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The Paint Store Boys 4

Deep Purple Dreams

Underneath Cuthbert Lewis’s prim charcoal suit beats a heart that
longs for a bad boy to spank him and love him completely and

thoroughly. Ponytailed, tattooed Samuel Gosling knows exactly
what he needs. Starting with getting up close and personal against
the alley wall outside Pinky’s gay bar.

Cuthbert is the final co-owner of The Paint Store. All his friends
have found their Mr. Right, but happiness hasn’t come his way

yet. And just when he thinks Samuel might be his answer, he
discovers that due to his trusting innocence someone has been

taking advantage of him at work.

Sam is falling for Cuth fast and hard, but can two such very

different people ever find common ground, other than against a
wall? Is Cuthbert too naïve to cope with the real world? And what
about the other The Paint Store owners? Are they going to get

involved as well?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary
Length: 20,791 words

DEEP PURPLE DREAMS

The Paint Store Boys 4

Berengaria Brown

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

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www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

DEEP PURPLE DREAMS
Copyright © 2014 by Berengaria Brown
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-019-1

First E-book Publication: August 2014

Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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Berengaria Brown from BookStrand.com or its official distributors,
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Regarding E-book Piracy

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DEEP PURPLE DREAMS

The Paint Store Boys 4

BERENGARIA BROWN

Chapter One

Cuthbert Lewis, aged twenty-eight, senior finance officer for

Simla Inc., was the only one remaining in the large booth at Pinky’s
gay bar. All his friends had left. He was one of four partners in The
Paint Store. He’d been so pleased and excited for his gay friends as
one by one they’d found their Mr. Right. Now he was the only one
left. But would he ever find his own perfect partner?

Because Cuthbert had a secret.
Deep in his heart he liked his sex a bit rough and a little bit bad.

Not broken-bones rough. And not drug-dealing outlaw motorcycle
gang bad. But some nice deep-purple bruises on his ass rough. And
maybe some pushed up against a wall and fucked right there and then
bad.

He stared down at his charcoal-gray suit, starched white shirt, and

shiny black dress shoes in despair. How the fuck would he ever find
Mr. Naughty when, as an SFO, he had to look and dress like this?
He’d considered getting a tattoo, but to keep his job it would have to
be where no one at work would ever see it, so what would be the
point of that? No one in a bar would ever see it either.

Morosely he took another sip of his sparkling water. And that was

another thing. People looking for sex didn’t drink sparkling water. He

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couldn’t remember the last time he’d had more than a single alcoholic
drink when he was out for an evening. The fear of losing his driving
license ensured that was his limit. Even at home he almost never had
more than two drinks, because he wanted to be absolutely sure any
effects of the alcohol were gone from his bloodstream before work the
next morning. Damn he was boring.

Maybe he should go online to one of those dating sites and try to

find himself a hot bad boy there. But from what he’d heard, far too
many of the people there lied terribly about who they were and what
they wanted, and some of them were already in steady relationships
and were just looking for a bit of fun on the side. There was no way
Cuthbert ever intended coming between partners. That was totally
against his beliefs and standards.

“Dance with me.”
Cuthbert looked up, startled. It was a statement, not a question,

and the man who’d made the statement had the most unusual amber
eyes Cuthbert had ever seen. He was just about to say he didn’t dance,
when he noticed a tattoo peeking out from under the edge of the tight
black T-shirt Amber Eyes was wearing. He put his water down and
stood up, sliding out of the booth and following the other man onto
the dance floor.

“My name’s Sam.”
“I’m Cuthbert.”
“Cuthbert? Do they call you Bert?”
“No.” No one shortened his name at work, and his family had

never shortened it either. Occasionally Basil, one of the co-owners of
The Paint Store called him Cuth.

“Are you serious? It’s a bit of a mouthful. I’m actually Samuel but

most people just say Sam.”

Cuthbert swallowed and said, “I do have a friend who calls me

Cuth.”

“I don’t know what your problem is with Bert, but Cuth will do.

So, Cuth, what do you do?”

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To say senior finance officer seemed like too much information,

or bragging, so he said, “Accountant. And you?”

“Landscape gardening. Own my own company. Work when and if

I goddamn feel like it.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Cuthbert knew he’d never be brave

enough to do that. He could be assertive if the company was heading
down the wrong pathway with their financial decisions, but never
about anything else. He’d never be brave enough to tell a client to go
away just because he didn’t feel like working. He’d be too terrified
they’d take their business to a competitor. Yeah, he was a wimp. And
not just a wimp in his work life, but also a wimp in his personal life.

Like now. Samuel’s amber eyes were filled with lust and

appreciation, but was he going to touch the man? Maybe hold him as
they danced? Hell no. He was too worried about acting like he was
encroaching on someone else’s personal space. He bet if Samuel
wanted to touch him he wouldn’t stand back.

I need to be more assertive. To ask for what I want.
But somehow he knew he wouldn’t do it. He liked the look of

Samuel. He had just the right hint of bad boy about him. That tight
black T-shirt, and biker boots under his skinny leg jeans. But would
Cuthbert have the self-confidence to ask for his cell phone number?
Probably not.

The music turned slow and languid, the dance floor lights were

dimmed, and Samuel stepped in closer to Cuthbert. His brawny arms
gripped Cuthbert’s hips and suddenly Cuthbert discovered himself
dancing cheek-to-cheek with his bad boy. Very gently Cuthbert
rubbed his face against Samuel’s, reveling in the roughness of the
skin there. It was more than five o’clock shadow, but not really
designer stubble. Cuthbert smiled to himself. He knew almost nothing
about this man yet, but had a feeling he’d shave when he wanted to
shave, not immediately after his shower every morning the way
Cuthbert did.

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Cuthbert was content in Samuel’s arms, their bodies moved

together slowly and erotically, each of them keeping in time with the
music and with the movements of each other. Cautiously Cuthbert
lifted his arms and held on to Samuel’s shoulders very lightly. As the
music continued he relaxed and let his grip tighten just a fraction.

Work-roughened hands pulled his shirt out of his belt and then

slid up his back against his skin, inside both his jacket and his shirt.
Samuel’s hands on his skin felt amazing. A little rough, a little hard, a
whole lot of carnal tension. Samuel stroked them up and down his
back, teasing his skin, waking up all his nerve endings, and making
his dick lengthen and harden as well.

Cuthbert’s whole body jerked upright with shock when Samuel’s

hand slid inside his underwear and a finger teased his rosette.

“Relax. You’ll like this I promise.” The words were barely above

the threshold of hearing and whispered directly into his ear. One hand
held Cuthbert’s body against Samuel’s hard chest, while the other
teased his ass gently but provocatively, until Cuthbert was ready to
scream, wanting Samuel to touch his anus again.

Samuel rubbed his crotch over Cuthbert’s cock. Their cocks were

both thick hard ridges in the front of their pants. Cuthbert was glad his
erection was hidden by their bodies. He just hoped no one could see
where Samuel’s wickedly enticing finger rested right now, which was
inside the ring of his ass, pressing deeper, touching the skin there,
driving him insane with the need for more.

Cuthbert widened his legs and gave up all pretense of dancing. He

rested his face against Samuel’s shoulder, every cell in his body
hyper-alert to the man’s rough touch on his ass, the heavy cock
pressing into his own, to his growing need for more. To be fucked. Oh
yes, he wanted, needed, absolutely had to have Samuel in his bed
tonight.

The music stopped and reluctantly Cuthbert straightened up.

Samuel’s hand gripped his wrist. “Come with me.”

Deep Purple Dreams

Once again it wasn’t really a question. The tone of voice clearly

defined it as an instruction. One Cuthbert had every intention of
obeying. His house or Samuel’s he didn’t really care. He just knew he
wanted this man, this stranger who’d aroused him so easily to a
devastatingly high level of need, tonight.

* * * *

Sam Gosling hadn’t come to Pinky’s tonight expecting to pick up

a one-night stand. He’d simply wanted a couple of beers before
heading back home to bed. Fortunately he had tucked his tiny travel
tube of lube and a couple of lubed condoms into his wallet. He
guessed that made him look like some kind of sleaze always out for a
quick, random fuck, but that wasn’t him at all. Sure he’d had one-
night stands. He was thirty, at the height of his sexual prowess, and
still didn’t have a permanent partner.

Mr. Repressed in his neat dark suit was exactly what he needed.

The buttoned-down ones were always the best fucks, and came the
hardest. They were so unused to meeting a man who knew how to
give the ultimate pleasure that he couldn’t be bothered fucking any
other kind of man anymore.

No, Mr. Repressed was an ideal end to the evening.
Sam gripped the other man’s wrist tightly and walked fast out the

rear of the bar and into the alley behind it. He looked around
carefully. He’d fucked a man here before with no trouble, but it never
hurt to check. All was quiet and calm. Good.

“Cross your arms, put your head on them, and stick your butt out.

I plan to give you the best ass reaming you’ve ever had.”

“What? Here? I thought—”
“Why go to a hotel? This is perfect.” Sam unbuckled Cuth’s belt

and unzipped him, reaching inside a pair of boring black boxers to
grip his cock. Cuth had a nice dick. It was thick and hard and ready
for action. Good.

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He let go just long enough to unzip his own jeans and take the

lube and a condom out of his wallet. He rolled the condom on his
dick. He was more than ready for action himself. Then he squeezed
lube all over two fingers. With no warning he pushed the fingers at
Cuth’s back door, forcing them inside, slicking up the entryway. More
lube, a little rubbing around the doorway, some massaging of the
inside, and he was done. Thank Christ for lubed condoms. They took
all the work out of fast sex.

Sam gripped Cuth’s hips and pushed his prick at the entry to

heaven. He had to push hard, but the sphincter opened and let him in.
He held his partner’s hips in a tight grip, and then used his own pelvis
to slam himself deep inside. He didn’t wait for Cuth to adjust. Fast
was good. Hot was good. Mr. Repressed would soon get with the
program.

Sam pulled out, and gripped Cuth’s dick with one hand, keeping

hold of his hip with the other, and slammed back in. This time Cuth
pushed back on him, wiggling his ass.

“Ha. I knew you’d like this.”
“Yes.” Cuth’s reply was the faintest whisper but Sam’s hearing

was damn good. He took that for the assent it clearly was, and began
pounding in and out of Cuth’s ass, pulling and tugging on his
partner’s dick with every stroke. His own cock was in heaven. Cuth
was tighter than he could every remember anyone else being, and
hotter than hell.

Cuth was pushing back into every stroke now, snapping his hips

hard and fast with Sam’s rhythm. Sam’s prick was full of seed, his
balls drawn up tight against his body, and the tingling at the base of
his spine told him this was going to be all over really soon. He added
a vicious little twist to every tug on Cuth’s dick, then swiveled his
hips, aiming for his prostate gland. Hitting that hard little ball should
send his partner soaring.

After that, things happened all at once. Sam slammed into him

with everything he could muster, twisting and tugging on the hot cock

Deep Purple Dreams

in his hand. Cuth groaned and cum spurted over his hands. He let go
of his control, pumping into Cuth, filling his condom with his own
cum, slamming Cuth into the wall with every stroke.

Sam pressed a kiss onto the man’s neck. “Damn, you’re a good

fuck. We need to do this again.”

He pulled a couple of tissues out of his jeans, wiped his hands,

and then handed them to Cuth to clean up. Cuth shook his head and
took a pure white handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his cock.

“A handkerchief for Christ’s sake. I didn’t think they still existed

outside a grandma’s closet. Just like the starched shirt. I didn’t think
anyone did that anymore either.”

“It’s all just part of my job. I work in fairly traditional industry.”
“Be here tomorrow and I’ll see if I can loosen up some of that

repressed desire inside you.”

Sam gripped Cuth’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hard kiss.

Then he slapped his shoulder and left. He hated good-byes. But he’d
sure as fuck be back tomorrow for some more of that tasty little ass.
Sam ran his hand over the front of his jeans, checking they were
zipped up properly and stroking his dick as he did. Damn Cuthbert
had been tight. That was the best fuck he’d had in ages. The repressed
ones were always the best.

He strode down the alley and then around the corner and into

Pinky’s parking lot. He almost looked back. But then decided not to.
He never looked back. Cuthbert was no different from any other
casual fuck.

But he couldn’t resist. He flicked a look over his shoulder as he

passed the corner. Cuth was still leaning against the wall, eyes shut.
Excellent. He’d be back tomorrow for more.

