Chapter Text
“Fuck,” Lio hissed, glaring at the flashing red screen on the tablet balanced precariously on one hand. This should be working. He had been planning this, extensively, for ages. He hadn’t ever spent so much time on any one target. He was usually in and out, bouncing from target-to-target and gathering as much information as he could and sending it back to whoever had . . . commissioned his talents. If it was something he was working on on his own, he’d drop it off at the door of the most relevant law enforcement or news agency, which one he picked depended on his mood and the case. The point was, he got information and handed it off to other people. He had certainly had never got so personally involved in one of his targets that he deemed it necessary to physically break into their home to get the final piece de résistance that he needed to seal the case.
He was ready to move on with his life, he didn’t want to spend any more time dwelling on the thoughts and deeds of Kray Foresight, who, for all intents and purposes, was a terrible man with a terrible company and absolutely no ethical or moral code to speak of. Lio knew--he had seen the ins-and-outs of all of his personal financials, had read every text and email he could find. He even knew the details of Kray’s sordid history, from the details of the porn he watched, to the names of all of his former paramours (and Lio knew exactly how badly each of those relationships had ended). Kray might put on a pretty smile and a polished exterior for the interviews and articles, manage to look just as together for the paparazzi and the random people snapping pictures of him when they ran into him, but Lio knew it was all a facade. Underneath the highly publicized charitable donations was a veritable monster of a man.
And Lio was going to, had planned on, bringing him down. He had mountains of evidence, but had apparently gotten too cocky. He had only wanted one more thing to really put the nail in Kray’s coffin. But to get that last piece of evidence, he needed to get in Kray’s apartment. These documents didn’t exist digitally, were only vaguely referenced in one of Kray’s poorly secured letters to an attorney. And Lio had been so patient, waiting until all of the pieces fell into just the right place for Lio to topple them over. Kray had left on a business trip, last minute, the building was undergoing maintenance so it was easier to sneak in, he had bypassed the building’s security systems to even get up to Kray’s floor. Lio had been so prepared, he had paid extra attention to studying the security systems, highly customized and individually done for Kray, on Kray’s door. Finding an exploit had not been easy, but he had done it. It should have worked, this should be easy. If anyone would have been able to do it, it would have been him.
Glaring down at the tablet screen, furiously tapping away and trying to figure out exactly what was going on, he didn’t even notice the quiet whir of the elevator down the hall. He had set up emergency monitoring that should have alerted him if his window of opportunity was closing, but he had focused so intently on the screen he was on that the quiet notifications didn’t catch his attention. In the end, it wasn’t until the elevator pinged and the doors glided open that he realized he was actually, well and truly, screwed.
Lio had never seen Kray Foresight in person. He had seen him in photographs, sure, knew that he was tall compared to most people. He had broad shoulders and a broad chest, he was clearly in good physical shape and took care of himself. It was a meticulously crafted public image that was so perfect that Lio didn’t know how everyone didn’t realize how fake it was. Yet, Kray Foresight was as much flesh and blood as any man, walking down the hall with steps that should be booming, but were quiet and controlled. Lio, objectively, knew that Kray was taller than him but hadn’t expected the difference to be quite so imposing if he ever were to meet Kray in person, although before now he certainly hadn’t expected to.
There were three exits: the emergency stairwell, the elevator, and the door to Kray’s apartment, which wasn’t quite so much an exit, but at least it would be a way to put more space between them. There was no way he was going to get by Kray. Lio was fast, but no way was he fast enough to just slip by Kray without him being able to catch a fistfull of his leather jacket, or to grab him by his hood, or anything that he was wearing.
Kray might have said something, but it was static in Lio’s brain as he jammed at the tablet, whirring around as fast as he could, sighing with relief as the electronic lock finally clicked open. He slipped inside as soon as he could get the door open, his tablet skittering across the floor in his haste to get in and he slammed the door shut behind him.
But it didn’t shut, despite him pushing against it with his whole body, digging in with the heels of his boots. He looked down--Kray had closed the distance, jammed one foot in the door. A million and a half things ran through Lio’s head all at once--he was going to end up in jail, or dead, or both. Getting caught here meant that his tablet was here, and he had encrypted it well, but someone would eventually find a way to get into it, given enough time, and everything he knew and had done to get to this point would be tacked onto a neat list of charges that would all end up with him in a high security prison with no access to a computer for the rest of his god given life. Or worse. He thinks of some of Kray’s less savory dealings, the mysterious deaths, piling up in the wake of his business over the last twenty years of his meteoric rise.
“You might as well let me in. I think we have a very interesting conversation ahead of us,” he sounded so calm and collected it was almost unnerving. Lio didn’t know why he had expected anything less modulated, considering how carefully Kray had crafted every other aspect of his appearance.
“Sure. A conversation.” Lio bit back, rolling his eyes. How on earth was this man so calm for someone who was back at home, three hours after he was supposed to be on a plane with a destination halfway across the country? Lio had checked the travel logs to be sure--Kray had boarded the plane, air traffic control had recorded it as departing at 7:32pm. He had checked .
But here Kray was, not on a plane, not en route to Chicago, and Lio’s carefully planned hack hadn’t worked until he had arrived. When Kray wanted it to work. What a dumb mistake, somehow Kray knew he was coming. How?
Lio looked around, taking in the clean modern sight of Kray’s immaculate apartment. Lio was familiar with the blue prints, but not the decor. It was all clean lines and modern--it looked more like an advertisement or a magazine spread than a place someone actually lived in. Kray may try to even keep his appearances up at home, but he couldn’t hide from Lio. Lio knew everything . Except for how Kray knew he was coming.
