Through With Love [Suncoast Society] (Siren Publishing Sensations ManLove) Read online

  Everyone could clearly see now that Mike had been the weak link. Considering that no one else—despite Paul sitting down with them for one-on-ones in the past, several times—had come to him with these kinds of ideas, it only reinforced Paul’s certainty that this was the right decision.

  It was nearly nine o’clock by the time Paul realized how late it’d grown. “Damn, I’m sorry to keep you here.”

  “No, I wanted to talk. This is good. I didn’t have plans.”

  Paul took a chance to drift a hint. “So who’s going to hate me for keeping you here so late?”

  Tim’s wry smile hardened Paul’s cock again. “Not even a dog. I haven’t had time for a social life since I moved here.”

  “Where are you from again?”

  “Arizona. Born and raised in Tucson, but went to college in Atlanta and stayed there after graduation for work before I moved here. I really like it here in Tampa, though. I love being near the water.”

  “Good.” Paul risked a little nudge. “I’m glad to have you aboard. I hope I can keep you happy.”

  Soooo much subtext, but unfortunately, it seemed to sail over Tim’s head. “You’ve been great, and I appreciate you hiring me and trusting me as a team leader. I won’t let you down.”

  Nertz.

  So much for that. Perhaps for the best, anyway.

  He’s an employee, dumbass.

  They walked out to the parking garage together and ended up chatting about hockey for another ten minutes before splitting off to their individual cars. Paul’s company was doing well, but he kept his personal spending conservative, hence his Honda CRV. Paid for, five years old, but in great shape. He was thirty-one and didn’t need an expensive car. He needed a reliable one, and put his extra money into his business because that’s what would take care of him for retirement.

  “Do you have a dog?”

  Paul looked to where Tim pointed at the only sticker on his SUV, placed low on the right corner of the back window, a small, light blue pawprint. He swallowed hard, hoping his stiff cock wasn’t showing too much against his khaki slacks.

  “Not right now. Used to.”

  “Ah.”

  Tim drove a Ford pick-up, and it looked new, or newish. Paul didn’t waste the opportunity to get a look at the guy’s ass in his khakis as he walked away from Paul.

  Sigh.

  Paul thought about making a stop by Ybor on his way home. He kept a bag in the backseat with a change of clothes for the club he frequented there.

  Except when a yawn escaped him, he realized how fried he felt, exhausted. Mentally and physically.

  No pup tonight. Although it’d been over a month since he’d been out to play, even longer since he’d gotten laid.

  Much longer.

  Maybe this weekend.

  * * * *

  The next couple of days reinforced not only to Paul, but to both dev teams, that he’d made the right call. Tim managed to use a friendly-firm hand to reshape and refocus his dev team and get the project back on track. Everyone on that team singly sought Paul out to quietly thank him for the changes.

  Whew.

  They were working on a pretty big job right now, a custom and integrated logistics solution to replace a patchwork system that their client was currently using. And they had some hard specifications that had to be built into the system, including scalability so the client could market the software to other companies and industries.

  Kent Corwin, the head of the company, wasn’t a software guy, but he knew the intricacies of supply-line chains, from manufacturing to distribution to retail sales, and wanted to build something better from the ground up.

  He was a hard-ass when it came to some things, but an easy-going teddy bear in others.

  Like the invite to come down that weekend to Venice and go out on his boat with him.

  No, Paul wasn’t stupid enough to say no. Not only because he didn’t want to piss off a client, but because he needed a break.

  And he could bring a plus-one…

  Except he didn’t have one.

  Tim stopped by his office, and before the man could say what he’d meant to, Paul cut him off. “Plans this Saturday?”

  Tim frowned. “I’m sorry, Mr. Sauer?”

  “Plans. Are you doing anything this Saturday? And please, call me Paul.”

  “No plans. Why?”

  Paul smiled. “You have plans now. You’re going to come help me schmooze Kent Corwin.”

