Page 1

Part One

T he entire morning was a mess.

No—scratch that. Lex was the mess.

His only saving grace was remembering to turn off his webcam for the meeting.

The meeting that had dragged on for twenty, long, insufferable minutes—and he’d heard absolutely nothing.

Not the financial reports. Not the accounts he was supposed to be working on.

Hell, even Steve and Karen’s usual dry back-and-forth—normally decent background entertainment—was lost to him.

The only thing he could focus on was the vibrator inside him, pulsing in erratic bursts, sending heat clawing up his spine and making his cock ache.

Every time it started up again, his breath hitched—sharp, involuntary.

His skin burned under his dress shirt, damp at the collar, sweat trickling down his back.

The worst part was that he liked it.

Even if this was all because of some stupid round of gin rummy. A wrong bet, at the wrong time, with the wrong person.

Lex clenched the worn loveseat cushions, nails digging in.

His whole body was shaking—knees bouncing, stomach tight, pulse hammering against his throat. Brain not anything except the unpredictable waves of stimulation.

God, if Morgan left it at that setting…

Of course, the vibrator stopped.

Like it had been doing the entire fucking meeting.

Sucking in huge gulps of air, Lex let his head fall back against the cushion. The ceiling swayed, rafters blurring in and out of focus. His skin was buzzing, overheated, not nearly enough to contain him.

So close.

Morgan kept him right on the edge, teasing with sharp bursts of pleasure—then yanking it away.

His balls ached. His sanity dangled by a thread.

This was—hands down—worse than the cabin. At least there, he knew when the pain would come. Knew how to brace for it, how to prepare. But now? Now he was helpless.

Fuck, just let me come already.

“Lex?”

His insides lurched.

For one horrifying second, he thought he’d said it out loud.

That would’ve been a whole new nightmare .

“I—I’m here.” His voice came out too breathy, but he didn’t moan. Small wins.

Karen didn’t seem to notice. “The email about the merger? I assume you and Morgan have reviewed it?”

Morgan hummed, and damn if that didn’t send new shock waves through Lex’s body.

“We’ve been working through some things on our end,” Morgan said smoothly, amusement bleeding through every word. “I haven’t looked at it yet.”

Lex forced his gaze back to the screen.

Karen, with her forever bright red lipstick. Steve, scratching at his patchy stubble. Normal things. Safe things.

And then Morgan.

Dark eyes flicking from monitor to camera, unreadable and calm. The picture of perfect, untouchable authority. Sitting not ten feet behind him.

Holding the remote control.

“Have you and Finn finished up the Costa account, Lex?” Steve asked, all big, polite smiles on the laptop.

“Almost. I have another call scheduled with Jordan, and then we should be good to go.”

When Lex’s phone buzzed, some part of him already knew who it would be. Not a friend back in New York, not an update on Croissant.

Morgan

If I turn it up, will you still be able to answer their questions? You’re barely hanging on as it is. I heard you whimpering from over here.

Lex swallowed, mouth so dry he could taste iron. His fingers faltered across the keyboard, locking up as the next pulse of pleasure rippled from his lower back to his cock. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open, to not fall apart in front of the blinking cursor.

The worst part? Hearing Morgan mess with the fucking remote—

all the way from the loveseat.

Every noise Lex had been trying to hide spilled over, and he barely had time to hit the mute button. His breath came in short, panting gasps. The buzz of the highest setting drove his thighs together, stomach clenched too tight.

Thank whoever— god, jesus, satan himself—when Karen mentioned needing to end the meeting early.

Something about her kids.

Something about family picnics—

Lex didn’t give a flying fuck.

He couldn’t even shut the laptop. His hands were shaking too badly, palms sweaty, as he ran them over his jeans. Over and over.

“Lex.” Morgan’s voice floated over, quiet and lilting. Painfully smug even through the damn haze that had settled over all of Lex. “Come here.”

Moving was a feat. A huge, difficult deal.

Gripping the back of the cushions, Lex pulled himself up, slowly working his way over to the desk.

Ten feet should’ve honestly been a damn mile.

This was not fair. At all.

Morgan didn’t give Lex time to settle .

The second he made it within arm’s reach, Morgan pulled him down into his lap. One hand under Lex’s thigh, the other skimming up his spine.

Zero fucks given that it drove the vibrator in farther. That Lex groaned so loud he wanted to throw himself out the second story window.

He didn’t know where to put his hands—didn’t want to make this any worse for himself—so they hovered awkwardly over the edge of the desk.

Morgan shifted beneath him, legs spreading wider.

“Sit,” Morgan said, and Lex collapsed forward with a choked breath.

