It was a USB drive.

Seeing something so modern inside the two-hundred-year-old box was jarring. Just when I wanted to sputter out, “What the hell?” Saint was reaching for the little device with an excited grunt.

His fingers were too big to get a good hold on it, so I batted his hand away. “Skinny comes in handy sometimes,” I muttered, reaching for the little thing. “I never even thought to look in here earlier. Just glanced in the main storage areas in case someone had shoved in… I don’t even know. Papers? It didn’t occur to me anyone else really knew about this tiny spot. I’m an idiot.”

I handed the drive to him and peered into the tiny space to make sure nothing else was lurking there.

“Do you have a computer here?” Saint asked.

I stood up and grabbed my bathrobe from the back of the bathroom door. “Yeah, let me grab it. It’s brand-new, so I haven’t had a chance to set it up yet.”

After retrieving the new MacBook from the box on the kitchen counter, I returned to the bedroom and plugged it in. It took a while to load and process my credentials, but then we were in.

Saint inserted the USB drive into the side of the machine and clicked a few buttons. Suddenly, my grandfather’s face appeared on screen in a video.

“There’s a video file, some photo files, and a few documents. I figured the video file might be a good place to start,” Saint explained.

He hit the Play function to begin.

My grandfather appeared in his study, and I recognized his longtime friend and attorney, Nathan Olsen, moving around in the background, setting paperwork in front of him.

“The purpose of this video is to document my true wishes for property disbursement after my death.” Grandfather’s voice was its typical clipped business style, but Mr. Olsen interrupted to state the date and time into the camera. The video had been taken ten months previously.

“Upon the death of my sister Melody, I inherited her portion of a string of commercial property in Hobie, Texas. I assume she left it to me since I’m the real estate investor, but now that Augie has decided to open an antique shop, the building should belong to him. I have established this property at 820 West Vine Street into a trust for my grandson August Bailey Stiel to ensure the future security of his business in Hobie. This string of three properties was originally owned by our parents. Upon their deaths, one parcel went to Melody, one to me, and the third went to the family business. In the process of creating Augie’s trust, my attorney discovered the parcel owned by the Stiel Corporation had been donated through the Stiel Foundation to a community housing non-profit organization.

“I will not go into the details of this situation other than to say that it is my intent to safeguard the property located at 820 West Vine Street for my grandson August Stiel. At no time shall a property transaction related to the Stiel family, the Stiel Corporation, or the foundation negatively affect Augie’s business. My wishes in this matter have been recorded in the proper legal instruments, copies of which can be found in the attached files. My attorney is privy to all of these dealings but is bound by privilege to keep them quiet until after my death.

“Other files included in the documentation are cognitive testing and assessment reports by two doctors attesting to my ability to make this informed decision and to sign in good faith my current Last Will and Testament.”

Grandfather took a deep breath and seemed to deflate a little.

“Augie, if you’re watching this, I need you to understand why I didn’t say anything to you about it while I was alive.”

It was spooky watching this now, knowing full well that the man was still alive.

“Nathan has left the room now. I suspect he has some loyalty to your mother, Eric, and Brett. I have been struggling with some memory issues lately. My biggest fear is being easily influenced by others in this family, various board members, or even Nathan himself. Any of those people might cause me to change my mind and dissolve this trust if I’m in a vulnerable state. I’ve written personal letters to each of you to be delivered upon my death. As you know by now, your letter has instructions on where to find this documentation in Melody’s box in case you need to defend your claim. Now, don’t worry, son. The doctors have done everything possible to back up this legal decision with the proper documentation, and it’s my hope I’ll be around for a very long time to help support your business directly.”

I felt my eyes fill.

“I want you to have your dream, but I can’t abide this decision splitting our family apart. I’m sure you can understand I don’t want to spend any of my remaining time arguing over property rights when I feel like I’ve spent my entire life doing that.”

Saint’s arm reached out to pull me against his side. Soft lips pressed on top of my hair as Grandfather continued.

“Be happy in your life in Hobie. Remember money isn’t everything. Find someone to love and love him well.”

The image blacked out, leaving me slack-jawed and staring at a blank screen.

“Rewind that last part,” I whispered, swiping at my eyes.

“He said him.”

“No. He couldn’t have. He said them.”

“No, baby,” Saint insisted gently. “He said him. It was clear.”

I turned to him in shock. “But… he almost sounded okay with it.”

