Just as Avery spent three nights a week at Burning Temptation, the same applied to David.

“It’s a date,” the CEO had replied at the very beginning, when the companion had asked whether he would visit him again the following day.

Since then, he had not asked again.

Diablo had the feeling that he was the only one of them desperately keeping their relationship on a professional level, even though it was clear that the CEO was the one with more to lose. Amid their flirting, he would occasionally let details of his personal life slip into their conversations, and so Avery knew that David had never admitted his orientation out loud and that his priority was work, not a private life.

Out of curiosity, Avery later googled the CEO, and what he found only confirmed his words. David Scott was the founder of NovoraTech, a tech company specializing in fintech software. He had built it from the ground up, and although it was embarrassing, the blond read enough interviews, though there were not many, to know all the available information about his company.

David began a project to develop software for banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions while he was at university. He was twenty one years old, with an idea and determination, and when he developed the prototype of the Novora-Node algorithm, his professor decided to become his first investor, which allowed him to interrupt his studies and fully launch the business.

It took four more years before he managed to gain recognition and secure larger clients, thanks to which even big names in business began to take notice of him. At the age of twenty six, NovoraTech received an investment that valued the company at 1.2 billion dollars, and today, according to information on the internet, David’s fortune was estimated at 450 million dollars.

The twenty eight year old CEO was no longer merely a programmer, but a strategist who knew his worth and collaborated with large multinational corporations. Instead of three people, he now had more than eight hundred under him, thanks to several branches, and he was still the one who directed it all, the developers, mathematicians, business consultants, and lawyers.

Avery, who had grown up in this world, could appreciate how much effort he must have put into it, and he knew it had not been merely a matter of luck.

Jenkins Enterprises, as a monument of the old world, stood in stark contrast to NovoraTech. While David had built everything himself from the ground up and, thanks to his abilities, rightfully achieved a meteoric rise, Avery came from old money.

The original company had been founded back in 1884 as a commodities trading firm and was governed by primogeniture — the eldest son inherited everything. According to Avery’s father, this system had kept the family fortune intact for one hundred and forty years. At least until now.

Avery was officially Marshall, having taken the surname of his great grandmother, knowing it would anger his family the most, as she had been the only one in their history who had dared to divorce a Jenkins, though it had cost her both wealth and status.

Had things been different, he would still be preparing to gradually assume the position of CEO, with only a few years remaining before him, but instead he was merely preparing for another performance at the club.

He had exchanged an office desk for a pole, a tie for a leather collar, and while as a future CEO he had been required to wear his hair short and perpetually groomed, now he wore it long in both of his personas, in protest.

Finally, he was living his life on his own terms.

“The fuses blew again yesterday.”

“What did you do?” Joshua asked in amusement.

“I turned on the kettle and the washing machine at the same time.”

It was not a perfect life, but he did not complain.

“A classic mistake.”

At first, the blond barista had been uneasy about complaining about such things to his boss, but Joshua was always understanding, and since he himself came from a place where he had often needed a rich imagination to repair appliances on his own, he always knew how to advise his favourite employee.

“Be glad I have a clean uniform.”

“You would not want to embarrass yourself in front of David.”

Avery used the cloth he held in his hand to swat at the laughing man, who smoothly dodged, already accustomed to this reaction that he provoked whenever he teased him about the CEO. Joshua knew all his secrets, and there was nothing the blond could hide from him. Not that he tried to.

Joshua knew about his pitiful crush on the dark haired man and always made sure that Avery was the one at the register whenever the Scott brothers came into the café. Moreover, he also knew that David visited his colleague in his second job, though he did not know all the details.

Avery had felt guilty when he first told him that he had practically spent the night in his lap, especially since at that time he did not know whether David was out, yet he could not remain silent, overcome by emotion. The CEO had finally shared his affection, though not in the way the barista would have wished, and he had to tell someone.

Now Joshua knew that David went to the club for Diablo, yet he did not ask for more information. The only thing he wanted to know was whether Avery was too tired to come to work on Monday. Not that the blond had ever admitted it or missed a day of work.

Today was Friday and another day when he worked both jobs at once — in the morning he had a shift at the café and in the evening he strolled half naked through the club, where every eye was fixed upon him. Every gaze filled with lust.

Yet Diablo had eyes for only one man.

“Upstairs?”

He skipped the greeting and went straight to him. On other nights he would have flirted and made him work for it, but today he saw in his eyes that something was wrong, though the CEO said nothing aloud.

“Lead the way.”

The horned companion always walked up the stairs first, allowing David to enjoy the view, accentuated by the leather trousers, and today was no different.

They moved to the upper floor, and while Diablo automatically headed toward the small stage, David made his way to the leather couch. One glance at him changed the companion’s mind, and without even brushing the pole with his fingertips, he moved with undisguised eagerness into the CEO’s lap.

“That’s new.”

Despite his words, David seemed more than pleased to have him this close. It was revealed not only by the way his hands automatically settled on his hips, but also by the bright look in his eyes and the smile that finally played upon his lips, as though all his worries had suddenly faded.

“Maybe I wanted to surprise you.” Diablo tilted his head slightly to the side, causing the ends of his wig to fall upon the back of the other man’s hand and tickle his skin like a feather.

“I’m not complaining.”

The demon in disguise, who until then had held his palms around his neck, his thumbs tracing up and down his collarbones, moved his hands where they belonged. First he grasped the CEO’s tie with one hand and placed the other upon his jaw. His thumb began to move lower, while his right hand slowly slid down the smooth surface of his tie.

His stubble brushed faintly against the pad of his finger, barely visible yet distinct to the touch, and then he felt the prominence of his throat beneath it. In that moment, only one thing remained, and their faces were suddenly dangerously close as he pulled him nearer by the tie.

