Isle of Waves (6 page)

“Can’t wait,” Nibs said roughly, fumbling over the button and zip on Wig’s trousers. He managed to get the fastenings undone before dragging them down Wig’s legs and throwing them to one side.

Wig expected Nibs to blow him, but instead he rolled Wig over and pushed his face down into the cushion. Slick fingers pressed between his arse cheeks. Wig didn’t need to ask where the lube came from. They stashed lube all over the flat for when the moment took them. Nibs rested against him, his thick cock pressing in one slow stroke that took Wig’s breath away.

“Hold on,” Nibs said, sounding as breathless as Wig felt.

Wig held on to the cushions as Nibs dug his fingers into Wig’s hips and set up a slow rhythm. Wig felt his nerve endings fly with each thrust. He lost himself in the feel of Nibs’s hard body against his, reveling in his grunt of satisfaction as he bottomed out.

He rested his head against the cushions and let Nibs use him until his rhythm faltered and Nibs came with a bitten-off cry and staccato jerks. He felt the warm gush inside him and Nibs slump over him heavy and sweaty where his bare skin rested against Wig’s thighs.

Nibs raised his head. “You haven’t come yet.”

“I know.” Wig had been focused on Nibs’s pleasure, not his own.

“I’m sorry.”

Wig looked over his shoulder. “Don’t be. I want your mouth on me.”

Nibs pulled out gently, rolling Wig over and kneeling between his legs. He wasted no time in taking Wig to the back of his throat. Wig clawed at the sofa and thrust into Nibs’s greedy mouth. He was almost there, his climax within his grasp. Wig raised his head to look down at his lover, the sight of his cock slipping fat and swollen between Nibs’s lips such a turn on, Wig came, his fist jammed against his mouth to muffle his shout.

He lay on the sofa, sprawled out like a dazed starfish as Nibs sucked down every last drop and licked him clean.

By the time they were cleaned up and in bed, Wig was exhausted, happy to lie on Nibs’s furry chest, hearing his heart pound lazy and strong.

“I’m glad we didn’t get interrupted,” Nibs said.

Wig snickered. “If Paul had walked in, he’d have probably asked to join in.”

“The old Paul perhaps. Since Skandik arrived, I think Paul’s turned into a one-man man.”

“One-man man? That doesn’t sound right.”

“Who cares? The fact is, Paul and Skandik are made for each other.”

“Do you think so?”

“It would take someone like Skandik to handle Paul Owens.”

Nibs huffed gently, his chest rising beneath Wig’s cheek. “Paul would still be giving us marks out of ten if he was in the room.”

“I said he was monogamous, not blind.”

“Have you ever thought about him, or Sam like that?”

Wig shuddered and Nibs held him tighter. “Oh no, not an Owens, no way. And anyway, I’ve got more than enough man to handle all on my own.”

“You have,” Nibs agreed, smug and evidently content with Wig’s declaration.

W
IG
WAS
sound asleep when the sound of voices penetrated his dream; then he was roughly shaken awake.

“Wig, wake the fuck up,” Nibs said. “We’ve got to get
downstairs.”

“Wah?” Wig blinked sleepily. “Wha’ timezit?”

It was still dark, too early for the start of the day.

“’Bout four. We’ve got visitors again. Paul’s called the cops. Get dressed, but don’t put the lights on.”

Wig scrambled out of bed, fumbling for shorts and a T-shirt, which must have been Nibs’s because it swamped him.

They met Paul and Skandik and had a hasty whispered discussion on the landing.

“I’m not waiting for the police,” Nibs insisted. “By the time they arrive, I could have lost my restaurant.”

Paul and Skandik nodded, and they started down the stairs. Wig hesitated for a minute because he was a lover, not a fighter, but when Nibs turned around and saw him still at the top of the stairs, Wig felt ashamed.

“You don’t have to come,” Nibs said quietly, no censure in his tone.

Wig ran down to be next to him. “Yeah, I do. I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“Shhhh.” Paul hushed them and then raised his hand, listening to the low talking in the restaurant. “Are we going in?”

Nibs nodded.