“You said something at one point about coming out to your family again. Doesn’t that mean they already know?”

“Well, yes, when I was a teen and couldn’t hide it, but it wasn’t acceptable. They made it very clear.”

Saint sighed. “Well, that’s bullshit. No one gets to say whether or not your sexuality is acceptable or not. Maybe he’s mellowed? A lot has changed in the past decade.”

I set the computer on the nightstand and leaned into Saint’s chest, wrapping my arms around his warm back. His own arms came around to hold me tight. I wanted to tell him how grateful I was for his strong, supportive presence. I wanted to tell him to stay forever.

But more than anything, I wanted to forget everything I’d just learned, if only for a few moments.

I reached out my lips to suck a path along his collarbone and down to his nipple. Without saying a word, he knew exactly what I needed. He turned us around to lay me down on the bed beneath him where he began mapping my body with his tongue.

A desperate choking noise escaped my throat.

Losing myself in Saint’s ministrations was the closest I may have ever come to the true feeling of freedom.

I forced all rational thought out of my head and let go. As his tongue and teeth bathed, nipped, and explored every inch of my body, I thought I’d happily died and gone to heaven. He was so attentive, so possessive in a way no one had ever been with me. I let myself fantasize that he was claiming my body for his own, claiming me for his own.

If only I could have taken a mental snapshot and sent it back in time to a young teenaged Augie. This is something that’s going to happen to you, and it’s going to blow your mind.

A laugh bubbled up from my chest.

Saint’s tongue froze halfway out of his mouth, the tip barely grazing my nipple. Every hair on my body was at rigid attention awaiting the next commands by the sensual drill sergeant.

“Something funny, baby?” Saint asked with a grin. “Ticklish?”

“No, I just imagined what my young, scrawny self would have thought if he knew one day he’d be naked in bed with the big man on campus.”

“Mm, no. That would have been my sister. I was her sidekick—she bossed me around, and I followed her like a puppy.”

I laughed some more. “I can’t picture anyone bossing you around. You’re pretty dominant.”

Saint’s eyes intensified. “That a good or bad thing?”

His fingers trailed down over my breastbone, past my navel, and into the wiry hair at the base of my cock. I sucked in a breath. “Saint,” I gasped as the fingers continued their trajectory. “Good… it’s a very good thing. Please.”

I wasn’t quite sure what I was asking for since my ass was still plenty sore from its debut performance in The Taking of Saint’s Megacock. I’d played with dildos and fingers plenty of times but nothing that big and nothing that pounded into me with the force of a former navy SEAL behind it.

The more I thought about the megacock, the more I realized my mouth had begun to water.

“I want to taste you,” I said in a breathless admission. “Suck you.”

Saint’s lovely luminous gaze met mine. “I don’t like to receive oral sex.”

I stared at him in surprise, the heat of embarrassment beginning to crawl up my neck, when I noticed a twitch in the corner of his lips.

“Asshole!” I cried, smacking at him. “I believed you. Just for that, forget it. I revoke my offer.”

Saint’s chuckle vibrated against my chest as he hugged me tightly. “I’m sorry, but you’re so damned cute. It’s making me feel a little giddy. Forgive me. Maybe I can make it up to you by being the one to go down on you.”

He began to slither down my body, but I stopped him by clamping my legs around his waist.

“Lie back,” I said. “And take your punishment like a man.”

Before sliding off me, he leaned up and kissed me slowly on the lips. I let out a moan at the gentle pace of the kiss and marveled at how someone could be so strong and yet soft at the same time. He was a study in contradiction.

When he was finally on his back with his hands behind his head, I took a moment to drink in his naked form. It was ridiculous, really. How I even had the confidence to be naked in front of a man like this was hard to fathom.

“You have a V,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Who even has that shit in real life?”

“I assure you, it’s a P,” he cracked.

“Shut up.” I traced the iliac furrow from above one hip down to his pelvis and up again. His cock jumped. “It’s the kind of thing you see on marble statues of Apollo. And male models who eat zero carbohydrates. I’ve seen you swallow a giant croissant in one bite.”

I felt my face heat at the admission since the pastry-stalking incident had been the other day on the town square when I’d looked back to see my sister handing over my own pastries to the man.

“What can I say? I have good genes.”

I thought about the Wilde siblings I’d met. They were all stupidly beautiful.

“Truer words,” I murmured, leaning down to take the pearl of precum at the head of his dick onto the tip of my tongue. The salty taste was overshadowed by the shock of having Saint’s cock head against my lips.

