"Uh, Brian? Ethan fucked a hustler. You had nothing to do with that," Justin said in confusion, sitting up to look at Brian closely.

"Yes, I know." Brian looked at Justin intensely for a moment. "Tell me this, Justin - were you ever really in love with Ethan? Not that I believe in such sentiment, but I know you do."

Justin pursed his lips, glaring at his lover. "Yes, I do believe in love, and I think deep down you do too, Mr. Tycoon. About Ethan, I - well - I'm not so sure anymore. I thought I did. Why do you ask?"

"No reason really. It's just that you didn't seem that devastated when you discovered his betrayal. In fact, I wonder if it ended up being a good escape for you, a push into doing what you really wanted to do," Brian summarized.

"What I really wanted to do?" Justin asked. "Do you mean to break away from Ethan, or, have sex with you?"

Brian smirked at Justin's quick response. "Both seem to apply."

Justin shrugged, before he answered, "I guess I didn't really love him. His betrayal didn't cut as deep as it should have. Regarding you, well, I think we both know I wanted to say yes the first night we met - but I was being loyal to Ethan, and also abhorring your tactics of trying to buy me."

"Right, that." Brian laughed. "You would need to understand my life to fully appreciate my perception of that. In my world, you often have to pay a price to make things happen that you need to happen. It's not always neat and tidy, but it's effective. I have already told you this, and it is the truth - I have never paid another man for sex, nor offered to do - that is before you."

Justin flushed. "I just can't fathom paying a man one million dollars for sex. No matter how much money I had."

Brian reached out, stroking his thumb across Justin's luscious lips, his eyes burning as he took in the blond's total beauty, one that made him breathless and thrumming with urgency to possess - constantly. Frowning, he knew they had to take this out of the bedroom. If he was to have this talk - and he still wasn't sure he wanted to do this - it shouldn't be in bed. His eyes moving over Justin's exposed skin that wasn't blanketed by the coverlet, Brian whispered huskily, "How about you get dressed and meet me in the other room. I really can't have a serious discussion with you when you're lying so warm and cozy, and so very fuckable in my bed."

"Poor Mr. Kinney, unable to control himself..." Justin teased him, sliding out of the bed to slip on his jeans, before padding toward the door. Looking back, he asked, "Well, are you coming?"

"Not yet, but I hope to be when we finish this talk," Brian answered, as his eyes homed in on the snug jeans that cradled Justin's ass.

Justin clicked his tongue. "If you're lucky."

Brian shook his head in bemused wonder as Justin disappeared, hoping the blond's absence from his bed would only be momentary. Running a hand through his hair, Brian slowly slid out of the bed, hoping he had made the right decision to tell Justin the truth about his subterfuge now. Fuck, Brian thought to himself. What if Justin walked out on him - here and now? He had just asked him to come back to Manhattan with him - something that still shocked him into a near stupor. Yet, he had meant his words. He couldn't imagine saying goodbye to him tomorrow. Fuck his self-imposed rules. He felt things with Justin he had never felt with another man. He had felt them from the first moment his eyes had fallen upon him, but after having him - Brian knew he was hooked. He wanted Justin Taylor, and he would keep him.

Slipping into his pants, he slowly walked out to join Justin, knowing he needed to proceed with caution, and to remember that he was dealing with a man of great sensitivity. Walking to the bar, he poured himself a tall glass of whiskey, looking over his shoulder to see the blond in question watching him quizzically. "Can I pour you a drink, Justin?"

"Uh, no." Justin's face became serious, his instincts telling him this could be very bad. "I'm getting a bad feeling here, Brian. Just tell me what you have to say, okay?"

Brian moved to the couch, sitting down next to Justin. He took a long swallow of the liquor, savoring the burn as it spread into his throat. He looked at Justin, nodding in agreement. "You won't like this, but I think you should hear it from me."

"What is it, Brian?" Justin demanded. "This is really becoming alarming."

"Let me take you back to the night we met. I had been baiting you at the roulette table. You had an argument with Ethan. He left and I grabbed onto you - mainly to make you see my desire and do whatever I had to do to make you succumb to it..." Brian began, staring off into the distance as if in reminiscence.

Justin nodded. "I remember it very well. When I rebuffed you again, you were more than clear that anyone could be bought if the right price was found. You stated that you just hadn't found mine yet and that I'd made a mistake in challenging you."

"That's right. I was out of my mind with lust for you. I've never felt anything comparable to it. Never had I been so tempted to drag a man away to anywhere we could have some privacy. There was such fire and determination in your eyes, and yet the desire was pouring off of you in waves even amid your rejection. You wanted me." Brian took another long swallow, downing the amber liquid in one shot. "I had to have you. Nothing else mattered. The thought of fucking you overwhelmed me. My dick had never been so hard in my life," Brian reflected, remembering the feeling all too well.

