First Night

The penthouse was really quiet at night. It was like every little sound was louder than it should be. The fridge was. I could hear the traffic way down below. The building would creak sometimes like it was settling in. Alex was lying on his back in the bed staring at the ceiling. There were patterns of light on it from the city outside. Rowans arm was across his waist, warm and heavy. They were not asleep yet.

Rowan. Said, "You are thinking too much." His voice was rough from the day.

Alex turned his head to look at Rowan. In the light Rowans face looked softer. He did not look as sharp as he usually did. "It is hard not to think " Alex said. "Yesterday I was in my small apartment. Now I am in the CEOs bed because someone is blackmailing us with videos."

Rowan laughed quietly. It was not a happy laugh. He pulled Alex close until their foreheads were almost touching. "Say it like this: it is our bed for now. It does not sound so bad then."

"It still feels like a trap " Alex said quietly.. He did not move away. Instead he touched Rowans arm feeling the tension in it. "Tell me something. Not what you tell everyone. Something you have never told anyone."

Rowan was quiet for a time. His fingers moved on Alexs side then stopped. "When we were kids Elias would take my notebooks. I wrote everything in them. I even wrote about my plans for the company. He would read them loud to make fun of me. Our father would laugh. Our mother would say nothing. After Elias disappeared I stopped writing things down."

Alex listened to Rowans breathing. What Rowan said felt like a crack in his armor. Alex touched the scar above Rowans eyebrow. "This one. From your fight with Elias."

Rowan nodded. "He called me a monster. He said I would lock myself up and throw away the key. I told him he was weak for wanting to destroy everything. There was a fight and glass broke. There was blood everywhere. I still hear him yelling when he left."

The pain in Rowans voice was real. Alex moved closer. Wrapped his arms around Rowan. At first Rowan was stiff. Then he relaxed and breathed deeply.

"I hated him for years " Rowan said quietly. "For leaving me to deal with everything. For making me wonder if he was right about me. Now he is back. I do not know what to do. I do not know if I should kill him or ask him why he made me bury a box."

Alex kissed Rowans temple. It was a kiss. "You are not a monster. You are. Stubborn.. You protected me today. You could have thrown me to the board to save yourself. You did not."

Rowan looked at Alex his eyes searching in the light. "Your turn. The scar on your side. You mentioned an ex. What happened?"

Alex tensed up. Old memories came back. They were bitter. "His name was Marcus. We were together in college. He had a temper. He thought love meant owning someone. One night I told him I needed space. He lost it. A bottle. Glass cut me. He. Said it was an accident. I left the morning and never looked back."

Rowans hand moved to cover the scar. His palm was warm on Alexs skin. "Is he still there?"

"I heard he works in finance across town. We have not spoken in years." Alex swallowed hard. ". Sometimes I still look back when I walk alone at night. Old habits."

Rowan pulled Alex closer their legs tangling under the sheets. The hug was not demanding, close. "No one will hurt you like that again. Not while I am alive."

The words should have felt possessive. They felt like protection instead. Alex let himself sink into it feeling Rowans heart beating against his own. They talked for hours about things and big things. Alex told Rowan about his mother. How she raised him alone. Rowan talked about the pressure of his family name and how he wondered if he was making the mistakes as his father.

At one point Rowans voice cracked when he talked about Eliass funeral. "I stood there in the rain looking at the coffin. Part of me knew it was wrong. It was easier to stay cold."

Alex wiped a tear from Rowans cheek. The touch felt intimate like their bodies had never been. "You do not have to stay cold. Not with me."

Rowan looked at Alex for a time. "You scare me Alex. You make me want things I thought I would never have. Freedom. Trust. A life outside these walls."

They stayed like that holding each other sharing breaths and truths until the sky outside started to lighten. There was no rush, a slow building of something deeper. They were vulnerable without armor.

Alex finally felt sleep coming around four. "Whatever happens tomorrow with Elias we will face it together. No more being alone."

Rowans response was a kiss on Alexs shoulder. "Together."

Morning came soon. Alex woke up to the sound of Rowans phone vibrating. Rowan reached for it and his body went rigid when he read the screen.

There was a message from a number. A photo was attached. It showed Alex and Rowan asleep in the bed taken from, inside the penthouse.

The message said: **Nice talk, brother.. Secrets do not stay hidden forever. Time I will not just watch.**

Rowan sat up fast pulling Alex with him. "He was here. Inside. While we slept."

Alex stared at the photo feeling ice in his veins. The sanctuary had already been breached. The first night of closeness and Elias had turned it into a weapon.

They dressed quickly checking every room every lock. There were no signs of forced entry. Whoever delivered the photo had access that should have been impossible.

Rowan gripped Alexs hand hard. "I will double the security. Change everything.. Alex... If he can get this close we are not as safe as I thought."