CHAPTER THREE
Damien heard the phone call loud and clear, even from across the room.
The foreman was about as reliable as he’d thought.
His aura had been off, and his scent was sour, indicating his deceitful nature.
This was a setup of some kind, but Damien did not understand the intent.
What could Rhett have done to piss off Andy?
But it wasn't just Andy, as he recalled, Andy worked for that property developer, maybe that's where he would begin.
Wesley had sent him a background on Andy, but there wasn't much to it.
He clearly was of the criminal type, but evidently hadn't been caught out yet.
He was working for Henry Properties, overseeing two waterfront projects, which makes one wonder how he has time to work for Rhett.
He sent two soldiers, Ravi and Nils, over to check out the situation and report back.
Whatever they were playing at was going to blow up in their faces because Damien was going to make sure of it.
His beloved was over there taking on the brunt of the work, trying to move things along, while his crew, whom he trusted, were fucking with him.
His mind was running through various revenge scenarios when his phone rang.
It was Ravi, and they were at Henry’s construction site on North Avenue. “The whole crew is here, and it is not a two-hour job. They've been working here for over a month, and they have another two to go before they finish.”
“What about the other job site?” He asked.
"He has another crew working there, and he is the foreman over both. He moves between them so there is no time in his schedule to work for Parks. Besides, why would he risk these two high-profile jobs to work on a downtown bar, a job that will be two weeks at best?" Ravi finished.
“Stay with him, get me everything you can on Andy," Damien stated cold and flat.
“Yes, sir.”
Damien went back out to check on Rhett, worried that he might be overexerting himself in an attempt to keep the job on schedule, even without a crew.
As he made his way down the north side to the front of the building, he noticed something out of place.
The side door, which had been closed and secured with a makeshift support to keep it closed, was now hanging open.
He walked over to the open door and looked in, and there on his haunches was the cougar shifter who had been part of Rhett's original crew. He watched him pull an item from his pocket and set it beneath a stack of paper and insulation, tucking it in so it wouldn't be noticed.
"What's your business, cougar?" He asked in a tone laced with finality. The shifter jumped and turned on him, but took a step back rather than attack.
“Nothing, I was just leaving.” He mumbled and stepped to the side. Damien glanced down at the item on the floor.
"Take that with you," Damien said and walked toward him. The cougar was deciding its next move when the item began to smoke, obviously having been placed on a timer. The cougar lunged at him, and Damien caught him easily, digging his sharp nails into the cougar's fleshy throat.
He started to try and fight, swinging wildly at Damien, but a quick twist and the cougar’s head hung limply to one side.
Damien bent and retrieved the item, an incendiary device, and stuffed it down the cougar's shirt.
He then carried him outside and dumped him in the alley on the north side of the building.
After a quick survey of the area, he was confident that the cougar had come alone.
The threat to his beloved was taking form, and he planned to stay close. Someone was putting a lot of effort into making sure Rhett failed, and he was going to find out who and why.
The cougar’s thought process had been muddled by drugs, so Damien did not get a good read on him apart from the fact that he was working for Andy.
He would find Andy, and he would find out why he was sabotaging Rhett, and then Andy would join the cougar.
He put in a call for cleanup and left the alley and went in search of his beloved, who had been working too long and too hard.
It was nearly nine o'clock in the evening, and still no sign of Andy or the crew.
He had been deserted and betrayed, and here he was in the beginning days of an important job, with no crew to complete it.
He was beginning to feel like he'd been set up to fail.
The construction business in this area was tough, but trouble usually ended at who got the bid and did not bleed over into interference after the fact, or perhaps he was just being na?ve.
He finished cleaning up and securing the site, then stopped to lean against the bar with his head in his hands, unsure of what was going to happen tomorrow.
He made some headway on his own, but there was too much, and to try and finish without a proper crew would take twice as long.
Mr. Rose would not tolerate such delays and such unprofessional behavior.
He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and let out a long sigh of resignation.
A hand came up and caressed his shoulder. He didn't turn around; he knew who it was. The feeling of peace and security washed over him, and he knew it was Damien. Even as he stood in the middle of his failed efforts, he felt safe, and that feeling was Damien.
"They never returned, and they won't be here tomorrow. I lost my crew." He stated honestly, keeping his back to Damien and his eyes on the bar. Damien’s hand slid from his shoulder down his back, soothing his anxious mind.
“We’ll make some calls and find replacements." Damien's tone was soft yet commanding; it was a strange contrast, but it gave Rhett some hope. But he had to be honest with him.
"I called around, and everyone is booked up already or not willing to work for me on this project.
" He dropped his head again and closed his eyes, feeling all kinds of defeated and not even caring that he was looking so damn pathetic in the presence of Damien Russo. He knew in his bones that Damien wasn’t the kind of man you lied to.
Damien stepped up closer, still caressing Rhett's lower back, and spoke close to his ear. Damien’s height advantage made it easy for him to lean over him.
“I’ll make some calls.” His breath fanned Rhett’s cheek as it had before, and he breathed in the warmth and sweetness, losing himself for a moment in the man.
Damien took Rhett’s hand and held it for a few seconds, and then raised it to his lips and kissed the palm.
Things were escalating in a physical sense, and Rhett was there for it, body and soul.
Their eyes met, and it was all there in Damien's gaze, the attraction and the need he felt reflected back at him. Damien took his lips and kissed him hard while holding his chin in a firm grip. There was no pulling away, even if he wanted to, and he definitely did not want to.
It became clear that the attraction and the raging desire were not just his; Damien felt it as well. The realization brought a lightness and energy to him as the stress and betrayals of the day faded away in Damien’s arms.
He joined the kiss, opening and claiming all that Damien was offering.
It grew increasingly intense, and the movements became desperate.
Damien held him in place and took his lips in a deep, ravenous exploration.
Rhett had never experienced something so fucking sensual and dominating.
He was not a small man, and he was not usually handled so forcefully and so effortlessly that it was tantalizing as Damien moved him as if he weighed nothing.
The kiss broke, and they both struggled with a few ragged breaths, and then Damien roughly turned him back to face the bar.
Rhett knew what was next, and his excitement skyrocketed.
Damien's hand was pressing between his shoulder blades, bending him forward over the bar, and his other hand wrenched open Rhett's jeans and pulled them down, baring his ass to the cool night air.
“I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes upon you.” Damien’s statement came out deep and gruff.
It wasn’t long before Rhett felt Damien’s hand massaging his flesh and pressing between to circle his tight entrance. There was lubricant, no idea where it came from, but he could feel the cool slick being spread and pressed.
He felt the moment that Damien’s expert fingers penetrated, sliding in and going deep and circling, stretching, and forcing him to relax. The breath was here at his ear, and the effect was calming, soothing, and comforting. Damien was playing him like a fine musical instrument.
Long, thick fingers plunged inside over and over, driving him mad with the sensations surging through him.
He heard a zipper and then movement, and the fingers disappeared.
He caught his breath for a second, and then the fingers were back, spreading and guiding.
Then a hard warmth touched his entrance, gentle at first, hesitant for only a moment, and then he plunged inside.
It was both stunning and satisfying at the same time.
The feel of Damien filling him and holding him, ramming that big cock inside repeatedly, stretching and molding him to accommodate. The stretch was an electric burn, and Rhett felt his body tremble with the sensations he was eliciting with the rapid thrust of his hard cock.
His right hand held him by the hip, and the other by the shoulder, touching and soothing, easing everything about the moment, but also intensifying every feeling. It was exactly what he needed, and it was what he needed from this man.