* * * *

Cuthbert couldn’t believe what he’d done. He’d just been fucked

by a stranger in an ally. Knowing the man was named Samuel didn’t

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help him at all. In a city of over a million people there were likely ten
thousand men named Samuel, a hundred or more of them landscape
gardeners. It wasn’t likely he could track him down using Google. But
it didn’t matter. He’d be here again tomorrow to meet Samuel again.
Although this time he really did need to suggest they went home to
fuck in a more leisurely and private manner.

Ha. Right. As if. I’ll never be brave enough to ask him.
Besides, he’d never been fucked against a wall in an alley before

and now that he’d done it, it was definitely exhilarating. Not that he’d
ever have suggested it or even thought about it. However, on the spur
of the moment, fucking like that had been hot. The hottest sex he’d
ever had.

But a bedroom would be better. He’d like to see Samuel

undressed. He wanted to lie in bed beside him and trace that tattoo
with his fingers and his lips. What was it? He had no idea from the
tiny hints he’d seen of it peeking out from under the short sleeve of
the T-shirt.

Cuthbert was about to go inside to leave a tip on the table where

he’d been sitting, but then he realized someone else would likely be
sitting there by now. Oh well. He’d be back tomorrow. He’d tip more
generously tomorrow to make up for it. He straightened his jacket,
looked down to check his pants were done up properly, lifted his cuffs
to check his shoes were still reasonably clean, and then walked down
the alley and exited into the parking lot. Tomorrow. He’d definitely
be back tomorrow to meet up with Samuel again.

So, if they were meeting a second time it wasn’t a one-night stand.

Was there such a thing as a two-night stand? Although they’d agreed
to meet, he didn’t really think it counted as a date. No, dammit, it was
a date. He was looking forward to meeting Samuel again and getting
to know him better. So that counted as a date in his mind.

At home, as he brushed his jacket, laid out his clothes for the next

day, and cleaned his shoes, Cuthbert thought about Samuel. He wasn’t
naïve and unrealistic. A man like that wouldn’t be interested in a

Deep Purple Dreams

boring person like himself for very long, but he’d enjoy the
relationship as long as it lasted. It wasn’t a one-night stand to him.
They had a date for tomorrow. That made it a relationship.

Tomorrow’s date was one he was very much looking forward to.

Not just the sex, which had been excellent. Or the twinge of shock
and daring at fucking in an alley. But there was a whole lot more than
that. Samuel the man intrigued him. A man who had the courage to
live his life just as he wanted to. Yet he owned his own business, so
even if it was a very small business he had to be quite good at what he
did. Therefore, he had a reason to be certain of himself. Pride in his
abilities and decision making was a logical response to doing what he
did successfully.

I should be more like that. I’m a damn good accountant. I ought to

take more control of my life. I’m sure I’m not earning as much as
some of the other men are. I bet they’ve demanded pay rises where I
haven’t. Tomorrow I’ll put forward a business case for a raise for
myself. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll insist people take me more seriously.

* * * *

Sam’s family had been the definition of dysfunctional. He’d

walked out the day he turned fifteen and had never looked back. He
didn’t even know where any of them were anymore and that suited
him fine. He wasn’t interested in any of that happy-families shit.

He knew he was gay so had been happy enough to move in with a

man almost as old as his father. In exchange for sex he had a roof
over his head, food to eat, clothes to wear, and the ability to attend
community college and study horticulture, his only true love.

By the time he’d graduated, his lover was already looking around

for someone more malleable than him. That’s when Sam realized he
might still be young but he knew what he wanted, and was prepared
to work to achieve his aims. He’d spent the following two years
working for a landscape gardener, learned everything he could about

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the job, and had begun his own business with equipment he’d bought
from yard sales, and a truck almost as old as he was.

Now he was thirty and his equipment and truck were a lot better

quality, but he still ran his company the way he wanted it run, which
meant that customers who weren’t prepared to pay on time, or who
wanted to argue about every little detail, had to go elsewhere. He
wouldn’t work for them.

He showered the day’s sweat and dirt off himself, and then

dressed in clean jeans and a clean T-shirt. He tied his shoulder-length
brown hair in its usual ponytail and added a couple more lubricated
condoms to his wallet. He was looking forward to spending time with
Mr. Repressed and his tight ass once again.

It was still early as Sam walked the six blocks to Pinky’s. Very

few people knew, but he actually lived at the warehouse address of his
business. It’d started out as a cost-savings measure. He needed a safe
place to lock up all his tools and equipment. If he lived in town in an
apartment he wouldn’t have a shed or a garage to store his gear in,
and to be constantly traveling to and from a storage unit would be
annoying. But to live out of town in a house, that would mean a much
longer commute, and all the expense of upkeep on a property.

The warehouse was a much better solution. It was right in town,

so no commute. It had a roller door so he drove his truck in each night
and didn’t even have to unpack it. He locked the door and switched
on the security system and he was done. The warehouse came with a
small office where he could do his paperwork, and a larger room
which might have been intended as a staff break room. It had a long
kitchen counter, and a half bathroom with shower and toilet. He’d
added a refrigerator, an oven, a washer-drier, and then partitioned off
an area for his bedroom.

Everything he wanted, all in the one place, and easy walking

distance from most of his suppliers. Not to mention from Pinky’s as
well.

Deep Purple Dreams

Once inside Pinky’s he took a stool at the bar and ordered a beer,

then looked all around. There was no sign of Cuthbert, but he knew he
was early. Sam was sure he’d arrive punctually at the exact time he’d
suggested. That was the kind of man he was. Sam kind of liked that.
He’d met far too many people who thought the agreed time to
commence work was some kind of random number they could ignore.
Nothing was worse than arriving with hired equipment all ready to
start digging, and no access to the property because the owner had
decided 8:00 a.m. meant some time before noon.

Sam couldn’t recall being this excited to meet anyone in a long

time. He’d been excited when he won a couple of big work contracts.
He’d been excited when he’d gotten a five-year lease on the
warehouse. But to meet someone? No. And they’d only met once so
far. That was amazing.

He couldn’t help the smile that crept up to his lips when Cuth

walked in. He was wearing the same dark suit as yesterday and
another crisp white shirt. Likely starched. But his necktie was not a
dark gray like the night before, but a subtle blue gray. He could just
imagine the man thinking he was dressing casually by choosing such
a tie.

“Do you own any jeans, Cuth?”
“Of course.”
“And have you ever worn them to work?”
“Good heavens, no.”
“Doesn’t the company you work for ever hold casual Friday?”
“A couple of times a year, yes, it does.”
“So what do you wear then?”
“An open-neck shirt with a sweater.”
Sam thought Cuth was looking quite adorably confused. “Doesn’t

anyone ever wear jeans on casual Friday?”

“Some of the young men.”
“Young men? Because you’re so old? How old are you?”

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“Likely about the same as you. I’m twenty-eight. But I hold a

senior position. I’m the senior—accountant.”

Sam had the distinct impression Cuth had been about to say

something else, not accountant.

“Okay, spit it out. The senior what? Finance officer?”
Cuth nodded, his face slightly flushed.
“And senior staff don’t wear jeans even for casual Friday?”
“That’s about it, I’m afraid. I did tell you our industry is fairly

traditional.”

“Yes, you did. And the word that comes to my mind sure as hell

isn’t traditional. Let’s order some food and then sit at a table.”

Cuth smiled at him and they both picked up the bar menu. Pinky’s

was unusual in that it had an excellent range of meals, almost as many
choices as a regular restaurant. It also had live music as well as
canned music. It was a damn near perfect place for gay men to meet.

Now that he’d rattled Cuth’s cage a little, it was time to learn

more about him. Then they’d fuck again.

He chose a table close enough to the dance floor that they could

talk quietly and no one would be able to overhear them. “When did
you know you were gay?”

“After I answer a question, I get to ask one,” said Cuth.
“That’s fair. I agree. Now tell me.”
“I didn’t realize for a long time. All through high school I was the

nerdy kid who found numbers fascinating. I had friends of both
genders, but they were the other nerdy kids. The ones who, when the
teacher said to answer questions two, four, and six, worked out
questions one, three, and five as well just for the fun of it. I might
have been sixteen before I understood that I wasn’t attracted sexually
to girls, but I was attracted to boys.”

“And I suppose you thought about it some more before you acted

on your knowledge?”

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“Yes. I was in college before I had my first sexual relationship. Is

there anyone significant in your life? Former partners, children,
family?”

“No children. I have no contract with my immediate family

anymore, and former relationships have made me what I am today,
and I have memories of those people, but they aren’t a physical
presence. You don’t need to worry about someone coming between
us, if that’s your concern.”

“That’s certainly part of it. There’s also a funny story about how a

colleague’s sister left him babysitting a cage of lovebirds, which
almost ended his relationship with a man who had a cat.”

Sam laughed. “I can see that your boyfriend’s cat eating your

sister’s lovebirds could be the end of a beautiful friendship. Shit.
That’s funny.”

Their food arrived and they talked some more. Cuth was relaxed

now and they talked freely. By the time they danced and he rubbed
his hard-on across Cuth’s cock, they were both alight with sexual
tension.

“Would you like to come to my apartment?” Cuthbert asked him.
“Let’s go.”

Berengaria Brown

Chapter Two

Cuthbert had spent the entire journey from work to the gay bar

practicing how to ask Samuel to his apartment that evening. He’d
taken on board the first lesson he’d learned from Samuel, to ask for
what he wanted. He’d already drafted a document asking for a pay
rise, showing how he’d contributed to the company’s solid-black
bottom line. The last thing he’d done before he’d left work was to e-
mail it to his boss.

With that on its way, he’d concentrated on explaining to himself

why he deserved to have sex again with Samuel. The big black
bottom line for that was that he wanted to, and he was as sure as he
could be that it’d been as good for Samuel as it’d been for him. Of
course, checking up that Samuel didn’t have a bunch of significant
others already had also been necessary. Cuthbert believed Samuel.
There was no veiling of his eyes and no hesitation in his speech. All
of which left them both free to do as they wished. And what Cuthbert
wished was to have Samuel filling his ass and pounding into him once
again.

This time, when Samuel had gripped his wrist and half dragged

him to the door, he’d been ready for it, and had managed to drop a tip
onto the table before he left.

“Where’s your car?”
“This way.” Cuthbert led him to his white 2011 Ford Fusion.

“Where’s your car?”

“I didn’t bring my truck. Because of all my tools and equipment, I

prefer to walk or take public transportation when I’ll be leaving it
where I can’t see it for an extended period of time.”

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“That makes sense. I suppose you have a lock-up garage for it

then. That’s my one wish for winter. Not to spend every morning
clearing ice off the windscreen.”

“You’re right. That’s a bonus of having it locked up under cover.”
Cuthbert was very happy with the apartment complex where he

lived. The neighbors were quiet and well behaved. There were a lot of
single people, like himself, and middle aged people without children,
all of which meant a harmonious environment. He’d put a lot of effort
into choosing his home, and thought he had it pretty much as nice as it
could be.

He pulled up smoothly into his allocated parking space, locked the

car, and then led the way to the apartment foyer. He hadn’t been home
from work yet, so unlocked his mailbox, taking out the few pieces of
mail in there, and locked it again, before pressing the button for the
elevator.

“You don’t take the stairs?”
“I take them going down always, but only going up if I’m going

less than five flights, except sometimes on the weekend.”

Samuel shook his head. “I might have guessed you’d have a rule

about it. Don’t you ever do anything spontaneously?”

Cuthbert stared at him and tried to think. “Not really. Life is so

much neater and more organized if I work out what I want, and then
just do it.”

Cuthbert held the elevator door open for Samuel and pressed the

button for the ninth floor.

“I suppose there’s a reason for the ninth floor as well?”
Cuthbert smiled. “Of course. High enough for a really nice view.

High enough to discourage door-to-door sales people. Not so high that
I can’t walk up if the elevator breaks down.”

“Door-to-door sales? Do people really do that?”
“A friend on the first floor gets people banging on her door all the

time. She’s recorded the sound of a big dog barking, and when people

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bang on her door she plays the recording. They usually leave pretty
fast.”

“Oh, I bet they do! That’s clever.”
Cuthbert felt a little nervous when he opened the front door to

invite Samuel inside. He supposed his apartment was rather plain and
boring, rather like himself. But it was also very comfortable, and
peaceful. He could come home after a busy day at work and relax so
easily here. It was home to him.

“Would you like some coffee?” he asked.
“I’d rather have you. Where’s the bedroom?”
“This way.”
The apartment was an open-plan design so he walked through the

living room and into the bedroom, closing the drapes and turning the
light on as he did.

“It’s plain, bland even, but I can see why you like it. It’s relaxing,

peaceful.”

