Havoc (Captive #4)

1

R emy listened as one of Alijah’s bridesmaids, Taila, who he’d been told was her aunt, laid into two guests. He wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but she wasn’t happy to see either of them. She spoke in hushed tones, but the hostility in her voice was unmistakable. From what he could surmise, the couple and the young boy had shown up uninvited, and she was making it very clear that they would not be attending the ceremony.

“You can’t keep us out of—”

“Yes, I can,”Taila spoke, cutting the other woman off. “You weren’t invited, so you’re not going in.”

“It’s our daughter’s wedding. We aren’t missing it,”the man spoke, and Remy furrowed his brows. He didn’t know what had happened between them and Alijah, but he knew it had to be serious if she hadn’t invited them to her wedding.

“The same daughter you claimed wasn’t yours a couple of Thanksgivings ago? The same daughter whose, after today, husband you’re trying to sue because you’re some money-hungry leech?”Taila questioned. “Yeah, I think not, and before you try to cause a scene, please know that I am not above putting hands in your life for her happiness today.”

Remy found himself chuckling softly at that statement because Taila’s body language backed her claim one hundred percent. She was not threatening them; she was promising. Even the man seemed to be contemplating whether or not he wanted to give in or if he wanted to continue and test her. Remy hoped the other man didn’t want to do the latter because he didn’t need it escalating.

He would not leave Taila to handle it, and while he hadn’t had to get physical with someone while wearing a suit in a while, he was sure it was like riding a bike.

“Where do you expect us to go?”the other woman asked. “It’ll take a rideshare at least an hour to arrive.”

“That is your problem, Anya,”Taila responded.

“It’s cold out there? What about Carter?”Anya then questioned.

Remy glanced down at the little boy, who seemed oblivious to the situation. He was holding a superhero action figure, flying it back and forth.

“Your manipulation game is lacking,”Taila responded. “I saw that one coming before you brought it up.”Remy watched her glance down at the little boy. “Go to the reception hall, sit in a corner, and don’t so much as breathe in her direction until the car arrives. But let’s be very clear. If you’re here more than an hour by the time we get up there. I will have you escorted out.”

“Damn,”Remy mumbled as he watched her turn and walk away from them. She’d left no room for argument.

He glanced at the couple and found them looking a bit stuck. He was sure they were surprised they hadn’t gotten their way because it seemed they were used to doing so. Taila’s manipulation comment told him as much, and from that alone, he surmised that the two of them were sisters.

Remy cleared his throat, getting their attention. “It’s that way,”he told them, pointing in the general direction of where the reception would be taking place. With that, he entered the ceremony hall through the guest entrance and sat on Kieran’s side.

While Remy knew Alijah wanted to keep it small, this was not the small she had in mind. However, in retrospect, it was small considering Kieran associated with or had dealings with a significant number of people.

There were almost as many people on Alijah’s side as on Kieran’s, and Remy knew that she’d made quite a few friends and connections through working for Cayman Industries and her art gallery .

Remy took in the decorations as he waited like the others in attendance for things to start. They still had a few minutes and knew they would begin precisely on time. Kieran and Alijah were always on time for everything, and he knew this would be no exception. He hadn’t brought a date and had chosen not to sit with any business associates because it seemed that they always ended up talking shop whenever he was around them, even if the setting was not one of business.

Remy was not like a lot of his counterparts. He believed in a nice work-life balance so that never appealed to him. Therefore, he tended to try to steer clear during personal events. So, he was left to take in the décor.

It wasn’t long before soft music began to play, and the wedding procession started to enter. Once they were all in place, the song gradually shifted to another one, and it was so subtle that it could have been missed if you hadn’t paid attention. The guests stood, and Remy turned to watch Alijah enter. She looked beautiful in her dress. Her entire presence gave off a glow that seemed to wash over the room.

Remy knew that all eyes were on her just as his had been. That was until they drifted to who was walking her down the aisle. He knew that one of her friends would walk her in place of her father. Remy had suspected that maybe her father was deceased. However, he knew now that there was some bad blood between them.

