Cort pulled open the huge metal fire door and ushered Cam inside the stairwell with a hand against his lower back.

“Oh my god, it’s so cold,” Cam complained. The change in air temperature was messing with his equilibrium, making his belly clench and his skin break out in goosebumps beneath the rough hotel towels they’d snagged from the pool area. Or maybe it was the man beside him who was causing that reaction? He had no experience to draw from when it came to this.

Not the attraction - that was familiar. Sex was familiar, too. Hell, even the reckless need to lose himself for a night, to get out of his own head, was familiar. But the enticing connection between them after a handful of hours, that was weird. And the kiss! Holy fuck, that kiss. Cort licking into his mouth, biting his lip… it had felt more like a possession than simple foreplay, and Cam had gotten off on it. That was new too. In fact, the way he was letting Cort take the lead in all of this was not just weird but unprecedented. Guys - including Drew - seemed to assume because he looked criminally young and preferred to bottom, he must therefore be inexperienced and passive. He had no problem showing them they were dead wrong. So why wasn’t he doing it now?

No thinking. Just for tonight.

“Come on, princess, no complaining.” Cort grinned and shifted in front of him to lead the way down the stairs, a towel wrapped around his waist, a rumpled ball of clothing and shoes tucked under his arm, and his suit jacket slung over his shoulder. “I’m on the forty-seventh floor. We’ve got twenty million flights to go.”

“Who are you calling princess?” Cam demanded, skipping down the stairs so they reached the landing half a flight down at the same time. He hip-checked Cort into the railing as he passed him. “I thought I was badass.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hey! Hold up, badass,” Cort said, grabbing Cam by the wrist to pull him back up to the landing. “Don’t run down the damn stairs when you’re still dripping wet. You’ll crack your head open.”

Cam rolled his eyes, even as his pulse started to pound. Cort was still holding his wrist aloft, like he was proving a point. Cam dropped the clothes he’d been carrying to the ground and tried to jerk away, but Cort had leverage, so he couldn’t. Cort’s jacket fell off his shoulders in the tussle, and one of the shoes he’d been holding clattered down the stairs. Cort swore under his breath and dropped the rest of his belongings on the landing next to Cam’s. Then he backed Cam against the wall and paused, looking down at him. It was so quiet their harsh breathing seemed to echo up and down the stairs.

“I’m not a kid and I don’t need a babysitter, Cort,” Cam told him.

“Yeah? Then act like it, before I spank that ass.”

Oh. Holy shit! Cam felt those words go straight to his dick, but he masked his arousal. “I’d like to see you try. I’m not into that shit. I don’t need a… a Master, or whatever.”

But Cort just grinned and whispered, “Hmmm. Your eyes tell a different story, baby.”

Cort’s voice was so deep, so hungry, Cam could feel the vibration in his chest and he sucked in a breath. Baby was just a word, one guys used all the damn time, and it didn’t mean anything. Cam didn’t want it to mean anything. Tomorrow, this would all be an amazing memory, and he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

With his free hand, Cort skimmed down the plane of Cam’s chest and then around his waist and down, cupping Cam’s ass. “I think you like this a lot, don’t you Cam? I think you want me to own this ass in more ways than one.”

Cam wanted to shake his head, wanted to emphatically deny it, but he couldn’t. It seemed like the kind of thing that should be wrong. He had never gotten off on power games before, but suddenly he actually was.

“You stay there,” Cort told him, eyes flaring in a way that said Cam could back out if he wanted, but Cort really hoped he wouldn’t. He lifted Cam’s free wrist and pinned it to the wall, so both Cam’s hands were joined above his head. Then Cort ducked his chin and claimed Cam’s mouth again, forcing his lips open.

Cam’s head went back an inch to hit the concrete wall, hard enough to pull a startled mmmph from him, although it wasn’t painful. Cort immediately moved his head away, his lips glistening and green eyes glowing with arousal and concern.

“God, Cam. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Cam didn’t answer in words. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cort’s, trying to convey that he was more than okay, he wanted it - the roughness, the heat, the hands against the wall.

It didn’t take Cort more than half a beat to catch on. “Oh, fuck. You want it hard, baby? Yeah? God, you’re perfect.”

