Chapter 6
A/N: Just for you, miles. Though I’d appreciate any other reviews as well… -DL
“Are you feeling better now, Scott?” he heard Antonio’s voice ask above his head.
He sniffled, reluctantly pulling away from the other man’s embrace. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely. “Thanks.”
Antonio smiled slightly. He rose to his feet and walked over to pick up a hand towel, turning on the tap in the small sink and running the towel under the warm water. He brought this back to Scott and handed the towel to him. “Put this over your eyes,” he said. “It’ll help.”
Scott obligingly laid the towel over his eyes, sighing softly in pleasure at the feel of the warm cloth over his swollen, aching eyes. After a moment’s silence, he said: “Antonio?”
“Yes?”
He hesitated, then continued: “I’m…really sorry about what happened to Cameron.”
Just enough silence to make him begin to sweat a bit, then Antonio sighed. “So am I,” he replied, sounding regretful. “He was a good boy. Sweet. Kind. Rather like you, Scott. He did not deserve his fate.”
“Do you…feel bad because they attacked him because Cameron was sleeping with you?”
More silence. Then Antonio observed dryly: “You see a great deal, Scott. Indeed, I feel a lot of regret about what happened to him. If I hadn’t started sleeping with him, they might not have attacked him.”
“But you didn’t know what was going to happen,” Scott said earnestly, sliding the towel down so that he could meet Antonio’s eyes. “All you did was start a relationship with a guy you liked. It’s not your fault - it’s the fault of the guys who attacked him. You didn’t do anything wrong, and neither did Cameron.”
Antonio shook his head. “You are amazing, Scott,” he remarked.
He felt his cheeks heat a bit. “Not really…” he said weakly.
“Yes, you are. You put things in perspective for me. And while I can never make things right for Cameron, I can at least protect you from harm. That thought pleases me.”
Scott twiddled his fingers in front of him anxiously. “I’m glad, but what happens when you get out?” he said mournfully. “I have to spend three years in here since you know what I was trying to do, and you’re going to be gone in a year…”
Antonio’s lips quirked at the corners. “Please don’t worry about that too much, Scott,” he remarked.
“But I have to!” Scott cried.
“No you don’t,” Antonio said serenely. “As my lawyer is very good at his job.”
Scott stared at him, baffled. “What do you mean?”
Antonio tilted his head to the side. “The day after you arrived, I contacted my lawyer and had him begin to look into your case. I gave him the name of your so-called ’friend,’ the one who stashed the cocaine in your car in the first place. Even if he can’t get your friend to confess or prove that the drugs were not yours, he can still work to get your sentence reduced significantly. It is your first offense, after all. You simply didn’t have very good counsel at your trial. Public defenders are overworked and underpaid. A good lawyer can work miracles, believe me. Those men in suits who came to visit you wanted me to have a twenty-year sentence for the car theft, since they couldn’t get me on anything else. But I only got three years. That’s how very good my lawyer is.”
Scott’s mouth had fallen open. “Y-You…you did that…for me?” he said in a small voice, disbelief clear in his tones. “Even after you knew why they put me in this cell with you?”
Antonio nodded. “Of course. You are innocent of any crime, Scott. It is not right that you have to spend three years in a place like this when you did nothing wrong. Besides, I already explained to you that I’m not angry with you for taking the deal that the men in suits offered you.”
He felt tears gathering in his eyes again. “Oh, man,” he muttered, blinking to try to stop them from falling. He really, REALLY didn’t want to start crying again right now. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Antonio assured him. “I did it because I wanted to, and because I felt bad for you. The misery and fear in your eyes…only a heartless man wouldn’t have responded to it. And I am not heartless, although there are some around here who would say that I am.”
Scott wiped at his nose like a little kid, making Antonio’s lips twitch as he handed over a packet of tissues for him to use. “You’re not heartless,” Scott said after he’d blown his nose vigorously. “You care about things too much, actually. That’s why you did what you did after Cameron was attacked. It wasn’t just revenge for him - it was the only thing that you could do to make yourself feel less awful about everything. Because you obviously cared about him a lot. And it broke your heart to see what had happened to him because he was sleeping with you.”
Antonio’s brows lifted. “Scarily observant,” he noted to the air. “I think that I should be afraid of you, Scott. You see me too well.”
Scott gave him a perplexed look. He simply couldn’t imagine anyone being afraid of him for any reason. Antonio chuckled. “I should be afraid of you, but I don’t choose to be. Perhaps I’m foolish, but there you are. In any case, Scott, even if you only get a reduced sentence instead of being let off altogether, I’m sure that my lawyer will make sure that you only get a year or so. That way, you won’t have to worry about what you’ll have to do when I’m not around anymore to protect you.”