  “I…who?”

  “The man whose company’s software you’re currently working on.”

  His eyebrows arched. “Oh. What, exactly, are we doing?”

  “Going out on his boat with him. Casual dress, shorts, and bring a bathing suit. You said you like watersports, right?”

  Paul realized what he’d said the moment it left his mouth, but trying to stammer a correction would only reinforce the wrong meaning…if Tim even knew what that meant.

  Best to let it fly past and hope Tim either didn’t know what it could mean, or if he did, that he simply thought Paul was a clueless het dude.

  Tim’s gaze narrowed slightly, the sexy quirk of his lips hardening Paul’s cock…again. “I like getting out on the water, yeah.”

  “Excellent. I’ll send you the deets. We can ride down together, if that’s okay?”

  “That’s fine, Mr. Sauer.”

  Paul silently groaned. “Seriously, I—”

  “Yes, I’ll call you Paul outside the office,” Tim said. “But in the office, I’d rather set a good example. Especially now, considering the extra responsibilities you’ve given me.”

  Well, Paul couldn’t argue with that logic. “Fair enough. So what’d you need?”

  “Oh, yeah…” And they were off and running again, back to work mode.

  Maybe I need to just masturbate to fantasies of him to get him out of my head.

  Chapter Two

  Paul stopped by Tim’s apartment in South Tampa to pick him up early on Saturday. It wasn’t a bad complex. Totally appropriate for a twenty-eight-year-old at this time in their life. A starter place.

  Although an apartment didn’t provide the kind of privacy a house did. Like the older house Paul owned in Town and Country.

  Not that he brought people home that often to warrant the privacy, but he was always hopeful one day he’d find a guy.

  For now, he’d have to settle for the occasional night out at the Ybor club as pup. Wasn’t as satisfying as a relationship, but it helped scratch his deeper itches.

  For a while.

  Work had to come first.

  “Am I finally going to get to hear you call me Paul today?” he teased Tim.

  Tim awarded him a winning smile. “Yes, I’ll call you Paul today. But I’m not calling him Kent unless he insists on it.”

  “He probably will. He’s a nice guy, very friendly.” They chatted as they headed south through St. Pete and over the Skyway. Mostly about work, and especially Kent Corwin’s project.

  “How much of a work day will this be today?” Tim asked.

  “Probably a lot, knowing Kent. I mean, I don’t know him well like friends or something, but he’s always struck me as pretty intense about work. Once he’s on the topic, he’s very focused.”

  They found the affable man puttering around at his boat slip in Venice, except it wasn’t just a “boat.”

  It was a boat. More correctly, a yacht. Around forty feet long, the cabin cruiser was no doubt worth several times over and then some what Paul’s house was worth.

  Easily.

  Holy shit.

  Paul knew Kent had money, because he’d researched the man’s company before signing a contract with him to create the software.

  But seeing something like this drove it home that his little start-up software company was really playing in the big leagues now.

  “Holy cow,” Tim muttered as they parked. “That’s one helluva ‘boat.’”

  “Yeah.”

  * * * *

>   Tim knew they were working for a client who had money.

  It was another thing entirely to be smacked in the face with tangible signs of that money.

  He’d never met Kent Corwin in person and didn’t know much about him beyond what Paul had told him during the drive down from Tampa. Except Corwin’s attention to detail and his hands-on participation in the process boded well.

  Tim hoped.

  And yes, he’d call Paul by his first name today. What he could never admit to the guy—his fricking boss—was that calling him Mr. Sauer while at work helped Tim hold back the sexy fantasies of everything he’d love to do to the guy outside of the office.

  Hell, maybe inside it, too.

  And it wasn’t very politic to tell your boss you would love to put him on his knees and fuck his mouth until he was drooling and choking on your cock before you flipped him over his desk and fucked his ass so he’d feel it into the middle of next week.

