Chapter Five - Ev

Ev wasn't sure which was going to kill him first. The dehydration from how often he was jerking off thinking about his boss, or Gabe, when he discovered who Ev really was and what he'd done. Leaning back against the employee-bathroom door, his softening cock in his hand and come on the floor between his feet, Ev thought it was probably going to be the dehydration.

What was he going to do? He sure as hell couldn't keep going in this direction. He'd learned his lesson thoroughly—and, unfortunately, more than once. Relationships and professional shit didn't mix. It would end badly. And then it would get ugly. And Ev would be the one to get burned. He couldn't go through all of that again. He needed to break things off now, before anyone got too invested.

It would be easy enough to manage. All he had to do was delete his Exchange account and never go back to the Edge. Maybe he could follow in Owen's footsteps and swear off kink altogether. Gabe wouldn't have to know the truth. He could keep being Ev the PA and pretend Ev the Kinky Middle had never existed.

He could do it. He wasn't the kind of boy who needed to regress to feel right in his skin. It was more fluid than that. Adult stuff stopped mattering so much when he got excited or super emotional. Also, after really good sex. But with any luck, his boss would never see him after sex…again.

He groaned, banged his head back against the door, then started cleaning up himself and the floor. How did he get himself into these messes? He'd had every intention of staying away from Gabe and all the sexy Daddy vibes he exuded. Fuck masquerades. He was never going to one of those again. And fuck kinky chat apps too. Why had he caved? He'd found Gabe's profile easily, but the plan had been to block him, not to message him. Gabe had just looked so bored in that meeting. Ev couldn't help but poke him. And Gabe had poked back. God, had he ever. Ev had never been so hard in such an inappropriate situation in his life. And Gabe hadn't even known, because he still didn't know that Ev was his boy. Dammit. Not his.

He needed advice. Owen was out. He was still a wreck over his breakup and didn't need Ev laying his own issues on top of that. The only other people he talked to on a regular basis were the guys down in Split Rock who had more or less adopted his best friend. They had a group chat that was mostly funny memes and inside jokes, but they were all good guys and would hopefully tell it to him straight.

Ev opened the group message.

Ev

So, weird question, but have any of you ever hooked up with someone you shouldn't have?

The three dots popped up immediately, and a moment later, he had a long string of laugh-crying emojis from Izzy, one of the wilder guys in the group.

Izzy

brB. DYING.

Ev

So, that's a yes?

Eli

Izzy could teach a master class, TBF.

Micah

What happened? Are you okay?

Finny

What Micah said!!

Ev winced. He probably wasn't okay, but he would be. He just needed to figure out what the hell he was going to do.

Ev

Okay, so I maybe went to a New Year's masquerade and hooked up with this guy…

Eli

Ooh, tell me more!

Eli's response was immediate, followed closely by a GIF from Izzy of a woman eating popcorn. Rude.

Ev

He was hot AF. Total Daddy material. We hooked up in the club's bathroom. It was epic.

He held back on the details for Finny's sake, but he still got a scrunched-face emoji in reply.

Finny

In the bathroom?

Micah

Don't knock it till you've tried it, buttercup.

Finny

Who says I haven't!

Ev

ANYWAY.

Eli

Wait, I think I need to hear more about Finny's bathroom adventures.

Izzy

You want to hear more about what?

Eli

That sounds bad when I read it back.

Ev groaned into his palms, fighting laughter. At least his buddies could make him feel better, even if they weren't being particularly helpful.

Micah

Let's focus, people. Ev needs our advice.

Thank you, Micah. Always the voice of reason. He was definitely the mature one. And the one with the most relationship experience, considering he had two partners.

Ev

So, we hooked up, but at midnight when the masks came off, I realized it was a huge mistake and the guy was totally off-limits.

Izzy

Why? Is he married?

Micah

Underage?

Eli

Your ex?

Finny

OMG. It was Gabe.

Crap. Ev slid down the bathroom door until he was sitting on the cold tiles. Finny knew him too fucking well. He'd been hoping to be vague enough to avoid that getting out. Guess he was shit out of luck now.

Micah

Gabe? Who's Gabe?

Ev

My boss.

Izzy

Oh. Ouch.

Eli

Bummer.

Micah

And that"s a problem?

Finny

That's so crazy. Did you know he was at the party? Did he know you were at the party? What happened? What did he say? Do I need to talk to Xavi?

