Eden's Past

Chapter 1

Chapter 1He knew he shouldn’t complain. Both growing up and during most of his adult life money had never been an issue. Except he knew from personal experience that money caused problems.

That’s one of the reasons he’d left that life behind—his family and all of their old money. All their old-world inhibitions.

Only to find himself immersed in a world of new money, with all the indulgent excesses that came with such a lifestyle.

This time, though, it wasn’t his money being spent. He was busy making it and he had to work hard for every dollar and work for it in a way that made him lose more of himself every day, taking his self-respect along the way. But when you were blessed with model-type good looks and a great body and men saw you as a s****l being, sacrifices had to be made.

Chad Singleton knew all about sacrifices. He’d been making them since he was seventeen and on his own. He’d come a long way since that day in small-town Pennsylvania. New worlds had opened up to him.

Take now. First came a two-day layover in Los Angeles, then a month-long trip to the Far East with stops in Tokyo, Singapore, and Beijing. Thinking about all those frequent flier miles he’d racked up made Chad realize just how far from his old homestead he’d come. He wondered also if that was a good thing, as though the farther afield he traveled, the more he put his old life and memories of his fractured family behind him. So why then was his mind busy thinking about them now? He supposed he could travel to the moon and still he’d hear his father’s harsh, unforgiving tone as he threw him out of the house, disowning him.

One day Chad swore he’d show his father how wrong he’d been.

Now certainly wasn’t the time, not with the way he was living his life. It would only make matters worse and perhaps prove the old bastard right. Chad Singleton, twenty-nine, handsome to the point people’s eyes lingered, physically fit, generally good-humored, was a kept man. And the man who kept him never wasted a moment to remind him.

“Chad, do you have the bags?”

Running a hand through the shoulder-length, dark brown locks that enhanced his already cut features, Chad allowed himself a heavy sigh. When you were a paid companion and in the company of the boss, were you ever really off-duty? Besides, didn’t the hotel staff handle s**t like luggage? Couldn’t he for once be the pampered one?

“It’s okay, Mr. Gregory. The bellhop will bring the bags up,” the reservation clerk from behind the sleek counter said with a flush to his cheeks.

Chad offered the clerk a grateful smile, even though his employer was not a man who ever liked being contradicted. “Regardless. I have very valuable items in my bags and as such, I don’t like to be separated from them for even a minute. Chad is a capable young man.”

And so it was that Chad was put to work, grabbing the two heavy suitcases, one in each of his hands, the tanned muscles of his arms bulging from the weight. Another suitcase was strung across his shoulder, the leather strap cutting across his chest. The tight white V-neck shirt already highlighted his n*****s, the cotton material adhering to his hard pectorals and flat stomach. Danny Gregory smiled at the sight, then flashed a look back at the clerk.

“Very capable.”

Danny Gregory, a powerful music executive who created and managed a boy band called The Teen Boys and who had more money than he knew what to do with, followed Chad through the busy lobby of the trendy Sunset Strip hotel. Soon the two of them were off the elevator and padding down the soft carpet to their room. It was at the end of the hall, of course, more private. Chad felt every step with the heavy bags. At last they arrived. Danny removed the card key and swung the door wide. He let Chad enter first. Chad felt as if he could see the man’s eyes zeroing in on his ass as he bent over to drop the bags in the corner. Chad could read Danny’s mind in other ways, too, knowing what was going to happen next.

“You can get ready, Chad, like a good pretty boy.”

“Sure, Danny,” he said, his voice noncommittal.

They’d just flown across the country, Danny having spent the entire flight from New York either on his laptop or, just before take-off and after landing, talking on his iPhone. His pattern suggested that once they arrived at the hotel he could take a break from his wheeling and dealing, allowing himself the chance to indulge his perpetual desires. For the past six months, Chad Singleton’s body had been his primary indulgence.

First things first, Chad went over to the sliding door that opened out onto the terrace. As he slid it across the track, a light breeze blew into the airy room, freshening their surroundings. He stared down at the pool area, where men and women lounged in as little clothing as they could get away with for a public place. Fit, tanned bodies were de rigueur here in sunny Southern California and none on better display than those taking in the scene at the Standard. Chad stole a pensive look in the distance at the western hills of LA, where he could detect planes arriving and departing in steady rotation. Just an hour ago, he’d been up in that sky and in another two days’ time he’d be back up in the clouds. Life was a series of flights and hotel rooms, a transient existence that made him feel as if he were always packing, always floating.