“I’m not going to ask again,” Kray said, voice only slightly muffled from behind the door, as it curled around the opening. He wasn’t trying to push through. He was waiting. He knew he had limited options here, that, eventually, Lio was going to have to let him in, one way or another. And Lio knew that he had successfully disabled the security systems outside that might have alerted the police to an unauthorized entry attempt, but Kray most certainly had a phone, and Lio hadn’t done anything that would compromise it because Kray wasn’t even supposed to be here. Shit .
Lio dove for his tablet, relieved that the screen flickered on, even though the screen had been cracked when it hit the floor. He held onto it like a lifeline, fingers worrying over the cracked plastic on the back of it as he steeled himself while Kray Foresight entered the room, towering above him and twice his size. Kray closed the door behind him, swiping his hand over the display panel next to it. There was a glare from the overhead lights, Lio couldn’t see what it said, but he could hear the tumblers of the locks sliding, the definitive click . Trapped.
“I have to admit, you weren’t quite what I expected,” Kray said, moving in closer to him. Lio didn’t give up any ground though, he did have some leverage here, even if it wasn’t everything he might have liked to have. He had to remember that--there would still be consequences for Kray if anything were to happen to him. This was a less than ideal situation, but he had backup plans. He had fail-safes, and he could use those to get out of here. Once he was out of here? He would run. He had done it before and he could do that again.
“So you were expecting me?” Lio asked, fishing, as if it weren’t obvious. Kray didn’t stop until he’s barely a hair’s width away. Lio had to look up at him. He could practically feel his body heat, could smell his cologne. Lio couldn’t recall what it was, had seen it at some point looking through receipts, but he knew it was expensive, it smelled like oud and bergamot.
“Not you, I'll admit,” Kray replied, “But I have been aware for some time that I was being watched. I hardly expected it to be this easy to bait you out.”
As it for emphasis, as if he had won already, Kray reached out to Lio to grab the tablet from him. Lio held onto it pulling it against his chest and locking his arms close, sneering up at Kray. “However you found out I would be here doesn’t even matter. I’m leaving now.”
“We’re hardly done here.” Kray said, almost gently, but it came out so mocking, as he moved his hand to brush against the shaved side of Lio’s head. It sent a shiver down Lio’s spine, to feel the fingertips against his scalp. He jerked away, taking a step back and out of Kray’s reach. He could give a step.
“Don’t touch me,” He warned, voice coming out in a low hiss, “If anything happens to me, everything I know about you will get released. And I know everything. Trust me, you don’t want that all over the morning headlines, do you?”
“You may know everything . . . except for how I caught you,” Kray looked smug . It wasn’t that Lio hadn’t seen him look pretty damn pleased with himself in photographs before, this expression seemed much, much different. There was something much more sinister lurking behind it, or maybe it was how close he was, or the angle from which Lio saw it. Or maybe it was just that he knew Kray was an evil son-of-a-bitch and, for now, Lio’s life was very much in real and considerable danger until he got out of here.
“I don’t care. I’m leaving.” He did, in fact, care how Kray had caught him, but he could worry about it later. There was no way he should have been caught, but he could retrace his steps later and worry about that when he was safely laying low in an entirely different country. Sure Kray had reach pretty much everywhere, but Lio did, too, as long as there was internet.
Lio brushed past him, narrowly avoiding checking him with his shoulder as he moved last Kray and towards the door. He may be smaller than him but he could use confidence in his favor too. “You can let me out the easy way, or I can just override it myself. Your choice.” Lio offered, generously, putting on an air of impatience. The initial panic of getting caught was subsiding, making way for Lio’s confidence that he knew considerably more about Kray than Kray knew about him. Kray might cut a more physically imposing figure, but when it came down to it, Lio was the one with the power here.
Kray just laughed, had the nerve to sound amused . Lio tried not to let it phase him, kept his shoulders back and stared at Kray, waiting expectantly for him to actually answer, “Well?”
“It’s amusing that you think that bluff might work. I don’t suppose you usually spent much physically confronting your victims, do you?”
“Really?” Lio asked, incredulous, “You want to call yourself a victim? After all that you’ve done? I told you I know everything. You’re a monster, not a victim.” Lio could strip him of every last penny to his and his company’s name, and nothing would change that. This wasn’t a crime, this was justice .
“If I’m a monster, then you should know that you’re not leaving so easily,” The implied threat clung to his voice, sinister. It was still eerie hearing him in person, sounding so differently compared to the video clips Lio had gathered from the news and interviews. Here, he sounded much more like the person Lio knew than he was, ruthless. “After all, if I were to let you go, what’s to say you wouldn’t just release it all in the first place?”
“Honor among thieves. I’ll consider not releasing what I know the price I pay for getting caught,” Lio replied, shrugging his shoulders, acting as if he hadn’t spent the last six months obsessing over every detail of Kray Foresight, and his life, and his company, pouring over every piece of data that he could get to try to pull together something solid enough to pin Kray down. But Kray, presumably, didn’t know exactly how long he had been working on this.
“Hmph,” Kray seemed to find that pretty amusing, too. “I’m afraid it isn’t quite that simple. I’m going to need something from you, a token of good faith that you won’t back down on that promise.”
