Page 5

Chapter Five

Caleb

Not good. This was not at all good. Caleb eyed the text from his Tazzy and the internal cringe became an external one. This was so not good. DEFCON Five levels of bad, and the shit storm was en route to their doorstep. He knew this news would float like a lead balloon, but he'd figured maybe they'd have more time to soften the blow. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He should have known better—nothing ever went according to plan for them. His political brain warred with his soft heart as he scanned the warning text from Taz once more before shutting his phone off and abandoning it on the kitchen counter. Theo knew. Theo knew and he was, not unexpectedly, very unhappy about the situation.

Caleb paced the kitchen, the foyer, the living room, and back again as he mumbled strategy to himself. He hated having to apply strategy and careful wording when it came to the friends they called family. His confidence in Elias running waned a little as he worked himself into a tizzy. Perhaps El’s reluctance wasn't completely unfounded. Caleb cursed himself again as he pivoted on a socked foot and prepared himself to dive in headfirst with the kink in their plans. His knuckles rapped gently on the frame of the door leading to their shared office.

“El, baby doll.” Caleb peeked in and found his husband bent low over a pile of paperwork on the desk. “Company’s coming and we have a situation.”

“Hm?” Elias’ frosty silver blue eyes popped up with a curious quirk of the brow. “What do you mean by situation?”

“Sooo, don't shoot the messenger. Messengers. Theo’s coming over with some paperwork. And… he's not happy.”

Elias slowly straightened behind the desk. “What is it, Cay?”

Right. Brace for impact. “There was a security breach at Amarat. Specifically their personnel files. Addresses, schedules, phone numbers… anyway.”

Elias’ brow scrunched in confusion.

“Including ours. We’re on file there.”

“Shit,” Elias swore. His hand lifted to pinch the space between his eyes.

“Yeah, that's where it gets squirrelly.”

“Caleb, spit it out.”

“Theo maybe sorta possibly definitely knows about our plans. About running for the nomination.” Caleb’s spine stiffened.

“God damn it, no.” Elias’ shoulders hunched as his chin fell to his chest. “Fuck.”

“Also a reminder he is on his way here. Now.” Caleb shifted further into the office to stand across from Elias.

“How? How did he find out, Cay?”

“Taz did. On the computer. Don't ask me how, because we really couldn't discuss the details, but he found out, and then Theo found out—”

The doorbell had never sounded so chipperly ominous. Caleb and Elias made eye contact over the desk before Elias dipped his chin with a resolute nod and a firm set to his jaw. He was in motion, lean legs eating up the distance, before Caleb could respond, leaving him to scramble behind his husband like a nosy puppy.

His artificial smile was instantaneous as Elias swung the door open to reveal a very closed off, curly haired Theo in a baggy crop top and tight jeans. He shifted his sunglasses to rest atop his head before jerking his hand forward to slap a folder against Elias’ chest. Caleb eased in beside Elias, his smile stretching the limits of believability as he greeted the surly emo boy he’d come to love.

“Afternoon, sunshine—”

“Not now, Caleb.” Theo's eyes darted toward Caleb for a fraction of a second, apology hidden among the fiery anger clearly written over his expression. His gaze darted back toward Elias as his tongue slipped out to lick his lips. Caleb pressed a discreet palm to Elias’ lower back, if only to offer what silent support he could.

“Theo, look—”

“You should have told me. You should have told me as soon as you had the thought. Instead, I had to find out after rifling through a goddamn data breach with our names written all over it.” Theo’s hands clenched. It didn't take crazy observational skills to see how hard they were trembling.

Caleb turned his attention over Theo's shoulder and wasn't at all surprised to find Connor playing guard dog from where he leaned against the front of the SUV on the curb, his arms crossed over his broad chest with a scowl twisting his features. He still wore sunglasses, but Caleb knew without a doubt that if he could see the pissed off blond’s eyes, they’d be promising all sorts of hellfire. Yeah, this was not at all good.

“Theo, I wanted to wait until we were sure. I wasn't hiding it from you. I just wanted to be sure.”

“But you are sure, aren't you?” Theo challenged, his weight shifting between his feet as he eyed Elias through narrowed lids.

Caleb felt the deflation in Elias’ body. “Yes.”

“Wow.” Theo’s curls bounced as he shook his head and scoffed. “I can't believe this.”

“Theo, it's not going to be like it was for you. I'm not her.” Elias reached across the distance, but Theo was too tightly wound for that. He stepped back as if afraid to get burned. Honestly, Cay didn't blame him one bit. The guy had been through hell and then some. Understatement of the year, frankly. Swearing in his mind, Cay regretted not forging a closer relationship with Elias’ surrogate nephew-slash-son sooner. They were close, but not nearly close enough for him to do anything helpful in this tightrope dance.

“I know you aren't her! But this is… this is ridiculous. This is so fucking dangerous, Eli! Haven't we been through enough?! Hasn’t Parker been through enough?!” Theo took another step backward and stumbled down the steps of the front porch, his head still shaking back and forth in a way that looked more like a nervous tic than anything else.

