An Unlocked Heart(Collars & Cuffs Stories)

By
K.C. W
ELLS

L
EARNING
TO
L
OVE

Michael & Sean

Evan & Daniel

Josh & Chris

C
OLLARS
& C
UFFS

An Unlocked Heart

Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

5032 Capital Circle SW
Ste 2, PMB# 279
Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886

USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

An Unlocked Heart

Copyright © 2013 by K.C. Wells

Cover photo by Terry J Cyr

Cover design by Paul Richmond

http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

Cover content is being used for illustrative purposes only
and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Ste 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

ISBN: 978-1-62380-850-1

Digital ISBN: 978-1-62380-851-8

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

July 2013

For Daniel

Total submissive and adorable evil genius.

Thank you for helping me bring Alex to life.

This one is for you.

But I have to mention two very important people:

Karen Candido, for being a fantastic beta

who always spotted my mistakes….

Just going to say one word—“condom.”

And Will Parkinson,

who fell in love with Leo and Alex.

Thank you for your wonderful support, my friend.

You will never know just how much it was appreciated.

One

“I
HAVE
to admit, this is definitely one of your better ideas, Leo,” Thomas Williams said with a sigh, leaning back into the comfortable leather armchair and surveying his surroundings.

The bar area was set slightly apart from the main floor of the restaurant, and similar chairs were found grouped in twos and threes around small tables, tiny candles flickering in red flowers sculpted from Venetian glass on each table.

“Hmm?” Leo Hart brought his attention back to his business partner, aware he’d missed something. “Did you say something?”

Thomas stared at him, his expression one of slight amusement. “What planet are you on tonight, Leo? You’ve been miles away ever since we got here. I was merely commenting you’d chosen a really nice spot to hold our weekly meeting, that’s all.”

“Oh, right.” Leo drank from his glass of iced tea. “I used to come here regularly, as a matter of fact. Severino’s is one of the most authentic Italian restaurants in Manchester. The food’s always great and the service is superb.” He glanced around the restaurant. Every table was occupied, and the air hummed with the buzz of voices speaking in low tones while soft jazz played unobtrusively in the background. The atmosphere was intimate, romantic. “They’re not usually this full, though. Normally, I can walk in and get a table right away.”

Leo hardly saw the restaurant. His attention was claimed by the tall, slim young man in black who emerged now and again from the kitchen, collecting dirty plates and disappearing with them behind the swing doors. Nothing unusual about him, certainly nothing that would draw attention, but for some inexplicable reason, Leo followed the young waiter with his eyes, unable to look away. There was an air about him, something that spoke of vulnerability. The young man flitted from table to table, moving efficiently, rarely making eye contact with the customers.

“Leo!”

With a start, Leo snapped back into the moment. Thomas was staring at him again, smirking. Leo gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I zoned out there for a moment. You were saying something?”

Thomas chuckled. “It
is
customary during a meeting to have an actual discussion, isn’t it?”

Leo laughed, his attention now fully on his partner. “I’m sorry, Thomas, you’re quite right.” He sipped his drink. “But I thought I’d wait until we were seated, if you don’t mind.”

Thomas nodded in agreement.

“Leo!”

Leo glanced up to see Sev bounding across the restaurant to greet him. He smiled to himself. The restaurant owner was a bundle of nervous energy, always moving. Leo stood as Sev approached, only to be clasped in an enthusiastic hug that almost crushed his ribs. Sev was a large man who had never been aware of his own strength.

“Leo, my friend. It’s been far too long.”

Leo gave his friend a warm smile. Too long indeed. The truth was, it still pained him to come here. He had simply to gaze around the restaurant to be assaulted by memories of Gabe. He was just
there
, at the bar, their table…. Leo shrugged off the grief that had never entirely left him to greet his old friend.

“It’s good to see you too, Sev,” he admitted. Sev’s gaze met his, and the sympathy in those expressive brown eyes was all too easy to read. For a second, Leo tensed, bracing himself for the awkward words he felt sure would come, but to his relief, Sev said nothing and merely tightened his arms around Leo. Finally Sev released him, and Leo indicated Thomas with a brief nod. “Sev, this is Thomas Williams, my business partner. I don’t think you two have actually met.”

