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  Stepping forward, Luther lowered his voice. Not as though he didn’t want me to hear, but as though he was fighting not to shout. “Don’t start being a cold hearted asshole. I love you, but I can’t stand you when you’re like this.”

  Eyes narrowing, Xavier pushed away from the doorframe. “You brought him to me like some kind of gift and now you’re coddling him. Look at him, he’ll never fit into our world. He’s innocent and unrefined. To make him ours, we’d have to destroy the very things about him you enjoy so much.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “Keep him for yourself.” Xavier shrugged and checked the gold watch on his wrist, looking bored now. “He’ll make the perfect pet for you.” He shot me a slanted smile. “Luther is an amazing lover. A little too dominant for my tastes at times, but having you should temper those urges.”

  All right, I was getting pretty tired of them arguing about me like I was an ugly vase they couldn’t agree where to keep. Walking out and telling them both to fuck off was tempting, but I had nowhere else to go.

  And I’d signed a damn contract. I wasn’t losing the job before I’d started, not even for a chance to be with Luther. Mind-blowing sex wouldn’t keep me from ending up back on the streets.

  “You said you liked my suggestion.” I folded my arms over my stomach when both men stared at me like they’d just remembered I was capable of speaking for myself. “I can do the job. I’ll be discreet and I’ll work hard. Isn’t that what you need?”

  Stroking his chin with his forefinger and thumb, Xavier came closer, looking me over much like he had last night. Something had changed in the way he spoke about me, but the interest he’d shown hadn’t left. Maybe seeing Luther holding me had caught him off guard.

  Had it meant more than finding me in Luther’s bed would have? Probably. From his point of view I was exactly what I’d expected to be. A sex toy they’d both play with.

  One didn’t cuddle their vibrator.

  Not that I was aware of, anyway.

  “You could actually hurt him.” Xavier stopped in front of me, reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from my cheek. “But I know what he sees in you. I was you, Alexander. A very long time ago. Fragile and hopeless. He helped build me up and he wants to do the same for you.”

  “I just want the job. That’s more than enough for me.”

  “Mhmm, well I doubt that. And it won’t be enough for Luther.” Xavier glanced over at the other man, his expression softening. “I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself, boy. Let Luther show you how the work must be done, but that is all. This cozy little thing you were beginning here? Ends now.”

  “Xavier—”

  “No, Luther. You may be a better judge of character than I am, but these games have caused enough damage already. Even the boy can see it.” Xavier gave me a tight smile. “If you’re successful in earning my trust, we’ll introduce you to the way we play. Until then, consider fraternizing with other employees against the rules.”

  Striding across the room, Luther grabbed Xavier’s shoulder and turned him to face him. “Employees? I’m your partner, Xavier. Don’t forget that.”

  “I haven’t.” Xavier glanced over at Luther’s hand on his shoulder and arched a brow until Luther let it fall. “But Alexander will be my secretary. I will set the boundaries. If he can’t respect them, then he’s of no use to me.”

  “I can.” I looked at Luther, who sighed, but inclined his head. “But maybe I should get my own place and—”

  “No.” Xavier’s jaw hardened. “You will be here, where you can be watched. Hopefully Luther can still do his job without giving in to temptation.”

  “Until you have?” Luther shook his head and returned to the table to pour himself another cup of coffee. “I see what you’re doing. You felt like you were losing control of the situation and now you’re changing the rules to suit you.”

  Straightening his suit jacket, then his sleeves, Xavier gave Luther a bored look. “The control was always mine, my man. Or have you forgotten?”

  “This is nothing but another game.”

  “True.” Xavier’s lips curved slightly. “Isn’t that the whole point?”

  Luther’s jaw ticked. He set the coffee aside. “Come here.”

  Without hesitation, Xavier went to the other man and they kissed, Luther wrapping his arm around Xavier and curving his hand around the back of Xavier’s neck. There was something about the kiss that seemed more like a battle for dominance at first, but when Xavier relaxed and leaned into Luther, the dynamics changed, becoming almost tender.

