Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 06

When he slipped out of her, she coaxed him onto his back and kissed her way down, taking him in her mouth and nursing him back to full hardness with her lips and her warm, skilful hands. Rayne groaned with desire at the soft, sweet suction of her mouth on his curving shaft. His fingers caressed the nape of her neck as she nodded over him, her straightened hair finally falling loose from the jewelled pin holding it up at the back of her head. That dark cloud of hair tumbled down around her shoulders as she knelt up and slid one sweat-slick thigh astride him, mounting him for a second journey to glory.

"You are really awesome, do you know that?" he whispered as she slowly eased her weeping labia down over the crown of his straining cock shaft and he felt himself plunged into her lush, boiling depths once more.

His hands crept up to her breasts as she rolled her hips, riding him hard. Rayne bucked upward into her, a low, ragged cry escaping him as he answered her passionate need with his own, filling her and thrusting like an animal inside her. Adora bent over him her mouth coming down to join with his and they rolled across the bed over and over, first her on top then him, fighting one another then taking it in turn to submit.

He took from her neck the second time he bled her and this time she did not cry out, but clung to him hard as he bucked between her thighs. The explosion when it came was long and slow and they were both exhausted by it, sinking into the warmth of a sweaty embrace. She slept at last in his arms and he curled around her, drifting in and out of awareness. When she woke and slid out of his bed just before dawn he pretended sleep but the bed was colder without the furnace of her body there.

And alone his thoughts crept back, guiltily to Xavier once more. He did not understand how he could care for the boy and do the things he had just done with others. But whenever he was alone it was Xav that he longed for. Like the blood hunger, that need would not go away.

NAPOLI:

A few people, Aldo had said. Right!

This was a little more than just a few, Xavier thought. A glance around the patio and he noted two things right away. First off, there wasn't a female in sight. Secondly, there were probably a dozen or so older well-dressed or semi-dressed men here and double that amount of mostly-not-dressed younger studs lounging in or around the pool. Nice scenery at least, Xav thought with a small smile. He was decidedly over-clad himself in his jeans and tank but that was fine with him.

He spotted PJ and Clay at the patio table, both with some kind of frozen fruity drink planted in front of them and rather more serious looking shot glasses in hand. He headed over that way and slid down into PJ's lap, giving his cheek a friendly kiss.

"You're looking remarkably pleased with yourself, young man!" Paddy remarked with a grin as he returned the kiss and swatted Xavier's ass playfully. "It looks good on you, by the way. Lifts my old heart to see it."

Xavier refrained from any innuendo, but he didn't really have to say anything at all. If his smile said he was pleased with himself, Chavez's expression was downright smug.

"I thought Aldo said a few people?" he mentioned, deftly changing the subject. "Half of Europe is here!"

PJ shrugged easily. "He knows a lot of people."

Xav gave a little nod. "I'm gonna get something from the bar. Be right back."

He bumped into their effusive host along the way. Aldo di Bocaccio was talking with some guy in a pink polo, khakis, expensive shades and a smile so brilliantly white it was almost hard to look at.

Aldo dropped an arm casually around Xavier's shoulders and Xav let himself be drawn to his side, his smile a little knowing and somewhat sultry.

"Well, well... is this why we haven't seen much of you lately?" the guy Aldo had been talking to purred, his calculating gaze easing up and down Xav's body unhurriedly.

"You could say that." Aldo said with a grin and introduced Xavier to one of the continent's most notoriously provocative fashion photographers of the last twenty years, Marco Decellio. Only not in quite so many words.

"Xavier Gavrilov, meet an old friend of mine. Marco, this is Xav."

Marco didn't waste any time with chit-chat. He levelled a finger at Xavier, almost pointing it right in his face like a loaded gun. "You... I'm in love already. Can you come to my studio? Tomorrow?"

Xavier arched a brow, a closed cynical look edging around his eyes. "Right. I'm gonna go get a drink, 'k?"

