11. Felix

11

Felix

I called in some favors from my old contacts, and somehow, miraculously I was able to snag a copy of the blueprints Nelson was using to try and lure in some potential investors to the project he envisioned.

Nelson's plans for a posh new shopping center in downtown Chicago left no room for a club like Tiger's Eye. It was like comparing apples to oranges. The two just wouldn't fit together. Besides Garret's club, there appeared to be two other businesses—a bookstore and a restaurant—in operation that were holding out and not yielding and giving everything away to Nelson just yet.

The things I had discovered about Nelson's grizzly personality left me feeling unsettled. If he was anything like what his reputation insisted, Garret was in trouble, no matter how tough he thought he was.

That night at the club, I pulled Garret aside in an attempt to try and discuss things with him once again. My goal was to see if I could convince him to take the buyout before things escalated beyond anything we could fix.

"I really need to talk to you about this Nelson situation," I yelled in his ear above the booming base of the club's music.

"Right now?" Garret had an irritated expression on his face.

Hues of red, yellow, green, and blue flickered briefly on his face from the strobe lights overhead. We were standing in the corner, tucked just off the side of the dance floor.

"Please," I urged. "It's important."

Garret inhaled a deep breath of annoyance and rolled his eyes. "I have a club to run right now Felix."

I didn't want to offend him or get him worked up and flustered. I could tell that was the direction this conversation was headed, so I backed off.

"All right, well, can we at least talk about it again later?" I suggested as gently as I could.

"Fine." He gave me a curt nod and tried to walk away.

"Garret…" I trailed off and clutched his hand, roping him back in so that he couldn't leave.

"What?" He made eye contact with me and gave me an expectant stare.

"I just want what's best for you," I admitted.

Garret scoffed. "Yeah, right. That's what they all say."

"Well, I'm saying it and I mean it," I said. I wasn't like the others, and it was my responsibility to prove that to him.

I could tell that Garret only partially believed me, a shimmer of doubt in his eye, but he appeased me anyway.

His features softened and he squeezed my hand. "Later tonight, when the club closes and everything is quiet, we can go upstairs and talk privately. I need things to wind down here first."

I smiled. "That's all I'm asking for."

As long as he was willing to hear me out, I wouldn't feel as uneasy about the situation.

__________________________

Later that night, just as promised, we were sitting above the club in Garret's living room. We were sharing another bottle of red wine, and Garret seemed to be as relaxed as he was going to get. He was still behaving a little stiffly, but at least he was willing to listen to what I had to say.

I slid over on the couch and cradled his hands in mine, making sure to make penetrating eye contact with him that would resonate in his mind. We shared a deep connection, but we weren't on the same wavelength as far as the Nelson buyout was concerned.

"This Nelson guy is dangerous," I said. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself," he said, then he grinned. "Do you want to see how big I am? I can prove it."

I gave him a look of slightly humored chagrin. "Don't try and change the subject now."

Garret groaned and gazed up at the ceiling for several moments without responding or saying anything.

"Garret?" I gently pressed.

He continued staring at the ceiling. He didn't look at me. "What?"

"Don't shut down on me," I said.

"I'm not." He still refused to even so much as glance in my general direction.

"I'm not trying to cause problems between us," I mentioned tenderly.

Garret turned and locked eyes with me. "Then maybe you should let me fight my own battles."

I decided to back off. Garret's tone was brash. I wanted to stay with him, and I didn't want him to be upset with me. I knew where the invisible line in the sand was, and I wasn't willing to cross it, especially this new into a relationship with him.

"I need stress relief," Garret said and began to kiss my neck and shoulders.

"Okay." I managed to give him a conforming smile.

Garret began undressing me slowly. When we were both fully naked, he stood up. I was laying there on the couch, peering up at him expectantly. He was hard. His erect cock pointed at the ceiling.

"I'll be right back," he said.

"What?" I propped myself up on my elbows. "Where… are you going?"

"I just have to get a few things," he explained.

"Get a few things?" I swallowed hard.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, gazing at me intently.

It was almost as if he was daring me to deny him.

"Yes…" I trailed off.

I was just wondering if he trusted me too, but I didn't ask the question out loud. I was already skating on thin ice with him.

"Say it then," he commanded.

"Say… what?" I chuckled nervously.

"Say that you trust me." His face was stoic.

"I trust you, Garret." I returned his steely gaze.

"Good." He spun on a heel and began walking away. "I'll be right back then. Just lie back and relax."

I had no idea what I was in store to receive, but at this stage of the night and with Garret's intense demeanor, anything was possible. The question was if I going to rise to the occasion and meet his challenges? I needed to focus my energy on being with him and casting all worries away. It was going to be the only way to get through to him.

A few minutes later, Garret returned but remained shrouded by a shadow in the hallway. I couldn't see his face, just the single silhouette of his figure.

