Hawk motioned to the table and the pack Trey carried. “You can set that down. Let’s go say hi to Sam.” He led Trey down the hall and stopped in front of one of the rooms. Hawk knocked on the door and stuck his head in. “Anybody home?”
“Hawk!” a small voice called.
Smiling, he entered and went to the boy’s side. “Still in bed, lazy bones?”
“I’m not feeling too good today.”
He held up the small bag. “I brought your special cookies, gluten-free. I’ll set them here for now, and we’ll make sure your mom says it’s okay first.”
“Thanks, Hawk. Can we make more paper birds today?” He pointed to his bedside table.
Trey noticed several small origami birds, folded from paper.
“I thought we’d color some pictures today, but only if you’re feeling up to it.” He glanced at Trey. “This is my friend Trey.”
“Is he a good colorer?”
Hawk nodded seriously. “Trey is good at
everything
he does. He’ll be a great colorer.”
Sam leaned back against his pillow. “I don’t know if I can come out today. Mom says Dr. Jones is supposed to be here soon.”
“Let’s see what he says. If you can’t come out, maybe Trey and I can come back and color with you. Just rest for now. We’ll be back.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.” Hawk touched Sam’s head, then headed out.
Trey had to hurry to keep up with him. “What is this?” He was confused.
“Exactly what it looks like. A hospital for sick children.
Very sick children
. Most of these kids won’t be going home again. Sam won’t, for sure.”
Trey paused and drew a breath. “Oh my God.”
Hawk rolled his shoulders, as if they’d suddenly developed tension. He glanced at Trey. “Don’t look so gloomy. Nobody wants to see that. They want to see smiles and happy faces.”
“You work here?” He was still trying to process the information.
“I volunteer here. Yes, it’s work. God help me, some days it’s the hardest work I’ve ever done.”
“I’m just…surprised. Considering what you used to do, I mean. The parents don’t mind?”
Hawk’s face clouded. “Mind what? That I bring their kids cookies and listen to them and help them make crafts and
try to help them
not to be so scared of this crazy hand they’ve been dealt?”
Trey closed his mouth. Hawk was doing something special, something amazing, and all he could see was a man who used to be a porn star getting close to children. He couldn’t help but wonder if the parents and staff knew about Hawk’s other career. But watching Hawk, he felt like a shit for even allowing such a thought.
On their way back to the cafeteria, a man in a suit approached from the other direction. Next to him was a long-haired, ponytailed man in jeans and a dark T-shirt. “Good morning, Hawk!” The suited man shook hands with Hawk and glanced at Trey. “So, your arrangement must be working out?” He smiled, a leering thing that said he knew exactly what kind of ‘arrangement’ Hawk and Trey had.
Trey struggled to recognize the man, but the leer brought it home. Nicolas Fontana had been at the Rose & Thorn Society dungeon Saturday night. Nick was the arrogant Dom who’d been playing cards with Carter and Hawk.
Hawk glanced at Trey appreciatively. “Couldn’t be better, actually.” He extended his hand to the other man. “Mitch, how are you doing?”
“Very well, thanks. Need to check out a plumbing leak down the hall, though.” He glanced at Nick. “I’ll get right on that.”
“Thank you.” Nick’s eyes twinkled and he watched the man walk off.
Trey turned his head, watching Mitch go.
“Such an obedient sub,” Nick lowered his voice. “Makes life so sweet, doesn’t it? I trust you’re finding Carter’s sub well trained.”
Once again, Hawk smiled at Trey. “Oh, abundantly so. We’re getting along very nicely. It was good to see you, Nick. I promised the kids we’d be right back so we should get going.”
Nick looked at Trey. “Everyone loves it when Hawk comes to visit. He’s like a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day. You can see it in their little faces.”
Trey couldn’t resist a jab at the man and added, “Mine too.”
Startled, Nick laughed.
Hawk gripped the back of Trey’s neck and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “Flattery will get you everywhere, babe. Let’s go. See you soon, Nick.”
“Enjoy!” the man called as he walked in one direction and they went in the other.
“He’s kind of a pompous ass,” Trey mused.
“
Kind of
is putting it mildly, but like I told you before, he’s a good guy. He’s definitely proud of his subs.”
“I thought his slave was a blond guy?”
