Page 129 of Elite Connections: an LGBTQ Romance Charity Anthology

When Connor had left Texas,it had been four p.m. After a twelve-hour flight to Italy—first class, which his long legs had appreciated—followed by a two-hour train ride to Como from Milan Malpensa Airport, and then a taxi ride through winding hills from the station, Connor was dropped off before a set of skillfully crafted, black iron gates at about 3 p.m. the following day. After adjusting the bag slung over one shoulder, he keyed in the number he’d been sent via email along with his itinerary and plane tickets. The gates swept open, and he dragged himself and his suitcase through.

The three-story villa that appeared around a winding paved drive nearly took his breath away. It was something out of a movie. Off to the side, he viewed terraced gardens leading down toward the lake. Whistling, he scanned the fa?ade. He’d spent time with many wealthy clients over the last few years, but most of those had simply been a date to a charity gala or friend’s wedding. While many of lads and ladies the agency employed were escorts, Connor wasn’t. Not saying he hadn’t spent the night with a client here and there when the chemistry sparked, but it wasn’t his usual MO. He considered himself a companion. He rarely slept over, and definitely not in a luxurious villa in a foreign country.

Something else was new. He was a surprise. All of his previous clients had been the one to request a date. A whisper of worry spun through his mind as he drew closer to the house. What if he wasn’t a welcome surprise? What did he do then? His return flight wasn’t for another week.

As he approached the entrance, a small, older Italian woman opened the front doors for him.

“Ana Maria?” he asked. His instructions had said one of the caretakers would let him inside.

She nodded. “Connor?” she asked, her accent thick.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, smiling.

“Benvenuto.Come, come,” she said, waving her hand.

He marched up the steps. When she attempted to take his bag at the door, he refused. It was almost as big as she was. “I’ve got these.”

She scoffed, stepping back nonetheless. He rolled his suitcase in and gazed about. The round, two-story foyer was all cream marble. A curving, black wrought-iron banister similar in style to the front gates arched along the stairs. Nooks bearing carved busts were inset in the walls and from the opening in back, the blue of the sky and water beckoned.

“I show you to room,” Ana Maria said. She waved him onward and up the stairs. She took them slowly, gripping the railing in one weathered hand. “I put food in refrigerator and leave clean bedding. Clean towels.”

“Wonderful,” he murmured, examining the home as they traveled. He’d seen how large it was from the outside but was still stunned at all the space. Space left empty by American owners while folks like Ana Maria were left to tend to them. He wondered where it was she lived? “Thank you.”

She glanced over his shoulder, a glimmer of surprise in her eyes—as if she wasn’t accustomed to being thanked. On she marched to the top and then led him down a long, wide hall. Near the end, she opened the door and he gasped.

The view of the lake and nearby mountains was stunning. He smiled, tossing his bag to the bed and crossing to the window. “It’s magnificent.”

“Yes,” Ana Maria said, smiling with pride. She patted his arm. “I leave now.”

“I appreciate your help, signora.”

She grinned, saluting him. “Have a good trip.”

After she departed, he got a good look at the bedroom. It was well appointed with an attached bathroom that was filled with anything he might need. Curious, he explored the rest of the house, first checking out a massive master suite near his room before rushing downstairs. There he found a gym, a movie theater, a ballroom, of sorts, and a dining room. When he found another set of stairs leading down, he realized that was the main floor.

Everythingwas cream marble, not just the foyer, elegantly decorated—and huge. The décor reminded him of the time he stayed at the Venetian in Las Vegas, just much more elegant and sedate. Although, the kitchen couldn’t be called sedate. It would make a small crew of master chefs happy. The first-floor dining room sat fifteen. One room filled with books, chairs, and sofas was as big as his entire apartment.

The sitting room near the back of the house was less ostentatious, but then it couldn’t compete with the view. Large floor-to-ceiling windows showed off Lake Como and the terraced gardens—as well as the other stunning homes bordering the lake.

There was also a pool with a waterfall edge next to the gardens. He opened one of the doors and stepped outside. While he’d left a May heatwave back in Texas, it was only in the sixties there. Luckily, he’d done his research before packing—Lake Como was in Northern Italy, near the Swiss border, so it wasn’t the balmy Mediterranean vacation he’d first anticipated.

Moving closer to the pool, he noted steam rising off it. Crouching, he tested the water, smiling when he found it warm. That swimsuit I brought won’t go to waste. He checked his watch. His client wasn’t to arrive for another couple of hours. Might as well take advantage.

After marching up and changing, he grabbed a towel from the bathroom and returned to the water’s edge. He dove in, the warmth delightful after his long trek there. He did a few slow laps, his tight muscles appreciating the gentle workout. Stopping at the waterfall edge, he surveyed the area, reveling in the beauty.

