My heart was racing. I could feel it battering my chest. I could also feel Zane’s hand on me, like a warm brand against my skin, even though a shirt separated his palm from my chest. We looked around and quickly found what had caused the crashing sound.

A few feet away, the remnants of a white clay pot were lying shattered on the floor, dirt spread around like the ash left behind from a bomb. The succulents Zane had been growing were like sad little casualties of war. Then there was a dash of black as Thunder bolted from underneath a table and leaped up onto the back of the couch, where he ran right across it and jumped off to land on the nearby love seat. There, the demon cat sat on the back of the chair, his eyes dilated and staring us down.

“Um,” I said, scared to move, “should we call the police? Are we being held hostage?”

“No,” Zane reassured me. “Just don’t look him in the eye, and don’t make any sudden movements—oh, and don’t feel any fear. He can smell fear. It drives him. Makes him hungry.”

I looked to Zane, who was feigning a look of suppressed terror. I cocked my head and playfully slapped his chest. “Cazzo. I don’t need another near-death experience tonight, okay?”

“Relax,” Zane said, laughing. “This is Thunder’s witching hour. He’s never knocked anything over, but I’ve woken up to him body slamming the bedroom door at around this time.”

“I knew there was a reason why I’m more of a dog person.”

Zane chuckled at that as he walked over to Thunder, who lifted his head ever so slightly so that he could receive a few chin scratches. I turned and walked toward what I thought was the supply closet. I opened it but found Thunder’s food bags instead, arranged neatly underneath a hanger of grocery bags.

Good, so Thunder eats weight-control cat food and not firstborn children.

“Hey, where do you keep the broom?” I asked. “Underneath your pillow so you can fight off any demon cats during the night?”

Zane laughed, a deep laugh that started in his chest. It was a sound that filled me with joy.

Merda. Zane is really affecting me.

“I got it, don’t worry about it.” Zane disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me behind with Thunder. I looked at him across the room. The moment was loaded with tension. The air felt thick, and the temperature was growing by the second. It was a standoff made for cinema. Thunder flexed his claws, his pupils turning to slits. I stuck my tongue out.

That was when Zane returned with a broom and dustpan in hand. Thunder leaped off the couch and stalked over to his water bowl. “You two getting along?” Zane asked. He was smiling. His strong jaw was an incredible complement for his warm smile. He had two sides to him, both sweet and wild, and that drove me fucking crazy.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I think he’s plotting to kill me.”

“Probably,” Zane said as he swept up the mess. This caused the muscles in his back to pop against the thin light blue shirt he was wearing. It made something else pop, too.

My dick. My dick popped. Like a fucking jack-in-the-box, it was ready to pop out of my damn jeans. I turned and looked for Thunder, making sure he wasn’t hanging upside down from the ceiling holding a knife in his mouth.

“You were saying?” I asked, still interested in hearing about Zane’s past. I found that I wanted to keep learning about what created the man who was standing in front of me. I wanted to know what made him tick, what he hated and what he loved and why. I wanted to know it all. I tried not to look back at Zane’s mouthwatering and boner-inducing shoulders when I spoke. “About your sister?”

“Oh right, before Thunder turned possessed. I was saying how my sister was adopted by a really great family. Our case worker knew how difficult it would be to place three siblings in one home, and he’d seen plenty of kids like us end up aging out of the system and falling off the face of the earth. So he was able to find a place for my sister, and for her only. Then, when everyone saw how badly I took the separation between Andrei and I, they knew we’d need to be adopted together.” Zane was still sweeping the floor, although I was sure there wasn’t any more shards. “We were never adopted and ended up aging out of the system.”

He stopped sweeping and looked up. For a moment, I thought I saw a glint of moisture in his eyes, but he bent down to pick up the dustpan before I could be sure. My heart broke. How? How could there have been no one to take them? How could anyone look into Zane’s deep amber eyes and turn him away? It must have left such an intense sense of rejection, even if he didn’t admit it to himself. I shook my head. I wanted to turn back time and somehow fix it, all the way back to when his parents got into the car accident. I wish I could have caused them to turn left on that street instead of right. Anything to avoid the accident. He didn’t deserve that kind of childhood.

And then the adulthood that followed was no dream, either. It was the complete opposite. I wasn’t sure if Zane was aware, but I knew about him losing Jose all those years ago. I remember the short statement Zane had given to the media in the days following. It was seared into my memory. He wore impenetrable Oakley sunglasses that day, standing behind a mushroom patch of microphones and speaking about the man who he loved and who he promised was the last victim. We were all so sure that the Unicorn was caught back then.