“Don’t. Don’t you dare act like my son isn't my first concern.”

Oh, snap. Do something. Do anything. Caleb pivoted and brought his palm to rest on Elias’ racing heart. “El, baby.”

“Not now, Cay.” Elias’ eyes narrowed as he squared his shoulders. “I thought you knew me better than that, Theodore.”

“Yeah, same.” Theo turned on a dime and strode down the walkway. Connor was already in motion to open the passenger side door as Theo threw his parting words over his shoulder. “But I guess I thought wrong. Thanks for the heads up, Eli. Good luck, I guess.”

“Theo, wait!” Elias tried to push forward and pursue Theo, but Caleb held him in place.

“Elias, no. He needs time.”

“Cay, not now—”

“I swear on my entire Marc Jacobs collection, if one more person tells me ‘not now’ I will go apoplectic!” Caleb gripped Elias’ shirtfront in a tight fist. “Give. Him. Time.”

He stared at Elias’ face as Elias watched Theo climb into the car before it rumbled to life and drove the meager distance between their homes. He glanced in their direction and saw the vehicle pull into the driveway and subsequently disappear into the garage. Elias finally exhaled a shaky breath once the automatic door closed. It was only then that Caleb could encourage him to take a step back from the doorway and allow him to close it behind them. As soon as the latch snicked into place, Elias turned to flee. Theo wasn't the only one who needed time. Caleb released a heavy sigh as his partner disappeared into the office again. Frankly, he earned himself this time out. Resigned to letting his lover stew for a little while, he retreated to the kitchen to figure out their dinner. After all, life went intrepidly onward regardless of whatever monumental clusterfucks happened to show up.

A little while turned into a long while. Caleb called Elias for dinner. His response was to retreat even farther. The moment Cay heard the shower turn on, he knew it was a moot point. The last thing he wanted to do was argue a touchy subject, so he opted for sharing an awesome dinner of corn dogs and pasta salad with his nine-year-old bestie turned stepson. The little smartie pants knew better than to question the icy temperature of the house or his dad’s unusual behavior, but Caleb caught the concerned, curious glances Parker stole. If anyone knew about Elias’ therapeutic shower habits, it was his son.

“After you wash up, I can tuck you in, little dude.” Caleb swiped the plates off the counter and turned toward the sink.

“Yes please, Cay-Cay!” Parker hesitated for a moment before jumping from his stool. “Double extra hugs and kisses, ‘kay?”

Caleb’s heart filled to bursting with all sorts of feelings. Big feelings. “Duh, of course!”

The clatter of heavy feet retreated from the kitchen, through the hall, and echoed up the stairs. He didn't even have the heart to call a reminder about the running in the house rule. Sometimes, letting the small things slide was worth it in the end. Tidying up only took a few minutes, which left him all sorts of time for the nightly routine. Chatting, cuddling, tucking in, and of course, double extra hugs and kisses. Parker was the king of physical affection and Caleb ate up every second of it before quietly escaping the room and returning to the ground floor.

Everything was dim and quiet, exactly how he'd left it. He crept through the home with soft steps and slipped into their bedroom to find Elias looking worse for the wear. Hunched over on the edge of the bed wearing only a towel with his head in his hands was what Caleb had assumed he would find, but the picture still filled him with sadness and concern.

“Baby doll, do you want to talk? Strategize? Process?” Caleb passed through the room and drew up short before his morose husband. “Tell me what you need.”

“I’m not sure what I need, babe.” Elias tilted his head up and Caleb felt the agony his red-rimmed eyes conveyed on a visceral level.

“Oy, love.” Cay stepped closer and swept Elias’ shoulders into his arms, pressing the back of Elias’ head into his chest with a gentle palm. “I promise, he’ll come around. You know he’s hardwired to react this way. But you also know it's because he loves you.”

“I fucked up.” Elias slumped against him with a beleaguered sigh. “I should have told him.”

“Families fuck up. It happens. Yes, we probably should have thought more about how to handle this with him, but what's done is done. We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

“I'm having second thoughts. Not just because of Theo. I read over the report he gave me about the data breach. There’s so much at stake, babe.” Elias tugged Caleb between his parted knees and hugged him closer.

“Elias Cohen-Williams, since when are you a quitter?” Caleb's words were firm but quiet.

“I did quit my job in the White House,” Elias countered.

“Different situation.” Caleb eased backward and gave Elias’ shoulders a push until he flopped backward on the bed. The tease of a smile over his lips made Caleb whoop internally. “Stop catastrophizing. That’s Theo’s job. Your job is to fix everything and you can't do that by giving up. My job? My job is to shut this off when you need it.”

Caleb tapped Elias’ temple before plucking the towel loose with a saucy wink. The faintest huff of laughter was all the reward he needed for his advances.

“Incorrigible and insatiable.” Despite his comment, Elias squirmed where he lay, a hand sneaking down his torso to give himself a lazy tug as his cock began to plump.