  I wasn’t sure if I should stay, but I was grateful they’d let me see them like this. Their relationship wasn’t public, as far as I knew—I’d never seen them discussed in the gossip magazines I’d fished out of the trash with newspapers during the winter to keep myself warm. Sometimes I’d flipped through the magazines with headlines that caught my interest, escaping from the misery of my own life by imaging what it would be like to be the people between the pages.

  People like Xavier and Luther, who seemed to have it all.

  There was something complicated about their relationship, something I didn’t quite understand, and I still didn’t know what kind of role I would play. But they were being honest with one another. And with me.

  Turning away from them, I went to the table to collect the dirty dishes and brought them to the sink. Rinsed them off, then loaded the dishwasher, trying to ignore the whispers between the men behind me.

  Finally, I head footsteps leaving the room.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Xavier, who simply inclined his head to me before he disappeared into the hall.

  At the table, Luther began gathering all the food we hadn’t eaten, putting leftovers in the fridge and the rest in the trash. After a long silence, he cleared his throat. “He likes you.”

  Drying my hands, I kept my head down, trying not to laugh. “He hides it well.”

  “That he does.” Luther smiled and came over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Remember what he said when he offered you the job. He wants you, but he’s resisting because I complicated things.”

  “I figured as much. He doesn’t want me to take his place.”

  “No, he’s not worried about that. We wouldn’t be playing this way if we weren’t secure in our relationship, Alec.” Luther rubbed my shoulders. “He doesn’t want me to lose control over the situation.”

  “And he wants to make sure I have none.”

  Luther chuckled, lowering his hands and taking a step back. “You still don’t understand, do you?”

  I frowned, not sure what I could’ve possibly missed. Things seemed pretty clear. “Don’t understand what?”

  “You have all the control here. Whatever games we want to play, you can end it all by simply saying ‘No.’” His lips curved as I blinked at him. “That power will be yours until you decide you don’t want it anymore. And I’m going to teach you exactly how to use it.”

  Chapter Four

  Later that morning I retreated to my room for a shower, letting the cold water brace me for a day of change. My appearance, my manners…Luther had made it sound a bit like I was going to charm school. With him as my teacher.

  Which would’ve been a lot more fun as some kinky sex game. Luther wearing glasses, slapping a ruler against his palm as he paced behind me, ready to bend me over the desk if I made a single mistake.

  Down, dick.

  I groaned as I stepped out of the shower, hard as a fucking rock without any time left to give myself some relief. The clothes Luther had left for me wouldn’t help either. Xavier might consider himself progressive with his ideas of what gender a secretary could be, but he still liked his eye candy.

  Since that would be me, Luther had picked out an outfit that would draw Xavier’s attention. Snug, tailored, light grey slacks he’d have fitted later today along with several others, a pale blue shirt, and a grey vest. No tie yet, he had to show me how to tie one
. I also had a matching jacket to go with the outfit, but Luther had told me to leave it off. He didn’t want me wearing it around the office, so I should ‘Get used to being without it.’

  And I would have to get used to it. Without even looking in the mirror I felt the way the slacks formed tight over my ass, and the vest didn’t cover a thing. My cheeks heated as I left my room, heading down to the first floor where Luther had told me his office was, a couple doors down from the kitchen.

  I rapped my knuckles on the thick, wood door.

  He opened it, revealing a massive library with a large, antique desk in the center. The light was dimmer in here, with a warm glow coming from the partially closed curtains making it just bright enough to work under, without being harsh. The faint rich scent of cigar smoke and old books was almost soothing as Luther ushered me inside.

  Grinning, he looked me over, letting the door ease shut. “Oh yes, this will do nicely. How does it feel?”

  “Like I’m putting my ass on display.” I wrinkled my nose and smoothed my hands down my sides. “Which I assume is your intention?”

  “So long as you can get comfortable. If you feel awkward, it will show.” Luther folded his arms over his chest and leaned against his bookshelf, jutting his chin toward the large desk. “Walk across the room as you normally would. Let me see what I have to work with.”

