Cash
As they approached the front of the hotel, Liam slowed down and his steps got jerky, stopping completely when they were between two cars. His body shaking, the boy stooped to grab a bag from the ground and picked up some stuff from the parking lot. Realizing that they must have been in the area where Liam was first attacked, Cash stopped the boy’s almost frantic search. Knowing it was for what he’d purchased at the store somehow made it worse, not better.
“Liam, stop.”
“No, I need to. . .” He bent over again to grab something else, and Cash pulled the bag from his hands, looking inside.
“Liam. You don’t need any of this.”
“I do. It’s my dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast.”
“Boy, you’re not eating this. It was left on the ground in the parking lot.”
The boy was frantic, trying to grab the bag from him and add whatever was in his hand to it. “I dropped it when he kicked me. It’s fine. It’s packaged. I skipped lunch, and I’ll get hungry later.”
“Liam, when you get hungry, I’ll get us some real food.”
“NO! You don’t need to do that. I can take care of myself.” He grabbed the bag and turned to continue his search for the rest of his convenience store junk.
That did it. “Boy, stop.”
His firm tone obviously worked that time. Liam stilled and looked down at his feet. Cash moved to stand in front of him, tilted the boy’s head up by his chin, which was wobbling, and kissed his forehead. He reached for the bag and gripped it lightly, wrapping his other arm around the boy and pulling him flush against Cash. He whispered in the boy’s ear, “Let go now. That’s it. Good boy. I won’t have you eating food off the ground. I’m throwing this away.”
When he stepped back to look down at Liam’s face, the lone tear that fell wrenched at his heart. God, this boy. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to guard his heart from him, he really wasn’t. He kissed the tear away and ignored the soft gasp the boy let out. Slowly, he turned, gathered the boy to his side, and tossed the bag of dime store shit into the trash where it belonged.
They made their way to the lobby, and ignoring the kid at the front desk, Cash walked Liam to his room, using his own keycard to get in. When they got inside, Liam told Cash he had to use the bathroom. Cash made sure he didn’t need help, but Liam assured him he didn’t. While the boy was otherwise engaged, Cash called his executive assistant, “Jason, I need you to find me a five-star hotel near Lebanon, New Jersey. If there isn’t one within a thirty-minute drive, I’ll take a four-star with their nicest room.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else you may need?”
“Yes, find the nicest restaurant near the hotel and have them bring us dinner in an hour, please. Something hearty. Get us a couple of starters, your choice; house salads, with several dressing choices; two steaks, medium rare; seasonal vegetables; and mashed potatoes, please.”
“Will you be drinking tonight, sir?”
“No. A couple mineral waters, please.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll text you with the necessary information. Give me a few minutes.”
“Thank you, Jason. I won’t be in the office for a couple days, so if you could focus on The Golden Whip account tomorrow that would be great then take a couple personal days for a long weekend. You’ve earned it.”
“Thank you, sir. But don’t hesitate to call me through Friday if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Jason. Have a good night.”
“You too, sir.”
He got off the phone and started packing the few things Liam had taken out of his suitcase and backpack and realized it had been a while since he’d heard anything. When he approached the bathroom, he still heard the water running. Worried he didn’t hear anything else, he knocked on the door. It opened immediately, and Liam did his best to avoid eye contact and slip by Cash. Cash wasn’t having it and slid his hand softly up the boy’s side, holding him in place with his presence, not a bit of pressure in his caress.
Just that simple touch had the boy shuddering and looking down at his feet. He had a feeling he was going to need a rule about the boy meeting his eyes. “Look at me, boy.”
When Liam looked up, his red rimmed eyes had Cash closing his own and leaning his forehead against Liam’s. “You’re all right. I’m here. I’m sorry, boy. I’m so sorry.”
Liam shook his head. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“There is, but we’ll talk about that later. I’ve got your bags ready to go.” He heard his phone’s text signal, knowing Jason had found him a new hotel, and continued, “We’re going to a nicer hotel. You can’t sleep here.”
“But…”
“No buts. It's my fault you're here to begin with. I won't have you staying in this hovel. Come on.” He picked Liam’s suitcase and backpack up and walked them to the lobby. “How did you pay for your room?”
“With my debit card.”
Cash nodded and approached the desk. “We’re not staying here tonight. The room isn’t suitable. Please have his debit card credited.”
