Chapter 5

Iwalked back into the lobby of the hotel, rubbing my thumb over my lip. No blood, thankfully, but it still fucking hurt, and it was swelling.

He’d caught me a good ’un, but I couldn’t blame him. I’d probably have done the same in his shoes.

As much as I wanted to retaliate, I couldn’t do it at work. I was already in a shitload of trouble. Mr Carr would not be happy to find me scuffling with the guests.

Jesus fucking Christ. I needed this job.

I wasn’t destitute by any means, but it didn’t mean I didn’t need to work.

“Hey, handsome. What happened?” Holly came from behind the reception desk and walked towards me, concern on her face. “Come into the back. Let me look at that for you.”

I’d normally say no, but I was feeling sorry for myself. I’d let him knock me on my arse, and I was feeling like a right twat.

She led me to a small annex off the staff room where we kept the medical supplies.

“Now, are you going to tell me what happened?” she asked, inspecting my face.

I put my head back, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

“I got in a fight.”

“What?” She paused as she opened the antiseptic wipe. “Who with?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Your choice.” She dabbed at my lip, and I hissed. Shit, that stung.

“It was with a guest, if you must know, and now I need to go see Carr in his office at three. I need this fucking job, Holly.”

“Of course you do, but why were you fighting with a guest?” Her hands roamed my body, checking my bare elbows and arms for more cuts before she wiped the dust from my trousers.

“It’s a really long story. I haven’t got the energy to tell you right now.”

Was it my imagination, or were her hands wandering a little too freely?

“What are you doing, Holly?” I pushed her hands away. This wasn’t the time. I was already in enough trouble.

“You look a little…tense.” She shrugged and licked her lips, her cherry-red lipstick glistening in the sunlight.

“Jesus, Holly. Anyone could come in. Now’s not the time.” My dick had other ideas and rose to the occasion.

She took my hand and opened the door to the kitchen garden, looking both ways before she stepped out. She walked me through it and out the iron gate at the end. It led to a small, shady, wooded area hidden from the windows of the house and prying eyes. I knew few people came his way.

“I can make you less tense, if you’d like? Looks to me like you want it, even if your mouth won’t say the words.”

She caressed my balls gently through my trousers.

“Holly,” I warned as she undid my belt before getting to her knees.

“You worry too much.” She smiled wickedly.

Every word I had in mind to say disappeared as she wrapped her lips around me, teasing me.

I leant my head back on the tree. “Fuck, that’s good.” I gripped her head gently, leading the pace.

Holly gave the best blowjobs, and before long, I was shooting my load, my body sagging against the tree, boneless and weary.

“Better?” she asked, getting to her feet and brushing down her skirt and knees. She licked her lips, removing the drop of cum at the corner of her mouth.

“You know it is.” I pulled her in for a rough kiss, and still that damn lipstick was intact.

“I’d best get back, but any time you want to relieve any tension, you know where I am.”

She looked very much like the cat that had got the cream, and I admired her figure as she walked away, her hips swaying seductively.

I shook my head, not believing what we’d just done. Sex happened here often, more than anyone thought. When the guests and the management disappeared, many of the staff took advantage of the facilities. The hot tub was definitely a favourite, as were the massage beds.

Nothing like a long, hard massage, followed by the proverbial happy ending.

I usually avoided interactions at work, but Holly had blindsided me, and she wasn’t the first to do that today.

I tucked myself away and made my way back to the staff room and my locker. I had a spare set of clothes and took advantage of the showers, cleaning myself off before my meeting at three.

If I’d thought my day had started bad, it got worse. Carr was not impressed. He’d never really liked me. I’d heard him say more than once he thought I was arrogant, but living on the streets for all those years, I’d developed a thick skin and took no shit from anyone.

Call it arrogance. Again, I called it confidence.

Show any hint of weakness, and you’d end up much the same as Ziggy had all those years ago. I’d no wish to end up that way.