He transferred Cam’s wrists to one big hand and skimmed the other down Cam’s smooth chest, flicking his fingertip over one flat nipple experimentally. Little jolts of electricity pulsed along Cam’s skin, goosebumps rose on his arms, and he moaned, thrusting his hips forward into Cort’s. Cort groaned in response, but shifted slightly to the side, denying Cam anything to grind against, all the while trailing his fingertips up and down Cam’s chest, torturing him with sensation.

Sadistic bastard. And the more Cort drew it out, the more Cam lost track of reality, falling under Cort’s spell.

He was on fire from head to toe, lust clogging his throat. His dick was rock hard, straining at the still-damp fabric of his boxers, and he needed friction. He pulled against Cort’s restraining hand, but Cort merely squeezed Cam’s wrists more tightly.

Fuck.

Cam bucked his hips harder, trying to break the hold, but all he succeeded in doing was making Cort lift his head and take a half-step backward.

“I said, you stay there, Cam.” Cort’s voice was a harsh, breathless, warning and his eyes were hard as jade as they stared down into Cam’s.

“But I want—” Cam began, and then stopped, his mind flailing. He couldn’t articulate what he wanted - it was way too huge. He wanted friction, Cort’s lips back on his, Cort pushing him into the wall and making him take it. He wanted to come, goddammit, and he wanted Cort to lose his mind, but he didn’t know how to give up control.

“I know,” Cort said. His voice was soothing, and he leaned forward again, just a tiny bit, just enough to rock his stiffened cock against Cam’s. Their twin moans echoed around the empty stairwell. “I know exactly what you need, but you need to trust me to give it to you. Can you do that, badass? Just for tonight.”

Cam’s breath stuttered. Could he? Cort rocked against him, his lower lip caught between even white teeth, not like he was tormenting Cam, but as if he couldn’t help himself - as if he wanted Cam as much as Cam wanted him, needed Cam to say yes and trust him enough to yield control.

Just for tonight.

Cam took a deep breath, but it did nothing to calm him down. “Yes,” he whispered.

Cort’s smile was desperate and feral, making Cam’s heart thump out an even faster rhythm. “Then leave these here,” he instructed, squeezing Cam’s wrists to the wall firmly, just once, before letting go completely.

Cam couldn’t have moved his arms down in that moment even if he’d wanted to.

Cort ran his hands up and down Cam’s arms gently, approvingly. “So hot. So fucking hot, Cam.”

He nipped at Cam’s chin and slid his mouth back along Cam’s jaw, the scruff of his beard nearly painful against Cam’s sensitized skin. Then he bit harder right on the hinge. Cam whimpered.

“You like it like this, baby? I’m gonna mark you up, make sure everybody who sees you tomorrow knows exactly where my mouth was, where my teeth were.” His voice was a warm breath in Cam’s ear, ghosting over his damp skin, making him shiver as if he was fevered. Then Cort’s mouth moved to Cam’s neck and sucked hard, hard enough to ensure more of those involuntary whimpers came from Cam’s throat, before his tongue lapped over the place he’d sucked, soothing and arousing at the same time.

Cort’s broad palms came to rest on Cam’s chest once again, then he dragged them down Cam’s sides oh so very slowly, dislodging the towel wrapped around his waist and snagging on the band of his boxers, pulling them down over his hips. Cort adjusted his hold to squeeze Cam’s hipbones hard, as he whispered, “I’m gonna leave my fingerprints on your skin, so every time you look in the mirror, you’ll remember who held you, who owned you.”

Cort’s broad palms coasted around to cup Cam’s ass cheeks, squeezing and molding the pliable flesh like clay, forcing the tight material of Cam’s boxers to rub against his dick in a way that was almost painfully intense. “I saw you across the sea of people tonight, and I wanted you,” he growled just before his teeth scraped Cam’s collarbone. “I knew I shouldn’t. I tried to tell myself I didn’t come here for this. But then you talked to me. You made me laugh. And I could no more walk away than I could turn back time. I have never wanted anyone more than I want you, so how could I stop this, Cam? How was I supposed to stop this?”