  Simple enough. I walked across the room.

  He let out a heavy sigh. “Alec, are you afraid the ceiling will cave in on you?”

  I stopped by the desk and glanced back at him. “No…?”

  “Then why do you have your shoulders bowed and your head down? Straighten up. Don’t take each step as though the ground isn’t solid. Sure steps. A confident posture. You’re representing Xavier Ashburne.”

  “Hopefully I’ll be wearing a jacket if I’m representing him.” I tugged at the vest and pressed my eyes shut. “I’m not trying to get all his clients to fuck me.”

  Luther spat out a laugh. “No, I suppose you aren’t. And you may wear a jacket when you’re not at your desk or in his office. Either way, let’s teach you to walk like you know your own worth.”

  Brow raised, I stared at him.

  His smile faded. “Nothing will change if you don’t own every bit of progress you make. You convinced me not to turn you into the cops simply by being the honest, loyal—misplaced as it was—man that you are. You convinced Xavier to give you a job. Sure, some of it might have been happenstance, but you were given an opportunity because we thought you deserved it.”

  “And I appreciate that, but how does that change how I walk?”

  “Once you believe you deserve it as much as we do, it’ll show.” He held out a hand and crooked a finger. “Now walk to me as though you see me as an equal and you have something important to say.”

  This was ridiculous, but I kinda got what he meant. Walking around Xavier’s office all slouching and uncertain wouldn’t impress anyone. Least of all, Xavier. If I wanted anyone to take me seriously I had to at least pretend to have some confidence.

  I crossed the room again. Straighter. Faster.

  “All right, that’s better. Do that if the building is on fire.” Luther’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “Let’s try that again.”

  For the next hour I practiced walking, then sitting, then standing, then…drinking. The last was the weirdest, because I’d never imagined someone could drink a glass of water wrong, but apparently it was a thing. I drank like I was dying of thirst and had been given my first liquid in days.

  Which had happened, so it made sense.

  Everything I did had to be slower. More relaxed. Luther played out scenarios for me. An important investor coming in for a meeting. Going to another department to impart an urgent message. A business lunch with Xavier and someone important.

  After the last one, I sat back in my chair, brow furrowed. “None of this is really secretary work. Shouldn’t his assistant be doing all this?”

  “He doesn’t have one. And please don’t repeat this, but you will essentially be his personal assistant. He uses the term secretary because admitting he needs any kind of help is hard for him.” Luther sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. “You will still do some secretarial work, so that’ll be important for you to learn. But you’ll spend less time typing and answering phones than you will doing tasks that will make his life easier. I’m hoping you’ll get to know him well enough to anticipate those without him even having to ask.”

  “Okay, I can do that.” I followed Luther behind the desk, taking a deep breath as he pulled the chair out for me. “I…I haven’t typed much since high school. I might be a little rusty.”

  “Well, Xavier isn’t, and he likely won’t give you more than a quick email to transcribe.” Luther handed me his phone. “I recorded something for you to send as an email. Listen to it, then send it to me. My email address is in the message. Let’s see how you do with this so I know what needs improvement.”

  I nodded, took a deep breath, then pressed play. It was hard to listen to Luther in person without being turned on, but he seemed to have intentionally deepened his voice in the message, drawing out each word just a little, as though to make sure they got the message.

  The message could have been exactly how he liked his dick sucked for how turned on I was by the end. My hands shook as I typed as fast as I could, watching my fingers way more than I should. He was talking about different dresses that would be chosen for a magazine shoot and issues the agent was having finding the right model. Not a difficult topic, but I cursed under my breath as I forgot how to spell certain colors.

  That was what spell check was for, right? Would he judge me on the mistakes I’d made? Would I have a chance to fix them?

  “Good, but you forgot how to sit.” Luther squeezed my shoulder when I groaned and dropped my head to the desk. “Relax. You’ll always have a chance to go over what you’ve typed. First you get down the words, then you make sure all the information is there and edit. You addressed this well and even figured out the words I didn’t say clearly. We just want Xavier to be able to walk by you and trust you know what you’re doing.”

