Exposed (9 page)

“You’re eager,” Briar teased as he ran two fingers down the crack and over the opening, then gently slid one tip inside.

“Hnnh,” Gabriel agreed, jerking his head in a quick nod.

Briar slid the second finger inside, then crooked them to rub over his prostate. It was easy to find, swollen and hard with his arousal.

Gabriel’s whole body arched off the bed when Briar rubbed his prostate, his achingly needy cock twitching midair, but Briar didn’t touch his cock yet. He didn’t want Gabe to come
that
fast.

Then, just as he found his rhythm, Briar slid his fingers out again, laughing at his expression.

Gabriel looked like his balls were the deepest navy by now.

But Briar could fix that problem.

It took him just a minute before he was rubbing his tip along Gabe’s entrance. Gabriel moaned, and Briar grunted his agreement, the hair-thin condom not stopping him from feeling the heat and tightness as he pressed inside.

It was a few overwhelmingly blissful moments followed by the intense
need
to move, to fuck Gabe nice and slow and deep until he was thrashing under him.

“Hurry the fuck
up
,” Gabriel demanded, and Briar grinned, grabbing Gabe’s hip with one hand and bracing his hand over his head.

Then he was pushing inside in quick, sharp thrusts, his eyes focused on Gabriel’s pretty lips and the way those soft blue eyes widened and then slid shut from overwhelming pleasure.

Gabriel’s soft lips parted, his throat bobbing as he gulped for breath.

“Let me hear it,” Briar whispered, his voice husky. He was almost panting for breath himself as he pounded Gabe into the mattress smooth and fast.

“
Yeeees
,” Gabriel moaned, his nails digging hard into Briar’s hips. Briar couldn’t return the favor, in case he got picked for an underwear show or something.

Not that Briar cared if Gabe left marks on him. He hadn’t fucked anyone since Gabe in his dressing room, and he
refused
to think about the implications of that.

Then, he was gasping into Gabriel’s mouth as he kissed him, trying to keep his own sounds deep in his throat, but they were spilling forth along with—

“Gabe!” Briar gasped, his hips thrusting in sharp, erratic, blissful movements as he came. His head spun, and it was all he could to stay steady so he could let his body work out those last few tense muscles.

Gabriel’s hands ran up his shoulder blades and held tight, pulling their chests together to kiss him thoroughly.

Briar let him kiss him, reaching between them to jerk his cock as he slid free of him.

It only took a handful of firm strokes from base to tip before the thick shaft pulsed in Briar’s hand. Gabriel’s needy pushes up into his clenched fists left his hand wet, and Gabriel was writhing on the bed as he gasped for breath until the last few drops trickled out.

As hot as he was with bedroom eyes on the runway or in a dark club swaying from side to side, he was
fucking gorgeous
when he was coming under Briar’s hand.

Gabriel’s expressions were loose and easy as a quick smile flitted across his face and he melted into the bed.

“Hm?” Briar hummed.

“S’good,” Gabriel whispered, and that was all. He half-closed his eyes, limp on the bed and clumsily raising an arm to cover his eyes, then wipe his forehead and brush his hair back.

Briar slowly lowered himself onto his side next to Gabriel, propping himself up on his elbow. He wiped his hand on Gabriel’s stomach so he could rest his hand on his side.

“Hey,” Gabriel laughed under his breath, elbowing Briar.

“You’re naked, I’m dressed.” Briar pushed himself up to fix that, pulling off his clothes as easily as that.

Gabriel cracked open his eyes to watch and Briar smirked at him. “Shower?” Briar suggested.

Gabriel hesitated, then nodded, reaching out behind himself as he stood up.

Briar caught the implication and took Gabriel’s hand, letting the hot little model lead him to the bathroom and step into the huge rain shower with him.

He loved the green and blue tiles of the shower and the elegant marble of the bathroom, but more than that, Briar loved that slender, toned body in front of him in the shower.

They were both quiet as they washed up, Gabriel taking his time to get all the product out of his hair and off his face.

A minute after Briar stepped out, Gabriel followed suit and Briar tossed him a towel.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” Briar broke the silence to ask.

Gabriel hummed, a smile crossing his face. “Turn those in,” he jerked his thumb toward the clothes still strewn along the bed and floor, “after I wake up. Which will be nice and late.”

Briar grinned. “How about eight? You guys are off ’till we leave here around noon, right?”