“Adam is the blond one. He’s a personal trainer at some gym. Mitch is a rodeo cowboy-turned-maintenance man. He knows this place inside and out. They really appreciate him around here.”
“This place is incredible, Hawk. Didn’t you say Nick is a fundraiser?”
“Yes. St. Mark’s is free to families. Services are funded by donations from individuals and corporations, because no sick child’s family is ever billed for services. As you can imagine, they rely quite heavily on volunteers as well.”
“Wow.” Trey was stunned at the whole concept. Further amazing him was the idea that these men who were so dominant in some aspects of their lives could be so tender-hearted, working and volunteering for a place like this. He was speechless.
Hawk gazed at him sideways. “So tell me, did I lie, or are you a good colorer?”
Trey flexed his fingers and smiled. “You didn’t lie.”
* * * *
Hawk leaned back in his recliner a few nights later, nursing a bottle of cold beer. When the phone rang earlier and he’d spotted Kel’s number, he’d sensed that it wasn’t going to be good.
Trey stood in the doorway to the kitchen, folding the dishtowel. “Dinner dishes are cleaned up. Can I get you anything else?”
He sighed. “You can get your ass in here and kiss me. I told you that you’re not required to wait on me. We don’t role-play twenty-four-seven around here.”
Trey tossed the towel aside and knelt at Hawk’s feet. “And
I
told
you
, I’m only doing what I want. Right now, you look like you could use a foot rub.” He tugged at Hawk’s boots and pulled them off, one at a time.
Hawk shivered as strong hands began massaging the arch of one sock-covered foot. “Damn, that feels good.”
“You’ve had a long day.”
“Sam’s getting worse. It’s hard to watch.”
“His mother really seems to like you.”
Hawk gazed at Trey. “Which surprises you, doesn’t it?”
“No! I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know exactly how you meant it. I’m a porn star-turned-BDSM Dom so how on earth could a decent woman with a child like
me
? Read you loud and clear, Trey.”
His new lover’s face fell. “I swear, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Hawk scoffed, trying not to get riled at the sting. “Right. Okay. Some of the people there know about my past career, and as far as I know, none of them cares. No one except Nick and his subs know about my dalliances at the Rose & Thorn, because that’s nobody’s fucking business.”
“I agree.” Trey, appearing contrite, had stopped the massage.
Hawk wiggled his foot.
Grinning, Trey resumed.
“Sam’s father left when he got sick. The mother’s family lives in another state. They do what they can, but she’s pretty much on her own.”
“What’s wrong with Sam?”
“He’s got a rare type of blood cancer. He needs a bone marrow transplant because he hasn’t reacted well to any of the drugs they’ve tried. Odds are slim of finding a match.”
“That really sucks.”
Hawk smiled at the simple statement. “Yeah, it does.”
Trey moved his caresses to the other foot. “But something else is bothering you. Ever since you got that phone call before dinner, you’ve been in a mood.”
“I have not,” Hawk snapped.
Trey averted his gaze. “Mood.”
“Touché.” He sighed. “I got the call I’d been expecting from Kel. He’s not coming back. Oh, he’ll be by to get his things, mostly just clothes and such. But he’s moving home to be closer to his family. And a barista he met at a local coffee shop.”
Trey’s jaw fell open. “You’re kidding me? How could he improve on what he has right here, with you? You’re amazing, Hawk. Seriously.”
He pulled his foot away and planted them on the floor, leaning forward. “Because I told you, we aren’t looking for the same things anymore. Kel wants a home and family with some little adopted kids, a dog, and a white picket fence.”
The man sighed. “And you couldn’t compromise?”
“Could you? I don’t want children. I love them, sure, but I don’t want to be responsible for any. I don’t even want a damn dog.”
Trey shoved the footrest on the recliner back into place and worked his way between Hawk’s knees. “What
do
you want, Yuma Nighthawk?”
Staring into the sub’s clear eyes, he grasped the back of his neck and cupped it. “I want my privacy. I want to use the gifts I’ve been given to quietly make a difference in people’s lives. And I want a man with pretty pink lips to suck my dick every now and then. Is that asking so much?”
“No, Sir.” His gaze glued to Hawk’s, trey unbuttoned his Master’s jeans and worked them down enough for his cock to spring free. He licked his lips. “May I suck it now, Sir?”
Hawk leaned back and closed his eyes. “Make it good.”