He slipped out from under Aldo's arm and didn't give a backward glance, leaving Aldo chuckling and his guest looking astonished.

"He thinks you're joking, or more probably that you're just hitting on him," Aldo explained.

Xavier, for his part, had no idea of the reputation of the man he had just snubbed. Fortunately for the younger man Marco was quite serious and now also rather more determined to get him. And Marco's weren't the only set of eyes to watch him as he made his way over to the bar, fixed his own drink and then returned to chat with PJ McNamara and Barclay Johnson Francis. Not five minutes went by before there were no more empty seats around the large stone table where the two gay porn supremos and their gorgeous young protégé were sitting. Xav chalked the attention up to being a new face, and to the novelty of clothes. There was more flesh on display here than on South Beach!

Xavier kicked back and watched the random milling and mingling; the horsing around in the pool; people talking and laughing and fielding out who might be interested in some action. He was quiet though, and pretty much stayed out of it. For as long as he was sitting between PJ and Clay no one really bothered him.

That was, until Marco decided on another foray, and he was bald-faced enough not to care who Xavier had selected as his bodyguards. Nudging a half-cut club-bunny off the bench opposite Xavier, he settled in for the evening.

"Aldo says you are from San Francisco?"

"Uh-huh," Xav acknowledged without really looking his way.

"And, he says you were an entertainer there; a dancer?"

One corner of Xavier's mouth curled slightly; "Is that what Aldo says?"

"More or less." Marco smiled, undeterred by Xavier's cool attitude. "So, will you dance for us tonight?"

Xavier stirred the ice cubes in his glass around with the little straw, taking his sweet time.

"Nope. I'm not on the clock right now."

"Huh?"

"I'm on vacation. A holiday. Not working."

The photographer was undeterred by this declaration.

"Come on! Will you make an exception for me?" he coaxed.

Xavier shook his head. "Look, I'm not in the mood."

Marco wheedled at him a little more, but stopped when he sensed that either Xavier was going to get up and leave or one of his friends was going to make him stop pestering. McNamara was laid back enough but Clay was eyeing him with definite hostility now. Marco switched the subject to other things for a little while, talking shamelessly about himself, and his work, and the names and careers he'd made. He had not given up on the idea of a dance though, and he pushed so hard that he was starting to redefine persistent in Xavier's book.

Marco Decellio was obviously not someone who was used to hearing the word no. The more Xav put him off the more he cajoled. Xavier's expression was slowly slipping from mild indifference toward open annoyance.

Marco finally abandoned charm in favour of a completely different tack. He pulled his wallet from the pocket of his chinos and extracted several large-denomination bills, which he held out like a votive offering.

"Will this change your mind? One dance, that's all."

Xavier looked at the loosely held wad of cash, and although he still didn't have the exchange rate totally down he knew enough to figure that the amount in the photographer's hand was a lot more than he usually made in a weekend at the club. He raised his eyes slowly, as if it took a lot of effort to lift those long silky lashes. For a second he locked eyes with Marco, then reached out with thumb and forefinger and plucked the cash like it was something slightly soiled. His expression immediately changed though, a smile that was all business coming to curve his full lips and his eyes promising things that he had no intention of delivering. If Marco wanted to be the pigeon this badly, Xav was more than willing to play him.

Without a word the younger man got up from the table now and walked over to the sound system. Whatever Aldo had on for background music wasn't going to cut it. He fiddled around until he came up with one of his own playlists. Chris Brown's 'Kiss Kiss' was a switch from what Xav had been thinking of as an Italian soft porn soundtrack that had been playing, but it was one of his favourite routines.

He'd gotten paid quite a bit, so he didn't begrudge Marco a good show, despite being pestered into it. He started to move, slowly making his way back toward the table while keeping step with the music. The choreography was excellent, each movement crisp and clean as he danced his way back over to where the eager photographer was sitting. Marco stared at him greedily every step of the way. By the time he made it across the patio he had quite an interested audience, and that was only the warm up!

