Chapter Twenty-Five

Tessler wasn’t joking about his plans to use the Tiramisu as body paint for his cock, and Mason, being on the receiving end of that plan, wasn’t about to complain. He used his fingers to smear the pastry concoction over Mason’s thick shaft and balls and then slowly licked it all off. The process took a long time, and the pleasure from the blowjob was so erotically intense it was almost painful. It took begging on Mason’s part before Tessler finally allowed him to come, and when he did, it seemed endless.

As soon as Mason caught his breath, he looked at Tessler lying beside him. “Your turn,” he announced excitedly.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Tessler asked.

“You wouldn’t deny me my dessert, would you?” Mason asked.

“Fuck, no,” Tessler answered, then he passed the container of the Tiramisu over to Mason. “I’m all yours.”

Mason smiled at Tessler. He sure liked the sound of that. He wanted Tessler to be all his, and he didn’t want to share either, not like Tessler described what had happened at the club. As incredible as it all sounded, Mason couldn’t have watched Tessler with other people like Barry had done. Watching complete strangers fuck each other was one thing, but seeing someone you cared about have sex with a stranger? Mason’s heart couldn’t handle the aftermath of that visual.

Mason guessed when it came to sex, he was pretty vanilla compared to what Tessler had experienced in his young life, but at least it sounded like Tessler was no longer interested in that kind of thing. Mason had no problem accepting Tessler’s past, since it was in the past, but there was no way he could experience that kind of lifestyle now with Tessler. His emotions already ran too deep for the man, and that’s exactly what he was thinking about when he took Tessler’s long cock all the way into the back of his throat.

“Fucking hell,” Tessler cried out and Mason chuckled around a mouth full of cock.

He continued to lave him senseless, even spread some of the dessert around Tessler’s hole and licked that spot clean, too. By the time Mason let Tessler come, the poor man was speaking incoherent gibberish. Tessler’s orgasm slammed so hard and fast into him, Mason missed the first ribbon that shot from his tip but managed to cover the head of his cock in time to swallow the rest.

Mason joined him up on the pillow after he eased Tessler through his aftershocks. He gently curled himself up against Tessler’s warm body and draped an arm over his stomach. “Dessert was delicious,” Mason said. “I don’t think Tiramisu has ever tasted that good before.”

Tessler laughed and tugged Mason closer to his side. “It’s all in the serving size and presentation,” he said.

“You do have a nice portion size to deal with there, Tess.”

Tessler rolled partially on top of Mason and pressed his cheek to his chest. “I like the sound of my name coming out of your mouth.”

“I kinda like it when you call me Mase.”

Tessler was quiet for a few seconds while his fingers traced slow patterns across Mason’s chest. Then his fingers paid extra attention to the nipple piercing until Mason could feel his cock beginning to wake up again.

“Do you want to know what my real name is?” Tessler finally asked.

“If you want to share it with me, then sure.”

“It’s Gavin Roth,” Tessler confessed. “That’s my birth name. So few people know who that name belongs to, it sounds weird for me to even say it out loud.”

“Your real name is Gavin?” Mason asked.

“Yep, but I can’t even remember the last time someone called me that,” Tessler answered.

Mason said the name a few times to himself and grinned. He liked the sound of it and even thought Tessler looked like a Gavin, whatever a Gavin was supposed to look like. He pressed his lips to the top of Tessler’s head and inhaled the scent of the man in his arms. He smelled like really good Italian food and the sugary Tiramisu and something else completely unique to Tessler himself. Mason wasn’t sure what it was, but it was definitely his new favorite smell.

“Gavin?”

“Hmm?” Tessler responded sounding half asleep already.

“I just wanted to see if you answered to your name,” Mason said and grinned against the side of Tessler’s head.

“Promise me you’ll be here when I wake up from this sex coma,” Tessler said.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mason said.

“Good,” Tessler said and pressed his lips to Mason’s chest. “I really like you being here.”