Lio rolled his eyes, he even talked like a super villain. He thought he was so clever, had this whole situation in his hands. “What do you want, my wallet?” Lio plucked it from a compartment of the bag slung across his shoulder. There was nothing in it but some cash and a fake ID, Kray wouldn’t get very much information with that. Lio waved it in front of him. “Take it. I’m leaving.” He repeated, firmer this time, glaring up at Kray, daring him for another challenge. Kray was right, there was nothing that was going to stop Lio from releasing the information, but he could always find ways to make it much, much worse for Kray if he kept him up here much longer.
Kray did pluck the wallet from his hands, opened it up, and studied the fake license. “You don’t look much like an Elliot,” Kray finally said, looking at Lio as if he were appraising him.
“I’m sure you’re a very good judge of character and namest,” Lio looked down at his tablet, angled it carefully away from Kray so he could keep his grip on it if Kray made a grab for it. The display flickered as he unlocked it, but it was still functional enough to pull up his terminal, access what the screen he had been on before that gave him access to Kray’s security system. He was acutely aware of Kray watching him as he clicked through screens, couldn’t miss the upturned corner of his mouth as the display flashed red.
Ah. He must have let him in before, it wasn’t that Lio had fixed the code. The pieces slotted into place. If it was only Kray that new about him, and it must be only Kray or there would be police here already, he must have been found out when he was digging into the security system. It had been internally designed by Foresight Industries, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if they warned Kray of any of the vulnerabilities before going to the police. Especially since it was unlikely that anyone would even attempt to break in to Kray’s apartment in the first place. He wasn’t sure exactly what he had done that would have alerted anyone that he had been digging around, but he could worry about that later.
“Fine. What do you want, Kray?” He spat out his name like the venom it tasted like. He should have been more careful. He shouldn’t have gotten greedy, he already had enough information. Probably.
“A conversation. Come sit with me,” Kray gestured to the couch as he turned and walked over towards it. It was all clean lines, white leather--it hardly looked like it had ever been sat in. The whole place looked so immaculate it was remarkable that a human being actually lived here. “Would you like a drink?”
“No,” Lio said sharply, following him over, regrettably. He was here until Kray opened the damn door or Lio had time to actually figure out how to open it himself, which he didn’t imagine Kray was going to give him.
“You may not be a traditional guest, but I’m not going to poison you.” Lio watched as he walked over to the bar in the corner of the room. Despite Lio’s refusal, he took two glasses down, was careful to keep the angle of his body so Lio could watch him pour two fingers of whiskey into each glass. Lio caught the label and balked.
“Do you usually serve $100,000 whiskey to people who try to break into your apartment?” He asked, sure that his incredulity still showed on his face, as he unbuckled the bag that had been slung around his shoulders and stuffed the tablet inside before he sat down on the couch. It was more comfortable than he might have expected, it was deceptively easy to sink into the leather, to swing his boots up onto the glass coffee table.
“Most people who would even think about it wouldn’t get this far,” Kray replied, offering him a glass.
“You first.” Lio said, watching Kray intently as he took a sip of the whiskey. When he was satisfied, he plucked the glass from Kray’s hand, leaning back again.
“You should try it, what do you think?” Kray asked, as he sat far enough away to be reasonable, but also far closer than he needed to, considering how big the couch was. That there was still more than an arms width of space between them was enough for Lio, for now.
Lio considered the glass, the situation, and took a drink of the whiskey. In for a penny, in for a pound. He didn’t have anything to by trying it, except the chance to try it. But honestly? Lio wouldn’t know the difference between a $20 bottle of whiskey and a $50 bottle. This was probably wasted on him.
“It’s alright,” He admitted, leaving it at that.
“It can be an acquired taste,” Kray said, so condescending, as if Lio was some child that didn’t know how to handle his alcohol. Lio took another sip, letting the taste roll across his tongue, fill his mouth. Warm, smoky notes of vanilla, sweet oak. He savored the smooth bite of the liquor as he swallowed.
“Do you need some kind of validation that the money was worth it?” Lio asked, propping his elbow on the back of the couch and resting his head against his hand as he watched Kray. Even here in the confines of his own home, he was good at keeping his image up. He had barely shown any frustration or annoyance at Lio at all, which was honestly more unnerving than if he had just snapped the minute he got him inside and locked the door. Lio knew what he was like, was waiting for it, preparing.
“Hardly.” Kray was watching him. It made the hairs on the back of Lio’s neck stand, a little, as if he wasn't wearing his jacket and his hoodie, still. “So, Elliot ,” he enunciated the name clearly, giving Lio a pointed look. “Why don’t you tell me why you came here tonight?”
“I was just out for a stroll and saw the door open. Thought it might be nice to get out of the chill for a while.”
“There’s no need to be childish,” There was a hint of frustration, just a hint of it, but still wrapped up in that perfectly polished public image.
“It’s not being childish, its being obstinate. Besides, you’re the one hiding behind a mask,” Lio retorted. He knew it was probably foolish to egg him on like this, but he was curious. He had made it this far and if he was stuck here, he might as well try to bait him. What was Kray going to do? It still wasn’t going to be in Kray’s best interests to kill him. Having a body on his hands would be messy, no matter how rich he was.
“You really want to push your luck don’t you?” Kray asked. He drank another sip of his whiskey and leaned forward, sat his glass of whiskey on the coffee table. He shifted closer, and Lio let him. Watched as Kray placed his hand on Lio’s leg, just above his knee. Even through the denim, his hand felt scalding, was big enough to span the width of Lio’s thigh. “Is this the kind of man you think I am?” He was close enough that Lio could smell the whiskey on his breath.
