Yes, Master Part 13



So I left you with quite a zinger last chapter and I hope you like what I have in store this time around.  A big thank you to all my loyal readers out there!!!!  I love you guys!  Seriously, I'd be a hot mess without the lot of you.  So again THANKS!

Something tickled my nose and I woke up with a shiver.  My back and ass were frozen but that came second to the shocking sight in front of me. Curled up against me completely naked, pale and shaking was Tate.  His lips chattered softly and his small hands were tucked under his arms as he slept.  The blanket that I brought into the bathroom was tossed to the side sometime in the middle of the night and I snatched it up instinctively.  What was he doing in here? I thought pulling the blanket around us and watching a small sigh escape him.  Why would he come anywhere near me again?  He hated me right?  I was a heartless bastard that didn't have any future family prospects and would die alone.  Yet, here in the bathroom, Tate Raymee nested in between my legs and against my chest sound asleep.

I didn't know if I could stay here and let him touch me or be within a distance that I could smell him.  I was numb inside after last night; the crying, the breaking down, the realization that I really would end up alone....hurt.  But after the hurt came the nothingness.  That feeling that you don't feel but you know it's there.  So I just stared down at him in wonder.  What did he want from me?  I thought I knew but apparently I was wrong.  I couldn't do this.  I couldn't sit here and hold him knowing that when he woke up he would immediately regret his decision to cuddle and reject me all over again.  I had to get out of here. What time was it?  Shit! I had that meeting with Hightower this afternoon.

Slowly, I shifted around him and gently lowered his body to the cool tile floor, wrapping the blanket tight around him.  He looked so sad and small wrapped up in the big blanket but he wasn't mine to touch anymore.  He'd made that clear.  Tears pricked at my eyes and I exhaled, wiping any evidence of pain away with the back of my hand and turning back to the bedroom.  Stepping into the warmth of the cozy carpeted room, I noticed how dark it still was outside.  What?  Rounding the bed, I snatched my cell phone up from the floor where Tate had thrown it and slid the screen to life. Two in the morning? That means I only slept for...

"You were only out for about two hours," a groggy voice came from behind me.  "After thirty minutes had passed and you didn't come back, I went to check on you.  You were already out cold. I...I couldn't leave you and I couldn't move you in here.  Olly, I have no..."

"You have no idea what you did Tate."  A tear ran down my cheek and I felt like a fucking woman.  Where were these things coming from?  A magical bottomless pit of pussy tears?

"I'm sorry Oliver. Please just let me explain.  Please," he begged behind me and I heard his voice get closer. That meant he was coming closer.  My heart started to race.

"Explain what Tate?  That you were scared and decided to get rid of me before shit got too real for you," I almost whispered and turned to face him. Staring up at me with his wide eyes and smothered by that enormous blanket, Tate looked so much younger.  He looked like a child who had just woken up from a nightmare and all I wanted to do was comfort him.  My fingers ached to touch him but I couldn't do it and folded my arms across my chest to hide the need. 

"I never expected any of this for myself; you, us, none of it.  And just when I feel it really sinking in that I don't think I can be with anyone else after you... Just when it hurts to think about leaving you for anything...  Just when I start to feel something period Tate!  You fucking break me.  You.  You did this. Not me," I croaked and let the tears fall. Turning away from him, I sat on the edge of the bed and put my face in my hands.  There it goes Oliver.  You feel that? Yeah buddy, that's you losing your shit.  You just got royally screwed by a tiny man with pretty hair.  Loser. Feel that burn in your chest?  That's where he's ripping out your heart.  You know that thing that you don't know how to use because mommy and daddy never loved you?  Hurts doesn't it?

"He made me love him, or so I thought.  Alex, I mean.  He was sweet and caring in the beginning.  He took me on little trips to Bennett Wharf on his free weekends and told me things about himself that no one else knew.  Or so he said," Tate snorted and moved closer to the window.  "He told me I was beautiful and I caught him staring at me at least three times a day which in my mind meant I was the one for him.  I was over the moon that a man like him would want me.  A nobody and the high school nerd that never got asked out because he was fag.  The guy no one wanted to be friends with because he was a scrawny nothing.  Finally, someone looked at me and my heart ached to know what that meant.  He made me call him...David because that's his middle name and he likes it better. Only I could call him that because he liked the way I said it. How fucking stupid I was to believe that shit."