"Garret?" My heart pounded noisily in my ears. Excited anticipation sizzled in my senses.

Garret slowly emerged from the hallway. He was carrying a candle, a lighter, and a blindfold.

"I want to play with you," he said almost robotically. His eyes bore a hole right through my soul.

I swallowed hard. "Okay, so what does that mean, exactly?"

"You said you trusted me, right?" Garret asked with arched eyebrows.

He sauntered closer, taking deliberately slow steps to mess with my head.

"I trust you."

Garret frowned as if he didn't believe me. I suddenly felt the burning need to satisfy him, to prove to him that I was a man of my word. He was already going through so much. He didn't need me to add more unnecessary stress to his life by not complying when he needed me.

"Lay down," Garret instructed.

It was clear now, that whether or not he believed me, he was going to do what he wanted to me anyway.

I did as he commanded. This time, I didn't ask him what he was going to do to me. I had a sneaking suspicion he wanted it to be a surprise.

"I'm going to blindfold you now," he said.

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay."

He stood over me, looming for several seconds. I thought I caught a flicker of sorrow in his eyes, but he looked away so quickly that I couldn't be sure if that was really what I had seen.

"If at any point you are in pain or begin to struggle, then just tell me to stop and I will." There was a ring of promise in his tone that made me believe him on the spot.

"Okay," I nodded again.

I prepared myself physically and mentally for whatever came next. I relaxed and tried to tell myself to have fun. I didn't have to refer to myself as a submissive internally, but I could still tell myself that pleasure and being with someone was better than being alone and lonely.

Garret reached around my head and tied the blindfold to shield my eyes.

"Can you see?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"Good." His tone sounded pleased.

I heard the click of the lighter. I couldn't see what he was doing, but I had a pretty good idea of which direction he was headed.

A few seconds later, a hot sensation sizzled on my skin. I gasped and winced, arching my back.

There was a pause. "Are you all right?" Garret asked.

"I'm… fine."

"Do you want me to stop?"

I shook my head.

"I need a verbal answer, Felix," he said in a soothing tone.

"No, don't stop."

Again he dripped what I assumed to be candle wax on my chest and belly. After a few times, it began to feel good; the sensation of pleasure mixed with pain. I fought through the rawness of the pain until the sensation ravaged me in the most amazing way possible.

Garret began to drip the hot wax on my skin down to my pubic bone, but he stopped there. I didn't hear anything. I couldn't see him. All of my senses were on alert.

"Garret?" I breathed into the night, cutting through the sensuality of the moment.

"Just relax your whole body," he whispered.

His voice sounded far away. It was amazing how far off my perception was without the advantage of sight.

A few seconds later, he spoke again. "Open your legs."

"What?" I asked.

"You heard me." His voice was flat and even.

I spread my legs apart, doing as I was told.

"Raise your arms above your head," he instructed.

This time, I didn't ask questions, nor did I hesitate. I lifted my arms until they were dangling over the edge of the couch. I could hardly breathe. The anticipation was slowly hooking its claws into my psyche, one ticking moment at a time.

"I'm going to touch you now," Garret said. "I'm going to push my cock inside you."

"Okay." I was thankful that he warned me in advance. It helped me prepare to receive him.

I heard him groan as he maneuvered his cock inside my ass, pushing it in further and further. His groan was so sexy. It flooded me with ecstasy to know that I was giving him so much pleasure simply by laying there and giving him access to my open hole. He could play with it all he wanted, as long as we both continued to enjoy it.

He hiked my legs on his shoulders as he ground into me, burying his cock deeper and deeper until I gasped and moaned with pleasure.

Garret began to stroke my cock. He slipped his fingers around my shaft and began to enthusiastically graze his palm up and down on my hard rod. He still wanted me to be blindfolded and the pleasure was intensified by having to overcompensate with my other senses.

"I'm going to make you come, pretty boy," he whispered in my ear.

He nibbled on my earlobe and planted kisses up and down my neck to my collar bone.

I groaned with each perfect, blissful thrust he pushed inside me. All the while, he fisted my cock and slid his fingers up and down on the mushroom tip of my shaft, making me blind with pleasure.

"Don't come yet," he ordered. "I can tell you're close. Your cheeks are flushed, and your breathing is fast. I want us to come together, so you need to hold it. Just wait."

"Okay," I gasped urgently, but he was right, I was desperate to come.

He spread my legs apart, ravaging my hole with his enormous cock. I took all his girth. He filled me up, emotionally and physically. The stimulation was almost overwhelming. Garret gripped my wrists with one arm, while he continued to cuff his other hand around my cock.

"Get ready," he warned.

He was close. He was going to explode inside me any second. I knew it was coming. I couldn't hold on any longer, either.