Cam had never been so aroused in his life. He couldn’t make sense of the words Cort was speaking, only the desperate lust thickening Cort’s voice. He had to focus every shred of his remaining control to keep his wrists elevated, to hold his body motionless, to obey Cort’s instructions. His balls were already tight and aching, his dick practically throbbing with every word Cort spoke. He hasn’t even touched my cock yet, Cam thought desperately.

And then, as if Cort could read his mind, he bent and slid Cam’s boxers over his straining erection and further down, until they joined his towel and the other clothes on the floor.

“Jesus, Cam. Look at you.” The words were a reverent command, and Cam obediently looked down. His dick was so hard, upright and ready, it was nearly touching his stomach, and a bead of precum had formed along his slit.

Touch me, Cam wanted to beg, but before he could form the words, Cort’s hand was back on his body, his fingertips coasting along the tops of Cam’s thighs, moving in tiny circles closer and closer to Cam’s cock. Cam had to bite his lip to keep from wailing.

Cort rested his forehead against Cam’s, and together they watched as Cort’s hand slid closer and closer, until finally he touched the base of Cam’s cock and slid his fingers up to the head, swiping the moisture with his thumb.

“Is this for me, Cam? Is this for me?” Cort asked, his voice wrecked with arousal. He made sure Cam was watching - as though his eyes weren’t already fixed on Cort’s hand like a magnet on true north - and brought that thumb to his mouth. Cort groaned, a filthy, gritty sound torn from his throat. “You taste delicious, baby. And I need to have more.”

He grabbed Cam’s nearly-numb hands and pulled them down, pinning them to the wall on either side of Cam’s waist with a hard look that clearly said Keep them there. Cam had no plans to move - the blood that had drained from his fingers while he held them up had all been diverted to his dick, and it wasn’t coming back anytime soon.

Especially once Cort sank to his knees.

Fuck.

He put his hands on Cam’s thighs, squeezing the muscles there, and leaned forward, licking up Cam’s length with one broad, flat stroke of his tongue. Cam’s head fell back against the wall. The sight and sensation simultaneously were sensory overload - too much for him to handle without losing his mind.

But Cort wasn’t satisfied with that, of course. He gripped Cam firmly around the base of his cock. “Look at me. Watch me on my knees for you,” he commanded, and Cam’s head swiveled down automatically, obeying the command without ever consulting his brain.

His eyes locked with Cort’s fiery green ones and Cort licked his lips before taking Cam’s cock in his mouth, swallowing him down in one swift movement. Cam’s howl rang off the walls.

Cort moved his mouth away and glared up at Cam, the fingers of one hand clamping hard onto Cam’s thigh. “Quiet.”

“I can’t… I can’t help it,” Cam panted. “Cort—”

But Cort was implacable. “One more noise, and this is over.” He sounded honestly regretful as he leaned forward and trailed his nose up Cam’s cock. It was only the lightest of touches, the barest tease - enough to make Cam insane. “I don’t want that, baby. And I know you don’t. You want to make me happy, right?”

Rational thought was so far beyond Cam’s power in that moment, he might have agreed to anything to get Cort’s mouth back around his dick, but the truth was, he did want to make Cort happy, as messed up and crazy as it was to feel that way about a guy he’d just met. He had no defenses left.

“Yes,” he breathed.

Cort’s answering grin was as bright as a flame. “God, I have never, ever wanted anyone like this,” he confessed. “I’m going to take such good care of you, Cam. I’ve got you, baby.”

And damn if that thought didn’t worm its way into Cam’s chest and attach itself dangerously close to his heart.

But Cam didn’t have time to even think about it, because Cort’s mouth was back, sucking him down deep. One large hand wrapped around the base of Cam’s dick to provide the perfect counterpoint to his mouth, while the other reached further back, to gently play with Cam’s balls.

The sight of such a powerful man down on his knees, all that strong will and leashed power focused on Cam’s pleasure, those burning green eyes staring up at him, was the hottest thing Cam had ever seen. This was his every fantasy come true, but better, more, because he’d never known to wish for this. He wasn’t just powerful, or cherished, but necessary. Like he, Cam Seaver, was integral to Cort’s survival somehow.

The very idea made him want to moan, to cry out in pleasure, but the weight of Cort’s stare kept his teeth clamped and his throat closed. You want to make me happy, right? He really, really did.