"Stop," I breathed.  I didn't want to know anymore.  "Just stop."

"No," he replied flatly and continued.  "I thought that if I could impress him by knowing what I was doing, he would never let me go.  That's why I said yes to you.  There you were, this big gorgeous piece of man telling me I had to come home with you.  It was almost like a set-up; like someone knew my dirty plan and was pushing me towards the dark side.  But when you...touched me it didn't feel so dirty.  It felt sexy and amazing and just right.  It was like your hands were made to fit against my body and you were meant to be inside of me.  I didn't stick around in the morning though.  I couldn't hear you tell me to leave. I just couldn't especially after you took...yea. Afterwards...it was like he knew something too.  Alex started getting angry with me, yelling and screaming over the smallest things.  I was so scared Oliver, you have no idea. But what was scarier above everything else was how I couldn't get you out of my head.  I tried and tried but every night I went home and thought of you.  How you smelled like sweat and spice, the sound of your deep voice, the feeling of your breath on my neck.  You were like a drug to my mind and in those days after we... I tried to find out who you were but what the hell could I find with just a first name right?

The day that you came into the office was the day I had decided to just give it up. Finding you that is. I never even thought about sleeping with Alex after you and I had sex because I was hoping to see you again but I realized you were long gone.  So that morning I told Alex he had a meeting but it was just an excuse to get him alone.  I thought he was the only one who still wanted me, so I thought I owed him something." Tate started to cry.

"What did you do Tate?" I stood up.  Hearing this was making me crazy.  If Alex touched Tate, I would skin that playboy son of a bitch alive.  Tate was my… He wasn't my anything anymore.

"I almost…  I was so close to...  But I couldn't do it with him!" Tate turned around and sobbed.  "He was so angry but he let it go because he was more excited to 'fuck with his next appointment'. I didn't know it was you but I was so happy it was.  I didn't know what to say to you and I almost didn't care what you were saying to me.  I wasn't angry that you called me a whore or a spy or whatever.  I was mad that you didn't put your fucking arms around me and take me away from him immediately.  Then you did and I didn't know what to do after that.  I didn't know how you felt about me, so I acted angry because that made sense over some crazed infatuation with someone I had sex with once.

Then you kissed me.  Your first kiss Oliver.  Do you have any idea how special that is to me?  That someone like you would give me that?  I will remember that moment for the rest of my life, even if you never speak to me again.  You followed that kiss with the hottest sex I will ever have and made me feel like...I dunno what to call it but it was amazing.  It just kept getting better and more intense.  So intimate I almost couldn't breathe around you.  Then we went to my parent’s house and I had no idea that you really felt that way about family or I would never have brought you there Oliver, I swear it.  But when you looked at my sister like you did.  It was like dread was made physical in your eyes.  Like the word marriage made you see death or something. I thought right then and there that this thing we had would expire.  That in a month or so you would realize I wanted more and get rid of me.  So instead of being broken for the second time...I pushed you away first. 

I know I'm a headcase and I don't know everything about sex or relationships or any of it really but I am sorry.  God, I am so sorry." He walked to me and fell to his knees, letting the blanket pool around the floor, surrounding his naked body.  His thin arms wrapped around my legs and shook with emotion.  "Please forgive me.  If you meant what you said last night, please forgive me."

What do you say to that? How am I supposed to feel when his warm skin is pressed to mine and his voice is all shaky and innocent like?  Fuck, even sobbing and naked he's beautiful. In that three second breath I knew for sure.  I love him.  Oh my God, I really do and the realization that I'm sure that this is it for me is physical.  My stomach clenched into knots and I tried to swallow but something felt stuck.  Before I knew it, I was reaching for him; pulling him up onto the bed and laying him out underneath me.  My mouth found his and I sighed against his lips as we kissed.  My large hands pawed down his thin body, one cupping his hip and the other coming back up to his face.  Tenderly, I ran my fingers down his jaw and pulled a deep breath through my nose, kissing him like he would evaporate at any second. 

