Exposed (18 page)

I
t had already been
a fucking
month
of avoiding Austin, and in New York City, that was a momentous task. To be fair, he’d had plenty of help from certain people—Vince and Julius, mainly, but pretty much everyone in the company seemed to know what had happened.

Thankfully, nobody had the balls to talk about it to his face.

As much as Briar wanted to think it was just life back to normal, there was a Gabe-shaped hole in it. No more sneaking off to visit him at every event, no flying with him to or from foreign climes, no peeking in on him in the in-house photo studio…

But it was about fucking time he get out. Avoiding ritzy parties wasn’t going to win him any new clients, and he couldn’t afford to lose the momentum Exposed had built.

Losing Gabriel had been a giant blow to his reputation, but not to his bank balance. Gabriel’s bookings
had
been going down before he jumped ship. And now, nobody seemed to even remember the guy they’d been fawning over just last month.

It was the weirdest thing… and oddly insulting, on Gabe’s behalf.

What he wasn’t expecting when he walked through the door of the two-floor luxury penthouse suite with the indoor waterfall and pools was to see Gabriel posing, in his underwear, in the middle of the pool, the waterfall behind him.

Briar’s chest seized tight as he stared at Gabe for a second, then tore his eyes away out of a weird sense of… respect? Decency?

Then, he noticed it wasn’t stopping anyone else.

The last thing he saw before he saw red was Austin and Jordan.

Specifically, Jordan running his hand up Gabriel’s chest while he stood beside him on the smooth tile of the living room floor, Gabriel in the water.

Austin, by his side, was laughing, saying something about
his guys
and how
fit
they were, but Briar didn’t give a shit.

The moment he saw that look in Gabriel’s eye—the one where his eyes were flickering around the room, that defiant spark gone, his chin down and shoulders forward…

Something was wrong, and
fuck
them both if they thought they’d get away with that bullshit.

“Oh, shit. Briar—” someone started, but he pushed past them and stormed toward Austin.

Austin turned and raised his brows, just in time for Briar to grab him by the shoulders and give him a quick, hard
shove
.

Right into the water.

The room exploded with exclamations, curses, and a couple of guys trying to pull Briar back, but he shoved them off and slapped Jordan across the face.

“You’ve been
fucking him over
all this time, haven’t you? This last month? Knocking him so low he doesn’t have a choice but do this for you. How can you
live
with yourself?”

The water was only a few inches deep, but Austin’s pretty little jeans and cap-sleeved shirt were soaked now as he hauled himself upright and out of the water and came at Briar, until a couple guys grabbed him, too. “Same way you can live with yourself for telling lies about me, asshole.”

Jordan was reeling silently, his hand pressed to his cheek, his eyes wide.

That sound had cracked Gabriel’s model façade, and he was watching from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, maybe you weren’t a thief then, but you’re more than that now,” Briar growled right back at Austin. His heart was pounding, and it was all he could do not to fall to punches. “If any of you pretend you didn’t see the look on Gabriel’s face that I saw the second I walked in…”

The guests fell into an uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah, I thought so,” Briar spat out. He held out a hand to Gabriel, ignoring both the others.

Austin knocked his hand away. “He’s mine now, man.”

Jordan gave him a sideways glance.

“I’ll get him out of the contract as fast as you got him out of mine,” Briar sneered. “Was it signed when you were drunk?”

“Technically…” Austin started.

“That’s bullshit,” Jordan hissed.

“I’m asking Gabriel.” Briar turned away from them as Austin waded out of the pool and took off his shoes to empty them back into the pool. Briar just watched Gabriel.

Gabriel hesitated, his gaze finally focusing on him instead of the neutral, professional mid-distance stare of a model. Then, he nodded.

“I thought so.”

Briar extended his hand once more to Gabriel, who glanced down at him.

“Fuck you,” Jordan spat. “You can’t have him.”

Gabriel stepped out of the pool and took Briar’s arm. “Yes, he can.” Gabriel’s voice was soft but distinct, contrasting his gaze. His eyes bored holes through that little asshole. He turned, then, and looked straight at Briar. “Yes, you can.”

Briar hadn’t known he’d been so desperate to hear those words, but now that he did, they felt so utterly right. They were both watching each other still, completely ignoring Austin and Jordan despite whatever they were blathering about now.