Dammit. Ev couldn't type fast enough to answer Finny's questions. And half of them, he didn't want to. Most important first, though.

Ev

No. Don't say anything to Xavier. He can't know. You can't tell him. Please, Finny.

He followed it up with a string of praying hands emojis.

Finny

Okay. Okay. I won't. As long as you're okay. Don't think I won't fly up there if you're not okay.

Ev

I'm fine. I swear. He doesn't even know it was me.

There was a long pause before the typing dots popped up again.

Izzy

Awkward.

Eli

Seriously.

Finny

How does he not know?

Ev

I ran before he recognized me.

Micah

You're going to tell him, right?

Fucking maturity. Maybe Ev shouldn't have invited the relationship expert to the chat. There was another long pause as Ev typed and then deleted three different answers. Finally, Finny cut in.

Finny

Gabe is a good guy. He won't be upset, I don't think.

Eli

The mystery is kind of romantic, though. Like a Cinderella-type thing.

They went on, bantering back and forth over whether Ev was living a fairy tale or not. At the same time, a separate text popped up from Izzy. Ev opened it.

Izzy

I'd peace out if I were you, man. That power imbalance shit is no joke. Trust me on this one.

Ev

I think that's what I'm worried about. Gabe seems okay, but my track record says my instincts aren't worth crap.

Izzy

Mine are probably worse. LOL. Just… Look out for yourself, okay? Call me if you need to.

That was nicer than he expected from Izzy, who was usually more of an asshole. But from what Ev had heard, he also knew how to take care of himself, so Ev figured the advice was good.

He returned to the group chat in time to see the others deciding that he needed to tell Gabe it was him in order to get to the next phase of his Cinderella story. He hated to break it to them, but while there might be a secret identity involved, there was no wicked stepmother, and Ev was very unlikely to get a happily ever after out of this one.

After thanking everyone for their input—and getting another promise from Finny that he wouldn't say anything to his Daddy—Ev put the phone away and pushed himself up off the floor.

Hopefully no one had noticed his extra-long bathroom break, and if they had, he would just claim he had a bad hot dog for lunch. Gross, but believable.

He splashed water on his face and gave his dripping reflection the sternest look he could manage. "No more fucking your boss. He and his sexy…everything are off-limits from now on."

There. That was better. He dried his face and made sure his clothes looked right before leaving the private bathroom and heading back to his desk. As soon as he got home, he was blocking Gabe on Exchange, like he should have done in the first place.

Ev didn't block Gabe on Exchange. He had every intention to, but when he got home, Owen was a mess, and he needed to take care of his roommate first. If Ev ever got his hands on Owen's ex, the asshole wasn't walking away. Ev knew karate. Okay, he'd taken karate for six months in middle school until he'd sprained his wrist and his parents made him quit, but that was beside the point. Owen was sad, and someone needed to be punished for it.

Once Owen was feeling a little better and tucked into bed, Ev saw he had an unread message from SayYesSir. He opened it and sucked in a breath. It wasn't a dick pic, which—to be clear—Ev wouldn't have turned up his nose at. Gabe's dick was a work of art.

Gabe was at the gym in one of those loose muscle shirts with the sleeve holes that hung down and exposed his ribs. He had his head back, guzzling from a Hydro Flask with streams of water slipping down his muscular neck.

He clearly hadn't taken the picture, but he went to the gym with Jack—the guy they'd met at the club—whenever he could. Ev pursed his lips in thought, even as he zoomed in on the details of the photo. He could just make out one dark, flat nipple in the shadows of the shirt, and god, Daddy's arms were something else. Ev hadn't realized until then that neither of their encounters had resulted in Gabe showing him any skin—other than his dick anyway. Ev had been the one nearly naked both times. Fuck, Daddy had an amazing body.

Ev stretched out on his bed and reached for his cock, then caught himself. No. He was not jerking off again. This was beyond ridiculous.

PianistEnvy

Is this the old-guy version of a dick pic? Sorry, Sir, but your waxed chest doesn't exactly do it for me.

Gabe responded immediately, making Ev wonder if he'd already had their chat window open.

SayYesSir

Are you asking to see my cock, boy? Because I'm happy to oblige.

Ev scoffed. Of course he was happy to oblige. He had no reason to be shy. And Ev had lied about chest hair anyway. He didn't have a preference between hair or no hair as long as he got to put his hands all over Daddy.

PianistEnvy

Please don't. I'm trying to sleep, not get worked up again.

