32. Ford

CHAPTER 32

FORD

While I was getting ready to go meet Alex, Brooks, and Kale at The Black Door, Boston texted me a picture of his erection. The thick swell of his shaft and the precum pooled at the tip were enough to stop me in my tracks, and I braced myself against the edge of the bathroom counter to stare harder at my phone.

Boston : It hurts.

I groaned, cracking my neck before typing out a reply.

Me : Is there a question there, sweetheart? Because I'm not hearing it.

Boston : Can I come?

Me : I've seen you do it more than once.

Boston : MAY I come?

I huffed, a smile flashing across my face because I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, even through text.

Me : No

Boston : Are you serious?

Me : Want to test me and see?

Boston : How would you know?

Me : Are you implying you would lie to me about it?

I dug some pomade out of the small tub beside my sink and rubbed it together until it was warm, then ran my fingers back into my hair to style the strands away from my face. It wasn't that I didn't want Boston to come—I very much enjoyed Boston coming. I even enjoyed it if we weren't together. But the night ahead of me felt like something to endure and I selfishly didn't want to be alone in my misery.

Boston : I've never lied to you.

I rinsed my hands in the sink and dried them on my hand towel, then snatched my phone off the counter and flipped off the lights. I was already behind schedule on account of the fact I didn't want to go, but I hoped that with Brooks and Alex both knowing the truth about my relationship status, they'd help run interference so Kale didn't notice I wasn't as eager as usual.

Me : Don't come until you're with me.

Me : Why are you even hard right now?

Boston : I took a nap after dinner and woke up with it.

Me : What did you dream about?

There was a knock at my front door, and I hopped toward it, phone in one hand, shoes in the other. I unlocked the door to let Brooks inside, then leaned against the wall beside him and laced up my shoes. He held his hand out for my phone.

"Not a chance in hell," I said, holding the device between my teeth so I could finish with my shoes.

"The last thing I want is to read your dirty messages to Kale's baby brother."

"They're four minutes apart." I finished off the last lace and swiped the screen on to see what Boston had said in answer to my question. "They're the same age."

Boston : You tied me up again, spanked me, then you…fucked me.

I swallowed hard, rubbing my eyes. I would have woken up with an erection too.

Me : Save it for when you're home.

Me : I'm going out with the guys. I'll be with your brother, so I won't be able to text much. Sorry.

Boston : It's not forever. I miss you.

Me : I miss you.

"Are you done?" Brooks asked with a sigh.

I took one last look at my phone before sliding it back into my pocket.

"I'm done," I told him, checking my other pockets for my wallet and my keys. "I told you I would have met you there."

"Didn't want you to bail."

I shoved Brooks back out of the house and locked the door behind me. The Black Door was walkable from my house, but I was very happy to find a town car idling alongside the curb and a driver standing with his hand on the back door handle at the ready .

"I'm not bailing," I said, pushing him out of the way to climb into the car first. "I want you to know, by the way, Alex knows about Boston."

The car door closed as Brooks settled onto the seat beside me, one brow arched toward his hairline. "How did that happen?"

"I told him."

"When?" he asked.

"The night Boston left for California," I said. "I called him up and he answered. We went for drinks and I crashed at his place."

"I'm just glad he's alive," Brooks said.

"I think he's almost back to normal."

The car pulled away from the curb and shot down the street until it reached a red light and jerked to a stop.

"Beamer really did a number on him."

"I think Beamer opened his eyes to some things that were maybe more important to him than he thought," I said.

I didn't want to go into details about the late night conversation Alex and I had shared, but it was safe to say Marigold's dirty martinis were some of the best social lubricant I'd ever had.

"I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready," Brooks said.

The car lurched away from the light and made a right turn toward the club. I sighed and dropped my head against the headrest.

"You're really serious about him, aren't you?" Brooks asked a moment later.

I didn't bother looking at him. I just nodded in agreement.

"Alright," he said, like my answer had helped him make some decision for himself I hadn't even been aware of .

"Alright?"

The car stopped in front of The Black Door.

"Alright," he said again, not bothering to wait for the driver to come around and open the door. I crawled out after him, tilting my head to the side.

"Don't worry about everything," Brooks said, reaching up and flicking the collar of my shirt. "Just worry about how you're going to tell Kale that you're sticking it to his precious baby brother."

"They're the same age!"

Brooks laughed, then raised a shoulder and cleared his throat, stare flickering to a distant point over my shoulder. I schooled my features and glanced behind me, finding Kale coming down the street with Alex beside him. With his broad shoulders and thick-rimmed glasses, Alex looked the polar opposite of Kale, and I wondered what the group of us looked like to outsides. Beamer had been a brick wall of a man himself, Kale and Brooks were on the smaller side of things. I was slender, but taller than them both, and I imagined us to look like some sort of mismatched circus troupe.

"I hope you fuckers are ready for a good time," Kale said, ushering all three of us toward the door. "I'm ready to live vicariously through you."

"Don't act like you're bored of monogamy," Brooks drawled.

"It suits you," I said.

Kale grinned, and the four of us showed our IDs at the desk and then headed for the bar. Still thinking of my outing with Alex, I ordered a dirty martini to start, but it came nowhere near to the one we'd had at Tryst. He offered a similar reaction to his drink, but didn't say anything about it. If I hadn't just spent the night with him, I would have been worried about the mood, but I knew Alex was slowly but surely making his way back to us.

"Down here or upstairs?" Kale asked, taking a look around.

