14. SAMUEL

I got to my office and locked the door; I shut the blinds, and I started the computer. It overwhelmed me with pure adrenaline; it differed from the adrenaline I usually felt that made me act impulsive and do dangerous things. This was a tingling type of adrenaline, it started in my stomach, and driving a force to my cock.

Leo had something in him, and it wasn't me, unfortunately.

I was just in time to view the live footage from the tailor's fitting room. They left Leo alone to undress out of the suit he was in, stripping down all the way to his animal-print briefs. I hadn't noticed them, although I hadn't looked through his things either yet. He was special.

I unzipped my trousers and grabbed my cock. While Charmaine was still out of the room, Leo wondered around, staring at himself in the mirrors, getting all angles of his body. He was slim, but there was muscle on his shoulders and arms. There was still bruising, bruising I hadn't really seen on his chest, probably from where my men punched him.

I wanted to stroke his skin, to kiss it better.

He made it obvious, he was staring at his own ass, he grabbed it, as if performing for me. Watching himself in the mirror, he gave it a jiggle with his hands and smiled.

There was no sound, but I watched his lips move.

My cock was hard in my hand, throbbing for attention. I placed the handkerchief he'd worn across my chest before I played. Smelling him from the handkerchief, mixed with what I was seeing. I masturbated, staring as he took to the centre podium and turned around on it like he was the prize I was ready to claim. It didn't take long for me to cum, most of it caught on the handkerchief, but some of it hit my chin.

"If only you were here," I said, cleaning my chin off and licking the cum away.

Hangover horniness was the best, but also the worst. I wanted to fuck him when I saw him this morning, then when I was at his bedroom door, again in the café, and now, right here with him mostly naked as he was being fitted for clothes.

Masturbating my feelings away never worked, but it was a nice rush when it all came to a climax.

I would need to tell him I knew about the app. Although it didn't appear as if he had even been on it at all since coming into my home. I thought he would've spotted me, right next to him, the blank profile with the description that fit. It described me as wealthy and discreet, as someone who wanted to play, but I didn't want temporary. I was searching for something permanent, and not someone who would be scared and run out on me at the first sign of a simple killing.

After cumming, I couldn't continue to watch him get measured for his suit. I enjoyed seeing him in his cute clothes, but I wanted to see him obey me and dress fancy. I wanted to see him go from professional to precious when he would eventually strip for me.

I had to wait for him to come to me on that, I might've seemed like some heartless mafia head, but with relationships, I didn't want to take a thing from them. I needed their consent for the type of romance and relationship I wanted.

As I let air and light back into the office, I stuck the flash drive into the USB slot on my computer. The post-nut dread took over my body as all the dopamine seemed to leave my body. It reminded me I was looking for suspects in my father's killing.

My mother had called a couple times, but I knew she'd lecture me about what I'd said to Preston and Elias, no doubt, they'd both complained to her. Because if you wanted to get to a powerful man, you go to their mother, and we all knew that, except, Elias' mother died during childbirth, which might've explained why he was the unstable cousin.

The street camera was useless. There were blind spots everywhere. I had four squares on my screen, each with a different angle, but they didn't catch everything.

Nobody stood out. Nobody that I knew anyway. I would've said the street was busy for such an early morning, but the streets were always busy, people didn't sleep in this city, people did the drugs I sold them, they worked, they partied, and they bought into their addictions.

My sister and niece were on screen, walking beside my mother. Belinda looked angry almost, probably another fight with her husband. After them, I saw Borley, the butler, he left, most likely with his list of errands for my father.

Not once did I see my Uncle Reuben on those cameras. I had to think it was him, but I also had to trust that Elias would speak to him and clear that up before I got in the way, and then I really would break the family and spill blood.

My phone rang, distracting me. I thought I'd have to finally speak to my mother, which I should've been doing already, she was grieving as much as the rest of us. But it was Leo on the line.

"Hi," I answered.

"I'm all finished now," he said. "Do you want me to come to the office?"

"I will meet you outside the building," I told him. "You could probably be here in what—ten minutes?"

"Sure."

"Also, did you pick out some colours and patterns you like?"

There was silence, as if he was questioning my motive. I didn't blame him. "I just got similar stuff to you, the woman, she was super nice and everything."

"Great. See you in ten."