That alone was worth the trip. If he ended up an unwelcome guest and kicked out, at least he’d have witnessed that view.

* * *

Kellan searched for the hidden key Emma had promised would be left for him—but couldn’t find it. He dragged out his cell phone and dialed her number, only for the call to fail. Fuck. Examining the front of the house, he wondered if it were possible a door or window might’ve been left unlocked. Probably not, and if it was, he’d have to contend with the alarm system, but what else could he do? Leaving his luggage at the front door, he circled the property, testing every window he came across.

When he reached the back, he noted the stunning view. He’d come to Lake Como once before with Emma and her family and been enamored, but sadly it wasn’t a happy memory. Two weeks with Marshall Shelby had been three weeks too long. Hopefully, his current trip might erase the last. Balance out the scales, so to speak.

It’s a shame she’s selling it. It would be wonderful to bring Abigail someday.

He missed his daughter desperately. He’d already called on the drive to the house, wishing her a good morning. The time difference was going to drive him mad the whole week.

A splash came from the pool, and Kellan’s head whipped in that direction. A stranger was swimming in their pool?

“Scusi, scusi!”Kellan called, fear mounting. The guy could be dangerous.

The man stopped and spun to face him.

“What are you doin—”Midway through the question, a familiar smile formed on the man’s lips. It took a few seconds before realization hit. “Mr. Quaid?”

Connor Quaid washed water from his face with both hands. His eyes widened, mouth dropping open. “Mr. Rhodes?”

Silence hung for a few more seconds as they stared at one another.

Connor swam to the edge of the pool and stepped out—in a tiny white Speedo. Kellan gasped, getting an eyeful. The Speedo left little to the imagination. Lots of bare, tanned flesh and perfectly formed muscles. Mr. Quaid grabbed a towel from a nearby lounge chair and dried his hair as he wandered closer. Kellan turned his gaze away from the bulge in the man’s swimsuit, face warming.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was asked to keep you company this week,” Connor said. “Although, I didn’t know it was you, Mr. Rhodes. I would’ve said no had I known.”

He would’ve said no to being in my company?Kellan forced the disappointment from his thoughts. “Asked by whom?”

Connor wrapped the towel around his body, shivering. “Mind if we go inside to talk? It’s a bit brisk.”

The cold was helping slow Kellan’s thickening cock. Inside, he wouldn’t have that assistance. “I’d love to go inside. I can’t find the key. That’s why I was back here. Did you grab it?”

“No, but I left one unlocked.” Connor marched to the back doors and swung one open. He turned to eye Kellan, beckoning with a glance. He’d seen that same look in his fantasies over and over. A tremor raced up his spine as he fought the lust pounding in his veins.

“You coming?” Connor called before walking inside.

Kellan stood frozen for a couple more seconds. Lust coiled in his belly. His legs were rubber. Yet, the need for answers demanded he go inside. As soon as Kellan entered, he couldn’t help but get another eyeful of nearly naked Connor Quaid.

He was leaner than Kellan had assumed. Less football, more Michael Phelps. How was he supposed to get to the bottom of things with the man looking that good? “Why are you here?”

“I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but…” Connor sighed. “In my off time, I work as a companion.” Connor’s face turned red. “To help pay off my student loans.”

“A companion?” An escort?

“Well-to-do folks are often too busy to find a date for a function, so they hire someone like me. I’ve attended charity galas, high school reunions, weddings. Sometimes, it’s simply someone who’s lonely and wants to go out for dinner and dancing. This is my first lavish, week-long trip, though. I’m excited to see the sights with you.”

“Do you mean… an escort?”

Something flickered in Connor’s eyes, and fire burned in Kellan’s belly.

“While my employer does have a stable of escorts, sex is not required for my role.”

Kellen relaxed a bit, the pressure off.

“But intimacy is at the discretion of the companion.”

Kellen’s mouth went dry. From the look on Connor’s face, intimacy wasn’t off the table. Starving, Connor’s mouth dried. He wanted to belly up to that table. With gusto.

Connor looked down at his feet. “Though, that’s not something I do often. I simply like spending time with interesting people.”

Kellan was sure it was more than that. Money made the world go round. “Are they all interesting?” I’m sure not.

“Not always,” Connor murmured, smiling. He frowned at the same time. “I have a rule that I don’t cross the line with parents, so I’m a bit dazed right now. I’m not sure what I should do here.”

“Ahh… that’s why.”

Connor frowned. “That’s why… what?”

Heat filled Kellan’s cheeks. “Oh… um. You mentioned you would’ve said no if you’d known it was me. I assumed that meant you wouldn’t want to be in my company.”

“That’s not it at all.” Connor licked his lips, giving Kellan the once over. “Not at all.”