And Gabriel was smiling at him—that soft, open, vulnerable smile, not his fake model smile.

This is him. He’s back.

Briar hauled him in for a quick, hard hug, sliding his arms around his back. Briar glared over Gabriel’s shoulder at every damn one of them who
dared
stand in judgment and whisper about the party host who’d paid all that money. “You’re coming home with me.”

The answer blew him away.

“I’ve been waiting long enough.”

Briar slid off his jacket and stood behind Gabriel to help him put it on, one arm at a time. Gabriel zipped it up, and then he took Briar’s arm again as they walked silently to the door.

Neither Austin nor Jordan seemed to have a word to say, but there would be hundreds—thousands of gossip-filled words in the days to come. Briar was sure of that.

He also didn’t care.

T
he limo ride
home was relatively quiet. Briar said something to the driver, who looked startled but scrambled out of the car to open the door for them both.

Then they were sliding into the seat next to each other in the back, and Gabriel was so glad Briar chose the seat next to him. He leaned into him while Briar wrapped an arm tightly around his shoulders.

Briar had looked so furious, and not in the cold, harsh way of being screwed over on a contract. It was something a lot hotter that had made him slap Jordan so hard the crack had echoed through the room.

That simple gesture had given Gabriel breathing room, made him feel less like he was his ex’s bitch and more like he was… his own person. Free, like when he’d first signed with Exposed.

“You okay?” Gabriel murmured.

Briar laughed breathily, and his hand rose to idly stroke the hair at the back of Gabriel’s head. “I should be asking you that, Gabe. I’m fine.”

“Seeing Austin again…” It occurred to Gabriel that he didn’t really know how Briar felt about him. The public split had been nasty, but nobody had been gossiping about whether Briar’s heart was really Austin’s or not.

“Seeing Jordan,” Briar countered, but his tone was gentle. He leaned forward to rummage in one of the limo’s compartments.

An unconscious shudder worked its way through Gabriel’s body, and Briar’s arm around his shoulders tightened for a moment. Being in his arms let Gabriel smell that wonderful, soapy spice that made all his tensions unwind every time.

“It wasn’t easy,” Gabriel agreed quietly. “Austin told me… I’d never have to be around Jordan. Until tonight, he never had us meet. But I guess he decided, fuck it, torture me a little… brought him along tonight.”

“Sadistic little asshole,” Briar murmured, his voice hard. He was pressing something into Gabriel’s hand. “I shouldn’t have let you go with him.”

“I
wanted
to. It was a mistake, but you let me make it myself.” Gabriel realized his nails were biting into his palms. He accepted whatever Briar gave him, which turned out to be a chocolate square. Once he rubbed the marks out of his palms, Gabriel popped the square into his mouth and rested one hand on Briar’s knee.

“Are you done making me watch you make mistakes?” Briar asked, his voice gentle.

Gabriel winced. Yeah, it couldn’t have been easy letting him walk away—to his ex, no less—but Briar had done it. He’d respected him that much. And everything before that… all the drinking and partying, very nearly drugs…

“I’m done,” Gabriel agreed quietly, rolling the chocolate under his tongue. Then, he winced again. “I’m sorry for fucking up.” As far as he knew, Exposed hadn’t suffered, but Briar…

If he really cared about him like he seemed to, he had.

“I’m sorry I threw you in the deep end,” Briar answered, that deep rumble of his voice soothing Gabriel in its tremors through his chest as their sides pressed together.

This was getting a little heavy. “Okay, our mutual apologyfest is done,” Gabriel grinned, licking the chocolate off his teeth and swallowing a few times.

Briar let him deflect with that humor. “Fine,” Briar teased. “You smell nice.”

“Oh, compliments. I like those better,” Gabriel grinned. The chuckle was slow, but it came nonetheless. God, even when he was reeling from shame and shock, Briar could make him laugh.

Briar rubbed Gabriel’s arm and murmured, “Bet you taste nice, too.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, but he couldn’t help laughing, clutching his bag of clothes to his lap. He hadn’t even bothered pulling on his jeans before making his exit. That line was damn smooth. “Why don’t you find out?”

“Do you want me to?”

The question made Gabriel’s breath catch in his throat. There was no question—not at all. He’d always wanted Briar, every second, in every way. Even over this last painful month of spiraling into obscurity, he’d thought about Briar.