Gabriel eyed him and nodded cautiously. He didn’t seem sure what to think.

“I can show you a bit of London.”

That made Gabriel’s expression brighten. “Okay. Should I head back…?”

“I
highly
doubt most of your coworkers will be spending the night in their own rooms,” Briar winked, then gestured toward the bed. It was a super-king or something ridiculous. The kind of bed so big it could fit four guys comfortably.

Not that he’d admit to testing that.

Gabriel nodded, gathering the designer t-shirt and jeans Briar had peeled off him and folding them up. Once he had them set aside, he crashed under the covers, his body going limp instantly.

Briar knew the feeling. With contentment burning through his bones, as soon as his body felt dry enough, he flicked the lights off and slid under the covers.

He remembered nothing after that, sleep whisking him away after the hellish week.

G
abriel’s toes
touched a warm leg.

He caught his breath, pulling his foot back mid-stretch and cracking his eyes open. Before his shoulders could freeze up with tension, though, it came flooding back to him.

He was in Briar’s bed.

A shudder of excitement—this was
his
life?—passed through him before he drew a deep breath to settle himself again.

Briar had once seemed like a superstar idol he might bump into on the street one day, but now they were sharing a bed.

And his image was perfectly made up online, in all his Instagram photos, but he was far more beautiful in natural little moments such as these. The white sheets were tangled just under his shoulder blades, but his upper back and shoulders were strong and smooth. His eyes closed, lips parted for breath, hair in his eyes, he looked contented.

Best of all, in his sleep, sometimes Briar smiled.

What was he doing sleeping with the CEO of the whole damn agency? People had to know by now—had to have talked. Surely someone had noticed them leaving one after another, or that he was absent from his room last night.

All it took was one model spotting something, and the rumors would fly.

Gabriel shook himself out of it after a moment, sitting up slowly and pushing his own hair back out of his eyes. It was a strange feeling to be waking
after
the first morning light touched their curtains, not at four-thirty with the panic that he’d slept in somehow.

“Mmmmph.” Briar’s sleepy noise was muffled by his arm as he yawned into his elbow, then turned to gaze at Gabriel through sleep-heavy eyes.

The passionate sex last night was still on Gabriel’s mind, but he offered a smile instead of a good-morning kiss. They didn’t seem to be at that stage yet—or ever, he quickly reminded himself. From what he’d heard, Briar was no more a fan of relationships than he was.

“How’d you sleep?” Gabriel asked.

Briar yawned again, sitting up straight and rubbing his face. “Great.” His voice was rough with sleep. “You?”

“Like a log.”

Briar chuckled, his voice catching before he cleared his throat. He slipped out of bed, still naked.

This time, Gabriel turned his gaze away for a moment. “Still want to go out to London today?”

“Do you?”

Gabriel really did. He was sure that now that he was getting work, someone would fly him out to London again, but this was his first time here. He wanted to see a
bit
of the city. “If you wouldn’t mind,” he answered.

Briar nodded. “Done. You better get changed. Meet me at the tube station entrance in half an hour.”

Only half an hour to get down to his room and get changed and ready? Gabriel was up like a shot, patting down the bed for his clothes. Oh yeah, and he had to return the jeans he was wiggling into…

“’Kay,” he answered, raising his hand in a quick wave. Once he had shoes and socks on, he strode out of Briar’s room and took the staircase down a couple floors to his own floor.

Nobody caught him in the hallway, mercifully. As he slipped into his room, Gabriel grinned to himself.

It was a postage stamp compared to Briar’s suite, but at least they hadn’t had to double up and share rooms. That would have sucked, especially with the hookups
some
of the guys took home every night.

He picked quickly through his bag to choose one of his own outfits—just simple skinny chinos, a collared shirt and matching tie, and a cowl neck sweater to layer under his winter jacket. March wasn’t the warmest month in either New York City or London.

After dropping off the last of his clothes and accepting his praise and congratulations for representing the brand at the after-party the previous night, he strode briskly out of the hotel lobby.

The tube station was just next door, so it took him just a couple minutes to make his way into the mezzanine and spot Briar.

Briar always looked so professional—he usually dressed in elegant and expensive suits. This time, he’d dressed down a suit jacket with dark jeans. He looked more like your average hot, young, rich guy.

Gabriel grinned and raised a hand. “Hey. Ready to go?”

