7. Leo

7

LEO

" D o these look okay, boss?"

Tommy was showing me a few of the photographs he'd just finished taking with his team. We were standing on the sidelines of an indoor swimming pool. The pool was just as lavish as the rest of the lodge, complete with heat control and a waterfall feature at the very end of it. We'd set up at the pool to do an impromptu shoot with the athletes, wanting to capture more shots of them that seemed natural, in their element as they swam laps in the pool.

Because what was more natural to an athlete than working out?

"Those look great." I smiled as I spoke. "Seriously, Tommy. This is really good stuff."

"So, you think we should keep going?"

"Absolutely. Check in with me again pretty soon, yeah?"

"Will do, boss." Tommy saluted me as he went back toward the other photographers. I watched as they set up a few shoots centered on Chris, just as he did some kind of flip underneath the water.

This was going to work.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief just as I smiled again, this time to myself. What had started off as a disaster of a situation was turning into something not only salvageable but maybe even preferable, with the way the shots had been coming out. It wasn't hard to imagine the PR side of it either, spinning this week stuck in the snow as a retreat from the guys' time in the spotlight, maybe saying that this is how they got to know more about themselves and how they're not just athletes, they're people, too?—

"I know that look." Keith's voice interrupted my thoughts.

Inside my head, I was flipping him the bird with both hands. "What do you want, Keith?"

"I just want you to tell me the truth." He beamed. "Because I think we both know that you're fucking someone, Leo."

"Fuck you." My face went red, as embarrassment flooded my veins.

Shit.

Did Keith hear me and Jacob yesterday? Has Keith been going around telling people that I've been fucking someone on the job?

"It's not my fault you're as easy to read as an open book." He laughed before he nodded toward the rest of the guys. "So? Who is it?"

"You think I'm sleeping with one of the clients?"

"You have a type, don't you?" He shrugged. "There's no point in fucking someone if you don't get your fifteen minutes of fame, right?"

"Fifteen minutes of—" My eyes went wide. "Keith, are you seriously suggesting that the only reason we were together is because I'm some sort of fame fucker?"

"You're telling me that I'm wrong?"

"I loved you, you asshole!" All of my embarrassment had been replaced by nothing but rage. "I really thought we could've been something real, but you couldn't keep your dick in your pants?—"

"Hey, calm down, tater tot?—"

"You don't get to call me that anymore!"

"Who's fucking you, tater tot?" Keith took a step closer to me. "All I need you to do is point them out for me."

"Oh, my God." Realization washed over me like a cold shower. "You didn't seriously think I was fucking you for attention, did you? You're just trying to rattle me. You're just trying to get in my head."

"I won't lie. It is a very pretty head." Keith grinned.

And my stomach soured. "Were you flirting with Jacob this whole time just to make me jealous?"

"Who's Jacob?"

"Oh, my God. I need to go." I started walking away from him. "And you need to get over there with Tommy. Maybe focus on your job instead of this bullshit?"

"Whatever you say, tater tot."

"Hey. Are you okay?"

It was the first thing Jacob said to me when I found him sitting at the second-floor café, with a fresh coffee in his hand. He motioned for me to take a seat next to him, and I quickly slid into it, my mind still racing from my conversation with Keith.

AKA the devil himself.

"I saw you talking to one of the athletes by the pool." Jacob nodded at the large window next to us, giving him the perfect view into the gym and pool area one floor below. "It looked sort of tense from up here. Was that some of the diva behavior you warned me about?"

"Keith isn't a diva. He's Satan."

"What?" Jacob let out a light laugh. "Come on. Is he really that bad?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Sounds serious."

"It is." I took a deep breath before I went on. "You remember how last night you were asking me who made me feel like I wasn't beautiful?"

"Yeah?"

"That was Keith." I half-chuckled before my face fell. "We dated a little bit last year. And despite making me feel like the only guy in the world, he was somehow still cheating on me at every possible turn."

"Shit, Leo. I'm so sorry to hear that." Jacob shook his head. "He's an asshole who never deserved you." Jacob paused for a moment before he asked, "Wait. What the fuck? If you two used to go out, then why was he all over me? Right in front of you?"