His abdominal muscles clenched and rippled, and he sucked in a breath. I teased the smooth skin of his shaft with a light trail of openmouthed kisses before nuzzling my nose into the dark blond nest of curls at the base and inhaling his musky scent. God he smelled incredible.

I was so gay. How could there be anyone on earth who didn’t get off on this smell of a man? Who didn’t want to suck a cock and feel the wrinkled skin of a ball sac tighten up under their fingers in anticipation of making someone come? It was heady stuff, and I took every opportunity to enjoy myself with his sexy body on display for me. To be honest, I was attempting to edge him the way he’d done to me before.

By the fourth time I’d pulled him back from the edge, he was harder than ever and leaking all over his happy trail.

“You’re killing me,” he muttered. “Fuck this, I can’t take it.”

Suddenly I was on my back with Saint’s giant cock hanging over my face and a hot, wet throat inhaling my own erection.

Sixty-nine was my new favorite number.

“Fuck!” I cried. “Oh fuck.”

I tried sucking Saint off while he did the same to me, but I was blowing my load down his throat within seconds, screaming and clenching his butt cheeks with my hands. The top of my skull had flown off, and I was barely able to open my eyes in time to see Saint kneeling over me jacking off frantically until his cum shot all over my chest and shoulder.

“Oh god, Augie.” He gasped. “Fuck, look at you.”

Lord only knew how I looked, but I felt utterly debauched. Surely my hair was a rat’s nest, the pale skin of my face raw from his beard scruff, and my lips dry and chapped from all the kissing. The wet splatters across my skin felt cool in the open air, and I shivered.

Saint’s blond hair was sticking out everywhere like a mad scientist, and his face turned smiley like a kid with a giant lollypop.

“You look pleased with yourself,” I pointed out. “And you proved my point about being dominant. I stood no chance.”

His smile dropped. “Thank you for trusting me, Augie.”

My confusion must have showed because he hurried to continue.

“With… I mean… your first time… doing anal. Are you… was it okay?”

His hand came down from where he still knelt beside me to brush through my hair. It was a sweet, affectionate gesture that changed the entire tone of the conversation.

“More than okay,” I confessed. “Thank you for caring.”

“Of course I care. I don’t want to ever hurt you or do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. There’s a difference between being dominant and being an asshole.”

“You’re not an asshole.”

“You’re biased. Besides, you haven’t known me very long.”

The comment stung because it was the truth. But I wasn’t about to let him disparage the guy I’d come to… care about. Respect. Like.

“True. But I’d like to,” I admitted. The heat infusing my face revealed just how true those words were.

“Ask me anything,” Saint said, shifting off the bed before reaching a hand out for me. He pulled me off the bed and led me to the bathroom.

I felt put on the spot, so I distracted myself with surreptitious glances at Saint’s blessedly tight ass.

It was enough to make me believe in god. Someone big and powerful had to have created that shit.

“You coming?”

My eyes shot up to catch Saint grinning at me. Clearly he could read my mind and see what kind of thoughts I was having about his bare body.

“Huh?”

“Shower time. Come on.”

He reached out an arm from the large walk-in shower space and gently pulled me toward the warm spray. I immediately walked into his embrace and leaned my head on his chest while his strong arms wrapped around me.

“You were going to ask me something,” he rumbled against the top of my head.

“You have a really nice butt,” I admitted. “I forgot what I was going to ask.”

His chuckle vibrated between us.

“You should take the USB key to the bank. Put it in a safe-deposit box.”

I pulled my head back to meet Saint’s eyes. “Do you really think I need to do that? It’s hidden pretty well here. Or I could put it in the ground safe on the property.”

Saint’s hands came up to cup my face, and worry marred his expression. “Augie, I’d rather it not be on the property if it’s the reason you’re in danger.”

My stomach tightened at the concern he had for me. I wasn’t sure the last time anyone had looked out for my safety because they cared about me. Sure, my mom and grandfather had cared about my safety, but it had always seemed to be more about protecting my family’s reputation than myself.

I stood on my toes to press a kiss of gratitude to his lips. “Okay,” I murmured against his soft mouth. “Thank you for caring.”

Suddenly, Saint’s face hardened into a scowl. My heart skipped a beat—something inside me worried I’d misstepped.

“Finish washing up and get back in that bed,” he said in a gruff voice. “We need to get a few things straight.”