“That’s exactly how I feel about it. Are you teasing me?”
“Hell no. I mean it. I like it.”
Happiness burst through Cuthbert when Samuel said that. He

turned and stepped closer to the bigger, broader man. “I’m glad you
like it. I’ve been waiting all day for this.”

“Me, too. Now strip out of the suit and get into bed. It’s time to

fuck.”

His entire body tingling with excitement, Cuthbert took off his

jacket and suit pants, laying them over the back of a chair. He unlaced
his dress shoes and placed them on the floor under the chair,
unknotted his necktie and hung it over the jacket, and then removed
his shirt, briefs, and socks. By the time he was undressed, Samuel was
lying on the bed, his legs spread, and his hand tugging on his cock.

“That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Why don’t you come here and suck me?”

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Suddenly that was what Cuthbert wanted to do more than

anything else in the world. He scrambled onto the bed, climbed
between Samuel’s legs, and sucked his cock into his mouth.

Cuthbert concentrated on taking Samuel as deep as he could get

him, relaxing the back of his throat and letting Samuel’s cockhead
bump up against it on every suck. Samuel tasted of pure man, a little
musky and earthy, possibly from his work, although it was clear he’d
showered recently. Cuthbert closed his eyes and flicked his tongue
around the ridge where the cockhead and the shaft of Samuel’s dick
joined together. He scraped his teeth up and down the side of the
erection and then sucked him down deep again, reveling in the taste of
him.

He lifted his mouth off Samuel’s delicious cock and licked the

insides of his thighs, one after the other, and then rolled his balls
before sucking each one thoroughly. Only then did he tease and lick
across his cockhead and suck the cock again.

Cuthbert lifted his head and looked up at Samuel wanting to share

his own taste with his lover. Samuel seemed to understand, gripping
Cuthbert’s shoulders and pulling him up his body until their mouths
met in a deep, claiming kiss. Samuel’s tongue drove forcefully into
his mouth and he played with it with his tongue, before sucking on it
as he’d done with Samuel’s cock. He held the sides of Samuel’s head,
untying the elastic band around his ponytail and threading his fingers
through Samuel’s hair until they rested against his scalp as their kisses
and thrusting tongues continued to send the blood driving through his
body and made his dick as hard as iron.

Meanwhile Samuel’s hands were on his ass, massaging his

cheeks, gripping hard, and digging deep. Cuthbert pressed his body
more firmly against Samuel’s, loving that rock-hard torso beneath
him, and the rough, work-hardened hands on his butt.

When one finger slid into his ass, he shivered and wiggled

rubbing his nipples over Samuel’s chest.

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“Lube and condoms in the top drawer,” he said, pushing his butt

back onto Samuel’s finger.

Samuel turned his head and used one arm to pull the drawer open

and riffled through the contents. He pulled out a heavy hairbrush from
the drawer and stared at it and then at Cuthbert. Cuthbert could feel
his cheeks coloring.

“You have a good thick head of hair, but not so thick I would

think you couldn’t use a comb like most men. Do you like having
your ass spanked?”

“Yes.”
“Excellent. Because I like spanking men who don’t tell me what

they need.” Samuel grabbed Cuthbert and dropped him face first onto
the bed, sitting over his thighs, his weight heavy and pushing Cuthbert
deep into the bedding. It took Samuel a few strokes to hold the brush
the way he wanted it, and then the punishment became a heavy
thwacking stroke onto his ass, the full strength of a working man’s
arm muscles behind each spank.

Cuthbert couldn’t recall ever being punished so hard or so

erotically. His ass burned like fire, especially when—he suspected
deliberately—Samuel let the bristles dig deep into his feverishly hot
flesh as well as striking him with the back of the brush.

Then Samuel dropped the brush and forced two slippery fingers

into his ass, stretching him wide, readying him for a cock. Cuthbert
was so aroused and ready to come, he only hoped he wouldn’t shoot
his seed the moment Samuel penetrated him.

But Samuel had a trick for that, too. As soon as Cuthbert was

kneeling on all fours, Samuel gripped the base of Cuthbert’s cock
tightly, constricting him like a cock ring, as he drove his dick deep
inside Cuthbert, burning his passage on the inside to match the
burning flesh on the outside.

“Nothing is sexier than to fuck against a red-hot ass,” Samuel

whispered, stroking his callused hands gently over the tender skin.

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Samuel pulled his cock out, and then pounded in again, in and out,

fast and hard, sometimes holding Cuthbert’s cock to prevent him from
coming, and sometimes tugging on it to ensure he stayed fully
aroused. Cuthbert’s mind was overloaded with sensations. His poor
dick was in a state of overwhelming arousal but was being held back
from the ultimate release. His ass was being pounded over and over
by the sexiest man he’d ever met, one who seemed to understand him
even though this was only their second time together.

And then Samuel pinged his prostate, just as he’d done the night

before, and Cuthbert’s dick exploded. He heard Samuel chuckle as he
thrust even harder in and out of his ass, and then there was a blast of
heat deep inside him. Samuel kissed the back of his neck, as lay
heavily over his spine, forcing his body flat onto the bed to take his
weight.

“You’re a damn good fuck. Let’s shower and do it again.”

* * * *

After they’d both showered, Sam followed Cuth through the

bedroom and living area to the kitchen counter. Cuth took a small
notepad down off a hook beside a calendar hanging on the wall, wrote
something down, and then put coffee on to percolate. Curiously Sam
walked closer to the calendar and the notepad, and stared from them
to Cuth and back again.

“I just fucked your brains out, and you’re writing a shopping list?”
“I just opened a new bottle of body wash. I always buy a new one

when I open a fresh one, that way I never run out.”

“You’re a freak.”
Cuth grinned at him. “Please. If you must call me a freak, at least

admit I’m an organized freak.”

“Okay. You’re an organized freak with a sexy ass. But who writes

a shopping list after sex?”

Berengaria Brown

Sam leaned against the counter and looked around Cuth’s

apartment. It wasn’t particularly spacious, but because it was open
plan it didn’t look crowded, or poky, or dark. Actually, the boring
beige walls probably helped it look bigger and lighter as well. The
drapes were patterned in an attractive paisley with blue-green swirls,
which broke the monotony of the walls, and the furniture was
arranged in focused groups which helped delineate the space.

For the first time in years Sam thought about his warehouse. He

could do something similar there, and turn it into a real home. Right
now it was a garage for his truck, a storage unit for his tools and
equipment, and a place to sleep, shower, and do his accounts. Which
was all he needed. But seeing Cuth’s home showed him very clearly it
wouldn’t be hard to turn it into a home. He could do it himself quite
easily. If he wanted to.

“I like what you’ve done here. It’s not a large area, but it looks

bigger than it is.”

“There’s quite a lot of hidden storage. I put everything away

instead of leaving it lying around. There’s an entire wall of closets in
the bedroom, which means I don’t need to have chests of drawers, or
wall units cluttering up the floor space.”

“I agree storage space is important. All my tools have their own

special spaces both in my truck and in my warehouse.”

“You have a warehouse for your things?”
Sam hadn’t meant to say that, but it was his business address after

all. It just wasn’t common knowledge that it was his only address.

“That’s my business address, yes.”
Cuth took the coffee across to the counter, and Sam pulled up a

stool to sit down as Cuth put some cookies on a plate for them both.

“So when you’re not at work, what do you like doing?” he asked

Cuth.

Cuth gave a self-deprecating smile. “That’s the whole problem.

Nothing really. I keep my apartment clean and tidy, and I work. Even
if I’m not working back late I’m often thinking about various work

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problems. I take my position seriously, and try to do my very best for
the company. But—”

Sam crossed his arms and looked at Cuth. The man was obviously

fairly upset about something. Sam wanted to help. If he could. “But
what?” he asked gently.

“As you guessed, I’m the Senior Finance Officer. Above me

there’s the Chief Finance Officer, and the company CEO, that’s all. I
was young when I got the position, just twenty-five, and I took a
lower than expected salary because of my youth. I was promised I’d
rise up the pay scale if I got results. Well, I have gotten results. I’ve
improved a lot of practices and saved the company hundreds of
thousands of dollars. Some of these savings are one-offs, others are
annual savings adding the company’s bottom line all the time. But my
annual pay rises have been microscopic. Now, I know you’re going to
say the country’s finances are in the toilet, and that might have some
truth in it, but Simla Incorporated’s finances are not in the toilet.
They’re doing very nicely, thank you.”

“And you want to know why your salary isn’t reflecting that?”
“I asked for a raise today. I sent my boss an e-mail laying out the

savings I’d made for the company over the past three years and asking
for an increase in salary to reflect the work I’d done.”

“So when are you going to ask him in person?”
“What?”
“You need to follow the letter up by asking him in person. It’s

very easy to ignore an e-mail. It’s a lot harder to ignore someone
standing in front of you requesting an answer.”

“Oh. I suppose you’re right. I hadn’t even thought of that. I’ll ask

for a personal interview next week then.”

Sam took a bite of the cookie in front of him. It was melt-in-the-

mouth delicious. “You can write these cookies on your shopping list.
They’re awesome!”

Cuth laughed but jumped up and did it. His neat little ass wiggled

as he wrote, and Sam couldn’t resist the sexiness of it. He followed

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Cuth over to the wall, and pulled his jeans down, smoothing his hand
over Cuth’s still pink ass.

“Nothing arouses me faster than a hot ass like yours,” he

whispered.

“I wouldn’t mind if you spanked me some more.”
“Your ass is still pink. Any more and it might bruise.”
“Mmm.”
Sam pulled Cuth around so he look squarely into his bright blue

eyes. “Does the thought of a bruise or two turn you on?”

“Hell yes. See for yourself.”
Sam could see that Cuth’s cock was very ready for action.
“Brace yourself over the counter.” Sam hurried around to the

cutlery drawers and pulled them out one by one until he found what
he was looking for. He opened the pantry door and snatched up a
bottle of virgin olive oil as well, and set it on the counter. Then he
dropped his own jeans and stepped out of them, glad he hadn’t
bothered about putting his boots back on.

Sam whipped the heavy wooden stirring spoon through the air a

few times, to get an idea of the weight and force he needed to use, and
then he spanked Cuth’s upper thighs hard, right, left, right, left.
Without stopping to draw breath he spanked his ass right over the
meatiest part, hitting hard. He’d been attracted to Cuthbert because he
knew the old saying about still waters running deep was very true of
many gay men who kept their natures buttoned down in their daily
jobs. Such men usually gave and received the hardest orgasms. But to
find a man who not only appealed to him as a person, but who also
wanted to be spanked and spanked hard, was amazing.

Sam worked hard. He used his physical body and all his muscles

in his daily job. He could do gentle. He’d never deliberately hurt a
person or an animal. But sometimes it was hard to tone down his
desperate need to fuck hard. Finding someone who not only accepted,
but also welcomed his needs, was amazing and liberating.

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He put the wooden spoon down and poured the oil into Cuth’s ass

crack and over his own dick. The heat of Cuth’s ass was the most
arousing of aphrodisiacs. The way he was pushing it back into Sam’s
touch showed he wasn’t ready to stop yet. Sam lined his prick up and
slammed it inside Cuth, then reached around him to hold Cuth’s dick.
Cuth’s hand was already on it and together they tugged from root to
tip in time with Sam’s frantic pumping into Cuth’s ass. Faster and
harder they pumped, and then Cuth groaned, cum spurting from his
dick. Hastily Sam withdrew from his ass, and pulled on his own cock,
once, twice, and then sprayed his seed all over that sexy, sexy ass.

He wrapped Cuth in his arms and turned him so they could kiss.

They leaned there against the kitchen counter, wrapped in each
other’s arms, for the longest time.

I think I’m in love.

Berengaria Brown

Chapter Three

Cuthbert checked his e-mails for the hundredth time that day. It

was a week since he’d sent the request for a pay increase to his
manager, and he hadn’t received any answer at all. Not even a basic
acknowledgment the e-mail had been received. If it wasn’t for the fact
he had tracking on all his e-mails, so he knew it had been opened the
very evening he sent it, he’d have convinced himself by now it had
gone astray.

He’d been waiting on a reply from his superior to organize a

personal interview as Samuel had suggested. But this was weird. It
was like suddenly he didn’t exist anymore.

Cuthbert leaned back in his chair and thought deeply. When he’d

first started as SFO some of the managers on the same level as him
had regularly dropped by his office and spoken with him about
various projects. He still talked to them from time to time, but now
that he looked really closely at past events, he couldn’t even
remember the last time one of them had dropped into his office
unexpectedly.

They all still greeted him politely if they met in the hallways or

the lunchroom, and he’d left a card on a colleague’s desk when the
man’s mother-in-law had passed away, but he genuinely couldn’t put
his finger on a date and say, “On that day I talked to X about project
Y.”