Cam was only dimly aware of Cort pulling down his own underwear one-handed and jacking himself frantically. Tongues of flame were dancing up and down Cam’s spine. He wanted to grab Cort’s hair, wrap those long golden strands around his hands, but he forced himself to sink further against the wall and take it, over and over and over, accepting everything the way Cort wanted to give it to him.

He was shocked he’d held out so long against this onslaught.

But then Cort pulled away. “Say it,” he demanded, his voice like gravel while his hands still jerked them both. “Say you want me to own you.”

“C-Cort,” Cam whispered, his hips were bucking and he couldn’t control himself. He was close. So, so close.

“Yes, baby. I’m right here. Say it. Say please.”

What? What the hell was he… Oh, right.

The very idea made Cam’s stomach flip. But they were only words, right? This was a game? He wouldn’t make this out to be more than it was, attach importance to something that wasn’t. It would change nothing. He could say it, and…

“I want it all,” he whispered. “I want you to own me. P-please.”

“Fuck, yes,” Cort growled, then he swallowed Cam down to the root again.

A small cry escaped from Cam’s throat then - a cry of absolute surrender. Surrender to this man and the incredible pleasure which was beyond anything he’d ever experienced before.

“Oh fuck, yes. Yes. Cort!” he cried. He came in pulsing waves, and Cort drank it all down. Then Cort jacked himself off and spilled on the floor with a hoarse cry while Cam could only watch with wide, unfocused eyes.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

Cort pulled up his boxers and swiped at the mess on the floor with a towel. Then flopping onto his ass, he pulled Cam down to straddle his lap. Cam buried his head in Cort’s neck, and the two of them remained sitting for a minute, or an hour, who the hell knew, while their breathing calmed and their pulses steadied.

Two thoughts occurred to Cam, one immediately after the other. First, it was really freaking cold in here. And second, he was naked in a public stairway, and literally anyone could come along and find them like this.

He sucked in a breath and pushed himself up and off Cort’s lap.

“So, fun time is over, hmm?” Cort asked. He shifted to lean his back against the wall and folded his arms over his chest, his legs still splayed out in front of him and still naked apart from the plain black boxers molded to his thighs. Cam looked away and began scrambling for his clothes.

“I… it’s just, anyone could come and see. I don’t want to have to explain what we’re doing here,” Cam said. And wasn’t that the damn truth? The shit he’d just said to Cort, for God’s sake! Was there even an explanation, beyond the whiskey they’d drunk and the complete lack of judgment Drew was always accusing him of?

So, why the hell did he want to do it again?

Cort nodded, but made no move to get dressed, while Cam hopped around, pulling his suit pants back into place and throwing on his shirt. “I need… I mean, I should probably get home. It’s late?”

Could he be any lamer? He could feel the blush creeping up his cheeks.

Cort snorted and heaved himself to his feet with a sigh, stepping into his pants and grabbing his remaining clothes into a bundle. “You can use the bathroom in my room if you’d like,” he offered, but his voice was closed off, cooler than it had been all night. A perfunctory offer. He knew Cam would say no.

Cam closed his eyes and sighed, raking a hand through his messy, damp hair. Just because he was freaking out, that was no reason to treat Cort like a leper. He’d never found anyone as easy to talk to as Cort. He wanted to get to know him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like to,” Cam said. He opened his eyes in time to see shock, surprise, and a trace of uncertainty flit across Cort’s face. “Unless, maybe it’s not a good idea?”

Cort smiled, that lopsided smile that did crazy things to Cam’s inside. “Define good?”

Cam laughed, and when Cort held out a hand to him a moment later, he didn’t hesitate.

“Oh. My. God. Tell me that’s not the sun already,” Cam said, grabbing the spare pillow from the unused side of the bed and burrowing his face into it.

Cort, who had been watching the sunrise for at least an hour, stroked his hand up from Cam’s hip to his rib cage. He laughed softly, but he could sympathize with Cam’s feelings because he wasn’t ready for the sun to rise either.

He’d hardly slept after they’d made it downstairs the night before, not even bothering to shower or change before stripping off their clothes again and climbing into bed, spooning into one another. The combination of stellar orgasms and a million shots of Jameson had relaxed them both to the point where they hadn’t needed to talk or overthink things further, but while Cam had fallen asleep quickly and deeply, Cort had lain awake for most of the night.