“That’s better,” Morgan murmured.

Reaching for the mouse with infuriating calm, Morgan opened the email Karen had mentioned. White text on dark mode, everything crisp and professional.

Morgan didn’t even bother to hide it anymore. The remote was in plain sight.

The hum of the vibrator began again—a low, insistent thrum deep inside Lex, stroking through every nerve ending. The sensation pulsed up his spine, clawing down his thighs, his whole body rigid with effort not to grind down, not to cry out.

Morgan’s voice was the only tether to reality. Smooth. Sweet. “No wonder Karen was so insistent about the email. Mr. Huntington is stalling on the merger. He’s worried about the contract fallback clause. Karen thinks he’ll walk if we don’t finally meet in person.”

Lex was dying. Actually dying .

He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, vision tunneling in and out. Morgan’s voice blurred in his ears, but the heat of his breath behind Lex’s ear was clear—too clear.

“I can’t—I can’t focus,” Lex whispered, trembling.

“I know.”

The vibrator ramped up, buzzing so hard it felt like it was ricocheting off his bones. Morgan moved his hips slightly, jostling Lex on his lap, and that alone sent stars across his vision.

“M-Morgan— please —”

“Ask for what you want.”

Lex’s throat was closing up. He couldn’t breathe . Just one more minute of this and he was going to fall apart completely, pieces scattered across Morgan’s lap.

“Just let me fucking come already,” he gasped.

“Not yet,” Morgan said, almost tender. “You haven’t earned it, sweet thing. You think pretty noises are enough? How often do I reward desperation?”

Clawing at the desk, the slick wood beneath his palms offered no traction, no relief. He bit his lip hard enough to taste copper. The remote clicked again. Off.

Then on. Higher.

“Pick a hotel, Lex,” Morgan mumbled, lips too hot. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”

Lex’s eyes stung. Everything burned. The names blurred into nothing.

Kimpton. Charlotte. Bloomsbury. All just letters now. Vowels swimming across his vision.

“I can’t—I don’t—fuck, Morgan, I don’t care — ”

“You have two choices. You pick one, and I take care of you. Or you don’t, and we continue this. Trust me when I tell you, it will start to hurt.”

Lex couldn’t speak.

He couldn’t think.

Morgan’s hand clamped around his mouth and nose, and Lex’s whole body jerked. Panic turned into something heady, overwhelming. The edges of his vision darkened as the vibration inside him escalated again—violent and all-consuming.

All Lex could do was point. Didn’t matter what it was, if it was even at the fucking computer… none of it.

Morgan chuckled softly against his cheek. “Of course you’d choose that one. Armitage it is.”

Then, finally— finally —the vibrator clicked off.

Lex sagged backward, limp in Morgan’s arms, lungs heaving as though he’d run miles. Everything was soaked, his body buzzing, wrung out, on the edge of tears.

Morgan ran a hand through Lex’s hair, down the back of his neck, voice low and deceptively gentle.

“You’ve been so good for me.”

Lex didn’t even have time to savor it.

Morgan shoved him off his lap and bent him over the desk without warning.

Did he give a shit when Morgan dragged his pants and boxers down hard enough to leave belt marks?

Nope.

Even though he knew that they’d burn like hell when he showered later.

The only thing he could do was brace his forearms against the surface. His jaw wouldn’t close. Couldn’t. Didn’t matter. Morgan tugged on the flat base of the vibrator, twisting it to the side.

Please. Please, please, please.

Lex felt his lips moving, but not a damn thing came out of them.

The little package of lube sounded too loud. Crinkly.

And when Morgan pulled out the vibrator? All at once?

He damn near passed out.

Breathing was mandatory. He had to breathe.

Lex stared at the desk, hands fisting the edge of it, hunting for something solid . Everything in him was invested in just enduring. Not breaking worse. Not begging any more than he already had.

The need had teeth . Sharp, relentless, gnawing through him. He swallowed a whimper.

Morgan ran a finger along Lex’s spine, lingering at the base. Two fingers slipped in too easily—cold as hell and wet—and Lex squeezed his eyes shut.

“You’d do anything to hear me praise you, wouldn’t you?”

Nodding was such a mistake. Lex realized that half a second too late.

Jesus, he didn’t even mean to. It just happened .

But when Morgan’s fingers curled inside of him, all bets Lex had with himself were off.

“ Fuck , it feels good,” he mumbled, writhing against Morgan’s hand .

The movement, as little as it was, rubbed his cock against the edge and he didn’t want to stop. Didn’t even matter if he ended up covered in paper cuts. He’d deal with it later. Tomorrow.

All he could do was moan—loud, wrecked, unfiltered.