“I know about you. I know exactly what kind of man you are.” He didn’t flinch at the touch, didn’t budge an inch. He wasn’t going to give Kray the pleasure of thinking he was bothered, even though his heart was speeding up, pounding against his chest.
Kray slid his hand up Lio’s thigh, the touch was heavy handed, firm, Lio was about to reach up and bat him away, and then Kray pulled back, as suddenly as he had reached in.
“Think whatever you like about me. I’m only fucking you if you ask for it.”
Lio couldn’t help his reaction, bursting out into laughter, nearly spilling his drink as he leaned forward with the force of it, “That’s rich , you really think I would ever ?” He asked through the laughter, the idea was absurd .
But then, that smug look was back on that perfect, punchable face. Something in Lio’s stomach sunk.
“It’s one option, out of two. You could ask me, nicely, to fuck you. Or the off-duty detectives sitting in a car on the street will be notified of the break in.”
Off-duty. He had only checked to make sure there were no active patrol cars parked in the area, had even diverted the one that was a little too close for comfort. It had been simple.
“Remember what I said about getting out of here? If I’m arrested everything I know about you is released.”
Kray picked his glass up again. He made a show of considering it carefully, tipping it back and finishing the rest. “And you have to consider, that not releasing the information would give the authorities less evidence and less reason to look into you more closely. And if you did decide not to comply . . . A lot can happen between here and the police station. I wonder how much it would take to make you break.”
“You’re bluffing,” Lio said, knowing full well that he wasn’t. Kray had deep ties, and even deeper pockets. It likely would have been nothing to quietly have some of those connections make a call, ask for a favor. Pay an untold sum of money to have them sit and wait on Kray, hand and foot. Maybe a little extra favor for some more . . . creative methods of ensuring someone’s cooperation. Until Kray opened that door, or Lio was able to get him incapacitated somehow, he was at his mercy.
“I told you not to be childish.” Kray replied, pulling his cellphone out of his pants pocket. He unlocked it, tapped away at some passwords, and pulled up a video monitor of the street outside. Lio could recognize the sign from the front of Kray’s building in the feed, a black SUV, sitting across the street. Kray zoomed in so that Lio could clearly see two men in the front seats. The feed was blurry, but the tactical vests they were wearing were obvious.
“Say I did take option one, what’s to stop you from calling them right after anyway?”
“What was it you said before? Ah, that’s right. Honor among thieves.”
Lio wanted to curse under his breath, lash out, hit Kray, do something . He was trapped in this stupid situation because of his own carelessness. Somewhere along the way he had gotten sloppy, too invested to carefully cover up his tracks. That he only had an idea of what had happened, and didn’t know exactly, told him that much. Fuck Kray Foresight .
Lio downed the rest of his whiskey like a shot, briefly wished there was more. He considered throwing the glass at the wall of windows across from them, but settled for the satisfying clunk of slamming it onto the glass table as he swung his legs off of it and stood up. He enjoyed the brief moment where he towered over Kray, before he climbed over him, straddled him and sunk onto his lap. The moment stretched on, Kray looked so fucking pleased with himself. Lio wanted to wipe the expression off his face.
“Fine.” Lio said, practically spitting out the word, jaw set. Kray could do what he wanted, but Lio was going to get out of here, alive and free. He would get everything he needed together, get the hell out of the country, and then he was going to ruin Kray Foresight’s life. So what if a little sex stood in his way? Lio would play along until he could get out of here.
“I told you, Elliot , you’re going to have to ask me nicely.” Kray’s smile was insidious. What reaction did he expect from this? Lio wasn’t going to get teary eyed for him, he knew what he was getting into.
“Won’t you please fuck me?” He asked, mockingly, glaring at Kray, bitterly, as he did.
“That will have to be a good enough start for now.” Now, he moved to touch Lio, both hands reaching around to grab his ass, to keep Lio firmly planted on his lap. His hands completely covered him, and absolutely nothing stirred up in Lio because of that, “Why don’t you go ahead and take off that jacket and your sweater?”
Lio huffed, shrugged off his jacket, and dropped it on the floor, the buckles clanging together as it fell. He stripped the hoodie off, threw it down too. He stopped there, left in just the nondescript black t-shirt he had been wearing underneath it. He wasn’t going to go above and beyond to make this easy for Kray, and he wasn’t going to give him a show.
“The shirt too.” Lio rolled his eyes and took it off, watched as Kray’s eyes raked over him, stalled on the tattoo of neon flames on his arm, the curl of a dragon tale that peeked around his ribs. It wasn’t like he had really thought he’d be able to stay mostly clothed, but he loathed the way it was clear Kray was memorizing, categorizing the identifying marks. One more thing that could be used against Lio.
“A shame,” Kray muttered, tracing one finger over the ink on his ribs, watching his own hand as he settled it on Lio’s hip.
“I’m sorry my personal choices offend you.” Lio said sarcastically, “Are you going to draw this out all night, or are you going to get on with it and fuck me?”
“I didn’t realize you were so eager to have me inside you.” It was utterly jarring to hear Kray keep on speaking like that. All of his soundbytes were scrubbed so clean, he usually packaged himself like a family man, even. Yet, here he was.
“Fuck you. I only want this over with.” And the sooner, the better.
“Unfortunately for you, I plan on taking my time with you.” Because of course he wanted to drag it on, make it even more humiliating. He should feel lucky Lio had even managed to fuck up enough to give him this chance, it wasn’t like Kray had orchestrated anything here. He had just gotten lucky. “Stand up, turn around. I’d like to see you.”