“So handsome,” Diablo murmured, gazing into his dark eyes from such closeness, doing everything to keep his eyes from wandering elsewhere. David did not possess such self control, and his gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips and back again.

“Only for you.” It took the man beneath him a moment to realize he had spoken and answered him.

“You are sad today.”

Whereas in the café Avery would never have dared to challenge the CEO and speak to him about his mood, here he had no such hesitation. After all, this was the man who had no difficulty asking him for his hand, an ordinary conversation should not trouble him.

The other man’s gaze grew less heated and more tender.

“I am better when I am with you.” His tone was quieter, and instead of flirtation it sounded more like a true confession. Something very dangerous for Avery’s heart.

“Still.” The companion moved his palm back to his cheek and covered it, curving his fingers gently along his jaw. “I do not like to see you upset.”

“It is nothing.” David remained stubborn despite the resolute blue gaze fixed upon him and covered the long haired man’s hand with his own. Instead of removing it from his face, he stroked the back of his hand with his thumb.

In moments like this it was difficult to remember that in truth there was no relationship between them at all, and that it was merely a pretense for the hour the CEO had paid for.

“Talk to me.”

For a second, Diablo slipped out of his role, and despite pressing the other man, asking for honesty instead of seducing him, a faint smile formed on David’s face, as though it was exactly what he had hoped for.

“Some things at work are not going according to plan,” he finally admitted. “The plan I had is not working out, and the closer the deadline gets, the more nervous I become.” Then he frowned and corrected himself. “Irritable.”

The horned companion imagined the man beneath him angry, shoulders squared, tone stern, eyes resolute, and spoke the first word that came to his tongue. “Hot.”

David seemed amused and rolled his eyes. “My colleagues do not think so.”

“They have no taste,” Diablo assured him.

Judging by the way the CEO bit his lip and once more let his gaze drift where it should not, it seemed that the serious conversation had again been briefly interrupted by his sinful thoughts. Moreover, despite his words, he did not seem nervous or frustrated in the companion’s presence. At least not for the wrong reasons.

“I would never scream at you,” David assured him suddenly, moving his palm back to his hips, squeezing him between his fingers, though beneath the latex trousers he could not feel much of his skin.

“That's good.” Diablo also shifted his hands elsewhere and decided to ease his tension by undoing the first buttons of his shirt and loosening his tie. “I would scream louder.”

Of course, the CEO took it at once as a challenge. “There are other ways I could make you scream.”

“You do not have enough time for any of them,” the demon in his lap reminded him, drawing back slightly, increasing the distance between them, though his palms remained braced against his chest, so he still touched him, not counting his backside resting upon his thighs.

“I would…”

“If?” Diablo lifted his face with a sharp motion of his index finger, tapping upward beneath his chin. Yet instead of angering the CEO, his gaze only grew more heated.

“If you would trade this couch for my bed.”

“A tempting offer…” The companion pretended to consider his proposal, though he could not. His own rules would not allow it.

“But?” David toyed with him as he did with him.

“I would grow bored.”

Diablo’s smile made it clear that he knew what his words would cause. Or at least he thought so.

It had always been he who determined the distance between them, but today the CEO chose to surprise him. One of his hands moved unexpectedly to the companion’s bare back and pressed him closer, causing his palms to slide a little higher, and suddenly Diablo’s hands were trapped between them as he once again found himself face to face with his unattainable dream.

Of course, Avery could not control his expression, so taken aback, and his blue eyes were wide as he remained speechless, as though his mind had suddenly ceased to function.

“See? You are never bored with me.” This time the CEO looked straight into his eyes without straying, and though his words were a challenge, in his dark gaze there was sincere delight without any ill intent.

“You don't know what you are asking for,” was the first thing Avery managed when he finally regained himself and was able to sharpen his expression and let a teasing undertone, born straight from hell, enter his voice.

Instead of trying to free himself, he decided to repay the wealthy man with his own medicine and show him that he had not made the right move.

They were close… so close that their chins almost touched.

Diablo ran his tongue over his lips in an attempt to moisten them, and dark eyes followed his every movement as though striving to commit it perfectly to memory. And while he watched, the companion took a risk and leaned even closer, at the last moment evading the CEO’s eager lips and pressing his own instead to the place where his chin ended and his jaw began.

One small kiss there, then higher and higher, tracing the curve of his bone as far as the other man’s grip allowed. Even then he did not relent and gently bit his earlobe.

The hiss that escaped David was music to his ears.

“You are testing my patience.” If it was meant as a reproach, it did not sound like one at all.

“Good,” the companion practically whispered into his ear, being so close that he did not need to raise his voice. “Don’t forget that you started it.” Then he bit his ear again and immediately took the offended spot into his mouth to soothe it briefly. “Don’t start something you cannot finish.”

He was not the only one feeling bold today, as he discovered when he felt pressure beneath his chin and the CEO turned his face so that they were once more looking into each other’s eyes.

He held him directly before him, and with the way he looked at him, had he chosen to kiss him here and now, Avery would not have had the strength to stop him. Fortunately, even in such a heated moment, David remembered that the demon in his lap did not wish it and respected his decision.

He was painfully perfect.

“One word.” The CEO’s other hand moved to Diablo’s face as well, and though the mask hindered his fingers, he held him firmly, yet still gently. “Just one and I am yours.”

“I thought you already were mine,” Avery reminded him of all his previous promises.

“I am.” David did not hesitate for a single second. “Always. Everywhere.”

That look in his eyes… it was dangerous. It almost compelled Avery to forget everything and believe him.

“Good boy.” Fortunately, Diablo still had his mask to shield him and allow him to pretend that he was not so deeply affected.

In response, he received David’s broad smile.

“Did I improve your mood?”

A needless question, yet the demonic companion asked it nonetheless.

“You always do.”