Page 40 of Surface Scratch
“As you wish, buttercup,” Vincent hissed.
Caleb tensed up as Vincent grabbed his chin, forcing his head back so hard he heard his own neck cracking. A strange heat shot through him where Vincent’s fingers grasped him, making his lips feel swollen and his face heat up so quickly he could feel sweat surfacing on his cheeks. He heard a strange whooshing sound and a loud thud, like someone throwing something at the wall.
He opened his eyes, running his hand over the right side of his neck. No wound. He felt the heat run down from the spot on his chin where Vincent had grabbed him, warming his lower abdomen and landing in his groin. He stuffed his hands between his thighs as a pleasant tingle ran through the length of his cock.Oh God, not now…
He scooted back, glancing back at Tariq. “What the—”
Tariq was holding Adam’s hands behind his back with one hand, his other hand over his mouth as the shirtless man struggled. Adam’s chest heaved as he stared past Caleb, wild eyed. He followed his line of sight.
Marcus had Vincent pinned to the wall, one hand around the blond’s throat with his fingers digging into the skin of his neck, the other holding a butterfly knife barely a centimeter from Vincent’s eye. His face was warped into a snarl, his irises nearly invisible between his dilated pupils and black sclera. “What the fuck did I tell you?” he growled.
Vincent didn’t even try to escape his grip. He just laughed. “You’re supposed to buy a guy dinner before you get to the foreplay,” he wheezed.
“I told you not to fucking touch him!” Marcus bellowed. He stabbed the knife into the wall beside Vincent’s head.
“We were just having some fun, I wasn’t actually going to do anything,” he rolled his eyes.
Marcus’s face twitched. “How about I borrow your pet for some ‘fun?’”
“That’s not a nice thing to joke about.” Vincent’s smug look fell fast. He glanced over at Adam, then locked his gaze on Marcus as the whites of his eyes returned to normal.
Caleb could barely focus on what was happening in front of him. He was so hard it hurt and it was impossible to hide in the unforgiving material of his work uniform. He couldn’t decide what was more distressing: the scene happening in front of him or the fact that he’d had such a bizarre reaction to almost being bitten by Vincent.
Silence fell over the room. Each second felt like an eternity with Marcus and Vincent staring each other down.
Vincent broke first. “Ugh, fine. I’m sorry, Caleb. I promise not to do it again.”
Caleb couldn’t even look at him. “It’s… uh…” His pinched his brows together, scrunching his face up as he tried to think of anything other than the feeling of his dick against his zipper. It was like his entire body had become one giant erogenous zone.
Marcus released Vincent, his scowl remaining. “Ease up on that,” he ordered, jerking his chin toward Caleb.
Vincent sighed. “You used to be fun,” he muttered. He walked over and patted Caleb twice on the cheek. “Better?”
Caleb jerked as a chill ran through and the heat emanating from his skin vanished in an instant. He took a moment to catch his breath before looking up. Was that Vincent’s ability? To make people unbearably aroused?
Adam tore himself from Tariq’s grasp and wrapped his arms around his own naked torso, almost like he was trying to soothe himself as he rubbed up and down his bruised arms. His face was bright red and his eyes looked glassy with tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.
“Come sit, pet.” Vincent beckoned. He dabbed at the blood on his neck with a handkerchief he pulled from his blazer, the wounds from where Marcus’s fingers had dug into his skin already completely healed over. “Buttercup over here came to me first. I didn’t coerce him or anything,” he said to Marcus.
Adam paced back and forth, his head bowed. Caleb double checked that the front of his pants had flattened and stood. “Adam, are you okay?” he asked gently, taking a step forward.
“Don’t talk to me!” Adam snapped. He bowed his head, his hair obscuring his face.
Vincent’s eyes grew wide, his smug look fading completely. He almost looked sad. It made him look… human. “Adam?”
Adam stood still, his shoulders jerking like he was sobbing, but no sound came out.
“Adam?” Vincent pushed Marcus out of his way as he got to his feet. Luka pointed his index fingers together in front of him before tapping the center of his chest with his middle finger and Matteo nodded, tapping his finger against his chest at the same time. Vincent shook his head at the silent communication. “Adam, it wasn’t—”
Marcus placed a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. His face had softened, back to the gentle expression Caleb was used to. “Quit while you’re ahead,” he said.
Petrov slapped his knee. “We go with pet,” he said as he stood up, buttoning the center button on his suit jacket. “You stay and talk business.”
Vincent rubbed his chin, his arms drawn to his chest. He looked at Marcus, who nodded at him. “Fine, just stay with him,” Vincent said.
“Tariq, Caleb, I need you guys to go back out there,” Marcus said as he sat down on the couch. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head as the twins and Petrov ushered Adam through the thick silver curtain.
“What about the name?” Caleb insisted. He didn’t just sit through… whatever all that was to not get an answer.
