Cage Match (19 page)

beds with their profusion of colors and scents. The soothing gong of the chimes, the

sweet smell of flowers, and the cool breeze ruffling his hair reminded him there were

elemental good things in life to balance rejection and betrayal. And when he rounded a

curve in the path, he saw something that made him feel even better. Bare-chested and

eyes closed, Jabez lay on a patch of grass by a flower bed, soaking in the sunshine. He

looked so peaceful and contented with a half smile curving his lips that Andreas stood

still, not wanting to disturb him.

After a few seconds, Jabez spoke without opening his eyes. “Are you going to

stand there gawking at me or say something?”

“I‟d be content to look at you for quite a while,” Andreas admitted with a smile,

“but I wouldn‟t mind talking.” He came over and sat in the grass beside Jabez. The

tension that had hovered between them since the night at the club seemed to magically

disappear in the sunlight.

Jabez opened his eyes a crack and looked up at him. “Bad day?”

Andreas nodded. “I‟m to stop making a spectacle of myself in public, but Father

agreed you could remain here as my bodyguard. Generous of him. Then he pushed me

out of the office without looking at my proposal. But the fun wasn‟t over yet. I figured

out my good friend Timon has been reporting to my father about me for years, telling

anything he thought was useful for him to know. And how was your day?”

“Worse. Mrs. Gamble gave me spinach at lunch.” Jabez‟s deadpan delivery made

Andreas chuckle, and the tightness in his chest loosened even more.

He stretched out on the ground beside Jabez and plucked a blade of grass, rolling

it between his fingers. “I located the place Leonidas told us about and took down the

address. I‟ll see what I can find out about it.”

Jabez studied Andreas‟s face, then lifted his hand and cupped his cheek in his

palm. Andreas pressed against the comforting warmth, feeling rough calluses against

his cheek.

“Sorry you had a bad day.” His voice was low and kind, so different from his

usual gruffness that it made tears prickle in Andreas‟s eyes.

“I have nothing to complain about, right? Compared to what you‟ve been through

in your life, my troubles are pretty insignificant.”

Jabez opened his eyes wider and the light struck them, making them glow like

blue neon. “Your friend backstabbed you. You‟re pissed.”

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Bonnie Dee

“I am,” Andreas admitted, “and disappointed and hurt, but not as much as I was a

few minutes ago.” He turned his face to press his lips against Jabez‟s palm. His kiss was

rewarded with another caress of his face.

“I‟m sorry for what I said about taking my pay and leaving. I don‟t want to go

anywhere,” Jabez said abruptly. He drew a deep breath and blew it out with a
whoosh
.

“I‟ve been practicing that in my head all day.”

Andreas smiled and kissed his hand again. “I‟m glad, because I want you to stay.

Fuck the fight training. We can do it or not. I don‟t care. I just want you around for as

long as you‟ll stay.”

Jabez slipped his hand around the back of Andreas‟s neck and pulled him down

for a kiss. Their lips brushed softly together; then Jabez pulled away and whispered, “I

want to stay with you.”

It was as if the magic start-over dust Andreas had fantasized about were sprinkled

over them. The arguing and tension were suddenly gone, replaced by glowing warmth

and a closeness he‟d yet to feel with Jabez. This was the tender side of the man he‟d

longed to see, had believed was hidden under his hard exterior. It was worth the wait

and the trouble he‟d gone through these past days of gently prying him open.

Jabez put his other hand around Andreas‟s waist and pulled him on top of him.

His kisses were as soft and loving as his words. His hands roamed up and down

Andreas‟s back and ass with a gentler touch than usual. There was an undeniable

undercurrent of sex with their erections pressed against each other, but this wasn‟t the

raw, gritty sexuality Andreas had come to expect from him.

After a moment, Andreas pulled away from the kissing to lay his head on Jabez‟s

shoulder. He closed his eyes and reveled in simply being held against his big, warm

body. The heat radiating from him was comforting. Andreas nuzzled his neck and

breathed in the scent of his skin. Today he may have lost a friend and his father‟s

confidence, but he‟d found something much better.

Andreas nearly drowsed in his lover‟s embrace under the hot sun, until his

stomach loudly grumbled.

Jabez laughed. “You need to eat?”

“I‟m so hungry I could devour just about anything I get my hands on.” Andreas

slipped his hand between them and felt the bulge in Jabez‟s pants. He rubbed the solid

girth of his cock through the material.

“Not yet.” Jabez pushed Andreas off him and sat. “Food first.”

He rose and offered his hand to pull Andreas to his feet, and he didn‟t let go but

continued to hold his hand as they walked together from the garden into the house.

* * * * *

Gamble‟s cooking ingredients. The oils and whipped cream were especially useful.

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89

Andreas blocked the door so the housekeeper wouldn‟t walk in on them unexpectedly.

He couldn‟t afford to lose his cook.

Much later, after swimming and spending time in the hot tub and another joyous

reunion in Andreas‟s bed, Jabez lay sleeping. Andreas caressed his soft brown fuzz of

hair, leaned and kissed his forehead, then went to his terminal to research Asclepius

Enterprises.

His search confirmed it was a pharmaceutical company, but the information about

what drugs they produced was sketchy. A discreet site with virtually no information

was all that represented the company to the world.

Without thoughts of his father or Timon to distract him, the nagging feeling that

he recognized the name suddenly sharpened into knowledge. Andreas entered his

corporate password and sifted through information about the parent companies and

subcompanies that made up Fortias‟s holdings. He found Asclepius so quickly, it took

him by surprise. They were a legitimate research and testing facility for a wide variety

of prescription drugs that were produced by another company. On the surface they had

nothing to hide, but if the tales of how their products were tested were true, they had

much to be accountable for. Andreas intended to make sure they paid.