“So, Mr Anders. Care to tell me why you were scrapping like a common hooligan earlier with Mr Fletcher, no less? He’s a very important client.”

I sat in the chair facing his desk, watching the pompous ass as he steepled his fingers, glowering at me, one eyebrow raised.

How I’d love to say what I thought, but this job was important to me.

“I’m sorry, Mr Carr. It was a misunderstanding. It won’t happen again.”

“It’d better not. I’ve a mind to suspend you for a week.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he glared at me again, his pencil-thin moustache twitching, daring me to say a word.

Pretentious prick with his well-fitting, elegant three-piece suits and wing-tipped shoes. He looked like a throwback from the twenties.

“However, Mr Fletcher has informed me he’ll be leaving tomorrow, which is unfortunate. We’ve offered to refund him for the remainder of his stay in view of what happened, but he refused. So luckily for you, the hotel won’t be losing out.”

Unsure of what he wanted me to say, I apologised again.

“I’m really sorry, Mr Carr.”

“Yes, well, that may well be, but if I hear of any further infractions, consider your position here terminated. Do I make myself clear?”

I clenched my jaw, not believing the words out of his mouth. Seriously? I’d never been in any trouble and hadn’t even hit the guy back, knowing it wouldn’t look good.

That bastard was fucking with my life again.

“Mr Anders. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

I stood, debating telling him to shove the job up his tight arse, but I held my tongue.

“You may go.”

He turned to his computer and tapped away on the keyboard. Guess I was dismissed.

I used to love working here, but since Carr had taken over twelve months ago, the hotel had become more akin to a prison camp. All his rules and regulations had taken the fun out of the place.

I knew it was a place of business, but having Ivan the Terrible as your boss was nothing if not demoralising.

Perhaps it was time for me to move on. I’d never stayed in one place over eighteen months, and it was coming up that time now.

I’d moved around a bit since leaving home. First to Liverpool, where I’d stayed the longest, then to London, Oxford, and now to this place. It was quiet, and I was missing the city life. Maybe I could move back to Liverpool, closer to my parents in Chester.

Isla’s earlier words about me visiting more often sprang to mind. I wasn’t getting any younger, and neither were my parents. Not that I’d move back in with them. I couldn’t face doing that.

I had a massage at four, my final one of the day. I headed to the members’ lounge, and if I couldn’t have a stiff drink, strong coffee would do.

Adam was behind the bar, and it seemed news of my incident with Simon had spread.

“Someone has been in the wars.”

I touched my lip. It was still tender, but I’d live and I told him as much.

“What did the other guy look like?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t touch him. He caught me unawares, was all.”

“I heard Carr dragged you in. What a tosser.”

“He had every right, I suppose. Not really what we should be doing.”

Adam leant on the bar and moved a little closer. “I heard it was Simon Fletcher. What’s your beef with him? I didn’t think you knew him.”

I debated what to tell him. Bartenders were the biggest gossips around, and if I told him, everyone else would know by the end of the day.

“I’d rather not say.”

“So you do know him,” he said, looking thoughtful.

“We both know that anything I tell you won’t stay a secret, Adam. I’m not fucking stupid.”

He had the good grace to look embarrassed.

“Who else are you gonna tell? Everyone else has the hots for him, especially Fabian. I promise I won’t say anything. I know you don’t have many close friends.”

He was right. Since living on the streets, I put my trust in very few people. Only a few people knew my secrets, and none of them were my family.

He slid an ice-cold glass of sparkling water across the bar to me.

“Will bribery work?”

I laughed, then winced. Stupid fucking lip.

“I’ll think about it.” I picked up the drink and walked outside onto the terrace. The views here were spectacular, and I’d miss it when I left. Was I really going to leave?

I glanced to left, and I watched as Simon strolled across the terrace, his shirt tucked into the waistband of his shorts, revealing an impressive body, tanned, with defined abs and pecs. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Neither could anyone else, especially our female guests.