His door remained open. He’d never had a policy of shutting his

office door. And juniors came to him for help and advice. But those
colleagues on his level? Not lately.

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Cuthbert checked his work diary, scrolling backward for page

after page, but nowhere was there a hint of a project he’d delivered
late or gotten wrong. Everything had been delivered on time and on
budget. It was like a mantra for him. He followed the rules. He always
had. He was boring like that.

Since he worked on projects at home and in his own time, he had

a full backup of everything there. Tonight he needed to check that
someone hadn’t been tampering with his work. What if someone was
changing figures here and there and giving bad advice? The bottom-
line figures he had access to showed a good solid result. All his
suggestions had been vindicated. But what if things still in train were
being altered, and something was about to go wrong? Oh fuck. What
if someone was even stealing from the company and they thought it
was him?

Cuthbert went to the website and looked for the latest few finished

projects. Of course, they wouldn’t have all the details in them. Only
the broad outlines were available to the public. But it might be enough
for him to tell what was going on.

The most recent fully completed project he’d been involved in

was a merger with a small company. He scrolled through the
company website and brought up the document. He read it through
carefully, but nothing seemed to have changed. Still worried though,
he pulled up the original and placed it side by side with final
document on his screen, comparing it line by line. It wasn’t until he
returned to the index page that he noticed something. His own name
was down the bottom in among a long list of people who had been
consulted about the project. The author was one person only. His
boss. Yet ninety percent of the work on that project had been his. And
he had all the original data and about six drafts of the final document
to prove it.

Thoughtfully Cuthbert returned to the company website pulling up

document after document. In every case his name was no longer listed
as the lead person who’d worked on the project, or even as a coleader.

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Every time his boss’s name was front and center and his own was
buried in the tiny print down with the chick who’d done the
photocopying.

How could he not have noticed this? When had it started

happening?

Cuthbert made a new folder and dropped copies of all the

documents into it, and then he took screenshots of the completed
documents as sent to his manager, including the date he’d sent them
off. How else could he prove he’d done the work? Oh yes, all the
draft versions. He added them to his new file along with screenshots
of the drafts he’d sent to various coworkers for their input.

Cuthbert shook his head. It wasn’t really proof he’d done the

work. His boss would have most of the drafts as well, although not all
of them. What he needed to do was identify some piece of
information that he’d sourced himself and added in that wouldn’t be
on his boss’s computer. He rubbed his hands through his hair and
thought hard, then added more screenshots and more data into his new
file.

Then he sat down to draft a letter detailing all this information.
Damn. How had this happened? And more to the point, how had it

gone on for so long without him noticing it happening all around him?

* * * *

Sam leaned back against the arm of the couch, his body turned so

he was looking directly at Cuth sitting beside him. “So your boss has
been stealing all your work for years and you never even noticed?”

“Pretty much.”
“What do you plan to do about it?”
“That’s the problem. I spent an hour or more this evening making

up a file of all the information I could think of that documents my
work, and then I tried to write a letter explaining it. But really, it’s
only ever going to be my word against his. Everyone will be just like

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you. Wanting to know why I suddenly noticed it now after ignoring it
for a couple of years. I guess that proves how innocent I was. I was
young to get this job and very grateful for the opportunity to prove
myself. I was willing to work my ass off to succeed. I suppose my
boss, older and wiser, just sat back and let me do that. I was always so
busy as long as he changed the final file at the last minute, after I had
no need to see it again, there was very little risk I’d even notice.”

“Yes, I understand all that, but what are you going to do now?”
“That’s the whole point. There’s nothing I can do. I can lay all my

accusations on the CEO’s desk, along with files, but it’s pretty much
going to be my word against my manager’s. I feel sure he’s spent the
past two years working out exactly how he can explain everything
away as me just working under his guidance and direction or
something.”

Sam shook his head and gripped Cuth’s wrist. “You aren’t

listening to me, Cuth. That’s the past. I agree your chances of getting
any recognition for the work you’ve done in the past two years isn’t
high. But what about now? Are you just going to hand over your next
project and continue to be ignored? I really don’t think the man will
suddenly smile and say he’s doing nothing and all the work had been
done by you. Also, I think your chances of getting more money are
nonexistent.”

Sam watched as Cuth seemed to crumple into the corner of the

couch. The man almost faded in front of his gaze.

“I suppose anyone so stupid they didn’t notice what was

happening right under their nose for two years isn’t deserving of a
higher salary or any recognition.”

Sam clicked his fingers in front of Cuth’s face. “Snap out of it,

Cuth. The past has happened. The future is whatever you decide it
will be. Is there some project nearing completion now?”

“Actually, yes.”
“And do you have information about it you haven’t yet shown

your boss.”

Berengaria Brown

For the first time Cuthbert smiled. “I do. There’s a complete

section of data I’ve been working on that isn’t ready to be included
yet. But I have to give it to him soon and he’ll see it before the final
draft of the paper is sent in.”

The momentary happiness drained out of Cuth as fast as it had

appeared.

“So what you need to do now is find a way to embed a watermark

or something like that into your data, so if the boss tries to claim it he
can’t. And once he has to acknowledge you this time you’ll be able to
get your pay rise.”

“Maybe I should just look around for another job anyway. I don’t

know how to do that stuff and I don’t think I want to stay where my
boss has used me for two years. I know he won’t be happy about me
wanting to claim back the credit for stuff. It’s going to make him look
bad for a start. I mean, I know he did it, but he isn’t going to lie down
quietly. It’s best I just leave.”

Sam shook his head at Cuth. “Stop being such a goddamn wimp. I

agree it’s likely time to leave that job and go somewhere your work
won’t be stolen from you. But just quietly disappearing isn’t going to
work. How are you going to get another job? You name isn’t on the
official brochures. You can say what you like on your resume but you
can’t offer proof. And do you really think your fucking boss is going
to give you a fantastic reference?”

Sam looked at Cuth and then pulled him into his arms. It had to be

said, but his lover looked devastated. It was a tough situation, but he
had to stand up for himself. He had to make the boss do the right
thing by him. But was Cuth strong enough to take a stand? Right now
he was a mess.

Sam hugged Cuth and held him tight against his chest. Cuth rested

his head on Sam’s shoulder. “I am a wimp, I agree, but there’s just
nothing else I can do. I was stupid not to notice what was happening
long ago. I was so busy setting up my apartment and then buying a
share of The Paint Store that I was fully occupied at work just getting

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the work done properly. I love accounting. I love the way the numbers
all line up so neat and pretty. I know, I know, I’m a nerd, but that
sense of an orderly universe appeals to me. Dealing with a boss who
hates me, not so much.”

“That’s the whole point, Cuth. The boss doesn’t hate you. He

loves your work so much he’s stolen it. In a backhanded way it’s a
sincere affirmation of your skills. The point is, you have to end it and
get the credit yourself.”

“But how?”
Cuth’s voice was almost a wail.
“I wish the fuck I knew how.” Sam held Cuth in his arms for a

while until he sensed Cuth was ready to talk again. Then he said,
“Tell me about your friends at The Paint Store. There’s an interior
designer with green and purple hair who dances everywhere, isn’t
there?”

Cuth sat up and moved to his end of the couch again. “That’s

Basil. He’s in a relationship with Edward, who works at the store.
Then there’s Max. He’s a builder. He’s partnered to Nick, a police
detective. The final co-owner of the store is Roland. He’s partnered to
Mike who creates computer apps.”

“That’s right. You’ve mentioned Roland and Mike before.

Roland’s the one with the cat and Mike’s sister had the lovebirds. Tell
me about Max, the builder. What sort of building does he do? I’ve
been thinking about maybe doing some renovating at the warehouse.”

“I didn’t know there were different sorts of builders. Max has a

crew and they go around building stuff.” Cuth shrugged and Sam
laughed.

Cuth seemed happier again as he asked, “What kind of renovation

did you have in mind?”

Sam was already thinking of him and Cuth moving in together. He

was addicted to the accountant’s sexy ass, and happy smile. Even
now, when he was despairing about his career, all Sam wanted to do
was fuck his brains out to show him he cared.

Berengaria Brown

“Tomorrow, after work, meet me at Pinky’s for dinner, and then

I’ll take you to see the warehouse. It’ll be easier to show you than to
try to explain it. But right now, I need to take you to bed and make
you happy again.”

“We haven’t fucked in the shower yet,” said Cuth with a cheeky

look on his face.

“Damn. You’re right. That’s an oversight we need to fix right

now.”

* * * *

The only good thing in Cuthbert’s life right now was Samuel. His

career, which he’d thought was on a steady, if somewhat slow,
upward track, had been proven to have been completely derailed
simply because he was too fucking stupid to pay attention to what was
happening right under his very nose.

How could he have been so unobservant? At twenty-five he’d

nailed his dream job, years ahead of his contemporaries. He’d
bunkered down in his office and slaved his ass off getting the job
done—always on time, and always on budget. And he’d never once
stopped to pay attention to the world around him. He’d had Friday
night drinks with his coworkers sometimes. He’d had coffee or lunch
with them occasionally, but his blinders had been firmly in place.
He’d assumed—absolutely idiotically it had turned out—that if he
kept his mind on his job he’d succeed. Well, that just proved how
naïve he was. Now he had a clusterfuck of a completely derailed
career to deal with.

He’d be lucky if his lover didn’t throw up his hands in horror at

his behavior and cast him off completely as too stupid to live.

Cuthbert got the water temperature perfect in the shower, and then

leaned his back against the tiles to stare at Samuel. An inch or two
taller than him, maybe thirty pounds heavier than him, but all of it
solid muscle. Yummy muscular thighs, solid biceps, broad shoulders,

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big, rough hands that lit up every nerve ending in his body when they
stroked him.

Cuthbert kneeled at Samuel’s feet and took his cock in his mouth,

sucking hard to bring that hint of earthy flavor that he loved out. He
rolled Samuel’s heavy balls in one hand, gently trailing his fingers up
and down Samuel’s thighs with the other. He gulped Samuel’s cock
down again, wanting to give the kind of pleasure Samuel always gave
him. He loved Samuel, he knew that now, but he couldn’t see how
such a wonderful man could bear to be in the same room with an idiot
like himself. But if Samuel left him his world would implode. He had
nothing else left. Cuthbert wanted to tell Samuel he loved him, but
coming now, in the middle of his career mess, he doubted that anyone
could possibly believe him, no matter how true it was. But that was
okay. He’d just have to demonstrate his love to Samuel instead.

Cuthbert licked up and down Samuel’s erection, getting it nice

and wet and then gently bit the loose skin in the sides, feeling the
cock swell in his hands and mouth as he nibbled. By the time he
sucked the cockhead again, Samuel’s erection was fully engorged and
as hard as steel. Cuthbert stood, and licked up from Samuel’s belly
button to his nipples, stopping to bite each one gently, and then he
licked over the tribal tattoo on Samuel’s upper arm.

He loved the swirling pattern. It was a traditional barbed wire

armband with no beginning and no ending, right around Samuel’s
upper arm. But hidden in the links was a candle, with a lit flame. It
was both intriguing and clever, and it really appealed to Cuthbert. He
often traced the pattern with his finger as they lay in bed together.
Right now he traced the candle with his tongue.

Samuel pulled him into his arms and possessed his lips, claiming

him completely. Cuthbert relaxed into his lover’s arms and touch.
Here, with Samuel, he was at home. They belonged together like this.
Samuel completed him. He fulfilled his need to not always be good
and ordered. With Samuel he could be bad and make love as wildly as
he wanted to.

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Samuel used his body to push Cuthbert’s back against the tiles

again, and then he filled one hand with shower gel. Cuthbert expected
to be told to turn around but instead, Samuel took both their cocks in
his soapy hand and began stroking them both together.

That was so erotic. To have his cock rubbing up and down with

Samuel’s was the most carnal thing Cuthbert had ever imagined. He
grasped the shower gel and added some to his palm as well, and
joined in so both their hands were fisting both cocks together. Samuel
added a vicious little twist at the top before he let go. Cuthbert began
again at the roots, rolling the cocks against each other as he stroked
slowly upward.

Samuel’s feet rested against Cuthbert’s, his legs outside

Cuthbert’s so they were skin-to-skin from the soles of their feet up to
their united cocks. “So hot,” he mumbled.

“Feels so good,” confirmed Samuel.
Their hands continued to twist and tug on both cocks together.
“Now. Come now,” ordered Samuel. As it always did at his

lover’s command, Cuthbert’s dick exploded cum over their hands and
he leaned in to kiss Samuel. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too.”
“You do?”
“Of course. You complete me and fulfill me. Haven’t you noticed

I’ve even started doing some of your fussy little organized things like
write a shopping list?”

