Nothing Special V (Nothing Special 5)

“You’ll have to forgive me, handsome. I have a bit of a fragrance fetish. You smell like…” Blair inched even closer, his nose practically on Tech’s ear. “Clean… the brand. Amber Saffron… no, no, that’s Blonde Rose, right?”

“Right,” Tech said, sounding fascinated.

“It’s one of my favorites. You’re a man of good taste, Mr. Tech, but the scent is mixed with something a little spicier. A natural scent, which I’m picking up a little further down.” Blair finally leaned away and rubbed his hand down his jacket lapel, returning his attention to Day.

“I see you’re still smelling men and making them extremely uncomfortable,” God mumbled at Blair.

“Never made you uncomfortable, God,” Blair said seductively, raising a brow. “It’s okay to be honest.”

Day remembered Blair practically crawling up God’s body once to smell him at the base of his neck. Stating God’s potent, dominating scent was a testament to his strength. God called Blair an out of control sex fiend, which only earned him a disgruntled look from Blair’s other lover, Ric. God just couldn’t understand how Pres trusted that hot minx, and Day had to agree. He didn’t think he could have a lover that flirted with any and everyone he came into contact with. Maybe it was from Blair’s days as an escort, where he’d learned how to pull a sensual reaction from whomever he encountered, including their team. Even Steele was awestruck by the man.

Day pulled up another chair beside God’s. “Your nose is even sharper than it was a few months ago, Blair. I think that’s the last time I saw you.”

“Not as good as Pres’ nose, but I’m working on it. Being in a room full of strong, good-smelling men is making me—”

“Blair,” Ric barked, his deep voice cutting off what his sexy partner was about to say. “Let’s stay focused.”

Blair didn’t look reprimanded; he looked excited at having pulled such a strong reaction from his bigger partner. He brought his loafer up and propped it on his right knee, and let Pres continue with the details.

“Three weeks ago, we came home from a charity benefit to find someone had shoved a threatening note under our door. I put it in a folder and gave it to my manager, just in case anything came of it. It was the first of many. I get two or three a day.”

“What do they usually say?” Steele asked.

Day was happy that Steele was here now. He was experienced in personal security and isolated threats. His expertise would be critical for this.

“Just that I’m a deviant, a has-been. In a nutshell, they always go on about a rerun that recently aired or a restaurant I did a write up for. Everything from I’m illiterate to I can’t cook. It was all so damn elementary. I concluded it was some deranged fan, but most likely a homophobic, backwater hillbilly who thinks it’s his responsibility to harass gay people,” Pres gritted out, rolling his eyes at the absurdity in this day and age.

Pres was getting angry and Ric rubbed a large palm over Pres’ back, silently encouraging him to keep going.

“Then, we came home from dinner at Blair’s restaurant to find that someone had jacked off on a pile of my clothes that they’d dumped out of my dresser.”

“You said ‘they’,” Syn interjected.

“Well, I don’t know how many there actually were, or if that event is even connected. But the guy poured bleach on it, so the lab wasn’t able to get an identity from it.” Pres wiped his hand over his mouth like recounting the act made him sick to his stomach. “We have a state of the art security system and cameras inside and out, but all of it was disabled somehow, and the security company can’t figure it out.”

Day saw Tech get up and retrieve his laptop and squeeze back in between Blair and Steele. “What’s your address, please?”

Blair whispered it to Tech while Pres kept going.

“I have the same system in my Atlanta condo as in my Virginia home. Somehow, this man got in last night. I never even heard him inside my home, Leo. Blair and I were making love. Ric was at the gym. If he hadn’t come home when he did.” Pres rung his hands together, the fear of someone wanting to hurt him, or heaven forbid, one of his partners, was aging his friend right before his eyes.

“Why didn’t you call me earlier?” Day bristled. “This has been going on for weeks, Pres.

“Up until last night, it’s been a lot of talk, notes and one act of disgust. I called the police but they—”

“How come the shooting wasn’t on the news?” Ruxs interjected.

“My publicist is keeping it quiet for now. Not wanting to flush out any copy cats.”

“Smart,” Ruxs added.

“I’m sorry, Leo. You have your work here, and I know your job is already so demanding, I didn’t want to add to it. And then your wedding’s right around the corner. I didn’t want to impose.” Pres shook his head, frustration all over his face. “I was hoping the special victims unit in our police department could handle the notes, but their delay is frightening. They’ve put several detectives on the case and I was thankful that they’ve considered my situation a priority, so I hate to say this, but they move too slowly. I’m sure they are doing all they can, but they’ve yet to give us any definitive answers.”