The popping of a cork broke him from his thoughts and he returned to the room.

“Finally, a chance to breathe,” Danny said, handing Chad a glass of champagne.

The bottle had been chilling and awaiting them upon arrival, as requested.

Chad and Danny clinked glasses and as they drank, Chad noticed Danny’s cell phone had been placed on the table beside the bed. That phone was never out of his hands unless he had other, more private matters on his mind. A quick check of his pants and Chad could see the distraction. It was pressing hard against the zipper of his slacks. For a guy who stood only five eight, Danny Gregory had a nice length on him, which of course looked even bigger because of his wiry frame. Chad drank the bubbly again, feeling refreshed by the expensive little bubbles that shimmered inside the glass and just slightly woozy. He’d barely touched the airline food. He downed the rest of the contents of the glass in one big gulp, smiling at Danny as he set it down on the bureau.

“Very sexy indeed,” Danny said. “I love watching you drink.”

He wasn’t talking about the champagne. The powerful, demanding Danny came toward Chad and took him in his arms, staring up at Chad’s six-foot-one broad-shouldered frame.

“I’m so glad you could accompany me on this trip, it’s a long journey.”

“I wasn’t doing much of anything,” Chad said. “New York was strangling me anyway. A change of pace is good.”

“Let’s hope not everything has changed. I need it just how I like it. I need what you’ve got.”

Chad felt his c**k thicken at the idea of s*x, especially if he was able to knock back a bit more of the expensive champagne. s*x with Danny was always better when he had a good buzz going. He felt Danny grab at his ass and pull him in closer. He leaned up, thick lips puckered. Chad accepted the kiss, felt a wet tongue slip inside his mouth before curling back out. It lapped against a stubbled chin.

“You didn’t shave this morning,” Danny said.

“I did but it grows fast,” Chad said.

“Yes, I suppose it does. Well, no time for such details now.”

Danny often complained about the roughness of Chad’s beard. It seemed a heavy shadow perpetually graced his cheeks. With another slap at his tight butt, Danny told him to get his ass in gear, laughing at his own lame attempt at wordplay. While Danny poured himself another glass of champagne, Chad went into the bathroom to prepare. He stripped down to nothing and then was under the hot spray of the shower seconds later.

He lathered up, letting the steam rise all around him. At last, he felt he’d cleansed enough for Danny’s approval and emerged from the shower to a mirror coated with steam. He flipped on the bathroom fan, then wiped away at the condensation. A streaky image stared back and he had to wonder at the distorted sight in front of him. Chad Singleton was a shell of the man he once thought he’d become, having struggled for years in New York to find himself and to make something of himself. He had a lot to prove to his family. What he’d done was concentrate on his body, not his mind, so he was physically fit, his body hard, solid. It had gotten him places but all at the cost of his ambitions.

As the steam dissipated, he got a clearer picture of his trim body. His dark-brown hair was even darker when wet and he pushed it back with his hands. He would let it dry naturally, unlike the rest of him, which he ran a towel over. His bare hand scraped against his chest, where he felt a good amount of stubble. Naturally hairy, Chad kept his chest waxed at Danny’s request and only now did he realize he should have gone for a treatment before they left. Like his unshaven face, it was something Danny would have to deal with today.

So Chad emerged from the steamy bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. He found the room darkened, the curtains closed. He also found Danny spread out on the bed, naked, his legs open and his c**k springing into action.

“Someone’s ready,” Chad said.

“I could say both of us are,” came the reply.

Chad’s c**k had grown beneath the towel, tenting it. He pulled it off and his c**k thrust forward—it was a stunning length, more long than thick. It was what one wealthy, horny potential client had called his meal ticket before making a meal of it himself, going down on the throbbing c**k. He’d been requesting Chad’s capable services for an exclusive period before wiping the come off his face. He’d sucked Chad off every chance he’d gotten for the one-month business trip.