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Chapter Ten

Jabez stroked a hand through Andreas‟s hair, glossy black curls coiling around his

fingers. His plan to view this gig as business-only had disappeared the moment

Andreas entered the garden yesterday afternoon. One look at his wounded expression,

and all he could think about was trying to stop the sadness any way he could. He cared

for Andreas much more than he wanted to.

Right now as they lay side by side in the bed, Jabez looked into his eyes, willing

him to see his feelings and believe what he told him.

“Listen, ‟cause I only want to say this once. This is a stupid idea. Dumber than

bringing me home or sightseeing in B-town. Going into that lab to ask questions is a

good way to get killed. The only thing you could do that‟d be even dumber would be to

walk the streets of B-town hoping to get picked up and taken there just to gather proof.”

Andreas raised a brow. “That‟s not a bad idea! I don‟t expect they‟d actually allow

me to see the lab, but going undercover—”

“Stop! Don‟t even think about it. These people are dangerous as fuck. Leave it

alone.”

“I‟m joking.” He smiled. “I‟m not that crazy. But I won‟t forget what I know. I‟m

done being ignorant about what the corporation that bears my name is involved in.

Maybe no one on the board knows how Asclepius Enterprises conducts their testing,

but somebody should. I can‟t to go to them with only rumors and hearsay. I have to

have facts to show them.”

“How about the police? Let them investigate.”

Andreas frowned. “I can‟t call them on hearsay. If it turns out not to be true, a raid

would cast a stigma on Asclepius and Fortias. The board would never take me seriously

again. I have to know for sure before I bring anyone else into it.”

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91

“Then let me go.” Jabez‟s heart raced as he made the offer. He didn‟t want to go

anywhere near the monsters who‟d been a faceless threat for half his life, the very

people who‟d maybe taken Azura away. “I‟ll find a way to break in, take some vids,

and you wait outside in the glider.”

Andreas shook his head. “It‟s too dangerous. They probably have elaborate

security. I still think the best route is for me, as a member of the board of the

corporation that
owns
the company, to demand a tour of the facility.”

Jabez released an angry breath and the impulse to grab Andreas by the throat and

shake sense into him. “Then get the board to support you and send in a team. Maybe

get them behind your B-town proposal first.”

Andreas pushed up off the pillows and propped his head on his hand. “I thought

you didn‟t believe in my plan?”

Yeah, but I’d rather have you focused on that than putting yourself in danger
. “I don‟t

know if they‟ll buy it, but you gotta try to sell it if it‟s important to you.”

The sexy little creases bloomed at the corners of his mouth. “Thank you! I

appreciate your support.”

Jabez shrugged. “Why do you care what I think, anyway?”

“Because your opinion is important to me.
You’re
important to me.”

A warm glow, different from sexual heat, spread through him, but he still didn‟t

understand why he seemed to matter to Andreas. And he was afraid of how brief his

crush might be. Would Andreas get bored with him and send him away?

“So, will you let it rest for now?” Jabez continued. “They‟ve been there this long,

what‟s a little longer?”

“You might not feel that way if you were one of the people being held there, but

all right,” Andreas agreed. “I‟m not waiting for my father to respond to my proposal,

since I‟m pretty sure he‟s going to ignore it. Instead I‟ll send it to the board and request

a meeting, during which I can bring up this other matter. The corporation‟s concerned

about public image. I‟ll suggest they take care of the problem before it blows up in their

faces.”

Safe for now
. Feeling like he‟d defused a bomb by stopping Andreas from marching

blindly into danger, Jabez rose from the bed. “Enough lounging. We have work to do.”

“Hm. I thought we might have a different kind of training today, like hiking some

mountain trails.”

He smiled as he bent to pick up his pants from the floor. “Mountain climbing

around here?”

“We can fly anywhere we want. The jet-glider is so fast, I can whisk you away to

the Blue Ridge and back before dinner.”

“You‟re serious.” Jabez stared at him.

“Anywhere you want to go. We need to get out and see some different scenery.

We‟ll take a lunch along. I‟m sure Mrs. G won‟t mind packing one.”

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Bonnie Dee

“She‟ll mind, but she‟ll do it anyway.” Jabez had learned the cook thrived on

complaining but loved taking care of Andreas. “Okay, let‟s go.”

* * * * *

few minutes at his computer to send his proposal to the board members, then looked at

Jabez and shrugged. “Guess that‟s it. Ball‟s in their court.”

With a hamper full of food in the back of the jet-glider, they sat close together in

the tiny cockpit. Jabez had never flown before, and his pulse raced as the little jet lifted

off the ground.

“You sure this is safe? It‟s so small.”

Andreas grinned. “Are you nervous?”

“No.” He touched his seat belt and pressed back into his seat as the ground

became a blur and they ascended to the sky.

Andreas was right. They were out of New Englandia airspace and over the

mountains almost before Jabez had time to get used to flying. The little jet didn‟t require

a runway, so they touched down in a parking lot beside the land gliders.

They were at the base of a mountain that was part of a national preserve. Trails led

in several directions. The length and difficulty of the trek varied on each path. Andreas

chose the extreme climb. Jabez carried the hamper of food and followed him.

He drew a deep breath, and the sharp scent of pine nipped his nose. Every sound

seemed magnified, the
crunch
of gravel and dead leaves beneath his boots, the wind

through the tree branches, birdcalls and insects buzzing, Andreas‟s quiet cough. Jabez

couldn‟t take in enough of the vibrant greens of nature and the vivid blue sky, the gray