Fuck everything else.  I loved this man.  Two weeks or two hours, hateful little shit or not....none of it mattered except that we were stuck with each other now.  He didn't seem to mind that fact and wrapped his legs around my hips, rotating his perfect little dick against my stomach while his soft hands fluttered over my bare back.  I broke from his mouth and watched his eyes dilate a little with passion and shock.  I could feel the emotion fill my own eyes and said nothing before I started to taste my way slowly down his neck, making love to his skin with my lips and tongue.  He cried out with this soft exclamation of appreciation.  It was like he was painfully relieved. 

His hands ran over my head, raking through my hair with his nails, and running them down the sensitive skin at the back of my neck causing me to shiver.  His calves slipped off my hips and his feet slid down my legs as I moved lower on his body.  I couldn't get enough of him.  Everything was different about his body to me now.  He wasn't just my sub or a body that happened to have a nice penis attached.  He was my lover, my boyfriend, and his skin was the most beautiful texture I would ever know.  I took my time now, exploring every inch of his silky flesh while grazing a finger over his hardened nipple. He shuddered underneath me and his breathing was sharp and quick.  With my tongue flattened on his chest, I ran it over his hardened nub slowly, letting him really feel it.  His hands tightened in my hair and his head dug back into the pillows.

I loved watching him so far gone and I liked it even more knowing I was the one who did it.  I had always been so focused on controlling him that I hadn't noticed that it was watching his pleasure that really did me in, not ordering him around or making him suck me off.  Although that was still hot, the dominating wasn't what I had wanted all along.  I was and forever would be more dominant than Tate but it was because I liked taking care of him, I liked being stronger to protect him, I liked his gentle body and the way I covered him with my larger one.  I liked making him cum because it was beautiful and he deserved to be pleasured but more over that I was the one doing it.  I liked that he had only been with me and would never touch anyone else ever again.  The very thought fueled me and I sucked his nipple into my mouth making him arch against me.  I slipped my hands under his back and rocked back onto my heels with him falling into my lap.  I ate away at the bud in my mouth while he danced in my lap with his head thrown back.

"Oliver," he moaned in need and I forced a hand between our bodies to grip his erection.

"Like that baby?" I groaned and he threw an arm around my neck looking me in the eye with a genuine smile that made me want to cry again. 

"Right there, just like...yes." He closed his eyes and moaned at the feeling of my hand rubbing his liquid arousal over his shaft.  With his eyes still closed I leaned in and kissed him softly.  If this was what he wanted I'd try my hardest to give it to him.  Even though my body strained to throw him up against the wall, plunge myself inside of him and just fuck him stupid.  But I had to admit this was nice too.  It was just that all the emotion that was attached to what we were doing was so intense that I felt like I would explode from not being able to describe it. 

Tate described it just fine though.  With his hands and his tongue he told me just what we were doing and how he felt about me.  Each touch was deliberate and meant to evoke something beyond lust and my heart went into overdrive; pounding in my chest like a drum.  Still kissing him, I lowered him onto his back again and heard the whimper come from him as I moved away from his lips, moving my mouth close to his ear.

"I didn't mean it Olly.  Not a word," Tate breathed on my cheek and I nodded against him.

"I know. Don't go there. Be here with me," I pleaded quietly and laid a kiss on his cheek before sliding down his body and in between his open legs.

My hands glided over his smooth legs as if to memorize their feel by my touch and their length under my fingers.  He was so hairless it was unbelievable.  Not even around his cut erection was there a hair to be seen. I chuckled thinking of how different we were and put my tanned and very hairy hands against his pale flesh.  His little hips bucked up to meet me as I dipped my head towards his cock.  My dark eyes cut up to his and he looked like he would cry with relief as I took him into my mouth.  Sucking on the salty head of his penis, I circled my tongue around him slowly, delving into his small slit a few times to watch him squirm.  Pulling up off the head of him I pushed his erection towards his stomach and licked a slow line from the head down to the base, continuing down to his dark pink balls.  He almost hopped off the bed when I gently pulled one into my mouth and rolled it around with my tongue.