"Because he's playing some kind of fucked up game, that's why." I leaned back in my seat. "At first, I thought he was just being his usual jerk self. But now, I have no idea what he's up to. We were arguing by the pool because he was interrogating me about who I'm sleeping with."

"How does he know you're sleeping with anyone?"

"He says he can just tell. That I'm super easy to read."

"Ah. Yeah. You do tend to wear your emotions on your sleeve." Jacob smirked. "Still. That's none of his business." Jacob paused again, suddenly seeming hesitant. "You two don't still—you don't still have feelings for him or?—"

"Absolutely not. I don't want anything to do with him. Ever." I inwardly gagged at the idea of ever going back to Keith. "But sports PR is a small world and unfortunately, this is the price I pay for mixing business and pleasure."

"Got it. No mixing business and pleasure, which means you definitely shouldn't be hooking up with people at photoshoots." Jacob smirked again.

And I smirked right back at him before letting out a laugh. "Shit. I'm never going to learn my lesson, am I?"

"For what it's worth, I don't think it's helpful to blame yourself when things go south in a relationship," Jacob continued. "You liked someone, so you gave them a chance. Nothing wrong with that."

"Was that some of your folksy Virginia wisdom?"

"Just good advice, I'd say. Something Parker or Damon would tell me if I was feeling down about something." Jacob smiled before he slightly laughed. "Even though, I'm usually the one bailing them out of their emotional spirals."

"Parker and Damon?"

"The guys I work with."

"You don't just work with Bradley?"

"I work with Bradley, too, but that's more on a per project basis," Jacob answered. "Parker and Damon are pretty much my brothers, that's how long we've been working together. We started Wild Woods up in Roanoke. It's a camping business, serving clientele that want to get away for a while. Rustic or glam, that part's up to them. We just provide the cabins, tents, rooms. Whatever they need."

"Oh my God." I pretended to cry. "What? You get to work with people who want to get away from you? As in, you never have to see them again after they check in with you?"

"Hey, they have access to us the whole time. We have to make sure they don't get eaten by bears, you know?" Jacob laughed. "I think the only difference between our jobs is that my clients typically want to prove that they can be self-sufficient. They don't want to rely on us too much, if they can help it."

"Still," I sighed, "that sounds a lot less stressful than what I'm used to putting up with."

"You love your job, though."

"I do."

"Enough to put up with assholes like Keith."

"It's true." I sighed again. "I love it so much that I might be moving to Roanoke soon."

"What?" Jacob seemed shaken by the revelation. "You're moving to Roanoke?"

"There's a position opening up there soon. If all goes well with this photoshoot, the job's pretty much mine."

"And that's something you want? To live in Roanoke?"

"Why?" I quirked an eyebrow in his direction. "Is there something about Roanoke that I need to know?"

"Just that it's a pretty great place," Jacob started, his tone slightly shaky in a way I'd never heard before. "Fun fact, we're actually known as The Moonshine Capital of the World."

"Wow. What a way to sell Roanoke." I couldn't help but chuckle at Jacob's response. "It's good to know that I'll be moving to a place where I can get the drunkest I've ever been in my life."

"Yeah, I have no idea why I said that." Jacob laughed now, too. "Shit. Good thing I don't work on the tourism board for the city. Roanoke: Come get fucked up!"

"How about, ‘Roanoke: Where you can have a good drink with good friends'?"

"Ooh, that's a nice one." Jacob nodded. "No wonder you're the PR king."

I smiled over at Jacob, and he smiled back, something crackling between us. Instinctively, I leaned toward him, my lips eager to meet his.

But then, I noticed a figure in the corner of my eye.

"Bradley!" I greeted him with a nervous laugh. "I almost didn't see you standing there."

Bradley shrugged before he took a seat across from us. He didn't say a word as he pulled out his phone, soon scrolling through the screen.

"Does he hate me?" I whispered to Jacob. "And is there anything I can do to make him not hate me?"

"He doesn't hate you. If he hated you, he wouldn't have even sat down."

"Right." I stared at Bradley for a second, before I stood up from my seat. "Anyway, I'll catch up with you two later? I should probably get back to the photoshoot."

"Meet me at that bar later? The one you liked?" Jacob suggested.

"Sure thing. I'll come find you once everything's wrapping up."

"Vodka and apple juice? Really?" Jacob seemed suspicious as he eyed the drink that I'd just made for him.