He wailed with ecstasy as he came. I felt the flood of his hot come entering me. As he spilled himself inside me, I finally let myself go. I arched my back and cried out with glorious passion. It was one of the most intimate moments of my life.

My hot come splashed onto my belly. I lay there, feeling limp as a noodle and panting hard. Garret gently lifted my blindfold. When I looked into his eyes, I saw all the emotions that Garret had but was afraid to show me.

He had a gift, the ability to close himself off to fear. I admired him, but at this precise moment, he was vulnerable, and he allowed it to show. Even if it was for a fleeting second, I gained pleasure from seeing him finally let down his guard.

Then, as quickly as the expression had come, it faded away like a fog in the night. Mischief brightened Garret's features.

"I want you to watch as I lick your come off your stomach," he said.

I nodded, instantly aroused again. My cock was numb and relaxed, but I felt it as Garret began to touch me.

He held eye contact with me the entire time. He slowly licked off all the come from my stomach, giving me a sexy grin the entire time. Garret was fierce. I whimpered with ecstasy as his tongue slid and rolled over my skin. He sucked up every single drop of my come, swallowing it down and making sure to not leave a single trace behind.

Afterward, Garret took tender care of me, cleaning me up. We took a shower together, getting all the sticky mess off each other. Garret washed my body sensually and gently, scrubbing me down from head to toe as he gazed into my eyes like I was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He was so difficult to figure out. I decided that maybe he wasn't meant for me to figure out. Maybe part of the allure was the mystery between us. If I was meant to know something, he would tell me, and vice versa.

At that moment, watching the steam from our shower fog the mirror until we could no longer see our reflections staring back at us, I knew I was right where I was supposed to be. I didn't need to ask any questions. Everything I needed was in the touch Garret gave me as he intertwined his fingers with mine, standing together naked in the center of his bathroom.

________________________________

I woke up in Garret's bed late in the night, awakened by a strange orange glow illuminating the outside. It was peculiar enough to pull me out of bed because it was so far off from what early morning light looked like.

I slowly wandered over to the window and drew up the blinds, careful not to wake up Garret in the process. He was still asleep, naked, lying on his stomach with his head turned away from me. His backside was fantastic. I found myself staring in awe for several seconds before setting my sights back on the view from outside the window.

I looked outside and screamed. So much for not waking Garret.

He shot out of bed like a cannonball. "What's wrong?' His eyes were full of fright, alarmed and wide. His hair was tousled atop his head.

I couldn't speak. I was too shocked. With a shaking finger, I pointed out the window, stunned and otherwise frozen in place.

Garret joined me at the window. He gasped and clamped his hand over his face. The Greasy Spoon, a restaurant owned by a man named Saul, was on fire across the street. It was ablaze, completely engulfed in flames. Dancing flashes of vibrant red and orange licked at the sky. Enormous plumes of gray and black smoke poured out of the building's windows and from the top.

"Where the hell is the fire department?" Garret shrieked with panic.

I swallowed hard. "I don't know…"

It was early. It was possible no one had called in the fire yet. I hastily jogged to the bedside table and plucked my phone from the surface, frantically dialing 9-1-1.

I stayed on the line with the operator until the fire department showed up, but it seemed like it took them an eternity to arrive. Maybe it was because we were already on edge. By then, we had gone outside and were standing on the other side of the sidewalk with some bleary-eyed, groggy people who lived in the vicinity, watching the ordeal unfold.

By the time the firefighters arrived on scene, the building was nothing but an empty shell, a crater where the structure used to be, with only the bones of the internal beams left standing. The inside of the building was nothing now but burnt soot and ash, a stain of what used to be there.

Garret was livid, pacing around with his fists balled in anger. His lips were twisted, his features contorted with frustration as he pounded feet to pavement, approaching the firemen with an accusatory glare set on his face.

"What the hell took you so long? The building is destroyed! Something that could have been avoided if you hadn't taken your sweet time," Garret roared at them, the veins in his neck bulging.

"Slow your roll man," one of the firefighters said. "Two of our trucks had flat tires. We didn't realize it until the call came through."

"Yeah and we had to replace the alternator from another truck with full tires that we couldn't fix with the alternator in this truck because it had given out completely," another firefighter explained.

Garret's eyes were rimmed with shock. "Do you think that you were… sabotaged on… purpose to hinder you from getting here quicker?"

The firemen shrugged. "I don't know. It seems like an awfully big coincidence to me."

"Me too," I said and nodded to Garret. I took him aside privately. "I'm pretty sure that what happened to the firefighter's trucks was done intentionally to prolong them being able to get here in time to save the building."

One of the firemen was apparently listening to our conversation. "I'm angry too. It's one thing to have our equipment tampered with, but it puts everyone in town at risk if there's a big fire. What if this one had spread before we got here? It's dangerous. Someone's going to have to answer for this."

Garret looked at me with a glare darkening his features. "And I know exactly who."