Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 00:02:28 +0800
From: paul sung <psun@hotmail.com>
Subject: New Year 9

DISCLAIMER
==========
This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is
entirely coincidental. The author asserts all legal and moral rights
(copyright (c) 2004 - psun@hotmail.com) to this work and you may not
copy it or transmit it in any way except in its entirety and with this
disclaimer. This story features descriptions of sex between males:

- if such material is prohibited in your jurisdiction, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you're under the legal age to read such material, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you don't like, or are offended by such material, please DO NOT READ ON.

And any comments - brickbats or bouquets, send them over to
psun@hotmail.com And if you find that you like what you're reading, visit
my page at http://www.geocities.com/savante_2002


Standing in front of the coffeeshop, John shook his head. "God, the place
is still as dirty as it always is. Tell me again why we still come here."

"Suck it up, John. You love it all the same." Giving him a strong nudge,
I laughed. There was no disputing the truth. God, Sutton Burbridge would
have hated this as much as my own mother would have. That was at least
something they had in common. As my cousins and I found our seats in the
crowded coffeeshop, I could just imagine what my father would say to
this. One of the things he'd always disliked about the country was the
proliferation of eating stalls by the most peculiar, unhygienic places.
Luckily enough, I didn't share his finicky rich-boy tastes.

It was a place our grandmother used to bring us for late morning
breakfasts on the occasional weekend, a dingy little corner shophouse in
the centre of the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. Crisscrossing narrow,
busy streets full of honking cars and zigzagging motorcyclists, she'd
navigate her way through the mind-boggling maze armed with an umbrella to
ward off the rain and the occasional snatch thief to a nondescript
shophouse - that incidentally sold the most divine beef noodles in town.
The cleanliness of the place was questionable at best, the food could be
counted on to be liberally coated with a fine coating of dust and smog
from the streets and the service was truly appalling.

Yet as a point of nostalgia, we - obviously meaning the motley crew of my
cousins and I - occasionally still met up at the same place. Oh yeah, and
it still served the most divine beef noodles, despite its shortcomings.
And I can personally attest to the fact that not once have I - nor anyone
that I knew - suffered from food poisoning after eating here.

It was painfully obvious to me by then why there had been such an urgent
renewal of family ties. All of us were here after all, well, all of us
still in the city except for Jackie, who'd rather be caught dead than
attend such a lame meet and Joseph who'd rather hole up in his dreary
studio than socialize. It had been obvious to me since Joey had pulled me
aside on the sidewalk moments ago with the news that there was a rumour
going around the office that John had met someone. For anyone else in the
family, it wouldn't have been that big an issue since we did have
relatives to spare. But not only was John the eldest and the golden boy
of the family, he was also the heir to a considerable chunk of the family
fortune - and frankly, he was also the one no one expected to fall
heedlessly in love with anyone. Least of all me.

No one loved a juicy bit of gossip more than my cousin Joey and we'd
spent half our lives bitching about some other member in the family.
Relishing her latest tidbit, an excited Joey had started expounding on
the identity of the alleged lover, not realizing of course that she was
speaking to the person in question. When questioned on her sources, she
pleaded the fifth and remained mum however and I racked my brains trying
to find out who could possibly have spilled the beans on our
relationship. Although he could be quite the talkative fellow, Jonathan
would have learnt to keep his mouth shut if he didn't want to be dragged
over hot coals by his brother. Dev didn't know Joey well enough to speak
about this even if he'd wanted to.

I wasn't worried that someone would discover my own sexual inclinations
since they'd probably take it in stride since it was expected. James
bungee-jumped, James got arrested for drunk driving, James embezzled
money from the company, James decided to try on men. Then again, James
liked bucking the rules and shocking everyone so what else was new? But
John. Damn, the guy who'd never even skipped class. The guy who had two
alarm clocks in his room so that he would never be late. The guy who
arranged his shirts and ties in the closet according to colour and print.
As I tried to reach over to give some warning to him, he waved my hands
off his thighs and gave me a brief warning look.

Anything I could have said had to be postponed when the waiter came over
to take the orders. Already a pro with the specialties here - and our
individual preferences, Joey quickly rattled off our choices. Right after
the waiter hurried away, after picking up our order in his typical
brusque, almost rude manner, my cousins started their interrogation.

