Chapter Three

Arthur

I groaned when I saw Haughton pruning the hedges as I drove up the driveway. I glanced at the time on the dashboard, wondering if I had somehow messed up the time. I had remained behind at work for an hour, hoping he would have finished and left by now, but hell, fate loved to have one over on me. Haughton was the first thing I saw as I drove up. And how could he be anything but?

The guy seemed to have an aversion for shirts. He was shirtless, his faded jeans riding low on his hips and showing a hint of skin where underwear would have shown had he been wearing any. I would have driven by him without stopping except he paused and waved just as he had done when he caught me staring from the balcony. I had no option but to honk my horn and hoped that would suffice.

I parked in the garage and sighed. I remained seated for close to ten minutes, my head leaned back and my eyes closed. I allowed the stress of work to ease from my body. These days there seemed to be a big void in my life, and I was clueless as to what it was. Maybe it was the long duration I had gone without a man to warm my bed. Except, since lately, I barely had any desire to take a guy to bed. I would get excited about seeing a good-looking guy before I remembered the emptiness which usually followed such a night of hot sex.

It didn’t matter how great the sex was, a void always followed. A void had even existed in my previous marriages.

When I entered the house, I could hear Jo muttering to himself from the kitchen. I followed the sound, to find him peering under the sink.

“What’s going on?”

He startled and hit his head when he jumped. I winced as he swore a bloody streak while carefully removing his head from beneath the sink.

“Dammit, that’s gonna leave a bruise tomorrow.” He grimaced as he walked over to the fridge to get an ice pack.

“Why were you under the sink anyway?” I asked him. “Did you drop something down the drain?”

He shook his head. “No, not that. Water's leaking beneath the sink. I was trying to find out the source of the problem.”

I laughed then sobered as he glared at me. “Call a plumber, Jo. I think we both can agree we know nothing about leaking sinks.”

“I’m a butler. I should be able to fix simple things like the sink.”

“Well, you ain’t gonna fix it any time today, Jo. I can’t either, but I’m not causing a fuss about it. Just call a plumber already.”

“Well, it’s different for you,” he replied. “You didn’t have to do any of this stuff growing up. You had everything done for you, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever need to fix the sink yourself.”

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. “I’m telling you to call a plumber and stop worrying about it, or do you want me to take a look at it for you?”

Jo gave me a blank stare. “Okay, sir. I’ll call the plumber.”

At the entrance to the kitchen, I paused and peered back at him. “Jo, did you get everything prepared for Haughton when he’s done?”

He nodded. “Yes, I did, though I still can’t understand why you had to be so generous.”

“I thought we agreed he does an excellent job.”

“And I’m not saying he doesn’t,” he agreed.

“Then what’s got a burr in your saddle?”

He sighed. “Not every employer hands over a cruise trip as a Christmas gift.”

I shrugged. “So? I run a chain of successful long-staying hotels across fifteen states. I can afford it.”

He frowned. “So, I think you’re way in over your head with this guy. Why don’t you just talk to him instead of showering him with such a lavish Christmas gift?”

“I can talk to him if I want to, Jo,” I answered, irritated at him for assuming I couldn’t approach Haughton. “I have no reason to. This is nothing more than a thank you for all the work he has done on the estate. Think of me as having a giving spirit this year.”

“I know exactly what you want to give him.”

Ignoring his comment, I stalked from the kitchen. Maybe the cruise trip was a bit over the top. For all I knew, Haughton had plans to spend Christmas with his family. He probably had a girlfriend he would take with him. Wasn’t that the reason I had included two tickets?

Once in the bedroom, I undressed and headed straight for the bathroom or I would have been tempted to watch Haughton. I ran myself a bath by firing up the Jacuzzi and slipped into the tub big enough to fit four. This was exactly what I needed to get my mind off Haughton. Yet, I only found myself thinking more about him which ended up giving me a boner.

An hour later, revived and dressed, I headed down the stairs for a drink and to consider what I wanted to eat.

“Jo, did you get the plumber?” I called out, knowing he had to be somewhere on the first floor.

I came down to the landing of the stairs and paused when I found Haughton standing in the living room. He had his shirt back on, a T-shirt that did nothing to hide his amazing body. He made a man want to hold in his gut and wish a fairy godmother could turn him into Roman Reigns. Even though he wore a shirt, all I could see was his naked torso of earlier. When he saw me, he pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and rocked on his heels. A faint blush dusted his cheeks as he gave me a half-smile. His entire demeanor was way too cute. How old was he anyway? He didn’t quite look twenty-five which meant he was definitely too young.

“Jo asked me to wait here,” Haughton explained, his eyes glancing around in what seemed like nervousness.

“Sorry, I had to make you wait,” Jo announced, joining us before I could respond. He handed the younger man an envelope. “Have a Merry Christmas!”

“I’ll try,” Haughton answered, his smile widening. “Same to you.” He glanced around the open space of the living room and back at us. “No tree? I can haul one over if you want.”

“That would be—”

“That will be unnecessary,” I added before Jo could finish his statement. He knew I didn’t celebrate Christmas and was unlikely to start any time soon. “Did you get the plumber?” I asked the butler to signal an end to the topic.

“I got someone, but he won’t be able to make it until three days’ time,” Jo answered. “I think that’s too long to have a leaky faucet.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “I’m sure we can find another plumber.”

“You’re welcomed to try,” Jo replied. “I’ve been going through the phonebook.”

“Umm, perhaps I can take a look at it.”

