36. Imry
Three months later
I have more art than I imagined. Having bought a five-thousand-square-foot building in Phoenix and setting up what felt like miles of walls to hang my art, my storage facility looks like it hasn’t been touched. What the hell am I supposed to do with all this art?
I’m not entirely sure how comfortable I am having my art on display and available for purchase. I kept all the personal paintings out—those of my family and obviously those of Haze. No one gets to look at Haze orgasming but me.
But everything else seemed like fair game, so with Avory, Ellory, and Haze’s help, we chose 200 paintings from my storage facility and set them up in a gallery in downtown Phoenix. I hired a curator or whatever to oversee the place and sell the goods. She’s also in charge of hiring whatever employees she needs to run the gallery. I have zero plans for being there.
Except today. The grand opening. I’m not sure whether to feel sick to my stomach at all the people walking around admiring, critiquing, and also hating my work, but here we are. I’m standing in a corner as I watch everyone walk around, feeling rather itchy in my suit.
My gaze catches on Oakley and Loren. Oakley’s wearing this cute little cape that falls to his waist, and I swear, his hair is braided into a crown around his head. He’s adorable. Loren thinks so too since he hasn’t stopped staring at Oakley, even though Oakley hasn’t left his side.
Loren, Avory, and Ellory returned less than two days after we got home. They were successful, of course. Avory was a little put out and far more obsessive over Ellory for a few days and Ellory looked a little sheepish and sick to his stomach.
Apparently, my sweet, slightly unhinged baby brother has a threshold for how much gore he can take in a single sitting. I haven’t watched the camera feeds. I simply can’t bring myself to look at them.
I was a little nervous to share with Loren what went down, but together, Oakley, Voss, and I told him what happened. Oakley was quiet the night we got home. I think he was tired. Slightly shell shocked. But he bounced right back, and I’m slightly disturbed by the glint in his eyes when we told Loren.
Loren took it rather well. I think that had a lot to do with Oakley’s reaction. His first question was whether Voss’ baby was okay.
Voss rolled his eyes and said the baby was fine. At the time, he still wasn’t claiming the child as his, but now that Lorissa is six months pregnant, Voss isn’t denying that the baby is his. I’m not entirely sure if they’re together. Lorissa is here with Voss now, although I’ve seen her walking around with Uncle Noaz primarily while Briar carries Emerson through the gallery and they examine paintings together.
“This is a great turnout,” Uncle Arath says as he stops at my side. All my favorite people are here. My uncles and their partners. My brothers and their partners. Haze’s friends.
Even one of my least favorite people is here—Uncle Kairo.
“It’s overwhelming,” I admit.
He chuckles. “Did you hear Kairo bought four paintings?”
I twist to look at him. “What? Why? He can just take them.”
Uncle Arath chuckles. “I think Kairo is less of an asshole as he puts on for the world. I believe your curator told him you weren’t going to allow him to pay for them, but he gave her a withering look and didn’t accept that. Mind you, she wasn’t affected by the way he looked at her, which intrigues him.”
“Seriously,” I huff. “I don’t understand that man.”
“Elgin reported he told her someone needed to make a purchase to get the ball rolling. In case you’re wondering, it worked. You’ve sold half a dozen since then.”
I’m not sure if I feel relieved over this report or even more sick to my stomach. “Thanks.”
Uncle Arath grips my shoulder. Leaning in, he murmurs, “I’m proud of you. In his own way, I think Kairo is as well.”
Despite the nausea that isn’t going to settle until I’m back home in my bed, I smile. “Thanks.”
He gives my shoulder a squeeze and walks away, blending back in with the crowd. I spy Myro and Jessica as they’re talking to another couple. Levis and his date stop at Jessica’s side.
I snag a flute of champagne on the way by and swallow almost the entire thing as Rhodes steps up to my side. He’s smirking in amusement. Glancing down, I only see one massive beast. He’s wearing a working dog vest.
“Isn’t it illegal to use one of those vests if it’s a lie?” I ask.
“It is. Thankfully, he’s a registered therapy dog, which means it’s not a lie and he’s working,” Rhodes responds.
I snort. “Where’s the rest of the pack?”
“In your office. It is illegal to leave dogs in a car in the Arizona heat. They’re keeping that massive desk that you’ll never use company.”
“Great,” I deadpan. “But you’re right, I’ll never use it.”