"And?" Justin pressed, knowing this had to be leading somewhere. His gut telling him this could be bad.

"I did something that by your standards would probably be considered immoral and wrong. Perhaps it was, I don't know. I just know I was in another place then, one that had to be satisfied; I took steps to see that it was."

Justin glared at his lover. "Which tells me nothing. Exactly what did you do?"

Brian stared at Justin directly, not backing down, no matter how strong Justin's ideals were, and he felt they were very strong - he would not apologize, or even regret his actions. He may have gone too far, but in his world, the end justifies the means. Also believing that Justin was far better off without the insipid, disloyal Ethan Gold in his life. A man that had been only using Justin for his selfish gains. Justin would see that in time. Brian wouldn't accept any other resolution. "I was in the bar, frustrated and debating on what to do next when the hustler approached me."

"Ethan's hustler?" Justin demanded, his eyes sharp and intent on Brian.

Brian nodded. "He made the ill-timed mistake of trying to pick me up. He even offered himself free of charge." Shaking his head in disgust in remembrance, Brian continued, "I had no interest in him or one of his kind. And I had another bed partner in mind."

"Right. Me. Go on. I'm sure this story has much more substance..." Justin prodded, having a sickening feeling in his gut where this was heading while hoping he was mistaken.

"It does," Brian returned grimly. "After I continued to reject him, he made mention of seeing my pursuit of you and noticing my apparent failure. He then made an offer that even the predator in me balked at, yet found too tempting to refuse."

Justin closed his eyes, pain immediately stabbing into his midsection. Opening them, he looked at Brian with chips of ice in his eyes, knowing the truth, yet needing to hear it from Brian's mouth. "Offer?"

"I think you know what happened next, Justin." His eyes flickered over Justin, mentally reaffirming that no matter if it had been right or wrong, nothing had been more important than getting Justin where he was now. He would never regret that. "He offered his services to entice Ethan, and I believe you know what happened next."

Justin stood up, unable to bear being next to Brian any longer, doing all he could do to hold back the tears that were the result of the pain of betrayal and anger that was sweeping through him in waves. Pacing back and forth, he continued to torture himself by demanding coldly, "Did you pay him, Brian? I guess it doesn't matter much, but I need to know. Did you pay this hustler to seduce and fuck my boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Brian growled, as he stood up to move toward Justin. "Yes, I did, with a bonus if he made it happen in your room. Are you satisfied?"

"Hardly. I can't believe you would do this to me. I get your world is so very different, but this was deliberate sabotage of my life. It doesn't matter that it turned out that Ethan wasn't truly the love of my life. You couldn't have known that then. You wrecked my relationship with him just to get me into bed. Or more to the point - just to win," Justin hissed, feeling tears bubbling up in his throat.

"He didn't deserve you, Justin. Not now or ever. Fuck, Justin. He was using you. Don't you get that?" Brian's eyes narrowed as he watched Justin make an immediate beeline for his bag, knowing the blond was about to pack up his belongings. He couldn't let it happen. Losing Justin now wasn't an option. Hell, he'd invited him back to Manhattan with him, and he'd meant every word of it. He didn't want it to only be Vegas. He wanted so much more, and that excited, as well as scared him. But he accepted it for what it was. He still wanted Justin Taylor, and he meant to keep him. "Justin, stop packing and look at me. I did this before I got to know you. Surely it means something that I'm telling you now..."

Justin glared at Brian before walking briskly into the bathroom, throwing what little he had unpacked into his bag, needing to get out of here in the quickest manner possible before he broke down. That was the last thing he wanted Brian to see. He couldn't let Brian see how much he cared for him, how much he still wanted him, despite it all. Tensing when he felt Brian's presence behind him, he took in a glance to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything before turning to face his treacherous lover. "It's over, Brian. I get that Ethan didn't have to succumb, but what you did was wrong. It was cold, callous, and a complete disregard of humanity. I can't be with a man who cares nothing about my feelings."

"It's true that I don't get how things work in your - right and wrong - little world. I am trying to grasp the concept. I need time with that. You just don't get how deeply you have affected me," Brian admitted, turning his lips down as he looked at Justin, knowing he was moments away from losing the only man that had ever meant a damn thing to him. "Before I met you, I would have never admitted what I did. I would have just accepted it as a part of doing whatever necessary to seal the deal."

Justin shook his head in disgust as he brushed past Brian, moving toward the bedroom to slip on his shirt, socks, and shoes needing to be gone - now. "I am not a part of a business deal, Brian. I am a person with feelings."

Brian swallowed deeply as he watched Justin preparing to leave, knowing he was losing the most important battle he had ever fought. "Justin, please don't go - not like this. I'm asking you. I am not commanding or being manipulative."