As usual, Joey started off with the first volley. "Now, John, you aren't
going to weasel out of this."

Ever the older brother, John Sung was counting out the chopsticks and
spoons and handing them out along with the folded paper napkins. At her
question, he glanced up absentmindedly. "Weasel out of what?"

"We have been hearing rumours about you."

One little question like that had our tough little businessman looking
like he'd been bodyslammed. "What? What kind of rumours?"

"Really raunchy ones," Joey smacked her lips emphatically. She had great
lips, quite inventive ones too as I should know. "I never expected it of
you, John, but they always say still waters run deep."

"You're crazy." Keeping his gaze steady on hers, he spoke slowly although
his dark face started turning red. "I-I don't know what you're talking
about.."

Odd thing about my man. You can tease John about anything and the man
will have a frosty, sarcastic zinger at the ready but just add in a whiff
of sex and the man falls to pieces like a virginal schoolgirl. It
continued to amaze me since the insatiable tiger that ravaged me in the
bedroom certainly didn't mince any words when it came to what he wanted
in sex. That man certainly wasn't a prude. My own version of Mr Jekyll
and Hyde with a sex twist.

"You sure I've got it wrong?" Pleased that the information given her
hadn't misled her, Joey smiled like the cat that got the cream. "You're
blushing, Johnny. Did I embarass you?"

There was an odd, almost pained expression on his face and I could just
imagine what he was thinking. Undoubtedly torn between throttling Joey -
and hiding his head beneath the rickety table. Finally taking pity on the
blubbering man, I laughed. "Joey, come on. That's enough." Getting some
reprieve, John turned to me with a grateful look but after a brief
moment, that look turned to frank suspicion.

Annoyed at the interruption, Joey swatted at me with a paper napkin.
"Gimme a break, James, we only get this chance once in a lifetime. He's
already got so much dirt on me, I really need some ammunition of my own."

To my surprise, even quiet Julianna waded into the fray. "I think she's
right, James. I so rarely hear of big brother's relationships."

"Julianna." From across the table, John eyed his younger sister
warningly.

Normally, Julianna Sung would never back down from anyone, or anything
but one pointed look from her brother had her compliant as a puppy.
Hoping it was family loyalty and love rather than cowed obedience, I
smiled quietly to myself. Unfortunately, Joey wasn't as easily convinced.

"Oh, don't you turn your wicked eyes on poor Ju." Leaping to the defense
of her cousin, Joey directed the attention back to her. "Oh, come on,
John, don't hide it. Tell all your woes to Mama Joey, pretty please. You
know I'll hound you till forever. Tell me which lucky girl has you
dreaming up sexy wet dreams for lunch."

"You're a persistent lil..." Hoping to placate her, John clumsily fell
into her trap. "Look, Joey, it's no one you know."

"Ah, there is someone."

"And that's all you'll get." he answered flatly. "Go bug Joseph."

He was of course talking about Joseph Ikoma. He was also sort of our
cousin, by way of my fourth aunt who'd decided to go Japanese at the last
moment and rather than stick to plain sushi and sake, she went all the
way and got herself hitched to a Japanese businessman. The news had
almost killed my Grand Aunt, who had never forgotten the War, as she
called it. Then again, fourth aunt always had unique taste.. and her
union with Uncle Ikoma had produced something irresistible in Joseph. He
was the tortured artist in the family, with his own little gallery in
town, and looked the part. The shock of unkempt black hair, the slash of
high cheekbones, the surly, slitted dark eyes, the unshaven jaw, the
sudden charm of his rarely seen smile. I saw no reason to let John know
that I'd always thought that Joseph was absolutely delicious in his own
grumpy, bad-tempered way.

Of course we all knew that Joey would never dare bug him, unless she had
a serious death wish. Everyone in the family knew that Joseph had the
temper of an enraged water buffalo when roused, especially when bugged at
work. I could swear I once saw him chew on paper to keep his temper in
check. Insane, unsociable bastard but we all loved him. Despite his
striking looks, he was still single and all of us had our theories about
that. The most popular rumour going about had it that Joseph had suffered
a broken heart but personally, I think Joseph just plain liked being
alone.

Joey still wasn't through with pestering him for information. "Come on..
is she pretty?"

That got a wicked little grin out of John and his dark eyes slid slowly
to me. "Yeah, she is really pretty. Long, thick eyelashes. Really great
hair. Amazing legs."