My hand shot out and clamped him down to the bed but I realized that he might not like being tethered down and started to pull away.  Thin fingers snatched my hand back and Tate pulled my middle finger into his mouth, sucking it down in his passionate haze. He really was something else. His little moves surprised me and I wanted to make him cum so badly that I didn't even care about myself right now even though I was so hard it hurt.  Without another thought I managed to fit both of his balls in my mouth and pumped a hand over his cock. 

"Oh God!  Oliver, baby oh yes..." Tate cracked and wavered.  His voice went incredibly low and sinful; something completely new to my ears and I liked it. And he called me baby, I smiled and sucked harder.  Fuck, yes.

"I'm gonna...soon...really," he babbled.  He was right though and I let his tight balls drop slip from my mouth and immediately consumed his cock without warning.  His hands went back to my head and urged me on.  I took him down lips to skin over and over, swirling my mouth down his length to give him as much pleasure as he had already given me.  His nails dug into my scalp and I knew he was going to cum.  Sure enough he moaned and gasped filling my throat with his hot as hell release.  Give it to me baby.  Every fucking drop, I mused in my head as I sucked him so hard my jaw was starting to burn.  After a few minutes of cleaning him thoroughly I sat up and looked at him.  His hands moved down to the sides of my face and he urged me towards his lips. 

Giving him a quick kiss I knew I had things I wanted to say to him and rolled us over with him on top of me.  He snorted and I pushed his bangs out of his face watching his eyes dart away shyly.  "Look at me...please," I said, rubbing his cheek with my thumb.  Reluctantly his eyes fell on mine and I took a deep breath that both of us felt. 

"I've never been this close to anyone, Tate.  I've never had a boyfriend or a crush on someone.  I have no experience in what to do, what you need, or what you want for that matter.  But I know I want you with me.  I want you in my bed every night not just for sex although I like that too." I grinned and he blushed and looked away.  "Huh uh.  I need to see your eyes.  I wanna know that you understand what I'm saying to you."  My tone caught his full attention and his fingers started to play nervously with the hair on my chest.

"These past few weeks have been up and down and a lot has happened.  I think maybe the two us being thrown together under pressure brought us closer than say a normal new couple would be, but fuck normal right?  Neither of us are normal and I don't want to be.  I want to be us, drama and all.  I don't want anyone else because no one will ever look at me like you're looking at me right now, like I'm the only person that exists.  Do you know what I see when I look at you Tate?"

"No," he whispered and his bangs fell into his eyes.  I chuckled and pushed those damn things out of face once more.  "I see the most beautiful scrawny ass nerd in the entire universe," I declared with a smile and he started to laugh.  I rolled us back over until he was under me once more.  "One step at a time?" I asked and he nodded with a smile.  "No more nonsense?  You'll tell me what's up from now on?"  I grinned.

"No more I promise.  I'll talk it out with you." He bit his lip.

"Good." I winked and brought my lips an inch from his. "Now if you don't mind I'd really like to make love to you." I smiled and he moaned as I kissed him roughly.  Okay yes it was rough but whatever. Cut me some slack, I'm trying here. My boyfriend didn't mind though and pulled me closer, his hand wrapped around the back of my neck and his knees creeping closer to his chest with every grind of my pelvis to his.

"Open up baby," I murmured, rubbing his wet lips with two of my fingers.  Eagerly, he sucked them into his mouth because he knew exactly what was coming next. He forced my digits out of his mouth with his tongue once they were all slick and stringy with his spit.

"Both of them, please I can't wait," he groaned and I nodded.  Man, it was like this lovey dovey shit put him in heat or something. Not that I minded an abundance of sex or anything it was just weird watching someone previously unaware of what sex felt like bloom into this panting sex fiend.  I grinned, yeah but he was my little sex fiend now.  With that thought, I brought my fingers to his hole and pushed against his muscle to gain access.  He relaxed but I felt his legs shaking on either side of my torso and with my free hand I stroked his hair trying to soothe him a little.  To my surprise he took both fingers smoothly and didn't ask to wait this time.  Within minutes my fingers were gliding in and out of him with ease. 

