Fire and Sand

(Adrenaline Jake 3)

Louise Collins

Copyright © 2018

All rights reserved

Chapter 1

There were two sides to Maddox’s sexual prowess, one side devoured Jake, and the other savoured him.

The devourer pushed Jake against the wall, shower, desk. The kisses were brutal, and Maddox handled Jake like he owned his body. Jake could only feel where Maddox touched him. Where his fingers dug, where his teeth nipped, and his nails scored. The thrust of his hips, the hard muscles of his body, and the strength of the man ripping his clothes away. Maddox’s flesh burned hot, a muscular furnace that pushed into Jake and forced him to yield. His scent of smoke, and sweat rubbed off on Jake’s flesh, and each deep grunt of pleasure from his devourer's lips made Jake shiver, then moan back.

In the devouring, Jake was more aware of Maddox than himself. He surrendered to the onslaught as Maddox branded himself into Jake’s skin.

The Maddox that savoured him was the opposite.

He tied Jake down, and made him wait for release. In the wait, Jake was only aware of his own body. His desperation to be touched by the man calmly smoking in his chair drove Jake to the point of insanity. Body bare, and wrists cuffed to the bed frame, he could do nothing but wait for Maddox to relieve the tension in his body.

The longer he waited, the more desperate he got, till he grew dizzy with desire. He reached another level of sensitivity. The ceiling spun, his breathing sounded like waves crashing on rocks and he lost the ability to think, let alone speak. Once he was at that point it didn’t take much for Maddox to undo him; a tweak of his nipple, a slow sensual kiss, or lightly rubbing his tongue on Jake's drooling cock. He had no fight for such dirty tactics.  Maddox grinned smugly and wiped his fingers through the mess on Jake’s stomach afterwards.

If Jake had to choose between the Maddox who devoured, and the one that savoured, he would choose the devourer, but it was never his choice.

Jake was pretty sure he was about to choke on his own heart. Each contraction felt like it rose in his body, heading towards his throat. Each pant of breath heaved his chest and dried his bitten lips. The hairs on his arms created their own Mexican wave, and his flesh pulled tight with sensitivity. The cuffs clunked against the bedframe, and his wrists ached from his half-hearted escape attempt.

Maddox sat by the bed, lounged in an armchair with his eyes shut. He twirled his lighter in his left hand. A click, a spin and a snap shut, repeated over and over. Maddox’s other hand rested on the arm of the chair, still, apart from his forefinger. He wagged it left to right in a semi-circle, in perfect time with the classical music flowing through the room.

When Jake begged for attention, his hoarse voice cut through both the repetitive movements of the lighter, and the soft classical music. Maddox scrunched his face, then shook his head, and Jake pressed his head back into the mattress. The dizzying need intensified, and the ache of his crotch seemed to spread all over his body. He closed his eyes, knowing he was nearing the state Maddox desired. The point where his consciousness got fuzzy around the edges.

His ascent stopped abruptly when Maddox’s phone rang. Jake didn’t open his eyes, he listened. Maddox got to his feet, took three steps then passed through the door and closed it behind him.

Jake opened his eyes, stared at the white ceiling then swallowed uncomfortably. Maddox never left the room when he was tied down and waiting. Not since they had first met.

The haze of lust lifted, and he pulled himself away from the hypnotic helplessness. Jake rubbed his feet together, twisted his wrists in the restraints, and arched and curled his back but it was useless strapped to the bed. He had been caught, but instead of Maddox having his wicked way with him, he had left the room with no explanation.

The adrenaline stilled in Jake’s body, and he shuddered at the depleting high.

Maddox strolled into the room but didn’t look towards the bed. “Something's come up, I need to go out.”

“Right now?” Jake croaked. He would’ve rubbed at his throat to ease the tightness but couldn’t with his wrists still secured by the cuffs.

Maddox fixed the buttons on his sleeves, then tucked his white shirt into his trousers. He ran his hand through his hair, combing the longer strands into position before testing the length of his beard with probing fingers. He grimaced, then shook his head.

“You’re not gunna tell me where you're going?” Jake whispered.

Maddox paused, then slid his belt through the loops of his trousers. “You don’t need to know.”

Jake shuffled on the bed and swung his leg in Maddox’s direction. “But I wanna know.”

“That’s not how this works.”

Jake pressed his head into the mattress and stared bitterly at the ceiling. “So, you know everything about me, but I can’t know anything about you.”

Maddox exhaled through his nose, then moved to the bed and hovered over Jake. His green eyes were absent of lust, and he pressed his lips together till the skin blanched. Irritation poured from him in waves, and Jake felt his own annoyance fold under the intensity.

“Fine,” he said, turning his head to his bicep. “Don’t tell me, then. You could at least untie me, though.”

Maddox hummed in amusement, and Jake flashed an irritated look his way.

“I could untie you, or I could leave you like this till I get back.”

Jake shook his head. “You wouldn’t.”

Maddox perched on the bed, out of reach of Jake’s swinging feet. “Don’t tell me what I would or wouldn’t do.”

He pressed down on Jake’s chest and spread his fingers. Jake’s breath hitched, and he leaned forward, straining his neck to watch Maddox’s hand roam higher. Maddox grinned, all predatory with shimmering eyes, and caught Jake’s perk nipple in the join of his fore and middle finger. He closed them like scissors, and Jake yelped, lifting his hips from the mattress.

Maddox snorted and stood from the bed. He switched the music off, then ran his hands down his creaseless shirt.

“How do I look?”

Jake huffed, and rattled the cuffs on the bed frame. “Like a cock teasing bastard.”

Maddox narrowed his eyes, then fished in the bedside drawer for the key to the cuffs. He dangled it above Jake’s face, but didn’t move to unlock him.

“Enough,” Jake whined. “Let me go.”

Maddox closed his eyes and popped open his lips. “I do love it when you sound desperate.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Just undo me.”

Maddox threw the key in the air and caught it. He clacked his tongue and lifted his eyebrow. “You called me a bastard, and then forgot to say please.”

He moved to the bedroom door, gave Jake an appreciative gaze then strolled out.

“Maddox!”

Jake scanned the ceiling as he listened to Maddox’s steps softening. He yanked the cuffs, and pressed his heels into the bed, but he couldn’t escape or get into a more comfortable position.

The front door of the house slammed, and silence rang around him. Jake flung his head back into the bed, growled and struggled, but the cuffs didn’t loosen; in fact, they felt tighter. The pleasant throb in his arms turned into a full-on ache and he grimaced and panted at his stretched muscles.

He lay, chest heaving and anger bubbling. After ten minutes the heat of anger had left, and the cool air of the room prickled his skin. He waited, had no choice but to wait for Maddox to come back to him.

The front door opened and closed softly. Jake sighed, and melted into the mattress. Maddox had returned to relieve him of torment. The adrenaline trickled back into his blood stream, warming his core. Lust replenished in his flagging body, and he ran his tongue along his lips to wet them.

Jake shivered, and a tingle spread down to his toes and up to his scalp. He closed his eyes, and focused on the sound of Maddox’s footsteps, cock throbbing with each beat of approaching feet.

“Jake?”

He flashed his eyes open at the voice, not Maddox’s deep grumble, but Carl’s higher tone.

“Jake, where are you—”

“Don’t come in!” Jake yelled, twisting his hips to hide his hard-on.

The door swung open, and Carl widened his eyes, before slapping his hands up to cover them.

“Woah!”

“I said not to come in.” Jake shouted.

Carl laughed, then removed his hands and fanned his face. “Was not expecting that.”

“Get lost, I’m waiting for Maddox.”

Carl shook his head and sniggered, then retrieved a familiar silver key from his pocket. “I was with the boss; job's gunna take longer than he expected. He gave me this key, and said it was up to me whether I used it.”

Jake kept his legs angled away from Carl and rattled his wrists. “Could you?”

Carl wiped the smile off his face, then moved up the bed to reach Jake’s hands. He unlocked the cuffs, and they clunked as they landed on the floor.

Jake reached for the sheet and yanked it over himself. His cheeks were hot with embarrassment and anger.

He flicked his chin at the open door. “Right, you can go now.”

Carl blew a breath through his teeth. “No can do.”

“Why not?” Jake snapped.

“He wants me to watch you tonight.”

“Watch me? Like some disobedient dog.”

Carl shrugged. “I do what he tells me. We’re all dogs in this game. He’s just the top one.”

“It’s bad enough that he’s got you working at the stationary store, but now watching me outside of work too.”

Carl pouted, and pinched Jake’s cheek. “Aww, the pup's having a tantrum.”

Jake smacked him away, and Carl laughed.

“It’s not funny.”

“It could be worse; he could’ve asked Tom, or Amber to come check on you.”

Jake shuddered at the thought of Tom strolling in the room, twizzling his moustache and flaring his nostrils.

Carl wagged his finger. “Exactly. Count yourself lucky, coz I guarantee, Amber wouldn’t have unlocked you, and Tom would’ve taken some pictures for blackmail.”

Jake huffed and rubbed his sore wrists. “So where is he, then?”

A slow smile spread Carl’s lips. “Nah, you don’t get around me like that. I’m not telling you anything.” He lifted his wrist and stared at his watch. “And right about now, I’ve got a date with the boss’s fridge.”

Jake narrowed his eyes and glared a hole in the back of Carl’s head as he moved away. He leaned forward to grab his folded joggers off the floor, but Carl poked his head back through the door, and he froze.

“Oh, and where’s the thermostat?”

Jake frowned, and rubbed the creases on his forehead. “What? Why do you want the thermostat?”

Carl smiled and crossed his arms. He leaned on the door frame and clacked his tongue. “Well, by the state of little Jake, I would’ve said you were cold, that or your cock's just really sm—"

Jake snatched up the cuffs and launched them towards Carl’s smug face. He darted back with a laugh, then filled the doorway again.

“Thermostat,” he said, then winked.

Jake hastily dressed, then plodded down the stairs to join Carl in the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes, anticipating more teasing, but Carl had zoned in on the fridge.

He yanked the door open and whistled at the contents. “The boss always has such good food.”

Jake jumped up and sat on the countertop. “So, what exactly did he say?”

Carl turned, frowned, then tugged Jake’s ankle till he dropped to the floor. “No dogs on the furniture.”

Jake stomped further along the kitchen then hopped back up on the counter. Carl glared at him, then the fridge, and then Jake again. He shook his head and continued searching the shelves.

“Well?”

Carl grabbed a pot of mustard, and studied the label. “Told me to keep an eye on you. Stay in the house with you till he gets back.”

“But why? What reason did he give?”

Carl tugged a bottle of brown sauce from the fridge, the same colour as his recently dyed hair. Jake didn’t know why he had suddenly started dying it, and when he asked, Carl just shrugged.

“Boss said you might be a bit jittery, strung up. I didn’t think he meant literally.”

The heat returned to Jake’s cheeks, and he rubbed fiercely at his face. “Whatever.”

He could feel Carl’s eyes on him and glanced up from his hands. His angry shout died in his throat when he saw Carl’s expression. Not mocking, but troubled. He tapped his fingers on the fridge door then glanced down at the floor.

“What?” Jake asked.

“The stuff you do with the boss, it’s all consensual, right?”

Jake dropped his hands and gawped at Carl. He reclaimed his jaw, then his voice.

“What would you do if it wasn’t?”

Carl shuffled foot to foot. “Nothing, but it will sit easier in my mind if I know it's what you want, not just what the boss does.”

Jake swallowed awkwardly, then nodded. “It’s completely consensual.”

Carl lifted his head, smiled, then turned back to the fridge.

“You know there’s a really good pizza place down the road.” Jake said.

“Oh yeah?”

Jake hummed. “Yeah, thick crust, loads of cheese, the steak and barbeque one is amazing.”

Carl froze. “That’s cruel.”

“I’m just saying, it’s really good. A sandwich isn’t late night food, is it?”

“A sandwich is anytime food.”

Jake wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “A pizza, all stringy cheese, soft base, and the smell. I’m drooling thinking of it.”

Carl closed the fridge and pressed his head to it. “You are cruel, and I get it. You want pizza, I’ll get us a pizza. You got the number?”

Jake dropped down from the counter. “They don’t deliver, and I can’t remember the number. We’ll have to go out and get one.”

Carl whipped around and wagged his finger. “No way, the boss said stay here, and here we will stay.”

“We will stay here, after we’ve got our pizza.”

He moved to the door. Carl released a groan then followed.

“This isn’t a good idea.”

Jake punched his arms into his hoodie. “It’s the best idea. You want a pizza, I want some fresh air.”

“He told me to keep an eye on you.”

Jake pointed at Carl’s eyes. “Then watch me as we go get pizza. Besides, if I’m a pup, pups need walkies.”

Carl folded his arms, then huffed. “We’re just going for a pizza. No running off. No angering anyone.”

Jake slapped his hand to his chest and widened his eyes. “Me, would I do that?”

“Yes, you would,” Carl mumbled, then reached for his coat.

Chapter 2

Carl groaned at the dark sky, long and suffering. Jake laughed into the back of his hand and turned his head. Once he composed himself, he forcefully coughed, and blanked his face.

“It’s right around this corner. I promise.”

Carl stopped and pointed down the road they had come. “You’ve said that again, and again. We’ve walked ages.”

“This time I mean it.”

“You think I don’t know what you’re doing?”

Jake shrugged. “I’m showing you where to get pizza.”

Carl shook his head. “You’re challenging the boss through me, proving he doesn’t control you.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are, and it’s me that’ll get shit for you going AWOL.”

“How can I be AWOL if you’re with me?”

Jake continued, and after another growl, Carl followed.

Jake knew there was a pizzeria nearby but had never gone inside. This part of the city had wealth etched in every brick, and the restaurants heaved with potential targets. He preyed on the customers that stumbled out with their bellies bloated and their heads swimming with alcohol. That had been before Maddox had steered him down a different path to get his adrenaline fix, but Maddox had left, left him tied to the bed with no hope of release and Jake was forced to find another way.

When the pizzeria came into view, Jake stuck his chin out. “See.”

“This better be the best goddamn pizza I’ve ever had.”

Jake held the door open, and Carl stepped inside. His moody demeanour lifted with the smell of pizza, and he turned to Jake then rubbed his hands together.

“So, I’ll ask them to box two up?”

Jake rubbed at his chin. “They taste better if we eat them in here.”

Carl wagged his finger. “That wasn’t what we agreed. We get them, we go back to the house.”

“I’m just saying, by the time we get back they’ll be cold.”

Carl smacked his lips together and darted looks at each of the tables. Jake glanced at each table too, not to see pizzas, but the customers. There were many options for him to get a small fix until Maddox returned.

A jade hair piece caught his eye, and he thought how easy it would be to pass by and take it. He doubted the woman would give chase, unless she was particularly athletic in her five-inch heels. But her husband looked like he would bulldoze after Jake, spitting, and snorting.

“Oi!” Carl said, jabbing his finger into Jake’s shoulder. “You listening? I said the boss will kill me for this.”

“He won’t even know.”

Jake strolled towards the waiter. He leaned down to see the man’s name badge then straightened.

“Hi Seb, got any spare tables?”

The man scanned Jake’s appearance, then tutted.

Jake followed the man’s eyes and glanced down at his battered trainers, worn joggers and creased hoodie. The customers sat at their tables were dressed smartly and scoffed rather than laughed. Jake couldn’t have looked more out of place if he tried.

The waiter shook his head. “It’s Sebastian not Seb, and there’s a fast food chain not far from here.”

Jake balled his hands into fists and puffed his chest out. “And?”

“It might be more suited to your palate.”

Jake parted his lips to unload a truck load of curse words, but Carl pressed his hand on his chest, and he snapped his mouth shut.

“A table for two.” Carl said.

Sebastian’s gaze lingered on Carl. His attention snapped from his expensive jacket to the watch circling his wrist, then his polished shoes before returning to Carl’s unblinking eyes.

“Of course, sir.”

Jake held his arm up for the man to see. “I’ve got a watch too ya know, Seb.”

“I can see it, but it looks out of place on your wrist.”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

Carl snorted. “It looks far too big and far too expensive.”

Jake clutched the watch and brushed his thumb against the face. A gift from Maddox. The only gift he had received for years, other than a bag of Humbugs from his boss, Sam, each birthday.

Carl positioned himself between Sebastian and Jake. He shot an amused look over his shoulder and laughed lightly.

“Bet you're regretting eating out now.”