Lio did as Kray said, he felt ridiculous. Like some kind of toy that Kray wanted to thoroughly inspect. Kray leaned forward, again, traced the outline of the dragon that curled down his back and across his side. It was colored in bright purples, pinks and teals, it matched the flame on his arm. This one was a little older, the colors a little more faded. He had been meaning to take some time to get them touched up soon, but it was quality work--he knew it was still bright, probably looked garrish to Kray’s . . . pristine tastes. The touch was light enough to send a shiver down Lio’s spine, it left him feeling exposed, vulnerable, to have his back to Kray like this. He crossed his arms put on a show of being exasperated.
“What? You don’t seem like the type to dislike being admired,” Kray hadn’t stopped touching him, kept a hand on his hip as he stood up, towering over Lio, an imposing presence against his back. Lio watched his face through the distorted reflection on the windows. Kray touched him casually, tipped Lio’s head back by his chin. His hand covered his throat. Lio supposed that should be frightening.
“I’d rather not have your eyes on me at all.” He said, uncomfortably aware of the solid wall of Kray’s body pressed against his back.
“You’ll get used to it,” Kray said. It sounded like a warning and a threat all rolled into one. “Come with me.” It wasn’t as if Lio had a choice, because Kray’s hand moved from his throat to the small of his back, guiding him away from the couch and towards the stairs.
The bedroom was practically spartan and, much like the rest of his home, looked barely lived in. The room was mostly open, another wall of windows giving a good eye onto the city below. The precisely made bed was massive, separated from the rest of the room by a dividing column that housed a fireplace that flickered on when they entered the room. On the other side there was a sitting area that looked particularly unused--a sleek white leather couch that matched the one downstairs and a few chairs. It was all sterile, slightly varying shades of white and light gray.
Kray didn’t stop them until they were close to the bed, finally took his hand from Lio’s back, “You can go ahead and finish undressing, now.” He said, as if he wasn’t basically ordering Lio around.
“What are you going to do, keep your clothes on the whole time?” Lio asked, bending down to start undoing the buckles and laces on his boots.
“Are you that eager to see me undressed?”
“Hardly,” Lio replied dryly, stepping out of one boot and starting to work on the other. This entire situation was starting to feel comical. He was taking his boots off in Kray Foresight’s bedroom, while Kray stared at his ass. He kicked off the second boot when he was done unlacing it, inelegant, stripping off his socks and leaving everything on the floor where it landed. He really was not going to put on a show. If that’s what Kray wanted, he was going to have to make him.
When he stood back up to undo his jeans, he saw Kray was, in fact, working on undressing himself. Undoing the cuffs on his shirt sleeves, then going down the line of buttons on his shirt. Lio watched from the corner of his eye, pushing his jeans down off his hips and stepping out of them, as Kray stripped his shirt off, idly draping it over the bench at the foot of the bed.
Lio had seen enough pictures of Kray to know that he had, quite frankly, ridiculous proportions. Wide shoulders, a deep chest, a comparatively small waist. It was something else to see him in person, with his shirt off, undoing his pants. Kray wasn’t Lio’s type, at all, but that wasn’t to say he couldn’t see the appeal in it. He had certainly been acutely aware, this entire time, that Kray could easily throw him around. Definitely, a certain type of appeal. If the man wasn’t evil personified, anyway. Everything Lio knew about him was overlaid over any of the visuals that he might have been able to appreciate in any other circumstance.
“No need to be shy, you might as well take those off to,” Kray said, looking pointedly at the black boxer-briefs Lio was still wearing.
Lio glared, staring intently at Kray as he shoved them off and tossed them into the pile with his other things. “Happy now?” He asked, trying not to feel as exposed as he did, standing nude in front of Kray Foresight, in his bedroom.
But that was the thing--he did feel exposed. Lio wore his clothes and layers like armor, and now they were spread across Kray’s floor and couldn’t help him. Even an outfit as relatively low key as the one had been wearing tonight was enough to help him feel put together, in control of himself and everything around him. Now there was nothing to protect him from Kray, from Kray’s eyes raking over his body as he finished undressing himself, perfunctory and neatly laying his clothes in contrast to Lio’s haphazard disposal.
And then Kray was undressed too, and, for a moment, it felt like an entirely different type of stand off. There was hardly anything erotic about it, the tension was so thick. And then, something in Lio’s self control snapped and he finally let himself really look at Kray. The swell of his pecs, the planes of his stomach, leading down to his cock. Something like nervous anticipation made Lio’s stomach tighten, a brief thought, there was no way Kray was even going to be able to fit that inside of him. Lio snapped his eyes back up, looking away and refusing to acknowledge the amusement in Kray’s eyes.
“Why don’t you lay down, and make yourself comfortable.” Kray said, phrasing it like a question but speaking it like an order. Lio felt dwarfed by the size of the bed too, and somehow it wasn’t sitting on Kray’s lap, or stripping down in front of him, but it was lying down on his bed and propping himself up against his pillows that made it really sink in. He was about to let Kray Foresight fuck him. None of this was some twisted nightmare, it was real and it was happening, and he had made this choice and he could only hope that it really was his best option, to lay there and watch as Kray pulled out a bottle of lube and a condom.
The bed hardly sank under Kray’s weight when he sat down, running a hand down Lio’s thigh. This wasn’t like the light touches downstairs, Kray wasn’t trying to unnerve him anymore, and if he was trying to get under his skin it was in an entirely different way. Kray moving him how he wanted, urging Lio to spread his thighs apart with a firm, steady pressure. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been aware of how much larger than him Kray was at every turn, but like this he felt positively small, dwarfed by the bed and by Kray.
