11. Jared

11

JARED

T hree hours later, they landed in Marseille, where a limo was waiting to drive them to the marina. Once they arrived, they boarded the luxury yacht and were immediately greeted by Mr. Matisse and at least ten middle-aged men—all holding a glass of champagne and all smiling hungrily at the group of young men who had just boarded their yacht.

After a round of introductions, the group set sail for their three-day cruise around the French Riviera. The cruise wasn't about the destination—it was about a weekend of booze, partying, and watching hot studs grind up against each other. This was how the rich and powerful did business.

It didn't take long for the boys to change into their skin-tight Speedos and join the others on deck for some drinking and partying.

They all knew the drill. They were hired to be friendly, look sexy, and show these guys a good time. The only rule that Matteo regularly enforced during these gigs was no sleeping with the guests .

Matteo insisted that the host of the event sign a legal contract stating that his boys' services included drinking, partying, and stripping naked, but sexual activity with guests was strictly prohibited. Any breach of this clause would result in a one-point-five-million-dollar fine and immediate revocation of the host's membership with La Maison de M . Matteo didn't mess around with this provision. He was serious, and any violation meant the end of their relationship with the club and with Matteo himself. And anyone would tell you that having Matteo as a friend could be very beneficial.

One of Matteo's other stipulations was that a member of La Maison's security team must accompany the boys on the yacht to ensure that the rules of the contract were followed and that the boys' safety was guaranteed.

There had been too many cases of human trafficking occurring all across Europe, and the globe for that matter. Matteo always felt better knowing that a member of his trusted security team was there watching out for his boys.

The guys spent the next few hours flirting, drinking, and applying sunscreen to those "hard to reach" places on so many men. Although, why men could not reach their inner thighs was still a mystery to some.

Men came and went, chatting it up with each of the boys and enjoying a lap dance or two as the day progressed.

Jared, himself, was getting a lot of attention from a few of the German and Greek couples who kept asking him to flex for them and kept grabbing his ass whenever he was turned.

He didn't mind. They kept shoving fifties down his suit so often that he had to keep running back to his room to drop off his cash. These weekends were gold mines for Matteo's boys.

No matter how busy he was or how many guys were vying for his attention, Jared's eyes always found Isaac's.

They watched each other from across the yacht. Both of them drifting toward each other whenever possible.

Jared did what he could to discreetly insert himself into groups and conversations that Isaac was having with guests. Most men didn't mind. Why flirt with one hot stud when you can flirt with two?

Whenever they weren't together, Jared would catch Isaac casually looking around as if searching for his big, muscled protector. His cheeks would always flush whenever they found Jared's.

Isaac may not be aware, but Jared had secretly been in love with the annoying little menace for quite some time now. There was nothing that he wouldn't do for the pain in his ass.

As the hours passed by, the men on the ship became more intoxicated and a lot more… handsy. It got to the point where Jared decided to park himself right beside Isaac and run interference if things got too… out of hand.

That, and he also didn't like other men pawing at the guy who gave him a boner every morning, but of course, that he kept to himself.

Around midnight, Jared had enough of watching guys grope and grab at Isaac. His tolerance was running thin, and it would be bad for business if he started throwing men overboard.

Instead, he decided to take the less obvious route and began pouring the guys double shots of whatever liquor was available.

"Another shot for my sexy man," Jared encouraged as he began pouring shots directly into men's open mouths.

Some took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed a handful of his ass cheek or even were so bold as to cop a feel of his junk.

Whatever. He didn't care if they grabbed him. More hands on him meant fewer hands on Sonic.

Forty minutes later, the deck had cleared out and Jared and Isaac made their way back to the cabin that they were both sharing.

"Man, I wish I brought a bigger suit," Isaac huffed, pulling handfuls of cash out of his swimsuit and dropping them down on the bed.

Jared stepped next to him and began tossing the cash from his swimsuit onto the bed as well.

"Makin' it rain!" he chuckled as he dropped some of the bills on top of Isaac's head.

They both laughed, flopping down onto the bed next to each other. With an exhausted sigh, they turned to face one another. Eyes locked together, their smiles slowly faded.

Staring into each other's eyes, they decided to finally address the issue that had been in the back of their minds all day.

"Umm, do you think we should talk about what happened this morning?" Jared asked, afraid of what the outcome might be.

The boy blinked, then looked down at Jared's chest.

"I'm happy ignoring the giant elephant in the room. We Irish are good at avoiding our feelings and drinking away our troubles."

"So, you have feelings?" Jared asked, raising an eyebrow and giving a smirk.

Isaac gave him side eye.

"I have lots of feelings. I feel like smothering you with a pillow. I feel like eating a tub of ice cream all by myself. I feel like tying you to the bed, then leaving you for Mr. Padamon to find."

Mr. Padamon was one of the guests they met earlier in the day. The man apparently didn't believe in deodorant, even under this killer hot sun. So, in an act of self-preservation, all the guys did their best to remain on opposite sides of the yacht from the man. He was probably the only guest who was going to return home from this trip with all of his cash still in hand.

