Chapter 20

Wander had found Caleb a place to stay with Miguel, a friend of Connor’s. Connor was a former client of Wander’s, and Caleb had met him only once when they’d run into him at the shooting range. But he and Wander had stayed in touch, and that was how Wander found Miguel.

Miguel owned a tiny two-bedroom house in a Boston suburb and was all too happy to offer Caleb the use of the second bedroom…and to play his boyfriend when needed. He fit the profile in terms of sexual orientation—gay as a maypole, he’d told Caleb when they met—and age, fifteen years older than Caleb. As a bonus, he worked at Logan Airport, so even that part of the story checked out.

“If there’s anything you need, let me know,” he said to Caleb. “I owe Connor my life, so don’t hesitate to ask.”

Caleb was curious as fuck what that was about, but he didn’t ask. If Miguel wanted Caleb to know, he’d tell him.

Caleb had only brought a weekend bag, intending to travel back home every weekend, so unpacking in the tiny bedroom was easy as pie, and all his clothes fit into the small closet. He’d ordered two suits and five different shirts, plus a collection of ties, all conservative, according to Roman, who’d been a big help in knowing what to get. The result was boring but presentable, and that was what mattered. But Jesus, Caleb hated wearing a tie almost as much as those uncomfortable leather shoes that pinched his toes.

Having to switch cars was a hassle, but they couldn’t risk him being tailed in his own car, so he parked it about halfway in a small town where he could make sure he wasn’t tailed, then switched to the rental. On the way back, he’d have to do the same, except in reverse.

Still, that Monday morning, dressed to the nines, he took the T to Bowdoin and walked the last few minutes to Coldrick Law. His breakfast—scrambled eggs and a bagel with cream cheese, plus a cup of coffee so strong he’d been surprised the spoon hadn’t stayed upright—sat uncomfortably in his stomach, swirling and sloshing. Maybe he should’ve eaten something lighter. Or skipped the coffee. Or not eaten at all.

When he walked in, Isabella was talking to the receptionist, and when she spotted Caleb, she smiled. “Good morning, Cal.”

He swallowed. “Good morning, ma’am.”

Isabella shot the receptionist a look and chuckled. “I told you he’d ma’am me within seconds.”

Cal deliberately shuffled his feet in his best “aw, shucks” attempt. Lowell had impressed upon him the importance of selling his military background, including calling Isabella ma’am whenever he had the chance. Looked like that was paying off. “I hope it doesn’t bother you, ma’am.”

“Not at all. I think it’s endearing.” Isabella gestured at the receptionist. “This is Kathleen. Kathleen, please get Cal a security pass and give him a tour of the office, would you? Once that’s done, send him to me. I’ve cleared my schedule for an hour to help him get settled.”

Cal could barely hide his surprise. Isabella was planning on personally welcoming him to the office? That was unexpected…and a hell of a lot nicer than he’d expected from her.

Kathleen was friendly and polite but distant. Caleb was fine with that. He posed for the picture for his security badge, then followed Kathleen as she led him through the office.

“Ms. Coldrick’s office.” Kathleen gestured at the corner office where Caleb had had his interview. “Obviously, you can’t walk in without an appointment. Charlotte is in charge of Ms. Coldrick’s calendar.”

Caleb waved at the blond, fiftysomething woman dressed in a coral-blue outfit who was on the phone, ruthlessly asking to get the information she needed. She’d be a force to reckon with.

“These are our paralegals,” Kathleen continued, pointing at a large square room with four cubicles. “Everyone, this is Cal, our new IT guy.”

Heads popped up like meerkats, and he got waves and raised hands, which he promptly returned. “Welcome aboard,” someone muttered before diving back into their digital trench.

“And this will be your office.” Kathleen opened a door to the darkest, tiniest room Caleb had ever seen. But it only held one desk, and his heart skipped a beat.

“I’m not sharing?”

