This was a mistake. 

He had apologized to Sabien and that should have been enough. Engaging with him any further shouldn’t have happened, mostly because of the explicit dreams that had been occurring nightly. Since that night, Aubrey couldn’t stop thinking about Sabien. The dreams had become wild and vivid, leaving no room for any other fancies aside from Sabien railing him into oblivion. 

He absently touched his neck, brushing his fingers over his rapidly beating pulse. He had another dream where Sabien bit and sucked on his neck, and it’d made him come hard enough to mess up his underwear when he woke up. 

Who the fuck had wet dreams anymore? Aubrey was in his thirties. He was not a horny teenager needing to crank one out every six seconds. The amount of sex going through his mind was concerning and devastating. He couldn’t talk about this with Wesley. Aubrey didn’t have a therapist, but the thought flustered him. How could he share this with anyone? 

The subject sat across from him in the most arrogant and domineering posture known to man. This posture was a go-to for male models when they were dressed in designer suits, and a couch was the only prop they had. 

Aubrey sucked in a breath. He tried to look away from Sabien but he couldn’t. Sabien was a magnetic force and hot as hell. It was utterly sinful and inhuman how attractive he was. 

He hadn’t been over it since they met a decade ago. 

The daiquiri couldn’t come soon enough, and here, he sat in a VIP cabana with the model of his lustful dreams. Aubrey rolled his tongue in his mouth, searching for something to discuss. His brain couldn’t compute anything. Only the naughty dreams filled his headspace. He couldn't focus. 

He sighed inwardly when Sabien broke the silence.

“What did you talk about with Zachary?” Sabien asked, 

Aubrey shrugged, relaxing slightly. “Nothing really.” He thought over the question again before snorting softly. “He complimented me. He called me the lovely photographer. That’s a bit of a stretch.” 

Sabien drummed his fingers on his knee, drawing Aubrey’s gaze. 

“I disagree. He’s speaking the truth. You are lovely, Bree.” 

Heat traveled to Aubrey’s ears. “Um, well, you’re just saying that. The same way he’s just saying that. You’re models. I’m sure you’ve encountered lovelier… people.” He gestured vaguely to Sabien. “Just… look at you. I’ve heard about Zachary, you know. He doesn’t exactly have a nice reputation, but his face and body sell anything he touches.” 

“And me?” Sabien pushed, leaning forward. He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. The posture was just as powerful and arrogant as the previous one, emphasizing his massive shoulders and the muscles bunching his arms. 

“It’s obvious with you.” Aubrey said, “And I don’t know why we’re talking about this. You don’t need to fish when you already know how gorgeous you are.” 

Sabien grinned and Aubrey’s stomach dipped with heat. 

“What if I just want to hear it from you how gorgeous I am? I don’t care what the others say. Just you, Bree.” 

Aubrey blinked, shocked by the declaration. “W-wait, what?” He blinked a few more times, trying to process what Sabien just said. 

“I don’t care what others say, Bree. I really couldn’t give a shit, but you… what you say or think or feel… matters. I can’t even begin to tell you how, but you have some hold over me.” 

This wasn’t a dream, but it was too good to be real. Aubrey desperately wished he had the drink. He wondered why the fuck it was taking the server this long to deliver their order. 

His mouth was dry and he reached for the water, hastily guzzling the contents. He was almost tempted to toss the cold water on his face to double-check he wasn’t asleep. 

“Bree, it’s okay,” Sabien assured. “You can tell me how you’re feeling.” 

“But why? How? You don’t even know me.” Aubrey’s voice shifted into a softer, weaker cadence. You don’t even know me. “We haven’t seen each other in a decade, and we’ve never really talked back then. I don’t…understand.” Aubrey felt like he was being toyed with. This was Sabien and he’d just told Aubrey “you have some hold over me.” 

This was bizarre, yet Aubrey couldn’t deny the way his heart skipped with excitement. If it were a lie, and some sick, cruel joke, he’d shatter to pieces. He had been crushing on Sabien for so long. How could things turn out so easily in his favor? Was his crush having feelings for him too? 

Aubrey shook his head. “What is this even?”

“This,” Sabien said, “is me not fighting it anymore. This is me, acknowledging something is between us, and I want it. Don’t you feel it too, Bree?” 

Aubrey winced. He did feel it. That was the alarming part. He'd felt it since the terrace and couldn’t shake it off. 

“This is sudden,” Aubrey said weakly. 

“Believe me when I say I feel the same,” Sabien said wryly. “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to avoid you, to keep a distance between us. I’ve been telling myself it’s a bad idea. It won’t end well for either of us, but hearing what you said about Wesley and seeing Zachary kiss your hand. I wanted to break their fucking necks.” 

Aubrey swallowed hard. That was a clear, red flag, but his dick jumped at attention. 

“Wesley is like a brother to me.” Aubrey defended. 

“I know.” 

“Zachary… I don’t even know what the fuck that was.” 

“I know. No one’s ever rejected him like that.”

“Well, he can’t always have it easy. Hot or not.” Aubrey said with a huff before shaking his head again. “Rewind to what you just said about breaking their fucking necks. You won’t actually do that, will you?”

Sabien shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. Aubrey was partially appalled, but the roaring in his ears was distinct and the adrenaline coursing through his veins from this revelation. 

Maybe it was a good idea he’d followed Sabien into VIP. 

Maybe it was meant to happen. Fate or some shit. 

Aubrey shot up to his feet, and Sabien did the same. 

Before he knew it, he was plastered to Sabien’s thick chest, hands roaming as Sabien buried his fingers in Aubrey’s hair. Their mouths were one each other, fusing and parting in desperate pleas and moans. Aubrey’s mind reeled from the sensations flooding him. He was numbed to the uncertainty and terror of what this meant moving forward, but he didn’t care. 

He let himself melt in Sabien’s arms and parted his lips for Sabien’s tongue to claim his mouth.