“This is pretty great,” he says, looking around. “Think I can hire you to paint my pack? I’m thinking individual paintings of each dog and then us together. Like those old royal paintings. Make my dick look really big in them, too. We’re talking Henry VIII’s cod piece exaggeration.”
“Ew, cousin .”
He laughs merrily. “But seriously, can I commission you for that?”
I sigh. “Yeah, but you don’t need to?—”
“Stop. I’m totally paying. You’re an amazing artist and deserve to be compensated for your talent.” He leans in to murmur, “I hear even Uncle Kairo bought some.”
Huffing, I cross my arms.
“Anyway. Where’s Brekky? I need me a Brekky fix before I head out.”
Shaking my head, I shrug. “No idea. I’ve seen him around, so I’m sure he’s here somewhere. Maybe hiding from you.”
Rhodes cackles. “Awesome. One day, he’ll figure out that the hunt is totally my thing. Let’s go, Shnookums. Time to find Daddy his Brekky.”
To be clear, they’re not together. Also, I’m not entirely sure whether these massive wolf dogs have weird-ass names like Shnookums, though, knowing Rhodes’ sense of humor, there’s a very good chance that they do. There’s also a very good chance that no one knows their actual names but him. Both are completely viable possibilities.
I grin when I see Brek duck into a group just as Rhodes walks by. The wolf dog, supposedly called Shnookums, looks right at Brek and keeps walking as he glances up at Rhodes. I chuckle under my breath. The damn dog knows Brek’s hiding and not giving him away. That’s fucking awesome.
My shoulders stiffen when Jeannette stops beside me. There’s just something about her I don’t like. Which isn’t fair. She’s perfectly nice and respectable every time I’ve seen her. Even Jessica returned from their northern California trip to the rainbow campus with the same reaction.
“There’s just something about her that makes me cringe,” she told us.
“This is wonderful , Imry,” Jeannette says.
She even has a pleasant voice! I sigh. “Thanks.”
“Would you consider painting a portrait of your father and me?” she asks.
Not going to lie. My hackles rise. I want to bite out a very loud NO, but I keep that urge in. “I’m sorry, but my muse doesn’t work that way. I’m hardly conscious when I’m painting.”
She hums. “That’s a shame. These are so lovely. Maybe I can convince Jalon to hire an artist to paint our portraits. It won’t come close to your level of talent, but it would be nice.”
I nod. Knowing my father, I don’t think he’s going to agree with that. He’s all about donating money to artists, but he won’t hire one when I’m right here. I’m not sure if he sees it as loyalty or hiring competition, but I doubt she’s going to get that far with him.
Then again, maybe I’m wrong. Their relationship has lasted a lot longer than I imagined it would. Considering I can’t tell whether Dad’s actually happy with her or has a true interest in her, it just feels… weird. Given the direction our conversations have gone in the past, he’s not with her for happiness. Therefore, I’m left even more flabbergasted by their relationship.
Deciding I need a break from the chaos of too many voices and far too many bodies, I meander my way back to the offices. It isn’t until I push my office door open I remember Rhodes saying that he’s put his pack in there. Except… they’re not there.
My boyfriend is, though. He’s sitting on my desk naked with his hard dick out. A shudder runs through me as I stare at him. Voices finally filter through my daze, and I quickly step inside and shut the door. Thankfully, there’s a lock. All rooms should have locks for this purpose.
“How long have you been in here?” I ask as I hurriedly shrug out of my jacket. Haze is watching me with a sexy little smile while he lazily strokes his dick. My body heats like I’ve been set on fire.
“A while. There are a lot of people out there,” Haze says.
I grin as I awkwardly struggle with my suit. I’m not entirely naked when I reach him, and immediately drop my face to his crotch, taking his pretty cock into my mouth.
I’d been so thankful Haze hadn’t decided he wanted nothing to do with me after NYC. Especially since he obsessively watched the news coverage about the explosions, the subsequent fires, and the death toll. It might have helped that the news reported how many of the victims had known ties with one of the mafia families.
It didn’t take the police long to see that every single target was not only calculated, but planned with a specific mark in mind. All of them had to do with the three families.
Voss had succeeded. He took out nearly everyone he had planned on. The remaining crew was all safe and secure, each and every person with a solid alibi. The police were left speculating who had the kinds of ties and capabilities to pull something like this off.
Unsurprisingly, the Van Doren name hasn’t even been whispered. Considering Uncle Noaz vacated the city many months prior, there is no record of a Van Doren presence at all.