“No, Ms. Coldrick didn’t think it smart, considering your job.”

Thank you, Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. Not having to fear a coworker looking over his shoulder would make things so much easier for him. “I appreciate that. Privacy is of crucial importance for what I do.”

Had he laid it on too thick? Judging by Kathleen’s serious nod, he hadn’t. Good.

Kathleen escorted him into Isabella’s office, as requested, and then took off. Isabella was dressed stylishly in corporate black, her gaze as sharp as her stilettos. Jesus, how did women walk in those? He’d so break his ankles.

“Let’s get started,” Isabella said and explained what she wanted him to focus on first. Like most business owners, she had a vague idea of what she wanted but lacked the terminology and understanding to make it more specific, but Caleb had no trouble getting the picture.

“Let me see if I understood correctly. You want me to start by running a full system check to identify any weaknesses and, if I do, patch those first. Next, you’re requesting an analysis of your cybersecurity with a plan of attack to upgrade it. Once we have that and you have given your approval, we’ll execute it.”

Isabella nodded, her eyes lighting up. “Exactly. Other than that, you will be doing some smaller daily tasks, like online research.”

Kids’ stuff for a man with his skills, but obviously, Caleb didn’t mention that. “Sounds good, ma’am.”

“At your advice, we’ve limited your role to read-only on most systems and files. If you need more access, please let us know. After your probation period, I have every intention of handing you the keys to the fortress, so to speak.”

By which time, Caleb hoped to be long gone, but they’d have to see. “Got it.”

The first day went by in a blur. Caleb did run an honest-to-god system check and was delighted to discover her security had holes the size of Texas. Any teenager with decent hacking skills would be able to breach it, a fact he conveniently left out of his first report, though he did point out the weak points of her system. When she read it, she frowned deeply, probably realizing the dangers.

“I’ll start fixing them tomorrow, ma’am,” Caleb promised her.

“Thank you. You’ve already done a lot of work on your first day.”

On the commute back to Miguel’s, Caleb mused about his new boss. She wasn’t as cold as he had expected. Ambitious and professional, yes, and he could picture her being cutthroat, but she’d also been kind and had said “thank you” and “please,” not something everyone did, Caleb knew from experience. Maybe his preconceived opinion of her had been influenced too much by the knowledge she was aiding Whitman.

Dinner was a lovely home-cooked meal of yummy quesadillas—his mom’s recipe, Miguel told Caleb. They ate together, sharing easy conversation. As soon as he retreated to his room, Caleb called Roman.

“Hey,” Roman said. “How was your first day?”

Oh, crap. Caleb should’ve probably reported to Wander first, his actual boss. “Can I call you back in, like, five minutes?”

Roman laughed. “Forgot to report to my brother?”

“Yes, Sir.” Caleb chuckled sheepishly. “I don’t want him to get upset with me.”

“I get it. Call him, and then we can chat, okay?”

Only after he’d ended the call did Caleb realize Roman hadn’t been surprised by the call. Maybe he’d hoped for it? Or…counted on it? Butterflies danced through Caleb’s stomach, a whole swirl of them. He called Wander.

“Hey, kid. How did it go?”

“Good, but no results yet.”

“Impatient much? I’m not expecting anything this week. It’ll take a while to gain her trust.”

“I know.” Caleb sighed. “But I was still hoping to, you know, find something.”

“Tell me your first impressions of her and how she runs her business.”

“Efficient, professional, but she’s not the bitch I expected her to be.”

“Okay, interesting. What else?”

Caleb shared his thoughts about Coldrick Law.

“Good start. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Oh, and, Caleb?”

“Yeah?”

“Tomorrow, your first call had better be to me and not my brother, yeah?”

Caleb’s cheeks heated. “Yes, Sir.”

But Wander was laughing as he ended the call, so maybe he wasn’t actually upset? Still, not something Caleb intended to test. With a sigh, he dialed Roman’s number again.