Jake crossed his arms and turned away. “Whatever.”

The woman’s jade pin was safe. Jake turned his attention to another target out of spite. Sebastian in the tight waistcoat, strutting between tables like he had a fist up his arse. The other waiters all used standard ball-point pens, but not Sebastian. Jake had to wait for the opportune moment and strike. He seated himself and ordered a small pizza while plotting how to grift the precious pen from Sebastian. Not an easy task when he held it most of the time.

Carl hummed while eating. He licked his fingers noisily, closed his eyes and moaned. Jake propped his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands. For twenty minutes Jake had sat with his face growing hotter, and more and more eyes glancing at him. The customers muttered, and pointed at their table, and even a fire-engine screeching by the window couldn’t pull their gaze away.

“Could you be any more embarrassing?” Jake hissed.

Carl chuckled. “You wishing I just had that sandwich now?”

Jake peeked through his fingers. “I hate you.”

Carl shrugged. “Could be worse. Tom gets everything he eats stuck in his moustache, and Amber bites food like it’s the throat of someone she hates. Savage.”

Carl took another bite and smashed his fist to the table three times. “Oh yeah, that’s the spot. Right there!”

Jake rubbed at his face, but the embarrassed heat wouldn’t disperse. He heard Carl laughing and dropped his hands to the table.

“You moan like you’re having a goddamn orgasm.”

“Yeah, the pizza’s that good.”

Jake shook his head and picked a circle of peperoni off his slice. “No, it’s not, it's mediocre at best. How are you supposed to taste the cheese when they put so many pointless herbs on it?”

Carl narrowed his eyes. “Guess you and the boss don’t do the whole dating thing?”

He lifted one eyebrow, awaiting Jake’s reply.

“He’s more likely to bend me over the table than sit down and eat pizza.”

Carl laughed, spluttered, then drummed his fist into his chest to dislodge the stuck pizza. “Just as I thought. You know, I’ve never even seen the boss eat.”

“He eats like a normal person.”

“Doesn’t lick the plate? Or belch?”

Jake grimaced, then shook his head. “Course not.”

Carl bobbed his head, dropped his gaze, then released a loud bellow from his mouth. The tables around them fell silent, and Jake dropped his head into his hands and squeezed. He peeked through his fingers and glared at Carl as he smirked.

A kid on the next table burped, and Carl turned to him and clapped his hands. “Good one.”

The parents of the child scolded him, and the happy smile spreading his lips retracted.

The family were picture perfect, beautiful wife, groomed husband, and adorable kids, even though they were dressed up as mini business men. It was the kind of family scene Jake had once sneered at out of longing, the complete opposite to his childhood. It didn’t stir up jealousy anymore. Neither did the couple with their hands joined over their table, and a candle flickering between them.

He had Maddox, not a conventional relationship, but exactly what he needed. Maddox made him feel alive, and he hoped he made Maddox feel the same.

“And you’re grinning like a moron because?”

Jake snapped his gaze back to Carl then massaged his mouth to remove the smile. “Nothing…”

Carl pursed his lips then nodded. He leaned back in his chair, braced his hand on his chest, and released another burp to the ceiling.

All good feelings left Jake and he groaned, flushing in embarrassment.

“Please stop, let’s just go back,” he mumbled.

Carl shook his head. “No way, I’m enjoying this.”

Sebastian strolled towards them. Instead of his disgusted expression fixing on Jake, he flared his nostrils and glared at Carl.

“Do you not have manners?”

Carl shrugged. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t burp until I came in here, must be the food.”

Sebastian clenched his hands and hissed through his gritted teeth. “Can you kindly leave?”

“Kindly?” Carl muttered, “I could kindly leave, but I’m not paying for the pizza if I do.”

“Fine, just get out.”

Carl pouted his lips then nodded at Jake. “Ready?”

“I was ready thirty minutes ago.”

“Let’s go then.”

Sebastian ushered them out, shooting reassuring smiles over his shoulder to the shocked customers. Jake felt the need to apologise but stopped himself when he remembered how rude Sebastian had been earlier.

“What the hell was that about?” Jake asked, once they had distanced themselves from the restaurant.

Carl shrugged. “That’s how you get free food.”

Jake shook his head. “So embarrassing.”

“Free food and doing as the boss told me.”

Jake whipped his attention back to Carl. “What?”

“Jittery. Make sure he stays out of trouble. Distract him.”

Jake frowned, and shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You weren’t hungry, you were looking to steal to get your fix. What were you planning on doing before I embarrassed you, hey? Who were you going to pick-pocket?”

Jake glared at his scruffy shoes and shrugged. “The waiter. The pen he used when writing our order. Gold, engraved. He would’ve given chase for sure.”

Carl wagged his finger. “Exactly, but once I started chomping and slurping, you lost interest.”

“It was humiliating.”

Carl carried on up the path with his chin tilted high, and a smug hum vibrating his lips.

“Still got it, though.” Jake mumbled.

Carl stilled, then spun around. “What?”

Jake retrieved the pen from his pocket and held it in the air. “I still got it. He didn’t notice it had gone with you acting like that, but it says, ‘To my daddy, love Ella.’”

Carl snatched the pen from his grip. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

Jake shrugged. “I would’ve returned it.”

“After he ran at you.”

“Yeah, he looked like he could, and when he slowed, I would’ve turned and thrown it back at him.”

“You are crazy, why do that? What’s the point of stealing if you’re not gunna keep what you steal?”

Jake shrugged. “The chase, the excitement. The danger.”

Carl shook the pen. “Just sell it, get the money.”

“It’s not about money.”

“You tried to get the reward for the diamond.”

“I deserved it after all you lot put me through.”

Carl shook his head. “Still can’t believe the boss didn’t kill you for messing him about, instead he goes and saves your arse. You got away with making a fool out of him.”

“Trust me…he’s found ways to punish me, and if I steal that diamond or betray him in any way, he says I’ll live to regret it.”

Carl chuckled and shifted foot to foot. “Even with the boss threatening you, you're still at his beck and call.”

Jake shook his head. “I won’t betray him, and I doubt he has it in him to carry out the threat.”

Carl rolled his eyes and turned away. “What? You don’t think he would kill you?”

Jake shrugged and turned his head.

Carl exhaled slowly, then huffed in amusement. “Don’t go falling for him. It’ll end bad for you.”

“I’m not some sixteen-year-old with a crush.”

“No, you're twenty-two, almost twenty-three. You should know better.”

Carl rolled back his shoulder and lifted his arm, ready to throw the pen. Jake leapt forward and gripped his wrist to stop him.

“You can’t just throw it away.”

“Why the hell not?”

Jake released Carl and took a step back. He frowned fiercely at the ground with the weight of Carl’s eyes pressing into him.

Carl growled and pointed to the concrete slab Jake stood on. “Fine, stay here.”

“Like a good little pup.” Jake whispered.

“Yes, exactly.”

Jake did as Carl told him and watched as Carl hurried back the way they’d come.

Stealing the pen had done nothing to loosen the tight coil that needed release, especially with Carl acting like an uncouth idiot. Maddox was the only one who could do it, and the restlessness in Jake’s veins poisoned him, made him want to do something rash, something careless until he was back to normal level again.

He huffed, shifted foot to foot, then clenched and relaxed his hands.

The smell of smoke carried on the wind, and he scanned the tightly packed houses, wondering who had ruined their evening meal. The top of the houses glowed orange, and Jake took a step back, gazing at the sky, lit up, with dark plumes climbing high.

“What the hell…”

He left the slab and rushed to the end of the road. Another row of pressed houses blocked the view, but the orange pulsed in the sky, and he heard a soft crackle in the distance. Fire, and it didn’t look like some over-done dinner. 

“Jake!”

Carl ran down the path, one arm swaying, and other one holding a phone to his ear. He wrapped an arm around Jake’s chest and tugged him back up the street.

“There’s a fire,” Jake said dumbly.

Carl nodded, then braced a hand on his knee and gulped at the air. “Yeah, the boss’s house.”

“What?”

Carl didn’t reply. He frowned, listening intently to the voice on the other end of the phone. Jake leaned forward to catch Maddox’s voice, but he rocked back on his heels when he heard Tom’s instead.

“Got it.” Carl said, then tugged the phone from his ear.

“What is it? Someone’s torched his house?”

Carl straightened and grimaced, then gripped Jake’s shoulders and nodded. “Looks like it.”

Jake shuffled and swallowed uncomfortably, and Carl relaxed his grip.

“The bos-Maddox is fine, everyone is fine, just the house.”

Jake nodded. “Is he there?”

“Yeah, he’s there.”

“Is he angry we left?” Jake asked.

Carl gestured to the orange glow. “I think he’ll be happy we did unless fire is another kink of his.”

Jake smacked his hand down on Carl’s. “Let’s go, then.”

Carl shook his head slowly. “No, you need to go back to your place.”

“No way, I want to see Maddox.”

“He wants you to go back to your flat.”

Jake struggled, but Carl kept a firm grip of his shoulder. “Why?”

“Because that’s what he wants.”

“And you, where does he want you?”

Carl released Jake, then squeezed the back of his neck with a pained expression. “He wants me with him.”

“So, I get sent away like I’m some inconvenience. I want to know what’s going on.”

Carl’s phone buzzed, and he blanched at the name flashing on screen. He pressed his thumb down and raised his twitching hand to his ear.

“Boss—”

Carl leaned away from the phone then held it out for Jake.

He took it and pressed it to his ear. “What’s happening?”

“I need you to go back to your flat and wait there.”

There was no emotion to his voice, and Jake frowned.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s not important right now.” Maddox sighed.

“Yes, it is, and I want to know. I could’ve been in that house, and I want to know how, or why it’s on fire.”

Jake held his breath waiting for Maddox’s reply. There were no words, only the crackle of fire, and muffled shouts. Then Maddox’s slow exhale fuzzed the line.

“Hand the phone back to Carl.”

Jake flexed his face and blinked in quick succession at Maddox’s bored tone.

“No.” he said, flaring his nostrils.

“Jake.”

His heart thumped faster at Maddox's tone of voice. He preferred bored to angry, and Maddox was definitely angry. Jake swallowed uncomfortably, then held the phone out for Carl to take.

“Yes, boss.”

Carl listened intently, then slipped the phone back into his pocket. He shot Jake a pitiful look, then flicked his chin in the direction of the fire.

“I’ve got to go.”

Jake took a step forward, tightening his hands into fists. “And I’m coming too.”

Carl’s face creased with sympathy. “You’re no use to him. His words not mine.”

Jake deflated and retreated a step. He couldn’t look Carl in the eye, didn’t want to see his pity, and when he stretched his hand out to pat Jake on the shoulder, he recoiled fast.

“You better go, then,” he snapped.

Jake turned around and rushed up the path with his face reddening and his eyes stinging. He refused to run even though he wanted to; he walked at a fast pace instead. Carl didn’t call for him, and when Jake flashed a look over his shoulder, he no longer stood on the pavement. Jake paused at the end of the road, glanced left then right, then shook his head between the two routes.

“No.” he muttered.

He would not be banished to his flat. Maddox couldn’t stop him from finding out for himself what was happening.

Jake lifted his hood and pulled it over his head, down to his eyes. Then he walked in the direction Carl had gone. It was a mile walk back to the house, and the paths were filled with worried faces, and panicked eyes.  The road had been cordoned off, and beyond the plastic blocks, the lights of fire engines flashed. Their blue strobes were no match for the intense orange that reached for the sky. Every possible shade of orange glowed from the houses; it lashed and spat into the darkness. Out of context it would’ve looked beautiful, but matched with the crashing, and the screaming, the sight rattled Jake’s bones, and stuttered his steps.

Even at the end of the road, the heat singed Jake’s eyeballs and he blinked to ease them. The intense smell of burning plastic invaded his nostrils, and he slapped his hand to his nose. Even the smoke carried heat, and he felt the burn at the back of his throat. Jake lifted the neck of his hoodie to cover his nose and joined the mass of people watching on.

The fire climbed into the sky, busting windows and collapsing walls. Each time a structure fell, the flames reared up, and the sound alone had Jake retreating a few steps along with everyone else. No one could survive an inferno like that, and the flames had spread to other houses. Ones where the occupants were most likely tucked up in bed, completely unaware.

If Maddox hadn’t been called away, that’s where Jake would’ve been. Lying in the bed on the top floor, while the sea of fire engulfed the downstairs. There would have been no chase, no buzz of adrenaline. Only death. Jake shuffled and turned to leave but stopped when he saw Maddox.

Unlike the rest of the crowd, Maddox didn’t retreat. He stood with his hands braced on the cordon and his focus unwavering on the fire. Carl was on one side of him, and Amber the other. The three of them stood statue still and didn’t cower even when a window blew, and glass smashed to the ground.

Amber turned sharply, and her red hair flicked up. Even that looked soft and forgiving with the backdrop of flames. She scanned the gathered crowd, and Jake ducked behind a man shaking his head in disbelief. Amber turned back to Maddox, spoke close to his ear, then moved away. She tapped on her phone as she walked, and the crowd parted and allowed her passage.

Maddox gripped Carl’s shoulder and tugged him close. He spoke into Carl’s ear, then patted his arm. It seemed almost intimate, and Jake frowned at the display. Carl nodded, and they resumed their statue-like stance.

Jake slunk away and tugged the hood off his head. Maddox was relieved Carl was unharmed but couldn’t spare any concern for him. He was no use to Maddox.

Jake stomped bitterly up the path, his nostrils flared as he went. He yanked his phone free of his pocket, then gritted his teeth. There were no messages from Maddox. No messages from anyone.

Chapter 3

Jake slammed the door of his flat, then flung himself face first on the sofa. The smoke had clung to the fibres of his hoodie, and each inhale brought the acidic burn into his lungs. He coughed and rolled on to his back. The ceiling of his flat wasn’t pristine with moody spot lights like Maddox’s place, instead there were mysterious grey patches, and the bulb dangled free of any lightshade. Jake glanced around his flat with a huff. There were no hidden speakers, or a glossy piano, or an ice machine on the fridge. If Jake wanted ice, he chipped it from the freezer with a knife, and the shards had the taste of frozen peas infused in them.

Jake shuffled, grimaced, then leaned up to remove the TV controller from his spine. He pointed it and sighed as he pressed the red button until his thumb went white. Only when the controller creaked, and his hand rattled did the battered old television turn on.

Jake switched on the news and waited to hear about the fire. The banner running the length of the screen said there were casualties. At least three dead, and others injured. Jake shuddered and pictured Maddox’s neighbours. There was an old business man that always lifted his flat cap off his head when he greeted Maddox, and a young flashy couple that lived on the other side. Then there was Maddox’s outer neighbours, and the ones after that.

A coil of unease wrapped around Jake’s chest. The smell of smoke lingered in his nostrils, and his throat felt sticky, as if ash had deposited there. He heaved himself up, then staggered to the bathroom. Not the fancy shower Maddox had with the many sprinklers, and the colour changing lights, but his simple, limescale covered shower head, that sprayed water from the wrong places.

Jake twisted the dial to searing hot like normal and stood under the spray with a huff. The cubicle filled with steam, and he closed his eyes, hoping to wash his troubles down the plughole. The hiss of water, the stuffiness of the steam and the near lava down his back didn’t release the squirm of his insides. He thought of fire, unforgiving and destructive. He thought of smoke, clogging and blinding, and he thought of the noise, the rush, the crackle, followed by a scream.

Jake spun around and twisted the dial to cold. He dropped to the floor of the shower and tucked his knees to his chest. The cold made him gasp, and each time he did, the congested feeling eased, and his body felt lighter. He loved danger, the chase, the adrenaline, but the fire would have consumed him. It wouldn’t have given him a chance of survival and wouldn’t have given him the burst of adrenaline he craved. Maddox wouldn’t have been able to save him like with Richie; Maddox wouldn’t have been able to save himself.

Jake stayed in the shower until his skin matched the white tiles, and his toes numbed. Then he climbed out, shivered his way to a towel and wrapped it tight around his body. The smell of smoke had gone from his flesh and hair, but his clothes were still offensive to his nose. He didn’t want to touch them and left them heaped on the bathroom floor.

He crawled into bed, tugged the duvet over his head, and sunk into the mattress. The springs poked him, and after a few minutes his hip began to ache, but it beat laying on the smoke covered sofa. There was no human furnace behind him, or strong arms to hold him close. He had been seeing Maddox for six months, sleeping over most weekends. Jake craved the nights in Maddox’s bed and wondered whether he would make it a permanent arrangement. He managed to sneak a toothbrush into the bathroom, but little else. Maddox seemed content with their arrangement, but Jake itched for more.