Haze’s hand grips the back of my head, pushing my face further. His groan sends a shiver down my spine as I continue to shimmy my pants from my hips.
I was afraid he wouldn’t want to touch me, knowing that I kill people. I was terrified that he’d look at me like I was a monster. A voice in my head had whispered, ‘ Darren would look at you like you’re a monster. Why wouldn’t Haze? ’
Haze’s hips rise. I suck hard, listening to the way he grunts. His hand fists in my hair and he pulls me up. I release him with a smack of my lips that are quickly engulfed by his. His hand wraps around my dick as he slides from the top of my desk. His body rubs against mine and he soon takes both of our cocks in his hand.
We struggle awkwardly as he reaches behind me to finger my hole. I’m not sure where the lube came from. There’s a chance that I’m completely distracted by his hand on our cocks and his mouth on mine. His fingers push inside me.
I grunt and lift a leg, trying to give him better access. Because I have nowhere to rest my foot, it makes my glutes flex, which doesn’t actually give him much better access since my ass is all tensed up.
He releases my mouth and pushes me over the desk. I don’t have a chance to take a deep breath before his cockhead is pushing inside me. I gasp, my body jerking as he pushes in. Since he was just there a few hours ago, I’m not overly pained that he didn’t take longer to stretch me.
Haze’s hands grip my hips. Mine grasp the edge of the desk like it’s my lifeline, especially when he starts fucking me hard.
One of our favorite ways to pass an afternoon is with him laying over the hassock playing online with his brother and friends while I fuck him. He’s gotten good at keeping quiet. Much better than I am when we reverse the position. We spend most of those sessions with him muted because I can’t keep my sounds in.
Now is no different. I’m both relieved and incredibly aware that there are more than a hundred people not far from my office door. Still, struggle as I may, the sounds don’t stay in. I grunt loudly, my voice sounding like someone else’s entirely.
“Listen to you,” Haze growls as he shoves inside me. “Fortunately, I don’t plan to draw this out. Otherwise, we’re going to have an audience at the door.”
My cheeks burn at that horror.
One of Haze’s hands covers mine, his fingers pushing between mine as he grips the desktop with me. He fucks into me like a neanderthal until he fills my ass. He’s barely done when he pulls out of me and shoves me onto the desk, rolling me onto my back.
He climbs on top of my cock, still dripping. I watch, mesmerized, as he pulls a butt plug from his ass. Shivers overtake me, and I moan before he even touches my skin.
Then he’s on top of me, sliding down my cock. I reach up for him, dragging him down and gripping his neck with my hand. His eyes get wide before they hood as he struggles on me. I fuck up into him, his entire body shaking with each hard thrust.
“Keep coming for me, Haze,” I murmur as I make his body mine. “You like that, don’t you?”
He whimpers, nodding. Struggling to take a breath.
Unfortunately, he’s right. We don’t have a lot of time. I stare at his face close to mine, turning a pretty shade of red as I control how much oxygen he gets while I own his tight ass. His dick is still spilling on me. Not a full-on orgasm, but definitely emptying a little more. Finding some reserves left as I slam into his pleasure points until I reach my limit.
I bury myself in his ass and fill him with every fucking drop of seed I have in me.
Silence settles around us as I bring him onto my chest, both of us heaving with the intensity of our not-quite-a-quickie, quickie. It isn’t long before laughter from beyond the door penetrates our quiet moment, though.
Reluctantly, Haze gets up. His beautiful blue-gray eyes meet mine, and he smiles. My heart flips and stutters for a reason other than good sex.
“Love you,” I whisper.
His smile widens. “Love you, too,” he says, leaning down to kiss me.
We dress again, barely bothering to clean ourselves up as we get back into our suits. We do, however, clean the evidence of our escapade from the desktop, but we don’t bother hiding that evidence in the empty trash can. Let the world know I fucked my boyfriend in here today. It’s my gallery and my grand opening. I can’t find a better way to celebrate today.
His cum is soaking into my underwear when we leave the office. I fidget a little and try to hide the scowl on my face. That’s just gross. I mean, there’s a sick part of me that doesn’t hate it at all. In fact, I really enjoy knowing that Haze is feeling the same thing I am. But right now, it’s just gross.
With linked hands, we wander back into the crowd and stop with my two/thirds brothers. They smile, Ellory leaning against Avory’s side. I do the same against Haze.
For right now, this one sliver of a moment in time, our worlds are exactly perfect.
* * *