Cuthbert laughed and wrapped his arms around Samuel, leaning in

for another kiss.

* * * *

Pinky’s was still their favorite place to meet, even though they

frequently ended up in bed together. In fact, they spent most nights
together now. When Cuthbert had to work back late Sam chose those

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nights to catch up on his business paperwork or equipment
maintenance, so he could minimize the time they spent apart.

Tonight they ate and talked. He noticed Cuth still seemed tense

and knew the work situation was draining him with worry and
confusion. It was damn complicated. Defeating the man’s supervisor
was going to be a damn tricky thing to pull off. For a start, intellectual
property was almost impossible to prove and short of taking the whole
debacle into court, which Sam was sure Cuth wouldn’t do, it would be
hellishly hard to prove the work had been done by Cuth first.

But if he cut his losses and just left for another job, he would be

unlikely to step into one at the same rank with so little evidence of
what he’d been doing the past few years. Besides, who was going to
be his referee? Not his supervisor and likely not anyone at the
company as they’d believe the supervisor and the written
documentation, not what Cuth said.

Yes, it was a clusterfuck. There was no other word for it.
But at least the food and the atmosphere at Pinky’s was great. The

music was upbeat, raising everyone’s spirits, and the food was damn
good for a bar and reasonably priced as well.

As always, Sam had walked to the bar, but this time he directed

Cuth to drive to the warehouse. This was going to be a first for him.
The first time he’d ever invited anyone to sleep with him there. Even
the rare few times he’d offered someone coffee he’d gone and gotten
it himself and taken it out to the equipment area. He hadn’t invited the
client into his own private kitchen.

No one had been there except himself. And now he was showing

that part of his life to the man he loved, Cuthbert. The man he was
seriously considering inviting to live with him. Once he’d renovated
the warehouse. Hearing that one of Cuth’s copartners at The Paint
Store was a builder had made him think he’d like to talk about the job
with someone who could advise him, although he still expected to do
most of the work himself. He wanted them moved in together sooner
rather than later.

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Sam climbed out of the car and released the roller door, switching

on the lights. He could pull into the warehouse blindfolded, but Cuth
had never been here before. Cuth drove through slowly and stopped
behind the truck. There was plenty of room for his Ford Fusion as
well as the truck. Sam pressed the button on the roller door again and
it closed. He set the locking mechanism and switched on the alarm.
As far as he knew, he’d never needed it, but he always set it. In some
ways he was as boring as Cuthbert.

Cuth stepped out of his car, beeping it locked, and said, “Wow.

This place is huge. I never imagined it was this big.”

Sam looked at him carefully, but he was smiling and happy.

“That’s why I wanted to bring you here. I’ve been thinking of doing
some renovations.”

“I remember you saying about Max being a builder. I can give you

his cell phone number if you want to get a couple of firms to give you
quotations for the work.”

“So the accountant always gets more than one quotation?” he

teased.

Cuth grinned. “Three. Always get three independent quotations

before commencing work.”

The warehouse was basically a rectangle. The roller door led in

off the street. Some of the other warehouses in the area also had a
smaller door for people and even a big glass window with an office
area onto the street, but Sam liked the security of not making it easy
for people to enter. He was a landscape gardener. He worked on other
people’s land. They didn’t need to see his office. Anyway his office
was just a clapboard partition with a desk, a computer, and the usual
office gear in it.

He’d built a work bench against a side wall, where he could work

on any of the equipment needing basic maintenance. He also had
open-fronted shelves with gear stored on them and a pegboard with
more things hanging from hooks. A big open-topped box in the corner

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held tubing, poles, and similar items. With space for the vehicles, all
that took up about half the area.

He led to the way across an open empty expanse of concrete to the

other side wall. Behind his tiny office was what had been the break
room and was now his living area. He’d renovated this himself. It was
basic, but very functional. His splash-backs and floor were tiled, his
walls painted, and the plumbing all worked fine.

“This is more like a home than a lunch room,” said Cuth.
Sam grinned. He’d guessed Cuth would catch on pretty fast. It

was just a damn shame he hadn’t caught on to the blood-sucking
leach at his work faster.

“Yeah, I renovated it a bit.”
“I had a feeling the washer-drier likely wasn’t original,” said

Cuth.

Sam kept walking and took him into the final room. His bedroom

with the half bath beside it.

“You’ve done a good job of the renovations and it makes sense to

live here since you’ve got so much empty space.”

“You’re the first person I’ve ever brought into this private area.”
“I’m honored. Thank you for trusting me to see it.” Cuth pulled

Sam’s head down and gently kissed his lips. Instantly his dick
hardened and wanted a lot more. But that was for later. He wanted to
talk first.

“When I saw your apartment, the very first time, I realized it was

something I could get ideas from for here. Just because the original
office and break room were so small, they don’t have to be anymore. I
mean, clearly I need to leave enough space for the truck and your car,
and my landscaping gear. That was the whole point of leasing this
building. But the living area, bedroom, bathroom, could all be a lot
bigger. Another ten feet wide would make the apartment really
spacious and wouldn’t take away any space I need for other things.
And I could connect the office to the living area to save always

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having to walk around, make a proper bathroom, the whole nine
yards.”

Sam stared at Cuth but he was nodding and smiling, measuring

things with his gaze, making plans. Sam gave a mental sigh of relief.
He liked the idea. He wasn’t looking at the concrete floor and
warehouse as such, but seeing what a home could be.

“Do you think you could be happy here with me, once everything

is finished?”

“Oh Samuel, I’d be happy here with you now. But I’m likely to be

unemployed and unemployable or else stuck in my job and miserably
unhappy. What if I can’t contribute to the expenses?”

“Cuth, I don’t for a minute imagine you’d be unemployable, and if

you’re unhappy you’d be crazy to stay where you are. But I earn
enough to look after us anyway. It’s not top of the class, but steak and
beer is fine. Besides, if you do get terminated you can do my business
accounts for me.”

He’d meant it almost as a joke, but Cuth nodded immediately.

“Maybe I should do your accounts anyway. Perhaps I can save you
some money. Enough to put ketchup on those steaks.”

They both laughed.
“Would it be an invasion of privacy if we asked Max to have a

look and offer some advice about enlarging the living area?”

Sam heard the hesitation in Cuth’s voice and gave him a hug.
“No. It’s something I was going to do anyway. Maybe we should

have a cookout and invite all your The Paint Store colleagues. That
Roland, the business manager man, he might have some ideas to help
you with your job situation as well. If we feed them all we can pick
their brains as well.”

“I like that plan. I don’t have a grill. Do you?”
“Of course. We’ll leave the roller door open and get some lawn

chairs, and beer. It’ll be our first party.”

Deep Purple Dreams

Chapter Four

It’d been a long time since Cuthbert had hosted a party. Or even a

sort-of party like this. Just thinking about that made him realize again
how he’d let his life slip away at his job, instead of paying attention to
the world around him. Well, he’d learned that lesson and wouldn’t
make that mistake again. Unfortunately it might be too late to get his
career back on course without having to start at the bottom all over
again. But if that’s what it took, he’d do it.

Samuel had set the grill up by the open roller door, with a table

beside him to hold his barbecue tools, and a tray of meat. Cuthbert
had busied himself in the kitchen, chopping salad into a huge bowl
and mixing in his favorite Thousand Island dressing. On another table
stood two coolers, one with water and sodas tucked among the ice, the
other holding beer and light beer. There were also picnic plates and
cutlery, ketchup and barbecue sauce, and rolls of paper towel on the
table.

Half a dozen lawn chairs completed the preparations and

Cuthbert’s co-owners were already arriving as he carried the salad out
to the food table.

Basil arrived first, wearing skin-tight purple jeans and bright red

boots. A combination that made Cuthbert blink. Basil tap danced
around on the concrete floor waving his arms and admiring the
acoustics of the high ceiling. His lover, Edward, stood silently smiling
at him.

Basil’s hair was still a wild tangle of green and purple. He’d had

that color scheme for six months now, longer than Cuthbert could
remember him sticking with a color scheme before. Perhaps settling

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down with quiet Edward had rubbed off on him. Although Edward
was no longer as shy as previously. He’d gained amazingly in self-
esteem and self-confidence. So the exchange had gone both ways.

When Roland and Mike arrived the first thing Mike said to Basil

was, “How’s Houdini?”

“Who the fuck is Houdini?” Samuel asked.
“Bonnie, one of the lovebirds. She’s the one who learned to

unlock the cage and get out,” explained Cuthbert.

“It’s a game we play. We try to think of new ways to peg the door

closed, and every day she opens it. Every single day. We’ve never
won. But we figure she needs a hobby,” said Edward, his pale blue
eyes shining with laughter.

“A bird that opens bird cages. All right,” said Samuel, bending

down to turn some ribs on the grill.

“What about Adelaide?” asked Max, who’d just arrived with

Nick.

“Oh god, don’t mention my sister,” said Mike, making everyone

laugh.

“Wasn’t she in Machu Picchu hiking the Inca trail or something?”

asked Cuthbert.

Mike adopted a high-pitched, screechy voice. “But Mikey, no one

told me we’d have to walk the whole way. I thought there’d be a bus
driving us from place to place or even horses to ride. They expected
us to walk. Everywhere! For eight days!”

The warehouse erupted into loud bursts of laughter as all the men

enjoyed Mike’s imitation of his sister.

When most people had gotten themselves a drink, and the laughter

had died down to an occasional snort or cough, Samuel asked, “So
where is she now?”

“I think she was going to move in with Jake who’s staying there

for three months, but I refused to help her get her money back on the
tour, so she’s not talking to me at the moment.”

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For the next hour Cuthbert really enjoyed himself. The link

between him and his business partners was strong. It was strange in a
way because although he and Roland were similar in their natures,
Max and Basil were quite different from him, and from each other,
yet all four of them had instantly bonded and they’d never argued
about anything. That was truly astounding considering they’d bought
a business together. Certainly sometimes one of them had preferred
one thing over another thing, but they’d always been able to discuss
their differences and their ideas, and all their decisions had been
completely unanimous.

Even more surprising was that he liked all their lovers. Edward

had seemed so quiet, shy, and insignificant, yet when trouble had
come to the store in the shape of a serial litigator Edward had
mastered his fears and protected his staff. Although the other staff
members had been smart and brave as well. But for Edward it had
been a huge challenge and one he’d surmounted with bravery.

Nick, the detective, was the perfect foil for the builder, Max, and

Roland and Mike were well matched, too.

And now he’d found his own man to love in Samuel. A tattooed,

ponytailed bad boy who knew how to spank his ass in such a way that
his orgasms had never been better, yet who understood his need to be
quiet, organized, and neat. It was a damn miracle they’d even met, yet
alone found happiness together. If only he didn’t have his damn job
troubles hanging around his neck like a fucking millstone.

When everyone had finished eating, Samuel said, “Max, I’m

considering extending the living area so Cuth and I can live together.
My thoughts were that an extra ten feet of width would provide us
with enough space inside to be comfortable, yet still leave me the area
I need here for the landscaping equipment. What do you think?”

“Have you got some chalk?” asked Max.
Cuthbert didn’t have the faintest idea what he was talking about,

but Samuel walked over to his tool bench and came back with a thick

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stick of chalk, quite different from the sort of thing children used for
drawing.

Max and Samuel moved over to the other side of the warehouse

and most people turned to watch them, although conversation was still
idling between various members of the group.

“Where would you start from?” asked Max.
“Here. My office would be incorporated into the living area. I’d

want a door from the warehouse and then a lockable door into the
living area as well. Now I have to go out and walk around all the time,
which is really annoying if I just want to look something up on the
computer.”

Other people lost interest and their conversations picked up speed

and noise, but Cuthbert watched Max and Samuel pace out the new
area. He could picture the new big bedroom with a new big bed and a
wall of closets like he had already. That way everything could be put
away neatly and not clutter up their living space. Cuthbert also
envisioned a full-length mirror on one of the closet doors. One where
he could watch Samuel spanking him, and look at his red and purple
ass afterward. Oh yes, a huge mirror would be the perfect addition to
their new bedroom.

Max sketched some dimensions on the concrete floor and

Cuthbert walked over to look. He couldn’t imagine it would get in the
way of the truck. His car would easily be able to maneuver in and out
and he could always move it out if Samuel needed extra working
space. Cuthbert smiled at the thought of having his car garaged under
cover in winter, so it wouldn’t be such an effort to clean off the
windows and headlights before leaving for work each morning. Then
he thought of something.