The kid behind the desk stammered, “I-I-I can’t do that. I—”
“My boy just got attacked in your parking lot, so unless you want your manager to be hearing about how unsafe his parking lot is on the news, you’ll credit his room.”
The kid’s eyes got round and he nodded, taking care of the necessary paperwork. They were out of the room within minutes. Liam tensed when they were back in the parking lot, and Cash wrapped an arm gently around his waist. “Where’s your car?”
“Down the street at the auto repair shop. I had it towed there from the gas station off the freeway.”
Cash nodded, he assumed it had been something like that. Directing them to his car, Cash tossed Liam's bags in the back. “We’ll make arrangements for your car in the morning.”
Handing Liam into the car, he put the boy’s seatbelt on and walked around to his side. He pulled out his phone and drove them twenty minutes to the four-star hotel Jason had arranged. By the time they got checked in and Cash ordered a bunch of medical supplies for Liam’s various injuries, their dinner arrived.
The boy sat and watched, embarrassed when Cash had to cut his steak for him, but something in Cash shifted in that moment. The utter vulnerability of the boy as he said, “Thank you, Sir,” humbled him. Every time he thought about the harsh words he’d spouted when Liam had shown up, so bright eyed and happy, at his door, he cursed himself.
When they were done eating, it was still early, but the boy was obviously exhausted. They’d ended up with a king-sized bed, and while he could have switched to two queens, it was obviously the nicest room they had, so he didn’t. He figured if the boy was uncomfortable sharing the big bed, he’d sleep on the couch.
The knock on the door made the boy jump and was just one more thing proving how much the attack had impacted Liam. He’d probably remain jumpy for a time. He answered the door and tipped the hotel employee that brought up the medical supplies from the pharmacy down the street. He walked back into the room and saw Liam was still sitting at the table.
“Why don’t you get ready for bed. Brush your teeth and get undressed. I’m going to treat your scrapes and bruises then you can get some sleep. I know it’s early yet, and we can watch some TV if you can’t sleep, but I can see how exhausted you are.”
The boy didn’t question him, he merely got up, got his toothbrush and toothpaste out of his bag, and walked silently into the bathroom. He was gone several minutes, and when he came out, he was dressed only in his underwear. The boy was beautiful, but he knew they’d be having many more meals like the one they’d had tonight. He wanted his boy to put on some weight. He was healthy, but way too thin.
Anger roiled in his gut as he took in the bruising on the boy’s stomach from the punching and kicking. Liam was obviously feeling self-conscious because he crossed an arm over his stomach and gripped his other elbow, looking away. He walked towards him and gently rubbed his warm hands up and down the boy’s cold arms. He wasn’t going to rush it, but he wouldn’t take too much time, either. Liam needed to be under the blankets, sleeping.
He lifted a bottle of water and handed it over. “Here, take these, they’ll help any aches and pains and the inevitable headache to come.” He handed over some OTC pain meds. The boy swallowed them without question. “Why don’t you lie down on your back, and I’ll take care of those bruises then you can turn over.”
Liam didn’t say a word, just hitched his hip up on the side of the bed and lay down. Cash walked to the thermostat and turned up the heat. He got some cream on his hands, warmed it up between his palms, and rubbed it gently into the bruising. He asked Liam about his car and got the rundown of what was being done. He’d speak to his own mechanic about it after he was done rubbing the boy down.
As he watched, the boy raised one of his arms to cover his eyes with it, and Cash’s heart took a dive. Knowing he was just wanting to hide a bit, Cash still gave him the illusion of believing he wanted to sleep or the lights were too bright by turning off the lamp by the bed. He thought about talking to him, telling him about himself or asking questions, but he knew it wasn’t the time. Liam needed to retreat, to mentally and metaphorically lick his wounds, even while Cash worked on them physically.
When he was done with the boy’s stomach, he grabbed the bag and got some antiseptic spray to use on the boy’s scraped up knees. A couple small bandages later, he asked the boy to turn over, but when he was on his side, Cash saw that Liam had some bruising on his hip, under his short, trunk style underwear. He crouched down by the bed and met Liam’s eyes, “You’ve got a lot of bruising on your hip, boy. Do you feel comfortable enough to let me take your underwear off while you’re face down, so that I can treat that area as well?”