My eyes and Jo’s swung toward Haughton. Although I hadn’t been addressing him, I was very much aware of his presence. Having him standing so close to me was wreaking havoc on my nerves.

“You’ve done enough already,” I answered, preferring a leaky sink to having him around for much longer. “We can’t use you as plumber too.”

He shrugged and folded the envelope Jo had given him before tucking it into the pocket of his jeans. I winced because the two gift vouchers for the cruise tickets were also in the envelope.

“I don’t mind. I’m very handy.”

I knew just how handy he was since I watched him so closely around the house.

“Great,” Jo remarked before I could say anything else. “Let me show you the way to the kitchen.”

They both whisked past me, Haughton’s musky scent wafting to my nostrils and filtering to my gut, twisting it with hunger. I watched him follow Jo, his ass looking so good in his jeans. I scowled at the stirring of my arousal and hesitated to ensure my cock would behave itself before I entered the kitchen behind them.

Haughton was already on his back, his head obscured by the sink he was under. Jo stood beside him, one arm resting on the marble countertop.

“It’s not too bad a leak,” Haughton was saying, “and it should be easy enough to fix.” He slid out from the sink, his shirt wet. His eyes met mine, and his mouth moved without a sound.

“Is it something you can fix?” Jo asked, interrupting the moment.

“Sure. I just need a wrench and someone to hold a flashlight for me while I tighten the compression nut.”

He shouldn’t have said nut. It made me hyper-aware of the stirring going on in mine as I saw the outline of one of his nipples through a wet spot on his shirt.

“I’ll go get the wrench,” Jo remarked and disappeared from the kitchen.

I wondered if he even knew where to look for a wrench. I remembered a toolbox being somewhere about, but I had no idea where. Aware of Haughton watching me, I scrambled to find something to say. Damn, I hated the way he made me feel like I was fourteen again and trying to hide from Josh Davenport that I had a crush on him.

“Do you even have a clue what you’re about to do?” I asked him. “Or is my sink going to be a trial and error experiment?”

He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the sides. He ran his fingers through his messy brown hair, his toffee-colored eyes glinting with humor. “I might have fixed a leaky pipe or two before,” he answered. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if I can handle yours.”

Fuck, why did everything he say sound like such a sex invitation? I wanted to know if he could handle mine too, and I wasn’t referring to a leaky pipe either. At least it wasn't leaking yet.

“Ah, here you go,” Jo announced, entering with a toolbox. He placed it on the island and sifted through it. He passed the wrench to Haughton and handed me the small flashlight. “Help him with the light, will you?”

I glared at Jo who had a smirk on his face. He knew damn well what he was doing. He could have held the flashlight for Haughton. I wouldn’t have put it past him to have caused the whole leaky sink thing as an excuse to push Haughton and me together. Instead of cornering him about it, I found myself wedged on the floor beside Haughton, our bodies actually touching as I tried to hold the flashlight for him without making it obvious how his closeness was affecting me.

“Shine it right here,” Haughton remarked, placing his hand about my wrist and aiming the light where he wanted it. I swallowed hard, dragged a deep breath into my lungs, but took my time in letting it out so he didn’t hear how shaky it was.

He placed the wrench at one point and used his hand to twist and twist. The muscles in his upper arm bunched at the tightening motion of his hand. I wanted to pull his arms behind his back while I fucked him into my bed upstairs.

“And it stopped,” he said in triumph, turning his head which made us way too close to each other. The cramped space beneath the sink turned heavy with sexual tension. I almost dropped the flashlight. Goddammit, but seeing the way he was looking at me, he had to be bisexual at the least. In that moment, I would have killed to look like the kind of man who could score big with a guy like Bailey.

“Everything okay down there?” Jo asked.

I pulled away until I was completely out from under the sink. Haughton shuffled out, his shirt soaked from lying beneath the wet sink.

“It should be all fixed now,” Haughton remarked, handing the wrench to Jo. He stepped back, glancing at me surreptitiously before returning his attention to Jo. “I should go. I’ve some stuff to do at home as well.”

“Well, thanks for fixing the sink,” Jo said, “and because I won’t see you for the rest of the Christmas holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when it comes.”

Haughton's half-smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was itching to get away from me. Had I made him uncomfortable? My God, what if the sexual tension beneath that sink had all been me?

“Same to you,” he replied. “And if you change your mind about that tree just call me, and I can stop by the tree farm.”

“Let me walk you to the door,” Jo offered and shook his head at me as he escorted Haughton from my home.

I groaned and sat down at the island, my head clutched in my hands. I was hardly a suckling calf when it came to matters of sex with the same sex. I had my fair share of men even though I had slowed down over the past couple of years. Regardless, I could still have any man I wanted. Most people could be bought with money after all, and I had plenty.

I wondered if Haughton could be bought. Wasn’t that what the cruise tickets were about? I didn’t expect anything in return for them, but if he wanted to be grateful, who was I to stand in his way? Maybe if I had sex with him already I would get over the intensity of what I felt when he was around.

“You have zero chances with him if you can’t even do the decent thing and offer to walk him to the door,” Jo remarked re-entering the kitchen. “I’ve never seen you like this before about a guy, Arthur. Don’t you think this is worth exploring?”

I didn’t get the feeling he expected me to answer him, but to contemplate it, and that I did. By the time I had eaten my salad alone in the dining room with seven other empty chairs reminding me of how lonely my life was, I had decided I would go on that cruise with Haughton. He wouldn’t know I would be there, but if the connection I felt between us earlier was anything to go by, maybe Jo was right. I knew I would thoroughly enjoy exploring the Western Caribbean tour, if nothing else.