15. DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
Days Later
Standing at the entrance to his now empty bar, Aiden felt a bundle of various emotions. None were positive.
On the one hand, a burden was lifted off his shoulders now that he was finally rid of all the poison that had nearly killed him a few days ago. But, on the other hand, he was secretly a nervous wreck because his crutch - alcohol - was now gone.
This meant that any problems that were to now be thrown his way, Aiden would have no choice but to face them head-on and completely sober, rather than ignore his issues and run to the bottle for answers. This day was bound to come. He knew one day that he'd have to make this transition into sobriety. And ready or not, the time had finally arrived.
At least, however, he didn't have to go through it alone.
"I'm still debating for whether or not I should kick your ass for having done this to me," Aiden muttered to Julian when he came and stood next to him. "I've never seen it look so dull in here. It feels like a part of me is missing or something."
"Trust me, after a few more days you won't even pay this room any attention." Julian couldn't help but laugh at Aiden's lost expression.
Even though he was sulking he still looked as handsome as ever; his unruly chestnut colored hair was a mess and he was in dire need of a shave, but that just added on to how hot he already was.
"Your body appreciates the sacrifice you're making right now," Julian said. "As does your liver."
Aiden smirked after he turned around to look at his shirtless bodyguard just as something wicked crossed his mind.
"And how would you know what my body appreciates?" Aiden moved closer to Julian, who'd taken a step back for every step forward that Aiden made. "Cat got your tongue? Shall I try and get it back for you?"
"God, one of these days, Grayson..." Julian muttered after Aiden backed him into a wall, the only thing separating them from being in their birthday suits was their pajama pants. "If you keep teasing me like this, I'll have no choice but to show you what I'm really made of."
Chills shot down Aiden's back. He then buried his face in Julian's neck while his hands rested on either side of his waist.
"I don't do so well with threats, Julian." Aiden's teeth grazed against Julian's skin, making him moan in response.
It was one of the hottest sounds that Aiden's ever heard.
"Then stop putting me in the position to where I have to give them." Julian held Aiden's body to his and in one swift motion, they suddenly changed places; it was he who now had Aiden pinned to the wall. "Every now and then I like to be the one that's in charge."
"So take charge. I won't stop you." Aiden continued to push his luck while his hands drifted along Julian's back until he was cupping his firm ass. "I don't know why I like you so much, but I'm really fucking turned on right now." Aiden moved his hips slightly forward, and both men could feel each other's hard erections. "What have you done to me, Jules?"
"Nothing that you haven't already done to me." Julian brought a hand to Aiden's face and took his time in admiring him while he stared into his boss' mesmerizing green eyes. "You have the face of an angel, I swear. You're too gorgeous for your own good."
Aiden blushed at the compliment and then leaned in for the kill, unable to hold back...
When their lips touched, their surroundings disappeared, and the two of them relished in the moment. And when their kiss deepened, Aiden got lost in his bodyguard. So lost that, for once, he didn't have a care in the world.
He wasn't stressed about anything. He wasn't worried about anything. He wasn't afraid of anything. Instead, he felt good. He felt free.
He felt... alive.
"I want you in my bed," Aiden whispered after he tore himself away from Julian. "Even though I wouldn't know what to do with you when I got you there. I mean, I've never..."
"I know." Julian smiled. He could almost sense how nervous Aiden was. "I'm willing to take things slow with you, but you have to stop being so damn tempting all the time. Stop attacking me like some wild animal. You can't do that to me and not expect me to strike back."
"I warned you that you'd have to be patient with me. I'm not the easiest fucker to deal with. I'll give you gray hairs before you turn forty." Aiden laughed. He then grabbed Julian by the hand to walk down the hallway towards Aiden's bedroom.
"Wait, we're not about to..." Julian paused at the door.
"We're not fucking." Aiden rolled his eyes, sighing. "But that doesn't mean that you can't come into my room and lie in bed with me...or is that too much for you to handle? Am I moving too fast?"
