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The plane belonged to a friend of Marc’s. He’d mumbled something about flying in under the radar that way, and that hadn’t sat well in Royce’s gut since. He frowned at the level of anger and unease building in his system. He often left Ohio on jobs because some warranted travel along with the clients, but this was something completely different. Marc was doing this for him, and he couldn’t feel right about it. Plus, Marc had told him nothing about the painting or his plans.
Could he let the man break the law?
An image of his mother the last time he’d seen her filled his head. Smiling and showing him her plans for her flower garden. Her new meds had been working to alleviate the depression that ruled her life. God, she struggled so much with the illness she’d always had. One that had crossed into unmanageable at the death of so many loved ones. But no matter how much it had ravaged her mind and body, she’d never, not once, been missing for him. She’d upended her entire life to keep him safe.
She had to be so terrified.
The urge to punch something overwhelmed him, and he tightened his hands into fists and slowly counted to ten. Fuck, he didn’t know what to do.
Just the thought of the debt it would take him years to repay made him sweat. He earned a decent living at Ward, but nowhere near the kind of salary he’d need to pay Marc back for a multimillion-dollar painting. And there was no way he wouldn’t pay him back. In one way or another, Royce always paid a price.
Fury tore through him. This time, Corbin was going to pay for this. For all of this.
He stared at the bed and thought of Marc beneath him last night. Of his taste and his scent and how unbelievably good it felt to be inside him. To touch him. The feelings the man raised in him had his world feeling completely off-kilter. He wanted desperately to keep this about sex and sex only, but they had these moments of such…intimacy, between them. They were blowing his fucking mind.
He’d worked so hard to keep things simple, to keep things right. He’d never make up for what he’d done to Michael. There wasn’t enough money or time in the world for that payback.
And he certainly didn’t deserve this man either.
As if thinking about him brought him into focus, Marc strode into the room, and Royce’s thoughts immediately zeroed in on how gorgeous he looked in jeans and a casual blue sweater. It was one of those loose and soft numbers that draped his form and invited fingers to touch. Royce was used to him being dressed in slacks and various button-downs he wore to his gallery. Business casual, when he looked anything but casual. In everything he wore. He had a way of carrying himself. Graceful and elegant, yes, but with a straight shot of firm and commanding that had Royce’s dick at half-mast most of the time they were in his gallery. His long legs and fiercely beautiful face drew his gaze constantly. He could hardly take his eyes off him.
Or his hands.
And because it could be anyone, even family, trying to harm him, Royce was overly diligent and hyper-aware of anyone and anything in Marc’s vicinity. Keeping to the boyfriend persona hadn’t been easy either. Especially because he went to work with the man every single day. To hopefully explain that away, Marc often touched and kissed him in front of his employees, cementing the idea that they were in a kind of honeymoon phase where they couldn’t stand to be apart.
But the night before…
He started to sweat just thinking about it.
“A few of my friends have planes, but this was the only one available. It’s supposed to be a bed for one person, but I think we can squeeze in here.” Marc handed his suitcase to the young man working as their flight attendant.
Royce waited for the guy to leave. “You can just sleep on top of me.”
The corner of Marc’s mouth went up. “Then we wouldn’t sleep, and we need to if we’re going to be sharp in Florence. Trust me, you want to be as quick as possible around Angelo.”
Royce frowned. “I’m not liking the sound of this.”
Marc briefly closed his eyes. “I promise that I’ll explain everything. Let’s just get going and get some rest. Someone woke me up in the early morning hours with a blowjob.”
“I didn’t hear any complaints.”
“Hell, no. I’m expecting to wake like that every day.”
“Oral fixation,” Royce murmured, stepping closer. “Where you’re concerned, I have it.”
“Lucky me,” Marc murmured. He touched Royce’s cheek, and a look flashed through his eyes that made Royce’s stomach tighten. “And lucky you, I have that one myself. I’ll show you later. Head into the main area. We have to strap in for takeoff.”
