Chapter 5
The pleasant buzzof my aching hole was enough to make me grin as I woke up. I rolled over, groaning as I shifted onto my knees. Memories of Ash relentlessly pounding inside of me made my cock stiffen in seconds.
Crazy little virgin.
That stamina alone was insane. One round after another, he’d stared down at me like he was completely absorbed in the experience. As if he couldn’t get enough. Something about those desperate, scrambling, eager actions had me coming so hard I saw stars. Already I was thinking about taking that monster cock again.
My phone rang, dispelling any chance of me walking downstairs, climbing on top of Ash, and riding him until his eyes rolled into the back of his head. I grumbled as I snagged my phone on the way to the bathroom. Benito.
“Yo,” I said, shoving my cock down as I stood over the toilet, trying to take a piss with a semi. “It’s early as fuck.”
“It’s one in the afternoon.”
“Early for me,” I stressed, groaning as I finally started.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to pick up the phone when you’re in the bathroom?”
“We grew up pissing next to each other. You’re gonna tell me this is weird?”
“It’s fucking weird,” Benito growled before he sighed. “That’s not what I called to talk to you about.”
“Then what’s up?” I asked, flushing and padding over to the sink. “Make it quick, man. I’m starving.”
“Gin,” he snapped. “Did you buy someone last night at the auction house?”
I bristled. “How do you know about that?”
“I know everything.”
That was true. Somehow my brother had a way of keeping an eye on me no matter how many times I tried to slip under his radar. I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face. My beard was getting out of control. I turned back and forth, taking in my face as Benito called me.
“I swear to God, if I have to come over there, I’ll stuff you in a closet.”
I shivered. “No need to get crazy,” I said. “Yeah, I was dealing with our problem last night. He owed us a lot of money, so I took an asset away so he couldn’t be greedy and keep our shit away from us.”
“You also didn’t get the money!” Benito yelled. “What the hell were you thinking? One-point-five million dollars? Were you high?”
“Not last night, no,” I said.
“I’m coming over.”
I groaned. “Please don’t. Listen, that bastard was never going to pay us a dime, okay? Besides, it’s not our money, it”s my money that paid for the kid. And screwing with Roger was a hell of a lot more fun than getting his money.” I grinned, thinking about the look on his face the night before. “It was funny.”
“It’s not funny to me.”
“Your sense of humor is fucked up, that’s why,” I pointed out, shoving my toothbrush into my mouth. “Besides, I got the ‘amn ‘onstruction ‘ntract.”
“What?” Benito snapped.
I yanked the brush out. “I got the damn construction contract last night. That’s going to bring in a shit ton of money and get our name out there as the well-meaning and loveable philanthropists we are.”
“You don’t tell me shit,” Benito said, his voice eerily calm. “If I tell you to get the money, you get the money, Giancarlo.”
I shivered again. There he was, using my whole name. Damn, he’s pissed off. It’s not that big of a deal.
“What are you going to do with Roger’s son?”
I shrugged. “No idea. It’s not like I had any reason to keep him, but I knew his father would sell him and get a ton of money. Better to make him choke. Besides, I didn’t clear all his debts. The bastard is going to run the amount up again, and then we collect when he has nothing and no one to sell. Screw that asshole, making me come out there to chase him down,” I muttered to myself.
“You don’t need any distractions,” Benito said, and I could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. “And that’s all this is. Where’s the boy now?”
“In my guest room, sleeping. He’s probably exhausted.”
“…Why?”
“Um.” I scratched the back of my head. “That one is hard to explain.”
“You didn’t fuck him. I know that much.”
I chuckled. “What? Me, fuck a sweet, innocent little virgin? I would—”
“You have an hour to get to my office with him in tow,” Benito said. “Don’t make me come looking for you.”
“Whoa, Benito, hold on a second. Why do you need us there? I mean, seriously, what are you going to do?”
“An hour.”
Benito hung up on me. I stared at the phone. Ah fuck. Me and my big goddamn mouth! I wanted to bang my head against the sink. Instead, I forced myself to shower, get dressed, and search for Ash. I needed to warn him about what was happening.
What the hell is Benito going to do to the kid anyway?
“I can’t have anything nice,” I muttered as I paused in the hallway.
The smell of coffee and food drew my attention to the kitchen instead of the guest room. Ash was in the same clothes as the night before, an apron wrapped around his body as he cooked something at the stove.
“What are you doing?”
Ash jumped. “Shit!” He panted, turning around to look me up and down. “Um, making something to eat,” he said quickly. “I was hungry, and I don’t have any money, so I thought it would be okay to just cook something. I’ll replace whatever I use if I can, of course.” He walked over to the coffee maker. “Do you want some? How do you take it?”
“Up the ass as you saw last night.” When his face went red, I barked out a laugh. “Relax, kid. I’m fucking with you. And stop talking so much. I don’t give a damn if you make yourself some food.” I nodded toward the coffee maker. “Black with a splash of creamer is fine for me.”
“O-okay,” he said.
Ash quickly grabbed a mug and made me a cup of coffee. He sat it in front of me, nervously shuffling from one foot to the other as I picked it up and took a sip. When he continued to stare at me, I raised a brow.
“Calm down, or you’re going to piddle on the rug,” I said. “What are you cooking?”
“Basic stuff. Eggs, bacon, home fries. There was some fruit, so I’m having some of that too.”