“Get on with it, already.” He was starting to feel antsy, like this. Something uneasy shifting in his belly, his heart skittering along faster as Kray loomed over him.
“I already told you, I’m going to be taking my time with you,” Kray said, as if it were a gentle reminder, “You might as well relax, then you might actually be able to enjoy it as I take you apart.” It sounded like a threat and a promise, rolled into one, in Kray’s too-calm voice.
“As if you possibly could,” Lio couldn’t stop himself, something about Kray brought out the absolute worst in him. He knew that he shouldn’t purposefully trying to egg him on, but it was worth it for the momentary twitch in Kray’s expression.
He didn’t say anything though, didn’t rise up to Lio’s bait. Instead, Kray just touched him, running his hand along Lio’s thigh, over his hip. He was touching Lio like he was trying to map out his body. Kray wasn’t hesitant, but his touch was light, barely any pressure. A ghost of a feeling, enough to make Lio get goosebumps, have him feeling on edge and off kilter as Kray touched him. Lio hardly wanted to reciprocate, didn’t want to touch Kray more than he had to, but the result had him feeling pinned down, on display for Kray to look at him and do whatever he liked.
“Starting to feel sensitive?” Kray asked in response to Lio’s twitch as he brushed a thumb over his nipple.
“Fuck off,” Lio huffed, trying to act like he wasn’t. He certainly wasn’t going to admit that he was starting to feel sensitive, with Kray looming over him, covering him with his hands. Just the right amount of not-enough pressure to make Lio want more, an edge of frustration that Kray was insistent on taking this so slow, drawing it out for the sole purpose of humiliating Lio even more.
“You’re easier than I thought you’d be,” Kray said, idly, hand lingering, lightly pinching, still enough to make Lio fight the urge to squirm under him. He was watching Lio’s, watching his face, that first creeping hint of a flush starting to bloom across his cheeks. Lio looked away, he didn’t want to meet that steady, intent gaze.
Lio had something ready to say, he did, but it was cut off by a gasp as Kray leaned in, and took his other nipple in his mouth, running his tongue over it. There was the delicate pressure of teeth, not enough to hurt, but enough to have Lio arching into for half a moment before he stopped himself. Kray took it as a challenge, used more teeth, more tongue until, until Lio’s breath was coming out in a stuttering gasp. It wasn’t enough for him though, he moved to the other side, giving it the same attention at first, until the sharp bite of his teeth had Lio arching sharply up against him, trying to bite back a strangled moan, finally pushing his hands up to touch Kray, not sure whether he was trying to push him away or pull him in closer.
Kray didn’t pull away from him, but dragged his lips up along Lio’s throat. His mouth felt hot like a brand against Lio’s skin, lips over his chest, shoulder, throat. He bit down, worrying flesh between teeth, and Lio dug his fingers into Kray’s shoulders, into thick muscle. Lio didn’t want to think about the bruise that was going to blossom across his throat tomorrow, a reminder.
“That’s better,” Kray said, smiling as he pulled back to look at Lio again.
“Just get on with it,” Lio said, trying to sound more put together than he felt. His voice caught once, as Kray pinched nipple one last time before he trailed his hand down to Lio’s belly.
“If you insist.” Kray grabbed the bottle of lube that he had thrown on the bed earlier, uncapped it, spread some over his fingers. Lio’s breath caught as Kray reached down to touch his cock. Kray’s hand covered him perfectly, but his grip was too loose for Lio to really get anything from. He circled his thumb over the head of his cock, smirking as Lio’s hips stuttered into his hand. He was stringing Lio along again, coaxing out reactions and then doubling down on anything that made Lio breathless. A finger teasing along the vein on the underside of Lio’s cock, a tight hand around him. Every time Lio thought he might be able to settle into the pleasure and ride it, Kray would start doing something a little different, it was like whiplash. Kray had settled his free hand on Lio’s hip, only ever applying enough pressure to keep him from pushing up too much. Lio’s skin was starting to feel too tight, he was getting even more frustrated.
“Stop teasing ,” Lio tried to sound exasperated, hated that he knew he didn’t.
“You’re hardly in a position to be giving orders,” Kray’s hand squeezed around him, only just on the side of too tight. Lio couldn’t hold back the sound of mingled pleasure and pain ripped from his throat, couldn’t keep himself from twisting under Kray. “Much better,” His voice was a pleased rumble, voice deeper than it had been before, “Now, isn’t there something you want to ask me?”
It took Lio a moment.
“ No ,” Lio glared at Kray, he didn’t care if he was hard and aching now, if Kray was finding out ways to make him squirm and moan. He wasn’t going to beg Kray to fuck him.
“You’re only make this harder on yourself,” He sounded disappointed, it made grated against Lio’s nerves. Kray pulled his hand away, Lio bit his lower lip to stop the no-doubt embarrassing sound he might have made. “But there is something to be said for getting to chip away at each piece of you, one by one.”
Despite what he said, Lio wondered if Kray’s patience was drawing thin too. He didn’t hesitate to push Lio where he wanted now, pulling his body down the bed and pushing his legs up. Lio huffed but didn’t fight it, if there was any fun in this it was making Kray work, even if it ended up with Lio on his back with Kray between his legs. When Kray touched him this time, though, he moved his hand lower, rubbing one finger over Lio’s hole, not quite pressing in. Kray didn’t give him any space to move, was holding him down with a hand on his hip again. Lio had no room to move, twist his hips, to either get away or get closer. It was maddening .