“I’m ready. Here, take this.” Briar passed him an Oyster card, and Gabriel nodded his thanks. He followed Briar’s lead to step through the stiles, then followed him down the tiled hallway toward London’s version of the subway.

It wasn’t totally unfamiliar to him, but there were a few interesting differences: the names of the lines, for one, and how clean the stations looked in comparison to his usual city haunts.

On the other hand, the fabric seats of the train, once they stepped onto it, made him wrinkle his nose and choose to stay standing. “How long is the trip?”

Briar looked amused, like he’d noticed Gabriel’s moment of reluctance to touch the germ magnets that were this train’s seats. “Ten minutes.”

Gabriel had been certain Briar would act like a pickpocket magnet, what with the way he looked like the most important guy in the room wherever he was. Here, though, he was much more casual, gripping the same pole just under Gabe’s hand.

Their wrists brushed whenever the train lurched.

Gabriel shivered, closing his hand around the Oyster card in his pocket until the plastic edges dug into his fingers.
Act like friends,
he reminded himself in order to resist the urge to deliberately step a little closer.

Briar’s gaze wandered over the carriage, so Gabriel looked away to scan the maps. That was a nice touch—maps over the seats showing the lines, even if he had no fucking idea where they were in relation to anything else on the map.

It only took a few minutes of squinting before he matched up the stations they were passing with those on the map.

“Not a bad system here,” he commented, breaking the silence between him and Briar.

Briar kept his voice soft as he answered, “It’s rather popular with millions of people.” His eyes twinkled. “Most of whom speak quietly on the tube.”

Gabriel blushed. Yeah, so he was a little American, but he couldn’t help that. He shifted his stance, catching a couple guys near the end of the carriage watching him.

Did people recognize him? Or Briar?

Gabriel stood a little straighter, following Briar out when their stop was announced.

The blast of cold air down the escalator made him curl his fingers into the sleeves of his jacket, playfully hunching behind Briar when he turned to get a glance at him.

“It’s brutal,” Briar laughed. “And hell on the hair.” He reached out to ruffle Gabriel’s hair, giving him an obnoxious grin.

Gabriel tried to duck out of the way, groaning and then head butting his arm before stepping down one stair on the escalator. “You dick.”

“The wind did it already. I was just fixing it,” Briar smirked.

Gabriel took out his phone to quickly fix his hair while he could, stepping off the escalator and following Briar to the exit.

“Tap out,” Briar cued him and Gabriel quickly glanced up from his phone, then rummaged for the plastic card to get out of the station.

“Well, that’s kind of useless.” Gabriel pocketed his card again, then his phone. “Why’d you have to do that?”

Briar shrugged. “It just works differently. You pay per zone, if I remember right, not a flat rate.”

“Oh.”

Gabriel followed Briar to the street outside, glad to be out of the depths of the underground and back into fresh, sunny, warm March air. Thank God London was having such unusually clear weather this weekend.

From his first glance at the neighborhood, it didn’t look like the kind of place Briar would spend a lot of time. Honestly, Gabriel was surprised he even knew about it.

The street stretched out ahead of them, all souvenir shops and boutiques sprawling across the sidewalks. Tourists, punks, and annoyed-looking hipsters skirting around the slow-moving crowds made up most of the crowd walking down both sides of the sidewalk and even the street sometimes.

People cut across the street to the station, so he stepped out of their way and started walking down their side of the street. “This way?”

“Sure,” Briar nodded. “Food’s this way. I like the vegetarian and vegan choices around here.”

Gabriel cast him a startled glance. “Are you veggie?”

“Yep.”

Gabriel hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. “Always been?”

“Yeah, for a long time now.” Briar kept his hands tucked in his pockets. “I initially did it as part of a diet back when I was modeling, actually.”

“You never mentioned on Instagram… or anything.” Before he even finished the sentence, Gabriel realized that sounded a little stalkerish, and his cheeks heated up. He tried to stay casual.

“No. People get weird about it sometimes,” Briar laughed, that deep note ringing out freely. “People can guess if they stalk my food photos close enough…”

Gabriel snorted. “Ain’t no one got time for that.”

Briar laughed again, then gestured around. “What do you think?”

“It’s… not your scene, is it?”

Briar chuckled. “No. There’s more… upmarket… veggie places in town in London. It’s the boutiques we’re here for. They’re more your style.”

“Ohhh.” Gabriel perked up. He’d submitted his paperwork that morning to Julius before scurrying off for the station. “I’m going to get paid soon, right?”