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the chill that crawled down to the bottom of my spine. Zane continued, dumping the dustpan into a white garbage bag. “It’s okay, because it all happened exactly as it should have. Everything in my past led me to the place I’m at now, and I really fucking love my life. I created an organization dedicated to helping the helpless, and I help change lives in the process.”

“You really have created something special with Stonewall Investigations.”

“It was what I felt like I had to do. I had the idea in my head since I was sixteen. There were a few times when the idea was only that—an idea. And a fleeting one, too. Plenty of days, I was ready to give up. But my brother and I managed to find housing and get shitty jobs. My sister’s family offered to help, and we used some of it, but for the most part, we strapped up our boots and stood up by ourselves.”

“You’re someone kids should be looking up to.” I reached for the heavy bag, but Zane shook his head, walking back into the kitchen. He shuffled back wearing a pair of black sandals. I noticed because I’d been having a difficult time keeping my eyes off his feet.

What? They were sexy feet.

“I’m gonna walk this outside. I’ll be back.”

“And you even take out the trash. You’re a rock star.”

“Who else would take it out?” Zane paused by the door with an exaggerated “ahh.” He smirked. “I forgot you had help following you twenty-four seven when you’re at home. If I wear white gloves and a suit, would it make more sense?”

I crossed my arms. Two could play at that game. “Why don’t we ditch the gloves, and we’ll keep the suit but make it the birthday variety.”

“Is that what you make all your butlers wear? A birthday suit? I’ve seen those ads on Craigslist.” Zane smiled. “I wouldn’t mind doing some naked cleaning.”

“Oh please,” I said, “not like you don’t have enough money to have naked butlers running around here, too.”

Zane just laughed and went out the door, the heavy wood slamming shut behind him. I was left with a smile on my face and my briefs feeling a size too small. I readjusted myself so I wasn’t clearly bulging by the time Zane got back up. I looked to the clock on the wall.

Five forty-seven. Jesus. Almost instinctively, my jaws practically unhinged in a loud yawn. I covered most of it with my hand and managed to cover the entirety of the next one.

The door opened behind me, a garbageless Zane standing in the doorway. He was rubbing his biceps, the tip of his nose slightly pink. “Wow, it’s cold out there.”

Come over here so I can warm you up.

My thoughts were getting too carried away. All I wanted to do was stride over to where he stood and crush my lips against his. But I couldn’t fool myself. This was all just one night, and as close as I felt like we were getting, I knew that there was still a barrier in place. Or maybe a few barriers. And although they didn’t feel as unscalable as before, I could see that they still reached up into the clouds.

And so… why were we moving closer and closer to each other? Why were his hands suddenly on mine? Why did I feel the heat of his body wrap around me like a blanket? Our bodies pressed together, my crotch on his, my chest on his, my lips finding his. I could feel a gasp—was it mine or was it his? I swallowed it. I searched for his tongue and found it, and his tongue began to dance with mine. I could taste all the beer, the excitement. I could taste perfection. We fit together like a jigsaw piece, the last one that clicks in so that the entire stunning landscape is revealed in its entirety.

We stumbled backward. I reached for the couch, which I knew was closer. My fingers closed around the soft fabric. I pulled us toward it, walking around it so that I could push Zane down onto the cushions. He dropped, looking up at me with a fire in those golden amber eyes. Embers caught in my own chest, lighting me up from the inside. I leaned down, almost growling as I claimed Zane’s lips once again. My hand cupped his face, my thumbs grazing the soft scruff of his five-o’clock shadow. His cock was already hard and throbbing up against my own. I ground my hips down, making sure he knew how badly I wanted him.

For a moment, I wondered if this was wrong. If I should have stopped us. Zane had seemed to make it clear he didn’t want me when we initially met, and I found that those initial impressions were usually the lasting ones. Maybe I was ruining a good working relationship by reaching down and unzipping Zane’s pants. Maybe I was making a mistake by pulling his pants and briefs down, and gawking at the size of the dick that sprung free. Maybe it was all a mistake… but cazzo, I didn’t give a fuck. All I wanted was to try and fit that thing in my mouth.

I went down on the floor, licking my lips, making them nice and wet for Zane. I looked up and met his fiery gaze with my own. I was throbbing in my own pants, but I didn’t care much about that right now. All I wanted to focus on was pleasing Zane. He was the epitome of man, sitting there with his thick thighs spread open and his heavy balls hanging. His cock was aimed up in the air, a crown of soft hair making a perfect target for my lips. I kissed him, starting at the base and working my way up, savoring the soft skin, the scent of man, the taste of him on my lips.

When I reached the head, it was already dripping wet. I sucked him into my mouth, instantly tasting his salty precome. I wanted more. I started to suck while my tongue swirled. His head dropped back onto the cushion, a moan ripping from his throat.

