Making it Personal (6 page)

They kissed, this time more languidly, Blake’s fingers moving gently through Will’s short hair, their lips soft against each other. Blake wondered at the image he must have presented: chest bared, pants pushed roughly down to mid-thigh, his spent cock lying limply against his thigh. Will released his mouth with a sigh.
“You taste delicious.”
Blake felt the flush which rose up from his chest and neck, finally reaching his cheeks. “And you’re wicked.”
Will chuckled. “Didn’t hear you complaining, though.”
Blake snorted. “What man in his right mind
complains
about a kick-ass blow-job?”
Will preened. “Glad to know my oral skills are appreciated.” He got up from the floor and held out a hand to Blake who sat up, fastening up his shirt.
“Thank you, by the way,” he said sincerely. Will’s eyebrows lifted. “For staying, I mean. I really do appreciate it. And especially for what just took place.” Blake’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sure you must have had a client booked for this evening, so I’ll reimburse you what you would have made tonight. I wouldn’t want you to be out of pocket.”
Will froze. His eyes narrowed. The cold expression on his face made Blake’s heart stutter in his chest. “Will? What have I said?”
Will locked eyes with him. He stared at Blake in silence for so long that Blake started to worry.
“Thank you very much. You just made me feel like a whore.” The words were delivered in a flat tone, but Blake saw him swallow, saw a shiver ripple through him.
Blake’s jaw dropped, his eyes growing wide. “What?” He didn’t understand.
Will’s jaw clenched. “You don’t have a fucking clue what I had planned for tonight. And by saying that, you made it sound like that’s all I do. Fuck guys.” He gritted out the words. “Well, fuck you.” Will got up off the sofa and strode into his office, slamming the door shut behind him.
Blake C">. paled.="" he="" got="" to="" his="" feet="" and="" hurried="" the="" adjoining="" door.="" when="" opened="" it="" will="" was="" putting="" on="" suit="" jacket="" picking="" up="" keys.="" god="" i="" didn="" mean="" sorry="" ignored="" him.="" stood="" there="" trembling="" as="" computer="" shut="" itself="" down.="" blake="" approached="" him="" slowly.="" please="" don="" go.="" please.="" so="" sorry.="" heart="" beating="" fast.="">
Oh God, tell me I’ve not just fucked this up beyond repair.
He watched Will become still. Long seconds passed..>

At last Will looked him in the eye. “Just so you know —not that it’s any of your fucking business—tonight I was supposed to be at the LGBT youth shelter in Charing Cross. I go there once a week and hang out with the kids. We play pool, watch TV, chat mostly.” He stared resolutely at Blake. “You don’t know me, Mr. Davis.”

Blake wasn’t going to stop, not now Will was speaking to him. “Then come back to the sofa, sit down, and talk to me.
Tell
me.” Will’s jaw was still clenched. “
Please
, Will.” He could have wept with relief when Will finally nodded, and the two men went back to Blake’s sofa. Will sagged against the cushions, Blake sitting beside him. For a moment neither of them spoke. Will stared up at the ceiling as he finally started to speak.

“You don’t know the whole story,” Will began. “So maybe I should explain something which might make it a little easier.” He shook himself. “Christ, I swore I was never gonna let you know
any
of this, but…. When I took on the job at J’s, it
was
as an escort. I escort a lot of women to functions, balls, stuff like that. They feel safer knowing they’re with a gay guy who isn’t going to hit on them at the end of the night.”

“I can understand that.” Blake couldn’t take his eyes off Will. The man had a haunted expression about his face. Will scrubbed his hand over his cheek.

“Then about a month before you and I…” Will flushed and cleared his throat. “A month before your birthday, Jenny asked me if I would consider doing a little more than just escorting. It didn’t take me long to work out she meant sex. For reasons I’m not about to go into right now, I wasn’t keen on the idea, not even remotely—until she mentioned what I would be earning. Let’s just say it was a lot more.” His eyes met Blake’s for the first time in what was obviously a painful confession. “I said yes.” The words were whispered. Blake reached across and grabbed hold of his hand, holding it tightly. Will gave him a grateful look before continuing with his story, his voice growing steadier.
“Well, a few weeks went by and I carried on as an escort. I tried not to think about what I’d agreed to do. Until one day Jenny rings me up and asks how I would feel about having sex with this really nice guy by the name of Blake.”