  He loved this job and couldn’t allow himself to fuck up and end up weirding the guy out. Especially not now, after being named the project team leader and finally getting their team realigned and everything in their dev cycle moving on course once more.

  Tim could also see the potential in Paul’s company. They had quality people doing quality work. With the contracts they now held, it wasn’t inconceivable to think they could be a huge name in custom software development in five years or sooner. He wanted to be a part of that, not just a nameless cog in a larger machine like he’d been at his previous job.

  Kent looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, and was only an inch or so shorter than Tim’s five-eleven. His dark brown hair was neatly trimmed, a few hints of silver here and there proving he didn’t dye it. With brown eyes and a winning, friendly smile, the man quickly took over.

  “So you’re Paul’s newest guy, huh?” Kent shook with him in a hearty but not assholish grip. “Heard a lot of good things about you.”

  Tim cast a quick smile in Paul’s direction. “I enjoy working for him.”

  “Glad he brought you today. A lot I want to talk to you guys about…”

  Apparently there were three other guests arriving soon, all men, but either Tim didn’t catch what their relationship was to Kent, or maybe Kent didn’t say it.

  Kent led them into the cabin area, showed them where they could stash their things and where the drinks and snacks were in the galley, then flashed them a playful smile. “So how long have you two been together?”

  Paul looked adorably confused, and Tim had to swallow back his laugh so he didn’t freak Paul out.

  “Sorry?” Paul asked.

  “How long you guys been an item? Look, I want to talk work today, but it’s also a day for fun, right?” Kent dropped them a knowing wink. “Kick back and relax. All work and no play, that bullshit, huh?”

  When Paul’s cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink, Tim opted to help him out. “I’m keeping things professional with Paul,” Tim said, patting the guy on his shoulder and risking leaving his hand there for a brief moment. “Wouldn’t do to piss anyone off in the office. Our team’s too valuable.”

  Kent’s eyebrows arched. “Ah, mea culpa, gentlemen. I misunderstood. I thought you two were an item. No hard feelings, I hope?”

  “Not at all,” Tim said. “I’m flattered you think that highly of me.”

  Tim was having a hard time containing his laughter that Paul had been rendered totally speechless, something he never thought he’d see. The guy wasn’t a smooth operator, no, but this level of shock and silence was unusual for the man.

  Kent’s smile widened and he pointed at Tim. “I like you, kid. I’ve been looking forward to sitting down with you and chatting in person ever since Paul told me he hired you.” He lightly smacked Paul’s shoulder. “Keep this one around, huh?”

  Paul nodded, apparently happy for the diversion of the topic. “Yeah, I plan to.”

  * * * *

  Holy.

  Shit.

  Paul hadn’t felt this tongue-tied in…ever.

  At least Tim wasn’t freaked out by Kent assuming they were a couple. Except…

  It also didn’t answer the question one way or another about whether Tim was gay or not.

  Kent looked up and waved at a car that’d just pulled into a parking space near the slip. He headed toward the stern, giving Paul a chance to try to pull it together.

  Tim wore an evil smile. “You all right, boss?”

  “Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I never told him—”

  “It’s fine, seriously. Look, I’m not some macho dude hung up about things like that. Let’s have a fun day, talk shop, and schmooze the hell out of the guy. I’m not freaked out, Paul.” The evil, sexy smile remained firmly fixed in place.

  “I forgot how intense Kent could be in person. It’s not so bad talking with him on the phone.”

  “He’s going to make the company a lot of money. I’m good with doing whatever needs to be done to keep him happy. I mean, not to the extent of killing puppies or drowning kittens, but you get my drift. This?” Tim shrugged. “I’m a team player, no worries.”

  That playful smirk would be Paul’s undoing, he just knew it. He was also glad he’d opted to don baggy board shorts for now, because they were helping hide his growing chub from the other man. “Thanks for understanding.”