“You’ve lived here through winter, right?”
“Of course.”
“How warm is the apartment? I mean, I haven’t seen a furnace or

anything here.”

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“That’s because I put in a lower false ceiling in there. I needed to

leave this area as high as it is just in case I ever need to bring
something huge inside. The heating unit sits on the false ceiling and
blows down into the apartment. There’s enough leakage into the
warehouse area that I can work out there even in the middle of winter
if I need to.”

Cuthbert relaxed. Samuel had said he never had to clean ice off

his windscreen, but that was still way too cold to walk around naked
after a shower in winter. Heating sounded good to him.

“And before you ask, it has air conditioning for summer as well.”
Cuthbert laughed. “Thank you. That’s good to know.”
Cuthbert remembered he was supposed to be a host and walked

back to everyone offering drinks. After that Edward gave them an
update on what was happening at The Paint Store and Roland
mentioned that all the accounts were surprisingly good for so early in
their ownership of the store.

Which only reminded him of how badly his own career was going

right now. And he couldn’t even get a job selling paint at the store as
Edward and his team were handling that so magnificently already.

Samuel and Max rejoined the group and Samuel flung an arm over

his shoulder. Cuthbert rested against him feeling safe, protected, and
cared for. He loved this man so much. He would forever be grateful
they’d met.

When there was a break in the conversation Samuel said, “Cuth,

tell them what has happened at Simla Inc. Maybe one your friends
will know what to do.”

Cuthbert felt his face turn crimson. Now everyone would know

what a terrible idiot he’d been.

* * * *

Sam could feel Cuth cringe under his arm but he held the man

tightly. Hiding and ignoring the problem wasn’t going to solve it.

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Something had to be done. The stress was eating away at the
previously equable and serenely balanced man he’d come to know
and love. Part of it was the thought that he’d done something wrong.
Of course Cuth had done nothing wrong other than trust someone he
clearly shouldn’t have trusted. But that wasn’t a crime. The crime was
committed by his manager stealing Cuth’s work.

Sam didn’t really know if anyone here could help. Sure Nick was

a cop, but it wasn’t like anyone would be taking the CFO of Simla
Inc. to court for stealing a subordinate’s honor and glory.

He patted Cuth firmly on the back and Cuth slowly told his story.
“This has been happening for two years and you only just found

out?” asked Nick.

Cuth nodded. “That just proves how stupid I am I guess.”
“Maybe a little naïve, but not stupid. It’s not normal to check the

work of one’s superior. But he did get away with it for a lot longer
than he must have expected to.”

“You were asking for a raise. Did you go to salary.com or

somewhere like that to find out if you were underpaid?” asked
Roland.

“I almost asked for a raise last year but I convinced myself I’d get

one on my anniversary. I did but it was only two hundred dollars per
year, which likely didn’t cover inflation. That’s why I looked around
to find out what I could ask for. I must say, my salary has dropped
more than I expected it to. These times are not all that wonderful
fiscally speaking, but after three years in the job likely I should be
getting the average wage for the position.”

“More than the average. I’d ask for more,” said Roland.
“Wait up. You said you’d asked over a week ago and that e-mail

was never responded to at all?” asked Basil.

“That’s right. I was trying to decide whether to send a repeat

request or even ask for a personal interview.”

“If you’re going after him for something else, I wouldn’t say any

more about the raise. Leave it lie for now,” advised Nick.

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“I agree,” said Roland.
Sam watched as various people had different ideas and the

questions flowed backward and forward. It was fun watching and
listening to these people. They were such a bright, varied bunch of
characters, from the jaw-droppingly flamboyant Basil, to the super
quiet Edward, but everyone had something in common. They were all
intelligent, thinking people. If anyone could help his Cuth, it’d be
these men.

Sam wondered if there was anywhere else in town, apart from

Pinky’s bar, where eight gay men were gathered. It must be some
kind of local record. And yet they were all good friends, from the
burly builder to the tap-dancing interior decorator.

“The chances of you getting anywhere by complaining about the

projects that have been stolen from you are miniscule unless you can
prove that a new one has just been stolen. Then the evidence you’ve
put together might be believed,” said Nick.

“You said you had something you needed to turn in soon, didn’t

you?” asked Mike.

“Yes, I do, and it includes some data that I researched myself and

no one else will have. Unless they’ve researched it themselves of
course.”

“There’s a way of putting an invisible watermark on documents. If

you did that, and then he used it, you’d have your proof.”

Ha! I thought there might be something like that.
“Even if he copied and pasted it into a fresh document?”
“Yes. The watermark is embedded in the page. Unless he’s quite

technically savvy. Is he?”

Cuth shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s never seemed to be.”
“Excellent. We’ve got him then. Send the data to me exactly how

you want to send it to him and I’ll watermark it for you,” said Mike.

“Thank you.”
Sam could feel Cuth almost quivering with tension.
“Then we’ll nail the bastard’s balls to the wall,” said Sam.

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“That’s the plan,” agreed Mike.
“I didn’t hear that,” said Nick. Everyone laughed and the tension

was lightened once again. But Sam knew even if Cuth proved his boss
had stolen this work and likely the previous work as well, Cuth would
still be the one looking for a new job. He’d encourage him to start
looking on his home computer. Maybe upgrade his resume and make
a list of positions to apply for. He wouldn’t want to stay at Simla Inc.
no matter what happened.

* * * *

Sam would have preferred just to close the roller door, set the

security alarm, and take Cuth to bed. Tomorrow was Sunday and they
could clean up then. But Cuth said he couldn’t enjoy sleeping in and
playing in bed, knowing the grease was setting hard on the grill, the
salad was wilting on the bench, and the trash needed taking out.

“I can see you’re going to be a slave driver once we’re living

together. I’ll spend all my spare moments cleaning up and taking out
trash,” he groaned.

“That’s why it’s so much easier to clean up as you go. You go fix

your grill and I’ll tidy the kitchen.”

“Bully.”
Nevertheless with two of them tidying everything away it didn’t

really take all that long, and the bonus was that they didn’t have to do
any work on Sunday. Sleeping in late was looking better and better.
They almost never had the opportunity for morning sex because
landscaping was an early morning kind of career, and Cuth always
seemed to wake early as well.

Nothing was better than crawling into bed, pulling up the blankets

and pressing his naked body against Cuthbert’s. The man wasn’t soft
and feminine, but his skin was definitely softer than Sam’s, likely
because Sam was outdoors all day. When Sam ran his hands over
Cuth’s flesh, there was the softer skin, and the muscles underlying it

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especially on his arms and legs. Even his ass was taut under the soft
flesh. And his cock was the same. Velvet-soft skin over the head and
an iron-hard erection. Damn, he loved Cuth so much, he longed for
the day they’d be living together.

“It was good talking to Max. I know exactly what I want now. I’ll

get started on it as soon as possible. The place will be a mess for a
while, but it’s in a good cause.”

“Will you have to demolish much of the existing rooms?”
“No, that’s the best bit. Because the long dimension will stay the

same, it’s just a matter of moving that side wall out ten feet. I can do
that myself a panel at a time.”

“Okay. I’ll help if you show me what to do.”
“Thanks, love.”
Sam silenced Cuth with a kiss. He started slowly and gently,

kissing Cuth’s lips softly and sweetly, and then pressed his tongue
inside. As soon as he did that his dick leaped with excitement and it
was damn hard to hold himself back from slamming his cock into
Cuth’s luscious ass. Instead, he pulled a big breath in through his nose
and concentrated on his kiss, licking behind Cuth’s teeth, and up over
the roof of his mouth. Then he kissed his nose, his eyebrows, and he
bit an earlobe, loving how Cuth shivered in his arms with lust. Yes,
that got him every time.

He nuzzled Cuth’s chest and then tweaked his nipples before

painting wet circles on his chest, and wet lines down to his cock.
Before he got there Cuth grabbed his ponytail and held his head
tightly. “Stop teasing,” he gasped.

“Why would I stop? I’m having fun here. Relax and let me play a

little longer.”

Cuth groaned and so Sam deliberately moved even more slowly

licking a line down to Cuth’s cock and then tasting his belly without
touching his cock. Only when Cuth’s fingers tightened in his hair so
much it actually hurt did he stop. “If you keep that up I’ll be bald by
next week.”

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“It’d be worth it if you put your mouth where I want it. Or better

yet your cock.”

Instead of giving in to Cuth’s demands, Sam tilted his ass up in

the air and licked along the rim, biting and nibbling all the way
around until the muscle was wet. Cuthbert was already scrabbling
one-handed in the nightstand drawer for the lube. When he grasped it,
he passed it to Sam. Sam slathered some on his dick, then slicked two
fingers and pressed them inside Cuth’s rosette stretching and opening
him.

So much for slow. Both of them were so aroused that would have

to do for foreplay. They were both more than ready to get to the
fucking.

Sam pushed Cuth’s legs over his shoulders and placed his

engorged, needy dick at Cuth’s entry and then held his lover’s hips. In
one long drive he rammed his way home knowing the fast, hard burn
would make the fucking even more erotic for Cuth. Just as he’d
expected, Cuth was already trying to push back onto Sam’s dick, to
force him even deeper inside.

Finally Sam got a rhythm going that suited both of them perfectly.

His hands gripped Cuth’s hips tightly holding him so he couldn’t hold
Sam in when he needed to withdraw, yet still letting him ram himself
back on the in-stroke. Cuth was bracing himself on the bed with both
hands, the force of their movements banging it into the wall and
rocking it on its legs.

“Have to nail the bed to the wall tomorrow,” he gasped in time

with their strokes.

“Can’t have the neighbors complaining,” replied Cuth, just as

choppily.

And then Cuth exploded, his dick spurting cum into the air. His

own cock followed immediately. It was always that way. Knowing his
lover had reached his pleasure was what set Sam off every time. But
he really would have to fix the bed. Smashing the bed would not be
good for romance.

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* * * *

Nothing was better than waking up still snuggled together with

Samuel. Their arms and legs were intertwined, their bodies pressed
together, and, if he buried his nose against Samuel’s skin, there was
still the faint sexy smell of men and cum from last night. There was
no better aphrodisiac in Cuthbert’s mind, than having Samuel in his
arms and the hint of semen in the air. And today was Sunday with no
need for either of them to rush off anywhere. Hmm. Morning sex.
Delightful indeed.

Cuthbert slid down in the bed, pushed Samuel’s legs apart, and

sucked Samuel’s cock hard and deep, swallowing him all the way
down.

“Christ! What a way to wake up.”
“You like?”
“Hell, yes.”
Cuthbert smiled and did it again. Already Samuel’s cock had

grown from half-hard to completely hard, but Cuthbert knew he could
make it even bigger if he just licked and sucked some more. He
relaxed the back of his throat again and took in as much of Samuel’s
thick, long dick as he could tolerate swallowing as he did so.
Samuel’s groans were all the encouragement he needed to do it again
and again.

“Enough. Roll over and give me your ass.”
Cuthbert obeyed, sticking his ass up high in the air and wiggling

it. But instead of preparing it for sex, or spanking it, either of which
would have been perfect, Samuel leaned over him and began biting
his ass. Sharp little nips moving around in a pattern. Cuthbert
concentrated trying to visualize what Samuel was doing. “It’s a heart.
You’re biting a heart on my butt.”

“Good guesswork. Yes, I’m giving your ass a purple heart for

devotion to our mutual pleasure.”

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Cuthbert shivered with happiness. “I’ve thought for a long time

that I’d like to get a tattoo. But in my job ones that can be seen at
work are frowned on. Maybe I should get a tattoo on my ass where
only you would ever see it.”

Sam kissed his ass, then bit a few more times. “I like that plan.

What kind of tattoo?”

“Why not a heart? Or better yet, two entwined hearts to symbolize

our love?”

“Mm, that’s an awesome idea. If you’re happy with it, I’ll come

with you when you get the tattoo done. I don’t want anyone looking at
your ass without me there to protect it. Your ass is my ass and only
mine.”

Cuthbert giggled as Samuel bit harder, outlining the heart again,

and then began filling the center of the heart with tiny kisses. He bent
his arms backward to pet and stroke Samuel’s strong arms and chest.
He’d never loved anyone the way he loved Samuel. He’d never been
so happy and content as he was now. And the thought that before too
long they could live together was even better. Especially if he was
going to have to quit his job and start from the bottom again. Not
having to pay the lease on his apartment would be a big help saving
him money until his salary picked up again.