I sat down. “Make me a plate.”
“Y-yes, sir,” he said.
“Sir, huh?” I mused. “I like the way that sounds.”
If Ash was red before, he was even more so now. He quickly turned on his heels and walked over to the stove to hide from me. I chuckled. When he returned, his composure had come back. He put a plate in front of me, and I tasted the eggs.
“These are good,” I muttered, scooping more into my mouth. “Or I’m just starving.”
“No one was really around to cook food for me,” he said. “I’ve been cooking for myself since I was young. Mostly I just pour a bowl of cereal and call it a day, but I know how to make a few things. Breakfast mostly. Everything else, I’m a little lost,” he muttered. He returned to the table with a plate of his own. “I want to talk about money now. You said we could in the morning.”
“I did.”
Ash squirmed in his seat when I didn’t say anything else. The grin that wanted to pull at my lips was so strong I almost let it out, but I quickly stuffed it down. He’s kind of cute when he’s freaking out.
“Mr. Vitale,” he started. “I—”
“Giancarlo,” I said.
“Giancarlo.” He cleared his throat. “I did what you wanted last night. Several times,” he said, his face flaring red again. “How much did I earn?”
“How much do you want?” I asked.
Ash shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Okay, a thousand.”
His head shot up. “No way! I’ll be here forever if you only let me earn that little. That’s not fair! Last night alone should have been a lot more than that!”
I raised a brow. “You said the first time was free. Frankly, you gave your virginity to me. For free,” I reiterated. “That’s on you.”
Ash sputtered as I drank my coffee. “W-well, I need more than that going forward,” he said quickly. “Come on. You see what I can do.”
“You’re a fumbling newbie,” I said.
“You came so hard on my dick you almost broke it!” he snapped.
I stared at him. Ash’s anger dissolved in seconds. I watched as he shrank in on himself, that fearful look from the night before returning.
“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean it like that or shit, sorry,” he muttered.
I laughed. “Someone is feeling really confident in themself today,” I said, looking him up and down. “Fine, then I’ll ask one more time. How much do you want?”
“A hundred thousand every time we sleep together,” he said quickly, spitting the words out as if he was just trying to get them out before he changed his mind and said nothing instead. “I did the math. I would have to sleep with you fifteen times to clear my debt. And if you wanted a few more times so I could earn some money to live on. I was thinking twenty-five times total,” he said, trailing off as his eyes examined my face. “That’s what I want.”
I laced my fingers together and nodded. “You drive a hard bargain, but I have to admit seeing you stand up for yourself a little is making this worth it. I really worried you were going to act like a kicked puppy for the rest of your time here.” I tilted my head before I stuck out my hand. “Deal. Besides, I might get bored before we get to twenty-five anyway. If I do, I’ll give you five hundred k, we’ll split ways, you can live your life. How does that sound?”
Ash’s eyes lit up as his jaw dropped. “You’ll do that? Really?” He squeezed my hand, pumping it up and down as he nodded so hard I thought his head would pop right off. “Yes, yes, I agree! Thank you!”
“Don’t wet yourself, kid,” I said. “Besides, there’s no telling if this little agreement will even pan out. We have to go see my brother.”
His face fell. “Your brother?”
“Yeah, older brother. Benito. He runs things.”
Ash’s hand fell away from mine. It took everything not to grab it and put it back where it had been, inside of mine. Instead, I raised a brow as a look of disappointment settled over him.
“What?” I asked.
“I thought you were the boss,” he blurted. “Oh my god! I slept with you for nothing?”
As I stared at him, my chest constricted. I rubbed it. “Goddamn. I don’t think anyone’s ever said anything that actually made me this fucking irritated,” I growled. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You some kind of power-hungry slut? We dealt with one of those already, don’t need another one.”
“No, I…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong! I was just saying that if you don’t have the power to keep our agreement, then what was the point of this? I can’t go back to my father. I can’t,” he said quickly, panic settling on his face. “And I don’t want to be on the streets. I’d never survive.”
Ash’s eyes watered, and I looked away from him. Shit. This is exactly the kind of BS I didn’t want to deal with. Growling, I stood up and shoved my plate away.
“Shut up. The deal stands.”
“But your brother might say no,” he stressed.
“You think Benito can tell me what to fucking do?” I asked, jamming my thumb into my chest. “I can do whatever the hell I want. Just fucking get ready to go. We’re gonna be late.”
I stormed out of the kitchen before I gave the kid a good, long, hard shake. How dare he look at me like I’m some little bitch? What? He thinks I have no power against Benito? Like I’m some kind of punk? Why is he irritating me so badly?
As I gathered my keys and wallet, I tried to calm the part of me that wanted to go off the deep end. No one ever got to me too badly. I was good at keeping people at a distance. But the little fucker had wormed his way under my skin in five seconds flat.
What the hell is going on?
“Giancarlo!” Ash called. “I put your coffee in a to-go mug,” he said, holding it out toward me.” He searched my face. “Seriously, I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”
I held up a hand. “Fuck it. Let’s go.”
As he continued to stare, I turned on my heels and headed for the door. I wasn’t about to tell him that my goddamn feelings were hurt. Why the hell did I care what he thought?
“I slept with you for nothing?”
The words played in my head on repeat as I shoved a cigarette between my teeth and stalked toward my car. Why did I feel like I had been used?