He curled into the foetal position and wrapped his arms around himself. It was a poor substitute for Maddox, and sleep didn’t come easily.

Jake sat bolt upright with a gasp. He pressed his hand to his chest and rubbed at his thumping heart. Sweat covered his body, and he panted for air as if he’d been starved of it. Fire, he'd dreamed of fire. An opponent he couldn’t win against. He couldn’t reason with fire. He couldn’t fake innocence or confusion or wait for Maddox to arrive. Someone had burned down the house, to kill him, or Maddox, but he didn’t seem concerned for Jake. He had stared at the house as it crumbled but hadn’t called Jake to see how he was. A small flutter of hope had Jake patting for his phone. It diminished instantly when he saw there were still no messages.

Jake threw his head back down on the pillow and huffed.

Sleep didn’t return, and Jake was half-thankful. The fire was still on his mind and he didn’t want to dream of more flames or screams. He rolled out of bed, dressed, then stomped into the living room. He stood with the controller pointed and pressed his thumb down for a full minute before the TV turned on.

He forgot the last thing he watched had been the news, and when the floaty voices of kid’s TV didn’t fill the room, he turned sharply and stared at images of the ash littered street. He squinted, unable to see where one house ended and the other began. Maddox’s house was nothing but a smoking pile of rubble, and the banner across the bottom stated six dead, not the three of the night before. They suspected arson and had a number on screen for witnesses to come forward.

The thump to Jake’s door sounded thirty minutes later. He peered through the spy hole and sagged when he saw the man the other side. Tom played with his moustache and flared his nostrils as he waited.

“What do you want?” Jake asked.

Tom rolled his eyes and flung his head back. “Just open the door.”

Jake unlatched the lock, took a step back then folded his arms. “Well?”

“You need to pack.”

Jake frowned. “Pack for what?”

Tom pushed past and moved towards the bedroom. “Where’s your suitcase?”

Jake breathed deep and pushed out his chest. He blocked Tom’s path and lifted his chin.

“You haven’t told me why I’m packing.”

Tom huffed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Don’t make this an ordeal. The boss wants you to pack, and what the boss wants the boss gets.”

“What about what I want?”

Tom glared and curled his lip back. “What you want? The boss’s house has just gone up in flames, and you’re talking about what you want?”

Jake lowered his gaze and deflated to his usual size. “I’ll get a bin-bag.”

“Bin bag?”

“To pack some stuff.” Jake said over his shoulder.

Tom rubbed his chin and watched Jake shove his clothing into a bag. He didn’t have much variety to his wardrobe. Joggers, hoodies, and a few pairs of jeans.

Tom lifted a pair of skimpy underwear from his drawers. Pinched between his thumb and forefinger he held the lace at a distance and shook it.

“Never would’ve guessed…”

Jake growled and snatched them from his grip. He shoved them into the bin-bag to hide them from Tom’s smug face. He stomped into the bathroom, packed his toothbrush and toiletries, then joined Tom by the front door.

Tom whistled at his watch. “You do like to keep him waiting…”

Jake’s heart pounded with thoughts of Maddox. He swung the bag over his shoulder, barged Tom aside, and launched out of the door. Tom’s black Mercedes was mounted on the curb outside. Any attempt at composing himself had gone with the thought of Maddox waiting for him. He tapped the blacked-out window with his breath catching in his throat, but it didn’t lower, and the door didn’t open.

“Maddox?”

Tom snorted, and Jake turned to him wide-eyed and confused.

“Too easy, Jake.”

Jake bunched his hand into a fist and beat the window of the car. “You’re an asshole.”

Tom huffed and unlocked the door. “Get inside.”

Jake narrowed his eyes and didn’t move. “Make me.”

Tom’s face creased with anger, and his nostrils widened, then he suddenly relaxed and shook his head.

“Don’t—don’t complicate the situation. You wanna see the boss, get in.”

He was desperate to see Maddox and sagged against the car. “Fine.”

Jake climbed inside, threw his bag on the backseat then slid the belt across his lap. Tom studied him for a few seconds, then moved to the driver’s side and did the same. The car rumbled to life, and Tom drove them towards the main road. There was no sense of urgency or panic, Tom drummed his finger on the steering wheel, and whistled to himself.

“So, what happened to the house?”

Tom didn’t answer. He continued his overly happy whistle, and Jake clenched his teeth.

“Who set it on fire?” he growled.

Tom upgraded his whistled to a hum and banged the heel of his hand on the wheel.

“Were they trying to kill me?”

Tom clacked his tongue and bobbed his head. Jake grabbed the wheel with a growl, they swerved, and the car behind them beeped loud and hard.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Tom yelled, shoving Jake back.

“I just want to know what’s going on. Can you at least tell me where you’re taking me?”

Tom drew his eyebrows together and exhaled harshly. “We’re going to catch a flight.”

“Airport? I don’t have my passport.”

Tom shook his head. “You don’t need one.”

“What about Maddox?”

Tom tapped his finger on the steering wheel. “The boss has already flown out.”

“But the house?”

Tom waved his hand. “The police are looking into it.”

Jake pursed his lips and bobbed his head. “Where is it we’re going, then?”

Tom grinned, the biggest grin Jake had ever seen on his stoic face. “Wait and see.”

Jake huffed and threw his weight back into his chair. He folded his arms and glared out the window at the blandest stretch of road he had ever seen.

Chapter 4

Jake stared at the private jet with his jaw hanging, and his eyes straining. It was alone on a mass of concrete. Not an airport, but what looked like an abandoned runway.

If it had been Maddox beside him, he would’ve been giddy in his seat, unable to sit still and grinning like a moron, but it wasn’t, it was Tom sat beside him, pursing his top lip to twitch his moustache.

“You want me to get on that?”

Tom rubbed his hairy top lip and shook his head. “No, the boss wants you to get on that. Or your master. I don’t know what you call him behind closed doors.”

“I call him Maddox. I’m not afraid to use his name.”

“I don’t call him boss out of fear, it’s out of respect. It’s his title. Now come on,” Tom said, unclipping his belt.

Jake waited a few seconds, then climbed out the car. Tom buttoned his blazer as he walked towards the jet. He flicked his head at the open door, and Jake jumped up the four steps to get inside. A small laugh escaped him when he saw the interior. Nothing like the cramped aeroplanes he had seen in the movies. The décor wasn’t bland, the seats weren’t grey, and there were no shelves for overhead storage.

The chairs were huge and spaced out. Black leather with white detail. The glass coffee table shone, the massive TV rivalled the one that had been in Maddox’s house. Jake dropped his gaze to the plush white carpet. He scrunched his feet anticipating walking across it bare foot.

“Shoes off.”

He startled forward at Tom’s voice, catching himself on the door frame. The pain didn’t register. His jaw hung open, and he gestured to the chairs, the table, the black chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“This is crazy.” Jake gasped.

“The boss likes what he likes.”

Jake nodded, then slipped off his worn trainers. Tom narrowed his eyes at Jake’s feet.

“Do you not own matching socks?”

“They both fit, that’s enough of a match for me.”

“There’s a hole in one.”

Jake wriggled his big toe, then shrugged. “Getting some air.”

Tom brushed past and sat on one of the monstrous chairs. He leaned back and propped his feet on the coffee table.

“So, where we going?” Jake asked.

Tom closed his eyes, exhaled, then shook his head.

“For how long?”

Tom answered with his eyes shut. “That’s not my call, it’s the boss's.”

“What about my work?”

Tom sighed through his nose. “Carl’s sorting it.”

Jake scrunched his face. “What does that mean?”

Tom smiled. “He’s gunna phone your boss and say you’ve both got the shits. Carl can be quite descriptive when he wants to be.”

Jake ventured a step further into the plane.

“I wish Maddox sent Carl to get me,” he mumbled.

“He’s with the boss.”

Jake bit the inside of his cheek and exhaled forcefully through his nose. He pushed the mild annoyance out of his mind and strolled through the jet. Behind the door at the end was a huge double bed, soft and inviting. He chuckled at the thought of joining the mile-high club with Maddox. On the way back home for sure.

His eyes rolled back in his head when the mattress sunk down with his weight. The sheets were crisp, and Jake crawled up the bed before diving under the duvet. It didn’t hold Maddox's scent, but it did smell clean, and it was soft against his skin.

“You gotta be seated for the take off.”

Jake huffed and stopped rolling around on the mattress. He stalked out with the duvet wrapped around him and threw himself in the chair furthest from Tom.

Tom cracked one eye open, then shuffled further into the chair. “You’re so gullible…”

“Gullible? Why?”

“You don’t have to be seated on a private jet, you idiot.”

Jake huffed, and got to his feet. The plane rumbled, and he dropped back down.

“Is it hot…or cold?”

“Hot.” Tom said immediately.

“Crowded or secluded?”

Tom hummed and cracked an eye open. “Secluded. Enough with the guessing games. I promise you its sunnier than here.”

Jake turned to stare out the window. Nothing but grey concrete, and dreary grey sky. He didn’t care where they were going, the plane could’ve flew them to the Antarctic and Jake would’ve been happy, so long as Maddox was there to greet him.

Chapter 5

No glossy magazine could do the island justice. The plush carpet of the jet was inferior to the blanket of sand. Jake kneeled and grabbed a handful. He opened his fingers a fraction, and the soft grains passed through. All perfectly even, not gold in colour, but gentler, a beige on the brink of white. The blue sky stretched over him, free of any wisps of cloud and the green palm trees were vibrant and still, with the lack of breeze. The first thing Jake did once he stopped leaning over the jetty was slip off his shoes and slung them in his bin-bag. He gasped at the first touch of sand between his toes.

Jake turned to Tom in amazement. “This place…it’s unreal.”

Tom sneered, then unhooked the sunglasses from his top pocket. “It’s very real, as was you throwing up on the way here…”

Jake shrugged. The lingering rawness in the back of his throat was worth it when he could see how much it irritated Tom. The flight hadn’t been so bad, twelve hours to get to the airport, a taxi ride to the shore, then two hours on a speedboat.

“First time on a boat, how was I supposed to know I get sea sick?”

Tom shook his head, then gripped the bottom of his shirt. “You could’ve aimed overboard.”

“I think the ocean got the brunt of it.” Jake muttered.

“Come on, I wanna change. Let’s go to the villa.”

Jake stood, and tugged his bin-bag of goods over his shoulder. The sickness in his gut left him when he thought of Maddox waiting for him.

The villa didn’t have the dominating feel Jake expected. It was set back from the ocean, raised on wooden stilts with a thatched roof. Rather than the black and white décor Jake was familiar with, the wooden slats that made the walls were exposed, the polished wood of the floor shone, but not to the point it reflected his face. No white tiles, or bland paintings, the villa had more windows than Jake could count, and its skeleton was completely exposed. Not a beam was covered, and Jake greedily breathed in the scent of wood. He ran his hand along the grand table and the carved benches in awe.

“He never told me about this.” Jake muttered.

Tom snorted. “Why would he?”

Jake stopped stroking the bench and grimaced at the floor.

“Oi!”

He turned to Tom, only just catching the bottle of sun cream thrown his way.

“Don’t ask me to rub it on you.”

Jake scrunched his face and shuddered. “Not even in my nightmares.”

Tom snorted, then scratched his moustache. “Anyway. I’m going to get changed. The kitchen’s stocked up, eat, drink, do as you please.”

Jake frowned, and spun around to face Tom. “Where is he, then?”

Tom flicked his chin out to the door at the far end of the villa. “Probably in there; boss gets bad jet lag.”

Jake licked his lips, then swallowed. He stepped cautiously, overly aware of the creaking floorboards under foot, then edged the door open. The huge bed was made, but there was no one lying in it.

Tom burst out laughing, and Jake spun around to face him.

“The boss isn’t here.”

A croak escaped Jake’s throat, and he shook his head. “He—he sent me away.”

“While he sorts out the mess. Said he didn’t want any complications.”

Jake breathed deep through his nose and exhaled the breath shakily. “Complications.”

“His words not mine.”

“So where is he now?”

Tom huffed. “Last time I saw him he was at his house. Waiting for them to retrieve his safe.”

“Safe?”

Tom tilted his head back and cursed. “Yes, his safe. Keeps the diamond in it.”

“Diamond.” Jake whispered.

“Stop being an echo.” Tom growled, flexing his hands.

“That diamond's more important than me.”

“Thought you knew that. Only three in the world and he owns them all. You, on the other hand. There are loads of irritating guys that crave attention. You’re disposable. He’s sending you away so you don’t complicate matters or try to get involved. That’s above your station.”

“My station?”

“What did I say about being an echo!” Tom growled and flashed his teeth.

Jake shook his head. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Tom sighed and closed his eyes in an extended blink. “You irritate me, and if you weren’t involved with the boss I would’ve punched you in the face, but sometimes I do pity you. You’re young, and naïve.”

“And you’re old and a prick.”

Tom clacked his tongue loudly, then shook his head.

“You are the boss's plaything. That is your purpose, to entertain him. He isn’t going to share his secrets with you or involve you in his work. If that’s where you think this will lead, then you're dreaming.”

A coil tightened around Jake’s gut and he curled forward, bracing his hands on his knees. He felt Tom’s eyes boring into him but couldn’t connect their gazes.

“That’s what you think, isn’t it? You think he might include you in what we do. Give you a gun, train you up. That’s not going to happen, Jake. What you have isn’t real, it’s just sex.”

“How would you know?” Jake spat, but he couldn’t lift his gaze from the floor.

“The boss, he’s had guys like you before. Ones that submit to him and let him do as he pleases. The only difference between you, and them, is you lie in his bed for free.”

Jake curled his lip and lifted his chin to finally face the gloating man. “Shut up. He’s sent me away, he must care about me—”

“He cares about you complicating the situation. It was between this and putting a bullet in your head.”

Jake swallowed stiffly and shook his head. “He wouldn’t do that.”

Tom grinned. “Do you even know Maddox?”

Do you even know Maddox?

The words were like ice in Jake’s bloodstream and he shivered.

He forced a cough, but his voice still trembled when he mumbled, “What am I supposed to do here? Are there at least other people?”

Tom shook his head. “Only villa here.”

“He’s sent me to some desert island.”

Tom pointed out the window. “There’s worse places to be, count yourself lucky. You loved it a minute ago.”

“Before I realised I was cut off from civilization. Like Rapunzel trapped in her tower.”

“You think far too much of yourself. Besides Rapunzel would’ve killed to stay somewhere like this. Who would want to leave?”

Jake lowered his gaze. If Maddox was with him, he wouldn’t want to, but stuck away with no people to entertain him, he saw it for what it was. A jail.

“Anyway, you’ve got me for company.”

Jake swallowed uncomfortably and ran his foot against the floor. If the island was a jail, that left Tom as his jailer.

Jake grew tired of the view after three hours. There was no fun to be had alone on a beach. There wasn’t one shell in the sand, or a fish in the sea. Most people marvelled at crystal clear water, but all Jake saw was yet more flawless sand below the surface. No rocks or possible crabs, just soft sand that engulfed his feet.

He slathered sun cream on himself, but it was unnecessary when he only stayed in one spot for a few minutes before moving under the shelter of the trees.

He stomped back to the villa, and each step inside sprinkled sand all over the floor. Maddox would’ve gone crazy, demanded he clean it up on his hands and knees, but he wasn’t there. He was thousands of miles away, not sparing Jake a single thought.

The food Tom spoke of wasn’t the sugary, salty kind Jake prayed for, but healthy, expensive stuff he would never have bought. Posh breads with olives, thin meats that Jake couldn’t pronounce and a vegetable for each colour of the rainbow. There was something called quinoa, which looked a cross between couscous and toe nails. Jake moved along to the selection of beers in the fridge, clearly not meant for him; they were dark and bitter. He grabbed one anyway and shoved it underneath his armpit to cool him down.

Tom had retired to one of the bedrooms, leaving Jake to wear the floorboards down with his frustrated pacing. There was nothing to do, and he growled at the roof. He didn’t know Maddox, and Maddox didn’t know him if he thought locking Jake up was a good idea.

He thought of Carl dismissing the idea of Maddox taking him on dates, and his warning not to fall for the boss, then forced a large gulp of beer down his throat.

