Page 13 of Xtasy

If he was moving too fast for Hawk, he could always just sell all his belongings, rent out his apartment, and sleep in a tent outside Hawk’s textile mill home. There was a lot to be said aboutimmediate access! Just as he started to slip his key into the lock, the door burst open. A very irritated Meg was glaring at him. Ha! Even she wasn’t going to be capable of ruining his sex-high.

“Where in the hell have you been?” Megan screeched at the tip-top of her lungs. “You haven’t answered your phone. You always answer your phone on the second ring. Always! You’ve been gone for two days! You are never gone! You’ve missed Mexican night and Chinese night!” She stopped screaming and yanked Atlas into a tight hug. He could barely breath. She was tiny but strong. “Don’t ever do that to me again! I was on the verge of calling 911 until the flowers arrived this morning.”

“Flowers? I got flowers?” Atlas asked excitedly as he eased Meg out of his way. He stopped three steps into the apartment. “Fuck. I got flowers.” On their dining table, big enough to seat six people comfortably, sat at least twenty vases of various colors of roses. Seriously, there had to be at least twenty.

For him.

From Hawk.

They had to be from Hawk.

Meg closed the door, and the next thing Atlas knew, she was smacking his already incredibly sore ass cheek. “You dirty dog!” She sniffed him. “You had sex. I smell it! You had lots of sex. Two days of sex!” Meg grabbed him into another hug. “I’m so proud of you. It’s about damn time! Is he gorgeous? Tell me he’s gorgeous! Clearly he’s got money to throw around. There are twenty-four sets of dozens! All colors!” She sashayed over to the table, grabbed a card, and then slammed it in his face. “Only one card. Read it. I need to see you read it. I hope it says something dirty. Read it. Now.”

Atlas felt his face glowing hot, but it wasn’t embarrassment. Shit, if he didn’t know better, it could easily be mistaken for love…like the storybook kind of love that didn’t really happen in real life. His hands shook as he took the card from her. Like everything Hawk did, the card felt thick and expensive. He opened it.

Blinked quickly as he read the words.

Blinked again…as the words adjusted inside his brain.

Meg tried to snatch the envelope from his hand but luckily, he stashed it behind his back before she could get her claws on it.Ambrose? Why would Ambrose send him roses? Even more important, if roses were to be sent, why hadn’t Hawk been the sender?

Meg placed her hands on her hips. “You’ve got exactly eighteen minutes to explain this situation to me, Atlas Mosley.”

“Eighteen minutes? You have my cave-in time narrowed down to the exact minute?” Sure, Atlas knew he would reveal the truth to his best friend, he’d just hoped to have some time to digest the disappointment before having to admit it out loud.

“No, silly. I have eighteen minutes before the car picks me up to take me to the airport. We’ve got a problem with one of our customers in Mexico, and they’re sending me to fix it. As usual. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it! Now, tell me about these roses and why your beautiful face dropped when you read the note.”

“How long are you going to be gone?” Atlas whined. He had a feeling he was going to need Meg’s support if the roses were any indication.

“I’ll be in Mexico for about a month. The CEO decided I should include all our customers in that area to make the trip as productive as possible. Now, for the important shit. Who are the roses from and why did you look sad?”

Atlas plopped down in the nearest chair. “Remember that pamphlet you gave me about posing for the photographer?”

Meg squealed with delight. “You did it? You honestly did it? I’m so proud of you! Goodbye comfort zone, hello exciting new world. I told you there would be a great chance they would pick you! Oh my God, you’re going to be famous!” She frowned. “Why the sad face, though?”

“Well, the photo shoot you gave me had been cancelled. Had I been with a model agency, I would have known this…thanks a lot for making me look like a fool. You’re forgiven, though. When I showed up at the photographer’s place, there was another client there looking for, uh, something, uh…special. He liked what he saw, and things went from there.” He held up his hand to stop another one of her squeals. “Before you go crazy, I won’t be famous. It wasveryspecialized. No face shots and they will never be seen out in public. They were for a club…a BDSM club.”

“Are you lying to me?” Meg asked, amazement written all over her face. “You actually did naked shots? For a BDSM club? In front of the most popular photographer in the art world right now?”

A wave of pride washed over Atlas. Pride for Hawk and pride that he’d been brave enough to do it. Then he remembered the roses and the note. Maybe it was no big deal? Ambrose had flirted with him, but everything had felt totally innocent. The man had practically thrown Atlas and Hawk together during their talks. Surely the roses were something he did for all his models?

Surely.

It had to be.

“Yep, Meggie. I did all that.” Atlas answered with a huge smile. “You would have been so proud of me.” He started counting off on his fingers. “First, I had the courage to try out for something that was so outlandishlynotme. Second, when I realized the mistake had been made but a different client was interested, I didn’t run away…even if I thought really long and hard about it. Third, I met with the two most gorgeous guys in the world and didn’t totally lose my shit. Fourth, I posed completely nude, up close shots, and very fucking erotic. Fifth, I went to the club opening and sat calmly while huge poster pics, beautifully framed, of course, covered the walls.” His grin grew even wider. “Oh, and I left the club with Hawk and we just spent the last twenty-four hours fucking like…shit, I don’t have words for it!”

Meg started jumping up and down with excitement. “My baby’s growing up! I’m so excited! Is he as hot as his pics on the internet? Is he good in bed? He has to be good in bed. Of course, he is. You stayed for a twenty-fucking-four-hour fuckathon!” Meg stopped jumping long enough to Atlas in for a tight, bone-cracking hug. “I’m so damn mad that I have to leave before hearing each and every libido-boiling detail! I have to know everything…and I mean everything. Please promise that as soon as I get back, we have a wine drinking all night party discussing it all.”

“I promise.” Atlas answered. “I mean as long as Hawk’s okay with me oversharing. I’ll ask him first.”

“You do that, my little sex god.” She answered as she grabbed her rolling luggage and gave Atlas a huge kiss right on the lips. “Wait. Why were you upset about the card? That many roses after a night of fucking? That’s as good as him giving you a standing ovation after ejaculation. Get it? I made a rhyme.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Atlas answered. “The roses weren’t from Hawk. They were from Ambrose—the guy who chose me for the job. Hawk’s best friend. They’re like brothers.” Atlas looked over at the rose-covered table. “I don’t want to do anything to fuck up their relationship. Is it weird that Ambrose sent the roses? Maybe it was just athank you?”

Meg nibbled her bottom lip. “I know absolutely nothing about the art world and how those creative type act. It makes sense that he would send you something…but it also doesn’t make sense. Listen to me, while I’m away, I’m going to do some digging on this Ambrose guy—see if this is something he’s done before. Hopefully, it’s just normal procedure for a man with a bunch of money. What’s his last name? I have friends in the art world. They’ll be able to help me. Discreetly, of course.”

“McKenzie.” Atlas answered. “His last name is McKenzie but please make sure everything is discreet. I don’t want to fuck this up. Hawk is…well, he’s perfect. Way too perfect for me, but he’s who I want.”

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