I had to fight the sudden urge to check out my own legs. Sure, I knew
they looked great but it was nice to have it confirmed by John. The hours
at the gym seemed to have paid off in spades.

"She sounds lovely," Julianna said encouragingly. "When did you guys
meet?"

"That's all you'll get from me."

There was a cold finality in his voice even Joey understood. Leaning
across the table, she pinched his cheek again. "You are a spoilsport,
John, but I'm glad for you."

Pleased that she had evidently given up, John smiled and managed to
forgive the pinch she'd given him. "So, is the interrogation over? Or do
you want a blood sample?"

"A semen sample would be good."

That seemed to be pushing it a little too far. I rested my hand on hers
and squeezed hard. "Joey."

Although she grinned unabashedly at me, her look was far from approving.
"Staying with John is turning you into a model citizen. I don't know if
I'm entirely pleased with that."

Looking up, John rose to the challenge with a sly grin. "Don't worry. I
might have picked up a few things from James too."


Braving the sweltering heat and the relentless crowd, the two girls
wandered off to Petaling Street in search of the perfect baby T-shirt
while John and I dawdled behind them. After a lecture from his sister for
about ten minutes, John finally gave in to peer pressure and put in a
call to his assistant. It was evidently easy to goof off when you were
the boss and the ever efficient Grace was frankly over the moon that her
workaholic boss was finally taking a day off.

Work was far from John's troubled mind however as he leaned over to voice
his thoughts. "That was a close call."

"You've got that right," I replied, nodding in agreement. A couple of
Malay kids skid by on snazzy skateboards and I wondered whether I should
get one but dismissed the notion. Not only would I look a damned fool at
my age but I could just imagine John's horror at the thought. Before, the
thought of John's reaction would have spurred me on but now I held back.
At our behest, he had discarded the tie and jacket he wore but with his
horn-rimmed glasses and that serious, slicked back hairstyle, he still
looked like the damned conservative businessman. Damnably hot, the kinda
buttoned-down hunk you just know has a sexy beast waiting to be
unleashed.

Saint John in a suit on a skateboard. The impossibly zany idea appealed
to my sense of ridiculous and I gave the boards a look of speculation.
What would it take to get the man on a board?

Oblivious to the wicked scheme I was planning, the man in question
continued in his train of thought. "Any idea how the hell Joey got such
an idea?"

It was the question that had been nagging me the whole morning and I
still hadn't found a sufficiently logical explanation. Shoving my hands
into my back pockets, I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. "Who the hell
knows. She refused to tell. Pleaded the fifth and all that."

"Joey couldn't have thought it out all by herself, could she?" John
started sputtering. "But I haven't shown .. I haven't changed.. What
signs.."

As he struggled through his explanations, I looked at him with a smile.
"You know, I think you might have mellowed down a little, old man."

"Fuck you." The tips of his ears turned an adorable shade of red as he
turned his gaze away. "Do you think she believed the lie I told?"

I doubt anyone in the family would ever question Zhan Zhao's integrity
since he almost never lied. Aiming a teasing look at him, I said to him.
"I think I half-believed it myself. Who's the long-legged slut you're
sleeping with? Should I be jealous?"

"You are not funny." He aimed one of his cool glances at me and I smiled.
"She doesn't know about us then?"

"I don't think so, John. I doubt she'd believe it if she had caught us
necking in your office." I sincerely believed that. Even I found it a
little hard to swallow when I first caught him ogling a particularly
delectable six foot piece of man meat online. Hard enough to imagine
serious, saintly John as a sexual being but a raving homosexual with
sexual urges? It was as mind-boggling as finding out that Mother Teresa
had been a closet lesbian with violent sadomasochistic fetishes.

Then again, I had some really obvious bite marks on my ass to prove my
point.

"Well, if she caught me with my tongue in your throat, I bet she'd get a
clue then," he replied in a whisper with a dead-pan look that had me
laughing.

As we strolled down to the bustling bazaar in Petaling Street, he regaled
me with stories of his exploits in the morning - and the tedious work
involved in the opening of a new store. There was a different light that
came into his dark eyes when he spoke of the store and I realized that no
matter how reluctant John had been to involve himself in the family
business, there was no doubt that grandfather had chosen the right
successor. Complain all he might but it was obvious that it would take a
crowbar to pry him away from the store.