He thought of Tom calling him disposable and saying the only difference between him and the men Maddox had seen before was him not being paid, then took another swig, spluttering at the taste.

Then he rested the can on his bottom lip, prepped to take another mouthful, but didn’t lift it. Naïve and stupid, Tom was right, and Jake hated when that smug bastard was right.

Jake craved Maddox like a drug, needed him, but it wasn’t a mutual need. Maddox sent him away, and being the trained lap-dog he was, he'd followed the command. They weren’t in a relationship. It was sex, on Maddox’s terms.

Jake walked out onto the balcony, stretched out his arm, and tipped the can. The last dribble of beer speckled the sand below, destroying its perfectness. Jake scrunched the can and tightened his face. His angry expression left him when he clasped eyes on the sun. Fading fast, the intense orange bled into the sky, every shade, just like the fire that had engulfed the house. Jake shuddered at the memory, then frowned and backed away.

He searched the villa for a TV, a phone, a computer, but there was nothing. He couldn’t see what was happening back in London, didn’t know if the death toll had risen, and whether the faces of the victims had been released. He fished his phone from his pocket and stabbed his thumb on the buttons, but there was no response.

He knew Tom had a phone.

A smile grew on Jake’s lips, and he took a breath deep into his lungs. He could find out what was going on at home and get his adrenaline buzz. Unlike Carl, Tom would give chase with his fists clenched and face reddening. Jake’s body fluttered at the memory of breaking Tom’s glasses. His eyes had bulged close to popping free, and his lip had curled, flashing his clenched teeth.

Tom’s nasally snoring made Jake shudder. He lay on his side, with a sheet thankfully covering his crotch. His back had the same wiry hair as his moustache, and it stuck to his flesh with sweat. Jake grimaced and tiptoed forward. The phone wasn’t on the side table, or in Tom’s jacket. The end of it poked out from beneath the pillow, the pillow supporting Tom’s head.

Jake pressed his lips together to withhold a giddy laugh and reached for the phone. He tugged it, and Tom frowned before relaxing again and resuming his snore. Jake retreated, rubbed at his throat, then tried again. He edged the phone out from the pillow, heart thumping in anticipation each time Tom’s breathing changed. His eyelids fluttered, and Jake bent his knees ready to duck if he needed. The twitching stopped, and the pig like snorts resumed.

Jake punched the air in triumph with his hand around the phone. He backed out of the room with the phone in hand, grinning like an idiot. One press of the phone and his smile fell. Passcode protected. Of course it was; not everyone had a phone from the eighteenth century like Jake. He squeezed it in his grip till the case creaked, then unclenched his fist and sighed.

He couldn’t find out what was going on back home or read all the private messages Maddox had sent to Tom, but the phone could still provide some entertainment.

Jake grinned, and moved into the master bedroom. He collapsed into the four-poster bed and let his body sink into the luxury mattress. He slid his watch off his wrist and flung it on the side, before wincing and checking he hadn’t damaged the face.

The clean scent of the bed relaxed him, and he rolled on to his back with a sigh. No aching hips, or pinging springs, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. Phone in his grasp.

Carl was right about Tom getting food stuck in his moustache. The crumbs of his toast looked almost like dandruff, and the sticky marmalade had clumped the longer strands together. After his toast, Tom slurped at his coffee which darkened his moustache until the hair looked black.

Jake got through half of his breakfast before the sight of Tom and his buffet moustache put him off eating more. Jake gestured to his top lip, brushing his bare skin in a hint, but Tom just glared at him, and Jake gave up.

The villa was cool in the morning air. Tom still wore his suit trousers and white shirt, but his jacket had been left in the bedroom. Jake chose his joggers, easier to run in, and he didn’t put a t-shirt on, even when Tom tutted at his bareness. The cool air felt pleasant on his skin, especially when dreams of fire and heat still plagued him.

Jake breathed deep and reached into his joggers pocket for the phone. He had been more than generous allowing Tom to eat before the chase, but he needed the burst of excitement, his feet were twitching, and his heart had sped up in anticipation.

He held the phone in his hand and waved it for Tom to see. Tom’s eyes flashed to the phone, then he frowned. “And?”

Jake swallowed awkwardly and looked at the device. “It’s your phone.”

Tom sniffed loudly. “Yes, looks like it.”

“Don’t you want it back?”

Tom shrugged and went back to sipping his coffee.

“What if I throw it in the ocean? Bury it in the sand?”

Jake was overly aware his voice escaped his lips higher than normal. He shook the phone, then tapped it to the table, but Tom didn’t react.

“I’m not gunna chase you, if that’s what you want.”

“So, you don’t want it back?”

Tom sighed and lowered his mug. “I do want it back. It’s the only way the boss can contact us, but I’m not going to play your games. Carl tells me about them all the time. Stealing his wallet, his phone, his sandwiches and he also told me the best way to deal with it is not reacting.”

Jake bunched his lips and frowned furiously. “Remember when I stamped on your glasses, you would’ve gone after me then—”

“The boss stopped me,” Tom said with a smirk, then flicked the new pair on the table, “And he got me these. You destroy the phone, he’ll get me another. It’s no bother to me, but it might irritate him, and I would enjoy the last few months of Maddox’s attention without pissing him off if I was you.”

“Last few months?”

Tom smirked at his coffee. “The guys the boss likes are young, nineteen-twenty-ish. Fresh meat. You almost twenty-two?”

“Twenty-three.” Jake whispered.

“Then I’d stop with your games.”

Jake placed the phone in the centre of the table, and Tom hummed, sliding it next to his shades. He finished the rest of his coffee, then clapped, startling Jake from his sudden self-loathing.

“Now I’m going to go sunbathe. You…you entertain yourself.”

Tom walked off whistling, with his phone in his pocket, and his glasses on his face. Jake’s stomach plummeted to his toes, and he braced himself on the table. It may’ve just been sex, but the thought of Maddox tiring of him, and casting him away left Jake cold.

Maddox told Jake he wanted to keep him, but never said for how long. Maddox had promised more Christmases together, was it a lie to get Jake to cooperate, to lead Maddox into the bedroom?

Jake moved his hand to his queasy stomach and swallowed forcefully. He didn’t want to be sick, but the beer of the night before rumbled in his belly, irritated by realisation after realisation. He was naïve and stupid, just like Tom had said.

Chapter 6

By the second morning, there was only one can of beer left in the fridge. Jake snatched it from the shelf, turned to Tom and raised his eyebrow.

“The last one…”

He saw the bob of Tom’s throat, the phantom swallow of his favourite beer, then he turned, and shrugged.

“You have it.”

Tom strolled into the other room, and Jake followed on his heels.

“Don’t even like this stuff.” Jake said, pretending to study the label.

“Don’t like it, don’t drink it.”

Jake frowned and nodded. “You’re so right…”

He strolled through the room and onto the balcony knowing Tom’s eyes were tracking him, then he turned, and opened the can.

Tom frowned, shaking his head slightly. His face tightened with anger when Jake poured the beer onto the sand below. Jake stared at Tom, and Tom stared back. The anger was there, bubbling beneath the surface, and Jake waited for the moment the tension snapped, and Tom launched at him.

Tom broke eye contact and shook his head. “You really are crazy…”

Jake stomped back into the villa with his nostrils flaring. “I’m bored, there’s nothing to do here.”

“You’re like a child,” Tom huffed, “desperate for attention. I don’t want a family for this goddamn reason.”

“And no one would want one with you…”

“Says the man craving a relationship from the boss.”

Jake grimaced at the sudden sour taste in his mouth. “You don’t know anything about me and Maddox.”

“If it was a proper relationship, he would’ve asked you to move in with him.”

Jake backed away a step and shook his head.

“He would’ve told you what was going on, not sent you away.”

Jake tightened his hand around the can in his grip, and it pinged and creaked in protest.

Tom laughed lightly. “The fact that you’re getting so wound up, tells me you know what I’m saying is true. Now make the best of this situation. Go lay in the sun, splash in the sea. This is the only paradise you’re going to see.”

He turned and walked leisurely towards the bathroom. Jake stared after him. His nostrils flared and his chest heaved.

The chirp of a phone cut through Jake’s anger, and he patted his pocket before remembering his was out of battery.

He glanced at Tom’s jacket, slung over a chair, then moved towards it, craving to see Maddox’s name. Jake tugged the phone free and glared at the screen. A message from ‘the boss’ flashed right in his face, and he pressed his thumb down hard. The phone requested the passcode, and it took all Jake’s willpower not to hurl it across the room.

Jake shoved the phone back in Tom’s pocket, and something clunked against the chair. He stilled and peeled back the jacket, as if he thought what was hidden could leap out at him. Hanging from the chair was Tom’s chest holster, and Jake snapped his eyes to the gleaming gun and swallowed.

Not matte black, but gold, shimmering gold. Jake checked over his shoulder before removing the gun from the holster. It was heavier than he expected, and comfortable to hold. The power of the weapon in his grip had him gasping, and he tilted it left to right in awe.

Jake had no idea why he tiptoed out of the villa, the shower hissed loud enough to muffle his steps, but the giddiness in his chest made him creep and wince at each creaking floorboard. The gun was firmly in his hand, and in the other he held the finished beer can. He didn’t need Maddox to teach him how to use a gun, he had spent enough of his teenage years playing on game consoles to give him a rough idea. Point and shoot, as simple as that.

Jake twisted the beer into the sand to keep it upright, then retreated an optimistic distance. He studied the gun, released the clip, which hit the sand with a dull thump. He bent down to retrieve it, slid it back in the gun, then aimed and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened, and he frowned at the gun before trying again. It didn’t fire for the second time, and he growled. Then he closed his eyes and thought back to all the awful action movies he had seen.

Jake lifted the gun, pulled back the slider on top, then fired. He missed and took a step closer before firing again. The sand flicked up where the bullet struck, meters away from the target.

The dented can stood in the sand, unaffected, mocking Jake, and he growled taking another step forward. When he missed for the fourth time he cocked his jaw, marched straight up to the can, and fired directly at it.

The sound rebounded, a loud pop that startled Jake, followed by a high-pitched ring. Jake’s eyes watered with the intensity, and he dropped the gun to the sand to rub at them. The sound, almost like a metallic ping, seemed to intensify, and no amount of distancing himself from the can helped. He couldn’t hear the sloshing sea, or his pants of breath, let alone the shouts of his name from behind him.

The wind was knocked clean out of his chest when he landed. Tom was on him, pinning him to the sand. Jake lay on his back, with Tom straddling his waist. His mouth moved but Jake couldn’t tell what he said. It looked almost funny, Tom staring at him wide-eyed while making odd shapes with his lips.

Beside them on the sand were Tom’s jacket and holster.

Jake realised Tom had grabbed them from the chair before leaving the villa. Tom scrambled to tug the holster from the jacket and his phone slipped free onto the sand.

Then Tom froze, and his eyes widened. He hooked the strap, tugged it free and held the empty holster above Jake’s head. Then he pulled his lip back, leaned down, and shouted in Jake’s face.

Jake couldn’t hear above the ringing, but he felt the pain of the shout, the velocity of the soundwaves battering his eardrums. Furious lines slit Tom’s forehead, and his eyes pulsed from his face as he shouted.

Jake squirmed, trying to escape the weight crushing his pelvis, but Tom dropped the holster, and grabbed Jake by the throat. He didn’t squeeze, just held, but Jake’s mind immediately went to Richie.

The flashing white in his vision, swiftly followed by the darkness sweeping in from the edges. The only thing louder than the ringing in his ears was the sound of his heart beating frantically.

Maddox had saved him, had battered Richie into the concrete, but there was no one to save him from Tom. Jake patted the sand beside them and knocked the phone. The screen brightened, and Tom flashed it a look then released Jake’s neck. Maddox hadn’t physically saved him, but his name had been enough.

Tom took a few steps back, staring at his hands like they had acted on their own accord. Jake rolled on his side and spluttered into the sand. Each gasp of breath drew the grains into his lungs, making him cough more. Coughing turned to retching, and he curled into the foetal position with his arms wrapped around himself.

Sound came back all at once, and the only noise to break the calm of the beach waves was his own desperate pants for air. Tom hadn’t squeezed, but as soon as hands were on Jake’s throat, his body reacted instinctively. He held his breath, and savoured his last gulp even though he could’ve drawn more into his body.

Tom watched without comment, then shook his head and walked up the beach to reclaim his gun.

“If it wasn’t for the boss, I would’ve killed you.”

Jake lifted his head to face Tom, sand had stuck to his lips, and his eyes were sore and dripping. He opened his mouth, but snapped it shut again when he didn’t know what to say.

Tom checked the clip of the gun then breathed heavily through his nose. He reached down for the holster, clipped it over his shoulder and around his chest, then snatched up his jacket and phone.

“Why would you take my gun? It’s to protect us. I ran down here thinking someone was taking shots at you. I would’ve took them for you. Jesus, Jake.” Tom raised his head to the sky and snorted bitterly. “This isn’t paradise with you here. I’ve drawn the short straw with this deal. I’m done.”

“What do you mean?” Jake mumbled.

Tom shook his head and walked back up the beach. Jake rested his head to the sand and watched him go, then he rolled onto his back and squeezed his eyes shut. They watered, but not from the fading ringing in his ears. A raw sound of despair escaped his throat, and he slapped his hands over his face to catch it.

The sun faded behind the sea, and instead of shying from the intense colour bleeding into the sky, Jake stared at it without blinking. The sea lapped around his feet, and he had stood so long in the same place his heels were firmly imbedded in the waterlogged grains.

Jake breathed deep through his raw throat, then turned and began the trek back to the villa. He stepped lightly up the steps, peeked inside, and sighed when he saw the living room was empty of Tom. He rushed over to the bedroom, wincing at the whine of the floorboards, then threw himself down on the bed.

His stomach whined in protest, but Jake ignored it, balled up a pillow and pressed it against his squirming guts. At a guess, forcing sleep took hours, but Jake didn’t reach for his watch to find out. All he knew for certain was it would’ve been easier if Maddox had been wrapped around him.

Jake woke the next morning to the sound of rumbling. A specific rumbling. A speedboat. His traitorous heart thumped with the thought of Maddox. He sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, staring at the wooden beams above. He didn’t want to run to heel like some obedient dog, but the agitated feeling started in his muscles. He flexed his toes, scrunched his fingers at his sides, but still lost out to the pull of Maddox. It felt like Maddox owned more of his body than he did, and the insistent beat in his heart overwhelmed his mind.

Jake flung himself across the room to the chest of drawers and pulled his bin-bag of clothes free. He dove his hand inside blind, pulling out the lace knickers Tom had mocked. He went to shove them back, but paused, rubbing the fabric between his thumb and forefinger. He hadn’t given in to Maddox before, but if he really was as troublesome as Tom said, he needed to do something to please Maddox, to prove he was worth keeping. He tugged them on, scrunching his face at the scratchy material, then kicked his legs into his joggers and rushed into the bathroom. Jake brushed his teeth in record time, scrubbed water on his face, dampened his hair and sprayed his cheap spray over his body.

If Maddox was craving Jake, as much as he craved Maddox, sex on the jetty was a strong possibility. His cock responded with the tease of it and he groaned at the chafe.

Tom hadn’t surfaced, and Jake thought better of waking him. He tiptoed across the villa, heart pounding so hard he was sure Tom would hear it, then jumped the steps to the deck below.

He ran out into the cool morning air, feet sinking in the soft sand, and cock getting rawer with each stride. His thighs burned, and he couldn’t draw enough breath into his lungs in his excitement. Maddox, it was all he could think of. Screw what Carl and Tom said. They didn’t know anything about his and Maddox’s relationship.

Jake panted for breath, and the drum of his heart drowned out the sound of the boat. He broke through the tree line, clasped eyes on the jetty with a smile on his lips, but then he stopped, and his joyous expression turned to a frown.

The boat was moving away from the island, and when Jake squinted to see the figures on board, the shimmer of Tom’s sunglasses caught his eye. His heart missed a beat and his mouth popped open in shock.

Tom had left him.

Chapter 7

Tom had been gone two hours, and a barrage of emotions battered Jake in his solitude. There was no TV to distract him, no job to trundle off to, or people to grift from. Maddox had stripped away everything and left him in hell. He was nothing but a junkie in a residential retreat. At first, the images his mind conjured of Maddox made him growl, and pace bitterly, then they gave way to need and he stopped. In a villa of absolute silence, his body hummed needing Maddox. His heart ached for him.