All Liam did was nod then turn his head the other way as he lay on his stomach. Cash slid the underwear off as gently as he could, being careful of the awful bruises on his hip. When he pulled back and saw the huge bruise on his lower back shaped like a boot, he hissed. “Jesus, Liam. I’m so sorry. Fuck, baby. Let me take care of you, and we’ll get you under the blankets, so you can rest.”
The whispered, “Thank you, Sir,” made it just that much worse. He made quick work of both of the huge bruises and was about to help move the boy so he could get more comfortable and warm when he noticed Liam was asleep already. He went to the other side of the bed and folded the blanket over the boy’s slim frame. Walking to the closet, he pulled out an extra blanket and draped that over the boy as well. Hopefully, he’d be warm enough.
He walked out into the hallway, closing the door but not latching it so he’d hear Liam if he called out. Dialing his mechanic, who was a close friend and fixed every vehicle he owned, he got right to the point. “Hey, Jake. I need a big favor.”
“Hey. What’s up? Everything all right?”
“Yeah, it will be, but I’ve got a situation down in New Jersey that I need your help with.” He went on to explain what had happened to the boy’s car, gave his friend the shop’s name, and continued, “You can send one of your guys. I don’t expect you to drive down, but we’re not in the safest area right now, and I don’t trust some random garage to fix his car. I’d like you to work with them, make sure they aren’t doing a bunch of shit that doesn’t need to be done and charging an arm and a leg for it. Have them get the car highway ready only. You can charge me whatever it costs for the time and labor.”
“We’ll worry about that when everything is said and done.”
“Okay, thanks. I know it’s a lot to ask—”
“Dude, shut up, it’s not a problem. You’re one of my best customers and a close friend, I’ll take care of whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Jake. My new boy was assaulted here tonight, and he isn’t in any shape to be driving back to my place alone. When you have it at your shop, run full diagnostics and fix anything that needs fixing if it’s worth it. If not, I’ll get him another, all right? Just let me know how much I owe you for the rental car to get down here, the trip, the gas, your time, and anything else that comes up.”
“I’ll handle it. No worries, man. Take care of you new boy and don’t worry about anything.”
“Thanks. You can let them know we’ll be by in the morning to get his things out of the car.”
“Will do. I’ll talk to you tomorrow if any issues arise.”
“Sounds good, Jake. Night.”
They hung up, and he went back into their room, used the facilities, and brushed his teeth. Grabbing the extra pillow off the bed, he tossed it on the end of the couch. He pulled off his jeans and tugged on a pair of pajama bottoms. He unbuttoned and took off his shirt, keeping on the long sleeved T-shirt he wore underneath. Cash turned off the lights, but left the bathroom light on and the door slightly open in case Liam woke up and was disoriented or scared. He sat on the couch in the semi-darkness and checked his work and personal email, firing off a couple responses that needed to be made.
He texted Tommy, giving him an abbreviated update that he hoped wouldn’t worry him too much and plugged in his phone next to Liam’s, and when he did, he bumped the boy’s phone, lighting up the screen, and he saw that a text had come in and was unable to keep himself from reading it.
CC: I wish I was there with you. I’m so sorry about the car, and I’m so mad at that prick who calls himself a daddy. You deserve so much more. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. We’ll figure out what we’re going to do together. Goodnight, Li.
He shook his head and couldn’t blame the girl one bit. He’d done nothing but cause the boy grief since he’d opened the door and chewed his head off. He knew he wasn’t going to be good enough for a sweet, innocent boy like Liam, but perhaps, if he did his best to make up for his mistakes, he could take the boy on, train him, and find him a proper Daddy that wasn’t so old, jaded, and set in his ways. He forced himself to lie down and get some shut eye, knowing he had a battle the next day to convince Liam to come back home with him.
Liam
Liam woke up with his head pounding and confused as fuck. There was just enough light in the room for him to figure out where in the hell he was, but when he realized no one was in the bed with him, he sat up too quickly and got a bit dizzy. Rubbing his temples, he gazed across the room at the too short couch that barely contained the too tall man.
He felt awful Cash hadn’t just taken the other side of the bed. He assumed it was a king size because he’d never seen a bed that big, his mom’s being a queen and his and his sister’s beds being twins. Throwing the blankets back, he saw his discarded underwear at the end of the bed and slowly pulled them on. He gingerly and quite painfully made his way towards Cash. He sat down on the coffee table and nudged the man. He was solid as a rock and dressed in loose fitting pajama bottoms and a beautifully tight T-shirt that left nothing to the imagination.