Blake stared. “I was your first client?” Will nodded. “Wow. And there was me thinking you must have been doing this for a while, you were so confident and assured. I’d never have guessed.”

Rather than look pleased at Blake’s words, Will seemed very unhappy. He pulled his hand free of Blake’s and got up, picking up his jacket from where he’d dropped it by the sofa. “I think I’m going to go home now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” His voice was tight. Blake watched in dismay as Will exited the office, not looking back once. Blake was at a loss. He sat there thinking back on Will’s tale. There was much more to his PA than he’d thought, and Blake suspected there was even more to come.

That’s if he comes back to work for you to find out
.

He coul Cpan. “A mdn’t shut out the thought. The mood Will was in, Blake wouldn’t be surprised to see his resignation the following morning. Blake flushed with shame for making Will feel so cheap. The young man was no whore, that much was evident. Blake decided there and then to make it up to Will—if he ever got the chance.

Chapter Six
Will didn’t want to go to work.

He lay in his bed, staring at his alarm clock where the minutes ticked away, already past the point where he should have been up, showered and dressed. Not that he’d needed the alarm this morning. He estimated he’d had about two hours sleep, off and on. All the way home from the office the night before, he’d mentally kicked himself for coming onto Blake in the first place. Why in hell hadn’t he just kept his hands to himself?

’
Cause my boss is hot and I wanted him. Duh
. Will had been fighting his attraction to Blake since day one. And he knew full well why he’d let go last night. He’d wanted to know if Blake would respond when he wasn’t paying for it.
Well, I got my answer, didn’t I
? The noises and whimpers coming from Blake had gone straight to his dick. And as for the taste of him… Will had almost come from watching his boss trembling as he came into Will’s mouth. Then Blake had gone and ruined it.

You
know
he was sorry
. Yeah, Will knew. It didn’t make the thought of facing his boss that morning any easier. At least Blake knew now.

The sound of a horn in the street below broke through his reveries. It was no use. He’d have to face Blake sooner or later. Later sounded pretty good right now.

Will smelled the coffee as soon as he came through the main door. The clock above Karen’s desk showed eight ten. Will wondered what Blake was making of his late arrival. Then it hit him.
He might think I’m not coming in at all
. Will went swiftly to his office, took off his greatcoat and hung it up, before knocking quietly on the adjoining door.

“Come in.” Blake sounded subdued, even through a closed door. Will pushed it open. Blake was seated at his desk, a mug of coffee next to him. He looked up and his eyes became large and round. “You’re… you’re here.” There was no mistaking the look of relief in those gorgeous blue eyes. Before Will had time to utter a word, Ed appeared behind him with a mug of coffee. He thrust it into Will’s hand, almost spilling its contents in the process.

“Mornin’. Was it you who pissed ’im off, then?” Typical Ed, no beating about the bush. “’Cos I tell ya, if it was, yer gonna answer to me.” Ed looked ready to lay into Will. In that instant Will could have hugged the man. Ed was staunchly loyal to Blake and would always have his back. Will knew from conversations with Blake that Ed had been the first member of staff that he’d taken on six years ago, and that the two of them had seen through the drastic changes Blake had seen fit to implement when he’d taken over the company.
Will looked across at Blake, who was watching the interaction between the two men with trepidation. Will decided to go with honesty.

“Yeah, Ed, some of it’s down to me, that’s true, but I’d say both parties are at fault here.” He met Blake’s eyes. Blake stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. Ed clearly noted Blake’s reaction. His hands, which had been clenched into fists, relaxed.

“Okay, then sort it out, the pair of ya.” Ed glared at both of them, waiting Fed that alluntil both men acknowledged him before withdrawing from the room.

“Come in and close the door,” Blake told him. Will complied and then stood, mug in hand, feeling distinctly awkward. Blake gestured toward the sofa and Will walked across to sit down. Blake looked down at his desk and Will’s stomach churned. The silence was killing him.

Blake opened his mouth to speak and Will held up a hand to stop him. Blake’s brow furrowed.
“Look, before you say anything,” Will began, “I’m sorry for the abrupt way I left here last night. That was rude.” And it wasn’t Blake’s fault. His boss had no idea why his last remark was received so badly. “You apologized, after all.”

