DEREK
“Kieran, let’s have a shower,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“What for?”
“Ruining things.”
“Look at me, Kieran.”
He shook his head.
“Look at me, Kieran.” He used his dom voice. It worked. “You have nothing to be sorry for. What we just shared was special. I’m sure you felt it too.”
Kieran nodded, his eyes watering.
“It’s completely natural to feel emotional after everything you’ve been through, especially when you’ve just experienced the best orgasm of your life.” He smiled, hoping to lighten things.
Kieran giggled, so it must have worked.
“Come with me.”
Derek kept hold of Kieran as he manoeuvred them off the bed, holding the man in his arms. He walked them into the bathroom, picked up a towel, and placed it on the toilet seat before putting Kieran down.
Derek lifted Kieran’s chin and bent down to give him a gentle kiss before caressing his cheek and smiling at him.
He was breathtakingly beautiful, especially like this – no sass, just the real Kieran.
He turned to get the shower started. It could probably hold two normal-sized guys, but Derek was not normal-sized.
Kieran was smaller, though, so it would work for them.
Once the water was at the right temperature, he held out his hand for Kieran, who stood up.
He gently nudged Kieran to go in first, and he followed, getting them both under the hot spray.
Derek knew he wouldn’t have a lot of time to get Kieran clean and into bed.
He was already dead on his feet. All Derek wanted to do was hold him in his arms all night.
“What the fuck!” said Kieran.
They were having lunch at Knights Corner.
It was the first time Kieran had been back in the city in weeks.
It was October, and the temperature had dropped significantly.
Autumn was here, but Derek wasn’t giving up his polo shirts just yet.
Kieran had fussed over him wearing a hoodie as well, which had been adorable, so he’d indulged him.
Over the past two weeks, since they’d first made love, they’d hardly spent a night apart.
Kieran was more comfortable being in Derek’s house on his own, which meant he would often get home from the club and find him tucked up in bed.
Derek would have let him sleep, but Kieran loved being woken up, being rimmed and having his cock milked, before he crashed back out.
On the nights Derek didn’t go into the club, Kieran always stayed over, and he took his time giving the man all the pleasure he deserved.
“What’s wrong?” asked Derek.
Kieran was looking at his phone in disbelief.
“I think I can answer that,” said Langdon, startling them both. “Can I sit down?”
Derek moved up inside the booth, and Langdon took a seat. They were both broad guys, so it would look comical to anyone watching that they were on one side, and skinny Kieran was on his own.
“Did some money just drop into your bank account?” asked Langdon.
Kieran nodded.
“Look, I don’t get involved in my former stepdad’s antics, but he’s a very persistent man. He felt you might be more willing to accept things if I spoke to you. Will you let me explain before you kick off?”
Derek couldn’t help but chuckle. Kieran glared at him, but there was no heat in it.
“Grant felt that a year’s salary was more than fair for what you’d been through.”
“What do you know?” asked Kieran, his voice trembling.
“No details, I promise. He just said he hadn’t done right by you. I gave him a mouthful and called him a cunt.”
“Langdon, why would you do that? He could hurt you.”
Langdon snorted. “Grant won’t do anything to me. He likes that I’m honest with him.”
Derek chuckled again. He would love to be a fly on the wall, seeing Langdon put Grant in his place.
“It’s a lot of money,” said Kieran. “I don’t want to feel indebted to him. The guy scares the shit out of me.”
“There are no expectations from this, Kieran. He’s very fond of you, and not in the way you’re thinking. You remind him of a friend of mine. They used to be together. I think that’s what drew him to you.”
Derek assumed Langdon was talking about someone in his close friend group. It had to be Jason. There were some similarities between him and Kieran. Grant and Jason? That was something Derek wouldn’t have imagined. What a small world it was.
“Grant asked me to let him know when you came in here, and he would transfer the money, then I could talk to you. He has a habit of just dropping money into people’s bank accounts. It’s his version of sending flowers.”
Kieran laughed. That had to be a good sign. Derek understood his reluctance to want to have anything to do with Grant, but money like that could give him the chance to get his own place. He’d not had any luck getting a job, although Derek had suspected his heart wasn’t really in it.
“What do you think?” Kieran asked Derek.
“You should take it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Look, I saw him when he was dealing with . . .” He glanced at Langdon, who shrugged. “The problem. He was sorry for what had happened. I can tell when people are bullshitting me.”
“I guess it would give me some time, so I don’t have to stress about getting another job.”
“Or you could use it to set up your own shop.”
“I don’t think that’s right for me.”
“Why not?”
“What do I know about running a business?”
“You have two people here who have experience and can give you advice.”
“This place has only been open six months, and I’m still learning every day,” said Langdon.
“Maybe,” said Kieran. “I just can’t . . . right now. I would just fuck it up if I did something now.”
“You don’t have to decide today,” said Derek.
“Apart from whether to accept this money.”
“Well, Grant doesn’t accept refunds, so you’re stuck with it,” said Langdon, standing up. “He said something about being disappointed if you refused.”
“How is that helping?” said Kieran with a scowl.
Derek couldn’t help but laugh with Langdon. Grant would never hurt Kieran, he knew that. The man had genuinely felt awful about what had happened. He shuddered at the thought of what he’d probably subjected Carl to. Derek knew the man must have died screaming in agony.
Langdon clapped Kieran on the shoulder and smiled before leaving them to it.
“Will you be okay for a second?” asked Derek.
Kieran nodded. He was still staring at his bank balance. Derek got up and went after Langdon, who was already behind the bar. That man could move quickly.
“Langdon, can you do me a favour?”
“Of course.”
“I need Grant to find someone for me.”
“Are you sure about that? You’ve got a clean slate. I’d keep it that way if I were you.”
“I know, but he might do this out of the goodness of his heart.”
Langdon snorted. “Is it for Kieran?”
Derek nodded.
“He might. Send me the details and I’ll talk to him. He might be more amenable to a one-sided favour if it comes from me.”
“Okay, I’ll text you later.”
Langdon nodded and went back to his work.
Derek wasn’t sure if he’d done the right thing, but it had been playing on his mind for weeks.
Could he be making a huge mistake? Owing Grant Kincaid a favour wasn’t what scared him.
It was how Kieran could react, and if it might undo this amazing thing they were building together.
His gut told him to take a chance, and he had to trust it.
This could be just what Kieran needed to help him heal in the long term.