"Ow, you're harsh," Jared responded with a snigger.

"See, got lots of feelings all swirling around inside my head," Isaac added, doing his best not to make direct eye contact.

"That's not where feelings reside," Jared noted.

He didn't want to force Isaac to talk if he wasn't ready. Jared was a patient man and would give Isaac all the space that he needed to process what had happened last night and then again this morning. Isaac may be stubborn, but he was well worth the wait.

"Well, if you ever want to talk about your… feelings… just know that I'm always here to listen."

Isaac nodded without saying a word.

"And just so we're clear, I had a really good time this morning, but you still annoy the fuck out of me," Jared clarified.

That solicited a cautious smile from Isaac and a glance in his direction.

"Also, thanks for coming and sitting with me last night while I went through my little… episode." Jared hated calling it an episode but wasn't sure what else to call it.

The bed shifted as Isaac turned to face him.

"You have a lot of nightmares, don't you?"

Jared nodded. "They've been getting better over the years, but sometimes something will trigger them, and the memories come flooding back.

Now, it was Jared's turn to feel vulnerable and uncomfortable.

Isaac slipped his hand into Jared's and rubbed his thumb against the back of his skin. It was such a small gesture, but he immediately started to feel better.

"I get dark thoughts as well sometimes," Isaac whispered. His eyes were lowered as he opened up to Jared. "I do my best to hide it, and Dr. LeFleur really helps when I need to talk it out, but sometimes the thoughts just creep up on me, and I do what I can to ride it out."

"I had no idea." Jared felt a lump of guilt form in his throat.

He felt guilty that Isaac had been suffering all this time, and Jared hadn't even noticed.

"I wish you would've told me. I could have been there to help you through it, just like you've been there for me all those times."

Isaac lay there in silence.

"I'm guessing that all the mornings I found you slipping out of my room were nights that I had my nightmares?" Isaac nodded slowly. "That's so strange. I always woke up those mornings feeling so well-rested and refreshed. Like I'd just had the best night's sleep of my life. I never would have guessed that those were the nights I had my nightmares."

Jared still couldn't believe that all those nights, Isaac had snuck into his room to care for him. That was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for him.

"The first time I snuck into your room, I tried to wake you up, but you decked me in the face," Isaac recounted.

Jared's eyes went wide. "What?" Jared exclaimed in shock. "Was that the time you said you accidentally dropped your phone on your face while lying in bed?"

Isaac nodded, giving him a guilty smile.

"Holy shit. I'm so sorry, dude." Jared felt horrible. He couldn't imagine hurting the sweet boy lying next to him.

"No worries. You hit like a two-year-old." They both laughed. "Yeah, the next time I heard you having a nightmare, I decided not to try and wake you. I had heard once that human touch could calm an agitated patient, so I thought I'd try gently holding you while you slept, and funny enough, it calmed you right down. The second I wrapped my arm around you, you stopped shaking and fighting in your sleep."

"Wow, that's insane." Jared couldn't believe that had actually worked. Then, another thought crossed his mind. "So, why did you insist on sneaking out of my room before I woke up?"

Isaac stared at him for a moment as if grappling with the decision to tell him the truth.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be embarrassed knowing that I saw you having an… episode."

Sweet and considerate. What the fuck? The more he got to know Isaac, the more he wanted to hold him in his arms and never let him go.

"So, can I ask what the nightmares are about?" Isaac asked, gently caressing the skin on Jared's chest.

Jared reached around and slid his arm under the back of Isaac's neck, pulling Isaac close into his chest. He wanted to be near him and listen to his heartbeat once again.

"The doc says I've got a case of PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. When I was in the army, I witnessed some really fucked up shit. Men being blown apart, and women being mutilated because they dared to question their husbands. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can still hear their screams, begging me to save them."

Jared held Isaac close. He hated remembering all the horrors he had witnessed.

"Matteo found me in a bar one night drinking myself stupid. He sat down next to me and said that I had the saddest eyes he had ever seen."

Isaac caressed Jared's chest as if trying to calm his angry soul.

"Over the course of the next three nights, I kept running into Matteo at that same bar, and each night, we continued talking. By the fourth night, I barely touched my second drink and found myself agreeing to come back to the chateau with him so that I could meet with one of his doctor friends. I didn't realize it at the time, but his ‘friend' was actually a psychologist who M had brought in to talk with me, while he secretly paid for the whole thing himself. I only found out later when I started meeting with the doc on a regular basis."

Jared lay there for a moment, enjoying the warmth of Isaac's body pressed up against his. He felt calm and connected like he could say anything to this man and wouldn't be judged.

"Ever since I've been working with the doc, my episodes have been less frequent. I really owe a lot to M and all of you at La Maison . Having you all around and feeling like a real family has given me something to hold on to."

Isaac squeezed his body.

It was such a relief sharing this all with Isaac. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, and he could finally be open and honest about who he was.

"Thank you for sharing with me," Isaac whispered, resting his cheek on Jared's chest.

"Thank you for being there for me." Jared leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Isaac's head.

Slowly, he felt Isaac's hand slide down his chest and land on his package.