Page 52 of Hold Me
“I’m sorry if I’m late, sir,” he says.
“You’re not.” Raphael lifts himself up on his elbows. “I want your mouth on my cock. Now.”
Caleb kneels on the floor in front of the bed, and as he starts unbuttoning Raphael’s pants, Raphael lets himself fall back to the bed and closes his eyes. A quick peek at the shelf tells Caleb the camera is still where Isaac has left it. It’s barely visible in between the legs of the statue.
“Isaac is fine, you know,” Raphael suddenly says, and Caleb flinches. “I heard some woman got him.”
Caleb remains quiet, because if he says anything, it won’t be nice, and he’s sure he’s going to regret it, so instead he just focuses on satisfying the man as quickly as possible.
When Raphael finally sighs in contentment, Caleb sits back on his heels and hopes Raphael will go take a shower, as usual.
“Good job,” Raphael says as he gets to his feet, pulling up his pants and then patting Caleb’s head as he passes by. “You can go.” He strolls off toward the bathroom.
Caleb quickly gets to his feet and starts for the shelf with the statue, glancing back and forth between the shelf and Raphael. Careful not to move the statue, Caleb sneaks his fingers toward the camera.
“Caleb!” Raphael’s voice rings out dangerous close, and Caleb lets his hand drop.
“Yes, sir?” He turns toward Raphael, hiding his hands behind his back so that Raphael can’t see his fingers twitching.
“What were you doing?” Raphael raises an eyebrow, his lips pressed into a tight line.
“Nothing. I was just going for the door.” Caleb does his best to keep his voice steady.
Raphael’s face twists into a suspicious grimace, and he goes toward the shelf. As his eyes quickly examine the shelf, a frown line creases on his brow. “Nothing, huh?”
Caleb is barely breathing, his pulse racing. Raphael will see the camera; he’s sure of it, but there’s absolutely nothing he can do.
Raphael shakes his head and faces him. “Were you looking for something?”
“No.” Caleb swallows hard, his palms sweating.
Raphael scoffs. “You’re lying to me. I know you are.” He places a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, which makes Caleb jump. “Relax. I know what you’re after. Wait here.” With a smile on his face, Raphael strolls off.
Caleb blinks, unsure of what has just happened. Gathering all of his courage, he grabs the camera off the shelf and slips it into the pocket of his sweatpants. If Raphael catches him, everything be damned.
When Raphael returns, Caleb can see a packet of white pills in his hand. The tension leaves his shoulders as he realizes Raphael thinks he’s been looking for more pills.
“Since Isaac left, I’m sure you need a bit more of this to help you relax.”
Caleb wishes he could punch the smirk off Raphael’s face.
“Open your mouth,” Raphael says, taking out one of the pills. Caleb licks his lips and then obeys. Taking another pill when he’s had one earlier today won’t do him any good, but he has to make Raphael believe he’s right. Raphael lowers the pill into Caleb’s mouth, and he immediately swallows it because he knows Raphael will check to make sure he’s really done it.
“Come here.” Raphael place his hand at the nape of Caleb’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss, his tongue parting Caleb’s lips and exploring his mouth. When he pulls back, there’s a big smile on his face. “You may go now.”
When Caleb’s finally in the hallway and the door closes, his shoulders sink in relief, but he knows it’ll be even harder to find a safe hiding place for the camera and then get it to Lilith, but at least the first step is done. Feeling lightheaded from the pill, Caleb can sense a grin forming on his lips and he hopes he won’t do anything stupid until the pill wears off.
When I’m told Caleb isn’t available, but that he’ll be soon, I decide to ignore his advice to get Jade. If Raphael realizes I’m hiring only Caleb and his friends, he’ll know something’s up. Maybe the only reason he doesn’t suspect me yet is because I’m Alessandra’s friend and because of the video he has. Or maybe he’s just confident that no one will be able to do anything against him.
It takes a week longer, but I’m glad Caleb hasn’t been discovered or Raphael would’ve never let him come see me. I pace up and down the room, annoyed that I can’t just call the cops and trust them to deal with everything.
When the doorbell rings, I rush to the door. As soon as I see Caleb, I grab him by the shirt, pull him inside, slam the door, and wrap my arms tightly around him.
He embraces me, his lips brushing my ear. “Hey, it’s okay. I got it.”
“You did?” I pull back, my voice bubbly.
He nods, and we head toward the living room.