The more I think about Gabriel, the more my body reacts. Little pricks of heat taunt my nerve endings like a current of electricity flowing through me. My dick swells at the mere thought of pressing my lips to his. I imagine what he must taste like. I think sweet and decadent, like caramel perhaps.
My hand moves to my aching cock, slowly stroking it beneath the sudsy water. Seeing Gabriel’s naked torso online left me breathless. Dressed in only his soccer shorts, dripping with water, his head back, Adam’s apple prominent in his throat, his muscular arms pushing his slick hair off his face—fuck. The guy is stupid hot.
I stroke my cock a little faster, giving in to images of Gabriel stripping his clothes off, stepping closer to me, kissing me, his cock hard and pressed against my torso.
“Oh fuck,” I whisper as the tension builds deep within me. “Fuck.” My breath rattles from my chest as imaginary Gabriel pushes me against the desk, spreading my legs and taking my ass.
Rough.
Aggressive.
Angry.
My finger finds my entrance, pushing its way in, as I continue being fucked by Gabriel in my mind. He pulls my hair, bites my neck, but then kisses the mark sweetly until he tenses, filling me with his hot seed. That thought pushes me over the edge and my own dick jerks, spilling cum into the water as I stroke myself through it.
As I relax again, reality hits like a bucket of cold water. I just jerked off to my enemy.
I’m so fucked.
Gabriel
When I step into the office in the morning, I brace myself for it to be even colder in here than it is outside. I hardly slept last night, tossing and turning over the events of yesterday. My attempts to warm up the employees only backfired. Now, I can barely face Jeremiah. I just want to crawl in a hole and rewind my life. Maybe the pressure wasn’t so bad. At least I knew what to do.
Jeremiah is at his desk, gazing up as I remove my coat. He glances at the clock. That’s right. It’s early. I can be a boss too.
“Morning,” he says, his face tight.
“Hey.” I stand near the door, not sure what to do next.
Jeremiah stands, approaching me cautiously as if he thinks I’m going to punch him. Not my style, dude.
“I owe you an apology, Gabriel.”
My mouth drops. “What?”
“An apology. I overreacted yesterday. I should not have spoken to you that way, especially in front of the team. I pride myself on handling difficult situations, but I failed.” He extends his hand. “Can you forgive me?”
I look down at his hand, then up at his face, before grabbing his hand and shaking it. “Yes, of course. Thank you.”
He nods.
“For my part, I should’ve been more aware of perceptions. I will be mindful in the future.”
He offers a slight smile. “Great. Should we get to work?”
“Yes.”
All the tension I was holding onto feels like it’s washing away like dirt in a shower. Maybe things are gonna be okay after all.
After lunch, I head down to meet with Samuel. I’m curious about Jeremiah’s twin. I wonder how alike or different they are from each other. Samuel has never been my biggest fan, but that’s obviously a protectiveness over his brother.
I enter his little office, tapping on the wall to get his attention. He looks up, taking me in with the same hazel eyes as his brother, though Samuel’s are closer to brown than Jeremiah’s green. His hair is lighter than Jeremiah’s, but still brown, and his smile is big and free, unlike his brother’s, which must be earned.
“Please sit,” Samuel says, motioning to a chair.
“Thanks.”
I sit, and an awkward silence falls over us.
“You wanted to see my marketing plan?” Samuel graciously suggests.
“Yes, please. Not as any kind of questioning or oversight to be clear. I just don’t know anything about it, and I’d like to.”
“Sure.”
We spend the next thirty minutes going over the ads he runs, the social media campaigns, and his content calendar. He explains each element to me and shows me some results he’s achieved.
“This is all fantastic.”
“Thanks. I have more ideas, but we’re inching the budget out of Richard a little at a time. Until recently, he didn’t seem that invested in it at all.”
“What changed?”
Samuel shrugs. “Don’t know. Richard is a man of few words. Maybe he’s different with you because you’re family.”
“No. My whole family speaks few words. Except me. I’m the mouth.”
He laughs softly. “Like me versus J.”
“Has it always been that way?”
“No. I was shy as a kid.” His cheeks blush, and while I think it’s cute, it doesn’t have the same effect on me at all as it does when Jeremiah does it. “Anyway, college opened me up a lot. I made friends who weren’t Jeremiah.”
“But you guys are close?”
“Extremely.” He clears his throat. “I know I was kind of rude to you in the beginning. I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all, but…he’s my brother.”
“I know. I totally get it.” I squeeze the back of my neck, realizing the opportunity I have now. “I like it here. I like all of you, and I…” I close my eyes. Can’t go there right now. “I really respect Jeremiah and what he’s done.”
“But?”
“No but. I didn’t come here to destroy everything.”
“Then just go.” He says it with no animosity. Just a statement.
“It’s not that simple. I wish it were.”
“Why not? Is Richard blackmailing you?”
I snort a laugh. “No, but it is family stuff.” I chew on my bottom lip for a second before stopping myself. “I just want you to know my intent isn’t to hurt Jeremiah.”
He studies my face for a few seconds. “You like him.”
Another statement.
“Yeah.”
Neither of us clarifies what “like” means, but I don’t think we have to. It’s understood.
“I’m gonna give you a tip, Gabriel, but use it wisely. He’ll kill me if he knows I helped you.”
I sit up straighter. “Okay.”
“He’s great at everything, but his weakness is people skills. If you want to earn his trust, support him in that part, but, like, subtly. Don’t call him out, or he gets defensive.”
I nod. “Okay.”
“You obviously have that skill naturally. Do the heavy lifting on that part of the job. Instead of trying to do what he does, fill the gap. Become a team.”
“A team. I can do that.”
“Your authenticity shines through, so keep doing that too.”
“I will.”
“But let me be clear, if I have to choose you or him—”
“Goes without saying.”
“And if you hurt him, you won’t be welcome here no matter what title they give you.”
“I understand that too.” I drag my fingers through my hair. “It’s like a family here.”
“Not like a family. It is.”
I nod. “I’m trying to figure this all out. How to deal with my...issues and preserve everything here.”