“Bastard,” he shouted, moving into the kitchen.

Jake sunk his teeth aggressively into an apple. It was warm, and too soft, no crunch, more a slurp. He huffed then twirled the fruit in his hand and stared at the unbitten side. The shine reflected his face, contorted with dissatisfaction. He moved along, ready to throw it away, but paused with the apple dangling over the bin.

He side-stepped the bin and yanked open the drawer to the cutlery. The knife he selected was sharp, easily able to carve the skin from the apple, but instead Jake cut wedges from the unmarred side. He left the knife and the browning remains on the side and moved into the bedroom.

There was one way left to rid himself of frustration, and that was beating it out of himself. He lay on the bed, tugged his joggers down to his knees, and shimmied the lace knickers halfway down his thighs. Jake slid his eyes closed, reached down and tightened his hand around his needy cock. He stroked, and as he stroked, he fed himself the segments of apple. They still didn’t crunch the way he liked, and it didn’t lessen the humidity of his mouth, but the memory of Maddox surfaced fast. The erotic way he'd fed Jake apple piece by piece. Jake groaned with the memory.

As if put under some spell, the arm he used to feed himself numbed, until he felt disassociated from its movements, and his mind grew fuzzy, whether from the heat or his desperate desire, he didn’t know.

With his eyes shut, it felt like Maddox really was feeding him, teasing him by running the apple against his lip, then pushing inside for his teeth to graze the pulp. He imagined classical music complimenting the powerful pumps of his heart, building to the conclusion. He panted against the apple, couldn’t bite, couldn’t move his lips against it, too swept up in the moment. Maddox, he imagined his dark eyes watching, snapping between Jake’s face, and his fisting hand. Maddox and the intimidating quality he possessed, the maddening dominance. Jake imagined that control breaking, and him swooping down, replacing the piece of apple with his tongue, batting Jake’s hand out the way to finish the stroking himself.

Jake moaned out Maddox’s name, long and suffering, then the orgasm hit. He emptied his frustration with three stomach clenching pulses of his cock.

He cracked an eye open, stared at the few pieces of apple still waiting on his chest, dirty by his own doing. He had cried for Maddox, not from his eyes, but his cock. Jake slowed his breathing, and his heart calmed, but the phantom feeling of Maddox didn’t leave.

He craved the post orgasm touches, the strokes of Maddox's warm fingers against his neck. The soft kisses to his temple, and the feel of Maddox’s skin so close to his it felt like his own. Those were the touches that convinced Jake it was more than sex between them.

Jake blinked at the sting in his eyes, and when it became clear that wasn’t going to dry them, he squeezed them shut, balled his hands into fists, and didn’t move until he finally succumbed to sleep.

When he woke, he blinked down at himself then flung his head back hard into the pillow with a growl. Scrubbing his face with his hands didn’t lessen the embarrassed heat seeping from his cheeks. He had got himself off to the memory of Maddox, and the evidence prickled his skin. He shuffled, then tugged the sheet from underneath him and wiped his chest. It had long dried, even the apple had parched in the few hours he slept.

Jake wiggled the lace knickers back up, before yanking the joggers high to cover them. He forced himself out of bed, washed his chest with a cloth, then rubbed at his grumbling stomach. He scanned the remaining fruits in the kitchen, and blushed scarlet at the bananas.

“Get a grip,” he growled.

Unlike all the other days, the sky wasn’t clear. A thick wall of cloud moved through the blue, forcing the ocean into shadow. Jake watched the invasion of darkness from the beach. It reminded him of a mushroom cloud, sweeping in after some explosion at sea. If a colour could be angry, then the fast greying sky was furious, unsettling the crystal water, and consuming the remaining blue above.

The wind rushed through Jake’s hair, cooler than before, and when he turned to look back at the beach, the palm trees were flapping their leaves at the swift airflow. Their vibrant green dulled, and so did the sand Jake lounged on. No longer a beach of flawless white, but surrounded by pewter ash, warm beneath his body. 

Jake turned his attention back to the cloud. It covered the orange sun, and when it managed to force itself through, it looked like fire, fire drowned by its own smoke. A furious fire ready to suffocate the life on the island.

He knew he should run back to the villa, keep away from the storm, but he couldn’t.

Jake stood and walked back to the shallows. No longer calm and clear but spitting with small wave breaks. They slapped his calves hard, and goosebumps spread up to his thighs.  His heart skipped into his throat, and he breathed faster.

Jake moved further into the water until it broke around his knees, soaking the bottoms of his rolled up joggers. They blotched, and darkened, and he kept walking until the water knocked his hip, and the breaking waves sprayed his face.

The sky rumbled, and Jake felt the vibrations deep in his chest. The growl didn’t scare him, he wanted more. It didn’t just travel through the air, but tremored up from the sand, through the water, into his chest. The grumbles of the sky interrupted the beat of his heart, paralysed his lungs and he could only breathe once the vibrations had softened to nothing.

Jake played chicken with the sea, not how children did in the surf with their parents watching, but a game of risk with no one to rescue him, and the current getting strong around him. Danger, he loved it, and there he was finally finding it to get his heart pumping and his body buzzing without Maddox.

He turned back to the beach, and the trees bowed to the force of the wind, the sand whipped into the air in blasts, and the peace surrendered to the untrainable force. The clouds roared again. Jake startled, pressing his hand to his frantic heart, then laughed. A manic crazy laugh that didn’t sound like his own. He spread his arms wide and welcomed the downpour of rain. It hit the ocean, and splashed up, rain drops struck him from all angles and the sloshing waves slapped into his flesh.

A wave hit him in the chest with enough force for him to lose his suction footing in the sand. His head went under the water, and his scalp tingled at the sensation. He managed to regain his footing, and prepared himself for the next wave, bracing his chest forward for the angry slap trying to knock him down.

It pushed against him. He gritted his teeth and growled back, but it still had the power to tip his heels back and dunk him back into the ocean. Jake surfaced with his throat burning, and spluttered at the sloshing waves. He yelled in elation, punching the water with his fists, pounding it like it was a beast.

He turned back to see how the trees were fairing against the storm, and a blur on the beach caught his eye, a figure hidden by a veil of swirling sand. His phantom sensation of Maddox had upgraded to one he could see. A ghost that wanted to bring him back from the water, but its presence had nothing on the pull of the ocean. The addicting danger he needed for adrenaline. He turned his back on the mirage of Maddox; it didn’t deserve his attention, but the rushing ocean and the darkened clouds did.

Jake could still reach the shore, but he wanted to tease the storm, challenge it to knock him down and keep him there.

Each time he went under he surfaced with a laugh, throat sore and eyes stinging but not beaten. The rain washed the saltiness from his face, only for the ocean to reclaim him, and infuse him with the permanent scent.

Something coiled around his arm and yanked him forcefully. Jake struggled when he surfaced, tugging his arm back from the seaweed or octopus that was gripping him.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Jake froze at the furious voice behind him. Not a hallucination on the beach, but the real man he hated and needed in equal measures. Jake allowed himself to be dragged, skin tingling where Maddox touched, then grimaced and dug his heels into the sand. Not this time. He wasn’t some pup gripped by the scruff of its neck. He struggled free of the hands and turned to face Maddox with a growl.

“Don’t touch me!”

Maddox’s green eyes were manic, and his brow scrunched with feral lines. Jake imagined that was his expression before he killed, the last face terrified people saw while they pleaded for their lives. Jake wasn’t going to plead for his. The game with the storm had nothing to do with Maddox.

He pointed towards the beach. “Go back to where you came from.”

Maddox’s eyes blazed with fury, and he lunged forward, but Jake slipped free of the clutch and backed away, towards the storm. It rumbled at his back, feeding him confidence. He lifted his chin and didn’t bow to the anger Maddox emitted. He challenged it.

Maddox’s eyes roamed to the clouds, and his lips popped open. Jake didn’t see the forks of lightning, but the beach lit up like its picture had been taken. Maddox did see, and he moved to grab Jake again.

“Let’s talk about this back at the villa.”

“No,” Jake yelled, stepping away.

Maddox scrunched his fists at his sides. The usually controlled man was a mess, hair stuck to his forehead, shirt creased by waves, and face displaying an array of emotions rather than his default bored expression. Jake was glad he had unsettled him. It made him feel good.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Jake shook his head. “Kill myself? I feel alive right now. I’m in control.”

Maddox shook his head, and Jake watched as he braced himself for another wave to strike him. Maddox kept his footing better than Jake who floundered and sunk before surfacing with a gasp.

“You are not in control.” Maddox said, walking forward only for Jake to back away. “This is dangerous, crazy.”

Jake tilted his head back and barked with laughter. “You don’t know the craziest part.”

Maddox narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“I can’t swim. You think anyone would’ve bothered to teach me? Each time it knocks me down, I might not get back up.”

Maddox launched at him, wrapping his arms tight around Jake to prevent his escape.

“Get offa me!”

The ocean aided Jake, knocking them down, and untangling Maddox’s crushing grip.

Jake spluttered, swayed, then bent his legs to cope with another smaller wave hitting him. He stared in Maddox’s eyes, and didn’t cower at the fury he faced.

“You can’t save me from the storm, just as you couldn’t have saved me from the fire.”

Maddox's aggressive stance softened, and his face relaxed. His green eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak but Jake got there first.

“Why would it even matter?” Jake shouted. “I’m disposable, you’ve had others before me, and you’ll have others after.”

Maddox shook his head, and his damp hair whipped left to right. He moved close but didn’t lift his arms to grab Jake. They hung at his sides, and his hands were no longer tightened into fists. The slosh of the ocean, the rumble in the sky, and the wind whipping Jake’s ears fell silent. Jake focused on Maddox’s mouth.

“If I couldn’t save you from the smoke, or the fire, then I’d burn with you.”

Jake shook his head and curled back his lip. Maddox took another step forward and Jake didn’t retreat.

“If the ocean filled your lungs, and I couldn’t empty them, I’d swim until the waves claimed me.”

Maddox lifted his hand to run his forefinger up Jake's cheekbone. Jake allowed the touch, and his eyelids fluttered.

“If a gun is pressed to your temple, and I’m not quick enough drawing mine, I’ll turn it on myself.”

Jake bowed forward, wanting to resist Maddox’s caress but unable to do so. He leaned into the hand cupping his face, and Maddox brought his other up to hold Jake’s cheek.

“You are not disposable.” Maddox said, lifting Jake’s head to connect their gazes.

“You said you wanted to keep me,” Jake said.

Maddox nodded. “Yes, I do—”

“But you never said at arm’s length. Never said I would only get a piece of you when you get all of me. I’m no use to you,” Jake spat, pulling away.

Maddox tightened his hands, then flared his nostrils and released Jake. “What?”

“A complication. Your words, right?”

“Yes, they’re my words.”

Jake sagged with diminished hope. He had wanted Maddox to deny it, would have basked in the lie.

“They’re my words, but not said to you—”

“Carl and Tom—”

“Yes,” Maddox growled. “it’s what I said to them, so they can paint their own image of us. Their deluded idea of how things are. You think I’d lay my heart bare for everyone to see, for anyone to stake. Even Tom and Carl need to be kept in the dark, for their own sakes and yours.”

Jake continued to retreat, and Maddox followed, ushering him towards the shore.

“Why do you think I sent you here?”

Jake scrunched his face and turned away. “To get rid of me, make sure I didn’t interfere.”

“Yes, but why?”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Why would I get Carl to work at the stationary shop? Why would I send you away from possible harm? And get Tom to guard you? It’s because I care. I made a mistake with Richie. I didn’t see that you were being followed, blinded by my own desire, by the game we played, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

Maddox flashed a look to the roaring ocean. “But I can’t keep you safe from yourself. Even bringing you to the most peaceful non-dangerous place you still managed to find some.”

“I told you I loved danger,” Jake muttered.

“That doesn’t mean I do. Not when it comes to you, and what you’re doing right now is stupid, and reckless.”

Jake frowned at the prickle at his heels, no longer under water, but bare against the soggy sand. Maddox had rounded him up from the ocean, backed him away from danger, but his heart continued to beat powerfully in his chest, and his breathing continued to leave him in pants.

When Jake lifted his eyes, the clouds were surrounding Maddox, dark and domineering, and when the sky flashed with lightning it did so above Maddox’s head. He didn’t flinch, didn’t react, just kept his slow pace to keep Jake walking backwards.

“You are mine Jake, mine to protect, mine to keep, and mine to punish if I see the need for it, and I do when you think it's fine to put yourself at risk like that.”

Chapter 8

The further they got from the beach, the less intense the storm seemed, nothing but a distant rumble and fading darkness. The front row of palm trees got the brunt of the wind, and the sheltered sand behind only whipped up when Jake’s feet flicked it. The only threat he needed to worry about followed him up the beach.

Jake walked backwards to the villa, while Maddox stalked forward. He postured like a courting alpha. There were no more words between them, no need when Maddox moved with such determination and entitlement to take Jake.

Maddox plucked at the buttons of his shirt with maddening control. He unpeeled the soaked material from his chest then flung it to the sand. His muscles gleamed with moisture, and the swirling tattoo seemed darker against his skin. Jake swallowed at the sight of his chest, wider than his, stronger, a chest he longed to be crushed against. He wanted those arms around him too, wanted Maddox’s firm hand to grab the back of his neck, and his fingers to dig in and render him helpless.

Maddox reached up and brushed his black hair back into position, wet and slick against his scalp. He smoothed his hands over his facial hair without taking his eyes from Jake’s. He pruned himself after the storm had ruffled him. Jake didn’t attempt to tidy up his own water-logged hair; it ran down his face, collected at his chin and dropped onto his bare chest.

All Maddox’s movements were calculated and controlled, great strides, with his shoulders set and his head fixed and focused. It unsettled Jake as he walked backwards, not knowing where to look, or how to feel. Maddox wanted to punish him for his carelessness in the ocean, and he didn’t know what was in store for him back at the villa. Part of him wanted to spin around and run, but he knew better than to turn his back on a beast. Instinct would take over Maddox, and Jake would be pinned to the damp sand.

Maddox’s forest green eyes demanded to be looked at. A forest where light gave way to the dark. A claustrophobic place with no escape. They trapped Jake, and his blue eyes couldn’t compete with Maddox’s. He dropped his gaze to the sand Maddox’s feet strolled over, but it was too late; his pupils had already been infected by the rising darkness of lust. Jake’s erection felt heavy, and there was no hiding it when the material of his joggers clung like a second skin.

Each pant of breath dried Jake’s lips, but his mouth was the opposite, filled with saliva like Maddox had starved him for days.

Jake’s heel hit the bottom step of the villa, and he gasped, reaching behind himself to grip the handrail.

Maddox stopped, and his hands made quick work of his belt. It whipped through the loops and hit the sand with a dull thump. Jake backed up the steps, eyes fixed on Maddox. He watched him undo his trousers and step out of them. The grey boxers left nothing to the imagination. Maddox’s thick cock pulsed, and Jake’s responded with its own feeble escape attempt.

Jake stood at the top of the stairs, above Maddox physically, but emotionally he felt lower, felt lesser, and it translated in the way he continued his retreat. Spine bent, shoulders drawn together, and head bowed. Maddox jumped the steps two at a time, and Jake rushed backwards, tripping on his heels but managing to keep his balance. He flashed looks over his shoulder to navigate the living room but didn’t dare turn his back on Maddox.

Jake knew where they were heading, and when his back hit the door, he reached behind himself and scrambled for the handle. The door swung open, and he lost his footing, stumbling backwards until he landed on the edge of the bed.

Maddox shook his head and beckoned with his hand for Jake to stand.

“I want the wetness of the bed to be from you, not the sea.”

Jake nodded frantically, unable to speak, and tugged the sticking joggers from his hips. He didn’t have Maddox's grace and had to peel the material from his legs like waxing strips. The joggers dropped to the floor with a wet slurp, but stayed tight around his ankles, and he had to kick himself out of them.

Jake went to remove his lace underwear, but Jake saw Maddox’s raised hand in his peripheral and stopped.

“Keep them on.”

The control wavered in his voice, and Jake looked up. The devourer was there, eyes no longer green, but black like his hair, and tattoo. Jake clenched his stomach, and stiffened his body, ready for the moment Maddox launched at him and pushed him to the bed, but it didn’t happen.