He expected a comment for slipping in the "again," but instead, he got,

SayYesSir

Long day?

Ev's chest did something funny as he settled under the covers.

PianistEnvy

My roommate's been having a tough time. He just broke things off with his Dom—who was a dick, to be honest. I've been doing my best to cheer him up, but he's pretty down.

SayYesSir

I'm sorry to hear that. It's difficult when a relationship ends. Even more so when kink is involved. I hope he starts feeling better soon.

Huh. Ev hadn't expected that either. Work-Gabe wasn't known for his tender bedside demeanor. He was more the "hit 'em with the hard truths" type.

PianistEnvy

Me too. It's hard to see him like this when he's usually a ball of sunshine. He deserves better.

SayYesSir

I'd be happy to introduce him to some people when he's ready. I promise they're much nicer than I am. Well, except Spencer. But he's not your friend's type.

That was surprisingly sweet. Owen wasn't ready to date again—he still maintained he was done with men—but it was something to keep in mind.

PianistEnvy

How do you know he's not Owen's type? You barely met him.

SayYesSir

Because Spencer's a sub—even though he hates to admit it.

It was followed by a winking emoji that made Ev snicker. Fair enough.

It was much later, when Ev was nearly asleep, that he remembered he was supposed to have blocked Gabe. Oh well. He could do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow turned into the next day, and then the next. Ev was just digging himself deeper, but he couldn't help it. Every time he geared up to hit the block button, he'd get a message that he couldn't not respond to. Like the other day, when Gabe sent something offhanded about preferring to see the movie before he read the book and…just no. He was so, so wrong. Ev had dropped everything and spent the rest of the night explaining why, ranting to Owen about how wrong Gabe was, while giving him a play-by-play of their conversation. It was Owen who finally pointed out that Daddy was only doing it to push Ev's buttons. Ev had sent Daddy a close-up of his hand flicking off the camera after that.

Of course, Daddy had taken that as an invitation. God, the man had a filthy mind. Ev still got a little flushed when he remembered the response he got back.

Now wasn't the time to think about that, though. Ev needed to stay focused.

He glanced at Daddy—Gabe—as he kicked his feet up on his desk, voice smooth and sure as he tapped on his laptop and spoke on the phone to another news outlet. They were working late, getting ready for the upcoming awards show in LA. It was after eight. Ev didn't mind too much. Gabe had let Ev pick their dinner order and promised they could sleep in the next morning. Owen was probably enjoying having the apartment to himself.

Ev finished responding to an email just as his phone buzzed with a notification. He peeked at it where it sat on the sofa cushion next to him. Who was messaging him? Gabe was the only one he talked to on Exchange these days. Ev had to use all his restraint not to glance in Gabe's direction. He opened the app, then frowned. It was from Daddy. But Daddy was still on the phone.

SayYesSir

Long nights at the office feel even longer when I can't stop thinking about your sweet ass.

Ev froze. Oh crap. He took a steadying breath, his eyes flicking to Daddy, who still seemed to be focused on his conversation. Should Ev answer? He had shit to do, but he didn't want to leave Daddy on read either.

PianistEnvy

Sounds like it's time to call it a night, then.

He licked his lips, his knee bouncing. His phone buzzed again, and Ev quickly silenced it. The last thing he needed was Gabe getting curious about why Ev's phone went off every time he sent his boy a message. It was a miracle that he hadn't figured things out already.

SayYesSir

We both know that's not the solution to my problem.

PianistEnvy

Oh yeah? What is, then? 'Cause I guarantee my ass isn't available this late on a work night.

SayYesSir

What if it were? What would you let me do to you?

Ev's skin went hot, and he reached up to loosen his tie and undo the top button of his shirt. Oh god, the better question was, what wouldn't he? Ev's imagination was really good at getting away from him, and there were very few scenarios that he hadn't pictured when it came to working late with Daddy. Most of them involved Gabe needing his PA for things that were way outside of Ev's job description.

Ev started his response, then deleted it at least three times before the dots popped up that meant Daddy was typing again.

SayYesSir

I need an answer from you, boy.

Ev bit back a whimper, squirming as his cock perked up and started to fill. Dammit, why was that so hot? Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Daddy reaching down to adjust himself too. Fuck. That didn't help Ev's pants situation at all.

PianistEnvy

Or what?

SayYesSir

Or I'll bend you over my desk and see if I can turn your sweet ass the color of your hair.