Kellan swallowed the lump in his throat. “Well, as you said, sex isn’t a requirement for your role, so no line has to be crossed. You’ve already come a very long way. Might as well stay and see Italy while you’re here.”

The smile that spread on Connor’s face nearly brought a moan to his lips. Kellan cleared his throat, attempting to hide the desire slamming into him. “Wh-who hired you?” He lifted a hand. “Never mind. I know who it was.” Kellan sighed. Emma. It had to be. “My wife?”

“Yessir.”

He snuck another glance at Connor’s hard body. “I need to grab my luggage. I left it out front when I couldn’t find the key.”

“Let me,” Connor offered, reaching the front door before him.

He grabbed the bags before Kellan could, muscles bunching.

“Follow me,” Connor called, heading back into the house.

Kellan trailed behind, at a loss for words. Likely due to the perfectly formed ass in a tiny Speedo at eye level. Connor opened the doors to the main bedroom and lowered the suitcases. “I hope you don’t mind. I eyeballed the place before you got here. It’s amazing.”

He glanced around the bedroom. “This was my mother and father-in-law’s bedroom when I was last here.”

“Is it theirs? The house?”

“Was,” Kellan murmured. “My wife’s father recently passed, not long after her mother. Now my wife owns it—and she plans to sell. That’s why she asked me here. She was busy and needed someone to discuss things with the agent.” Was that just a ruse? “Or rather, that was her reason for getting me here.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Connor said. “About your in-laws.”

“I’m not,” Kellan said. His face warmed. “Oh, god, did I just say that out loud?”

Connor smirked, taking a step forward. “You sure did.”

“Let’s just say—they were not nice people. How my wife turned out as well-adjusted as she did, heaven knows.” Nannies? That was his theory.

“I understand that you’re soon divorced?”

Kellan winced, noticing that Connor had moved a bit closer. “Yes.”

“It’s nice that you and she are on such good terms that you’d come here to help her put this place on the market. Not all couples going through a divorce would be so kind.”

“She’s my best friend. Always will be.” Kellan smiled. When he met Connor’s gaze, more came tumbling out. “We married to hide from our families.”

Why did I just say that? Shit.

Connor closed the gap between them, standing only inches away. “Hide what from your families?”

Kellan swallowed the lump in his throat. “I, um—” He took a deep breath. He’d never said the words before to anyone but Emma, and that had been twenty years before. “I’m?—”

He couldn’t get the word out. After twenty years of hiding himself, he simply couldn’t.

“It’s okay,” Connor murmured, inching closer. “You can say it. You’re safe.”

Kellan’s gaze whipped to his. “I’m… gay.”

Connor’s lips curled up at the corners.

“Is that amusing?”

“No,”Connor murmured. “I’m just happy to hear my suspicions were correct.”

“Your suspicions?”

“Have you not noticed me casually flirting when you bring Abigail to school?”

Kellan licked his dry lips. “I thought… you were just being nice.”

Connor moved a fraction of an inch closer. “I wasn’t.”

“I thought you had rules about not crossing lines with parents?” Kellan asked, breathless.

“An early mistake I wish I’d never made. You’re the first one to tempt me since.” Connor lifted a hand and caressed the side of Kellan’s cheek.

Touch deprived, he gasped at first contact. Kellan closed his eyes, lips parting, as he reveled in the man’s touch.

“Have you ever been with a man?” Connor asked, sliding a hand down Kellan’s shoulder.

Kellan barely nodded, unconsciously leaning into the faint caress. When he realized what he’d done, he straightened, face warming. “It’s been a long, long time.”

“That must be hard. Going so long without intimacy.”

Kellan nodded, unable to speak.

Connor whispered a question. “Can I hug you?”

Breath shuddering, Kellan fought tears at the backs of his eyes. “Yes.”

Connor wrapped his arms around Kellan, drawing them closer. He leaned into the man, overcome with emotion. A sob rose in his throat. He tried to hold it back but failed. Another came following it, a tear slipping down his cheek.

“It’s okay,” Connor murmured, sliding one palm along his back. “Let it out.”

Kellan didn’t know where the tears came from, but they came. Silent tears fell as Connor held him tight, gently kissing his forehead.

“I can’t imagine how hard it is to hide who you are,” Connor said, his voice soothing.

Kellan backed away, wiping his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

He wiped more of the wetness away. “Men don’t cry. Or so my father always told me.” Usually right before a beating for being too ‘girly.’

“Fuck him,” Connor spat. “Emotions are genderless. We all have them. And if you can’t express them, you’ll explode.”

“Thirty-six years of programming is hard to undo.”

“Thirty-six? I thought you were younger.”

He chuckled. “Should I take that as a compliment?”

“Take it however you want.” Connor eyed his luggage. “You have a swimsuit in there?”