“He was messing with you,” Roman said.

“How do you…? Oh, you heard that?”

“I was talking to him when you called.”

Caleb rolled his eyes, even though no one could see it. “And you didn’t think that would be convenient information for me to have? Sir?”

Roman full-out laughed. “Nah, this was way more fun.”

He was becoming more like his brother every day. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“But tell me about your first day. How was it pretending to be someone else?”

“Both harder and easier than I had expected. I was called Cal a lot as a teenager, so that doesn’t take much getting used to. And the job is woefully below my level, but I still found myself taking it seriously, funnily enough. She asked me to do a security analysis of her IT systems, and every word I wrote in my report was true.”

“I didn’t expect you’d have any issues with the job, but I was hoping you wouldn’t struggle on a personal level with what basically comes down to lying to everyone.”

Caleb considered it. “Not really.”

“And how do you like Boston?”

“The T was packed this morning. I haven’t experienced that since I was in college.”

“Most Bostonians have a love-hate relationship with the T. We’ll defend it any day when outsiders attack it, but we bitch and complain every chance we get. And obviously, it’s much better than the New York subway.”

Caleb grinned. “Are you sure? Because most things are better in New York…like the Yankees.”

“Blasphemy!” Roman sputtered. “Pure blasphemy. Please tell me you’re not a Yankees fan because that could be a dealbreaker.”

“Atlanta Braves, actually, but only because my dad bought me a cap when he was on a business trip there when I was maybe eight. I’ve always stayed loyal.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. Nothing trumps childhood loyalty, so I can live with that. But I do need to know where you stand on football.”

Should he tease him? “Giants all the way.”

“Giants? Oh, boy, that’s not good. Not good at all. I may have to reconsider this.”

“I assume you’re a Patriots fan?”

“I’m from Boston. It’s been Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics for as long as I can remember. It’s in our blood.”

“So a Giants fan is a big no for you?”

“Let’s just say that my dad had far less of a problem with Wander coming out as gay and kinky than he would have with me showing up with a Giants fan.”

“Good thing I’m Pats Nation, then.”

Roman was quiet for a beat. “You serious?”

“I didn’t care much for football until I started working for your brother, who made it clear that being a Patriots fan was more or less a job requirement, so here we are.”

“You little shit.”

Caleb laughed. “Had you there for a moment, did I?”

“Hook, line, and sinker. But I’ll let it go because of the good news, benevolent ruler I am.”

“Too bad. I wouldn’t have minded another spanking…”

Roman swallowed audibly, and the mood changed, becoming charged. “I wouldn’t mind that either.” He sounded hoarse.

“Maybe we could do that when I get home Friday?”

“It’s a deal.”

“I miss you,” Caleb blurted, then immediately regretted it. Even though it was true, their relationship wasn’t in that phase yet. If it ever would be. After all, Roman had been honest that it could never be more than sex.

“I miss you too,” Roman said softly, and Caleb’s heart skipped a beat.

“You do?”

“Yeah. And I’m as surprised as you are.”

“Roman…Sir…”

“We’ll talk when you get home for the weekend, okay?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Stay safe, you hear me?”

“I promise.”

“And call me again tomorrow.”

As the week slowly passed, it became their new routine. Caleb worked, came home, ate, and called Wander. Then he called Roman, and they talked, each topic a stepping stone across the expanse between them. Books—Roman’s love for gritty crime novels versus Caleb’s preference for nonfiction. Sports—debating the latest game, plays dissected with fervor. Politics—a minefield navigated with care, opinions clashing and melding.

On the surface, they may not have had much in common, but they found new connections every day. They talked about everything except the case, as if by unspoken agreement. Caleb reported to Wander, but he never told Roman about the details of his job for Coldrick Law.

“Thinking of you keeps me sane,” Caleb said.

“Likewise. I can’t wait for you to come home.”

“Home…” A pang of longing shot through Caleb, sharp and sweet. “Only two more days.”

