6. Zach

Chapter 6

Zach

While Devin was trying on clothes that hugged his ass and his tight muscles so delectably, I was able to track down the impound lot that serviced the airport. After confirming they did pick up a car from that location earlier in the day, I figured we had plenty of time to go pick it up before the fees started to really rack up.

I didn't know if I was pushing too hard between the job and the house and the clothes and now his car, but I couldn't just let him lose everything he owned. Maybe he had some important stuff in that car. And even if he didn't, he needed a car to get around. I rationalized the expense by telling myself it was cheaper to help him get his car out of impound on the same day than to try to buy a different car after he got a few paychecks.

But I was still careful about how I worded my proposition.

We got back into my Bronco, and Devin bounced on the seat. "You live nearby here? I definitely need a shower." He chuckled and looked at me. "Not that I have to tell you that. Sorry, by the way."

I just shrugged. "I'm just as sweaty as you are. And at my age, sweat doesn't smell as alluring as it does at your age."

He slowly turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "You think my sweat smells alluring?"

I just rolled my eyes. " Anyway , we have one more stop to make and then we'll head to my place."

"Okay." He leaned back in the seat and clasped his hands over his lap, either trying to keep himself from fidgeting or hiding a boner. I assumed it was a former but couldn't help the devil in me who hoped it was the latter.

When we pulled up to the impound lot, he looked at me, confused. "Where are we?"

"We're picking up your car."

"No, Zach. Seriously. It's too much. I don't even know what they charge by the hour, but it's definitely more than that car is worth. I'll be fine on the bus. Besides, I plan to let my sexy boss chauffeur me around for a while."

I groaned and killed the engine before I turned him. "Just so we're clear, joking around like that when it's just us is fine, but in the office, we have to keep things professional. I am a new manager in this office, so I wouldn't want anyone to think there was anything inappropriate going on."

He smirked, but I could tell he understood what I was saying. "Nothing inappropriate? We might be a little bit beyond that after…you know." He winked.

"You know what I mean." The little shit. "Come on. Let's go get your car."

Devin didn't argue anymore, following right behind me as we went into the office. He described his car and where it was picked up then quickly filled out the paperwork to get it released to him.

I was anticipating a much bigger bill, but it ended up only being $325 in fees. As soon as he was behind the wheel, I told him to follow me to the gas station, and we filled up both vehicles before he followed me to my house.

The mid-century ranch home I bought was still a bit of a fixer-upper. I'd always been interested in real estate investing and kept my townhouse in Reno as a rental because it was located close to the ski resorts. This little starter home was my second property. It would either be a rental whenever I decided to move out or I'd flip it. Either way, it was lucrative. Even in the few short months that I'd owned it, the value had been steadily increasing, so I'd have some nice equity whether I kept it for a couple years or forever.

It was only a two-bedroom one-bath, but the lot was huge. I'd interviewed a few architects about drawing up plans to extend the back of the house to add a large primary suite. I'd considered adding a pool but was leaning more toward a swim spa that would be easier to maintain and less permanent if I did decide to leave the area.

"You live here alone?" Devin asked as he stepped inside the front door. "No grumpy boyfriend who's going to be mad that you brought home a stray?"

I couldn't tell if he was fishing for information or messing with me or both, but I appreciated his curiosity and wanted to encourage it by being as open with him as I could. "Nope, no boyfriend, grumpy or otherwise. As I mentioned, I don't have a lot of friends in the area. I mostly just go to work and come home. Since I'm the boss, it's not really appropriate for me to socialize with my staff."

He paused in the middle of the living room and turned to look at me. "You know I was just messing with you earlier, but seriously, are you gonna get in trouble for hiring me? I don't wanna jeopardize your job just so I can have a place to work. I can work anywhere. Really."

"No, not at all. I mean…" I rolled my eyes, thinking it through. "It is technically inappropriate for me to hire someone living in my house, I guess, so if you could refrain from mentioning that you're staying with me, that would be good. But I can tell people you're my nephew or friend from Reno. I am allowed to hire people I know. We just have to keep it professional and make sure it never seems like you're getting preferential treatment."

His eyes moved back and forth between mine, watching me carefully. "If you're sure. But let me know if things change. Even just working for a week or two will help me out. It doesn't have to be forever."

I went toward him and wrapped both of my hands around his neck, gently cupping his head and tilting it so he was looking straight at me. Don't sell yourself short, Devin. You deserve a real opportunity. You don't need to settle for just the minimum of anything. If you're given a chance at a good job that you'll enjoy and will make a difference in your life, you take it. You fight for it. Don't be willing to walk away so easily."

He looked a little stunned for a moment before he swallowed hard and nodded. "Thank you, Zach. No one's ever said anything like that to me before. Maybe it's because you don't know me that you have faith in me, but…I appreciate it."

I carried his shopping bags into the guestroom after giving him the grand tour. "Do you know how to pull out one of these beds? This hasn't been used much, so I don't know how comfortable it is. But we can get a new mattress if that one is uncomfortable."