Remy’s eyes roamed over Alijah’s escort. He was wearing a black suit, and his tie and pocket handkerchief matched the colors of Alijah’s bouquet. His hair was cut to short curls. The sides of it were shaved down. His eyes were the brightest shade of hazel, contrasting against his almond skin. He knew he shouldn’t have been, but Remy couldn’t stop himself from checking him out, even once they’d passed him.

The man was a few inches shorter than Remy. His body was lithe, but Remy knew that suit hid the perfect balance of softness and muscle. Because he had a type, and in his years of dating, he’d become a professional at spotting what he liked, even hidden from a mile away .

When everyone was seated, and the ceremony officially began, Remy pulled his attention away, mainly because the other man had taken a seat. He could no longer see him clearly. He made a mental note to ensure he was introduced to him later.

L awrence could feel eyes on him, had been able to feel them the entire time he’d been in the reception, and he could have sworn he felt them during the ceremony. However, he’d chalked that up to the fact that all eyes had been in his direction but were on Alijah as he walked her down the aisle.

He hadn’t wanted to start looking around randomly and decided to attempt to do it discretely, but nearly two hundred people were in attendance, and finding the pair of eyes on him was harder than he’d thought.

They’d finished eating a few minutes ago, and Alijah and Kieran were preparing to cut the cake. They’d shared their first dance when they’d walked into the reception, and Alijah hadn’t wanted to do a father-daughter dance for apparent reasons. Her wedding planner, Journee, had catered the reception to precisely what Alijah wanted to happen and the order in which they occurred.

Lawrence continued to look around the room, and his eyes soon landed on Cornelius. He found the older man glaring daggers at him, and he was sure it was because Alijah asked him to walk her. Though Lawrence didn’t know what Cornelius had expected with everything he had put Alijah through. Hell, with the shit he was still currently trying to put her through.

Turning his attention away from Cornelius, Lawrence figured those were the eyes he was feeling. However, when that feeling came again, he glanced over to find that Cornelius wasn’t looking at him and was instead watching Taila approach them, and he knew he’d been mistaken.

Attention was called to the bride and groom as they cut the cake, and Lawrence watched with everyone else, wondering if either of them would smash the cake in the other one’s face .

Instead, Kieran fed Alijah a small piece of the cake. When Alijah went to pick up a piece of it, icing getting on her finger, Kieran grabbed her wrist and brought her finger to his lips, sucking it into his mouth, and Lawrence smirked at them.

He was sure Kieran knew all eyes were on him, but the other man didn’t care. Lawrence could see it in his eyes. He was promising Alijah a few nights of no sleep, incapacitated legs, and a sore kitty.

When Kieran slowly released her finger, Lawrence watched him smirk at Alijah as the room broke into chuckles. Lawrence wasn’t usually one for cake and was not a big fan of frosting. However, he always made an exception for red velvet cake.

Going over, he got in line behind the few people who had beaten him to the table where one of the catering staff was cutting slices and placing them on the table.

Once he had his cake, he returned to the table he’d taken residence at, which wasn’t too far from Alijah and Kieran’s. The couple sat alone at a table for the ceremony while the bridal party and he occupied a table nearby.

Lawrence ate his cake, ignoring the icing. He looked to where he’d last seen Chayse, trying to see if she was still shadowing the photographer. However, she was no longer there.

About fifteen minutes passed, and he’d said goodbye to Erin’s grandmother and father. His mother had left after the ceremony. She was catching a late flight since she had to work the following morning.

Fifteen minutes, and he could still feel those eyes. Lawrence wasn’t even sure how he was so positive about it. He just was. At this point, he was convinced that whoever this person was wanted something from him or was curious as to why he’d walked Alijah down the aisle when he wasn’t but a couple of years older than she was. Maybe they were curious about their relationship.