Maddox flicked his head, and Jake obediently perched, before shuffling his way up and lying flat on the mattress. Maddox strolled around him and reach down for the crumpled sheet Jake had used to wipe himself that morning. He studied it, and an explosive blush grew on Jake’s face.

“Tell me what you did…”

Jake swallowed uncomfortably, then wet his lips with his tongue. “I was frustrated.”

Maddox lifted his eyebrow like the explanation wasn’t enough.

“I touched-touched myself, got myself off…” Jake stuttered.

Maddox pursed his lips. “Describe the scene to me.”

Jake turned his head. Maddox reached and immediately turned it back.

“I lay in bed, and ran my hand up and down my cock—”

“Fast or slow?”

Jake sunk his teeth into his lip, and Maddox raised his eyebrow again.

“Slow at first, but then faster.”

“Were you naked?”

Jake frowned. “Yeah, I was naked.”

“Not with your joggers around your ankles?”

A croak escaped Jake’s throat, and he forced a swallow. “Joggers around my ankles, knickers around my thighs, and eyes closed.”

Maddox lifted the sheet to his nose and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes as if savouring the scent, and Jake’s embarrassed heat expanded in his cheeks until his face felt aflame.

“What’s the smell?”

Jake closed his eyes, shamed by Maddox’s searching questions. “I fed myself apple, imagined it was you doing it. Piece by piece while stroking myself.”

“What was the last thing you thought of before orgasm?”

Jake rubbed his parched lips together, then popped them open. “I thought of you taking over. You stroking me, and not the apple in my mouth, but your tongue.”

Maddox made a sound like a pleasurable huff, then dropped the sheet and sat on the bed. Jake’s body tipped towards his weight, and Maddox twisted around until his chest was exposed to Jake, then encouraged Jake to lay on his side.

“And what name did you gasp when you came?”

Jake frowned, and rubbed his nose against Maddox’s leg. “Yours…how did you know?”

Maddox chuckled, then tapped his nose. “I keep an eye on what’s mine.”

“You watched me?”

“I did, on the boat over here.”

Jake lifted his head to find the camera in the room, but Maddox pushed his face back down.

“I thought you would be waiting for me, thought you would want me as much as I want you.”

Jake nodded frantically. “I do, I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I messaged Tom yesterday.”

“He never said.”

Maddox hummed and narrowed his eyes. “I had to demand the boat take me, pay double just to get to you as fast as I could. When I got here I couldn’t find you. I didn’t think you’d be that stupid to walk out into the ocean when it was an obvious danger.”

The bite was back in his tone. Jake burrowed his face into Maddox’s thigh to appease him. “I thought you’d cast me aside.”

“You mustn’t deliberately put yourself in danger like that. Promise me Jake.”

Jake nodded, but it wasn’t enough. Maddox flicked out his chin and waited for a verbal reply.

“I promise.”

Maddox reached for the empty bedside drawer and pulled out a bottle of lube. He squirted a generous amount on the fingers of his left hand, and Jake frowned.

“I came with supplies.” Maddox said with a snort of amusement.

There was no build up to where his lube covered fingers were heading. They slipped messily against Jake’s skin and under the lace underwear, straight to his hole. One finger was easily accepted, but Maddox didn’t pull back to add more to stretch. He sought out Jake’s prostate and rested his finger against the tender area.

Maddox cupped Jake’s face with his other hand, thumb drawn to Jake’s dry lips. He traced the supple eclipse, gently at first, before pressing harder and distorting the shape. Jake panted at the attention, a desperate pant that tugged at his diaphragm. Each gulp of air jogged his body, and the teasing finger inside him rubbed. At first the sensation at his prostate was an afterthought, then a twitch, then a buzz, then he couldn’t think of anything else but the slight brush of Maddox’s finger inside him, and the thumb working his lips till they were wet with saliva.

“I’m gunna write my name inside your body.”

Jake struggled to open his eyes, and glanced up to Maddox, but the ceiling was spinning beyond his head, and he quickly shut them again, and rested back on the bed.

“Wha?” he whispered.

Maddox chuckled, and wiggled the finger inside Jake’s body. “I’m writing my name over your prostate; can you feel it?”

Jake couldn’t tell if letters were being formed, but just the thought of Maddox branding him in that intimate place made him tingle. The sensation built in his body, a paralysing heat that took over his groin, and spread to his cock twitching in his underwear. Only when Maddox moved in a crisscross inside him, did he know he had gotten to the end, the x that marked the spot.

“You want me to do it again?” Maddox asked.

Jake couldn’t speak; he had gone into the blank zone. A state of mind where nothing mattered, he was helpless and at Maddox’s mercy. The familiar shivers of pleasure began, stealing Jake’s whole body in an orgasmic tingling. There was no holding back with a prostate orgasm; it appeared out of the abyss and carried him off. Not an orgasm of a few blunt seconds, but long-lasting and a momentum gatherer, for minutes that felt an eternity and instantaneous at the same time.

Maddox fondled Jake’s lips, before hooking his thumb in his mouth, stretching Jake’s cheek till the pent-up saliva had nowhere else to go but follow the call of gravity and drop down to the bed. Jake convulsed, moaning so loud it shook his chest, and made him want to hide in Maddox’s thigh to muffle it. He couldn’t move, completely paralysed, with no strength to even open his eyes. The sensation didn’t stop. It kept going, drowning him in pleasure. When he started coming, it wasn’t the three jolts from his cock he had done with his hand, but a long continuous stream that felt like it stemmed from deep inside. His crotch warmed with come, soaking the lace knickers.

He dribbled from both his mouth, and his cock, and only stopped when Maddox removed his fingers. The orgasm softened, but he continued to lay in his paralysed state. Warm, and tingling, a jitteryness without moving. Maddox rolled him, and he managed to open his eyes, but the wooden beams of the roof twirled around him, like a hypnotic mobile spinning over the bed to keep him in his vulnerable state.

Maddox wiggled an arm under Jake’s body to scoop him off the bed. He threw him back down, and the wet lace chafed his still-hard cock. Maddox climbed onto the bed, grinning toothily down at Jake.

“You like it when I feed you? I like it when you feed me too, and you’ve been very generous with your serving.”

Maddox shuffled down the bed till he was out of view, and Jake released an inhuman moan when Maddox kissed his cock through the knickers. The lace was there, and the wetness, but there was a suction too. Maddox forced Jake’s come through the knickers and into his mouth. Jake heard the noise of moisture being drawn, the sucking sound of Maddox drinking him up, humming as he did so. The intense sensation made him tingle, a different kind to the one before. He was brought to the tipping point of orgasm with ease.

Strength returned to Jake’s neck, but only enough to look shakily down at his body where Maddox was using his tongue to rub the lace against Jake’s sensitive skin.

He was going to come, didn’t have the brain power, or the muscle control to distract himself. Maddox knew it too and grinned up at him before pressing his chin down on Jake’s cock. Three pulses of come shot into his soiled underwear, and Maddox pinched the material and stretched it, taking a peek at the mess inside. He groaned as if wounded and sunk his teeth into his lip while shaking his head.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous Jake, drives me mad.”

Maddox crawled up Jake’s body with his mouth never leaving Jake’s flesh.

Jake bared his throat, and Maddox grumbled in approval. He licked from the hollow of Jake’s throat to his chin, then nipped gently. Jake couldn’t stop the shiver, and Maddox chuckled, then lightly bit along Jake’s jaw to his ear.

“I want you on all-fours,” he growled.

Jake nodded, but as he rolled onto his front, his body felt shivery and weak. He struggled to hold his weight on his arms, and Maddox took pity on him, pushing at his shoulder blades, until the side of Jake’s head was pressed to the bed.

“Brace yourself on your knees.”

Jake did as Maddox told him and tucked his knees under his body. He bowed forward with his arms, as if in prayer, and waited for Maddox’s fingers to fill him.

“I want you to reach back and hold the knickers aside.”

Jake’s movements were uncoordinated, but Maddox guided his fingers to the underwear. Jake gripped the material and tugged it aside to expose himself to Maddox’s hungry eyes. He was too dizzy for shame, too turned on to care that Maddox was gazing at his hole.

A squirt of lube interrupted Jake’s pants for breath, and the next thing he knew was a finger inside him, twisting to prepare him for Maddox's blunt cock. He didn’t need Maddox’s thumb in his mouth to drool on the bed beneath, fingers working in and out left him a heaving mess. Maddox didn’t rush and added his fingers one at a time, letting Jake get used to the stretch. For all his raw strength, Maddox didn’t hurt Jake by diving straight inside, he was gentle, not wanting to ruin the experience for Jake.

Maddox withdrew his fingers, Jake felt him shuffle, then there was the heat of Maddox’s cock at his entrance. He lined himself up and pushed deep inside. Maddox withdrew, then plunged back into the heat. Jake moaned in encouragement, and Maddox quickened the pace.

He shunted forward, and Jake tightened his hand around the knickers, holding on to them for life as Maddox pounded into him.

“Say my name.” Maddox growled.

Jake gasped the name, and when he could no longer form words, he thought it, over and over. Maddox was the only one able to give him an adrenaline rush this way.  The knickers lost their elasticity with the brutal thrusting. Jake clung on for as long as he could, but when Maddox slowed and dragged his cock slowly across his prostate, Jake let go and braced himself on his forearms. Maddox yanked the knickers, and they tore down one leg.

Fingers bit deliciously into his hips, and the sound of slapping flesh replenished every ember of lust. Jake’s cock rubbed against the mess of his underwear, sensitive head catching on the scratchy material.

Maddox grunted, increased the pace, angled his hips for three deep final thrusts, then rested the head of his cock at Jake’s entrance as he finally came. It was impossible, but Jake felt like the spurts of come hit his prostate, covering the invisible letters Maddox’s finger had moulded there. Jake belonged to him, was marked inside by him, an etching both he and Maddox knew was there.

Maddox recovered his breath, reached round, and rubbed the heel of his hand along Jake’s cock. He came for the final time, rawer than before and completely used up. It bordered the edge of pain, and he couldn’t wait to be out of the knickers.

Maddox collapsed on Jake’s back, pinning him down. He rolled to the side, bringing Jake with him so they spooned on the bed.

The sheet beneath them was sticky, and the pillow under Jake’s head had a patch of dribble. Maddox pressed his chin to Jake’s shoulder and ran his hand down his side to get to the knickers. They were stretched, and it wasn’t hard for Maddox to tear the stubborn fibres that refused to break. He balled the ruined lace in his fist and squeezed till wetness seeped through the fabric, a few drops hit the bed, and Jake swallowed.

Maddox wanted Jake to acknowledge how worked up he had gotten Jake, how much he had come from being dominated by him. Jake nodded, unable to speak and Maddox flung the ruined knickers away.

“You are not disposable.” Maddox said in his ear. “You are mine, the only man that has ever been mine, and the only man that will be.”

Jake shuddered at the certainty of Maddox's words. He turned, licked his lips and waited for Maddox to swoop down and claim them. He didn’t have to wait long.

Chapter 9

It felt like weeks had past since he last woke with Maddox beside him. He kept still, not wanting to disturb the predator at his back. Maddox didn’t snore, or snort, he breathed silently, and each deep exhale brushed against the sensitive hairs at Jake’s neck. 

Jake breathed in time with Maddox and fell into sync with the waves of movement. The gentle rocking lured him to the edge of sleep, but he refused to drop over the other side. He wanted to stay awake and relish being weighed down in a soft mattress.

Maddox’s leg hooked over his, and his tattooed arm hung limp over Jake’s side. When they fell asleep, Maddox’s palm had pressed to Jake’s heart, linking them with the notes of his favourite classical track. It might’ve meant nothing to Maddox, an unassuming placement of his hand, but for Jake, a tingling feeling bloomed in the pit of his stomach at the gesture.

The light streamed through the gaps in the blinds, and the temperature in the room climbed. Jake hadn’t needed a sheet with Maddox’s hot-as-a-furnace body. Where their bodies pressed, their skin grew clammy from the building humidity. Jake breathed subtly through his nose, taking Maddox's scent deep inside him. It had been absent the day before, the storm had washed it from Maddox’s body at the beach, and in the bed all Jake could smell was his own bodily fluids. But as the day ticked by with him dozing, Maddox's manly smell flipped his stomach, becoming more intoxicating as the sun rose over the villa. Jake breathed in deep, unable to satisfy himself and grew drunk on it.

“You’re not getting ill, are you?”

Jake stilled at Maddox’s voice. It rumbled through his body and was felt more than heard.

“No, I’m fine,” Jake mumbled.

“Then why are you sniffing like that?”

Jake shuffled his head against the pillow. “I’m not.”

Maddox moved his hand up and cupped Jake’s forehead. It flamed from embarrassed heat, and Maddox laughed gruffly.

Jake slapped the hand from his head and swung his legs to the floor. He got to his feet, swayed a little and walked as casually as he could to get some clothes. It wasn’t easy with the eyes of the hunter on him, trailing his moves. When he turned, Maddox was no longer laying sleepily in the bed, but had slipped along the mattress and casually perched on the edge.

Jake swallowed awkwardly and rustled his bag of clothing. Beside his balled-up belongings, he noticed Maddox’s folded shirts and suit trousers and widened his eyes. He whipped his head back to Maddox and startled forward, knocking his knee. Maddox had moved from the bed and stood only a few feet away. He raised his hand to the ceiling and stretched with a growl. Jake swallowed at the sight of his muscular chest and turned away.

“You’re staying here a while?” he said, flicking his chin out at the evidence.

“Fancied a change of scenery,” Maddox replied, narrowing his green eyes to pin Jake where he stood.

The shirts, the suit trousers. It didn’t seem like a holiday, but a business trip. “You’re having meetings here?”

Maddox mouthed “meetings” and cocked his head. Jake flapped his hand at the ordered drawer of smart clothing.

“I always wear that.” Maddox said.

“Even at the beach?” Jake blurted.

“I have a few short-sleeved ones, and if that doesn’t please you, I won’t wear anything.”

Maddox stepped closer, and Jake resisted the urge to back away. He dropped his head, and forcefully swallowed. “That might be distracting.”

Maddox snorted softly, then reached into the drawer and grabbed a shirt. Jake couldn’t look him in the eye but did drag his eyes up high enough to see Maddox had indeed slipped on a short-sleeved shirt. He didn’t button it and pulled out a neatly folded pair of trousers to climb into. No boxers and no socks, just his loose shirt and his trousers that bulged at the crotch.

“I’ll make us lunch,” he said, then turned and strolled from the room.

Only when the door shut softly behind him could Jake breathe again. He shook his head and rubbed aggressively at his hiccupping heart.

Jake pulled free a pair of wrinkled jeans that had taken on the smell of the plastic bag. It wasn’t smart, but it was slightly more high-brow than his worn joggers. He slipped on a white t-shirt that cupped his chest and walked as naturally as he could into the living room.

Maddox raised an eyebrow, and the corner of his mouth lifted with a coy smile. “How does pea and broad bean salad sound?”

Bloody awful, but Jake fixed his face into an expression of gratefulness. “Sounds good, sounds…green.”

Maddox snorted, and his eyes crinkled with amusement. “I’m doing pancakes.”

Jake closed his eyes and pressed his hands together in prayer. “Thank god.”

Maddox turned back to the stove and ignited the top. The flame lapped the bottom of the frying pan, and Jake stumbled back, hitting the table behind. He avoided lighting the stove, and his stomach had suffered for it. Jake had left the room when Tom cooked and eaten the left-overs in the pan once Tom had gone to bed.

The sight of the flames made Jake squirm, and an odd sense of nervousness took over him.

Maddox adjusted the dials, and the flame turned blue beneath the pan.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Jake asked, before glancing at each corner of the villa. “All this wood…”

“It’s been treated. The fire isn’t dangerous, only the idiot who doesn’t know how to use it.”

Jake lowered himself to the bench, then stroked the polished table. Maddox’s phone lay on top, screen blank from no recent messages.

“Who died?”

He didn’t need to clarify, Maddox knew exactly what he was talking about. He cut the flame on the stove, huffed, then turned to face Jake.

“Do you really want to know?”

“I don’t want to, but I need to.”

Maddox sighed, and crossed his arms. “Derek had family staying…and the young couple Zach and Taylor.”

Jake nodded solemnly at the table, before whispering, “Shit.”

“Shit.” Maddox repeated. “They were asleep when it happened—”

Jake raised his hand and Maddox’s voice stopped abruptly.