The mouth of his dreams captured Hawk’s cockhead and sucked just the tip.
He couldn’t bear
not
watching and opened his eyes in time to see his slave licking up the full length of his aroused shaft. Hawk shivered at the beautiful sight. Seeing those perfect lips wrapped around his cock was almost enough to make him shoot then and there. He’d joked about Kel’s mouth being a lethal weapon. Trey’s was the gold standard—the mouth by which all other mouths should be judged.
In fact, Trey as a whole was the most gorgeous man he’d ever had the pleasure to be with. It made his heart hurt to think that it was only temporary. Every fiber in his being wanted to snatch the man away and keep him for only his consumption. It’d never happen, he’d be drummed out of the Rose & Thorn. All he could do was enjoy their week together and when it was over, try not to show his pain as he said goodbye.
His balls churned and he could no longer ignore what was happening down south.
Not
dwelling on it prolonged the ecstasy, but he was past that point now. As his sac tightened, he knew that climax was imminent. His sweet submissive had sucked half his cock down his throat, the head nudging the back of his mouth. Hawk rubbed the man’s spiked hair in approval, and jerked his hips in time with the rhythm.
“Mmm,” trey moaned what could only be encouragement.
He tweaked one ear. “You want your Master’s cum, slave?”
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured again, head bobbing.
“Suck it down. Don’t waste a drop.”
Another nod was followed by more voracious sucking.
Hawk leaned his head back and groaned as he shattered. Waves of hot seed pulsed past the beautiful pink lips, shooting straight down his slave’s gullet. Flashes of light mixed with jolts of pleasure rocketed him past an ordinary orgasm right on into a superb one. His obedient sub took everything he had to give and more, sucking, coercing the last milky drop of cum from his slit before pausing to take a breath.
“Aw, fuck.” Hawk finally closed his eyes and tried to remain grounded. As their week drew to a close, every perfect moment, every amazing orgasm reminded him that this wasn’t permanent. It was only for now. The thought made him want to cry, and no self-respecting Dom would be caught crying after he climaxed.
“Was that good, Master?” trey’s voice was timid.
Hawk pulled himself together, and cleared his throat. “Acceptable. I’d like you to brush my hair now. You’ll find the brush in my bathroom drawer.”
“Oh, thank you, Master!” trey scrambled off, seeming genuinely excited at the prospect. Hawk chuckled. Carter had definitely found a good one. So compliant, so enthusiastic. trey was a keeper.
Carter.
The other Dom held all the cards in this game they played. What could he do to convince Carter to give up his sub for good? Trey said he loved the man, but he was also falling in love with Hawk. He could keep Trey satisfied, he had no doubts about that.
Carter was the key. He needed to give it some thought. But right now, he needed to let slave-trey brush his hair and keep him from thinking about anything at all. He’d just enjoy the simple sensation of the act. And when he was done, Hawk had a few other acts in mind, including bending over while his slave ate his ass then fucked it raw.
He stroked his rapidly firming shaft and smiled.
* * * *
Carter sorted through the day’s mail, adding it to the stack of bills on Trey’s desk. He knew the invoices were piling up, but he didn’t realize how much he actually owed. Trey had been protecting him from the truth.
When, all along, I should have been protecting Trey.
He sauntered out to the kitchen and poured himself another stiff drink. The new bottle of bourbon was already half empty. He glanced around to see if he’d spilled it or had actually drunk that much without realizing it. There were no spills. “Nope, musta been me!” He cackled, avoiding the broken glass as he left the room again.
Guilt etched him, knowing he should have cleaned up his mess from the temper tantrum days ago before he’d started drinking again. But honestly, when had he stopped drinking? It had been a week-long binge, and with a few days to go before Trey’s return, he didn’t see the end in sight yet. He dropped into his chair and kicked his feet up.
Another night alone. He hadn’t heard from Trey in three days. He’d left messages but they’d gone unanswered. Stupid fucker was probably enjoying himself. It wasn’t supposed to be fun for him. He needed to call and tell him that. Maybe he’d call and tell Hawk—that big Indian fucker—that if Trey was enjoying himself too much he should withhold his orgasms. Lord knows Carter was certainly being denied his own.
He picked up his cell phone and punched the speed dial button to Trey. The phone rang a few times then voicemail kicked in. “This is Trey. You know what to do. Wait for the beep.”