“When we get back, I’ll shower and pick up your prescription for you. What’s your afternoon look like?” Sacha asked. “I’m not scheduled to work anything of yours today.”

  Gio wiped the sweat from his brow. “Thank you for doing that for me. I’ve got some work I can do from home, but nothing else going on. My next event is on Saturday. I have a charity gala.”

  “Another gala?”

  “Yes.” Did Sacha sound disappointed? Gio would certainly rather spend the time with him, but Gio had made a commitment, and as one of the evening’s benefactors, he could hardly cancel. “Would you like to join me? As my date?”

  Sacha stopped jogging, and Gio did the same. “Your date?”

  “I know it’s short notice.”

  “No, um, it’s fine. I’ve still got my tux from Colton’s wedding. Will that work?”

  “Of course.”

  “Okay, good. Let’s head back. I have some stuff I need to take care of.”

  They jogged back to the house, Saint trailing close behind Gio and Chip ahead of them. The silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t as easy as it usually was. He hoped Sacha wasn’t nervous about this weekend. As far as events went, it was mostly mingling and listening to the host’s speech about the charity and thanking everyone for donating. It was only a few hours of conversing, drinking, and dancing. Would Sacha want to go with him to his events? He supposed it was one of those things they’d eventually have to discuss.

  When they got back inside, Saint went to his room to shower while Sacha and Chip followed Gio into his room. A wicked little smile curled Sacha’s lips.

  “You know, we should probably shower together. That way I don’t have to wait until you’re done. Save time.”

  Gio hummed. “That does sound like a very smart idea.” He took hold of Sacha’s hand and led him toward his bathroom. “I’d much rather have you inside the shower with me than standing outside it.”

  Sacha told Chip to lie down, and Chip happily trotted over to the window and jumped up on the armchair, curling up and staring out the window. Gio shut the door behind them and got the water running. When he turned around, Sacha was down to just his boxer briefs. A groan left Gio’s lips.

  “You’re wearing far too many clothes for a shower, Galanos.”

  Gio quickly undressed, tossing his clothes to one side.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” Sacha said, his gaze raking over every inch of Gio. He ushered Gio into the shower, closing the glass door. Then he stood in front of Gio, his face lifted, and their eyes locked on each other. He was waiting. A delicious shiver went through Gio. He brushed his fingers down Sacha’s jaw.

  “Hand me the shower gel and sponge,” Gio told him.

  Sacha quickly did as Gio asked, handing him both. He stood patiently as Gio poured a generous amount of gel onto the luxurious sponge.

  “Turn around.”

  Sacha turned to face away, and Gio stepped close, one hand caressing Sacha while he lathered Sacha up with the other, slowly running the soft sponge over his smooth skin, taking note of every freckle and every faint scar. Sacha trembled as Gio brought the sponge up between his legs.

  “I’ve never done this before,” Sacha admitted, his voice rough.

  “Have someone bathe you?”

  Sacha shook his head, and Gio was sure there were going to be plenty of firsts for both of them. It didn’t surprise him that Sacha had never let anyone take care of him in the bedroom, just as Gio had never had anyone take care of him outside it.

  “Step under the water,” Gio instructed, and Sacha did, allowing Gio to rinse him off. Then he turned Sacha around and brushed his lips over Sacha’s cheek. “Wash me.”

  Sacha let out a shaky breath as he diligently and slowly washed every inch of Gio’s body, the sight of him on his knees again getting Gio hard. Sacha slid his strong fingers up Gio’s thighs, the sponge in one hand. His eyes stayed on Gio’s as he lathered Gio up, fingers slipping between Gio’s crease to tease his hole.

  “Get up,” Gio growled.

  Sacha quickly complied, and Gio rinsed off. He moved Sacha against the shower wall and got on his knees, smiling at the curse Sacha let out. Geo wrapped his hand around Sacha’s rock-hard length.