“Yeah, and then I went and said something else to upset you.” Blake spoke quietly. “I can’t tell you how that makes me feel, Will. I hurt you last night—not once but twice. I can only ask you to forgive me, and to accept my promise that I will try to make it up to you somehow. I don’t want to lose you.”

Will could see the pain in his eyes. Blake wasn’t angry with him—Blake was obviously unhappy about causing Will any pain. Okay, so he meant not losing Will from his company: Will wasn’t naive enough to think anything different. But it was clear to Will that Blake cared. Any residual ill feeling he might still have borne toward his boss melted in that instant. A memory of Richard flashed through Will’s mind. Here was another genuinely caring man who Will felt compelled to trust. For the second time in his life, Will wanted to share with another human being. “Listen, there’s something I’d like you to do for me.”

Blake’s brow cleared. “What?”

Will got up and went back into his office to retrieve his briefcase. He pulled out a USB flash drive and handed it to Blake. Blake took it, looking puzzled.

“There’s a novel on this that I’d like you to read.” Blake stared at the black metallic flash drive. The crease between his eyes deepened. “A novel?”

Will nodded. “Yeah. When you’ve read it, we can talk some more.” He gave Blake a feeble smile. “But right now I need to get on and organize your calendar so you know what you’re doing from one day to the next.” He turned to go to his office, but as he reached the door, Blake’s words stopped him.

“Aren’t you going to tell me who wrote it?”

Will turned back to him. “I did.” And without waiting to see Blake’s reaction, he left the room.
Will cuddled up to his pillow, inhaling the aroma of fresh, clean sheets. He always loved that justwashed smell. It was even better in the summer when he could take advantage of the weather to dry everything on the line which stretched out on the rooftop at the back of his apartment building. And of course there was another advantage to laundry days —laying down a towel on the ground behind the billowing sheets and stretching out on it on the nude, letting his body soak up the sun’s rays. Heaven. Sheer heaven.

He glanced at the clock. Nearly one in the morning and he still couldn’t sleep. He knew why, of course. Ever since he’d given Blake the novel that morning, he’d done nothing but think about it. The day seemed to crawl by. Throughout his meetings with Lizzie, Peter and Rick, during his lunch break —
C’mon, let’s face it
, he told himself,
every fucking minute
—his thoughts had never strayed far from Blake. Was he reading it right now? Did he love it? Hate it? Round and round his thoughts went, like a hamster on a wheel. He was really going o Keal. “Yeaut on a limb here. Entrusting Blake with the book was
huge
.

Beside him on the bedside table, his phone vibrated. Will frowned. Who the hell was texting him at this hour? He glanced at the screen—Blake.

You awake
?

Smiling, Will hit speed dial. “No, I was asleep. Your text woke me up.” He heard the hitch in Blake’s breath and snorted. “I’m kidding. Why aren’t you asleep? You’re not still working, are you?” His boss badly needed to get some work-life balance going.

There was a pause before Blake spoke. “I couldn’t put it down.”

 

Oh. Oh wow. Will was momentarily stunned. “Bloody hell, Will, it’s… it’s…” Silence. “Will, it’s damn good.”

Will suddenly felt about ten feet tall. Warmth flooded through him. He’d poured so much into the book. “I have to ask. Is this all your imagination, or is it based on a real person? Because the main character, Terry…” Will swallowed. “Oh my God, Will, the life he led. It had me crying into my pillow. And when Donald found him, and took him in….” Will heard something that sounded suspiciously like a sob. Oh fuck. Blake was crying.

Will waited until Blake’s breathing was more controlled before he spoke. “Yes, it’s based on a real person.” He swallowed heavily, unable to believe what he was about to say. “Terry is me, Blake.” Silence. Will waited anxiously. “Blake?” Long seconds ticked by.

At last he heard noise at the other end. A sniffle. Deep breathing.

“Now I understand. It all makes sense. Will, thank you. Thank you for trusting me enough to let me read it.”

Will’s heart soared to hear those words. No condemnation. No disgust. Just acceptance. “Can you tell me some more? I want to hear it.”

Fuck
. Will froze, unsure of how to react. It had been a long time since he’d told his tale. Writing the book had been hard enough. It opened up wounds he’d thought long since healed, making everything fresh and raw once more. Blake said nothing but Will could hear his breathing, steadier now. Will came to a decision. He switched the phone to speaker phone, cuddled the pillow tighter and began to speak.