Now it was a different man but the transaction was the same. “Look at that huge thing,” Danny said, wiping at his mouth. “Bring it to me, now.”

He barked that last order and Chad did as asked, though not before grabbing hold of his refilled glass. He drank down some bubbly, let some of it spill down his chin and onto his chest. Danny reacted by stroking his own c**k. Chad climbed onto the bed, knees sinking slightly into the firm mattress. He straddled Danny, pointing his pulsing c**k at the powerful man’s eager mouth. He saw that mouth open wide and that’s when Chad let his c**k slide in.

“Hmmm,” Danny said, his voice muffled.

Chad pulled out and heard, “f**k me, Chad. f**k my face.”

He readied himself for a harder entry and then slammed hard. He felt fingers dig into the hard flesh of his smooth ass. He pounded and he thrust again, a relentless assault that had Danny gagging. His lips kept a tight lock on him though. With loud grunts, he shoved his c**k in as deep as he could, felt the warm rush of the man’s spittle against his shaft. He knew it wouldn’t take him long to blow, not with the frantic action of his bucking hips, not with the darkened room allowing him to fantasize in his mind about a different man taking his c**k. That’s how it went sometimes when you found the man you were with repulsive.

He soon heard a muffled cry and opened his eyes to see that Danny’s c**k was letting loose a load of come onto his fingers. Chad thrust one last time and he, too, felt the rush of orgasm. He let it rip and his c**k exploded with spurts of hot come, all of it sliding down Danny’s throat. As he pulled out and fell back against the bed, Danny let out a sigh.

“Not sure which tasted better,” he said, “you or the champagne.”

“Hot is always better than cold,” Chad said.

* * * *

Night had fallen but neither man was yet satiated.

As the empty bottle of champagne lay on the floor beside the bed, glasses upturned, Chad readied for another round of s*x. He slid the condom down over his shaft, now an angry red from hours of s****l frothing, and then stared down at Danny’s smooth, naked ass. Danny was lying flat on his stomach, his face embedded against a pillow. Those bubble cheeks of his clinched as Chad ran a swath of lube between them.

“Don’t make me wait…not anymore. Chad…do me.”

He’d been doing him all day, except when Danny had turned things around and been clumsily doing him. Danny was the rare creature who preferred versatility, both in him and in the men who shared his bed. After letting Chad’s c**k f**k him hard in the mouth, Danny had taken the lead as he’d pressed his c**k deep inside Chad, taking him from behind. They’d ridden each other on the white beanbag chair that came with the room and then Chad had shoved him against the far wall, pounding him with his ramrod c**k to the point where the people in the next room banged back.

Knowing people could hear them, Danny’s cries had only increased.

His orgasm had probably caused the neighbors to call down to the main desk.

“f**k them,” Danny said. “Hotel rooms require s*x, the louder the better.”

It was about to get loud again, as Chad positioned himself above Danny. He took hold of his c**k, readying it. Even he had to agree it was an impressive length, looking so long even in his large palm, more so when he trimmed down his pubes, which was the case now. The less hair, the better, Danny had stated the first night they’d been introduced. The hirsute Chad had been forced that first night to f**k him while keeping his T-shirt on.

Chad personally preferred his natural state—hairy was the kind of man he liked.

Directing his c**k at Danny’s waiting ass, he slid through the closed cheeks, opening him up. He saw the pink hole, saw it pucker in anticipation. Then he saw his tip make contact and he pressed once, twice, watching as his c**k disappeared inside him. Danny cried out when the tip pierced him, bellowing from the desired pain.

“Oh s**t, oh s**t…that’s so big…ooohhh…ahh yes…so perfect.”

Chad slid in the rest of the way, his entire shaft buried inside Danny. With his legs bent at the knee, his palm face down on Danny’s back, Chad began to slowly rock forward, making sure his c**k was comfortable, locked in. Once he was in and secure, he began to thrust more and then more still. He saw Danny’s fists grab at the edge of the mattress, tightening their hold while Chad began to plow him with exponentially harder thrusts. Again, again and again, his c**k slid in hard and fast, Chad’s hips working hard at the simple art of pleasure. Danny’s tortured pleas only served to encourage him, so he kept at it, feeling his c**k lengthen, strengthen. Sweat began to pour down his chest, beads slipping over stubble-induced trails. He thrust and he heaved, his breath strong, his cries vocal. He didn’t let up, this was what he was here to do. What he was being paid to do.