Sev gave Thomas a nod and a smile, before glancing around his restaurant. “You picked a bad night, my friend. It seems the world and his wife want to eat here tonight!”

Leo laughed. “That’s exactly what Vittorio said when he directed us to the bar.”

Sev beamed. “Glad to see my head waiter and I are on the same wavelength, as usual.” Quickly, he scanned the tables. “There are a couple of tables that will free up shortly, by the look of things. Do you gentlemen have any seating preference?”

Leo placed his hand on Sev’s arm. “We’re planning on discussing business,” he said in a hushed tone.

Sev nodded briskly, understanding immediately. “How about over there?” he said, indicating the corner with a flick of his hand.

Leo followed his gesture, and his chest tightened. Of all the tables….

Unfortunately, Sev caught his reaction and paled. “Oh God, Leo, I’m sorry. I… I’ll find you another….”

Leo shook his head, angry with himself. For God’s sake, he was a grown man of thirty-seven, not some angst-ridden adolescent.
Grow a pair
, he told himself angrily. “That’s fine, Sev. In fact it’s perfect. We can talk there without everyone overhearing.” He gave Sev a half-assed grin. “Don’t want to scare the straights, do we?”

Sev grinned back, and in that moment, Leo felt the world start to right itself again. He could do this.

As Sev walked away in the direction of the kitchen, Leo sat down to take a long draft of his iced tea. Fuck it—he was going to order wine with dinner, business meeting be damned. He put down his empty glass and suddenly realized Thomas had gone quiet. He looked up to find his partner watching him intently.

“I was wondering why you’ve never brought me here until now,” Thomas began, an intuitive expression on his face that caused Leo’s chest to constrict, knowing just where this was leading. “And then I realized, you used to come here with….” Thomas broke off, and Leo wasn’t surprised to see the pain in those green eyes. His partner had always been a sensitive man beneath the brash, gruff exterior the world saw.

“It’s okay, Thomas, you
can
say his name, you know. After all, it’s been two years now.” Thomas’s eyes widened, and Leo tried to give him a reassuring smile. “You’re right. This was the restaurant where Gabe and I used to eat frequently. In fact, we’ll be sitting at our usual table.”

Thomas appeared horrified. “Do you want us to…?”

“It’s all right,” Leo hastened to reassure him. “Honestly. And maybe it’s time you stopped pussyfooting around the subject, anyway. Gabe died. End of story.” But the words felt like a lie even as they slipped from his lips. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t ended
quite
yet. God knew it was about time it did, though. Life had moved on, but Leo was still struggling to catch up.

A
LEX
D
ANIELS
pushed through the double doors into the kitchen and deposited his dirty plates at the sink with Freddo before going over to Pietro’s workstation to collect the next course. Fuck, he was tired tonight, but he knew it was only because he’d worked the whole week instead of his customary three or four nights. Now that the summer term had finished, Sev had agreed to give him more hours, which was a godsend because he surely needed the money. Every penny that didn’t go to his mother went straight into his savings account. Alex had no idea how long it would take him to save up enough for the deposit and initial month’s rent on a flat at this rate, but right now he didn’t care. He only knew he couldn’t stay much longer in his parents’ house. Not without going insane.

“Alex! Get over to table six and set it up, will you?” Sev called across the kitchen.

Alex nodded, grabbed fresh table linens, and exited the kitchen. The table had just been vacated, and Alex could see two men at the bar who were obviously its next occupants. Swiftly and efficiently, he set about clearing and re-dressing the table, leaving it pristine once more, before scurrying back into the kitchen.

“It’s ready, Sev,” he said just loud enough for his boss to hear. Sev nodded, beaming.

“Good lad.” Sev peered through the window in the door. “Okay, I want you to show those two gentlemen at the bar to their table.”

Alex paled. “Me?” The words came out almost as a squeak. “But I’m on clearing duty tonight!” Okay, so it was an excuse… anything to avoid having to deal with the general public.

Sev gave him a patient look. “But I’m asking you to do this,” he said purposefully. “Treat them as if they’re royalty, please. One of them is a personal friend of mine, and a very good customer.” His eyes met Alex’s, and Alex immediately lowered his gaze. “Alex, I know you’ve only been here a few months, but sooner or later, you’ve got to get used to dealing with the customers.”