"No more, I need you Olly.  In me, baby please," he begged looking into my eyes.  How could I say no to that?

"Okay I got you.  It's alright," I murmured and leaned down to kiss him as I lined up my cock with his warm entrance and pushed.  Immediately I was engulfed by Tate's glorious heat and tight muscle.  It was just what I needed after the last few hours of hell.  I needed to connect with him on some other level than words and being inside of him did just that.  His legs tightened around my back and our hands twined together. Our mouths moved like we shared the same thoughts while I glided into him with slow, deep thrusts that both of us felt with every muscle in our bodies.  Yeah, this was so different than anything I had ever felt.  This had to be it.  I was terrified to tell him but I knew I would have to because chances are...he felt exactly the same.  He had to right?

"Feels so good, Olly.  God, right there," his voice hitched and his torso tilted a little as if to guarantee I would hit this mystery spot again.  Apparently it worked because soon he was basically shuddering with pleasure underneath me.  His mouth was open and our eyes were locked together.  Something in his gaze made me move faster and his need was confirmed when his heels dug into my lower back to trap me in place. 

"Is that it?  Right there baby?" I panted, working up a sweat on my forehead. 

"Yes!" He cried and flung his head to the side in rapture.  His muscles tightened around me and it was like he was trying to squeeze the life out of my dick but it felt so damn good.  "Cum inside of me.  Give it to me Olly."

"Fuck," I growled and balanced a hand against the back of his thigh and pounded his ass good.  My fingers flew to his once again hard cock and started pumping in time with my hard at work hips.  This time I felt the building of my orgasm.  Something swirled around my chest, fluttered in my legs, tensed along my spine and then it came rushing at me all at once. 

Tate grabbed his cock out of my hand and stroked himself as my hands wrapped around his ankles as I proceeded to get in as many thrusts as possible before I lost it.  Seeming to realize this, Tate really started to let go.  His body ground into mine, his hips rolling like a fucking gyspy underneath me, meeting me thrust for thrust.  Then his eyes narrowed and he let go of his cock to press his palms into the headboard and let out one of those sexy ass animal like noises from earlier.  The bed shook and the room spun as sweat dripped down my furry chest and onto his pristine body.  So intense, all of it was just so god damn hot.  All that was missing was some Massive Attack and a fifth of bourbon.  Well in my fantasy anyway. 

But this wasn't a fantasy was it?  This was real and so was this hot boy underneath me.  Well I'll be damned, I smiled and brought my sweaty palms down his legs and spread them to my sides while slowing my pace and hitting him deeper. 

"You fuck me so good Olly," my little freak moaned and I licked up his body, keeping his fidgeting legs pressed underneath me.

"Do I baby?" I played along, I was rapidly catching on to his love of bed talk. 

"Mm hm," he murmured between chewing on his lip. 

"I'm gonna come Tate, deep inside you." I shuddered knowing that I couldn't hold it back any longer and pressed my chest to his, our faces side by side.

"Me too, Olly.  Oh God, me too,” his voice cried out, his nails surely opening up the skin of my back as he clung to me. 

Thrusting turned to a few uncontrollable jerks of my lower body and then this shake that trembled every inch of my muscle. The current that ripped through my body was so strong and watching Tate cum on my chest only intensified this feeling rocking me to my very core.  My head buzzed and I felt dizzy as I felt my cock release inside of him.  My whole body deflated of tension and shivered all at once. 

“Olly?” His voice was echoed around me.  I swear I was looking at him but I couldn’t quite understand him,

“Oliver?” Tate said my name and it became sharper to my ears.  “Are you alright?” He asked rubbing my chest in circles.

“Yeah…I mean yes. That was really…”

“Uh huh.  It was pretty…”

“Well damn.  I thought I was going to lose my shit there for a second.” I laughed and he pulled me down with a yawn.

“Olly?” He tucked his chin into his chest and hid his face with his bangs.

“Yeah?”