"Garnished with a slice of apple." I put the finishing touches on the glass, sliding a thin apple slice into the rim of it. "And everyone turns up their noses before they get a sense of the power of the apple."

It'd been about an hour since the photoshoot had finished wrapping, and since Tommy and I had gone through the majority of the photos the team had picked as the best ones of the day. Even with Keith's bullshit, I was happy to report that I hadn't been completely knocked off my game. I was still optimistic about the shoot, and it seemed like the guys were pretty optimistic as well.

I just needed to keep my head above water and everything was going to be okay.

"I don't doubt the power of the apple. I just don't know if it's meant to be paired with vodka?—"

"Drink it and all doubt will be cured."

Jacob hesitated for a moment before he proceeded to quickly down the drink. A few seconds later, and there was a slight smile on his face.

"Damn. This is pretty good."

"Told you so." I started to make a repeat of the drink for myself. "The power of the apple strikes again."

"Did you have a good shoot? After you went back downstairs?"

"I had a perfect shoot." I sliced another piece of apple as I spoke. "Almost too perfect. Like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Have you ever considered that maybe no one's out to get you?"

"Have you considered that it's better to be safe than sorry?" I scoffed. "Assuming the universe is conspiring against me is the safest route to go. Always."

"Hmm." Jacob hummed as he set down his glass and walked around the bar, not stopping until he was standing right in front of me. "That sounds like it stresses you out."

"Stress is just background noise at this point?—"

"Get on your knees."

"What?"

"You heard me." Jacob gently took the apple and knife out of my grip, placing them on the counter behind us. "Now, be a good boy and do what you're told."

I was completely thrown by his request, but I felt my knees bending toward the floor anyway. When I was settled in place in front of him, I felt his palm underneath my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

"Suck my cock."

"Jacob—"

"You don't want to?"

I felt my face flushing red, as desire swept through my frame. "It's not that. I just?—"

"You just don't want to follow directions."

"I can follow directions," I huffed, my hands moving up toward the zipper of Jacob's jeans. It felt like I had something to prove now, that I needed to remind Jacob that I'd blown his mind before and I could easily do it again.

It didn't take me long to pull down his jeans and boxers, his cock popping free from the fabric. As soon as I laid my eyes on his shaft, my mouth wrapped around it, my tongue licking across his slit. I bobbed my head up and down his cock, loving the way I could feel it hardening against my cheeks.

"Fuck," Jacob groaned above me.

I smiled to myself, pleased with my work. When Jacob's cock started to throb inside my mouth, I playfully put my hands behind my back, making sure Jacob saw me do it, too. I was hoping his next command would involve me using my hands, and I'd get the chance to remind him that he'd ordered me to suck his cock , not get him off using my palms or fingers.

"Always trying to stay in control." He grinned, almost like he was able to read my mind. "Even with my cock in your mouth."

Before I could say anything in response, I felt Jacob's hand resting in my hair, right before he started to thrust his hips against my mouth. I whimpered as I could feel my own cock hardening underneath my pants with Jacob's every thrust, desperate to be touched, desperate for release. Even as his cock hit the back of my throat, all I could think about was Jacob bending me over the bar, pulling down my pants and driving his perfect shaft inside me?—

"Fuck! I'm coming," Jacob groaned, as his come shot down my throat, a few strings of it landing on my tongue. He shifted slightly away from me, far enough for his cock to pop out of my mouth.

And far enough away that I could already see him zipping himself back up.

"Oh." I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice.

"Oh?"

"You're not going to touch me?"

"Don't you have a dinner with the guys tonight? Another impromptu photoshoot?"

"I do, which just means that we'd need to be quick?—"

Jacob cut me off by gently pulling me to my feet, his hands resting on either side of my waist. "Don't worry, Leo. I'm going to fuck you tonight, just the way you like."

He then slid a hand down toward my hard cock, casually rubbing the bulge through the fabric. "Or did you already forget our agreement? You're mine, for as long as you're here. All of you. Whenever I want."

"And you don't want me? Right now?" My voice was low and pleading. "Please, Jacob?—"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then, trust me." Jacob grinned again, as he moved back toward the other side of the bar. "And learn how to let someone else be in charge for once."