“Fucking do it already,” Lio hissed, clenching a hand in the sheets.
“You’re supposed to be asking me nicely, but seeing how flustered you are I suppose I can take some pity on you,” Kray pushed in, then, taking his time, still teasing. He was prodding at Lio, trying to make him squirm. Lio held on as long as he could, but Kray found what he was looking for.
Lio couldn’t help the moan that slipped out of his mouth at Kray’s first touch of his prostate, it felt electric. His hips were only kept in place by Kray’s hand on him. Kray didn’t stop though, he kept applying a steady pressure, pressing into him intently. Lio cursed under his breath, wasn’t even conscious of bringing his arm up to cover his face, at first until Kray told him to move it back down, said, “There’s no point in trying to hide your pleasure from me. I told you I was going to take you apart.”
And he was. Lio tried not to sink into the sensation, but it was nearly impossible. Kray was attentive and focused on him, kept Lio in place as he continued to massage Lio’s prostate. The pleasure built slowly, but Lio couldn’t hide it or hold it back. Kray added another finger, more lube, another finger, but only ever let up on the pressure for a moment. Lio was breathing hard, twisting underneath him, digging his heels into the bed. It was too much, not enough, perfect . The pleasure felt like it might crest at any moment, his cock was leaking pre-cum against his belly, he felt pulled thin, like he might snap.
Then it was gone, and Lio cried out before he could stop himself, trying to drive his hips back to chase the feeling as Kray pulled his hand away. Lio pressed his head back against the pillow, screwed his eyes shut.
“Fuck me,” He said, still catching his breath. His voice sounded raw, even to himself, his heart was hammering in his chest. He knew Kray could keep playing this game, and Lio distantly realized he had lost so long ago. Kray was getting everything he wanted and more, wringing Lio dry. Kray would gladly keep going until there was nothing left, if Lio let him.
“Almost there,” Lio didn’t need to open his eyes, could hear the mockery dripping from Kray’s voice as he petted along Lio’s side.
“Please,” Lio choked out, glad that at least his face couldn’t get any redder from the embarrassment of it. Still, there was no denying, that even as Kray wrenched this out, he did want it. The realization of just how badly he wanted it hit him out of nowhere. It wasn’t just that Kray had been coaxing pleasure out of him for god knows how long, he wanted Kray , covering him, towering over him, stuffing him to the brim.
“Please,” he repeated, “Fuck me.” The words spilled out of his mouth, no trace of the bitterness that he wanted to feel, only desperation.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” The mockery stung at Lio’s pride, but it was too late to do anything about that. Could only wrench open his eyes, blinking, even in the dimmed lights, as he watched Kray grab the condom, open the packet, and put it on. He spread more lube over his cock, before he pulled Lio in by his hips. For a moment, Lio thought he was going to drag it out more, make Lio beg again, but then Kray started to press into him. He kept Lio still, a grip so tight on his hips that Lio was sure there would be bruises tomorrow. Lio wrapped a leg around him, digging the heel of his foot into Kray’s back, urging him in further.
Lio was breathing hard by the time Kray was fully inside him, and while Lio was sure he looked like a mess, Kray still looked nearly perfect. He’d be infuriated if he could focus on anything but how full he felt. Kray didn’t wait long for him to get used to the sensation, but at least started slow as he rocked his hips into Lio.
“Look at you,” Kray said, sounding so pleased with himself. He grabbed Lio’s hand from the sheets, pulling at him until Lio let go, then placed it over Lio’s belly, making him press down, palm flat.
Lio moaned, unbidden. He could feel it, knew, even before he looked down, that he was feeling Kray as he moved inside him. It hardly looked as extreme as it felt, but it was enough to make Lio feel even more raw and open than he already did.
“Where’s that pride of yours now, Elliot? ” Kray asked, punctuating it with a sharp thrust that Lio could feel, inside and out. He pulled his hand away, used it to brace against the headboard instead, ignoring Kray.
“Quit talking and just fuck me,” Lio said, breathless, digging his heel into Kray’s back hard enough to try to urge him on.
For once, Kray took mercy on him, and did just that.
Kray fucked him hard, lifting Lio’s hips off the bed and pressing deep into him. Lio could only take it, letting Kray maneuver him how he wanted. It was overwhelming, Lio could barely even think, couldn’t focus on anything but Kray inside him, his hands on him. Lio felt boneless, was defenseless.
And then Kray was leaned in, the angle of their hips shifted and Lio couldn’t stop the wretched sound ripped from his throat. Kray covered him, completely, pressed their mouths together. It could hardly be called a kiss, it was an extension of Kray’s power over him, too much teeth and tongue, swallowing every sound Lio made. Lio could only hold onto him, it was too much, building up inside him, with each snap of Kray’s hips against his own.
Lio started to reach down, to wrap a hand around himself, bur Kray knocked it away, pinned his wrist against the bed, “You come from this, or not at all.” His voice sounded so different, the most out of control it had been the whole night. Lio shuddered, pressed his hips back. Kray drove into him hard, again.
Lio didn’t expect to come from that alone, had never come just from being fucked, but it hit him hard, like a bolt of lightning. He shuddered under Kray, tightening around him, digging his nails into his back where he had been holding onto him. Kray swallowed his moan, kept fucking him through it. At first it was delicious, kept him riding the wave of pleasure, but as Kray kept going it was just too much. Lio clawed at him, thrashed under him, but Kray kept him pinned down, chasing his own pleasure, until he came, his hips finally stuttering and coming to a stop.