A portly old trader yelled out the bargains at his stall and I turned to
look. Rows of colourful printed T-shirts and Bermuda shorts lined the
stall but that wasn't what caught my eye. Reaching out to catch John's
arm, I stopped him to point something out. "Hey, look, cute PJs."

"Stop it," he warned me, his dark eyes narrowing.

I laughed. It was one of his odd idiosyncrasies and I loved to tease him
about it. While James Burbridge, the unabashed hedonist, wore loose
boxers to bed - and on more than one occasion wore absolutely nothing,
John Sung went to sleep in perfectly matched pjyamas, vertical-striped
and buttoned up. Even after jousting in the sheets, the man would find
the time to get up and put on his pyjamas before sleep. A slave of his
own routine. "Dark blue stripes. You'd look really hot in them."

"Shut up." He blushed. "They're just plain old grandfather pyjamas. You
don't have to make fun of it. I know there's nothing particularly
tantalizing about.."

"Trust me, it makes me hot." And oddly enough, it did. Something about
the combination of the innocent, conservative PJs and the hard, tight
body underneath had the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Edging
around to his back, I pressed hard against him, the tumescent rod in my
crotch nudging suggestively against the seat of his pants. "See what I
mean?"

From previous experience, I half-expected him to move away but John
remained stoically in place. His deep voice was unexpectedly tinged with
laughter as he warned me in a low murmur. "You'll get us arrested for
indecent behaviour in public, Mr Burbridge."

"No one can see my erection from here," I whispered back. The afternoon
crowd bustled around us but no one looking would have suspected that the
serious looking businessman was getting a insistent boner nestled against
his well-muscled butt.

"But they can see mine."

Imagining John hard and ready wasn't helping my condition any and I had
to restrain my original impulse to confirm his words. With a defeated
sigh, I drew away and gave him a discreet pat on the butt. "Humping in
Petaling Street. John Sung, you are a man of many surprises."

Turning around, he gave me a gentle shove and laughed, his dark eyes
lighting up in amusement. "Don't even think of doing that again. You're a
bad influence."

When he laughed like that, I could see that he was certainly no clone of
my grandfather. Deep inside the starched-up suit was a wicked sense of
humour that I loved - and a hard-on that was obvious to the discerning
eye. It was at the tip of my tongue to tell him but I changed my mind.
Oddly enough, it was nice to have my man displaying an erection for me.
Companionably, I slid my arm good-naturedly across his shoulders and led
him on. "It's too late for you now. You're in my wicked clutches, Zhan
Zhao."

He remained silent as we strolled by a few more stalls and I did the
same, willing my dick to behave. It was difficult, especially when I
still harboured fantasies of shoving an unsuspecting John into a dark
back alley for a quick, satisfying grope.

"James, have dinner with me tomorrow night."

It was the last thing I expected him to say and I turned to him in
surprise. There was a little smile on his sensuous lips as he looked
sideways at me. "Sure. I've just got to check whether I've still got
enough rice..."

"No," he added a little more forcefully this time. "Have dinner with me."

"Yeah, I know." It struck me as weird since it certainly wasn't the first
time we'd had dinner. Although he occasionally worked late and our
schedules didn't match every time, we still managed to catch a few meals
together in the week.

Nudging me to the sidewalk away from the crowds, he spoke, gesturing as
he did so. "We're going out. I want you dressed for dinner."

"I wasn't thinking of eating nude no matter how much you begged, John."
Seeing the dirty look he gave me, I chuckled softly. "Ooh, there's that
nasty look. Oh, you mean... Anywhere special then?"

"It's a surprise."

A surprise from him was as rare as.. well, him backing me up on my desk
to fuck me. That happened several weeks ago but it was still a surprise
for me. Leaning slightly back, I drummed my hand against my chest. "Whoa.
Excuse me for a sec there while I get over the shock. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just because."

"Last I know, John Sung doesn't do just because," I pointed out.

"I do now." John quirked a shy smile. "Anyway, John Sung never did a lot
of things before."

Thinking back on what we did last night, I grinned in return. "Like what
we did last night?"

He laughed. "Yeah."