Scott felt a rush of warmth and relief. “Thank you so much,” he breathed.
Antonio smiled. “You’re welcome, but I didn’t do it with entirely pure intentions, Scott. The truth is, I was attracted to you the moment that you walked into my cell. Part of me hoped that you’d be so grateful for my actions that you’d…reward me properly for my good deed.”
He felt his breath catch as he looked up into Antonio’s eyes, which somehow seemed to have darkened even more. His stomach clenched inside of him as he said hoarsely: “That’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Antonio sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you sure, Scott?”
He nodded. “I was supposed to sleep with you anyway,” he pointed out. “As part of the deal.”
Antonio shook his head. “No,” he replied implacably. “I would not want you to be with me just for that deal. I want you to want me for myself, Scott, not for what you can get out of me.”
“But I do!” he protested, rising to his feet in his agitation. “I DO like you for you! I mean, you’re ruthless and kind of scary, but you’ve never been anything but nice to me since the moment I got here. You held me that first night when I was having nightmares, and you’ve protected me from all of these horrible men who look at me like I’m a piece of meat, and you even got me a job in the library which I really like. But more than that…” he looked up earnestly into Antonio’s eyes, trying to convey how he really felt, “I just like YOU. I’m not trying to repay you for everything that you’ve done for me, though that’s a part of it too. And I really am attracted to you,” he added, his lips trembling into a small smile. “The first day I saw you in the shower naked, I could barely stop myself from drooling down my front. You have a great body, you know that?”
Antonio’s lips curved up in a lazily satisfied smile, looking rather like a cat that had just swallowed a canary. I wasn’t aware of that, no,” he said as he stepped toward Scott, “But it’s good to know. I’m pleased that you like my body, Scott.” he reached out and grasped his arms to draw him close, and Scott forgot how to breathe properly.
He looked up into those hungry dark eyes, and his lips parted when Antonio bent his head. The kiss was gentle at first, a mere brushing of the lips. But it didn’t stay that way, and soon evolved into a hungry devouring that made him moans and blindly grab for Antonio’s shoulders to have something to cling to. And when a tongue slid into his mouth, he twined his own with it in a sensual dance that left him trembling and limp in Antonio’s grasp.
Antonio pulled away, making Scott moan in protest. “We can’t continue this right now, Scott,” he said, making the smaller man blink up at him in confusion.
“Wha…? Why not?”
Antonio chuckled and lightly tapped him on the chin with one fingertip. “Because, my adorable cellmate, I really don’t think that you’d be happy if a trustee or guard came along while we were en flagrante delicto and caught us in a decidedly compromising position. While I wouldn’t care, something tells me that you’d be terribly embarrassed.”
Scott’s brain began to work again, and he looked around. He realized that it was still mid-afternoon, and that it was possible that someone could come by at any moment. His cheeks filled with heat as he blushed. “oh,” he said, ducking his head.
Antonio laughed and patted his shoulder. “It’s all right, Scott. Let’s go back to the library and help Tom. There’s always tonight, after all.”
That thought made him feel much better. “Okay,” he said.
They left the cell together, headed back to the library. Something occurred to Scott. “Umm…Antonio?”
The other man glanced at him. “Yes?”
He bit his lip. ’What about…? Stuff? You know, things we need to…?”
Antonio lifted a brow at his incoherent question. “I assume that you’re speaking of intimate supplies such as lube and condoms?” he asked.
Scott nodded. Antonio made a movement with one long-fingered hand. “Normally such things are not readily available, but there is thriving black market around here. You can have just about anything brought in if you have the money. Which I do. To tell you the truth, Scott, I ordered some of those particular articles the day after you arrived,” he shrugged ruefully, admitting just how sure he’d been that Scott would eventually sleep with him. “While I wasn’t sure whether I wanted you to be with me just because that’s what the men in suits wanted you to do, at the same time I am just a man. It has been some time since I was with a man. I’m not sure that I would have been strong enough to refuse if you’d tried to seduce me as you were supposed to do.”
“Oh,” Scott said, taking it all in. “That’s fine.”
Antonio looked startled. "It is?”
“Sure,” Scott replied. “I’m like any other gay guy - I’ve slept with guys just because they were hot or they came onto me. I can’t expect you to act any different. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Antonio stared at him, then threw back his head and laughed heartily. “Ahh, Scott, you are so very cute!” he chortled when he could speak again.
Scott shrugged, a grin breaking out on his own face. How could this day get any better? Antonio wasn’t going to do anything awful to him, he might be able to get out of prison entirely(or at least get a much reduced sentence, all thanks to Antonio) and he could look forward to getting laid tonight with a hot guy, something that hadn’t happened to him in months. Life, Scott decided, was very, very good right now.