  “I want you to fuck my mouth,” Gio ordered. He swirled his tongue around the head of Sacha’s cock, lapping up the pearls of precome, humming at the way Sacha’s entire body trembled. He swallowed Sacha down to the root, moaning when Sacha cried out. He grabbed fistfuls of Gio’s hair and started rocking his hips, small thrusts at first. Gio slipped one finger between Sacha’s ass cheeks to tease his hole as he alternated between sucking and licking Sacha’s cock.

  “Oh fuck! Gio.” Sacha held on tight to Gio’s hair, his hips picking up speed as he thrust into Gio’s mouth over and over, fucking his lips the way Gio had demanded of him.

  Gio kept his gaze on Sacha, his own leaking cock painfully hard just from the expression of pure bliss on Sacha’s face. His cheeks were flushed, his lips parted, and his pupils blown.

  Sacha gasped, then moaned, his hips losing their steady rhythm as he pumped himself faster and faster. “Gio,” Sacha warned, but Gio simply doubled his efforts until he felt warm salty come shoot down his throat. He took all of Sacha, sucking until Sacha was spent.

  Standing, Gio brought Sacha against him and kissed him so he could taste himself, smiling when Sacha melted against him, soft and pliant. When they pulled apart, Sacha let out a shaky laugh.

  “Holy fuck. That was… wow.”

  Gio kissed him again before turning them both back to the shower. They finished washing up, and Gio stepped out with Sacha. He wrapped Sacha in a fluffy towel, his heart overflowing with joy, even at Sacha’s little grunt. His grumpy man. Leaving Sacha to finish drying himself, Gio wrapped a towel around his waist. They walked into the bedroom to get dressed for the day.

  “I shouldn’t be too long,” Sacha said as he finished tying the laces on his boots.

  “Are you leaving Chip here or taking him with you?”

  “Do you mind if I leave him here with you?” Sacha stood and chuckled. “I have a sneaking suspicion he’s made his choice.”

  Gio looked down and found a pair of big brown eyes staring up at him. “Well, hello there.”

  “Be back in a bit.” Sacha popped a quick kiss on Gio’s lips, making his heart flutter. Did Sacha have any idea how sweet he could be?

  “See you soon.” Gio went into his walk-in closet to get dressed, and pulled on a white pair of boxer briefs, some comfy chinos, and a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He smiled as Chip padded alongside him as he made his way downstairs. Saint was in the living room on the couch reading a book. He nodded a greeting at Gio and went back to his book.

  While Sacha was gone, Gio stretched out on the long couch with his laptop to check his emails and do some work; Chip curled up at his feet, his soft snores filling the room. Every so often, Chip would hear something and lift his head, cocking it to one side to listen. Hilariously, Saint would then do the same, and Gio had to make the very serious effort to not laugh. Chip was a furry alarm and a good indicator of whether they needed to be concerned with the sound or not. He’d shot up off the couch a couple of times and darted to the door to bark, which had Saint leaping into action, only to find it had been the mail truck down the block on one occasion and the UPS truck on the other.

  About an hour later, Chip barked and hopped off the couch, tail wagging happily. He pranced by the door, and Gio sat up. Considering how excited Chip was as he barked and whined, Gio figured it was either someone they knew, or Sacha had to be back. Saint answered the door, and Sacha walked in, laughing as Chip jumped excitedly.

  “I hope you were a good boy for Gio,” Sacha said, scratching Chip behind the ear.

  “He was a very good boy. Warned us when the mailperson was approaching.”

  Sacha laughed at that. “Ah, his arch-nemesis. That’s because our mailman lives on our block and has a cat that was spawned by Satan. Chip is terrified of it.”

  “Are you serious?” Gio looked at Chip, who sat staring up at him as if he knew what they were talking about. His doggie eyebrows were up, making him look very concerned.

  “Yep. When I take Chip out to do his business, if he gets too close to the guy’s lawn, the hellspawn shoots out from his hidey-hole and divebombs Chip. Chip’s a good boy, though, and he knows when not to attack, so he just runs away or hides behind me. I mean, all he has to do is bare his teeth or give that fur ball a growl and it would rethink its life choices, but my boy is a good boy.” Sacha loved on Chip, who soaked it up with happy butt wiggles. “Here you go.” Sacha handed Gio his prescription. “Also, when you’re done reading through that and taking your first dose, put your shoes on. We’re taking a little road trip.”