“Bedtime?” Roman finally suggested, the question a caress against Caleb’s ear.

“Yeah.” Caleb’s reply was a whisper of surrender. “Stay on the line?”

“Always.”

Phones tucked beneath pillows, they lay in separate beds miles apart, but their voices bridged the distance. A lullaby of presence, a promise in the dark. Words faded to murmurs, then to breaths, synchronized in sleep.

But Caleb knew he wasn’t merely falling asleep with Roman. He was falling in love.

Deeply.

Irrevocably.

Friday afternoon, he headed out straight from work. It had cost him a fortune to park for the day, but he hadn’t wanted to waste an hour commuting back to Miguel’s first, so he already had his packed duffel in his car.

Caleb slid behind the wheel and started the boring but reliable Subaru, cranking the heat up to max. The rental might not be sexy, but it did come with a lot more features than his old Toyota. One day, he’d have the money for a new car with heated seats and maybe even a heated steering wheel, but for now, this was a nice luxury. Plus, the bottle of Coke he’d put in his car that morning was perfectly cold, and he took a few big gulps before starting his drive.

Miles unfurled like ribbons of asphalt, the car eating them up one by one. Caleb’s mind danced ahead, picturing Roman’s embrace, the solidity of his body, the faint scent of his cologne that Caleb had come to associate with safety, with desire. The image of Roman, impeccably dressed in those tailored suits that hugged his form just right, flickered behind his eyelids.

Anticipation coiled tighter within him, a visceral ache that wouldn’t be eased until he was back at the mansion, until he was kneeling at Roman’s feet, surrendering to the command in those brown eyes. He wanted to feel Roman’s hand against his skin, see the imprint it would leave behind. Hear his voice telling Caleb what to do. Taste the man’s cum on his tongue. Ache for a day after a good dicking. He wanted all of him.

But most of all, he wanted his heart.

Finally, the gates of the mansion came into view, and with a big sigh, he lowered his window and put in his security code. He parked under one of the carports Jesse had set up for them and hurried through the biting wind to the front door. It opened before he could even get his key from his pocket, and Roman stood there with a big grin. “Fucking finally.”

Then he was in Roman’s arms, his lips caught in a bruising kiss. Lips crashed together, tongues dueled, teeth grazed, a battle for dominance that both craved and neither won. Their kiss was a reclaiming, a collision of hunger and relief. Roman tasted like coming home—dark coffee and cinnamon, an intoxicating blend that seared through Caleb’s senses.

Somehow, they managed to get inside and close the door, but Caleb lost his duffel as Roman dragged him up the stairs. Not that Caleb protested.

“Is that you, Caleb?” Wander called out.

“Later!” Roman yelled back, and laughter and catcalls erupted from down the hall. Caleb couldn’t care less.

The world faded, and nothing mattered but Roman’s touch, the heat of his body through the layers of fabric. They stumbled their way to Roman’s bedroom, their mouths still fused. Roman’s unyielding grip was like an anchor in this crazy storm threatening to drown Caleb.

They crossed the threshold of Roman’s bedroom, and the door clicked shut behind them, sealing them away from the world outside. Finally, Roman let him go, and they stood opposite each other, chests heaving, eyes dark with want, and lips swollen.

Roman cupped Caleb’s cheek and brushed his lips with his thumb. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.”

Caleb’s heart fluttered. “Thank you, Sir.”

“And how I have missed hearing that word from you. Say it again.”

“Sir. You’re my Sir.”

“Yes, I am. Now…” Roman swallowed. “Present yourself to me.”

Caleb had never undressed so quickly, flinging his clothes onto the ground in a way that would’ve earned him punishment from any other Dom, but Roman didn’t seem to care, only watched Caleb with hungry eyes. When he finished, he sank to his knees in a fluid motion. He bowed his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and offered himself to his Dom, putting himself at Roman’s mercy.