And never ever again would he be so stupid as to trust anyone to

give him credit on a project. From now on he’d be rigorously
checking everything to ensure he wasn’t just paid a salary, but also
received the acknowledgment for his input as required. He wasn’t
even sure that this trick with a watermark on his document that Mike
said he’d do would be a help. He needed to think a whole lot more
about how he was going to deal with that. But not now. Now wasn’t
for thinking. Now was for loving Samuel. Now was for enjoying this
rare and special time they had together.

“Bite me harder. Make a deep bruise. I want to remember this

morning, this time together for days to come.”

“You want some bad-boy rough sex?”

Deep Purple Dreams

“Hell yes. Bite me. Hurt me. Claim me as yours.”
Instantly the gentle nibbling bites became harsher and Cuthbert

relaxed down into the bedding, relishing the pain as his ass heated like
a ring of fire branding him as belonging to Samuel. Only to Samuel,
the man he loved.

Samuel’s rough-skinned hand stroked over his hot ass. Cuthbert

loved the contrast. Samuel’s touch was light and gentle, but his work-
hardened and calloused hand was nonetheless so manly and rough.
The contrast made the touch even more erotic and evocative.

With no further preparation Cuthbert felt the head of Samuel’s

cock at his rosette. Samuel was going to slam into him and it was
going to hurt like hell. Right now it was exactly what he wanted and
needed. He needed a hot, sore, aching ass to remind him never to be
stupid again. It would also remind him that his lover and his friends
were always there to support him. No matter how naïve or stupidly
he’d behaved in the past, Samuel loved him and his friends had his
back. Truly he was one of the most fortunate idiots in the world to be
loved and protected like this.

Samuel pressed firmly and the head of his cock broached

Cuthbert’s entry. He breathed hard and accepted it. Samuel rocked a
little more inching his dick deeper inside. Cuthbert knew Samuel was
concentrating on riding the line between being rough, but not
damaging, between pleasure-pain and actual hurt. But right now
Cuthbert wanted to be hurt. He needed to be punished, to have a
reminder that he’d dropped the ball in his work life, had ruined his
career with his naïveté. He must never forget the lessons of the past
few days. Deliberately he gritted his teeth and slammed back onto
Samuel’s cock, forcing it deep inside himself with a long, driving
shard of pain.

“Fuck, Cuth, that wasn’t necessary.” Samuel leaned forward and

kissed his neck.

“Yes. It was. Without you I’d be nothing, my career in the toilet

and likely jobless and homeless. You’re the one who is giving me the

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strength to get my life sorted out, and then I’ll start afresh, likely from
the very bottom again. The tattoo will be a permanent reminder of our
love. Until then I need a couple bruises and some pain so I don’t
forget.”

Cuthbert could feel Samuel shaking his head. But he needed to be

realistic. It was no use saying he was just doing his job. That it wasn’t
his position to check his boss was treating him appropriately. The fact
was, he’d buried his head in the sand, kept his nose clean, and done
his own work, instead of paying due attention to the world around
him. He’d learned his lesson and wouldn’t make that mistake again.
But he wanted a reminder. He needed the pain to keep him on track
until the issue was dealt with properly. And that meant pain that
would last for a few days until he had his head on straight again.

Behind him Samuel continued to press kisses to his neck as he

pulled out and then slid in again. Now Cuthbert’s dick was standing
up again, alert and excited. He lifted up onto all fours and Samuel
gripped his cock stroking him slowly in time with his pumping in and
out of Cuthbert’s ass. Cuthbert relaxed into the steady mesmerizing
movement, pushing back on the in-strokes, joining his hand on his
cock with Samuel’s but only touching himself lightly, not wanting to
end the fucking yet.

He wanted this to be a long slow meeting of their bodies to

celebrate their rare morning sex. The thought of them having a whole
day together was exciting and he wanted the day to start with a bang.
The best kind of bang.

Samuel must have been thinking much the same thing, as he

pulled his dick out, slapped Cuthbert’s side, and said, “Roll over. I
want to watch your face as you come.”

Cuthbert rolled onto his back, spread his legs wide, and held out

his arms. “I love you so much, Samuel. You’re the most important
person in my life.”

“You are in mine, too.” Samuel slammed his dick back inside

Cuthbert, and then hugged him hard. Their bodies were now joined

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tightly, skin-to-skin, from top to bottom. Cuthbert loved that feeling.
It was good when Samuel fucked him from behind. He loved the
sensation of Samuel’s rock-hard chest resting on his spine, his
muscular thighs pressing behind Cuthbert’s thighs, but face-to-face
was even better. Then they could kiss or just look at each other. Damn
he loved this man so much.

Cuthbert rubbed his face against Samuel’s loving the rasp of their

bristles, and the softer touch of Samuel’s ponytail on his skin. And
then he couldn’t think anymore as Samuel was jack-hammering in
and out of his ass, the bed rocking in time with their strokes, and his
arms gripping tightly to the man he loved as his libido jumped from
plateau to explosion in a nanosecond.

As his cock erupted between their bodies, Samuel’s lips seized his

in a scorching kiss and then his ass was full of Samuel’s burning hot
cum, stinging his tender internal flesh, filling him, completing him.
They rolled together on the bed and lay on their sides, laughing,
panting, cuddling. This was bliss. This was how he wanted his life to
be forevermore.

If only I wasn’t such a fucking failure at work!

Berengaria Brown

Chapter Five

Sam loved the scent of hot man and sex. It was the best aroma

ever. He also liked his cum all over Cuth. Sure it’d be washed off in
the shower soon enough, But right now, the sticky residue of their
lovemaking branded Cuth as his as much as the hot ring of teeth
marks on Cuth’s delightful ass did.

He reached out a hand to look at his bedside clock. He had no idea

what the time was and he wanted to buy some lumber and begin
framing up the end wall for the apartment extension today. He and
Max had drawn chalk lines on the floor where the frames would go
and the new doorway from his office into his apartment, but he was
itching to start the actual work. Once the apartment was begun they
could live together. Besides, while he was doing that Cuth needed to
start work on proving what an asshole his boss was.

“It’s only seven o’fucking clock!”
“So what?” Cuth’s voice was muffled against his chest. He tugged

the man’s hair pulling his head up.

“What the fuck were you doing waking me up at seven on a

Sunday?”

Cuthbert gave him the most adorably evil grin. “Are you trying to

say you didn’t enjoy being woken up?”

Sam laughed and kissed him. “Next time remind me to look at the

clock first. Seriously, do you always wake up so early?”

“Mostly. I seldom sleep late. My great-great-grandfather was a

knocker. His job was to knock on people’s windows to wake them up
in the days before alarm clocks were invented. I’ve always been an
early riser and blame it on his genes.”

Deep Purple Dreams

“Are you shitting me? Is that just a story?”
Cuth laughed. “I might have missed out a great or two, but my

ancestor really was a knocker. That’s all true.”

“Well, fuck. That’s something I never knew about before.”
Sam held Cuth even closer to him and listened to their heartbeats

merge into a single regular beat. They were so clearly meant to be
together. Everything they said and did just proved it over and over
again.

“I want to start working on the extension today. The sooner we

can be together the better. What kind of a deal are you on with your
apartment? Do you have to give notice or pay a fee if you leave or
what?”

Cuth rolled up onto an elbow and looked at Sam. “I guess that’s

the good news out of this entire clusterfuck work situation. I have an
annual lease and need to give two weeks’ notice if I don’t intend to
renew. They have to give me a month’s notice if the rent is to rise.
The lease has just under two months to run, so likely I’d be seriously
considering a cheaper apartment anyway. What that all means though,
is that I can give notice, but still leave my furniture there until the last
minute, so it doesn’t have to be put in storage or get covered in
building dust while you renovate.”

“Hey, that’s awesome news. It’s like an affirmation on our living

together. Hopefully there won’t be too much dust. It’ll only take me a
couple of days to frame the extra width of the apartment at the roller
door end where my office is. I want to buy the lumber and dry wall
for that today. Then I can move the long wall out a panel at a time
when I get the opportunity. Most of the drywall should be reusable
and all the framing will be. A couple extra nail holes in the wood isn’t
going to matter at all.”

“What about the bathroom? Do you need to make that bigger? Or

you could just store the towels and things somewhere else. If we make
a huge closet like in my bedroom there should be all the storage space
we need available in it.”

Berengaria Brown

Sam hugged Cuth. He planned to use that idea of a floor-to-ceiling

closet in the bedroom. Hidden storage space and everything out of the
way, unseen. “With a mirrored door like you wanted,” he promised.

They snuggled and made plans and Sam was in heaven. This is

how it’d be all the time when they were living together. Always able
to talk and plan and just hang out as a family. But first they had to
take care of the tough stuff.

“Go have your shower and then use my computer to work out how

you’ll defeat the asshole. I don’t want your plans on anything he
might be able to access, ever. I’ll get started on the extension.”

“See, I told you it was just as well to clean the grill last night.

Otherwise you’d have to do all that now.”

Sam laughed. “Damn, you’re a bully.”

* * * *

Cuthbert thought likely it was a damn good idea to use Samuel’s

computer rather than his own, for his plans to defeat his boss. Also
he’d get a new flash drive and wouldn’t use the one with all his work
projects on it anymore either. He didn’t want anything to happen to
that data. Even though he was careful about saving his work he knew
hackers could get in just about anywhere. Hmm, maybe it was time to
change all his passwords as well. A few precautions wouldn’t hurt.
Having been blindsided once didn’t mean there weren’t other things
happening he didn’t know about. It was best he be prepared for just
about anything.

What he needed to do was work out a detailed and hopefully

foolproof plan on how to catch his boss out using his work without
acknowledging it, and then use that to get himself a decent reference
and a portfolio of achievements to help him find another job. But how
could he do that?

This watermark thing Mike was going to do for him was a bonus.

If it showed up on this new project it would indeed prove he’d made

Deep Purple Dreams

solid input on it. Once the CEO had that proof maybe he’d listen to
what Cuthbert said about the earlier projects, maybe he’d even look at
some of Cuthbert’s files of evidence. Although CEOs were very busy
people. Realistically, he was more likely to decide that trying to prove
anything was going to be far too much work for an unlikely result.

Well, Cuthbert would still demand a reference showing he’d done

that project properly.

What about confronting the boss himself after he’d proven this

new project was stolen? Assuming it was. If the boss acknowledged
him this time he’d have no hope of ever proving he’d stolen data in
the past. For a moment Cuthbert found himself in the totally weird
place of hoping his boss stole the next project from him. Otherwise,
he’d have no proof at all.

Or maybe he should just slink away and start from the bottom

again. That was most likely what would happen anyway. Perhaps he
should just cut through all the hassle of the intermediate steps, accept
he’d made a significant error, and get himself a beginner job. But
would any company even hire a man of his age and experience in a
junior position? That was another worry. Would they think he was a
bad person because he’d failed? Or argumentative maybe? Someone
who wouldn’t listen to his supervisor? A know it all?

Ah, fuck, his thoughts were just going around and around in

circles getting him nowhere.

Finish this project. Get it watermarked. If it’s stolen show the

CEO. Challenge the boss and the CEO about the previous
occurrences. Demand an apology, and a useful reference.

Right. He had a plan. He’d just fucking do it.

* * * *

Sam found himself whistling happily as he framed up his

apartment extension. Again and again he congratulated himself on
deciding to lease the warehouse long-term. According to his lease he

Berengaria Brown

could do whatever he liked on the inside, with the knowledge that
when his lease was over he might be required to tear stuff down or
repaint or whatever. But since he had no plan of leaving the
warehouse when the five year lease was up, it was all good. No, this
place was perfect and even though undoubtedly the price would go
up, he’d be staying for a second five years if he possibly could.

Anyway that was all more than three years away. Right now he

was within ten feet of the man he loved and working on their new
home. It was a damn horrible situation with Cuth and his asshole
manager. It was just another good reason why Sam liked owning his
own business. He was his own manager and the only person who
would suffer if he fucked up was himself.

From time to time when he’d been really busy he’d thought about

taking on an apprentice or hiring some casual laborers, but he’d
resisted the temptation. At the moment, he worked, he made the
decisions, he got paid. Once he had staff their lives were his
responsibility. He would need to find the work to keep them busy and
fed. If he wanted to take a week off and go hunting, right now he
could do it. But if he had an apprentice he couldn’t. Right now, as
long as he had cash put aside, he could refuse a job he didn’t want to
do. Once he had staff to keep employed so many of his choices would
be gone.

It was much better to have to slave his ass off from time to time,

working from dawn to dusk seven days a week, to keep up with all his
work, and ensure his clients were happy, and then he could take time
off if he wanted to. Each job he was free to accept or reject on its
merits. He liked that too much to give it up.