Go to Next Chapter
A/N: Just for you, miles. Though I’d appreciate any other reviews as well… -DL
“Are you feeling better now, Scott?” he heard Antonio’s voice ask above his head.
He sniffled, reluctantly pulling away from the other man’s embrace. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely. “Thanks.”
Antonio smiled slightly. He rose to his feet and walked over to pick up a hand towel, turning on the tap in the small sink and running the towel under the warm water. He brought this back to Scott and handed the towel to him. “Put this over your eyes,” he said. “It’ll help.”
Scott obligingly laid the towel over his eyes, sighing softly in pleasure at the feel of the warm cloth over his swollen, aching eyes. After a moment’s silence, he said: “Antonio?”
“Yes?”
He hesitated, then continued: “I’m…really sorry about what happened to Cameron.”
Just enough silence to make him begin to sweat a bit, then Antonio sighed. “So am I,” he replied, sounding regretful. “He was a good boy. Sweet. Kind. Rather like you, Scott. He did not deserve his fate.”
“Do you…feel bad because they attacked him because Cameron was sleeping with you?”
More silence. Then Antonio observed dryly: “You see a great deal, Scott. Indeed, I feel a lot of regret about what happened to him. If I hadn’t started sleeping with him, they might not have attacked him.”
“But you didn’t know what was going to happen,” Scott said earnestly, sliding the towel down so that he could meet Antonio’s eyes. “All you did was start a relationship with a guy you liked. It’s not your fault - it’s the fault of the guys who attacked him. You didn’t do anything wrong, and neither did Cameron.”
Antonio shook his head. “You are amazing, Scott,” he remarked.
He felt his cheeks heat a bit. “Not really…” he said weakly.
“Yes, you are. You put things in perspective for me. And while I can never make things right for Cameron, I can at least protect you from harm. That thought pleases me.”
Scott twiddled his fingers in front of him anxiously. “I’m glad, but what happens when you get out?” he said mournfully. “I have to spend three years in here since you know what I was trying to do, and you’re going to be gone in a year…”
Antonio’s lips quirked at the corners. “Please don’t worry about that too much, Scott,” he remarked.
“But I have to!” Scott cried.
“No you don’t,” Antonio said serenely. “As my lawyer is very good at his job.”
Scott stared at him, baffled. “What do you mean?”
Antonio tilted his head to the side. “The day after you arrived, I contacted my lawyer and had him begin to look into your case. I gave him the name of your so-called ’friend,’ the one who stashed the cocaine in your car in the first place. Even if he can’t get your friend to confess or prove that the drugs were not yours, he can still work to get your sentence reduced significantly. It is your first offense, after all. You simply didn’t have very good counsel at your trial. Public defenders are overworked and underpaid. A good lawyer can work miracles, believe me. Those men in suits who came to visit you wanted me to have a twenty-year sentence for the car theft, since they couldn’t get me on anything else. But I only got three years. That’s how very good my lawyer is.”
Scott’s mouth had fallen open. “Y-You…you did that…for me?” he said in a small voice, disbelief clear in his tones. “Even after you knew why they put me in this cell with you?”
Antonio nodded. “Of course. You are innocent of any crime, Scott. It is not right that you have to spend three years in a place like this when you did nothing wrong. Besides, I already explained to you that I’m not angry with you for taking the deal that the men in suits offered you.”
He felt tears gathering in his eyes again. “Oh, man,” he muttered, blinking to try to stop them from falling. He really, REALLY didn’t want to start crying again right now. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Antonio assured him. “I did it because I wanted to, and because I felt bad for you. The misery and fear in your eyes…only a heartless man wouldn’t have responded to it. And I am not heartless, although there are some around here who would say that I am.”
Scott wiped at his nose like a little kid, making Antonio’s lips twitch as he handed over a packet of tissues for him to use. “You’re not heartless,” Scott said after he’d blown his nose vigorously. “You care about things too much, actually. That’s why you did what you did after Cameron was attacked. It wasn’t just revenge for him - it was the only thing that you could do to make yourself feel less awful about everything. Because you obviously cared about him a lot. And it broke your heart to see what had happened to him because he was sleeping with you.”
Antonio’s brows lifted. “Scarily observant,” he noted to the air. “I think that I should be afraid of you, Scott. You see me too well.”
Scott gave him a perplexed look. He simply couldn’t imagine anyone being afraid of him for any reason. Antonio chuckled. “I should be afraid of you, but I don’t choose to be. Perhaps I’m foolish, but there you are. In any case, Scott, even if you only get a reduced sentence instead of being let off altogether, I’m sure that my lawyer will make sure that you only get a year or so. That way, you won’t have to worry about what you’ll have to do when I’m not around anymore to protect you.”