A man sat down at a table three away from Lawrence, and when their gazes locked, Lawrence knew this man had been staring at him all night. He took the other man in, his deep brown eyes set against rich walnut-hued skin. His waves looked deep enough to swim in, and his goatee and beard were trimmed and lined to perfection. It was easy to see he took care of both. Lawrence wasn’t usually a beard man, but damn if this man didn’t look good. If he wanted something from Lawrence, he would give it to him.

Erin sat in front of him, cutting off his view, and Lawrence glared at her as she smiled at him.

“Do you know him?”Erin questioned.

“No, but I wouldn’t mind getting to know him.”

“So, go talk to him.”

Lawrence raised an eyebrow at her. “There’s just one little problem; I don’t know if he bats for my team.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “You and I both know that you will have to shoot that shot or ask to find out. The stereotype of ‘gay men look a specific way’is ridiculous because you don’t even look as if you bat for your team.”

Lawrence knew that she had a point. He wouldn’t know unless he just went over there and asked, though that could be considered rude or forward. Maybe he would do some light banter flirting and see how that went.

“Besides, with how he was just looking at you, I don’t think you have to worry about him, not at least switch-hitting,”Erin added to her previous comment with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. So, where have you been the last ten minutes?”

“Oh, I got hot dancing and went out to the balcony for a few minutes.”

Lawrence talked to Erin for a few more minutes, his eyes often slipping past her. When it happened a fourth time, she laughed.

“If you don’t go over there and talk to that man, I will do it for you.”

Lawrence pushed his chair back before he realized his actions. “No, because you don’t have a filter.”Erin shrugged at him in response before shooing him with her hand.

As Lawrence walked over, he saw Kieran and Alijah approaching the table the other man was at. He slowed, wanting them to make it first. He could use it as an excuse to go over now and have his friend do the introductions.

When Lawrence arrived at the table, Alijah turned to him and smiled. “Hey, are you having fun?”she questioned.

“I am. Are you sure this is just a reception and not an afterparty?”he teased her .

“Definitely about to be an afterparty, and I’m going to grace the room with something they don’t see often.”

“Which is?” Lawrence inquired.

“Kieran dancing,”she responded with a smile.

Kieran snorted while the man at the table spoke, causing them to look at him. His voice was deep, slightly accented. “That’s a rare sight.”

“Kieran, you’re rubbing off on me because my manners went out the window just now.”Lawrence listened to Alijah tease her husband. “Remy, this is Lawrence, one of my best friends. Lawrence, this is Remy; he works at Cayman Industries.”

“Nice to meet you,”Remy said, and that deep baritone felt like it had physically touched Lawrence.

“You as well,”Lawrence responded, barely hearing Alijah tell them she was dragging Kieran to the dance floor.

The two men stared at each other for several long seconds. Lawrence doing his damnedest to keep his eyes from straying over Remy’s body.

“Do you want to have a seat?”Remy asked, gesturing to the chair across from him with the glass he held.

Lawrence took a seat as Remy took a drink from the glass. He couldn’t tell what the other man was drinking because a full bar was available.

“So, what do you do at Cayman Industries?”Lawrence inquired.

“I’m the vice president of operations.”

“I take it you work as much as Kieran then.”

Remy chuckled, shaking his head. “He doesn’t work quite as much as he used to, but not at all. I fully believe in quitting hours, and when it’s necessary for me to, I’ll put in the extra hours and time to ensure things go smoothly.”

Lawrence nodded. “I’m glad to know he’s gotten better. I had a different friend work for him a little while back, and with the hours she kept, she was glad it was only a temporary position, or she wouldn’t have lasted past those few months.”

“That’s most of his assistants. Until Alijah, that is. What was your friend’s name?”

“Colbie. ”

Remy hummed. “I remember, Colbie. Corporate America wasn’t what she wanted, and if I remember correctly. She only needed the job for the summer while school was out.”

“Good memory, and you’re right. She’s teaching history now.”

“And you? What path have you chosen to walk in this thing called adulthood?”