“I wish I had my gun,” Skandik muttered.

“I’m glad you don’t,” Paul said and pushed open the door.

Nibs flicked all the light switches, flooding the room with light and shocking two masked intruders into exclamations. Wig froze as he saw that they were holding petrol cans and rags. Nibs growled and moved, but the men dropped everything and made a bolt for the front door, which was ajar, leaving the four men standing in an empty room.

“Looks like they didn’t want to stay for the party,” Paul said.

Wig looked around. He couldn’t see anything out of place except for the petrol cans, which scared him far more than finding more broken crockery.

Nibs went into the kitchen. “Looks clear here.”

“Nobody go near the front door,” Skandik ordered. “They may have left prints.” Then he blushed as everyone stared at him. “Sorry, not my crime scene.”

“You go right ahead,” Paul said, dropping a loud kiss on his lips. “I love my man in charge.”

“Considering you spend your time ignoring all my direct orders to you not to interfere, I doubt that.”

Despite his worry and anger, Wig grinned at the byplay. Nibs was right. These two were well matched.

“Looks like they didn’t get a chance to do whatever they were planning,” Nibs said, ignoring Paul and Skandik.

“Thank God for that.” Wig pointed to more petrol cans stacked in one corner. “The bastards were planning to burn us in our sleep.”

“Jesus.” The blood drained out of Nibs’s face. He grabbed Wig and hugged him hard enough to drive the air out of his lungs. “If you hadn’t heard them, we could be dead by now.”

“Thank Skandik,” Paul said.

Skandik looked embarrassed. “I don’t sleep all that well. Force of habit.”

“Thank you,” Wig said quietly, sheltering in Nibs’s arms. “What are we going to do?”

He was distracted by two policemen walking into the restaurant.

Sergeant Biggs asked, “What happened this time?”

Nibs pointed to petrol cans, and the policeman’s face darkened, as did his colleague’s.

“Have you touched them?” Biggs asked.

Paul shook his head. “We haven’t touched the front door, as they went out that way, or the cans. I don’t know how they got in this time.”

“You had a lucky escape,” the other policeman said. He was an older man with gray hair and a dark moustache. He disappeared back outside.

“We need to take statements from all of you,” Biggs said. “CSU are on their way. This is a whole lot more serious than harassment. This was attempted murder.”

“If I’d known that being roasted in my bed was the way to finally get your attention we’d have….” Wig was cut off midsnark by Nibs’s hand over his mouth. He sank his teeth into the meat of Nibs’s palm in protest. Nibs hissed, but he didn’t say anything.

Biggs looked at him seriously. “I need to know what you were all doing.”

“Sleeping. We didn’t get much sleep the previous night,” Paul said.

“Paul woke me up by coming into our bedroom,” Nibs said. “He can vouch for the fact we were together. This wasn’t an insurance job.”

Biggs nodded. “I had to ask.”

Wig pushed Nibs’s hand away. “What are you going to do about it? We’ve been telling you there’s a problem for months, and finally you’re going to listen to us.”

“Wig, calm down, babe.” Nibs held on to him.

“I’m sick of being calm.” Wig was ready to go up in flames. “We would have died tonight, and nobody gives a shit.”

Biggs held up a hand as if to calm him. Wig was ready to bite it off, but Nibs didn’t let go of him.

“Mr. Tobias,” Biggs started, “off the record, I’m sure you know as well as I do why no one has pursued an inquiry into these alleged incidents.”

“Because we’re gay, and no one gives a toss about the faggots,” Wig spat.

“Er… no.” Biggs frowned. “Have you met the new leader of the Chamber of Commerce?”

Wig was taken aback. “No. Has Chris gone?”

“Mr. Meller stepped down because of ill health. The new man is Khalil Sawar.”

Next to Wig, Nibs made a noise, half-disbelieving, half-outraged.

Biggs nodded. “Mr. Sawar’s brother.”

“That explains why we get harassed and nobody gives a shit,” Wig said. “I guess they thought we’d just cave in and sell up.”

