Promises 2 (9 page)

Quick pulled back and tilted his head, directing Cayson in the other direction with his palm while he deepened the kiss. Cayson gripped the material of Quick’s t-shirt, pulling him closer like a drowning man would a life raft. Quick was already making him forget. He’d do it until he was all Cayson could think about. He may be new to the team but he wasn’t new to the game. He was going to heal Cayson from the inside out. 

But first things first.
“Why wouldn’t he have sex with you?”

Cayson

“Quick.” Cayson grimaced.

Quick had asked the million-dollar question now that Dr. Joe had let the ugly cat out of the bag earlier than he would’ve liked. Cayson had fully intended to tell Quick about all this, but in his own time.

“In a nutshell,” Cayson drawled and tried to put some distance between them, but Quick wasn’t having it. He kept him wrapped tight in his strong arms. “Um. Long story short. For the past few years, I’ve had a friends with benefits arrangement with Dr. Joe, but he was extremely stingy with the benefits. Hell, who am I kidding? Okay, very few of my love interests wanted to be with me, even fewer wanted to fuck me, or date long enough to even get to that point with me.” Cayson took another deep breath, because he was aggressively fighting the moisture building up in his eyes. His state of loneliness was bordering on too much. If he let those useless tears fall right now, he thought Quick would probably turn on his heels and make his way to the door, too. The big bounty hunter wouldn’t be interested in dating a whiny, sex-desperate pansy. It’d take a confident, sure man to hold on to someone as handsome and strong as Roman Webb. But when he thought of Dr. Joe’s proposed arrangement, his stomach knotted hard enough to make him double over.

“Listen to me.” Quick held Cayson’s face with both large hands. His wide fingers covering practically his entire face. “I want you to go and wash off all the poison your haters have sprayed on you today, and I’ll be right here when you come down.”

“Sure,” Cayson whispered, turning to leave, fighting to keep his head from hanging low. Before he was out of range, Quick’s hand shot out and gripped him by the back of his neck to yank him back against his hard chest. Cayson hit with a hard thump and he hadn’t had a chance to collect himself when a thick, possessive tongue was down his throat. Cayson whined softly and opened wide enough to take it all.

Quick released his mouth when he was damn good and ready. He leaned in low and nipped Cayson’s neck, scrubbing his coarse goatee along Cayson’s smooth skin. “You won’t have to worry about being made love to anymore, Cays. Now, go.”

Cayson wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be able to walk upright after that statement or not. Right now he was frozen. The thought of Quick wanting to fuck him was beyond what Cayson could believe at the moment. Pity and regret were still words bouncing around in his soul. He wouldn’t take Quick’s pity. Even though his aching hole begged for attention, he wasn’t jumping onto the first flat surface with Quick. If Quick wanted him, he’d better damn well prove it. No, he was going to earn it.

~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Quick heard water running, he looked up for the first time, noticing that the entire upstairs was open. He could see a sliver of light across the ceiling. Was it all Cayson’s bedroom? He wanted to go up and explore, but he’d have time for that later. That’s how he’d win the war to gain Cayson’s trust. Time. Patience. He wouldn’t rush him.

Quick yanked out his cell phone and called Duke, switching the speaker on so his hands weren’t tied up. He’d needed to know what to do for Cayson to change his mood. While the phone connected, he hurriedly foraged through Cayson’s very organized cabinets. He had the skillet and a pot already out when Duke’s voice blasted through his speaker.

“How’d it go? Did you call him?” Duke said instead of hello, which was fine because Quick had limited time.

“Even better, bro.” Quick smiled while filling the pot with water for his rice. “I went to his office with…” Quick huffed a laugh, preparing for his best friend’s reaction. “I took the flowers.”

“Oh, snap!” Duke cheered. “And did it work?” he asked after eventually calming down.

Quick was grinning ear to ear. “I think so. I’m at his house.”

“No shit!” Duke laughed hard.

“Yeah. He’s in the shower, I’m making him dinner.”

Quick had to hurry and adjust the volume on his phone since Duke was yelling and cheering like a crazy ass. Cayson was going to be able to hear them at this rate.

“Duke, shut up,” he scolded with a harsh whisper.

“You are the man, Rome! I knew it! I knew you two would be good together!”

“Whatever,” Quick mumbled, still having a hard time concealing his pleased smile. “There may be more to it than I thought.” The boneless pork chops were already sizzling in the skillet in some olive oil and a few sprinkles of flour to make a gravy.

“Meaning?” Duke’s voice had dropped some of its humor.

“Meaning he has a boyfriend.”

“What?” Duke yelled again. “But he seemed so—”

“Lonely… yeah, I know. Okay, wait… he’s not technically a boyfriend.” Quick groaned and shook his head tiredly. “We’ll discuss that more later. All I know is the guy is a massive fuckin’ tool and he was here waiting for Cays when we arrived.”

“‘Cays’,” Duke teased. “Nicknames already. Is he calling you ‘Romey’?”

“Duke, I swear to god.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just happy for you, man. Alright. Being serious now.”

“Thank you.” Quick flipped the pork chops. The wonderful aroma quickly permeating the first floor. Hopefully it’d reach upstairs soon and tempt his date back down. “He said some really fucked up shit to Cayson and I threw him off the porch and he scrambled away. But he—”

“Shit.” Duke’s voice hinted at amazement and disbelief. “I said go big, man, but goddamn. I didn’t say go fuckin’ hulk, Rome.”

“Dad, are you over there acting like a barbarian in front of Dr. Chauncey?” Vaughan’s disappointed voice came through the speaker next.

“He deserved it,” Quick barked defensively. Why were they ganging up on him without the whole story?