“Asleep when it happened, but not for long. I remember the screaming.”

Jake shut his eyes, but there was no relief on the other side, only the flickering orange of his inner eyelids. A hand tightened on Jake's shoulder, and he glanced up at Maddox, no longer by the stove, but leaning over him.

“There was no screaming Jake. They would’ve died from the smoke, before the flames reached them.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“No. I don’t. But it’ll be easier to think about it that way.”

Jake grimaced. “There’s nothing easy about it.”

“I told you being with me would be dangerous. There will always be…casualties.”

“But they didn’t deserve that. I know what I agreed to, but they had no idea.”

Maddox squeezed his shoulder, then let go and walked backwards to the stove. Jake turned away, but still winced at the gas taking the flame, a warping sound that made his gut clench.

The smell of pancakes filled the villa with a soothing sweetness. Jake’s stomach rumbled in approval, but his mind was elsewhere.

When Maddox placed the plate down on the table, Jake offered him a weak smile. In the war between stomach and brain, his brain won, and he shook his head.

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry…”

Instead of moving to sit the other side of the table, Maddox nudged with his leg for Jake to move along. He sat down with his thigh pressed to Jake’s, and he flung his arm over Jake’s shoulders.

“Stop thinking about it,” Maddox mumbled, cutting into the pancake with the side of a fork.

He speared the piece of sticky pancake, tapped it on the edge of the plate, then raised it to Jake’s lips. The hand around Jake’s shoulder tightened, tugging him closer, and he opened his mouth obediently. He welcomed the sugary taste of pancakes and sweet peach with an involuntary groan. His mouth filled with saliva, and his tongue tingled at the tang of peach. All he had eaten for days had been bland cereal and whatever vegetable dish Tom had made, and his stomach whined for more pancake after the first bite.

Maddox loosened his grip of Jake’s shoulder, and moved his hand to the back of Jake’s neck, stroking his thumb up the nape to the hairline before dragging it down again. It was a soothing gesture, and Jake relaxed into Maddox’s side and opened his mouth for another bite of pancake.

Maddox went back and forth between them until only a few scraps of pancake remained. He placed the fork on the table, then plucked the last segment of peach from the plate with his fingers and held it to Jake’s lips. Jake moved to take it, but Maddox denied him, smearing it on his top lip, then the bottom before finally feeding it to Jake’s awaiting tongue.

Jake breathed heavily through his nose and rubbed the peach with his tongue, pressing it up until it moulded the roof of his mouth. Maddox watched with darkened eyes, waited for Jake to swallow, then leaned forward to connect their lips. Jake desired Maddox’s taste more than the sweetness of pancakes. He groaned into the kiss, straddled Maddox’s lap, and melted to his front. Suddenly nothing mattered but the mouth teasing his, and the hands in his hair, tugging gently. He didn’t want the taste of peach anymore, but the addicting flavour of Maddox. It was hidden under the sugariness of their breakfast, but after a few minutes, Jake could taste it clearer, and wanted to drink it in like a thirsty dog.

Maddox’s phone buzzed, and he pulled away with a growl. He stared accusingly at the device vibrating on the table, then snatched it up and pressed it to his ear. The moment of heat had ended between them at Maddox’s say so, always at Maddox’s say so, and Jake sagged forward and pressed his forehead to Maddox’s collar bone.

“Yes?” Maddox snapped.

The voice on the other side was not Tom's grumble, but Amber’s fierce tones. She spoke the same way Carl said she ate, snappy and savage.

“Understood. Send me it through.” Maddox said, then stabbed his thumb to the phone to end the call.

Maddox eased Jake off his lap, and back on the bench beside him. There were no hands in his hair, or hand keeping him close by holding his shoulder. Maddox separated himself by a few inches and scrolled through the messages Jake assumed Amber was sending.

Jake’s stomach plummeted, and his head cleared of the hypnotic power Maddox had over him. Despite their fight in the sea, and the words Maddox had spoken, he continued to distance himself from Jake.

Maddox stared intently at his phone, and Jake resisted the urge to angle his head to peek.

“Will you ever tell me what’s going on?”

Maddox glanced to him, then back to the phone before sighing. “Amber’s sent me a picture of the guy that torched my house.”

Jake reached for the phone, tentatively, and after a tense few seconds, Maddox handed it over. Jake frowned at the young man on screen, smiling brightly, highlights in his brown hair, and a piercing through his eyebrow. He didn’t look like a man who would run around with a gas can and set people’s houses alight. No memories sparked, and Jake looked to Maddox to explain the nobody on the screen.

“He’s dead.”

Jake nodded slowly. It wasn’t unexpected, but blunt when staring at a picture of a man grinning, with light in their eyes. Jake held the phone for Maddox to take.

“He deserves it,” Jake whispered.

He could feel Maddox’s eyes on him, studying his reaction. He took the phone and slid it along the tabletop.

“Not by my doing.” Maddox added. “Police found him. Suicide, or made to look like it…”

“Made to look like?”

Maddox shrugged. “It’s a gut feeling I have.”

“He failed in killing us, and they killed him for it,” Jake whispered.

Maddox scratched at his beard, filling the silence with a static hiss of facial hair. “There is no us—”

Jake tried to hide his flinch, but Maddox noticed and quickly lifted Jake’s chin, wiping the pad of his thumb against his cheek. Jake didn’t want to look at him, afraid of what he would see, but the intensity of Maddox’s focus stole him, and he stared into his all-consuming green eyes, praying the possessiveness in them was real.

“To them,” Maddox said slowly, “to the people that did this, there is no us. This wasn’t about you; the fire was started to piss me off.”

Jake frowned and shook his head. “But who? Who wants revenge on you that much that they’d kill innocent people?”

Maddox cocked his jaw, and a fierce frown creased his face. “I don’t know, but I think they’re the same person who persuaded Richie to try to steal the diamond, and the same one who got Ian to betray me and help with the theft. There is someone out to get me, but I don’t think Richie ever told them about you.”

Jake swallowed uncomfortably, and fiddled with the buttons on his jeans. “What makes you say that?”

“No one followed you here. Tom’s vigilant; he would’ve noticed if someone was paying you more attention than necessary. It was the first thing I thought when I saw the house. Someone was trying to piss me off again by targeting you, or who they thought was you.”

Jake frowned and shook his head. “Who they thought was me?”

Maddox sighed long and slow through his nose. “I tried to think what Richie might have said about you just in case. He would’ve said the Mad Dog was seeing a young guy in his twenties, working in a stationary shop. Carl isn’t only looking out for you, but he’s there to be you if things get serious.”

“You’d let someone believe he is me? You’d let him die.”

“To keep you safe. Yes. Carl fits what Richie knew about you. He was seen going in and out the house that night, and other nights where his identity wasn’t hidden. I kept him close after the fire on purpose. If they were really targeting the man I was seeing, that would’ve given them enough false information to act but they haven’t. No one has come after Carl.”

Jake retreated down the bench, shaking his head. “I’m not all right with you using Carl like that.”

“It doesn’t matter what you’re all right with. That’s the way it is. Carl understands, and I wouldn’t leave him to die, it’s just he’s more disposable than you. You want to know more about how my mind works, but when I tell you, you don’t like it.”

Maddox stood abruptly and paced to the far end of the villa. His jacket was tossed casually a chair. He retrieved his lighter, then delved in the front pocket for his pack of cigarettes.

Jake had only ever seen him toying with cigars and flicked his chin out at the pack.

“What’s with them?”

Maddox tapped the box on the back of his hand. “I was in a rush to get here and forgot to bring my own. Have to make do.”

He flicked the zippo and Jake’s breath hitched as his eyes targeted the flickering orange. Maddox didn’t light the cigarette, he snapped the lighter shut, then reopened it again. As if enchanted by the flame, Jake could only stare with unease when it appeared, and sigh in relief when it went.

Maddox removed the cigarette from his mouth and dropped it on the floor. His brow stacked with lines as he shook his head.

“That will not do,” he mumbled.

Jake rocked back on his heels. “What won’t?”

“The man that was challenging a storm, half drowned, is afraid of a bit of fire.”

“It’s dangerous.”

Maddox widened his eyes, and his lips tugged up into a twisted smile. “And splashing around in the unruly sea like some crazy wasn’t? You said you couldn’t swim.”

“I can’t, but I wasn’t deep enough to drown.”

“And what if it swept you out? What would you have done then?”

Jake turned away instead of answering.

“Exactly, and now you fear a small controlled fire? You shouldn’t fear the fire Jake, only the idiot who starts it and doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

Maddox strolled across the room with the zippo held out in front of him. He struck it, and Jake’s eyes snapped from Maddox’s intense irises to the dancing orange.

“No, Jake, keep your eyes on the man, not the fire. It’s the man who can do horrible things when he starts it, when he doesn't respect what it can do. But fire can bring great pleasure too, and I’ll prove it to you.” The zippo snapped shut, and Maddox placed it on the table. “When we’re home, and this mystery person has been found and dealt with, I’ll show you how good it can feel and clear the remaining fear from your mind.”

Jake shuffled, and swallowed awkwardly. “I’m not sure—”

“Do you trust me? Do you trust me more than you fear the fire?”

Maddox stared unblinking. They were meters apart but somehow it felt like Maddox loomed menacingly over him.

“Yes, I trust you,” Jake whispered.

“Good, now come on, we need to shower after last night.”

Maddox walked past, flicking a look over his shoulder to check Jake was following behind him.

Chapter 10

The front row of trees had taken a battering. Palm fronds littered the sand, and a few trunks had been stripped altogether. It was the only evidence of the storm the day before. The ocean lapped gently, reflecting the golden rays of the sun and the sand was no longer wind-swept, but back to its photogenic evenness.

Jake paddled in the shallows, and Maddox watched from the sand. Still wearing his open shirt, but instead of his suit trousers he wore a tight pair of boxer shorts. He had added to the lustful visual by slotting a pair of aviator shades over his eyes. He lounged on the beach like he was some hot-shot movie star, but given what Jake knew, he imagined Maddox would be the Bond villain rather than Bond himself.

Maddox wagged the bottle of sun cream he'd clutched in his hand since they left the villa. Jake nodded, and returned to his side before dropping into the soft sand and wriggling to get comfortable.

Jake tugged off his t-shirt and flung it down. Maddox turned to Jake, and he could tell by the slight dent at the top of his nose he wasn’t happy. Jake quickly grabbed at his discarded piece of clothing, then neatly folded it, and placed it down.

“Better?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.

Maddox cocked his head. “It was, until you opened your mouth.”

Jake stretched his lips into a huge smile and lay down on the sand. “So, you gunna put sun cream on me or what?”

He gasped at the pinched of his nipple, then pouted as he rubbed the sore bud. Maddox tapped Jake’s forehead and he relaxed the frown and sunk down onto the warm sand. He listened to the squirt of the bottle, then waited patiently for Maddox’s hands to knead his body like some possessive cat.

Instead, Maddox touched him so lightly he was sure he imagined it. A featherlight touch around each nipple. Jake whined, and Maddox laughed gruffly before pushing his big hands against Jake’s flesh the way he desired. He moaned at the touches, so powerful his back rocked against the sand. Maddox massaged him, and his muscles soon turned to putty. His body felt so soft he was sure he rested in quicksand, quicksand that had swallowed him and stopped him from moving an inch. There was such ownership in the caresses, a deep caress that went further than his muscles, Jake’s bones turned to jelly, and a peacefulness expanded in his chest.

“Feel good?”

A smile twitched Jake’s lips, and he attempted to nod against the sand.

“After this…can I do the same to you?”

He knew the answer would be no, expected another tug on his nipple, but instead, Maddox hummed in thought, and stopped moving his hands. “Would you like that?”

“Yes,” Jake blurted, jolting upright before wincing at the warm dose of head rush. He recovered after a few seconds and turned to Maddox.

“Please, let me.”

Maddox pursed his lips, then handed the bottle of sun cream to Jake.

“This isn’t about sex,” he said sternly.

“Yeah, the sun, UV rays, aliens, whatever.”

Maddox breathed heavily through his nose, then lay on the sand. “Behave Jake.”

Jake licked his lips, then swung his leg over to straddle Maddox’s waist. He braced his hand against Maddox’s impressive chest and felt the calm beat of his heart.

Maddox rarely let Jake’s hands wander his body. He was a man of control, who never gave it over to Jake. Intimacies were at Maddox’s direction, and would stop at his say so. The savourer, or the devourer, Jake didn’t know how to describe this moment. Maddox had surrendered his body to Jake’s touch, and he physically shook with desire to press his hands to Maddox’s flesh. He wanted to feel every line, valley, and faint scar on his giant chest.

He gasped softly at Maddox’s torso, hard and stiff under his hands. Then he trailed his fingers along the dark tattoo, all the way to Maddox’s hand laying in the sand.

“You forgot the sun cream.” Maddox mumbled.

Jake jumped, released a small laugh then filled his palm with cream to spread on Maddox’s skin. The flesh was tight over the muscles, smooth to the touch, and greedily absorbed the lotion. Jake shuffled down and ran his hands on the firm stomach before lightly scratching his nails up to Maddox’s armpits, hoping to find some sensitive area, a place that destroyed Maddox’s iron control and made him thrash on the sand.

The only reaction was a toothy smile that spread slowly over Maddox’s face. He knew exactly what Jake was doing, and the cocky grin on his face said it was impossible.

Jake huffed, and wriggled further down. He coated his hands then rubbed them round Maddox’s impressive thighs. Bigger than his own, almost the width of his waist; the hair on them was darker too. Maddox didn’t even twitch as Jake scored his nails up his inner thighs. A pleased sigh breezed from Maddox’s lips, followed by a gruff laugh. Jake narrowed his eyes and pouted at the unresponsive body he wanted to torment.

Maddox’s cock lay limp, but the bulge was outlined in his tight shorts. Jake’s lacked the same control, as if possessed, his cock bobbed and twitched, and a blotch of damp expanded. Jake hooked the top of Maddox’s boxers, licking his lips.

“Jake,” Maddox said in warning.

Jake ignored him and lunged down, only for Maddox to press his palm to Jake’s head and prevent his mouth getting any closer.

“Not about sex,” Maddox reminded.

“But I wanna—”

“That’s for me to decide, not you. Right now this is about the sun and burning. You’re stopping me from burning, think about that.”

Jake shuddered at the implications then nodded. His cock wasn’t as easy to distract, and he made a conscious effort to ignore the tingle each time he moved, and it rubbed in his boxer shorts.

Maddox’s feet weren’t ticklish, neither were his neck or hips, but Jake struck gold when he clawed behind Maddox’s knee. He twitched, the first involuntary one Jake had seen, and for some reason the reaction felt like a triumph.

“Ha!”

Maddox sat upright fast, and wrapped his arms around Jake’s back, caging him with his powerful body. He kissed Jake’s collar bone, and Jake immediately bared his throat for more kisses. Maddox’s teeth grazed his chin. His hand brushed up the back of Jake’s neck, and tugged him down for a chaste kiss on the lips.

“Still saying no to sex?” Jake mumbled through a smile.

“Not on the beach, too much sand. Don’t want sand in uncomfortable places.”

Jake huffed, and moved forward for another kiss, only to be disappointed when Maddox turned away. He patted his hand on the sand beside him, and Jake slipped off his lap with a huff of disappointment.

They lay side by side, and after a few minutes of basking silently in the sun, Jake’s erection softened. When Maddox said no sex, he meant it, and Jake’s body knew it too.

He sighed at the heat pleasantly tingling his skin. He hadn’t been able to keep still for days, but with Maddox next to him, he didn’t want to be anywhere else. The lounging he'd rolled his eyes at was suddenly pleasurable, and he realised why so many people wanted honeymoons on deserted beaches.

“You said you’d try to save me from the storm, and the fire?”

Maddox hummed in agreement. “Yes, I did, and if I couldn’t then I’d join you.”

Jake rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. “What about a shark?”

“A shark?”

“Yeah, if one bit me?”

“I’d drag you back to the beach, bandage you up. Call a helicopter, I don’t know. Try not to annoy a shark for me; it would be really inconvenient.”

Jake clacked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “You wouldn’t try to wrestle it off me?”

Maddox sighed wearily, and Jake smiled.

“What if a jellyfish stung me?”

Maddox huffed, then growled, “I’d piss on you.”

Jake grimaced, and smacked his lips together. “I think that’s a myth, ya know…”

“Oh, I know, but if I have to mark my territory to warn these sea creatures off, I’ll do it. They don’t have any claim over you, but I do.”