The big stone table would work just right as an impromptu stage, and Xavier stepped up onto it as Lil' Wayne's 'Lollipop' came on. This one had a slower beat, and a lot more innuendo for him to play with. Xav's body rolled in slow undulations as hands crept up his chest under the tank top he wore and pulled it off. He dropped it in Marco's lap and got down to business as the photographer brazenly pressed the material to his face, inhaling his scent with a lustful smile. The fluid movement of Xavier's half-clad body was both graceful and sexy as hell in the way he slid his hands over his skin, ground and popped his hips with the beat, and swayed that adorable little ass practically in Marco's face.

There were a lot of catcalls and whistles going on, but Xav was used to that on the stage and it didn't mean much in any language. Halfway through the song he dropped his jeans and kicked them off smoothly. That earned him a wave of more appreciative laughter, applause, and whistles of encouragement as he danced in just his boots and a tiny pair of tight black briefs.

His lithe body still had a light, golden, all-over tan, and even though he hadn't quite put back all of the weight he'd lost when he'd been ill, his lean musculature was outlined perfectly with each flex and roll. He showed it off now, dropping to his knees in front of Marco, spreading his thighs and running his hands up the insides of them to his crotch, letting his head sink back between his shoulders as he pantomimed ecstasy.

He brought his hands up further, running over the smooth planes of his abs and chest all the way up to the back of his neck and stretching his arms over his head as he swayed in place.

He shifted then, bringing his legs forward and sliding down off the table and into Marco's lap to straddle his hips and grind against him. Almost immediately he had to grab Marco's wrists and pull his hands away from groping his ass. He set them on the arms of the chair, wagging an admonishing finger under his nose before he continued the lap dance. He was so used to patrons knowing the 'no touching' rule in the club that he'd forgotten for a second that there wasn't a bouncer waiting to toss this guy out on his head if he got too grabby.

Marco was a good boy after the warning though, and Xavier finished the song unmolested. He got up, leaving Marco with considerably less room in his chinos than before he had begun and moved back over to the seat by PJ that he had vacated earlier. The ageing porn star slid an arm around his shoulders and gave him a congratulatory hug.

For a few moments Marco just sat there stunned. At last he leaned forward, arms resting on the table, expression intent.

"I'm impressed! And, I repeat my offer. I want you to come to come to my studio tomorrow, I'll send someone to pick you up."

Xav gave his head a little shake; "So, how many times a day do people usually tell you you're a pushy bastard?"

Marco waved a dismissive hand.

"The car will be here for you at six. The light is best in the morning and I want to get some natural shots first."

Now Xavier snorted; "Are you deaf or mental? First, I haven't said yes. Second, I'm not getting up at six in the fuckin' morning, and last, you haven't offered me anything yet. I really don't give a shit what you want."

Xav picked up his glass, saw it was only ice, and got up to fetch a refill without another word, his pert ass swaying nonchalently all the way to the bar.

Marco's face was a picture of surprise, but also sheer determination.

"Impertinent little shit, isn't he?" he muttered under his breath.

Aldo, sitting on the edge of the seated area beside him, sipped his wine and murmured; "He knows his worth, Marc. And he doesn't need your patronage. You've seen him in action, you know he's good."

PJ, who had seen and heard the exchange after Xavier's routine and now moved across to sit beside Marco added; "And he's not over estimating himself in any way, I promise you."

He smiled as he saw from Marco's expression that the Italian photographer knew who he was. Marco regarded PJ with a judicial eye.

"Of that I've no doubt, Mr. McNamara."

"PJ... please," the director insisted, extending a hand which Marco shook warily.

"I have dozens of requests every day from kids begging me to look at their portfolios," he explained now. "All of them wanting me to make them the next 'It' boy or girl. Most of them don't even warrant the cost of the postage. If that boy turns out even half as photogenic as I think he will, he'd be worth more than half the models in this country. But, if he doesn't let me take his goddamn picture he's just another out of work prima donna, no?"

