."

Anyone else, I would have reminded them who was in charge, but he was offering himself up. I wouldn't deny him anything. Leaning away, I stripped out of my slacks, boxer briefs, and socks, then grabbed the lube. When I looked at Hartley next, he was bare, on his hands and knees, ready and willing.

"I'll take longer with you another time," I told him.

"I'm looking forward to it."

After coating myself in lube, I started stretching him with one hand while the other ran along his flank, then his spine. Hartley wasn't ripped with muscles like Vail was, but he had some. His stomach had ridges that weren't as defined, and there was a slight taper to either side of his waist. While I couldn't stare at those muscles from behind, I already got a glimpse of them, and the hair that lightly covered his chest and stomach.

Hartley started pushing back, begging me for more. I withdrew my finger and lined up, sinking in as deep as I could, not bothering to give him time to adjust. He moaned, letting me know he was just fine.

"Goddamn," I muttered. He was hot and tight and so fucking beautiful like this. I leaned back just enough to pull my cock out while the tip remained inside him. My hands gripped his hips, and I slammed back in.

"Yes, Jordan. Fuck me."

Those words unleashed a part of me that was waiting for the chance to come through. The primal part that wanted nothing more than to paint Hartley with my cum.

Thrust after thrust, moans slipped from his lips while growls tore from mine. I pounded him so hard it moved him up on the bed until he was almost at the headboard. Hartley didn't complain once. Quite the opposite, as he kept repeating my name.

I was so gone with lust, chasing my orgasm, I forgot to take care of him and chastised myself for not touching him sooner. His chest dropped to the bed as his hand found his cock. I tried to push it away so I could do it.

"No," he panted. "Keep holding my hips, keep owning me. I'm so close."

Curling over his back, I pressed my sweaty chest to his spine and fucked him deeper, hitting him just right until he cried my name and started coming. His moans grew louder the harder I went.

"You're mine, Hartley. So fucking mine." My lips parted, and I bit his shoulder as I came so fucking hard, I never wanted to stop.

"Oh my god, yes."

This time when I reached around him, I felt him slowly stroking himself. There was cum covering his hand as the slick noise of him jerking himself reached my ears. My own hips stopped, the cum fully drained from me, but Hartley wasn't done.

"I'm going to come again. Holy shit." His body stiffened, and he released once more, his ass clenching around my cock. I got to feel him shoot into my hand.

When he was finally spent, I rolled us to our sides while I stayed inside him. My cum-covered hand reached behind me so I could sink one of my fingers into my ass. Now a part of Hartley was inside me too.