Lost Boy

Chapter 8

Carlisle POV

After the luncheon, Edward and I returned to the hotel to unwind. Jenks had given him the Spanish Inquisition, but otherwise, everything went well - Senna seemed to have taken a particular shine to him, and my father had been on his best behavior, even putting his minion in his place. Of course, I didn't miss the assessment Edward gave Gianna. She obviously aroused him, which put a bit of a damper on my hopes of him showing an interest in me. However, Gianna was the very embodiment of pin-up girl, it was why my father hired her, and there were precious few men who didn't take notice of her ample bosom.

We watched a movie and ordered room service for dinner. Afterwards, I suggested we go down and get a drink at the hotel piano bar. It was so easy to sit with him, not really needing to make small talk, but still finding things to talk about. We chatted lightheartedly over our first drink, while sometimes falling silent to listen to the pianist.

"Want another?" Edward asked, indicating my nearly empty drink.

"Definitely."

He rose with a smile. "K, I'll be right back."

While I waited for him, I tried to enjoy the music. The bar was not very crowded, but Edward had been gone a while now. Certainly, longer than it should take to grab two more drinks. Had he ditched me and run off? I got up from my seat swiftly, jostling the table as I rose. Heading for the bar, I saw he was speaking to another man, our drinks sitting on the counter in front of him.

Getting closer, I saw that he wasn't comfortable with this man. His body was tensed and leaned away, not to mention the deep frown on his face. The other man was a little taller than him with a long black ponytail. He looked like a classic perv. Edward still hadn't noticed me even though I was pretty close by, so I stood behind a shrubbery and peaked through the leaves, listening to their conversation.

"That's your whole job." The man huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You knew what you were getting into, so it was hardly an assault."

"Really? Because you made sure to make it as painful as possible for me."

A flash of anger raced through me. This man hurt Edward?

"What is pleasure without a little pain?"

"You fucking tore me," Edward spat, and I saw red. My hands balled into fists as I struggled to remain hidden.

"I am sorry about that," the shithead cooed. "Won't you let me make it up to you?"

Edward laughed hollowly. "Fuck no. Besides, I'm with someone."

The man glanced at the drinks, then back to Edward. "I'll pay you double."

Edward reached for the drinks. "I said, no, I'm with someone. I'm not working tonight."

The guy grabbed Edward's arm then, and Edward struggled to pull away, the drink in his hand sloshing out of the glass. I couldn't control myself and stepped out from behind the plant, grabbing the guy by the shirt collar and punching him in the face. He was on the ground before I even knew what I was doing, and Edward stared at me open mouthed.

"What the fuck is your problem, guy?" the man cried out, blood pouring from his nose. I knelt next to him and grabbed his ponytail, yanking it so he was forced to look me in the eyes. "No means no, prick. Now back the fuck off and never lay a hand on that boy again."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but then reevaluated the extent of my anger and relented. "Alright, sorry, man."

I stood up and grabbed Edward by the hand, leading him away, leaving the drinks behind. I marched us right out of the bar and to the elevators. Pacing as I waited for the elevators to arrive, I was partially concerned that the guy would decide to come out and continue fighting. Edward just stood there with his arms wrapped around himself. The elevator finally arrived and we hurried inside, and I pushed the 'door close' button repeatedly. When the doors finally shut, we both breathed a sigh of relief, although Edward still held himself tightly.

Once we were finally in the penthouse, I grabbed him and replaced his arms with mine, hugging him just as tight. His thin body melted against me and I held on for dear life, just trying to give him some strength, to know he wasn't alone, to know someone out there wanted to protect him.

His face was turned in toward the crook of my neck, and his breath tickled my flesh as he valiantly tried to hold back from crying.

My emotions battled between rage that that man hurt Edward and then tried to do it again, attempting to kidnap him, and sadness that Edward was even in such a position to experience this in the first place. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted him to know how it felt when someone takes care of you.

I drew back a few inches, letting my arms fall. Edward's own arms immediately took their place, and he looked at me with watery eyes. "Oh, Edward," I whispered, once again taken with his beauty. Moving closer to him so our torsos almost touched, I wound my fingers through the back of his hair and went in for a kiss. He stiffened, but didn't pull away this time. He didn't exactly reciprocate though, so I didn't push it, just moved along his jaw and down his neck to the collarbone. He gasped; I don't know if it was surprise or pleasure, or maybe both. My hands roamed his upper body, dipping under his shirt and raising it to bare his heated skin. The bulge in his pants told me this wasn't entirely unwanted. If he stopped me, I would, immediately. But if he didn't, well, then I would get to complete the goal I'd set out for.

Moving even closer, I put my hand on his zipper, pulling it down as I slid my body against his until I was down on my knees, making him shudder. Then his cock was revealed me, right in front of my face. He hadn't worn underwear, and his rigid length throbbed once as I stared at his cock jutting out from the fly of his trousers. The head glistened with his secretions, and I needed to taste him. I wrapped my lips around him and sucked, sliding my tongue along the underside, my eyes rolling back at the taste of him. I moaned and he cursed, treading his fingers through my hair, but not pushing me away, just holding himself steady, I supposed.

