Cage Match (6 page)

housekeeper was as neat as always with her shellacked hair and perfectly pressed

uniform hugging her trim figure. Not a wrinkle or stain marred her crisp white apron.

She gazed at the empty dishes and lifted her brows.

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Bonnie Dee

“Guess he was hungry,” Andreas replied.

After taking a few moments to himself in the bathroom, clearing his mind of the

nervous tension Jabez stirred up in him, Andreas returned to the spare bedroom.

Dressed in a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt and black trousers, Jabez appeared even

larger and more imposing. He was taller than Andreas by at least half a head, and his

shoulders were broad enough to brush the door frame on either side when he walked

through it.

“I‟ll show you around first. Then you can have a soak like Dr. Ahim suggested.

The mineral spa is guaranteed to take away all your aches and pains. I‟m so glad I put

one in.”

He glanced at his companion to find him examining the artwork on the walls as

they walked down the hall.

“You like the paintings? Simone‟s a great talent. I bought these at her first gallery

show, and I‟m trying to help promote her work. She deserves success.”

Jabez dismissed the paintings with a grunt and looked down at the floor instead.

Andreas felt foolish as he realized he was trying to impress this man, not with his

wealth, but by showing he wasn‟t attached to it. A patron of the arts and rescuer of

damaged gladiators—oh, he was a real man of the people.

By the time he‟d shown Jabez most of the downstairs, the kitchen, dining room,

living room, and game room, it was apparent his guest‟s energy was flagging.

“I‟ll take you outdoors another time,” Andreas promised as he led him through

the weight room to the spa and pool area.

The blue-green lights shining from underwater, coupled with plentiful vegetation,

gave the room the ambience of a forest grotto. Swimming laps in the pool every day

had become an almost meditative exercise for Andreas. It kept him in shape but also

cleared his head and centered him.

The adjacent smaller pool set in a grove of tall ferns contained all the restorative

minerals found in natural hot springs. A soak in it at the end of each day had also

become part of his routine—when he wasn‟t being rushed from one event to another by

Timon.

He gestured toward the changing room. “I have extra swim trunks if you…”

Jabez was already removing his clothes. His unbuttoned shirtfront revealed

bruised bronze skin, somehow all the sexier seen in a slice rather than completely

revealed. But then he shrugged the shirt off his shoulders and Andreas changed his

mind. The man looked equally stunning completely shirtless. He sat on the flagstones

that bordered the pool and removed his shoes and socks, then rose again to unzip the

fly of his trousers.

Andreas was busy removing his own shirt but paused to watch the other man

slide his pants over his hips along with his briefs. In a second he shucked off both of

them and stood as naked as a Grecian statue at the edge of the pool. Andreas felt carved

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25

of stone himself, incapable of even breathing while he stared at Jabez‟s beautiful body

and his half-erect penis jutting from a thicket of brown hair.

The man exhibited no self-consciousness but dabbled his foot in the water, then

stepped into the pool. There were no air jets to churn the surface into foam, only clear

water with wisps of steam rising from the surface. The water rippled around his legs,

then his body as Jabez slowly sank into it, seating himself on the ledge that ran around

the perimeter.

Andreas broke from his trance and let go of the shirt dangling from his fingers.

Jabez was staring at him now, making his flesh burn. His cock rose and swelled at the

knowledge it was about to be exhibited for this stranger—for there was no way

Andreas could only strip to his shorts when Jabez was completely naked. He wasn‟t

usually uptight about a little nudity but right now felt like raw meat on display for a

hungry panther.

With feigned nonchalance, he took off his shoes and the rest of his clothes. He was

acutely aware of the electrons vibrating in each cell of his body. His cock thrust before

him like the throttle on his jet-glider, and he hurriedly padded to the bath and

submerged himself into the water.

A quick glance at Jabez‟s face assured Andreas it wasn‟t his imagination; he was

being watched with the keen concentration of a big cat considering its quarry. The

things the pair of them could do to each other while soaking in this delicious heat

tumbled through his mind, but he forced the images out of his head.

He met Jabez‟s gaze head-on. “So, what do you think? Will this place do for a

while?”

“Don‟t have much choice, do I?” He paused a beat, then added in a less gruff tone,

“Beats the Fight Palace. Guess I don‟t mind.”

There was a moment‟s silence disturbed only by the quiet splash of water and the

hum of the pool‟s filtration system. In the distance, even through walls and windows,

Andreas could hear the constant low gonging of the huge wind chimes out in the

garden. The otherworldly music was calming.

“Where will we work out?” Jabez asked.

“Upstairs. I had a studio built when I thought I might be a painter. Great lighting,

plenty of room. I‟ll order mats and gear today, and it should be outfitted by tomorrow.

You tell me what I need, and I‟ll get it.”

He shook his head. “Just like that? You snap your fingers and there‟s a closet full

of clothes or a new gym?”

For the first time, Andreas‟s niggling guilt turned to irritation. “I refuse to feel

guilty about having money. I was born into it like you were born into your

circumstance. It‟s not my fault.”

“No.” Jabez‟s silence was more eloquent than most men‟s speech.
But what do you

do with all the money and power you have? Fritter it away on entertainment
. Andreas didn‟t

need to hear the words. His brain supplied them.

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Bonnie Dee

“I have to go into the city for a board meeting tomorrow.” He changed the subject.

“I could teleconference, but my father prefers everyone to be there in person. My family

doesn‟t have controlling interest in the corporation anymore, but I have some shares

and still keep a hand in things.”