For a long moment, he continued to loom over Lio, pressed inside him. Lio’s heart was still pounding in his chest, he was still breathing hard, both of them covered in sweat. Lio moaned weakly as Kray pulled out, body clenching around nothing. It was just the sound of their breathing, until Kray moved back, pulled off the condom, and tied it off. He walked off, wordless.
Lio didn’t have much time to enjoy the afterglow, as each piece of what he had done and what he felt slotted into cruel, terrible place. He felt weak as he sat up.
“There’s no need to leave. If you want more you could stay,” Kray was silhouetted by the light from the bathroom, as he came back into the bedroom. He handed Lio a washcloth, as if it were nothing. Lio’s head was spinning as he wiped his own cum off his stomach.
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” Lio refused to acknowledge the state of his voice, channeled all the bite that he could into it, “Open the goddamn door for me so I can go.” If his legs were shaking when he got off the bed, Kray didn’t say anything about it.
“Is that what you really want?”
“Yes,” Lio snapped, grabbing his discarded underwear and jeans to yank them on, putting on his socks and boots with a practiced haste.
“Suit yourself.” Kray didn’t seem bothered one way or another, grabbed his phone from the pocket of his pants and sat back on his bed, watching Lio idly as he slid through screens. A moment later, “It’s open. And don’t worry, the detectives are gone. I’m a man of my word.”
“Show me.” Lio said, because he didn’t believe Kray for a moment. Kray seemed to expect it, showed him the same display as earlier, zoomed out so he could see all the cars parked in front of the building.
“I trust you’ll be keeping up your part of the bargain as well. What did we agree on, ‘honor among thieves?’” Kray wasn’t even looking at him anymore, was doing something else on his phone.
“Yeah. Something like that,” Lio said, not bothering with anything else as he turned his back on Kray, “I’ll show myself out.”
“Please do,” Kray said simply, “Don’t worry, I’ll lock the door behind you.”
Lio didn’t bother sticking around, made his way down the hall and down the stairs. Kray must know how badly he wanted to be out of there. If it wasn’t entirely likely that what Lio had originally come for was in Kray’s bedroom or in the office next to it, he might have stuck around to look for it, at least in theory. Now, all he could focus on was grabbing the rest of his clothes, and tugging them on, wrapping back-up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.
When he approached the door, for a moment, his heart pounded. But when he turned the handle, it opened, and there was no one on the other side. Lio knew it would still be safer to take the stairs, go out the back way, take the alleys, but he didn’t trust his legs. He took the elevator, and when he walked out, there was still no one there. The video feed Kray had shown him had been accurate. Lio didn’t relax, peering over his shoulder, until he made his way to his bike, chained up a few blocks away.
From there, it was autopilot. The way home, the way into his apartment. He grabbed a beer from the fridge, and took it with him into the shower, drank half of it and forgot it while he scrubbed off the layers of dried sweat, washed his hair, then leaned against the wall, under the hot spray until his skin was bright red, at first from the heat, and then from the cold.
Lio would deal with the fall out in the morning. He needed one of his fake passports, he’d have to get a plane ticket, make arrangements. For now, he just threw on a shirt, laid down his bed, trying his damndest to ignore every ache and throb, the lingering feeling of Kray’s hands on him, around him, of Kray inside him. By the time he finally drifted off, the sun was glaring against the outside edges of the blackout curtains in his room, slivers of light peeking in.
--
Lio didn’t wake up until mid-day. He might have slept longer, but for the insistent sound of a buzzing. It had him jolting awake, grabbing his computer to check the camera outside.
It was just a delivery person, but with a very large package. Lio groaned, he could have slept a little more before getting ready for the clusterfuck the day was going to bring him.
“Wrong apartment. I”m not expecting anything.” He said into the buzzer.
“No, I’m sure this is for you. I was told you weren’t expecting it. Elliot, right?”
Lio’s heart was pounding. What the actual fuck . There was no way--he had seen everything Kray had done the whole time, he couldn’t have put a tracker on him or in any of his things. Had he been followed? Lio was careful, but . . . he hadn’t exactly been thinking straight, by then, had he?
“Leave it by the door, I’ll be right down.”
Against his better judgement, Lio didn’t just take the fire escape and leave for good, right then and there. He put on some sweatpants and went through the hall to the front door, opening it up and peering out carefully before he dragged it in, and back to his apartment.
He probably shouldn’t be taking this in. It was probably some kind of trap. But he had already made enough bad decisions in the last 24 hours (and then some), so surely one more wouldn’t kill him.
He grabbed a knife, tore into the box. Inside was a piece of luggage, solid black, hardcase, with thick black straps, gunmetal buckles. Analog locks on the side. It looked expensive, felt expensive. Lio swallowed and undid the buckles and the zipper around it and opened it up.
The only thing inside the case was a plain black leather passport protector, an airline voucher sticking out from the top of it. Lio picked it up, opening it up. There was a note inside, clean handwritten lines.
‘Elliot, In case you were thinking about running, I thought I could make it easier on you - K.F.’
Lio sat back on the floor, staring at the note, for a long time, until his head cleared some. He had fucked Kray Foresight. Kray knew where he lived. Was still taunting him, even now. He had gone to bed, sure that he had a plan for how to approach today.
Now? He wasn’t quite so sure. He needed longer to think. Needed longer to figure out what he was going to do next, how to go from here. But he knew one thing.
Lio Fotia was going to destroy Kray Foresight.