“Claim? You’ve got a claim over me?”

Maddox snorted lightly. “Yes, you gave yourself to me, remember?”

Jake wiggled his nose, then rolled onto his back. “That makes me sound desperate.”

“I like it when you're desperate.” Maddox mumbled.

“That’s because you're evil.”

Maddox laughed. “You love being desperate for me too.”

Jake’s face flamed, and he turned the other way, staring at the endless beige. He skimmed the back of his hand along the heated surface, then sieved the hot sand through his fingers.

“This is the first holiday I’ve been on,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

He heard the sand shift when Maddox turned to him. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, first holiday. First time I’ve been on a beach.”

Maddox sat up, and his shadow loomed over Jake, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“How can this be the first time you’ve been to a beach?”

Jake shrugged. “Not like my foster parents would ever take me, is it? When I was eighteen I got a train from London to Newquay, but never set foot on the sand.”

“Why not?”

“All I saw was families making sandcastles. Couples sharing ice cream, and friends surfing in the sea. I didn’t fit into that. I’m not meant for that.”

Maddox didn’t reply, and the shadow over Jake’s eyelids disappeared.

“I guess with your own private villa you come out here a lot?”

Jake waited, but Maddox didn’t reply. He expected as much but turned to Maddox just in case his expression or body was answering his question. He blinked at the empty space beside him, before flipping onto his stomach and staring back at the beach. Maddox was walking towards the villa.

Jake watched until he was gone before rolling on his back again and rubbing aggressively at his face. Maddox was forever destined to keep him at arm’s length, letting himself be available for Jake, but not completely. Jake opened up, and Maddox retreated, that was all their relationship was destined to be.

Jake didn’t want to scamper back to the villa after Maddox, so instead he lay under the scorching sun until his flesh began to prickle. He snatched up the sun cream, slapped it aggressively into his reddening skin, then dropped back down to the sand with a huff.

He startled awake at a clanging sound and flipped to his front, dazed and confused. Maddox stood, with a pile of pots and pans at his feet, and a lit cigarette between his lips.

“I don’t have any surf boards, or ice cream, but you can still make sandcastles out of these.”

Jake narrowed his eyes at the mocking, and quickly sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees. “Don’t take the piss out of me.”

Maddox cocked his jaw, then picked a pan, waving it in front of himself. “Suit yourself.”

He moved down the beach towards the sea, then dropped to his knees in the damp sand. Jake watched as Maddox made a sandcastle, not as regal as the plastic kids ones, but compact and sturdy.

Jake turned back to the pile of pans. His feet twitched, his hands flexed, and he finally gave into his energized body.

It was stupid, and childish, but it made his heart pound. He walked over to Maddox, but he shook his head and pointed at another patch of sand.

“This is mine, make your own.”

Jake narrowed his eyes and moved where Maddox pointed. He dropped to his knees and clawed the sand and scooped it into the pan. His first attempted cracked, and crumbled, and he stared over to Maddox who patted the sand tight before flipping it over.

Jake copied, and one castle stood without the sand splitting. He made another and turned at the sound of clanging metal. Maddox was choosing a different make-shift bucket, and Jake rushed up the beach to do the same. All Maddox left was a frying pan, and Jake scoffed, slashing it through the air like a sword.

“What am I meant to do with this one?”

Maddox shrugged. “Not my fault you were too slow.”

Jake bunched up his face. “I’m not slow.”

Maddox finished his cigarette and threw it to the sand. Then he lifted his head and strolled towards the trees again. He didn’t vanish up the path but found a leaf and returned to his pile of claimed pans.

Jake cocked his head as Maddox snapped the leaf and used the harder stalk as a cutting tool to make a battlement on the top walls of his castle.

Jake rolled his eyes. He should’ve guessed Maddox would be some expert on making castles. His had a moat, and towers at each corner. Jake was waiting for the drawbridge and the portcullis, and maybe a few working cannons made from cigarettes.

Maddox glanced to Jake and smiled. “Don’t even think about coming over here and jumping on it.”

Jake matched Maddox’s smile. He hadn’t thought about it yet, but it’s where his mind would have gone next. Maddox was one step ahead of him.

Jake couldn’t steal the castle for a fix, but he could step on it and hope Maddox chased him up the beach. Jake could outrun him, he was certain of it.

He got to his feet and edged forward. Maddox went completely still, and the glasses hid where he looked. Jake moved a little closer, pointing at one of Maddox’s discarded pans.

“Can I have that one?”

Maddox nodded stiffly, and Jake came closer, reached as if grabbing the pan, and went to jump, but Maddox launched off the sand, slammed Jake around the chest, and heaved him over his shoulder.

“What did I say?”

He shook Jake, and Jake yelped, trying to regain his breath. “It was you that put the idea in my head.”

“Because I knew you’d be stupid enough to try it.”

Maddox marched him up the beach and dumped him in the sand. Jake panted, and rubbed his palm across his chest. Maddox moved behind him, huge thigh either side of Jake’s legs, and arms wrapping Jake’s middle. He rested his chin on Jake’s shoulder, and sighed slowly through his nose.

“There, you’ve made your first sandcastle. I still have to tick eating ice cream on a beach and learning to surf in the sea off your list, but we’ll do that another time.”

Jake smiled at his castle, then turned to Maddox’s and rolled his eyes. Always the controlled perfectionist, even when making castles out of a wok and saucepan.

“Now we get to see which is stronger. Maddox’s Mansion or….” Maddox said, nudging Jake with his nose.

Jake stared at his smaller set of castles, crumbled. Only one tower remained, and that was the one he balanced on the frying pan sandcastle. It looked almost like it sat on an island. Alone with no windows or doors.

“Jake’s jail,” he said with no thought.

Maddox stiffened around him, and Jake wanted to shove the words back down his throat. He dropped his head, poised his lips to apologise, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“I never wanted to make you feel locked up. I made a mistake sending you here. I thought you’d be safer, but it made you crave danger more. Made you take careless risks.”

Jake chose his words carefully, hunching over in fear of what Maddox would say back.

“I don’t want to be sent away when something bad happens. I want to know what’s going on. I want to be there with you.”

Maddox shook his head. “You can’t get involved.”

“Why not?”

“I won’t be able to concentrate if I think you might be in danger. If something like this happens again, I won’t send you away, but you must do as I say. And if that means laying low a while, and not seeing me for a few weeks, you have to do it.”

Jake grimaced and flexed his toes in the sand. He didn’t want to be ignored for weeks at a time, forgotten about, but it was better than being sent to some desert island with Tom for company.

“What if you just…stop caring about me or you want someone else?”

Maddox’s arm’s tightened around Jake’s stomach. “That won’t happen.”

Jake chomped the inside of his cheek, then released the pinch of flesh with a sigh. “Promise me if it does, you’ll tell me to my face. You’ll end whatever this is, not keep me hanging, trailing behind you hoping for scraps like some mangy mutt.”

“I’m not going to end it,” Maddox said simply. “You’d have to betray me to get me to end it, and I’d tell you to your face before taking you out for good.”

Jake shivered, and bowed his head. “You’d kill me…”

Maddox exhaled through his nose, then slid his prickly chin along Jake’s shoulder to his neck. “Not planning on betraying me, are you?”

Jake turned towards him, pressing the side of his face to Maddox’s nose. “Never.”

“Then neither of us have anything to worry about. Now, I better go get those pans before they float away.”

He unpeeled his legs from Jake’s and strolled back down the beach to collect the pans before the sea could claim them.

Predictably, Maddox’s castle was the stronger of the two, still standing with its towers, and its fancy decorations. Most of Jake’s rough around the edges castle, had succumbed to the gentle tide, all apart from the one that sat on the island.

Maddox dumped the pans unceremoniously onto the sand with a crash, then lay down next to Jake.

“We’ll have to go back soon.” Maddox mumbled.

Jake settled down beside him, hating the few centimetres between them, but lacking the bravery to get closer in case Maddox shuffled away.

He angled his head so he could see their arms side by side, closer than their bodies; only a few millimetres kept them apart. Jake swallowed awkwardly and twitched the ends of his fingers. Was it too much to hold hands, to slip his fingers between Maddox’s?

Sweat gathered at Jake’s armpits, and his heartbeat increased. He reached out his hand carefully, watching for any tiny movement from Maddox. This was uncharted territory and it seemed ridiculous after how intimately they shared their bodies. Hand holding – it was meant for awful romance films, not real life, but Jake wanted it, if only for a few seconds.

In the end, he snatched for Maddox’s hand with his heart in his throat, and his lungs inflated to the max. Maddox didn’t turn to him, or flinch at the sudden jolt to his arm. He slotted his fingers through Jake’s shaking ones, and immediately the nervous tremor stopped. Jake exhaled slowly and focused on the sensation of holding a hand to his.

Maddox didn’t squeeze Jake’s fingers into submission; they both held on with equal grip, no power play involved, and Jake was shocked by how good it felt to just have Maddox’s hand knotted to his.

He had never experienced the physical contact of holding someone’s hand. Didn’t ever have a mother to link fingers with as she led him across a road. He hadn't caressed a girlfriend’s hand as they strolled down the street. His hands weren’t made to lay dormant with another; he had trained them to be crafty, a tool to feed his addiction and thieve.

 Jake hadn’t realised how empty the gaps between his fingers felt until Maddox slotted his through. It was a physical gesture of their connection. It may not have been done in front of Carl or Tom to prove Jake’s worth, but it was witnessed by the sand and the sky.

Maddox brushed his thumb lightly against Jake’s and it was the final touch that took Jake to the edge of emotion. It wasn’t sexual, nor had sex happened immediately prior. Maddox was caressing him for the sake of it, because he wanted to. They weren’t Jake and Maddox, separate identities in that moment, but an ‘us’, and Jake had never experienced the sensation bursting in his chest before. A powerful warmth that accumulated in his eyes and made them sting.

He scrunched his face, trying to ride the emotional overload, but he couldn’t. Tears swelled in his eyes, and his lip twitched on its own.

Jake sat up, careful not to dislodge his fingers from Maddox’s. He turned his face away and covered his eyes with his free hand. He couldn’t believe he was crying. He hastily palmed at the mortifying trails of tears, before covering his eyes again. The only way to stop the quivering in his lip was by sinking his teeth down, pressing hard till the skin hurt.

Jake stiffened at the loosening of fingers, and quickly clutched his around Maddox’s. He didn’t want the moment to end, especially when he knew it was his fault.

Maddox sat up with their fingers still linked. Jake knew he was squeezing hard, to the point his own fingers ached, but Maddox didn’t pull away.

“Do you see something?”

He fought off the need to manically laugh. He could see something, but not in a physical sense. His emotional reliance for Maddox had snuck up on him, and now faced with it, he had no clue how to react.

Maddox shuffled closer, but Jake didn’t turn. The tears, thankfully, dropped silently, he gagged himself with his teeth in his lip. Although he wanted to sniffle in his despair, he held it off to act as normal as possible.

“Jake?”

Maddox’s voice was stern, irritated. Jake hadn’t responded to his question, and he hated being ignored. Jake flexed his cheeks, readied himself to speak, but the second he released his lips, a tragic breath escaped him.

Maddox detached his hand from Jake’s and reached for his shoulders. He pulled Jake to his chest, cradled his head, but didn’t force Jake to remove the hand from his eyes. It was the only barrier left protecting Jake’s pride.

“What’s wrong?”

His tone was softer, gentle, and that made everything worse. Jake couldn’t speak, could only muffle his sob in Maddox’s shoulder.

He couldn’t tell Maddox it was the first time he had held someone’s hand. Couldn’t tell him that the messed up day of highs and lows had been the best of his life. Couldn’t tell Maddox he cared for him more than he cared for anyone. That the emotions he felt were the ones of stupid songs, and stomach churning movies.

Maddox didn’t ask him anymore questions. He rubbed one hand against Jake’s bare back and pressed Jake’s head to his body with the other. They sat like that until only the tip of the sun remained on the horizon, and the sound of the ocean rushed close by. Jake peeked a look through the gaps in his fingers to see both castles had been swept away, no sign they had ever been there with the sea so prolific at destroying the evidence.

Jake’s face felt puffy and tight from dried tears. He no longer stuttered for breath, and Maddox’s slow-moving hand had calmed his heart back to its normal thump.

“Better?” Maddox asked.

“Yes.” Jake croaked, then slid his hand from his eyes down to massage his throat, “I don’t know what that was. I—I just…”

“You don’t need to explain.” Maddox said, “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Jake nodded, licked his lips, then lifted his head to face Maddox. He still wore his sunglasses, and Jake grimaced at his reflection before reaching and pulling them from Maddox’s face. He had never seen Maddox’s eyes so close, so clear with the sky still lit up by the stubborn sun. The shade wasn’t just dark green and captivating, but marbled with lighter pigments, and tints of gold. A dark forest, but a living one, a breathing one where the sun still reached. Jake held Maddox’s face, and rested his thumbs on his hard cheekbones.

The look Maddox gave him was softer, curious, on the edge of worried, and Jake didn’t blame him. He looked awful in comparison with his puffed-up cheeks, and his reddened eyes.

He pushed forward and brushed his lips lightly on Maddox’s.

Maddox didn’t deepen the kiss, or turn away, he waited patiently. Jake pressed their mouths together firmer. Maddox didn’t take control, he allowed Jake to set the pace. He was stuck between wanting to savour and devour. Maddox’s lips held the taste of salt, and Jake gripped Maddox’s chin, tugged it until he understood and opened his mouth. He didn’t want to taste the ocean, he wanted Maddox on his tongue.

Jake drew back to see Maddox opened-mouthed and waiting, and a thrill shot through his veins. He ducked down and licked, a stripe that started on Maddox’s bottom lip and ended by nudging his top. Maddox breathed shakily, and his pupils turned to ink blots, spreading into the green. Jake licked Maddox’s mouth again, tongue so light it barely registered, but Maddox’s low grumble did, and Jake smiled. He was teasing, and Maddox’s chest rose and fell quicker.

Jake moved his hands to Maddox’s jaw, scratching his nails over the bristles as he ducked forward again, pretending to give in to the pull of Maddox’s mouth. At the last second Jake pulled back and widened his eyes when he saw Maddox moving forward to connect their lips.

Jake straddled Maddox’s lap, and slipped his hands into Maddox’s hair, ruffling it as he stroked his nails against his scalp. Maddox shuddered, and Jake smiled against his lips. There were two ticklish places on Maddox he would have to exploit another time. Maddox followed his cues for more tongue, or more teeth, and the kiss got messier, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy either of them. Jake ground his body against Maddox’s erection, loving the heat he could feel through their boxers.

Maddox pulled away, and Jake whined, shaking his head. “Please don’t tell me to stop.”

They battled for the air between them, panting as if starved of oxygen. Jake wanted to kiss more than he wanted to breathe, wanted to push his lips to Maddox’s and breathe only his air, hope he would share it to keep Jake alive.

Maddox studied Jake, staring deep into his eyes. “Okay, I won’t.”

He lay down on the sand, and Jake went with him, slotting their mouths together again. Maddox’s arms came up and held Jake to his body, not crushing, or dominating, just insuring Jake was steady while their mouths got familiar after so long apart. Maddox kept his word and didn’t ask Jake to stop once. He surrendered his body to Jake’s mouth and clutching hands. By the time the sun faded, every sense of Jake was satisfied and deeply bound to Maddox.

The sight of destruction was behind them, the battered bodies of trees naked in the sand, and their leaves shredded. In front of them, the peaceful ocean lapped, and the sky was lit with the last stubborn orange and pink hues of the sun. Jake knew there would be more storms to come for him and Maddox, but at that moment it didn’t matter. With Maddox by his side, Jake was finally in paradise.

I hope you enjoyed Fire and Sand.

I’m an indie author and reviews are a great help, if you enjoyed the story, please think about leaving a review on Goodreads or Amazon

Many thanks

Louise <3

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Adrenaline Jake reading list

Adrenaline Jake #1

Mad Dog Maddox #2

Festive Dog #2.5

Fire and Sand #3

Coming next: Guns and Shadows #4

My other stories:

Keeping the Caveman: Christmas time m/m romance Here on amazon.com

                                                                                        Here on amazon.co.uk

Saving the Super-man: Superhero m/m romance series  Here on amazon.com

                                                                                                Here on amazon.co.uk

Louise <3