  Gio’s curiosity was piqued. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  Why was Sacha being so mysterious? “Is it a surprise?”

  “Sort of. I’m going to take Chip out to potty real quick while you do that.”

  At the mention of “potty,” Chip howled and barked. Sacha led him outside, and Gio looked over his new medication information. Seemed pretty straightforward. He frowned at the little white pill. Was this really going to help?

  “What are you thinking?” Sacha asked softly as he came to stand next to Gio.

  “Is this going to make that much of a difference?”

  “You won’t know unless you try. What about it bothers you?”

  Gio sighed. “It’s going to sound awful, but I’ve never wanted to be dependent on a pill for anything. It makes me think of my father. All the treatments and medications, some of which made things worse, none of it helping in the end…”

  “Understandable, but this isn’t the same thing, Gio. I get that there’s still a good deal of stigma around medication, but if this can help you feel better and improve the chances of your condition not hurting you, isn’t it worth a try?”

  “What if it makes me feel worse?”

  “Then we’ll talk to your doctor and go from there. One day at a time, yeah?”

  Gio nodded. Sacha was right. He couldn’t keep going the way he was. How many episodes had he had in the last month alone? Gio hadn’t been taking care of himself, and that needed to stop. He took the pill with some water, then kissed Sacha’s cheek. “Thank you.” Knowing Sacha was at his side, helping him navigate this new journey, made it all seem less daunting. He could do this.

  “Ready?”

  “My shoes are by the door.” Gio slipped into his pull-on sneakers, then grabbed his wallet and keys. “Ready.”

  Saint stood to one side. He opened the front door and scanned the area outside, nodded to Sacha, who stepped out after him, with Chip on his heels. Chip sniffed the air but remained quietly at his side.

  “Okay,” Saint said, motioning for Gio to come outside. This was his life now; he might as well get used to it. He stood next to Saint, who set the alarm and locked up the house, and then they walked to the SUV. Gio climbed into the back, followed by Chip and then Sacha. Once Saint was behind the wheel, Sacha leaned in between the seats and showed him his phone.

  “This is where we’re going.”

  Saint typed it into the GPS. “Got it.”

  Wherever they were going, it was just over twenty minutes away and off US-1. Sacha was tight-lipped, giving absolutely nothing away.

  “You must be really good at poker,” Gio grumbled, making Sacha laugh.

  “You bet. Note of warning, don’t play poker with the Kings. Between Lucky and Ace, they will take all your money and not feel even the least bit bad about it.”

  “Duly noted.”

  Chip climbed over Sacha so he could stick his nose against the window. He whined, and Sacha shook his head. “Sorry, bud. I can’t put the window down. We’ll be there soon enough.”

  There wasn’t much traffic where they were headed, so they got there quickly. The area was sparse. Mostly a few buildings scattered here and there, with lots of trees and shrubbery. They turned right and drove up a concrete driveaway flanked by magnolia trees, then stopped at an iron gate at the end. Sacha tapped away at his phone, then put it to his ear.

  “Hi, it’s Sacha Wilder. I’m at the gate in the black SUV. Thanks.”

  Soon after, the electronic gate opened and they drove through. There seemed to be quite a bit of security here. Gio had no idea what was going on, but he was wildly intrigued. Saint parked, and they got out. They were surrounded by greenery and fencing, with a couple of buildings and a house.

  “Where are we?” Gio looked around, but it was hard to tell. It was some kind of facility for something.

  “You’ll see. And listen, no pressure, okay? This is about what feels right to you.”

  “Um, okay?” Just what was going on?

  The door to the house opened, and a blond woman with a messy bun dressed in dirt-stained jeans and a dirty black T-shirt walked out, her smile wide.

  “Mr. Wilder?”

  Sacha crossed the gravel courtyard, his smile friendly. “Kendra, so good to finally meet you. This is Giovanni, who I told you about.” He turned and motioned to Gio.