I needed him to trust me more. I needed him to feel like he didn't need to second-guess himself. We'd started this entire thing on the wrong foot, although, he was the one who'd robbed from me, so perhaps I didn't have anything to feel bad about.

Leo stood outside the office building, the same road he'd swiped my wallet and watch from. I wondered if he still thought that way when he saw people walk on by flashing their expensive suits with their gold-plated cufflinks.

"We're going to see my mother," I said.

He blinked, wildly, almost unsure of what that meant. "Ok."

"She'll ask you questions about me, don't answer them," I commanded him. "In fact, I know she will ask you questions. All I want from you, is a smile, a nod, and if I ask—and only me, if I ask you a question, I want you to answer."

He nodded.

It sounded harsh, and I'd just lectured myself on not being so demanding so he would learn to trust me and perhaps even like me. But this wasn't something I had place to negotiate on. The family was going through hell.

My sister, Belinda, and niece, Daisy, were in the living room where my father had died. Neither of them on his armchair. It would become a shrine in time. She waved at me. "Mum is in the kitchen," she said. "She wants to speak with you. Your assistant can stay in here with us."

"Nice to see you too, sister," I said. "And no. He comes with me."

"Suit yourself. She doesn't look happy," she sighed.

She didn't have reason to be happy. But I knew I should've been there for her more yesterday. It was a decision I made, and I'd have to take the consequences on the chin.

My mother stood over a stove as she stirred a wooden spoon into a pan. On the counter, there were several pies, some fresh from the oven, and other waiting to go in. She was in a world of her own, humming to herself.

"Mum," I said, catching her attention. I stepped closer, gesturing for Leo to stay behind at the doorway.

She turned to me and clicked her tongue. "Took your time." She turned the stove down and wiped her hands on her apron. "Oh. We should probably talk alone." She nodded at Leo.

This was one way of getting his trust, to keep him around at moments like this. "That's ok," I said. "I trust him."

My mother stroked my chin before grabbing my shoulder. "It's your father," she said. "I—I think he was killed."

Her words to my ears and a shiver down my back. "Why do you think that?"

"Someone stopped his oxygen tank," she whispered, pulling me into a hug. "We time it to swap it out, and there was still a whole lot left inside it when my timer went off to change it. I didn't want to believe it, because who would be stupid enough to do something like that?"

"What else did you find?"

She sighed, pulling away and tending to the stove. "The neighbour next door, her kids saw a dog coming into the house, she wanted to know what breed it was."

"Dad's allergic."

Pointing her finger at me, she nodded. "Right. If his oxygen was stopped and he breathed in any of that dog. He—he well, he was going to have an attack, clearly."

My jaw tensed. "Did they say what kind of dog it was?"

"You know kids. To one of them it was small, the other it was huge. I've already asked. And no, you're not going to ask them again. I know the reputation we have as a family. We're a real rags to riches." She picked up a knife from the counter and waved it around. "I remember your grandparents, Dorian and Gloria, they would've had no issue tearing down every house on this street to find out who did it."

"And I'm—supposed to be different?" I asked.

A clang took my attention. It was Leo, he'd dropped the notebook he'd been doodling in. I wondered if he was making notes.

"Are you sure you want your new assistant listening?" she asked, returning to her chopping board to cut a potato.

"He knows," I said. "So, what do you have in mind?"

My mother smiled at me. "We find out who did this, family or not, and I want them dead. Your sister doesn't know, you know she gets squeamish watching Holby City, never mind talk about murder."

I explained to her how I'd spoke with Elias and Preston, she had the same thoughts as I had. It was one of them, or Reuben. But none of them had pets, except Elias who had a snake. Neither of us knew who it could be, now that there was a dog in the mix. But the list was endless, we had enemies in all corners.

"Take a pie," she said, gesturing to the countertops. "This one is steak. And—there's an apple pie—here."

I'd never turn down home cooking. "You should get some rest," I told her, giving her a final hug.

"I'll rest when we found out who killed your father." She gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Now, you do that for me, and I'll get everything else sorted."

I suppose it was a fair deal.

Leo carried the two pies, and he didn't say a word until we were outside of the house. He had written notes, although I hadn't asked him to, but I appreciated it. I had a new objective, find out which dogs were on the road that morning, and to gain more of Leo's trust. I needed that.