“What kinds of things?”

“Acquisitions and mergers, policies and community programs. There‟s always a

long agenda.”

“Hm.” There was another of those long pauses before Jabez continued. “I stayed

in a corporate-funded shelter for a while. Place was a dump, but they had decent food.”

“You lived in Brick Town before you got picked up?”

“Where else?” He cocked his head. “You ever been there?”

“No.” Even when he and his friends went slumming they didn‟t dare cross the

barrier to Brick Town, the crumbling, old part of the city shielded from view by high

walls. He‟d seen vids of the slum, however. It was a battle zone where roving bands

ruled.

“You should check it out sometime, see what you‟re missing.” Amusement tinged

Jabez‟s voice, and a tiny smile curved his lips. Andreas wasn‟t sure if the ironic teasing

was a step forward or back.

“You don‟t know your last name or anything about your family?”

Jabez dipped his head slightly before he answered “no,” and Andreas knew he

was withholding something. He wanted to know all this man‟s secrets, the hidden parts

of his past and his walled-off emotions.

“My mother died when I was a baby. I don‟t remember her,” Andreas offered,

hoping to build confidence between them. “My nanny, Marianus, was like a mother to

me. I loved her very much, but ultimately it was just her job to look after me.” He

paused before revealing the part that hurt. “When I was nine, my father dismissed her

and sent me to boarding school. She didn‟t keep in touch.”

Jabez remained silent, staring at him, probably thinking how pathetic he was to

complain about having no mommy when he‟d been provided with every other luxury

in the world. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet Andreas could barely hear him

above the soft hum of the pool pump.

“There was a girl. I think she was my sister. We were together anyway.”

Andreas waited several moments for him to continue before gently prompting,

“What happened to her?”

“I don‟t know. She disappeared one day.” He shrugged and shifted, making the

water ripple. “People disappear all the time in B-town.”

“I‟m sorry.”

“Why?”

Because that’s what people say when someone is hurting
. “Your life must have been

hard, especially being alone.”

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27

“Don‟t need your pity…boss.” His voice was cold again, the shield back in place.

And Andreas was hot in the steamy water. His head felt light and his limbs heavy.

It was time to cool off by swimming a few laps.

“I‟m going to take a dip.” He gestured toward the pool. “Want to?”

“No.”

Andreas rose, water dripping from his body. He padded across the stone floor to

the pool and dived into tepid water that seemed ice-cold after the heat of the mineral

bath. He swam the length before surfacing. Another half dozen laps stretched his

muscles and challenged his breathing. At last he stopped at the deep end, holding on to

the edge and bobbing in place.

“You have stamina. That‟s good.” Jabez stood beside the pool, a towel wrapped

around his hips, arms folded over his chest. Water droplets glistened on his body like

diamonds, and his eyes glittered like sapphires. “You could use some bulk, but your

muscles are toned.”

His critical assessment left Andreas glowing more than another man‟s flattery or

compliments would have. It was crazy to care so much about this stranger‟s opinion,

but he couldn‟t deny it mattered to him.

Andreas pulled his body out of the pool and rose with water streaming down his

body. He stood, naked, letting Jabez examine every part of him. He refused to flinch or

reach for a towel as the erotically charged moment spun out like a filament of glass.

Jabez walked toward him, the towel slipping on his hips to reveal more of the

downy hair on his groin. He stopped in front of Andreas and met his gaze with those

challenging eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

Anything! Just keep talking to me in that sexy voice
. Andreas nodded silently.

“What‟s the real color of your eyes?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you people color and reshape and do all sorts of cosmetic shit to your

bodies. So I wondered what your real color is, ‟cause nobody has silver eyes.”

Andreas smiled. “They‟re not silver, only plain-old gray. I don‟t do body

alterations or tinting. When I was younger, yeah, but not anymore.”

“Hm.” Jabez stared at him a moment longer, then picked up a towel from the foot

of the lounge chair beside them and handed it to him.

Andreas dried his face, then wrapped the towel around his waist.

“Think I‟ll go to my room and rest,” Jabez announced.

“That‟s a good idea. You still have some healing to do.”

Andreas released his breath after the man moved away, taking his sphere of

magnetized air with him. Jabez dropped the towel, slipped into his pants, and scooped

up the rest of his clothes, but before he left the room, he turned to Andreas once more.

“By the way, the answer is „men.‟”

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Bonnie Dee

“What?”

“The other night you asked which I prefer.”

“Oh.” He swallowed, and his mind raced as he tried to decide if it was an

invitation or merely a comment. Deciphering this man was like picking his way

through a minefield. “Good to know.”

The door closed behind Jabez, and Andreas blew out a long breath. He was as hot

as if he‟d been soaking in the spa again. He tossed aside his towel and dived back into

the pool.

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Chapter Four

Jabez closed his eyes but couldn‟t sleep. The bed was soft, and the expensive

sheets were like air against his skin, but the drugs had worn off and with them his

weariness. He‟d always bounced back quickly from injuries, and with the private

doctor‟s miracle treatment, he almost felt 100 percent better.

He wasn‟t tired and didn‟t want to be lying in this bed alone, not when he knew

Andreas was in another part of the house lusting after him too. He had no doubt his

new “master” was hot for him. It was clear in his hungry gaze and the way his body

tensed every time he looked at Jabez. Sex between them would happen eventually. Why

not sooner?

Cursing, he opened his eyes and stared at the block of sunlight coming in the

window. What the hell was wrong with him? He‟d wanted to be left alone, made it