“Do you…do you forgive me?” His voice was so small I barely heard him.

“How could I not?” I whispered back and pulled him close, still buried inside of him with no plans to be anywhere else but locked there all night.

“Are you sure?” He swallowed.

“Yes, Tate,” I groaned then laughed.

“Ok.” He nuzzled into my chest and I locked my legs to him so he stayed there all night.

“Ok then,” I whispered and fell right to sleep.

~~~~~~~~

After calling a few people I managed to have a few things brought over to the brownstone, like clothes and coffee.  It wasn’t as if we could meet Isaac Hightower naked for lunch.  Although the idea sounded interesting, I wasn’t up for any more drama than this meeting would already create.  If Alex was targeting the import and export mogul, then shit was definitely about to hit the fan.

Letting Tate sleep throughout the morning, I noted that it was still only eleven and we had four hours before we had to meet Isaac.  He looked so peaceful lying on his stomach with his arm out over the space where I had been.  His hair fluttered with every breath he took and his gorgeous little legs were tangled in the sheets.  Pulling off the robe I had on, I let it fall to floor and silently slipped back into bed.  How could you not with him looking like that?

Moaning softly in his sleep, he sensed me and tried to curl around my side but I gently rubbed his back for him to stay where he was.  Tate seemed to like that and let out a deep sigh.  Straddling his small backside, I put brushed my hands down his back as my cock settled between his cheeks.  I felt him shiver but he still didn’t wake up.  He was about to though.

“Good morning,” I whispered in his ear and tongued inside the outer lobe. 

“Oh,” he groaned grinding his cute little ass into my dick. Trying to shift to see what had woke him, Tate opened his eyes.

“This is how it feels to wake up with me,” I murmured and raked my teeth down the back of his neck and snaked a hand under him.  When my hand connected with his morning wood he moaned and pushed up on his hands and knees so I could get a better grip.

“It’s better than waking up alone isn’t it?” I kissed his bare shoulder.

~~~~~~~

Georgette’s On the Water could be labeled casual cuisine for the business executive but really it was just a pretty place for the city royalty to wear chinos and linen pants.  The place was rumored to be owned by Giovanni DeVrahti Sr. and his Italian mob lot but no one knew for sure and certainly no one asked.  With its open view of the river and sweeping glass windows, it was hard to imagine a group of thugs anywhere near the place but I guess anyone could put on a suit and pretend couldn’t they?

The glassed in portion of the restaurant that hung over the river for a scenic view was packed with posh diners lunching on the daily special and carefully sipping Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio from sparkling narrow glasses.  It really was quite a sight to see so many familiar faces on a day off and I had to admit it un-nerved me a little.  Normally it was all sharp talk and power plays…but now they were out with their wives or families and just having brunch.

“It’s weird huh?” Tate said beside me and I smiled down at him. 

“Ya think?”

“No.  I know it is.” He rolled his eyes and looked at the menu.  “Ugh.  I hate strawberries,” he grunted, looking at the perfectly jotted hand written menu.  Fresh strawberries with almonds on a bed of baby greens… It was a simple statement but it was one of the few things I knew about him.

“Why?”

“The seeds and they’re always a toss-up on taste.  Maybe they’ll be sweet or maybe sour.  Who knows?  I just don’t like em.” He shrugged and I smirked.

“I hate coconut.  It makes me feel like I’m eating grass covered in tanning lotion,” I offered and he laughed grabbing for my hand.  Fuck all these breeders and their stares.  I threaded my fingers through his and waited for the shocked look of the maître de who approached and glanced at the desk.

“Mr. Caldwell?” The massive jacketed male smoothly asked dragging a finger down the sheet in front of him.

“Yes, we are here to…”

“Meet with Mr. Hightower? Yes, he and his assistant have already arrived.  Will you require a moment to yourselves or may I escort you to the table now?” A slight accent rolled around a few of his words and his dark eyes fixed on our hands with a gentle smile.  Flicking his gaze back up he waited patiently for me to respond.

“I think we’re ready to be seated.  Thank you…” I looked at his name tag and smiled. “Yuri…”

“You are most welcome.  Right this way,” his accent thickened a little and he turned to guide us into the open room and to the back. 