  “Got it.” I tried to sit up straighter, but my dick still hadn’t gotten the message that we weren’t here to have fun. “This would be a lot more enjoyable as originally planned.”

  I’d tried to speak too low for Luther to hear as he crossed the room—probably for another assignment—but he looked back with a slow smile. “You’re thinking of the rewards I promised you.”

  My face was probably beet red. I ducked behind the computer. “No. Of course not. I know the rules.”

  “Yes, but they are open to some interpretation.” Luther came around the desk and stood behind the chair, setting his hands on the back of it. Close enough that I could feel his presence without him touching me. “I don’t expect Xavier to keep his hands off you for long if he sees you’re interested. If he sees you like this.” He leaned down and his breath stirred the hair behind my ear. “He’s challenging me not to touch you until he does. But there are other things I can do.”

  Oh fuck. I tugged at my bottom lip with my teeth, my dick throbbing with need as it swelled in the tight confines of my slacks. “I’m pretty sure ‘fraternizing’ includes everything.”

  “It may, but we’re not at work.”

  I hissed in a breath as he brought his cheek close to mine. If I turned my head, I could kiss him. Damn it, I wanted to, but…

  “I don’t want to mess things up here. I need this job.”

  “Then we’ll continue the lesson. Type exactly what I say.” Luther remained where he was, his voice dropping an octave as I bought my fingers back to the keyboard. “Every piece of clothing you’re wearing was picked out by me. Soft fabric, in colors I knew would suit you. When you move, you can feel it moving over your skin. From the collar against your throat, the smooth cotton against your nipples that are probably tight and hard right now. Even now, you’re more aware of them, thin
king of what it would be like to have my mouth on them…”

  I closed my eyes, heart pounding, more aware of my nipples than I’d ever been. I hadn’t thought a man could get off on just his nipples being toyed with, but if Luther did it now, I’d fucking explode.

  “Keep typing, Alec.” A hint of amusement laced Luther’s tone. He paused, then reached out and braced one hand on the arm of the chair, close to my thigh. “The pants are what really got to you though. Just constrictive enough to feel snug against your ass, to feel pressing down on your dick when you get hard. You know I can see all of you and it makes you nervous and aroused all at once. You don’t know when I’ll get tired of them and tear them off you. Or what I’ll do to you once I have you naked. You want to know, you don’t want to wait any longer, but you have no choice.”

  “Shit.” The last few words I typed were jumbled. I shifted to adjust my erection, but the pants were too tight. “Please…”

  “Please what?”

  “I need…fuck, I’m so turned on it hurts.”

  “I can’t touch you.” Luther made a soft shushing sound. “But I won’t stop you from touching yourself. Not this time.”

  The idea of pulling out my dick right here in his office was embarrassing. And bad. And hot. Him watching me wasn’t enough, but if it was all I could have, I’d take it.

  I lowered my hand, stroking myself through my pants. “This might still break Xavier’s rules.”

  Luther’s lips brushed my ear. “It doesn’t.”

  His brief touch broke the rules, but I was too worked up to care. I opened the button of my slacks, then tugged the zipper down and freed my dick from the confines of my new, soft, black cotton boxers. I curved my hand around myself, tipping my head back as I stroked, pleasure spreading from the base of my spine to the head of my cock. Already precum gathered at the tip. I wouldn’t last long.

  “Look at me, Alec.” Luther whispered. I opened my eyes and he brought his mouth close to mine so I was breathing in his every exhale. “Be grateful for the rules, because once you’re mine, your pleasure will belong to me as well. It will be my hand on you, taking you to the very edge and deciding whether or not you deserve to go over. I may make you wait.” His breathe was sweet, I could almost taste the syrup from breakfast. A hint of coffee and mint. I tried to bring my lips to his, but he stayed just out of reach. “I may make you wait until I have you bent over my desk, desperate for me to fuck you. Begging for it.”