Page 3 of The Professional
“It’s our two-year anniversary,” Adrian whispered, shifting closer to the bed before he sat. He touched the soft covers, his fingers dancing over the cashmere blankets Rourke bought for Forrest a week after he took over the Virtue. He claimed the highest earner deserved the best, but Forrest still wondered if there’d been more to the story, especially considering he’d have to explain the expense to Killough’s men who managed that sort of stuff.
“Is it?” Forrest smiled and slid his tongue over his bottom lip. He purposely dipped his gaze to Adrian’s crotch. “What present do I get today?”
Adrian’s mouth parted and he glanced away. Forrest knew all his nervous ticks by now and they only made him sweeter, but Forrest would bet that’s not how he wanted people to think about him. “I… actually have news for you.”
Forrest fell onto the bed next to him and laid his hand on Adrian’s thigh, squeezing. He leaned a little closer, inhaled Adrian’s peppery cologne, and licked the shell of his ear in the way that always made Adrian tremble. “What news?”
A shiver made its way through Adrian’s body. “News about my dad.”
“Hm? I thought we always talked about your familyafteryou screwed me into the bed.” Forrest’s hand inched higher until his fingers grazed over Adrian’s growing bulge. At least his size and width satisfied him.
“I know, but this is important.” Adrian seized his hand and held it tightly.
Forrest frowned and sat back. “Why? You do realize you pay to fuck me, right?”
“I know, but I care about you.”
Forrest cringed.Ah. Here it is, the dreaded feelings talk.He knew it would come eventually; it always did. Men who stayed around longer than six months always thought they felt something, and it had taken Adrian a lot longer to get there than Forrest expected it would. “Adrian, you’re a good guy—”
“What?” Adrian shook his head. “I don’t want to date you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I know how this works.”
Tension in Forrest’s shoulders released. “Oh, thank fuck. I didn’t want this to get awkward.”
Adrian sighed, brushing a hand over the longer strands of hair on top of his head, then grinned. “I care for you because you gave me something no one else could. You gave me a safe place without judgement, and I want to return the favor.”
Forrest forced down the urge to wince. He hadn’t really been judgmental on Adrian’s boring sex escapades, but he’d mentioned them to Conall and a few of the other professionals, which meant there had been teasing. “All right. So what’s the favor?”
Adrian shifted uncomfortably and squeezed the back of his own neck. “I said it’s about my dad. He got a visitor the other night. A cop.”
Forrest folded his legs under himself and waved his hand in a continue gesture. “I’m listening.”
“Well, not really a cop. More like a detective, I think. Her name’s Diaz.”
Diaz. The name sounded familiar, but it wasn’t anyone Forrest knew. There were plenty of Diazes around New York City.
“She came to him asking for his help. I didn’t hear much, but I heard her mention Killough’s name. She’s after him, I think, and she said she wants to destroy the Virtue. Said it belongs to Killough, and to take him down, she needs to start with his money making ventures.”
It felt like Forrest’s heart stopped completely in his chest, or maybe it jumped somewhere low in his throat, because a lump formed there, and breathing grew difficult. He swallowed around the urge to vomit in concern. “You said her name’s Diaz?”
“Yeah.” Adrian touched the back of Forrest’s hand. “This place has become my safety net. I won’t let her take it down.”
Forrest forced a smile and cupped Adrian’s jaw, laying a gentle kiss across his mouth. “You don’t have to worry. Sloan Killough isn’t someone to mess with, and neither is our provocateur. Rourke won’t let anything happen, but I need to knoweverything.”
Adrian inhaled deeply. “Okay.”
Chapter Two
“Staring at the stairs isn’t going to make them spontaneously combust, ya know?” Terrance raised his red eyebrows at Rourke and leaned closer, elbows resting on the reception desk they stood beside.
Rourke couldn’t tear his eyes off those steps even if he tried. Forrest took Adrian Honor up there two hours ago and they’d be coming down soon. The thought made something stir low in his gut, a kind of acid that he tasted in the back of his throat. Adrian was a regular, not anyone special, and Rourke didn’t know why it mattered so much today, but it did. He’d been coming to see Forrest for two years now. From Rourke’s experience, the feelings began after three months. First, the client thought they cared deeply for the whore like a friend who they fucked on occasion, and then the feelings grew. They thought they were in love and theyknewthe whore felt the same way; it was destiny, like a fucking love story. But it wasn’t. After the whore admitted they felt nothing, the violence came, and Rourke needed to make sure that never happened. He had installed panic buttons in the rooms in case anything went awry, but he also needed to trust that the whores would come to him, too.
Terrance nudged him on the shoulder, earning a glare from Rourke. “Rule number one in being a provocateur—don’t fall in love with a whore.”
“I’m not.” Rourke took a step away from him and buttoned up the Dior suit jacket that he’d undone when he sat down with Sloan earlier. As usual, the boss wanted to check in with them. Rourke had given him the profit numbers, and they’d talked about the impact after the Italian boss’s bastard son decided to shoot up the brothel.
“Liar.” Terrance shrugged. “It’s not hard to tell.”
“Why? Because I want to protect our property? Forrest is nothing more than a whore we rent out.”