They’d shared a pillow.

And that wasn’t the most intimate thing they’d shared.

The whole night had been like something from a dream, a slice of a parallel universe that had been cut out and inserted into this one. It had been phenomenal – everything he’d ever wanted yet never dreamed he’d be able to find. It was also the cruelest trick he’d ever played on himself, because he still needed to find his brother, Damon, the man Cam thought had caused his parents’ deaths. There was no way Cam would help him. And Cam would never look at him the same way after he learned the truth.

“If I’m going to contemplate this day,” Cam mumbled into the pillow. “I need so much caffeine. Like, ungodly amounts.”

“Ungodly, huh?” Cort leaned more fully into Cam, running his nose along the column of Cam’s neck, loving the way the man shivered.

“I suppose there are other ways to wake up,” Cam allowed, pushing his ass back into Cort’s groin. Cort’s breath caught and he moaned.

“Only one tiny problem with that,” he said, biting Cam’s shoulder. “No lube.”

It was Cam’s turn to moan, but he shoved the pillow away from his face and turned to grin at Cort. “Well, fortunately for you, I’m endlessly creative, and I’m almost certain I can think of a way to make do.”

Cort laughed out loud, stroking his finger down Cam’s cheek. “I believe you can, baby.”

His laughter died the second Cam reached for him, stroking his palm along the ridge of Cort’s very interested dick. “Fuck,” he groaned.

Cam laughed. “I’m feeling like this would be better in the shower.”

“I’m feeling like I can’t imagine how this could be better,” Cort said, flopping onto his back and letting Cam balance above him. He wrapped his arm around Cam’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss, but Cam tried to twist away.

“Gross! Cort, my breath is…”

But Cort didn’t give a shit about morning breath. He lifted his head and met Cam’s lips, parting them with his tongue, desperate for whatever pieces of Cam he could keep. He couldn’t believe how quickly he’d fallen for the guy. Twenty-four hours ago, he’d thought Cam was his enemy. Twenty-four hours from now, he was positive they’d be enemies for real, and there would be nothing he could do to change it. Damon had to come first. But perhaps he could have just a few more minutes.

Cort rolled, pushing Cam onto his back, loving the way Cam’s legs automatically parted, making room for him. He braced himself, palms to the mattress, and stared down into Cam’s eyes.

“Cam, I…”

From the heap of clothing on the floor, a phone began to ring. Cam closed his eyes briefly and swore under his breath.

“Sorry. Shit. That’s my brother’s ringtone. Just gimme a minute, okay?”

He squirmed out of bed, and Cort flopped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure exactly what he’d been about to say, but it was probably for the best that they were interrupted.

Too much, way too fast.

Cam grabbed his phone a second after it stopped ringing, and immediately hit redial.

“He never calls me, ever. So, I kinda need to take it.”

Cort nodded, watching Cam as he waited and waited for his brother to answer. Apparently, the asshole was messing around or something, because Cam tried calling him three times, yet he didn’t pick up.

“I mean, he’s probably fine, right?” Cam said, frowning. He came to sit on the edge of the bed cradling the phone in both hands. “Like maybe he called me by accident, or…”

Cort pushed himself up to sitting. The moment was lost. He was fairly certain he could get it back easily, just by kissing Cam, but he wasn’t sure whether he should, or even if he wanted to.

“Probably,” he agreed.

Cam turned and looked at him, then back at his phone, disappointment evident in the slump of his shoulders. “Or maybe I should get going and, uh, check on him,” he said quietly.

Cort wondered if Cam wanted him to argue. He wouldn’t.

“I should probably go, too. Do some… stuff,” he said instead. Stuff like hitting the liquor store and wishing his own brother would call.

Cort stood up and stepped in front of Cam, pulling the man to his feet and kissing him with every ounce of the happiness and need he’d begun to associate with Cam. “This has probably been the best night of my whole life,” he told Cam simply. “Believe it.” He rested his forehead on Cam’s for a second, cursing his dumb luck and Cam’s, then he pulled back. “I’ll see you around, Mr. Seaver,” he said, then he walked into the bathroom.

When he turned to close the door, he saw Cam standing silently, watching him.