Briar snorted. “I’m buying it. The agency is, rather. You’re our darling now… your image has to match.”

Hearing Briar tell him he was their up-and-coming star did far more for Gabriel’s ego than hearing a thousand random compliments from the army of journalists, editors, interns, and makeup artists who never left him the fuck alone.

“Cool,” Gabriel concluded, nodding slightly. Briar was right; he
did
have to look the part now. “How are my bookings?”

“Ask Julius. I don’t know,” Briar scoffed. “I just know I sold you to at least half a dozen of my buddies.”

“One at a time, I hope.” Gabriel winked.

Briar’s laugh was quick and startled. “Yeah. Jesus, you’ve got a filthy mind.”

Gabriel just cast him one more quick hooded gaze and model pout, then turned abruptly to walk into a clothes boutique with menswear in the window.

He’d expected Briar to hang back and watch, but instead, Briar instantly started picking through the racks to find the couple acceptable items there. Sometimes he held them up and Gabriel held still, and then he’d nod and hand over the hanger or shake his head and put it back.

It was a bit surreal for Gabriel not to even look at the price tags as they moved from shop to shop. In the third store, a little down an alley, the guy behind the counter was busy stapling together a pile of papers when they entered. When he caught sight of their faces, he squeezed his stapler so hard it got stuck closed.

Gabriel breezed past the counter to pick up a couple of jackets, holding them up for Briar’s opinion.

They only spent a few minutes in the store, but they found a pair of jeans that looked like they could be perfectly altered, a dark leather jacket, and a sweater that was perfect for layering this time of year.

“H-hi,” the clerk breathlessly greeted them when Gabriel carried up his armful of clothing to add another bag to the two already in his hands.

Briar coolly nodded, waiting for the items to be rung in.

From the quick glances the guy kept sneaking up at them, it wasn’t hard to tell he knew who they were, and the knowledge made Gabriel stand a little taller.

The clerk was kind of cute, but underdressed. He really needed to learn to accessorize. “Those are nice bracelets,” Gabriel pointed out the leather wristbands under the counter. “The black one would go with your outfit today.”

“Oh.” He looked startled, but then he cast a quick smile. “Yeah, it would. Thanks. I always feel too gaudy.”

Briar snorted. “Oh, honey, it’s not gaudy unless it’s pink and sparkly. And even then…”

Gabriel laughed, nodding in agreement.

The clerk handed over the bag and announced the total, and Briar paid with a careless swipe of his credit card, and then they were back out on the street.

“Breakfast? I’m going to faint if I have to watch one more passerby get starstruck by you,” Briar teased.

Gabriel stared around the sidewalk, then looked back at Briar, raising his brows.

“Oh, you’re bad at noticing it. You haven’t gone full-out diva yet,” Briar winked. “Come on, this way. Ice cream cookie sandwiches. You’re not allowed to count calories today. Tomorrow, you can worry about that shit.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to protest, but his stomach
was
grumbling. Christ, he hadn’t had enough calories in about a week.

“That sounds… incredible. Ice cream?”

“Vegan ice cream.”

That sounded slightly healthier, at least. Gabriel was sold. “Yes, sir,” he agreed with a quick nod. He followed Briar down the street, trying not to stare at the open-air market they passed on their way to a bridge.

“Oh, cool.” He peeked over the edge to see how high they were. Not that far up. “It’s a legit… canal.”

“A legit canal,” Briar laughed, their sides brushing as he leaned next to him. “Yeah. The locks are just there.”

“Locks?”

“Oh, boy. I’ll show you, if the timing’s right. Let’s get a sandwich and see if we get lucky. Come on, this way.”

Gabriel couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled so much. He stuck by Briar’s side as they strode into the little market. He liked these hole-in-the-wall places.

When he got the sandwich on a flimsy paper plate, Gabriel laughed but accepted it and grabbed a napkin. He let Briar pay for this, too, and followed him back out and around the building. Even the buildings looked old, with cobblestone courtyards and stairs. The modern signboards hung outside restaurants and shops contrasted with the architecture.

“It’s kind of higgledy-piggledy around here.”

Briar almost choked on his cookie sandwich. “What…? Higgledy-piggledy?”

“It’s—shut up,” Gabriel protested, focusing on eating instead of defending his word choice. He followed Briar, elbowing him when he heard him still laughing around his ice cream sandwich.