Page 13 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Ricardo

Goddammit.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

I’d only come here to check on him. That was what I told myself while I packed up my life. It was the answer I gave Dante and Preacher when they questioned why I was leaving.

And yet here I am naked, sated, and really fucking confused while in his bed.

It’s not that I don’t know what calling him Daddy meant.

I’m familiar enough with kink. Even if I hadn’t been before Preacher reappeared in Dante’s life, their active sex life gave me some clues pretty quickly.

You can only hear your friend shouting “Harder, Daddy” so many times before you try to figure out what the fuck is going on.

I knew they weren’t biologically related, of course. A quick internet search brought me all kinds of information on the topic.

That’s honestly where this all probably started.

Because for as much as I looked up, I didn’t really have anyone to picture besides my friend and his lover. I didn’t want to be the creep who only saw them sexually each time we spoke, so I focused on someone else.

Someone who happened to be Pharrell Lyon.

Someone who I shouldn’t be thinking of that way at all.

Not only was he a recent widower, but he was also clearly struggling with his business if what I knew was true. Add to it all that I was very much NOT gay, and it was a recipe for disaster.

Knowing that didn’t stop me from acting out this scene with him. At least, I think it was a scene. We didn’t discuss it though. Maybe it’s technically just sex with some light roleplay. I ran through all the information I’d bookmarked on my computer as I tried to decipher what the hell to say.

“It’s unlike you to be this quiet,” he pressed after another few minutes of silence.

I shrugged against him. We hadn’t pulled apart. There was cum and sweat between us, yet neither of us seemed in a hurry to separate.

My reasoning was based on confusion. Well, that and comfort. The man felt like heaven beneath my head. Heaven that smelled like pure sin.

I wanted to lick him and see if he tasted as delicious as his scent.

“I’m not sure what to do now,” I admitted. “This… I didn’t plan for this.”

“And you like having a plan.”

It wasn’t a question. He might not have known my entire past, but he knew enough to understand my need for lists and order ran deep. I’d been under the Romano rule for far too long to be a loose cannon. At least not when it came to work.

My personal life was a shit show. It never really worked out between me and the women I picked up.

Mostly because I didn’t want to put them at risk by being with a man in my role.

I also didn’t really connect with them strongly enough to have anything more than a fling.

It was a waste of our time to pretend otherwise.

“This wasn’t planned,” I repeated.

Pharrell rubbed along my back some more. The move relaxed the muscles that had tightened at his probing. I was still far more loose than I should have been.

Why wasn’t I freaking out? Where was the outrage over what had just happened?

I wasn’t gay. I didn’t sleep with men. I didn’t come with them or snuggle either.

If I had, then Dante would have been someone I would have seen that way. He and I were in each other’s pockets for years. I saw him every day in every possible way.

While I knew he was still in love with Preacher, it wouldn’t have stopped me from having a crush or something if I were truly attracted to men.

It made zero fucking sense.

“You’re thinking about it too much, mon chou. There is nothing to break down or assess. No plan to be made other than the next immediate thing, which is to check on all the many things I need to take care of today. I assume you want to tag along to keep up with everything.”

“Yes, please.”

I froze as soon as the words slipped from my lips. Why was I acting like a docile pet? He didn’t need to ask if I wanted to come. I was going either way.

He smiled down at me as if he was reading my mind. “I’m glad you can come and that we rested. You were right to encourage me to do so. I feel leagues better already. Let’s shower, then we can get dressed and go. I assume you brought some suits with you.”

“I did. They may need a quick steam if you have something since they’re in my bag.”

“No need. We can stop by the tailor downstairs on our way out. He’ll get you in something better fitting that won’t need it. Besides, I think I’d like dressing you up.”

A flush worked through me at the greedy way he said it. Like he wanted to prove he owned me in some way by buying me clothing.

I could easily afford my own suit. We both knew it.

And yet… I didn’t argue with him. I think curiosity had me in its clutches. I needed to see how this would all play out. I couldn’t imagine walking away this early on. I had far too many questions.

Pharrell climbed from bed first, his body easing from under me with a gentleness I didn’t know how to respond to.

I didn’t have to think about it long thought before he pulled me up next.

Hand in hand, we strode to the bathroom where he proceeded to take care of everything I needed from washing my hair to cleaning my body.

There wasn’t a single step of the process skipped over.

I soaked up the attention. I’d never been doted on so thoroughly. It was a bit of a mindfuck if I were honest. A man could get used to this treatment far too easily. And with it, I could see myself becoming addicted.

After drying me off, he gripped the back of my neck. My eyes snapped up to meet his. “Go dress in something comfortable. We’ll go straight to the tailor before heading into meetings. Do you need to eat or anything before we leave?”

“No, Da – No! I’m good.”

He grinned, aware of the word I’d almost let slip. “That’s good. Now go do as I said. I’ll get dressed as well. Come to the main room when you’re ready.”

I watched him slip a towel on his hips, then he took off for his own space. A frown came over me as I thought about how he had a whole room I hadn’t even been in, yet the man had seen me come at his touch. What a fucked-up situation.

Things were so far out of order I didn’t have a clue what to do next. I wanted to believe this wouldn’t affect things.

I knew better though. Sex always complicated things.

Sex where one of the partners was very confused only worsened it all.

Oh, and there was that whole Daddy thing too. Let’s go three-for-three on the ‘Ricardo is fucked’ scale of screw ups.