Lawrence found himself chuckling. “I work in sales at Global Technologies.”

“So, you’re a rival,” Remy responded with a smirk.

“Not unless Cayman Industries decides to enter the business of pace-makers, portable dialysis machines, etcetera.”

“We do not.”

“Then I’m no rival,” Lawrence told him.

“I guess you aren’t.”

R emy downed the rest of his drink and sat back in his chair, eyes on the man across from him. He hadn’t seen him up close until then and was far from disappointed. While he was attractive from afar, up close was an entirely different ballfield.

He would hazard to say that Lawrence was pretty, but it wasn’t a soft, feminine kind of pretty. It was something else altogether. Whileyes,he was handsome, there was a completely different facet that mixed into it, merged with it.

“Did you come to the wedding alone?” Lawrence questioned.

“I did. Did you?”Remy inquired, though he was sure he knew the answer. Aside from the wedding party and a few others, he hadn’t seen Lawrence with anyone all night. Unless it was the woman he’d been sitting at the table with before he’d come over.

“I didn’t either,” Lawrence replied with a shrug. “Sometimes it’s better to come to weddings alone anyway.”

“Why is that?”

“Weddings are a happy place. All the serotonin in the air makes it the perfect place to find a partner for your next romantic journey or a wild night in the sheets.”

Remy noted Lawrence’s use of the word partner instead of girlfriend. While it could have been just his word choice, Remy felt it answered the question he’d been wondering since Lawrence entered the wedding ceremony.

While he liked to believe that he had a sixth sense for people in his community, that didn’t always ring true, and even though Remy felt his intuition was good, he never assumed and always preferred to find out.

“You have a point, and I suppose it can be when you don’t already have a partner at home.”

Remy was prying, wanting to see how much Lawrence would divulge without being too forward. He was asking whether the other man had a partner at home, man or woman.

“Nowthatwould just be distasteful,” Lawrence responded, sitting back in his chair. “Did you come to the wedding alone for the same reason, or did your partner not want to come?”he asked Remy.

“I didn’t have a boyfriend to bring,” Remy responded plainly. “And while I hadn’t come to the wedding with the mindset of potentially starting a new romantic journey or having a wild night in the sheets, I’m not opposed to either.”

Remy watched Lawrence lick his lips, and he was sure it was an unconscious act on the other man’s part.

“The question now is, do you have a boyfriend?”

Lawrence slowly shook his head.”I, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, depending on how my night goes, do not.”

“And a guarantee that the latter of your two reasons for coming alone will be how you end your night?”

“That would be an excellent night for me and whoever else involved.”

Remy found himself chuckling, turning the empty glass on the tabletop. He was going to respond when Lawrence’s attention turned to Alijah’s parents, and who he assumed was her little brother, as they left. The man looked back at Taila with a glare, who was watching them with her arms folded over her chest.

“It’s about time they left.”Remy heard Lawrence mumble to himself. “I wish I knew what Taila said to them because I know she said something.”

“She did,” Remy informed him. “But maybe you should ask her tomorrow afternoon. ”

Lawrence raised an eyebrow at him. “I could ask her tonight.”

Remy nodded slowly. “You could. You could get up from this table, go over there, and ask her. Or,”he started, leaning forward. “You could get up from this table, leave with me, and let me give you that wild night.”

Lawrence smirked at him.”A bit forward, aren’t we, Remy? I don’t even know your last name.”

“We’reboth adults and as long aswe’reconsenting, I don’t see the need to beat around the bush. You also don’t need to know my last name for me to bow your back tonight, but it’s Price.”

Lawrence licked his lips again, and Remy tracked the action. “Hendrix, and I guess you should lead the way then.”

Remy smirked, standing from his chair as Lawrence did the same. He led the way out of the reception hall. With so many people, Remy knew that he wouldn’t be missed, but the other man might since he was part of the wedding party. He wasn’t worried about it; what they did was their business, and Remy planned on doing a hell of a lot.