Ev shut his eyes and swallowed back a whimper. Daddy spanking him until he couldn't sit down was way up there on Ev's work-fantasy list. Fuck. He needed to respond.

PianistEnvy

I'd like to see you try.

Gabe coughed, and Ev's eyes flew to his. He got the impression of heat and fraying restraint before ducking his head and gluing his gaze back to his laptop. He pressed his lips together hard to hide an anxious grin. He shouldn't be enjoying pushing Daddy's buttons so much. He was going to get in so much trouble.

Except, he wasn't, was he? Because Gabe wasn't talking to Ev. He was talking to some boy he'd met in a club a few weeks ago. Before Ev could head any further down that slippery slope, Gabe's reply came through.

SayYesSir

Last chance, boy.

Ev's skin was getting twitchy, like electricity was running under it. His leg started bouncing again, and he fisted and relaxed his hands behind the shield of his laptop screen. He licked his lips, worried that he was going to burst into flames at any moment.

"Everett, come here," Daddy said, his voice low and firm.

Ev barely processed the command before he was setting his laptop aside and walking over. "Yes, S—" he cut himself off with a gasp when Daddy gripped his chin between his pointer finger and thumb.

Oh god. The banging of his heart filled his ears as all of his focus narrowed on those strong fingers against his skin. Ev couldn't breathe. He met Gabe's deep blue eyes, sure his own were as wide as dinner plates.

"Lower your pants and turn around. Palms on the desk."

The air in the room came back with a ragged whoosh. At the same time, Ev's mouth went dry. Words deserted him. His body caught up to what it wanted before his brain did, and he fumbled with his belt and zipper. A moment later, the cool office air brushed against his heated skin as he shoved his pants down to his knees. Gabe's eyes, intense but unreadable, were still locked on his, and he couldn't break away. They stood frozen for a long moment, Ev's pants around his knees, his hard cock poking out from under his dress shirt, Gabe's touch the only thing keeping him in place. Then Gabe's grip on him loosened, trailing down to his shoulder, where he turned Ev with gentle pressure.

Ev didn't even pretend to resist. He didn't know what was happening, or how, but fighting it was the opposite of what he wanted. He braced himself on his hands, fingertips going white as they pressed against the smooth wooden surface of the desk. Daddy touched his bare hip, adjusting his position before sliding a hand up his back, making Ev arch deeper until his cheek and chest were flat to the desktop. Ev sucked in ragged breath after ragged breath, afraid he was on the verge of passing out from shock. Slowly, Daddy gathered his shirt in a fist between Ev's shoulder blades, firm pressure keeping him in place.

Ev opened his mouth, not sure if he was going to play his part and demand to know what was going on…or give in and beg for Daddy to spank him. Instead, all that came out was a desperate, keening sound.

The toe of Daddy's shoe tapped the inside of Ev's, and Ev obediently shuffled his legs wider even as he squeezed his eyes shut. Oh god. Oh god.

"Tell me your color, boy."

Ev squirmed. He was so totally exposed like this. He could feel Daddy's eyes everywhere, sliding over him like a touch. "Green," he whispered.

Daddy caressed his flank with his free hand then settled it on one ass cheek and gave a firm squeeze. "What was that?"

Ev bit off a moan. "Green, Sir," he repeated louder. "I'm green-green-green."

Daddy continued to massage his skin until Ev was rocking into it, not sure how much longer he could take the anticipation. Then Daddy's hand was gone. Ev took a steadying breath, struggling not to tense up.

The crack of Daddy's palm registered before anything else. Ev gasped, pain flaring, followed quickly by heat. Daddy's hand came down twice more in rapid succession, knocking Ev's higher-order thinking off-line.

"Oh my god, Daddy," Ev whined, squirming. "Please. Please."

"Please, what?"

"More, please. Touch me, spank me, fuck me. Anything," Ev babbled. One touch of Daddy's palm and he'd completely lost control of the words leaving his mouth.

Daddy chuckled. A moment later, the wet flat of his tongue pressed to Ev's burning skin, followed by the scrape of teeth. "What were you saying about your ass not being available this late on a work night?"

Ev groaned and rolled his head against the hard surface of the desk. "I lied." That earned him another two smacks. His cock throbbed, precome welling.

"Interesting," Daddy said, giving Ev's burning ass another squeeze. "And you still think you deserve Daddy's cock?"

Ev nodded rapidly and tilted his ass toward Daddy in invitation.