Some openly admired him, others whispered behind their hands. He was definitely drool-worthy. I’d had the worst crush on him when we were younger, and I’d never really got over him, despite the passage of time and the circumstances that had driven me away.

He’d aged well. The shoulder-length dirty-blond hair he’d had when he was a teenager was now cut into a neat style. His body was incredible, and I stared along with everyone else.

As if feeling my stare, his eyes met mine, and the smile he’d worn fell from his face to be replaced by a scowl.

He stopped in his tracks, and not wishing to create another scene, I walked away quickly around the side of the building.

I’d let myself in the side door.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” His sharp voiced halted me.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were following me. See something you like?”

I turned to face him, my hands stretched out to the side. I wouldn’t be intimidated.

I tilted my head to look at him. We were similar in height, but he was still bulkier than me. I was drawn to the sight of his bare, smooth chest, and my gaze continued to roam across his body, lustful thoughts filling my mind.

What the hell was I thinking? I hated him, didn’t I?

“And if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were checking me out,” he said, moving nearer.

“Why would I do that?” I asked. I took a step closer and brought my glass to my lips to drink the cold liquid.

His eyes widened as I swallowed, and he smirked as he took the glass from me and drank deeply, droplets of condensation dripping onto his tanned skin.

Tension crackled between us, and I didn’t know if it was from hate or sexual energy. Confusion set in, and from the look on Simon’s face, he felt the same.

His lips parted, and he took a deep breath, eyeing me up, much the same as I’d done to him.

“You’ve not changed all that much, Duke Anders. Still the same boy I knew fifteen years ago.”

“I’m not a boy anymore, Simon.”

“No, you’re not,” he said, almost to himself, and once again, we stood chest to chest, heat radiating from his firm body.

He looked into my eyes; and before I knew it, my back was against the wall, his lips crushed against mine in a hard kiss. He didn’t hesitate, his strength keeping me in place.

Shock turned to need, and I kissed him back. Memories of how much I’d wanted to do this when I was a teen filling my head.

His arousal was evident, his body flush with mine. He opened his mouth, covering mine, and I did the same, filling his mouth with my tongue, tasting him. It was so fucking good; I couldn’t stop.

I turned us around and pinned him to the wall with one hand, his arms above his head, the other at his throat. He groaned and leant into me, chasing my lips.

But all too soon it stopped, and Simon tore his mouth from mine.

“Why did you do that?” He wiped his mouth, anger in his eyes.

“You started it, and I didn’t hear you complaining. In fact, I’d say you wanted it.” I could hardly catch my breath.

“Fuck you, Duke.” He snatched his shirt from his shorts and put it on before storming away, leaving me more confused than ever.

What the hell had just happened? Why did he kiss me, and more to the point, why did I kiss him back?

I watched him as he walked away, not missing his backward glance.

He’d enjoyed the kiss. There was no hiding that. His hard cock had pressed against my own.

“What the hell was that all about?” I spun around to see Fabian looking at me, open-mouthed.

How the fuck was I going to explain it?

“It was nothing.” I walked past him and into the hotel.

“Didn’t look like nothing.” He trailed after me and followed me into the staff room.

“Just drop it, Fabian.”

“Do you know him? How do you know him?”

Jesus, all the damn questions.

“I said drop it. I don’t want to talk about it.”

I did, though. I wanted to talk to Simon. I wanted to know what it meant.

“You had your tongue down his throat.” He sounded hurt, and I remembered how he’d daydreamed about him yesterday.

“I have a massage I need to get ready for. Say one word to anyone about this, and I’ll…”

“You’ll what? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your precious secret.”

I stared at him, wondering if I did, in fact, believe him.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

He shrugged and left the room. I had a feeling that the whole staff would know soon enough. And there was another reason not to stick around.

My past was just that, and no one had a right to know anything.

The thought sat with me for the rest of the day, and when I returned home that evening, I made a plan. One that didn’t involve working for someone else, one that meant leaving here, but it felt right.

It was time to move—back to where I felt at home. Back to Liverpool.