Scott felt a rush of warmth and relief. “Thank you so much,” he breathed.
Antonio smiled. “You’re welcome, but I didn’t do it with entirely pure intentions, Scott. The truth is, I was attracted to you the moment that you walked into my cell. Part of me hoped that you’d be so grateful for my actions that you’d…reward me properly for my good deed.”
He felt his breath catch as he looked up into Antonio’s eyes, which somehow seemed to have darkened even more. His stomach clenched inside of him as he said hoarsely: “That’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Antonio sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you sure, Scott?”
He nodded. “I was supposed to sleep with you anyway,” he pointed out. “As part of the deal.”
Antonio shook his head. “No,” he replied implacably. “I would not want you to be with me just for that deal. I want you to want me for myself, Scott, not for what you can get out of me.”
“But I do!” he protested, rising to his feet in his agitation. “I DO like you for you! I mean, you’re ruthless and kind of scary, but you’ve never been anything but nice to me since the moment I got here. You held me that first night when I was having nightmares, and you’ve protected me from all of these horrible men who look at me like I’m a piece of meat, and you even got me a job in the library which I really like. But more than that…” he looked up earnestly into Antonio’s eyes, trying to convey how he really felt, “I just like YOU. I’m not trying to repay you for everything that you’ve done for me, though that’s a part of it too. And I really am attracted to you,” he added, his lips trembling into a small smile. “The first day I saw you in the shower naked, I could barely stop myself from drooling down my front. You have a great body, you know that?”
Antonio’s lips curved up in a lazily satisfied smile, looking rather like a cat that had just swallowed a canary. I wasn’t aware of that, no,” he said as he stepped toward Scott, “But it’s good to know. I’m pleased that you like my body, Scott.” he reached out and grasped his arms to draw him close, and Scott forgot how to breathe properly.
He looked up into those hungry dark eyes, and his lips parted when Antonio bent his head. The kiss was gentle at first, a mere brushing of the lips. But it didn’t stay that way, and soon evolved into a hungry devouring that made him moans and blindly grab for Antonio’s shoulders to have something to cling to. And when a tongue slid into his mouth, he twined his own with it in a sensual dance that left him trembling and limp in Antonio’s grasp.
Antonio pulled away, making Scott moan in protest. “We can’t continue this right now, Scott,” he said, making the smaller man blink up at him in confusion.
“Wha…? Why not?”
Antonio chuckled and lightly tapped him on the chin with one fingertip. “Because, my adorable cellmate, I really don’t think that you’d be happy if a trustee or guard came along while we were en flagrante delicto and caught us in a decidedly compromising position. While I wouldn’t care, something tells me that you’d be terribly embarrassed.”
Scott’s brain began to work again, and he looked around. He realized that it was still mid-afternoon, and that it was possible that someone could come by at any moment. His cheeks filled with heat as he blushed. “oh,” he said, ducking his head.
Antonio laughed and patted his shoulder. “It’s all right, Scott. Let’s go back to the library and help Tom. There’s always tonight, after all.”
That thought made him feel much better. “Okay,” he said.
They left the cell together, headed back to the library. Something occurred to Scott. “Umm…Antonio?”
The other man glanced at him. “Yes?”
He bit his lip. ’What about…? Stuff? You know, things we need to…?”
Antonio lifted a brow at his incoherent question. “I assume that you’re speaking of intimate supplies such as lube and condoms?” he asked.
Scott nodded. Antonio made a movement with one long-fingered hand. “Normally such things are not readily available, but there is thriving black market around here. You can have just about anything brought in if you have the money. Which I do. To tell you the truth, Scott, I ordered some of those particular articles the day after you arrived,” he shrugged ruefully, admitting just how sure he’d been that Scott would eventually sleep with him. “While I wasn’t sure whether I wanted you to be with me just because that’s what the men in suits wanted you to do, at the same time I am just a man. It has been some time since I was with a man. I’m not sure that I would have been strong enough to refuse if you’d tried to seduce me as you were supposed to do.”
“Oh,” Scott said, taking it all in. “That’s fine.”
Antonio looked startled. "It is?”
“Sure,” Scott replied. “I’m like any other gay guy - I’ve slept with guys just because they were hot or they came onto me. I can’t expect you to act any different. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Antonio stared at him, then threw back his head and laughed heartily. “Ahh, Scott, you are so very cute!” he chortled when he could speak again.
Scott shrugged, a grin breaking out on his own face. How could this day get any better? Antonio wasn’t going to do anything awful to him, he might be able to get out of prison entirely(or at least get a much reduced sentence, all thanks to Antonio) and he could look forward to getting laid tonight with a hot guy, something that hadn’t happened to him in months. Life, Scott decided, was very, very good right now.
Go to Next Chapter