Daddy slid a finger along his crease and brushed over his hole, making him shiver and mewl. Inside. He needed Daddy inside.

"Ev—" Daddy started.

Ev shook his head again. No. He was way too gone right now for whatever concern that was in Daddy's voice. "Need you, Daddy. Need your fat cock to wreck my little hole. Please. Now. Please, please."

Daddy cursed. A drawer slid open, then slammed shut again. Then another one. "Dammit," Daddy said around a rough chuckle. "I don't keep lube here." He paused. "The salad I had for dinner came with olive oil."

Ev blinked a few times. What was Daddy's question? Ev wasn't exactly up for problem-solving at the moment. "Don't care. Just fuck me."

Daddy smacked his ass again, and Ev moaned, his cock drooling in reaction. "Pay attention, boy. I can't use a condom with the oil. Do you want my fingers instead?"

Ugh. Why was Daddy being difficult about this? "I want your cock. I'm negative. I'm on PrEP. Fuck me, Daddy. Fill my ass with your come." There. Was that clear enough?

Daddy swore. A moment later, oil was sliding down between Ev's cheeks and dripping off his balls. "I'm negative and on PrEP as well," he said as he opened Ev up, first with one finger, then two. Ev wasn't paying attention anymore, too focused on the glorious stretch. He rocked back into it, wanting it deeper. Wanting it more-more-more.

When Ev was ready, Daddy pulled his fingers free. Ev waited for him to sink inside, but instead, he gripped Ev by the hips and flipped him onto his back, his ass hanging off the edge of the desk. Before Ev could wrap his brain around the new position, Daddy was lined up and pressing in, his face a mask of concentration.

The stretch was just as perfect as he remembered. Pleasure sparked along his nerve endings, lighting up all the good parts of his brain. Ev reached for his cock, but his hand was caught, and Daddy directed it to the edge of the desk.

"You're going to need to hold on to something."

Ev groaned in dismay but did as he was told. A sharp snap of Daddy's hips had him grabbing the edge with his free hand as well. Oh fuck. The angle was so good, Daddy nailing his prostate with every thrust. Ev gave himself over to it, surrendering to the rolling waves of pleasure. The lingering sting when Daddy's hips smacked his sore ass made everything even better. Soon, he was moaning in time with Daddy's movements, only needing a final push to go over the edge.

"Please, Daddy. Please, let me come," he begged, tossing his head back and forth.

"I'm not stopping you," Daddy said, his tone teasing despite his tight features and the sheen of sweat on his forehead. His hand left Ev's hip to give one of his nipple piercings a tug.

Ev's back arched, and a desperate cry escaped. "Daddy!"

Daddy did it again, adding a twist that went straight to Ev's cock. Then he was coming, and Daddy's hand was there to help him along, drawing out the pleasure as it rolled on and on.

He was vaguely aware of Daddy coming a minute later with a growled curse and a few hard thrusts. Then Daddy's hands were braced against the desk as he leaned over Ev, catching his breath. Ev took the opportunity to touch where he could, cursing the fact that, once again, Daddy hadn't given him any skin to pet.

Eventually, Daddy straightened and cleaned Ev up. Then he got their clothes back in order. Ev wasn't much help, floating on a cloud of endorphins, everything hazy and buzzing.

"Everett."

Ev blinked at his name, then wrinkled his nose. "Ev," he corrected, blinking a few more times until he could focus on Daddy—Gabe. His boss. His boss, who was frowning down at him, his brow creased. Oh fuck. What had he done? He stared at Gabe, dread pooling in his belly.

"Are you back with me, boy?" Gabe asked, his palms stroking up and down Ev's arms and leaving tingles in their wake.

"What just—why— Oh my god," Ev stammered. He flinched away from Gabe, his heart pounding fast and painful. What the fuck had he done? How had he let this happen? There was no hiding it this time. No pretending he was someone else. Gabe knew. Had known. Ev was such an idiot. He slid off the desk, fighting to stay standing, when his knees wobbled.

"Ev," Gabe started, reaching for him.

Ev shook his head, holding out a hand to ward him off. "No. No, I need to go. I need to quit, and I need to go." His chest hurt. His throat hurt. He pushed past Gabe and ran, not bothering to stop for his laptop. His coat was at his desk, his wallet and keys in the pocket. He grabbed it and headed for the stairs, not willing to wait for the elevator. He needed to get as far away from Gabe as he could, as fast as possible.