"Just a little," Julian said, being honest. "I mean, I can try, so long as you keep your hands to yourself. I can't be the only one that's working on my self-control here."
"Fine. I'll try to keep my hands to myself. No promises, though." Aiden smirked as he pulled Julian into the room and then shut the door. "Now lie down on the fucking bed." Julian turned to look at him while he raised a brow, faking like he was offended. Aiden chuckled. "Sorry. Will you please lie down on the fucking bed? Is that better?"
"Do you also talk to women like this?" Julian laughed, complying with Aiden's request. "It's not very romantic, just saying."
"I've never had any complaints." Aiden climbed onto the bed and stretched out next to Julian, still smiling. "Okay, maybe just a few."
"It's a good thing your name isn't Pinocchio or else your nose would be touching the ceiling right now," Julian teased. "On a more serious note, I sort of have a confession to make."
"What?" Aiden turned over onto his side.
"It's this, what we're doing right now. It's what we've been doing since the moment you first kissed me. I don't know how to explain it other than that sometimes I feel a little uneasy about it all," Julian confessed. "I shouldn't be doing this with you, Grayson. It's unprofessional as fuck...but there's a part of me that doesn't want it to stop. Does that make me selfish?"
"I disagree." Aiden smiled.
"Of course you would," Julian teased.
"Since we're being honest, I want you to know that this isn't some phase for me," Aiden said. "I'm taking this seriously. But with everything that's been going on around me, I just...I don't know. I don't want to keep you a secret and I'm not at all ashamed of what we're doing, but with this Clarissa shit and the press and everything else, I'm still figuring myself out right now and at this point in time, I'm not ready for the world or for my family to know about me. I want everything in my life to cool down before I go showing you off." He grabbed Julian by the hand and kissed it. "You get where I'm coming from, don't you?"
Julian nodded. "You can come out when you're ready, Grayson. Until then, I don't mind being your dirty little secret."
Aiden leaned over to kiss Julian, but he scooted away instead. "Oh, come on! I finally have you in my bed. Did you really believe that I'd keep my hands to myself?" Aiden wasted no time in straddling Julian. And before Julian could push him off, Aiden bent down to kiss him. "Better than Jack Daniels."
"I'm glad you think so." Julian kissed him back, passionately. "You're really testing my patience being on top of me like this."
Aiden reached between their bodies and copped a feel on Julian. His green eyes widened in response as he said with a wicked grin, "You're not wearing any underwear! Naughty, boy..." Aiden moved his hand along Julian's hard shaft, causing him to groan. "Just because we can't fuck doesn't mean that we can't do other things with each other."
"You talk a big game, but I bet you can't back it up." Julian gripped Aiden by the waist and once again took control.
Within seconds, he was on top of Aiden, resting comfortably in between his legs as he took things up a notch and pressed his lower half against Aiden's.
"Wrap your legs around me," Julian whispered.
It took Aiden a minute to do what he was told because he'd never been in a position like this before. Nonetheless, it was sexy as fuck. He was almost on the verge of coming undone as Julian worked his hips against him, sucking and kissing on his neck.
"Goddamn, this feels..." Aiden moaned, holding Julian close. "Does it get better than this?"
"So much better." Julian chuckled.
He was trying to teach his feisty boss a lesson. He was trying to give Aiden just a little taste of what their sex would be like. Julian was trying to make a point, but he was also getting lost in the moment as well.
"You'll never wanna go back to pussy after I'm done with you." Julian had a fire burning in his eyes as he pulled back to look down at Aiden. "This is what happens when you push me over the edge for having been such a fucking tease."
"Don't stop now, we're just getting started." Aiden found himself begging for more after Julian built up what little ounce of self-control that he had left as he separated himself from Aiden. "Wait! You're gonna leave me hanging like this?" Aiden pointed at his throbbing erection. "Seriously?"
Julian rolled off the bed, heading for the door with a smile on his face. "You have two good hands, put them to use."
. . . .