“No. I checked the weather and didn’t anticipate swimming.”

“The pool is heated,” Connor said, waggling his eyebrows. “Why don’t you strip down to your skivvies and come swim with me?”

Kellan hesitated. Sure, he ran a few times a week, but his body wasn’t in perfect shape—not like Connor’s. He’d expected muscles, but not a perfectly sculpted physique. Connor would put the statues in Italy to shame.

“It felt great after that long flight. Your body will love it.”

Kellan hesitated.

“Unwind a little. Relax.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kellan replied, unable to say no with the anticipation he witnessed on Connor’s face. “I’ll… I’ll meet you down there.”

“Don’t dawdle.” Connor grinned before walking toward the door. He paused in the threshold, turning toward Kellan. “And thank you.”

“For?”

“Trusting me enough to tell me your truth. And for letting me be there for you.” He smiled. “That was a brave thing to do.”

“It didn’t feel very brave.”

“It was.” Connor offered a gentle smile before closing the door behind him.

Kellan collapsed on the bed, exhausted. Between the long flight, the surprise of an unexpected guest, and then losing his cool, he was ready for bed. He reached for his phone and dialed Emma again. It went through on the second attempt.

“Hey, babe! Did you arrive safely?” she asked.

“I did.” He kicked off his shoes. “I wish you’d warned me about my guest instead of surprising me.”

“As if you’d have gone.” Silence hung on the other end for a few heartbeats. “Is he cute?”

Kellan sighed, undoing his button-down. “Why, Emma? Why did you do this?”

“I didn’t want you there all by yourself.”

“I’m a big boy. I can handle being alone.”

“You shouldn’t have to be alone,” Emma shot back. “Just for your knowledge, he’s been vetted and has signed an NDA. You’re far from home and free to be you, for once.”

His father’s reach was wide. He wasn’t so sure he was all that free.

“He’s not an escort, by the way, so he’s not paid to have sex with you.”

“I’m aware.” He peeled off his pants and laid them over the bed.

“I asked the caretaker to ensure there was a box of condoms and a bottle of lube in the main bedroom nightstands, just in case something did happen.”

Heat burned his face. “You did not.”

“I did. Safe sex, Kel. It’s important.”

He dragged the drawer open and found two boxes of condoms and a large tube of lube. “Aren’t the caretakers ancient?”

“They were young once. I’m sure they’ve used them before.”

“Oh, dear god,” Kellan said. “I’m not going to survive this trip.”

“Well, in that case, make sure he bends you in half and wrecks that hole. You can die happy.”

Kellan closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Appreciated, wife.”

“Anytime, husband,” she said, giggling.

“You assume I’m a bottom, hmm?”

“Aren’t you?”

Duh.“None of your business.”

“I had to climb on top of you the night we made Abby.”

Kellan frowned. “I thought you didn’t remember anything from that night?” He didn’t. Well, a few flashes, but not much more.

“Most of it, no. I do recall being the initiator, though. You can blame me for Abby.”

Kellan wondered if Emma remembered more than she was willing to admit. “No blaming anyone for her. She was a gift. Speaking of, how is she?”

“You just wished her a good morning a little while ago. I swear she’s fine.”

“Really?” Emma was a wonderful mother, but he’d gladly taken on more of the responsibilities when it came to their daughter, stepping up more during Marshall’s illness and Emma being thrust into her new role. Abigail wasn’t used to him not being there.

Emma sighed. “Misses you, but she’ll be fine. It’s good for the two of you to have some time apart every now and then. Makes you appreciate each other more.”

“Can I talk to her?”

“She’s in the pool getting her first swimming lesson.”

“I forgot that was this week! Why didn’t you tell me when I called earlier?” Abigail had been half asleep when he’d talked to her earlier. She’d likely forgotten herself.

“I didn’t expect you to call again so soon.”

Kellan scoffed. “You sent a man for me and didn’t expect a call?”

“Call back later. She’ll likely talk your ear off about her lesson.”

“Will do.”

“Hey, babe?” Emma asked.

“Yeah?”

“You never said if he was cute or not?”

Kellan almost told her who it was but thought better of it. It was Mr. Quaid’s business what he did during his off hours. “Yes, very cute.”

“Like, how cute?”

Kellan sighed. “Not telling.”

“Cruel!” Emma cried.

“Hey, that’s what you get for surprising me. Payback’s a bitch.”

Emma’s laughter brought a smile to his face. “You’d better be glad I love you.”

Kellan’s chest tightened. “I love you, too.”

“Have fun, Kel. You deserve it. Talk to you soon!”

The call cut out, and Kellan turned off his phone. After a deep inhale, he eyed himself in the mirror across the bedroom, wincing. This is as good as it gets.