He wondered if Cuth could start his own business. He’d already

bought into The Paint Store so he and his friends had to have some
ideas about how to go about it. Since Cuth had saved the company he
worked for plenty of money, he must have the ability to do the job
itself. His problem was that he was too trusting. Although now he’d
been hurt so badly likely his innocence was gone. Would he have the

Deep Purple Dreams

right temperament to establish his own business? Maybe with the help
of some of his friends to refer clients to him in the beginning, until he
had a good record to show? Sam wasn’t sure, but it was another idea
to follow up. Maybe something to get Cuth thinking positively about
the future.

* * * *

Cuthbert had been a nervous wreck ever since he’d submitted the

final draft of this latest report. Mike had gotten him to send him all
the pages of work which he’d provided and then had sent them all
back with the comment. “Fingers crossed.”

The past few years Cuthbert hadn’t even noticed that his boss

never sent him copies of the completed papers which went to the CEO
and the directors. It was only now that he knew something was wrong
that this seemed strange. But previously he’d been too busy working
on the next project to even pay attention to work that had been
completed and submitted.

Now, of course, that was a problem. How was he to find out if his

work had been stolen or not without waiting months for it to appear
on the website, or worse, to alert his supervisor to his curiosity?
Finally, when he was sure it should have been approved, he went and
bought another new flash drive then visited the archives.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I had to get a new flash drive and the

Grover Report isn’t on it. Can I get a copy of it please?”

Cuthbert was almost shaking with fear that the archivist would ask

him what business that report was of his, but she simply held out her
hand for his flash drive and then plugged it into the archives
computer, downloading the file for him. “There you go.”

“Thank you,” he managed, and left the archives.
He was almost physically ill with fear, and had to stop at the water

cooler for a cup of iced water to calm himself, before he could walk
back to his own office. He collapsed into his chair, inserted the flash

Berengaria Brown

drive into his computer, and closed his eyes, swallowing hard, the
tension and fear back with full force. He clicked on the link and
opened the document.

Across the top of the page was the heading just as he’d written

it—A Report to the Board of Directors Regarding the Efficiencies
which could be Obtained by Maximizing the Use of the Grover
Software Package.

And underneath it in smaller print, The Grover Report.
There was a picture of the software package and immediately

underneath it was in large letters, Researched and Written by JZ
Suranro, Chief Finance Officer for Simla Inc.

With Assistance From—and in tiny, eight-point type, buried

among ten other names—Cuthbert Lewis SFO.

He’d done it. He’d stolen the data and said it was his.
Cuthbert didn’t know whether to be happy he could prove—well,

hopefully prove—his boss was a fraud, or scared witless that now
he’d have to go through with his complaints and leave the company.
Well, he was going to leave the company anyway. He couldn’t stay
here any longer. Cuthbert took out his cell phone and texted Mike.

Data was stolen again.
He was still sitting staring at the cell phone when it beeped.
Instructions on how to catch the thief sent to Sam.
That was a good idea. He certainly didn’t want them on the

company e-mail.

Thnx.
Sliding his cell phone back into his pocket, Cuthbert squared his

shoulders, took a deep breath and e-mailed the CEO the letter he’d
spent hours and hours writing, asking for a private interview to talk
about intellectual property theft happening in the company.

Then he spent most of the rest of the day just sitting in his chair

staring at a blank computer screen. Really, there was no sense in him
working if he wasn’t going to receive any credit for it. Besides, he
needed to read through and memorize what he could say to the CEO.

Deep Purple Dreams

Likely he’d only have ten minutes, maybe fifteen, and he couldn’t
waste even a second of it, bumbling or waffling. He needed to know
exactly what to say and how to say it.

If only he didn’t feel so sick with fear and nervous tension.

* * * *

Sam sat beside Cuthbert, gently rubbing his back as Cuthbert read

through his speech to the CEO. They’d spent hours trying to think of
the questions the CEO might ask, and the best way to answer them.
Certainly Cuth needed to place the asshole right in the shit where he
belonged, but he had to do it factually, not vindictively. Everything
Cuth said had to be provable with evidence and facts. There had to be
no leeway for the asshole to cry harassment, or brush the complaints
aside as the sour grapes of a loser inefficient worker.

Sam knew Cuth could do it. The man was damn smart, and strong,

and brave. But right now Cuth needed Sam’s love and support.

“Don’t beat yourself up about the mistakes of the past. Right now

you need to plan everything very carefully, and follow through by
carrying out the plan.”

“Build a bridge and get over it?” That was the closest Cuth had

come to making a joke all evening.

“Damn right. You can do it, Cuth. I wish I could come with you

but we both know that’d be more likely to diminish the respect you’d
get from the CEO than increase it. However, I’ll be waiting for your
call to tell me every last detail about the interview.”

“Yeah, well, that might take all of two seconds if he kicks me out

of his office.”

Sam jumped up to massage Cuth’s shoulders. “That isn’t going to

happen. You’re going to have everything planned and ready to go. Hit
him with the facts. That little trick of Mike’s is pretty damn
devastating.”

“Hell yes. So simple but so damn good.”

Berengaria Brown

Sam marched into the center of the room and stood with his arms

crossed. “I’m the CEO. Tell me why I should listen to you.”

Sam watched carefully as Cuth shook his head, frowned, blushed,

and then hesitantly stood up from his desk. He continued to watch as
Cuth seemed to pull an invisible shield around himself, finally
standing tall as he began to speak. The man might be nervous, but he
was no coward. He could do it.

I just wish I could be there to see him in action.

* * * *

Cuthbert had taken twice as long to dress as usual, and his crisp

white handkerchief was a limp rag, he’d wiped his sweaty palms on it
so often. He’d purchased yet another flash drive and on it were all the
files that showed what was his work, and how he’d been left as
simply one of many helpers, not the main provider of data, and the
person who’d written the actual report.

He’d also printed everything out and placed it in a portfolio, with

the flash drive, in case the CEO wanted to flip through the file while
they were meeting together. However, he wasn’t at all convinced the
CEO would even listen to him. After all, he’d hired the CFO so likely
was good friends with the man. Either way, he’d be far more likely to
believe his own appointee than to believe Cuthbert. Nevertheless
Cuthbert couldn’t go on knowing his work was being effectively
stolen. He’d been a doormat for far too long already, and it was time
to make that clear.

He couldn’t sit and work this morning. He had to be on his feet

pacing nervously. He watched the hands of the clock move slowly
and inexorably toward 10:00 a.m. and had to force himself to stay in
his own office until five minutes before the hour. Even so, it only took
him two minutes to walk up one flight of stairs to the CEO’s domain.

The CEO’s personal assistant smiled at Cuthbert. “Hi, Mr. Lewis.

He’s expecting you. It won’t be long.”

Deep Purple Dreams

It won’t be long until what? Until he chews me up and spits me

out? Until he terminates my employment?

She looked down at her computer again and her landline

telephone buzzed at exactly ten. “You can go in now.” She smiled at
him again and Cuthbert did his best to smile back. He walked to the
closed door, tapped on it lightly, and opened it, stepping into the
CEO’s huge corner office.

“Good morning, Cuthbert. You wanted to talk to me about

intellectual property theft happening here at Simla Inc.?”

“Yes, sir.”
“Sit down and tell me who’s stealing data and what is being

stolen.”

This was where he feared being thrown out of the CEO’s office

and terminated immediately. The CEO would naturally assume the
data was being taken out of the company. Whereas it was still staying
inside the company. Maybe Cuthbert hadn’t worded his original e-
mail as well as he could have, but he’d spent hours thinking and could
come up with no other way of indicating the seriousness of the issue
without sounding like the baby who’d had his candy taken away from
him. This was a serious matter and it needed to be dealt with. Now
was his only chance.

“Sir, recently I noticed that a project on which I had worked, a

project for which I did all the research and collating of data, was
published in-house with another person’s name as the author. I
checked back and found that almost every assignment I’ve worked on
for the past two years had been credited to this other person. So
before I handed in all my data on the Grover Report I added a
watermark to it to show that the intellectual property was mine.”

“Two years?”
“Approximately, sir.”
“Hm.”

Berengaria Brown

Ah, fuck. Now he’ll tell me I must be totally stupid not to have

noticed anything for so long. Cuthbert swallowed hard. He couldn’t
give up yet.

“What do you mean a watermark?”
“Watermarks were originally invented to discourage

counterfeiting of important documents. There is a range of different
ways of using them on computer documents as well. If you have a
copy of the Grover Report on your computer I can tell you how to
make visible the very simple one I used on my data for that file.”

The CEO looked down and presumably brought up the file.

“Well?”

“Go to any page of data, highlight the page, and then change the

font color to black.”

The CEO just stared at him, then must have obeyed him because

there was a faint smile tilting the corners of his lips. He clicked his
mouse several more times, presumably checking other pages, and then
said, “Very neat. I believe you about the data for this file. Have you
any proof for any of your other accusations?”

Cuthbert felt tremendous relief. The CEO believed him this time.

Even if he couldn’t prove any of the rest of his claims he’d been
vindicated at least in this instance. He handed over the file of papers
he’d been holding and then the flash drive.

“I’ve documented everything I can. I have screenshots of the days

and dates I submitted the files and the data, showing I had all the
information before the other person used it. I’ve done my best but it’s
somewhat circumstantial.”

The CEO looked at the thick file and said, “You’ve certainly put

some effort into your investigations. Why would Mr. Suranro steal
your work?”

Cuthbert startled and tried to cover it up. He’d been very careful

not to point the finger at his boss. He didn’t want this to seem like a
hate session, but as an explanation. He answered honestly. “I have no
idea, sir.”

Deep Purple Dreams

The CEO picked up his landline and said, “Ask Mr. Suranro to

join us right away, please.”

The CFO must have been at his desk because it was less than five

minutes later when he opened the door and came into the office.

Cuthbert stood up and stepped aside but the CEO made no attempt

to tell JZ to sit.

“Two years ago, JZ, I told you to lift your game. I pointed out

you’d done nothing to earn your position as Chief Finance Officer.
You’d tightened no systems, you’d introduced no innovations.
Nothing, despite hiring a bright young man as your Senior Finance
Officer. Then suddenly the innovations and cost savings appeared. I
patted myself on the back, saying all you’d needed was a kick in the
pants. Now it appears I was wrong. You just stole another man’s
work. Why didn’t you give credit where it was due?”

“He’s lying. It was my work. I’ve done everything…”
The CEO turned his computer around so the screen faced Cuthbert

and his boss. It was showing a page of the data he’d compiled for the
Grover Report. Diagonally across the center of the page were huge
black letters, Intellectual Property of Cuthbert Lewis.

Cuthbert watched as his boss’s face flamed red, and then went

ashen.

“Go and clear out your desk and then leave. Any monies owing to

you will be paid into your account within a week.”

The CFO bowed his head and left. Cuthbert almost felt sick at

what had happened, but the man had been living off his work for two
years. It was a vicious response, but it was also fitting.

The CEO extended his hand. Hastily Cuthbert shook it. Did that

mean he was terminated, too?

“Congratulations, Cuthbert. You are now the Chief Finance

Officer of Simla Inc. Your first task will be to correct the previous
reports. Tell Sally to get them reprinted and redistributed once you’ve
updated them. Tomorrow you can move into JZ’s office.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

Berengaria Brown

Cuthbert was so dazed he could hardly walk properly back to his

office. But there was one thing he had to do. He pulled out his cell
phone and called Samuel.

“How did it go? I’ve been thinking of you all morning.”
His warm friendly voice sent lust running through Cuthbert’s

veins. “He believed me. He sacked my boss and made me CFO. He
believed me!”

“Fuck yes! Of course he believed you, Cuth. Tell your friends to

meet us at Pinky’s tonight and we’ll celebrate in style.”

Cuthbert slid down into his office chair, his face split wide in a

grin. The CEO had believed him. The CEO had promoted him. He
had a job and he had the man he loved.

“Thank you, Samuel. You were my strength and my support. You

made it possible for me to stand up for myself.”

“Tonight we’ll see what else stands up.”
Cuthbert laughed. “I love you, my bad boy.”
“Love you, too.”
And at the weekend he’d get two purple hearts tattooed onto his

ass to demonstrate his love to the only person in the world who would
ever see them, Samuel.

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Berengaria is an award-winning, best-selling, multipublished

author of erotic romance with over one hundred published digital,
print, and audio books. She writes contemporary, paranormal (magic,
ghosts, vampires, fairies, dragons, and werewolves), futuristic,
medieval, and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all different
kinds of romance so that is what she writes: MMF, MFM, FMMM,
FFM, MM, FF, and MF. Whatever the characters need for their very
hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria makes sure they get it.

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