  Sacha had told her about him? What exactly had he told her? Gio was so confused, but he smiled politely at the woman. “It’s lovely to meet you, Kendra. Please, call me Gio.”

  “Great to meet you, Gio.” She opened the door wide and motioned them to come through until she noticed Chip. “And who is this handsome boy?”

  “This is Chip,” Sacha said.

  “Chip, I’ve heard all about you.” She waited as Chip sniffed her, then barked happily. “Can I give him a treat?”

  “Sure.”

  She reached into her pocket and removed a treat. “Sit.”

  Chip sat and waited patiently, then caught the treat in midair when she tossed it at him.

  “Gio, if you go out to the back, we’ll be right with you,” Kendra said, then turned to Sacha. “If you wait in here with Chip, I’ll call you when we’re ready.”

  “Sounds good.”

  We? Gio followed Sacha through the house toward the back to a sliding glass door that led to a huge fenced-in yard. Outside there were several pieces of equipment and what looked like some kind of obstacle course.

  “Wait out there,” Sacha instructed, opening the door for him. “Saint will be here inside.”

  “Um, okay.” Gio shoved his hands into his pockets and waited as Sacha disappeared back inside. It was a beautiful day, a light breeze rustling the leaves of the magnolia trees as the sun shone in the bright blue sky. It was quiet out here, peaceful. He heard the glass door slide open and turned in time to see a golden retriever trotting toward him. He stopped at Gio’s feet and lifted a paw, making Gio laugh. He kneeled to take the offered paw.

  “Well, hello. Aren’t you a happy puppy.”

  The dog wiggled excitedly, tail wagging and tongue lolling from his sweet face.

  “I see you two are getting along,” Kendra said as she stepped outside.

  “Who wouldn’t get along with this sweet boy.” Gio ruffled the dog’s fur. “That’s right, you’re a sweet boy.”

  “This is Cookie. He’s two years old.”

  Cookie lavished Gio with kisses, and Gio laughed, petting his soft fur.

  “Aw, hello, Cookie. You’re a good boy. Yes, you are.”

  “What do you think of him?”

  Gio’s smile couldn’t get any wider. “I think he’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “How’d you like to be his new person?”

  Gio’s head shot up, and he stared at Kendra. “What?”

  “Sadly, Cookie’s person passed away. She had a very similar condition to yours, among some other serious health issues. He’s a service dog.”

  Gio snapped his head to the glass door, where Sacha stood. He waved at Gio, a shy smile on his face. Sacha had arranged all this. For him.

  “Your boyfriend and I had a long chat, and he came to see Cookie. He thought you two would make a good pair, and I have to agree.”

  His boyfriend.

  “Would you like to see how he gets on with Chip? I know that’s important to you both.”

  Gio nodded, too choked up to reply. He stood, waiting as Kendra nodded to Sacha. He opened the sliding glass door, and Chip trotted out. He went straight to Cookie. The two of them sniffed each other excitedly, tails wagging, and then they were off playing together, chasing each other, jumping and rolling around in the grass.

  Sacha came to stand next to Gio. “He’s yours if you want him.”

  “You want to get me a service dog?”

  “I think you two need each other.”

  Gio’s heart was all but ready to explode. He surprised Sacha by bringing him into a hug right there in front of Kendra. “Thank you,” he murmured, his lips close to Sacha’s ear. He closed his eyes, basking in the sensation of Sacha returning his embrace and holding him tight, his words quiet when he spoke.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Gio stepped back, his heart skipping a beat at the flush on Sacha’s cheeks. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pockets. “We’ll take him.”

  “Hold on. Before you agree,” Sacha said, turning Gio toward him. “I need you to be sure about this. Cookie isn’t a pet or an emotional support animal. He’s a service dog. That means getting used to doing things a certain way. He’s going to go with you everywhere; that includes your events and when you travel.”

  Gio hadn’t thought of that. He got to experience the joy and fun of having Chip around, but he never really considered the work Sacha had to put in, and Chip wasn’t a service dog, at least not the way Cookie would be to Gio.

  “It also means educating people who approach you, colleagues and strangers. Having Cookie changes things. This is a decision only you can make.”