With Pharrell off doing whatever he needed to in his room, I tried to prepare myself to slip back into business mode. I needed to have my head on straight for whatever he was going to show me next. I could only hope it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Since he didn’t seem all that bothered, I adopted his cool stance while I slipped on joggers and a loose plain shirt. It was the type of outfit one might wear around the privacy of their own home. Normally, I’d never wear it out, but I knew getting fancier than this was pointless.

Pharrell was waiting for me in the living room area. I had to bite back a groan at the sight of him in his suit. The man was attractive in everything he wore, but I could admit that the suit held some weird power over me.

"I'm ready to go," I told him as confidently as I could.

His eyes trailed over my body. His lips curved at the edge as if he was amused by my outfit.

I looked down then back up, struggling when he didn't say anything else. I wasn't going to apologize, and he was getting me a new suit anyway.

Again, what was the point?

We took the elevator down to the main floor of the casino. Pharrell led us through the maze of people to get to the clothing section of stores. We passed a couple of restaurants and even a diamond store on our way.

I hadn't realized how vast his empire was. We would get into that later, I'm sure.

The tailor's shop was full of men's suits. I took them in noting that not a single price tag or sign was hanging anywhere. These clothes were surely going to cost a pretty penny, especially if they were Pharrell's personal favorites.

An older gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a short, well-trimmed beard walked out of the back and spread his arms wide.

"Boss," he said, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Do you need a new suit? I can whip one right up for you."

Pharrell smiled and hugged the man. A bubble of irritation wove through me at the sight of them embracing. It couldn't have lasted more than two seconds, yet I had an irrational urge to claw out the other man's eyes.

When they pulled apart, Pharrell glanced at me and grinned. He could tell I wasn't too happy with the move. While I should have freaked out about that, I ignored it in favor of seeing what he would say.

How will he introduce me? Was I a friend, an associate, a partner? And why did I care so much about which title he gave me?

I was here for business. I had to repeat it to myself more times than I should have.

“Lennox, this is Ricardo. He is staying with me and needs some suits. One can be off the rack today and adjusted. The others, I would prefer custom. Can you handle that?”

The man scoffed. “Can I handle it? Of course I can. This is my calling.”

He said it so dramatically, even I was smiling. His demeanor reminded me a lot of Dante.

Except Dante's calling was to murder people.

Different, but same, right?

I was instructed to get up on a stand and spread my arms. Lennox went about measuring me everywhere with his tape. He took notes, conversing with Pharrell casually, like old friends, as we went.

They didn't speak about anything really in particular. It was about the hotel and how they needed to prepare for next season's fashion. I honestly thought it all strange until he was finished and moving away from me.

Only then did I notice Pharrell's heated gaze and the white knuckled grip he had on the chair he chose to sit in.

Was he jealous? Did he not like the sight of the other man touching me? Had Lennox been talking to prove that he wasn't attracted to me in any way? Was it all just to calm Pharrell down?

I should not have been excited at the idea.

This man was already causing me more trouble than I needed. He had broken down the walls I had put up around my life, all within minutes of me being here.

With Lennox gone, it was just me and Pharrell in the shop. We stared at each other quietly for a moment. Then I stepped off the platform and walked forward to stand in front of him.

I positioned myself between his spread legs close enough that he had to feel the heat radiating off me, but not so close as I was touching him. I lifted my head to the side as I examined him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

The grip on his chair loosened. His hands moved to my hips. His touch was gentle, and to anyone else, it might have been interpreted as friendly.

Okay, who was I kidding? There was no universe where this type of move was friendly.

For some reason, I also did not push him away.

I liked his hands on me. His touch was warm and welcome.

"Better now," he murmured as he eyed me from head to toe.

When his gaze stopped on my cock, I felt myself hardening before him. There was no need for me to be aroused simply because he ran his hungry eyes over me.

I found that all the things I should be doing were not holding to be true anymore. I was about to say something to him to the effect of "Let's go back upstairs and fuck this day away," when Lennox came barreling out of the back room with clothes in hand.

"Here, try these on," he demanded while ushering me into a changing room.

Not wanting to be tucked away from Pharrell for too long, I swiftly put on the outfit. There was no mirror in the changing room, which meant Pharrell and Lennox were the first to see me.

Lennox clapped happily while Pharrell stood and slowly stalked my way. When he reached me, his hands ran down the front of my suit coat, smoothing out the fabric that did not hold a single wrinkle.

I didn't complain. That touch was exactly what I needed. It brought me back to that moment from before Lennox interrupted us. It also gave me hope that I would get more touches later too.

If he was this forward in front of this tailor, who knew how he would be the rest of the day?

"It looks impeccable," Lennox said. "I want all of them just as good. Have them delivered to the room while we're working. And send his clothes he had on this morning too. My boy prefers to be comfortable.”

I froze at his terminology. My heart raced, and my cock sprang into action. I wanted him to say it again, needed him to call out to me as he buried himself inside me.

The thought gave me pause.

Why was I so enraptured by this man? What hold did he have over me? And how the fuck did I break it?

We had work to do. A business to salvage. An entire organization to set to rights now that one of their leaders was a traitor and dead. I couldn't be thinking with my dick.

"Let's go," I said, gruffly as I turned away from Pharrell and raced towards the entrance.

I heard murmurs behind me, but I didn't turn around. Not until I was standing in the middle of the walkway, people passing me on all sides. It was only as I was lost in the crowd that I realized just how well and truly fucked I was.

This entire situation was out of my control, and I wasn't so sure that I wanted to control anything anymore at all.