Tessler’s words filled Mason’s heart to the point he worried it might explode with joy, and that’s when he realized just how truly fucked he was with this man. He was falling hard for Tessler—well, Gavin Roth—and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Tessler prepared them an amazing feast the next morning after another round of orgasms—this time in the shower, and Mason fully enjoyed both. By the time they made it downstairs to the foyer beside the coffee shop entrance, they were in such a state of playful bliss that no one else around them existed until Tessler heard his name being called. They pulled out of their kiss and spun around together to face the voice. Mason felt Tessler tense beside him and wondered if the man now standing before them was a threat or not.

“What are you doing here?” Tessler asked the older, dignified looking man, with the dark hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and thin beard, who was standing in the open door of the private side entrance to the coffee shop.

“Who’s your friend?” the man asked. Mason didn’t care for the way the man’s eyes were canvassing him. It made him feel weird, and judging how Tessler was reacting beside him, he didn’t like it either.

“None of your business,” Tessler spit out.

“Well, since you’re obviously not in the mood for introductions, I’ll do it for you,” the man stated, and then extended his hand to Mason to shake. “I’m Barry, Tessler’s agent.”

“Ex-agent,” Tessler grit out through his clenched teeth. “Don’t leave out the most important part of that phrase.”

“And … you are?” Barry leaned in the direction of Mason while he waited for an answer.

“You don’t need to give him that information,” Tessler said to Mason.

Mason nodded and decided to keep his mouth shut and his hand to himself and see how this interaction played out. Although he might not be one hundred percent physically ready for field work yet, Mason was more than confident he could eliminate Barry as any kind of a threat within a few seconds. The guy hardly looked muscle-bound enough to take down Mason, that was for sure, and Mason had special skills that didn’t even require physical strength. In other words, Barry didn’t stand a chance.

Mason adjusted his stance to make himself appear more formidable and narrowed his eyes at the man. One wrong move and Barry’s ass would be hauled right out of this building and thrown into oncoming traffic. He balled his fists at his side and waited for any sign of trouble.

“I told you not to come back here when I saw you last week,” Tessler said.

Mason’s head snapped towards Tessler after that comment. “You never mentioned he was here,” Mason said quietly.

“There’s probably a lot of things Tessler hasn’t told you,” Barry said and laughed.

“He knows everything,” Tessler countered.

“Is that right?” Barry said with a sneer. “Does he know about Gavin and LJ and the trilogy?”

“Of course he does,” Tessler said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“That would be a first for you to tell one of your hook-ups about all of that,” Barry scoffed.

“He’s not a hook-up, asshole,” Tessler seethed. His eyes shifted to Mason and he nodded.

Mason nodded back but he wasn’t exactly sure why he’d done that. Was that nod supposed to make him feel more secure about his status in Tessler’s life? Standing here face to face with the douche bag who Mason felt was largely responsible for Tessler’s shortened young adulthood and so-called “sexual awakening,” it was difficult for Mason to keep himself from lunging at the prick and punching the smug expression right off his fucking face.

What kind of a man took a kid of Tessler’s age back then to a sex club, and then allowed him to be passed around for a bunch of older pervs to enjoy? Sick fuck. Mason was well aware of Tessler’s claims he’d fully consented to everything he’d experienced at that place, but how much consent was a twenty-one-year-old really capable of giving? At that age, was Tessler emotionally mature enough to fully understand what the hell it was he was even consenting to?

“What the hell happened to you, Tessler?” Barry asked snidely. “You were never this bitter or hostile when we were together.”

“I grew the hell up, asshole,” Tessler countered, “and acquired different tastes.”

“Is that what you think happened?” Barry said and laughed under his breath. “Listen, there’s still a few things we need to discuss. Can I talk to you for a moment—privately?”

The question quickly pulled Mason out of his own head and back to the situation at hand. As far as he was concerned, he still hadn’t cleared Barry as being a threat to Tessler, so leaving his proximity didn’t feel right. His eyes darted to Tessler’s and tried to get a read on his level of anxiety. He leaned in and brushed his lips over the shell of Tessler’s ear.

