“Let’s go back to the house,” Quinn suggested. “We’re only in the way here.”
“Stay away from the attic,” the cop ordered.
Quinn had no intention of taking Cade anywhere near the attic. He’d be happy to have the whole thing sealed off. Maybe Cade would consider moving.
They linked fingers and wandered slowly in the direction of the house. Quinn was exhausted, his shoulder really ached, and he wasn’t paying attention when Cade suddenly stopped.
“Look!” He pointed at the house.
“What?” Quinn squinted in the direction of his finger.
“I couldn’t work out how Gareth got in the attic. But you can see. The windows are open between his apartment and the gable window. It’s a narrow gap.”
Quinn nodded. “It would have been so easy to slide over.”
“He’s been spying on me for a long time, hasn’t he?”
“I don’t know, boy. But it’s over now. He’s gone. He’s not coming back.”
Ever!
Quinn admitted he had a lot of Neanderthal in him, but Gareth Long wouldn’t get within a hundred miles of Cade Connolly again.
“I can’t help feeling sorry for him,” Cade said, as he wrapped his arms around himself. “I didn’t know he felt like that about me.”
Quinn pulled Cade against him and held him so close, Cade protested he couldn’t breathe. “You have a big heart, but you can’t be expected to know your employees have the hots for you.” There was a long silence for a moment and Cade’s shoulders shook. “Don’t cry, love.” Cade’s shoulders shook even harder. Quinn groaned when he suddenly realized Cade was laughing. “Cade!”
Cade raised his head and tears were running down his cheeks, but he was definitely laughing. “I’m sorry, but you’ve got to admit that it’s funny.”
“I’m not your employee.”
“You are, though.”
“Maybe, but I’m nothing like him,” Quinn insisted.
“No, you’re not,” Cade purred. “Nothing like him.”
Quinn was somewhat mollified. Then he caught the gleam in Cade’s eyes. “Nothing like him,” he agreed.
Cade stood on tiptoe and whispered a suggestion in his ear.
Quinn pressed his rock-hard dick into Cade’s belly. “You’re very feisty, boy, but I can do that.”
Cade pulled back with a frown. “Am I too much?”
“No, don’t ever think that.” Quinn grabbed his hands and put them against his heart. “If you want something, you ask for it. I might not always agree, but you can always ask. I’d love the idea of bathing you when the cops are gone.”
“How did I get so lucky to find you?”
Quinn asked himself that every day. “Right backatcha, little boy.” He looked over his shoulder and saw the cops were still busy. “Why don’t we go back for a drink and we can snuggle until the police want to talk to us?”
“I like that idea,” Cade agreed and held his hand all the way back to the house.
Cade
After the cops left, Quinn had bathed Cade slowly and luxuriously and brought him to a climax that turned him inside out, then showered himself and changed into loose-fitting shorts and a tank top. The bandage was a stark white contrast to his tanned skin and ink, but Cade had almost gotten to the point where he could look at it without feeling guilty. Almost.
Quinn fell asleep on the couch in the den while Cade curled up in the chair opposite, Mogs on his lap, idly doodling on a pad. Cade found the silence almost oppressive, now they were alone in the house.
Alone. Cade shuddered. How many times had he thought he was alone, only to have Gareth watch him? How had he never realized Gareth was obsessed with him? Cade thought about their relationship, but he still couldn’t see it. He thought back to a conversation he’d had with Quinn the previous night. They’d been watching a movie when a thought had occurred to him.
“Doug said he was surprised you agreed to take this case,” Cade had said. “He said you didn’t work for CDR now.”
“I take odd cases but I don’t work just for them,” Quinn said.
Cade had noticed the tightness in his voice. “What happened?” When Quinn didn’t reply he said, “It’s okay, Daddy, you don’t have to tell me.”
Quinn had smiled sadly and ran his fingers through Cade’s hair. “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather tell than my boy. Friends of mine got involved in a case a few years ago. I found out one of them, a man I called my brother, was an addict and a murderer. I loved that man and I had no idea what he’d done. Nor did any of us, including his twin brother. I couldn’t believe my judgement of people was that poor. I needed time away from CDR to think. It just ended up being more time than I expected.”
Cade had wrapped his arms around Quinn and encouraged him to lay his head against Cade’s chest. Quinn resisted for a moment, but then he’d rolled over and accepted Cade’s comfort.
Now Cade knew what Quinn meant. How could you see something when you weren’t looking for it? Gareth had been obsessed, yet in their interactions he’d been the same friendly guy Cade had always known. How far would he have gone?
Cade shuddered again and searched for something else to think about. He grinned as Quinn snorted, smacked his lips and wriggled to find a more comfortable position. He didn’t look younger, but unguarded, without the mantle of authority he wore during the day. Cade noticed Quinn’s flaccid cock poking out from the leg of his rucked-up shorts. Would his Daddy mind if he drew him like this? He watched Quinn sleeping for a moment, then he picked up his pad and pencils. He would show Quinn when he woke, but for now this moment was just his, just like Quinn.
Quinn studied the pencil sketch of him while Cade waited, unable to breathe.
“You’re so talented,” Quinn said, awe clear in his voice.
“You don’t mind that I didn’t ask first?” Cade had to be sure.
Quinn cupped Cade’s neck and drew him in for a kiss. “Mind that the world-famous artist, ConC, drew me? I’m honored, my boy.”
“But you were asleep and vulnerable.”
“Cade, you can draw me any time. Consent is given.”
“Even naked?”
Quinn waggled his eyebrows. “Especially naked.”
“I love drawing nude men,” Cade admitted. “I don’t get much chance now.”
“You can draw me. We’ll have to discuss you drawing other men.”
“Eric didn’t want me seeing nude men.”
Quinn shrugged. “If you discuss it with me, I’m okay with it. Some of the Daddies might like to be drawn with their boys.”
Excitement wriggled through Cade. “Really? I’d love to draw couples together, clothed or unclothed. Can you arrange that?”
“I’ll talk to the men I know. They don’t get much opportunity to be open with their boys. They’ll probably leap at the chance.”
“I’d like to draw Ian and his Daddy,” Cade said. “I owe him an apology for the way I treated him.”