He was warm in my mouth, and big. It was hard trying to take it all, but damn it, I was trying. When I came up for a breath, I made sure to go down so I could suck a ball into my mouth, moving it around and looking up at Zane, who was pressing his thighs against the sides of my head. This was exactly the view I’d been fantasizing about since the second I walked into his office and saw the size of his legs through that glass table of his.

And let me tell you, reality didn’t disappoint this time. The actual thing was way better than any daydream could have ever felt.

I unzipped my own pants and pulled my cock out. I used the hand that had been stroking Zane, already wet with my saliva. I spread it up and down my shaft while I went back to sucking on Zane.

“That’s it, Enzo. God, that’s good.” His voice sounded like he was being put under a spell. I sucked him off harder, bobbing up and down. My fist tightened around my cock. He continued to encourage me, talking dirty and igniting my body on fire. When he started pulling on my hair, I almost lost it. I fucking loved it when my hair was played with, and having Zane grab a handful and using it to steer me, well, fuck, that almost made me come right then and there.

I held on, though, determined not to blow until Zane unloaded down my throat.

“Yeah, Enzo, you like that? Sucking on that big dick?”

I came up for a breath, a rope of saliva trailing behind and snapping as I spoke. “Lo adoro, Zane. I fucking love it.” I went back in, licking and slurping. Zane was loving it, too, it seemed. His grip on my head got tighter, and the fire in my gut grew hotter. I wasn’t going to last much longer, but judging by the incomprehensible sounds Zane was now making, he wasn’t going to, either.

“Give it to me, Zane. Come for me.” I jerked us both off, licking the crown of his cock while he twitched and squeezed his thighs. He was so close.

“Do it, Zane. Come for me. I want to swallow it all.” I was almost begging for it. I took him back in my mouth, and that seemed to be all he needed. He warned me with a grunt, and I made sure to keep my lips wrapped tight around him.

I felt him throb and explode in my mouth, shooting it so far down my throat I barely tasted anything before swallowing it all. The moment was enough to rocket me over the edge, my own cock spewing onto the floor as I tugged on my balls, all while Zane’s twitching cock was still in my mouth.

I pulled off Zane’s cock, taking a deep breath before licking my lips, tracing the smile. Zane was looking at me with dreamy eyes that had been clouded over with ecstasy. He was smiling, too. I got up and leaned in, kissing him, letting him taste himself on my tongue. He seemed to like it from the way his hands came up to hold my head, keeping me on his lips, his moan almost making me automatically sit on his lap. I held back, though.

“Looks like I’ve got another mess to clean up now,” Zane said once our kiss broke, looking down at the puddle I’d created.

“I’ve got this one,” I said, chuckling as I walked over to the kitchen to grab some paper towels. Zane was standing when I got back. He looked so damn good, half-naked, his cock practically glowing from how wet it still was. I had to look away before I got hard again.

“I can’t believe the sun’s coming up,” Zane said, walking over to the window. Sure enough, there was a dark purple hue to everything outside, a sign that the sun was right around the corner.

“Merda,” I said, getting up from the floor, a ball of paper towel in my hand. “I’ve probably overstayed my welcome, eh?”

“Absolutely not,” Zane answered quickly. He was no longer looking out the window, but instead at me. Something came over his expression then, but I couldn’t read it before he looked away again.

“I’ll get the guest room set up. Grab some sleep.”

“Oh, no, no, don’t worry about it.” I waved a hand in the air. “I’ll head home.”

“You’re not heading anywhere. Just crash here for a few hours. It’s fine, trust me.”

I cocked my head. Trust. If only he knew how much that word meant to me. How much I had craved to trust someone again. Zane was a man who could quickly earn my trust. Hell, I could still taste him in my mouth—he definitely had some of my trust.

“Fine,” I said, “but tell me.”

“What?”

“Are your pillows a hundred percent goose down, and will the blankets and bedsheets be made from a thousand-thread-count Egyptian cotton?”

Zane laughed at that as he walked away, his perky ass begging me to take a bite out of it. “The pillow’s Tempur-Pedic—that’s as fancy as it’ll get here,” he called as he disappeared into the guest room.

I smiled, trying not to let myself feel anything major. This was a fluke. The night had been a random sequence of events, some terrifying, that led to this moment. I couldn’t over think anything. I had to remember that no matter how good Zane’s dick tasted, it wasn’t mine. We weren’t meant to be a thing, and that was fine. I’d go to sleep and wake up and expect to continue on with my life.

In fact, I was positive that I wouldn’t even text him after all this. It was going to be a purely business-focused relationship between us.

Yep. No texts whatsoever. Zero communication unless it was about Ricardo’s case.

Tutto bene. All was good.

All was good.