“Pressure on you to move can be ignored, but yesterday and today they crossed the line into criminal behavior.” Biggs said.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Paul said.

“Unless there is actually proof that the Sawars are involved, there is nothing much I can do. I need evidence before I arrest them.”

“Can’t you arrest them on suspicion?”

Biggs looked deeply unhappy. “Arrest a family member of the bigwigs on the island? I’d be accused of racism before the paperwork got filed.”

“In the meantime we don’t matter,” Nibs said bitterly.

Wig furrowed his brow. “I’ve met Khalil Sawar. I got the impression he was a decent man who really cares for the island.”

Nibs snapped his fingers. “We met him at that function last year. He was talking about expanding our international contacts. I liked him. I never connected him to Ghuram.”

“He was dynamic.” Wig thought about the dapper businessman they’d met. “I thought he’d be good for the island. Shake it up a bit. I didn’t realize we’d be one of the things shaken up.”

“That always assumes he knows anything about this,” Skandik said.

Wig had almost forgotten Skandik was in the room. He was quiet for such a large man.

“How could he not know?” Paul scoffed.

Skandik looked at his lover. “Do you know everything your siblings are up to? Do you know what Sam is up to on a daily basis?”

“Well, I know one of the things he’s up… to….” Paul grinned wickedly at their collective groan. “However, you’re right, I have no idea what Sam does day to day. It could be that Khalil Sawar has no idea what his brother is up to, and we can’t assume there is corruption involved.”

“No one wants to accuse the new leader of a hate crime,” Wig said.

“No one’s mentioned a hate crime,” Paul said. “This is business. They want your property, and as you won’t sell, they want you out. It looks like they’ll do it by legal or illegal means.” Paul gave Wig an apologetic look for the rebuke. “I don’t think this has anything to do with your sexuality, guys. You’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Wig accepted the apology for what it was. He had been jumping fences. “Ironically, we were thinking of buying Sawar’s place to expand the Blue Lagoon because business was so good, only we weren’t quick enough to put in an offer. We didn’t even know it was on the market.”

“That was probably a bit of insider trading. Maybe that’s the only thing you lay at Khalil’s door.”

A young man poked his head around the front door. “Is it okay to come in, Sarge?”

Biggs nodded. “Come on in. These are the CSU boys. Why don’t we get out of their way?”

“Let’s go to the flat,” Wig said.

“I’ll be up in a moment,” Biggs said.

In a repeat of the previous night, the four men all trooped up to the lounge of the flat. Skandik disappeared into the kitchen to make tea and coffee for them all.

Wig was weary to the core. It was now gone five, too late to go back to bed. Another long day ahead. The only consolation was it was Monday, and they tended to close about seven unless the place was busy. He wasn’t looking forward to the next couple of hours, though. Even if the CSU finished quickly, there was cleaning to do before the restaurant was habitable for the public.

“We’ll close for the day,” Nibs said, as if reading Wig’s mind. “It’s a Monday, a quiet day.”

“And let them win?” Even Paul’s protest was muted through exhaustion.

“I think they’ve already won,” Nibs said. “Much as I love this place, I love Wig even more, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt my boy. Now is the time to admit defeat and close up.”

“Didn’t we already have this conversation about you making unilateral decisions?” Wig asked.

Nibs gave him a long steady look. “When it comes to your safety it is
my
concern. I don’t care about anybody else’s opinion, including yours. The thought of losing you….” Nibs trailed off, clutching at Wig.

For once Wig didn’t have a quick comeback. He’d always joked that Nibs loved three things: money, the restaurant, and Wig, in that order. Nibs had just proved that he was wrong, and Wig loved him even more for it.

“You’re right, I think closing for the day a good idea,” Paul said. “We’re all exhausted, and you need sleep to get some perspective on all this. In the meantime, we need to arrange better security on the restaurant.”

“There’s no point if we’re selling,” Nibs said.

“Sleep on it,” Paul insisted. “Thanks, love.” He smiled at Skandik, who handed him a mug of tea.

Skandik delivered the drinks to Nibs and Wig, then sat next to Paul and leaned against him. He looked as shattered as Wig felt.