The man slept like the dead and had to be nudged several more times before he woke. God, he was sexy, even when his eyes were all squinty from sleep. Cash sat up immediately. “Baby, what’s wrong? Are you in pain? Do you need more meds?”
God, why was the man calling him baby? Didn’t he know it was just going to make their parting in the morning that much harder? He shook his head and stood, holding out a hand for Cash. When Cash took it ever so gently, he tugged the smallest amount and Cash stood. He kept the man’s hand in his as he turned and walked towards the side of the bed that had remained empty. When he got there, he almost chickened out, but when he realized he’d never see Cash again after they parted in mere hours, he wasn’t going to lose his chance to touch the man just a little bit.
He tugged Cash’s shirt up an inch at a time, revealing the most beautifully sculpted abs he’d ever seen. A husky whisper caused him to look up into those beautiful bluish-gray eyes. “Boy, you don’t need to do this. I’m perfectly comfortable on the couch. You don’t owe me—”
He shook his head slowly and raised his finger to cover Cash’s lips. Pulling the shirt higher, Cash raised his arms and helped him pull it the rest of the way off. He couldn’t help it, he stroked his hands from his upper chest down over his muscular pecs then down his ribs to his rippled six pack. He let out a shaky breath and slowly got down on his knees.
Cash tried to stop him again. “Baby, your knees.”
He whispered, “I’m fine.”
He raised shaky hands to the cinched waist of Cash’s plaid pajama bottoms and slipped his fingers under the soft material. God. He’d never taken a man’s pants off before, and he bit his lip, worried he was going to make a fool of himself and come on the spot. Liam’s dick was achingly hard and was about a breath away from sticking out of the top of his shorts. He gently pulled the pants down a bit, glancing up at the wide expanse of skin above the band of Cash’s boxer briefs. The man’s torso was a work of art. Hell, his whole body was a work of art.
His eyes popped wide, and he nearly gasped when he realized he’d been so focused on his abs and working his fingers into the band of his pants, he hadn’t even noticed the huge hard on that was tenting Cash’s underwear quite impressively. He took in another shaky breath and pulled the band out far enough to allow for his bulge not to get caught.
He gazed up at Cash again, leaned in as close as he dared and pulled in a deep breath, unable to stop himself from closing his eyes at the musky, manly smell of him. He wasn’t able to cover his tiny whimper when he saw the heat in Cash’s eyes and felt the softest, gentlest caress on his bruised cheek.
He tilted his head, leaning into his hand and closed his eyes, reveling in the man’s touch. He leaned forward a scant inch and placed a soft kiss to Cash’s cotton clad hipbone. Looking up into the man’s eyes, he whispered, “Thank you, for saving me…”
He sat back on his heels and continued his ministrations. He pulled the pants down and watched as Cash’s muscular, slightly hairy calves appeared then stared, mesmerized, as the sexiest, most masculine feet he’d ever seen appeared one at a time as they lifted out of the pant legs. He’d never in his life been attracted to feet, never thought they were sexy in any way. But there wasn’t a centimeter on Cash’s body that wasn’t masculine perfection, and if given half a chance, he’d worship it like a shrine.
He stood without looking at Cash, knowing he didn't have the guts, or frankly the energy, for anything else. Crawling on his hands and knees across the bed, he pushed the covers back for both of them and slid under them, holding them open for Cash, who climbed in and turned on his side, facing him. He pulled the covers up to Cash’s chest and turned his back to him, settling on his side.
They lay in silence for a full minute before Cash’s gravelly voice murmured, “Can I hold you, while you sleep?”
His body shuddered, actually fucking shuddered, at Cash’s deep, sexy tone, and he tried to say yes, but the word got stuck in his throat. He nodded and tried again and managed a croaked whisper, “Yes, Sir.”
Cash moved towards him and pressed his strong, firm body flush against Liam’s back, wrapping his arms around his chest. Goosebumps ran from the top of Liam’s head all the way to the bottom of his feet as Cash’s heat enveloped him. He didn’t even try to keep himself from making contented noises and snuggling back into Cash’s warmth even more. If this was all the time he was going to have with Cash, he’d take what he could get.