“You okay?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tessler answered.

“I’ll wait outside,” Mason stated.

“It’s not necessary for you to leave,” Tessler countered.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mason explained to Tessler, then with his eyes turned to Barry he said, “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”

Mason stepped through the glass and metal door and glanced back inside to make sure he could see Tessler at all times. On his way out, he’d also calculated it wouldn’t take more than a couple of seconds for him to get back inside to help him if it came down to that. 

He watched them talking for a bit, then Barry inched closer and Tessler shifted away. The body language between the two was very telling in itself. Barry obviously had a very skewed understanding of how things were between himself and Tessler, but so far Tessler showed no fear of the man, just annoyance. As long as Tessler appeared to be relaxed, then Mason would continue to give them privacy.

Unfortunately, the illusion of tranquility was short-lived. A moment later, Barry stepped into Tessler’s personal space, and when Mason saw Tessler’s arms lift up in a defensive posture, he was pushing through the door to get to him. Mason grabbed a hold of Barry’s shoulders and spun him away from Tessler before he slammed him against the opposite wall. His movement was so fast that a rush of air hit Mason’s face when Barry’s back hit the wall.

“You touch him and I will hurt you,” Mason bit out while holding Barry by the throat.

“I wasn’t trying to touch him,” Barry said as he squirmed in Mason’s firm grip. “So, take your hands off of me!”

Mason glanced over his shoulder and met Tessler’s eyes. “Still okay?” he asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tessler replied.

“Did he threaten you in any way?” Mason asked.

“His threats mean nothing to me now,” Tessler said.

Mason turned back to Barry and glared at him. “You threatened him?”

“I did no such thing,” Barry protested.

Tessler stepped closer to where Mason still held Barry against the wall. “You need to leave,” Tessler said. “This time, you better not come back.”

Mason turned Barry to face the wall and twisted one of his arms up the center of his back as he cried out in pain. “Were his words clear enough for you this time?” Mason asked. “I’m going to escort you to the curb now, and you’re going to leave and forget you know this address. Do you understand what I’m saying, Barry?”

“You better think long and hard about what I said, Tessler,” Barry said. “I’ll be doing that press conference in ten days—with or without your … blessing.”

“Fuck you,” Tessler said.

Mason began to haul Barry through the door while Tessler remained in the foyer. He had no more words for Barry, just a firm shove onto the sidewalk before he pulled open the door to Tessler’s building again and came back inside. A beat later, Mason had Tessler in his arms. He quickly pressed a kiss to the side of his face and inhaled his scent.

“You sure you’re okay?” Mason asked.

“I’m better now that he’s gone, that’s for sure,” Tessler said and turned his face to rest in the warm bend of Mason’s neck. “Thank you for your help.”

Mason tightened his embrace. “That’s what I do for a living,” he explained. “Well, that’s what I used to do before I got hurt.”

Tessler leaned back and smiled at him. “I think what you just did more than proves that you’re ready to do your job again, Mase.”

“There’s a lot more to it than what you just saw,” Mason explained.

“I’m sure there is, but at least you know you’ve got your agility and strength back,” Tessler countered.

“I also need my doctors to sign off on me being physically ready to return to the field,” Mason added. “From what they’ve told me, I’ve still got a ways to go before they’ll feel I’m ready.”

“Your doctors didn’t see what I just saw you do,” Tessler said and grinned.

“Well, I’m glad you have such faith in my skills,” Mason said and brushed his lips to Tessler’s.

“Oh, I never questioned your … skills,” Tessler replied and bit Mason’s bottom lip. “I’m duly impressed by every one of your moves. In fact, you can be my bodyguard any time you want.”

“Lucky me,” Mason grinned and kissed Tessler again. “Would the bodyguard position still come with the added bonus of sleeping with you?”

“Most definitely.”

“Then, I truly am a very lucky guy,” Mason said.