Specifically, he’d wished Briar wanted him as more than a warm, pretty body in his bed.

“What are we?” Gabriel countered, trying to keep his voice steady. He was terrified of the answer, but after everything that had happened tonight, what was the worst that could happen now? He’d already hit bottom.

“That’s up to you. I like you… a lot more than I’d hoped,” Briar admitted. “I wasn’t planning to date again until I was at
least
forty. And I wasn’t planning to date another model. I also wasn’t planning on meeting you. I missed you a lot this month.”

Gabriel swallowed hard. Okay… communication. He could do this. He followed Briar’s lead. “Yeah, same. Jordan pushed me around a lot—a bit physically, mostly emotionally, you know? I was all,
I won’t date
, too. But you seemed… seem… different. And… Christ knows I missed you, too. Even though we only barely saw each other before, that was better than nothing.”

“So, are we doing this?”

Gabriel’s heart thudded, and he turned his head to make direct eye contact with Briar. Those blue eyes were sincere as Briar intently waited on his answer.

“Yes,” Gabriel murmured, his heart thudding with excitement as he squeezed Briar’s knee. He was rewarded with a rare, broad smile that stretched at the corners of Briar’s lips until his cheeks rounded.

“Great,” Briar murmured, then patted his knee. “We’re headed back to mine, is that okay?”

Then Gabriel’s chest tightened. Shit. He had to come clean. “Ah, yeah… about that.” Briar just raised an eyebrow, and Gabriel went on. “I don’t actually live… where I said I did.”

“I couldn’t have guessed.” The dry sarcasm dripping from Briar’s lips made Gabriel laugh with surprise. “I’ve known since the beginning.”

“Wh-why’d you even hire me, then?” Gabriel stuttered, caught completely off-guard.

“I knew you didn’t work where you said you did, too. I thought it was ballsy to lie your way up. I wanted to see if you could prove yourself on your own merits instead of your résumé.”

Gabriel flushed with embarrassment. He hadn’t exactly done that.

Briar chuckled gently and pulled him in for another half-hug. “I’m glad you didn’t work out as my executive assistant, to be honest. You would have sucked taking orders, and I’d have been a dick giving them.”

Gabriel burst out laughing, relief washing through him as he leaned back in his seat again. Briar had given him enough chances and rope to hang himself with, and he was still taking him back. He wasn’t going to use his generosity again.

“Are you getting me back to work modeling?”

“I thought about something else, actually,” Briar hummed. “I’ll talk more about it tomorrow, once we give the middle finger to those dicks’ lawyers.”

Gabriel relaxed and put his head on his new lover’s shoulder for a moment. More than feeling ashamed of his downward spiral, he was bored and restless. He
wanted
to work hard and earn his money, even if it wasn’t on the runway.

Hell, part of him wondered if he’d be better-suited behind the scenes, where nobody would look twice at him or expect him to power through a week of work on half a dozen salads, a few bottles of champagne, and a line of coke.

Gabriel knew two things for sure: first, that he was a damn good model, and second, that this fact didn’t mean he
should
be one.

* * *

T
he foyer
of Briar’s house made Gabriel suck in his breath with shock.

Holy shit. He’d modeled for Quantum, the magazine of all the fancy pants business gays, in his
own
front hall? They’d brought in different furniture—more swanky dark carved woods, and the lighting had been different, but the wallpaper and tile was unmistakable.

“Hm?” Briar hummed, kicking off his shoes and nudging them into his closet.

“Just… nothing.” Gabriel followed suit.

Then, Briar’s eyes lit up with amusement. “You recognize this place?” He wasn’t helping Gabriel off with his jacket, letting his choose whether to strip it off or not.

That was kind of sweet, and totally missed the mark on what Gabriel wanted right now. Gabriel dropped his bag of clothes and stuff to the floor and shook off the jacket in a smooth snap of his arms, then handed it over to Briar. “Maybe.”

To his credit, Briar’s eyes stayed on his face and not the underwear that was all Gabriel was left in now. “You studied up on everything I’ve done?”

“…Maybe.” Gabriel was blushing, the heat crawling down his face and chest now. He knew he was turning bright red as far down as his chest, and up to his ears. “Shut up and kiss me.”