“Is he wearing a wig?” Tate yanked on my hand and whispered in my ear.  Upon studying the staff member’s hairdo a little further I noticed the uneven neck line and the slight tilt in the mass of black hair that seemed abnormal.  Yeah, he had a wig. Poor guy, probably had cancer or something…or a bad haircut underneath that over glossed mop.

“Here we are.” Cutting into my thoughts, Yuri turned abruptly to us and trained his black eyes on me directly.  “Your waiter will be with you shortly.” The tall man bowed a little and I swear I saw his muscles ripple under his black jacket.  He was absolutely gargantuan.  

Tate shivered next to me and I pulled him tight to my side, slipping my arm around his waist.  

“Oliver?” A chuckle came and I snapped out of it.  Isaac Hightower stood from his small chair and rose to his full height, looking largely disproportionate to the small private patio.  The man was just as big as the maître de if not bigger and stared at me with smiling grey eyes.  Another man stood next to him and I cleared my throat at the sight; smaller than Isaac by a few pounds but damn that muscle was tight.  The stranger’s shoulder length jet black hair reflected the afternoon light and his navy blue eyes watched Tate and I intently.  God, where the hell were these guys coming from?  First that dude back there with the mysterious eyes and rippling physique and now the mack daddy of all executives and his hot as fuck assistant?  I turned to Tate and he was almost red with his arousal.  At least I wasn’t alone in my hot damn reaction.

“Isaac,” I grunted and stuck my hand out.  Our hands clasped and a calming feeling rolled over me.  He was just a friend of my father’s and he happened to be younger and better looking.  No big deal.  I had no idea why I was getting worked up in the first place.  I mean look at Tate.  Looking at him was enough to make me want to call this meeting off and have a repeat of this morning.

“It’s so good to see you son.  The last time I saw you was at your father’s new year’s party, what? Three years ago?  You and Cade and Daniel spent the night getting toasted and singing Beyonce for all of New York’s elite.  Quite a show that was,” Isaac ended on a laugh.

“Oh don’t remind me,” I groaned and he gestured for us to sit.

“You should call Cade.  I’m sure he would love to meet your new…” Isaac raised a brow at Tate but it wasn’t mocking or arrogant.  He was truly interested.

“Oh I’m so sorry.  This is my boyfriend and assistant, Tate Raymee.  Tate, this is Isaac Hightower and his assistant.”

“Micah, right?” Tate chirped and stuck out his hand.  The two assistant’s greeted one another warmly and sat back into their chairs. 

“Yes. I’m Micah Derenger, Mr. Hightower’s assistant.  It’s nice to meet you Tate.  I apologize about…uh, disturbing you so late in the evening.”  The big man fidgeted in his small seat and picked at something that wasn’t there on his gray slacks.

“Oh, um that’s alright.  I assumed it was important or you wouldn’t have called…so late.” Tate blushed and darted his eyes towards the window.

“Well thank you for picking up Tate.  It was imperative that the four of us get together as soon as possible. And it is a pleasure to meet you,” Isaac relayed with the utmost respect and a blush free expression.  He tapped his palm to his knee and sighed.  “Although it saddens me to have to meet under these circumstances, I do hope to have a much more pleasant evening together in the near future.”

“Of course, that would be nice,” I replied casually.  Isaac Hightower had a way of making you feel very comfortable rather quickly and I noticed everyone in the room had relaxed since we had arrived. 

“Onto business though gentlemen.  I think you both know why I called you here and I think it will no doubt bother you that you failed to notice the two tails you had on you the entire ride here.  Not only that but you were dangerously unaware of the fact that the first tail was heavily armed,” Isaac stared straight into my eyes and I felt the spike of fear shoot up my spine.  He was serious and I opened my mouth to ask the details but he held up a hand to silence me.