“Dad, come on,” Vaughan snapped. “You know better.”

Sometimes Quick wondered who the parent was between the two of them. It’d been like that since the boy could talk.

Quick walked to where the ivory linoleum in the kitchen met the plush rug that covered the dining room floor. He peered upward and listened. There was a brighter light on and the water had stopped. Quick took his phone off speaker and nestled it in the crook of his neck and shoulder. “Look you two; he’s almost finished with his shower. I need to relax him. Y’all just don’t know what an asshat that guy was, and if you’d heard what he’d said to our friend, y’all would’ve been all over him, too.”

“Sorry,” Vaughan murmured right along with Duke. They were all extremely protective of their little makeshift family, so they knew what he meant.

Quick dropped a couple bags of instant rice in the pot of boiling water and put a lid on his almost finished pork chops. Quick’s voice softened. “I want to make him feel better.”

“Nice.” Duke chuckled.

“Not that damn nice. I want him to feel better about himself.” Quick shook his head, getting exasperated. “What do I do, Vaughan?”

“Dad. You are a great guy. Just be you and he’ll relax. Cooking for him is the best idea. You’re an awesome cook. What are you making?”

“Pork chops. What do I do after dinner is finished and he’s ready for me to leave?”

“Do you wanna leave?” Duke asked first.

“No. That guy was a first rate jerk. His eyes said he would catch Cays when I’m gone.”

“Are you for real?” Duke’s voice was serious. They never took threats lightly. Whether spoken or implied. He and Duke hadn’t made it as bounty hunters for so long by underestimating desperate people.

“I wouldn’t joke about that.”

“Then do whatever you have to do to stay with him. Make up anything. Improvise.”

“Uh-oh.” Quick wasn’t the best liar. Grown men didn’t have to lie. It was man up or shut up. “Alright guys. Well you’ve been… you’ve been very little help. Thank you for nothing.”

“Hey, man. I’m the one that said get him flowers. Obviously it worked, because it got your big foot in the door, so take that back,” Duke complained.

“Quiet, Duke. Dad. See if he has a music player. Turn on something nice. And I don’t mean The Rolling Stones. Something jazzy and mellow. Fix a couple of cocktails and try to work a massage in there. That’ll help him relax and he’ll see that you’re all about making
him
happy… and not yourself.”

“Got it. Thanks, Vaughan.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck, Pops.”

“And Duke….”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Go to hell.”

Quick hung up, not giving Duke a chance to respond. Knowing his friend, he was probably still looking at the phone. He laughed to himself while he checked the doneness on his meat.
Perfect
. Letting the meat sit and simmer in the gravy, he washed his hands again and went in search of plates.

Cayson

Cayson’s body felt so much better after the long shower. He could hear Quick talking to someone, but he couldn’t fully make out the conversation. Probably because his stomach was growling too loud. The smell of seared meat was easy to detect as soon as he stepped back into his loft-style bedroom. It was the largest and best renovation he’d made to his home. He looked around the large space, wondering if he should pull the sheets up on his bed or cover up the pile of dirty laundry waiting to be tended to. He let the bedspread fall from his fingers.
No. Quick isn’t getting in my bed, not even in my bedroom, so I don’t have to waste time on this.
And with that newfound determination, Cayson chose to put on a pair of worn cargo pants and a soft, white Hanes t-shirt. He was going for comfort. Besides, he wouldn’t get his hopes up just yet. He’d been with guys who talked a good game.

As soon as he turned the corner, Cayson’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Quick had not only set the table rather nicely, with scented candles, wine, and water glasses, but the food was already on the plates, steam rising from them along with the heavenly aroma. Quick was hastily whipping something in a small plastic bowl and when he turned, he nodded at Cayson to sit down. However, Cayson didn’t miss the appreciative glances Quick was throwing his way as he walked across the room and sat at the table, still at a loss for words. He was trying to remember the last time anyone had made him a home cooked meal.

“Feel better after the shower?” Quick went in his refrigerator like he lived there and pulled out two small bowls that already held salads.

“I’m better, yes. Thank you, Rome. This looks fantastic,” Cayson said, in awe as he watched Quick set the salad in front of him and drizzle the homemade dressing he’d been making on top. “How’d you learn how to cook?”

“Well, Vaughan’s mother and I decided to call it quits and stop fooling each other after Vaughan got old enough to understand. So when he came to my place on weekends, I had to feed him, not to mention myself. Pizza and Chinese got old pretty quickly. Since I believe a man can learn anything he needs to on YouTube, I watched a few tutorials and managed to produce a couple of edible meals. Food Network and a couple food clinics later… Viola! I’m a pretty decent cook.”

Cayson laughed and followed Quick’s lead when he sat, too, and began digging into his salad. “YouTube, huh?”

“It’s true. I started looking up basic recipes and following along. Next thing I knew, I was starting to enjoy it. It became sort of a hobby. Playing around with and destroying some creations really took my mind off missing my son, missing….”

“Companionship,” Cayson filled in after Quick trailed off. “I get that.”

“I have to ask.” Quick wiped his mouth after chewing a hearty chunk of his pork chop and took a sip of his wine. “How in the hell did you end up with a first class jerk like Dr. Stuck-up? He doesn’t seem like your type at all.”

“And you do?”

“More than that asshole.”

“If I recall. You were a real ass—”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Thank you very much,” Quick said hurriedly, his sexy quirk of his lips showing Cayson a playful side. “At least it wasn’t the norm for me. I was nervous and unprepared for you, Doc. That’s all. I’m far from an ass, and I think deep down, you know that. That other guy seems like he embraces the title.”