“You love it, baby doll.” Caleb swept his palms over Elias’ thighs, carefully kneeling between his knees as Elias tracked every movement with hungry eyes. “Tonight, I'll help you let go. Tomorrow, it'll all be clearer for it.”

“I couldn't do this without you.”

“Good thing you’ll never have to.” Caleb swatted Elias’ hand away with his fingertips. “Get. This is mine.”

“Mnn. It is. All yours.” With an indulgent stretch and quiet moan, Elias settled deeper into the cushion of the mattress as Caleb curled a hand around the base of his cock. No matter how often they were intimate, the heady power of it made him feel like the king of the universe every damn time.

“Hands behind your head, bossman. I'm in charge tonight.” Caleb rewarded Elias' compliance with a long lick along the underside of his length. The groan that came in response was poetry. Pure, sinful poetry. It took on a deeper tone as he engulfed the dusky head of Elias’ cock in his mouth.

Every intention of dragging this out and driving Elias wild evaporated the more vocal he became. Mere moments of taunting and teasing had rendered him a whining, writhing mess. His baby doll was overwrought and desperate, filled with too many big feelings with nowhere to unload them. Ergo, Caleb would help him unload. It shouldn't have surprised him that Elias was on a hair-trigger since he’d already been strung out before they even began. It merely inspired him to rock his world harder and faster.

Rising up higher on his knees, Caleb poured himself into the act with renewed vigor, swallowing Elias’ length in a move that always brought a delicious gasp to his lover’s lips. The incoherent babbling came immediately after and only got more jumbled as Caleb used his free hand to give a firm tug to Elias’ balls. They might not have the bandwidth for a ton of edging, but Caleb would be damned if the blowjob ended in a scant few moments. He alternated deep throating Elias’ cock with suckling and nipping at the engorged head and foreskin until he was convinced the man was about to cry. It didn't take long, honestly. It never took all that long—Caleb knew how to play Elias’ body like a well-trained musician plucking the strings of a guitar to make melodies with his moans.

Elias coming undone was the most erotic, potent aphrodisiac. Caleb redoubled his efforts as the salt tang taste of Elias’ precum danced over his tongue. The quiver of his thighs, the erratic pattern of his breathing, and the near constant sound of his building pleasure had Caleb’s dick throbbing in his pants. The crest loomed ever closer and he knew the moment they hit that peak. Elias rolled up from the mattress and his hands flew to the back of Caleb's head, holding on for dear life as his cock swelled, pulsed, and then erupted to flood Caleb’s mouth with ropes of cum too prolific to swallow down in time. Try as he might, Elias’ release was too profound not to cause a debauched mess. It was utterly glorious.

Trembling nearly as much as his panting lover, Caleb milked every last drop from his slit until Elias’ moans became meek cries and the overstimulation turned his writhing into twitching. He clambered to his feet, his lips parting from Elias' spent cock with an audible pop. Hasty movements did not make him at all graceful as he hurried to undo his pants to free his dick. The one bonus was that his mouth was now free to ramble the dirty talk Elias was so utterly fond of.

“Such a good boy. So fucking gorgeous.” Caleb pressed one hand to the center of Elias’ heaving chest as he wrapped the other around his straining length. “I'm going to paint you in my cum like the dirty boy you are.”

“Please, Cay,” Elias mewled, still panting and squirming on the mattress. “Please?”

“Tongue out.” Spreading his legs, Caleb knelt on the mattress and knee walked himself forward until he was straddling Elias’ chest. The lust-blown pupils stared up at him as if he'd hung the moon and the effect was a potent one. He jacked himself harder in response as the tingling warmth of his impending climax bloomed at the base of his spine before emanating outward through his core. With their eyes locked and panting breaths synchronized, Caleb persisted until the pleasure peaked, crashing through him with enough force to have his vision darken at the edges. There was nothing quite as pretty a sight as his cum shooting out to cover his husband’s face. The glistening ropes landed in and around his mouth, making a mess of his goatee and bringing another guttural groan to his lips as his eyelids fluttered closed in bliss.

The aftershocks of his orgasm still rippled through his body as Caleb released his hold on his cock to grab Elias’ face between both hands. The kiss he bestowed on him was pure filth, cum and spit and humid breath making a bigger mess of them than they already were. In other words, it was perfection. The ferocity of it cooled to a simmer, turning their movements sensual and slow where they were once voracious and volatile. Only once they were both breathless again did Caleb pull back enough to dive into the silvery blue depths of Elias’ gaze.

“Love you, my perfect baby doll.”

“I love you more, my heart.”

Caleb pressed his forehead to Elias', their sweat damp skin burning hot with the contact as they rested in the post-orgasmic haze together. It was these moments that galvanized his belief that, no matter what, they'd be all right. As long as they always had one another, it would all end up okay. With that thought in his head and mirrored back to him in Elias’ adoring gaze, he nestled closer and blanketed Elias’ body with his own. They’d get cleaned up eventually. Right now, he simply wanted to shield his husband from the woes of their world. Just for a little while longer.