Then, I went to town on his cock, trying to emulate what he'd done to me the other night, but also using some tricks from my own wheelhouse. Edward was a mess above me, his fingers holding on to my hair so tightly I thought he'd rip some out, and his thighs trembling as he struggled to remain upright under my ministrations. Moans and curses flew out of his mouth, and I knew he was almost there when his cock expanded in my mouth. Suddenly, my tongue was awash with his essence, which I savored on my tongue a little before swallowing it down.

Letting his softening length slip free, I stood up. His eyes had been closed but he opened them when I was before him, his hooded gaze looking like lust satisfied. "Fuck, Carlisle. That was incredible."

He could have been lying, I'm sure he lied to men about this very thing many times before, but I didn't think he was lying to me. Maybe I was gullible, but it really felt like he was being sincere with me. I just smiled and led him the few yards to the bedroom. We both laid down on the bed, over the covers, Edward having tucked himself back into his pants on the way back in.

We laid on our backs and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments. The air seemed heavy with questions without clear answers, and it appeared that we both were getting caught up in the cloud.

So, I asked him something else I'd been wondering about. "Edward, how did a guy like you end up on the street?"

"A guy like me?"

"Yeah, you don't belong out there, I can tell. The way you talk, the way you carried yourself and thought fast in that meeting, the way you can play the piano, there's no way you grew up on the street."

Edward was silent, just staring at the ceiling. I turned and watched his profile as he stared straight up. Eventually, I filled the silence with what I was dreading might be the answer.

"Did your parents...die?"

To my surprise, Edward laughed. "It would be easier to explain if they had, but no. They didn't." He heaved a sigh and turned on his side to mirror me as he told me his story, but he didn't make eye contact, preferring to stare down toward my chest.

"You're right, of course. I didn't grow up on the street. I was upper middle class, living in Chicago. My mother always admired my long fingers and got me into piano from a young age. That made me a music nerd, and the kids at school would bully me." He took a deep breath before continuing. "So, to escape from that, I became the jokester. I pulled lots of pranks, and the kids all loved me, but the teachers and principals, not so much. I got kicked out of a bunch of schools. The private boy's school was the last straw, and they were going to send me to military school, so I ran away. I stole my father's wallet, got a train ticket and came out here, as far away as I could get with what tickets were available. Once I arrived in LA, I discovered he'd cancelled all his cards, and there wasn't much cash, so I ended up hungry and dirty and homeless in an alley. That's when Emmett found me."

"Emmett?"

He finally lifted his face and met my eyes. "Yeah, he found me crying in the alley and took pity on me, I guess. He took me home and taught me how to do this. It's what he does for a living, and he said it paid well, which it does. He showed me what to do and how to take care of myself out there."

I felt an odd twinge of jealousy that Edward seemed to be rather close to this other man. "Sounds like you were lucky to find him."

"I was. He's not a drug addict or anything, and he's straight too, so he knew the challenges I'd need to overcome being with guys for the first time."

The jealousy was not letting up and even though I didn't really want to know, I had to ask, "Did you and he…"

"No, no," he said quickly, "but he did show me how to...prepare myself."

Trying to ignore what "showing" might imply, I simply said, "That's smart."

"It's necessary. Especially if you get a guy like the one downstairs." He looked away, remembering.

"Does that happen a lot? Guys like that?"

"Sometimes. Not too often though. Usually guys are not as brutal as that. But you never know." He shrugged and met my eyes again. "There's no one like you though, Carlisle." A grin spread across his face. "I must say, that was the best goddamn blow job I ever had."

Blushing deeply, embarrassed and pleased at the same time, I whispered, "Thank you."

Bringing his face closer to mine, he looked into my eyes. "No, thank you. Thank you for taking this chance on me, for believing in me. After this job, I don't think I'll have to hustle anymore. That money is going to turn my life around. So, thank you for choosing me."

We gazed at each other for a few moments. Our faces were so close, his soft lips so near, I couldn't help myself and closed the gap between us, pressing my lips against his, expecting him to pull away. But he didn't. He returned the pressure and increased it. Edward needed to lead this kiss, I knew, so I wasn't going to push anything. Our kiss was chaste for a few more moments, but then Edward angled his head more and swiped his tongue along the seal of my lips. I immediately parted them, and grasped the nape of his neck as his tongue massaged mine. An intoxicating mix of whiskey, soda, and male invaded my senses and Edward's hands were like octopi roaming anywhere he could reach. Though it had waned a bit during our conversation, I was already aroused from the blow job I'd given him, and now, sharing this kiss with him, knowing that he never kissed a man before, I was ready to blow. To eliminate the embarrassment of coming in my pants in response to a simple kiss, I rutted against him until I came a few short moments later. Drawing back, Edward smiled shyly, pressing his thigh against my damp crotch.

"Goodnight, Carlisle," he whisper-teased before rising from the bed. He turned and gave me a soft smile before heading out the door for his pull-out bed in the living room, leaving me to marvel at what just happened, and also to hope for a future, perhaps foolishly. It would be hard to fall asleep tonight.