  Tim dropped his voice. “He’d have every right to be aggravated with us for the delays, and he doesn’t seem to be. Hey, it’ll make our lives easier, right? I’m on your side, and I won’t let you down. I won’t betray your trust in me, or mishandle the responsibility you’ve placed on me.”

  “Thanks.”

  Tim stepped out of the cabin to help the newcomer load his things into the boat while Paul tried to regain his mental footing.

  Once the other two men had arrived and joined them on board, Kent had Paul and Tim help him cast off the lines as he steered the boat out of its slip and toward the channel. The vessel’s engines throbbed beneath their feet as they stood in the stern. Tim had donned sunglasses, and Paul decided to put his on as well. At least that way he could study Tim without him knowing it.

  The three guys who’d joined them today were two twinks and a guy who had to be maybe late twenties or early thirties. He had more meat on him than a twink, perhaps six months’ of work in the gym beefier than the other two guys.

  And Kent seemed to know the three men very well, from the way he greeted them with on-the-lips kisses.

  Good to know. That Kent was gay—or at least very friendly and bi—was a little bit of a relief. Paul kept his personal life out of his work so he didn’t have to worry about some idiot client getting pissed off because he was gay. Hell, most of the people he worked with probably didn’t know he was gay. Wasn’t that it was a secret, but he damn sure wasn’t discussing his pup nights around the morning meetings.

  Or with anyone at all, for that matter.

  That was his closely guarded secret. And he had never run into any coworkers while there, either, or he wouldn’t be going back to the club.

  * * * *

  Well, shit.

  Kent had always been reasonably sure Paul was gay, but since he was more in need of the guy’s programming services than he was the guy’s ass for fucking, he’d been careful not to cross a line. In fact, even inviting him to come out today would be pushing the boundaries just a little.

  He’d assumed the cutie Paul brought with him was his boyfriend, not just an employee.

  And from the way the guy’s gaze had scanned Kent’s body when they’d first met, he was pretty damn sure Tim was gay.

  Either Paul was clueless, or firmly wedged in a closet.

  Maybe that’s for the best. No messy entanglement to fuck up their business arrangement.

  He wanted to get out on the water and relax today, do a little fishing, let the trio of boys he’d invited for this special day have some fun with him, and talk shop with Paul and Tim.

  The talking shop part would
probably happen first, on the way out to their fishing spot and then maybe again on the way in.

  He’d been considering asking Paul to one of the parties he threw at his house on a regular basis, but now he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Especially not knowing if Paul was gay or not. Wouldn’t do to freak him out.

  This software would potentially leapfrog them into the upper echelon of logistics management. He’d seen what to do, what not to do, and once it was online and implemented, it would revolutionize product management from manufacturer to retail point-of-sales.

  It was the perfect package they needed, and would be built flexible, scalable, and easily customizable.

  Meaning both his company and Paul’s would benefit from licensing it to other corporations who needed the same kind of functionality and tracking ability.

  From the flybridge, Kent glanced down at the stern. “Paul, Tim, come on up and let’s talk shop.”

  Once the men were up there, Kent forced his brain into work mode. They might get scared off if the monster awakened and tried to make its presence known to them.

  They spent the next hour talking as they made their way out to the reef Kent wanted to anchor on. None of this bullshit of moving around from place to place. The fishing was an excuse.

  He wanted his other three guests naked and wet and ready for fun. Paul and Tim could fish while he took the trio into the front V-berth cabin and made one or more of them howl with pleasure. Once they returned to the marina for the evening, all three men would be spending the night with him on the boat. By tomorrow morning, they’d all be sporting sore asses and a hunger for more of Kent’s monster.

  Just the way he liked his boys.

  Too bad I can’t invite Paul and Tim to do more.

  One of the cuties had been out on the boat with him before and knew how to help him set the anchor. Once that was done, Kent switched off the engines and turned on the genny. During the voyage out, they’d hammered out more details about the software, and Tim had even pulled out his phone to take notes.