"I'm sorry, Brian. I can't stay. I don't know where I'm going, though. My flight isn't until tomorrow and I already gave up my room. Ethan is probably still there and I don't intend to go back to him." Raising his head to look at Brian coldly, he went on, "In that, you have won. I have no desire to renew anything with Ethan. As far as I'm concerned, I want to put this entire trip behind me."

Brian's nostrils flared as he moved close to Justin. He reached out to touch Justin, his eyes narrowing in anger when Justin visibly flinched away. "You don't mean that, Justin. No matter what I have done, you wanted me. Even before you came to me. You still want me. We can get past this, Justin."

"No, we can't. I can't trust you, Brian. I would never know if you were manipulating my life. I can't live like that," Justin whispered, oblivious to the look of yearning he was giving to his lover. "As to wanting you - well, who wouldn't? But I need more than the beautiful package you represent. I need something that's real, something I can trust."

Brian ran his hand through his hair, knowing he had no choice but to let Justin go. He couldn't win this battle. At least not now. Justin was hurt, angry, and filled with determination. He just didn't know how to let go of something he wanted so badly. Brian knew sometimes you had to release something to effectively capture it. That was what he had to do now. His eyes burning in stark need as he looked at his once again resistant blond, Brian whispered hollowly, "You can trust me, Justin. Nothing I did was intended to hurt you. Something powerful happened between us here. I don't understand it; I only know it to be true."

Justin's pain-filled eyes looked deeply into Brian's to his way of thinking - regretfully for the last time. "Sadly, I can't say I regret this time I spent with you. I wanted you so much. You were a force of nature that I couldn't resist. I hope someday you can genuinely feel human emotions and find someone to share your life with. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I wish it could have been me." Justin reached up to brush away tears that were falling, as his eyes hopelessly found himself drowning in Brian's penetrating gaze. Leaning forward, he surprised the brunet when he placed his lips softly against his cheek. Pulling back, Justin brokenly whispered, "Goodbye, Brian. Please don't try to follow me. I c-can't take anymore, right now."

Brian's eyes and heart clouded with a pain he didn't understand but one he knew he needed to put in perspective to move forward. Watching as Justin picked up his bags and headed to the door, Brian's voice found him just before he stepped over the threshold. "Goodbye, for now, Justin. You need time; I see that. But this isn't over, and we both know it. I placed my card in your bag last night. When you are ready to talk, call me."

Walking out the door, he pushed the button to summon the elevator. Looking over his shoulder, Justin told him almost despondently, "I'm afraid that's one call I don't intend to make. Take care, Brian."

Silently, Brian watched as his beautiful blond slipped into the elevator, the doors swiftly shutting him away from his sight. Expletives fell from his mouth as he slammed the door of his suite closed. Pacing back and forth, Brian realized he needed to devise a plan and it needed to be quick. He already missed the little fucker. He wanted him almost desperately, and he would have him. Eyes landing on his briefcase that contained the report he had obtained, Brian swiftly moved toward it, looking for something to suggest his next step - never doubting there had to be something contained within that he could use. His eyes scanned it, over and over again, a smile quickly spreading upon his face. "Perfect," he whispered in a low purr.

Looking at the time to see it was nearing midnight, Brian shrugged indifferently, as he picked up his phone to call Ted. When Ted brusquely answered after several rings, Brian answered, "Hello, Theodore."

Ted groaned, his eyes catching his husband's, who was seated next to him on the couch. "What is it, Brian? It's almost midnight, you know."

"Indeed, I do," Brian returned blandly. "However, we are still in the city that never sleeps, so, it's a moot point really. I trust Blake is with you?"

"Yes, Brian. What's the problem now?" he demanded to know.

"Inform your husband that our departure is moved up to the morning. I want to get back to Manhattan," Brian clipped out. Once back on his home turf, he knew he could get the ball rolling and make what he needed to happen in the quickest manner possible, which was reclaiming Justin. Honesty hadn't worked so well. It was time to do what he did best. This time there would be no mistakes, and his actions would all be done out in the open this time. "Upon our return, I have a project for you. One that will be your top priority."

Ted rolled his eyes. "Procuring more blonds?"

Brian snorted in derision. "Not exactly. I need you to handle an investigation. I need to know everything about a corporation called Vangard."

"Vangard?" Ted asked. "I'm not familiar with it."

"It's an advertising agency and one that I am very interested in knowing everything about. We'll talk more during the flight. Goodnight, Teddy..." Brian drawled, signifying the conversation had ended. Hanging up the phone amidst Ted's muffled curses and questions, Brian laid on the couch knowing he couldn't sleep in the bed that he had shared with Justin for the past twenty-four hours. "Run and hide all you want, little Justin. I won't be far behind. You will learn exactly how far I will go to claim what is mine. In the end, you will regret all the wasted time. The next time I capture you, I will be holding onto you until I decide otherwise."

Brian didn't stop to think that could be forever.

TBC