I'd always favored the downstairs for the start of the night because something about seeing people disappear down the dark hallways toward the private rooms always got me going. I worried, though, that with the visual of Boston's hard and leaking cock in the forefront of my mind, the proximity would only put me on edge.

"Let's go upstairs," I said.

Kale had always favored the top floor, finding the guests less inhibited. Just one of the many ways the two of us differed.

The elevator was open and waiting when we got there, so the four of us crowded in. A couple who'd been trailing behind us from the bar managed to get in at the same time, the scent of the arousal between them immediately filling and then overpowering the space. I patted my cellphone against my leg, staring at the seam in the doors and willing them to open for some air. As soon as they parted, I was out of the elevator and sucking in as much fresh air as I could breathe.

"You all right?" Kale asked, clapping his hand against my back a couple of times.

"Fine," I said quickly, scrubbing a hand down my face. "Just got a little claustrophobic in there for a second."

"I didn't know you were."

"Neither did I."

Alex and Brooks headed past us toward the main room, no doubt either looking for seats or looking for partners. Probably both. I knew Alex had been looking to get back into the swing of things, but until I saw the predatory way his eyes scanned the crowd, I hadn't realized just how much he'd meant it.

"Surprised you're not off prowling with them," Kale said, weaving around a table and taking a seat on a small couch fit for two. I sat down beside him and moved the olive skewer out of the way so I could get a drink of my martini.

"The night is young, Sheffield. Relax."

"It's been a while since you pulled," Kale went on.

"Been awhile since you came up for air," I countered, chomping down on an olive. "There's plenty that you've missed."

"You'll have to enlighten me."

I spied an awkward-looking twenty-something across the room and raised my finger to shut Kale up.

"You'll have to wait."

I sucked down another olive and headed to the other side of the room. The man I'd set my sights on was alone as far as I could tell and attractive enough, but nowhere near as good looking as Boston. He appeared a little nervous and a lot out of place, like if someone threw him a life preserver, he'd thank them for it for the rest of his life.

"You look like you want to be anywhere but here," I said when I approached him, flicking the last olive off the skewer and into the bottom of my drink.

"What?" His voice cracked a little and he blinked up at me with wild eyes.

"You look miserable."

"My friends ditched me," he said. "I don't know anyone."

In another life, I would have probably taken him into a back room and found a way for him to pass the time until his friends reappeared. But I knew the old Ford was already long dead and buried.

"What were you looking to get into tonight?" I asked.

"Just…" He trailed off and looked around with a frown. "All of it, I think. I honestly wouldn't mind getting into you."

"You're bold." I tsked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. "And I'm taken."

"Shit. Sorry."

I held up my hand and gave him a quick shake of my head. "You're fine. I'm taken, but nobody knows and that puts me in a bit of a bind."

"How so?" he asked.

"Because my friends haven't ditched me yet." I glanced over my shoulder at where I'd left Kale, finding a smirk playing across his mouth while I talked to the decent-looking stranger. "I need a decoy."

"A what?"

Knowing Kale was watching, I took a step closer, resting my forearm against the wall beside the man's head. I should ask his name, but I really didn't even care what it was. I never would have asked before.

"Decoy," I said, angling my head like I was going to kiss his neck. He smelled like drug store soap. He couldn't have been more different from Boston, and the rouse had me wanting to throw up all over my shoes. "I'll give you all the cash in my billfold if you come sit at my feet for a while and do what you're told."

"Sexually?" The question was far breathier than it had any right being.

"Maybe for you, but not for me. I just want you to pretend you're being a good little boy waiting for me to get tired of talking with my friends so I'll take you home and fuck you silly."

"But you won't take me home?" he asked.

"I'll walk you out front and give you all the cash I have on me," I promised him.

"And you'll buy my drinks?"

That wildness in his eyes had sparked into something a little more knowing than I'd initially read it as. I narrowed my eyes, wondering if I was getting played. Though, I supposed it didn't matter. I wasn't going to spend any substantial time with the man. I wanted him to pretend he was biding his time and nothing more.

"I'll buy your drinks," I said. "But that's all this is. A transaction."

"Understood," he whispered.

"No touching," I told him. "Nothing sexual at all."

"What about with your friend?" His stare flickered toward Kale behind me.

"He's married to a prince."

It was an exaggeration, but I didn't want the little actor to get any ideas.

"No, the other one."

I turned to look toward the couch, finding Brooks sitting in the seat I'd been ready to occupy before hatching my brilliant plan. His eyes were focused in on me like laser beams, mouth pulled into a tight line.

"You're welcome to have at it with him," I said, turning back. "Do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal," he said, pushing off the wall.

I downed the rest of my martini and then pulled a hundred out of my billfold. "Go get me another dirty martini and get whatever you want for yourself. Then come back and get on your knees at my feet."

There'd been a time when the action alone would have done something for me, but now it wasn't anything more than a lifesaving measure. I wondered if Boston would be mad over it, knowing how much he liked being at my feet. I'd tell him in the morning and hope for the best.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" the man called after I took a step back toward the couch.

"My name doesn't matter," I said, "but the one you're eye-fucking over my shoulder is named Astor Brooks."

"My name is Tate," he said with a brief smile at the bill in his hand. At a certain angle, I could see the appeal of a man like him, but there was only one man for me and it definitely wasn't him.

"That's great." I shrugged, mouth quirked up in the corner. "But I really don't care at all. Now, I thought we had a deal?"

Tate swallowed, cheeks flushing pink. "We do."

"Then you best keep up your end of it." I jerked my head toward the bar. "Go get us drinks and then do what you've been told."