Devin laughed. "Trust me, I'm not picky. If it doesn't have a brake lever digging in my ribs all night long, I'll be just fine."

I nodded, hoping he really was better off with me. "There's only one bathroom, so feel free to take a shower. I'll put some towels out and you can use any of my products." I leaned on the back of the chair across from the bed. "The kitchen should be well-stocked, but we can go shopping later tonight to get your favorite drinks and snacks and stuff. Is there anything else you need right now?"

I expected Devin to make some silly joke or say something inappropriate, but instead, he walked right into my chest and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight. "Thank you so much, Zach. I mean it."

My arms closed around him, and I held him just as tight. "I know, Devin. You're safe now."

We stayed like that for a moment before he cleared his throat and stepped back.

I ducked into the bathroom long enough to take a piss and pull out some towels for him to use, then I went back into my room to change.

The door closed to the bathroom and the water turned on as I was firing up my laptop. I sent a note to my HR manager to tell her I had a new hire starting on Monday for the office manager position and that I'd forward the details later. Mostly because I didn't have any of Devin's details. Other than his first name, I knew nothing about Devin, including whether or not he had any kind of résumé. It wasn't a big deal because he could fill out our online application from my computer, but I kept the details to Melissa vague while making it clear that Devin would be starting on Monday morning.

When he got out of the shower, Devin went straight to the room and closed the door behind him.

I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower myself, eager to rinse off the desert dust before settling in for dinner and…Netflix, apparently.

The bathroom was still steamy when I walked in, and since he had just been in there, washing himself with my body wash and using my towels over his slim muscles and wiping away the water dripping off them, it was hard to keep my own erection at bay.

Fuck, I'd been hard off and on for the past several hours, and if I didn't take care of it now under the shielding noise of the shower, I might embarrass myself—and Devin—while we were watching movies.

I got under the water that was still mostly hot but would get lukewarm soon and quickly scrubbed down my whole body. I wanted to ignore my dick, but as soon as I brushed the soapy cloth across it, I knew I wasn't gonna get out of here without finishing myself off. I wrapped the sudsy towel around my length and sheathed my dick in it, rubbing back and forth over my full length and then reaching down to give my balls a few quick squeezes before pulling back up again.

The towel was soft, but still rough enough to give the perfect amount of friction. I circled my head and back down until I was coming into the spray of water and watching it swirl down the drain as I pressed my head against the back wall and caught my breath.

My nipples were dripping, which only happened when I got off or stopped pumping early, so I gave them a few quick squeezes to empty the milk that was right at the surface and then washed off one more time before hopping out of the shower.

I wasn't used to having a houseguest, so I didn't bring clothes with me to change into. Which meant I had to wrap a towel around my waist and head back to my room to change. As soon as I opened the door, Devin did too, standing just across from me in the doorway of the guestroom in one of his new T-shirts and a pair of soft cotton shorts. We didn't buy the shorts, so they must've been in his car. And that made me extra glad that we'd taken the time to pick it up. I couldn't imagine feeling like you didn't have any possessions at all, and I didn't want him to feel fully beholden to me for all of his needs.

"Oh, hi." His eyes locked with mine for a moment before they dropped down to my chest.

I didn't usually leak, but I could almost feel his gaze pulling a few more drops out to my tips. I ignored that part and held the ends of my towel tighter. "Hey. Let me get dressed and then we can figure out dinner."

"Okay." He looked at me, and then his eyes went down to my nipples again.

I laughed at that. It was just cute. "Not that kind of dinner. I was thinking of actual food."

Devin looked right into my eyes with an obvious hunger in his gaze. "I've never been one to turn down a liquid diet. But I can see how you might want some real food."

As I walked past him, I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed before I headed into my room. Instead of fully shutting the door behind me, I left it half open, careful not to close it all the way. It definitely wasn't an invitation to come in, but I also didn't want Devin to think I was completely shutting him out.

As soon as I was in my room, I dropped my towel and went to my dresser to pull out some shorts and a T-shirt. I stepped into a pair of boxers, hoping they would be at least one more layer of protection against Devin seeing an inappropriate erection if he were to say something flirty or give me one of those adoring looks he had mastered.

Devin was very good at pushing my buttons in a way that continued to surprise me.

I couldn't even remember the last time I was so easily affected by a guy I'd just met. As I pulled the cotton over my ass, I heard Devin gently knock on the door. "Knock, knock. Just wondering if you have anything in mind for dinner or if you want me to throw one of those frozen pizzas in the oven."

I turned toward him and then pulled on my shorts. "A pizza is fine with me, but I also have a couple steaks in the fridge. We could fire up the grill if you want more meat. But we can also do something a bit lighter."

He grinned and raised an eyebrow. "I love me some meat, so that sounds good to me. Believe it or not, I like to protein-load."

I was already getting hard again, so I turned away from him and reached for my T-shirt. "Steaks it is."