Danny Gregory was a powerful man, a rich man. When he asked for something, you did it and you didn’t stop until he said so.

It was true of anything.

It was mostly true in the bedroom.

“Oh f**k me…yeah, more…keep going…”

Chad was an engine now, not human. He couldn’t be. To be human would mean to be in this moment both physically and emotionally and if he’d learned anything since being disowned by his family and taking up this life, it was how to control your feelings, to hide them. s*x like this, it was pure physicality, like exercise, and he could enjoy it in that sense alone, rallying to the constant thrusting, the rush of heat on his body, even the manipulation of his natural state to accommodate the proclivities of the men he was with. In the end, it was all about servicing the client. Face it, that’s what they were, paying clients who demanded a service and Danny Gregory held the title as his most demanding, leaving Chad with nothing to do but ensure his pleasure.

His chest wore a slick sheen of sweat, his body on autopilot. f*****g while his mind drifted, only an explosion would take him back to this hotel room. In his mind he was back home in Eden and who he saw was the scrawny teenager who’d fallen in love with him. The boy next door, the one who he’d let suck his c**k for the first time. Right there in the family’s carriage house, his first s****l experience, and it had both shaped and scarred him.

He’d known he could never be with a woman.

He’d known he would never again feel normal.

He’d known he’d never return home.

“Hey, don’t slow down, boy. Keep that big c**k going at me, hard.”

Chad refocused and renewed his energy. He began to feel an orgasm ripping through the long shaft. He was coming, hard and fast and urgent, and he banged his hips as hard as he could at the man’s pliant, willing ass. What he wanted to feel was the most powerful climax he’d ever experienced, one that, for once, was all about his pleasure. f**k the paycheck and f**k everyone who’d screwed him.

Chad Singleton wanted to be himself again.

“Ahhhh,” he cried out, his voice rising like an animal’s roar.

The banging on the neighboring room’s wall increased but Chad didn’t care. He rubbed his body against Danny’s, his stubbled chest raw on Danny’s back. Danny cried out in both surprise and anger but still Chad kept going. The release he felt could not be denied, the hot streams of come pouring out of his shaft, his thick tip, leaving him strangled for breath. At last drained, he pulled out and dropped onto his sweaty back. His chest heaved, lungs starved for air. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the blades of the fan as though they were taking him back in time.

But it wasn’t the blades that did that, it was the ringing of the phone.

“That’s mine,” Chad said, surprised. No one ever called him these days. Not even the escort service. Mark knew he had a steady gig right now.

Getting up from the bed, his long c**k still semi-hard, he dashed over to the bureau to check the caller ID. He didn’t know the number but he recognized the area code. The warmth his body felt from his powerful climax suddenly felt chilled. His arms pimpled with goose bumps as he answered the phone.

“Hello?”

He listened and he nodded, even though the person on the other end couldn’t see.

At last, with a hollow voice, he said, “Okay, I’ll be there,” before setting the phone down.

He stood in the center of the room, naked, feeling exposed to the cruel world and only the presence of a defiant-looking Danny in front of him reminded him where he was. He found Danny staring up at him but rather than sympathy on his face, what he saw was a boiling over of anger.

“Who told you to answer the f*****g phone? We weren’t done. I wasn’t done,” he said, getting up from the bed and poking a finger at Chad’s thick chest. “And what the f**k did I tell you about the f*****g stubble, Chad? Christ, I don’t manage a band named the Fur Boys, now, do I? I’m calling down for a spa treatment for you…now. Then you can f**k me again and do it right this time.” He paused, wiping foamy spittle from the corner of his lips, then said, “Don’t ever disappoint me again. Don’t ever pull out before my climax.”

Chad swallowed hard before he heard himself saying, “Looks like I’ll have to disappoint you just one last time, Danny.”

Danny Gregory’s nostrils flared. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I have to leave, now,” Chad Singleton said with more ferocity than he had felt in years and then, more to himself than to his demanding employer, added words that rang inside his head even long after he’d departed Los Angeles.

“My father’s dead.”