Briar’s laugh was gentle and affectionate as he snaked his arms around Gabriel’s waist, yanking him against him.

They kissed deeply, Gabriel pressing close. Despite the heat of his blush, the hallway was cool under his feet and around him.

After a few deep kisses, Briar murmured, “Want some more clothes?”

“I want fewer, actually,” Gabriel whispered against Briar’s wet lips. He ran his tongue slowly across Briar’s lower lip, then sucked it between his lips and nipped lightly.

Briar’s eyes were hazy now, his breathing rough. “Th-That way,” he whispered once he could speak again, pushing Gabriel towards a door.

Gabriel moved easily with him, the tension thick and hot between them already. His cock was hard, stretching his underwear in a thick line along his thigh. His heart thudded, and more than anything, he itched to run his hands along that soft, warm skin.

Briar caressed his cheeks with his palms, rubbing his fingertips along the short hairs at the back of his neck. By the time they hit the bed, Gabriel was already unbuttoning Briar’s blazer and shoving it off his arms, impatiently working on his shirt next.

“So many
fucking
layers.”

“Sorry. Next time I’ll go naked.”

Gabriel snorted with laughter as he fumbled with buttons around Briar’s belly. “One layer only,” he instructed his boss—his boyfriend. “T-shirt and boxers. That makes for easy access.”

The whole while, Briar kept touching all of Gabriel’s bare skin, running his hands along his shoulder and over his chest and stomach, down his thigh, up his sides…

It was driving Gabriel
wild
not to feel Briar’s warmth blanketing his own directly yet, and he growled under his breath as he fought with Briar’s pants next.

Briar nudged his hands away. “I’ll get those,” he promised, looking amused.

“Fine.” Gabriel hauled him in, a hand on each cheek, to kiss him hard instead.

Briar licked his way into Gabriel’s mouth, panting for breath while he squirmed to kick his underwear and pants off.

“Yes,” Gabriel moaned against his lips, then sucked on the tip of his tongue until Briar’s hard cock rubbed against his thigh.

Ooooh,
that
was impossible to miss.

Then Briar’s thumbs hooked in his waistband and hauled down his underwear, the elastic catching on his cock and then popping free.

And all that was left was skin on skin, heat burning between their bodies with the friction as they rubbed up and down against each other, grinding and reveling in naked bliss.

“Oh,
God
, you feel amazing,” Briar moaned into his mouth, still kissing him until his lips just about hurt.

Gabriel couldn’t keep his moan quiet, and he didn’t want to. He ran his nails lightly up Briar’s back and arched his back, finally breaking away from the kiss to try to catch his breath.

With that wicked smile, it was clear Briar had no intentions of letting him. He kissed gently along Gabriel’s jaw, then down his throat and along his neck. Before long, those warm lips were pressing kisses along his collarbone.

Gabriel’s chest heaved for breath, and that was before Briar’s tongue swiped across a nipple.

“
Fuck
!” Gabriel exclaimed, his breath rasping in his throat. “Oh, Jesus… Briar!”

“Mmhmm?” Briar hummed, his lips closing around one sensitive nub.

It only took a few flicks of his tongue before need was throbbing through Gabriel’s body. He ground up into Briar’s stomach as he gasped for breath. “You little… holy fuck.”

Briar sucked firmly now, pinching his lips around the skin. A wave of heat crashed through his body, his muscles tightening and twitching with arousal. He was on edge now.

Briar’s hand wandered across Gabriel’s thigh and between his legs, his fingertips trailing under his cock and along his balls. Gabriel moaned sharply with approval, spreading his legs.

“I haven’t fucked a single guy since we met.”

Briar’s murmured confession left Gabriel even more breathless than warm breath across his damp skin.

“Me neither,” Gabriel managed, then caught his breath at the slow play of fingertips across his nipple at the same time as another finger stroked around his sensitive hole. “Oh, Christ. You wanna skip the condoms again?”

“If you’d like me to.”

Gabriel nodded once, sharply, and strained to lean down for another kiss against Briar’s lips. “I want you.”

Briar leaned over to the bedside table, giving Gabriel the perfect chance to kiss Briar’s nipples in return—one, then the other.

“Hnnh.” When Briar sank back to his elbows over Gabriel, he grinned at him. “I’ll let you do that more someday.”