"But if you missed out on the chance to break him, and someone else stole your thunder...?" PJ sipped his drink with an innocent smile. "How bad would you feel? He's a beautiful kid, Marco. Yeah he's got attitude but someone is gonna go that extra mile for him. And the light in the evening here is..."

He shrugged expansively. The other side of Marco, Aldo kissed his fingertips and blew gently on them in a universal gesture of appreciation. Marco looked back at PJ shrewdly, not unaware of what he was doing.

"Someone else, huh? Someone like you maybe?" He glanced over to Xavier and back at PJ with a grin. "Is he gonna be in your films? And, where can I get a preview?"

PJ did not meet his eyes.

"That depends on what you're offering in return." He was watching Xavier sashay back from the bar with a fond, possessive smile.

Marco had been half-joking, but the prospect of actually getting that preview had crystallised his attention. "What do you want?"

Silver blue eyes, sharp as polished steel met his own shrewdly. PJ murmured; "The boy has talent. He's a looker, for sure, but he's got the confidence to make it on any catwalk you wanna put him on. Just treat him well, that's all I want of you. I could give him work but I'm not sure that what I do is what he wants to do. And I'm not gonna exploit him. Just make sure that you don't either, or I'll find out about it."

His tone hardened just a little on that last sentence. Aldo gave his friend a look but it was ignored. PJ just smiled beatifically at Marco. Two men of the world, doing a little business over a friendly drink.

Before Marco had a chance to respond to PJ, Xavier dropped back down in his seat across from them. Marco could have told the director he had every intention of treating the kid well, but first he need to get past that attitude. He was so used to models, looking to make it big, throwing themselves at him, that he'd forgotten what it was like to be snubbed. He'd also not taken into account that Xavier wasn't in the business, wasn't looking for work, and probably couldn't care less about getting his face (or ass) in some glossy spread. What he did seem to care about Marco had already hit on though.

"So, Xavier. How much is your time worth?"

Xavier just laughed and shook his head. "You don't give up, do you? That's not how it works though. You put something on the table first."

Now it was Marco's turn to laugh. Ok, the kid wasn't a dummy. He wasn't going to undercut himself by throwing out a number before Marco did. The photographer gave him a figure and surprisingly his next starlet did not come back with something ridiculous as he'd half expected but a reasonable counter. Aldo was right, he knew his market value, and he wasn't afraid to ask for it. Marco had a few demands of his own though, since he was paying top dollar.

"You will be ready at six, I don't care how fuckin' late you party tonight, and you're mine for the weekend. You're going to work your ass off for me at those rates, young man, and I don't want to hear any bitching!"

Xavier gave a graceful little shrug. "You're the boss." He took a drink and locked eyes with Marco again. "But not until six tomorrow, so fuck off tonight. Go cruise someone else, I'm not going to fuck you."

Marco's eyes widened so far they were in danger of popping out of his head. Then he threw back his head and laughed. Still chuckling to himself he picked up his drink and without another word he wandered away to where some more accommodating young men were lounging naked by the pool.

PJ shook his head, laughing softly and appreciatively. It seemed like only a couple of years ago that he'd had Rayne standing off with him in just the same way, throwing that studied arrogance back at him; the defence mechanisms that had worked for him in the past. He and Xav were so alike that it sometimes made him catch his breath to see it. Neither boy was going to let him help them, but it didn't stop him trying.

"Looks like you brokered yourself a good deal there, baby," he remarked, lifting a glass to the young American with a wry smile.

"The night is young," Aldo added with a grin. "How much better can things get?"

Xav touched his glass to PJ's and they both drank to that. He had no intention of getting as annihilated as he had the other night at the club though. He'd made the deal with Marco and he'd stick to it, although he hadn't seen six am in a very long time.

To be continued...

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

End of Chapter Six - © Bellora Quinn & Sadie Rose Bermingham 2009