“I guess I can’t expect you to be prepared for someone so adamant about gaining rule of the playground.  But the fact remains that Alexander Rutovsky has indeed made all of us his enemy and seems to get a certain thrill out of making a presence; whether that be the man that is about ten feet down the hall with a browning at his side or the other gentlemen that is positioned on the patio with god knows what in his pocket.  I know I know, it sounds all cloak and dagger but it’s the truth.  He has targeted every single person of wealth or notoriety in the city and threatened them in some manner or other.  As far as we can gather, he is trying to acquire properties all over the city as some sort of territorial gesture.  You, Oliver are in his way.  You are the picture of what he wants to be Caldwell; at ease with his career, the right partner at his side, a nice house away from the city.  He wants to be you Oliver and apparently he’s willing to hire to make that so.  Do you understand what I’m telling you Caldwell?”

“I don’t know.  He wants to be me?” What the fuck?  He had money, he wasn’t bad looking, and he had a career.  What the fuck could I possibly provide for him? 

“Ever here the phrase there’s only room for one sheriff in this town?” Isaac sat forward and Micah glanced up from a spot on the floor and penetrated me with dark blue eyes.  “Oliver, he’s put a hit out on you.  Tate here was the last straw.  You took what was his and now he’s paying people to kill you.”

“What?” I shot up out of my chair and made direct eye contact with a man standing at the adjacent patio window.  He was staring out over the water from behind dark glasses but I knew he was looking at me.  His hand slowly slipped under his jacket lapel and a smile spilt over his face.  Fuck.

“What do I do?  Oh God.  He’s gonna try and hurt Tate? What the fuck do I do Isaac?”  I palmed my scalp with both hands and started to pace away from the window.

“You help me take him out before things get really nasty,” Isaac growled and I stopped to look at him.  His eyes looked like they were swirling but when he cut his gaze to me and it had to have been a trick of the light.  They were  grey and marble like always. 

“He hasn’t tried to put a physical hit on me or Melaina yet but he will.  Before he even tries, I have a plan that might shut him up altogether.”

“What do you mean shut him up?” Tate feared out loud and I went to him--- not caring what the hell these other two thought--- and put my arm around him.

“I meant exactly what you thought I meant,” Isaac reassured my boyfriend but not in a kind way.

“Oh God,” Tate cried and burrowed into my side, tucking his head under my neck.  I gripped his body within my arms and looked at Isaac.

“Start talking.  I want to know what we do next.” I narrowed my eyes and Isaac growled with a nod.

“I’m glad you see it my way.  Two days from now a deal is going down via satellite and Rutovsky is hosting.  He’s selling the three dock lots next to mine and the access gate to the harbor; the exact property that I have been trying to buy for over a year and he refuses to sell me.  Now I know his petty refusal to sell to me is more than just that.  I know he’s hiding something there and I know that’s why the police refuse to get involved.  He’s paying city officials and cops to keep their mouths shut, so this is our only chance to get in.”

“How are we going to go up against him and his army of felons?  I’m sorry I don’t even know a drug dealer let alone some thug for hire.”  I scoffed.

“Let me finish son, then we can get to the fun part.” He waited and I nodded.  “As I was saying, Alex is holding a satellite auction under the pretense that the sale is for the property but the auction ad was written in code and posted only at a certain time and only for two hours.  So that leads me to believe that this ‘sale’ was known about prior to the ad post.  There were three responses on the site so we are dealing with three buyers obviously.  I registered a spot on the auction under an international account belonging to a friend.    He can’t trace it to us and he cannot find out that I’m the one placing the bid.”

“I have to be public that night anyway so that’s where you come in.  While I’m at the hospital charity, I need you to work the sale.  You know more about properties and the lingo that might go along with that more than I ever could.  You can bid whatever you like, money is no object.  I don’t care the cost you must be the highest bidder.  When you go to sign away the documentation on site…that’s when we will take him out.  I have all the resources to make this happen but I need you both to come with me now and stay under careful supervision until that time. What do you say Oliver?  Will you do what it takes to protect what’s yours?”

“Olly…” Tate twined his hand in mine.  He was scared and so he should be, because I scared myself with what came next.

“I’ll do it,” I replied to the window overlooking the water.  Turning away from the calming view I looked Isaac head on and narrowed my eyes. “I want Alexander Rutovsky gone…for good.”