John Sung might have changed some but he still had a ways to go. Guilty
at leaving work yesterday, he still popped back to work for an hour
before he finally came home. It gave me time to ponder over what he had
planned but after one day of cracking my head, I still had no inkling of
what he had up his sleeve. I had no doubts about our relationship, there
was no way he would end it so soon after giving me that whopper of a kiss
this morning.

So almost 24 hours later, I was standing in front of my wardrobe dressed
only in my boxers and dripping from my bath - and I still had no idea
what John was up to. All I knew was that I had to dress up. Placing a
call to my friends only got me some advice on being on my best behaviour
from Leela and advice to wear my sexiest thong from Rafe. That didn't
exactly help. Rifling through my shirts, I picked out a flattering shade
of shell pink and turned to check myself out in the floor-length mirror.

"Damn, you look hot, James."

The voice belonged to Jonathan, James' brother and I tossed my wet towel
at him. "Can it, Joe. Don't you knock?"

Laughing, he evaded the missile and stepped into my room. Those dark
brown Sung eyes - so much like his older brother's -twinkled with unholy
amusement. "Why bother when I can catch an eligible bachelor in skimpy
boxers? Nice butt by the way."

"Shut up." I mouthed across my shoulder as I eased myself into the shirt.
Nicely taut across the shoulders, it showed off my pecs just right. Might
as well give the man a preview of what he was gonna get tonight. "How do
I look?"

"You always look hot, James." Leaning against the wardrobe door, he
folded his arms and looked at me. There was a naughty little half-smile
on his face that was warning enough. "Maybe I should date you,
good-lookin'."

"Get out of here, straight boy." I said a little louder and shoved him
away from my wardrobe.

Chuckling softly, he walked over to my bed and jumped right on top of it.
It had been weeks since my sheets had been rumpled since I'd been
sneaking over every night to John's bedroom. Leaning back on his elbows
to get comfortable, Joe kept his cool gaze on me as I continued dressing.
"So dinner with older brother, huh."

As I buttoned up the cuffs on my sleeves, I turned to him slowly, lifting
a dark brow. "Yeah, so?"

"Umm.. You guys are really together, huh."

"Yeah...?" Stretching my words, I paused to look at him. "You got a point
there, Joe?"

He laughed, slightly embarassed. "It's nothing.. it's just kinda weird."

Since the day Jonathan had burst into my room to catch John and me in a
passionate clinch, he seemed to have taken to the idea of me dating his
brother like a duck to water. Expecting an emotional nightmare from his
volatile younger brother, John was to be disapppointed. Amazingly enough,
Joe didn't seem to find it odd to have us two guys together and even took
to teasing his stern elder brother about his first relationship. Since
John was only just too glad to have his brother on his side, he let the
teasing slide.

I'd never had a brother but I could see that John and Jonathan shared a
bond closer than most siblings I knew. Instead of driving them apart,
their obvious differences only made them closer and when he was younger,
Jonathan was a regular feature tagged along adoringly behind his older
brother.

"Two guys together? I thought you were okay with that." Slipping my legs
into a pair of tailored dark gray slacks, I turned to face him. "If
you're not, I just might have to hit you."

"I am. I am." Joe flashed an engagingly boyish grin as he shook his dark
head. "It's just you.. you two guys."

Walking in to the bedroom to face him, I eyed him questioningly. "Well,
you keep saying that and I keep on not understanding."

"Look, both of you are.. kinda my role models and now the both of you are
going out together. It's just weird, I guess."

"You're kidding? Really? Me?" I blurted out in patent disbelief.

He let his shoulders fall in a shrug. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

The second time he said it didn't make things any clearer. It was one
thing to have John as a role model - especially since our parents
regularly held him up as an example. But me? Being villified and
portrayed as the family black sheep wasn't exactly what I would call a
great endorsement. "You're sure? Recovering alcoholic me?"

"Well, not that of course." He grinned. "But you're cool, man. You never
take any shit from anyone and you always do what you want, you don't seem
to care much about what anyone else thinks. And you were always great
with the younger kids. We knew that we could always count on big cousin
James to take us for a cool spin around town now and then in his snazzy
car."

Out of the mouths of babes. Or in Joe's case, a young hunk. Sure, I
brought the younger cousins out when I could since it didn't seem a
bother to me but it never occurred to me that they'd remember me that
way. With my horrible reviews, I'd always imagined that everyone else in
the family held the same low opinion of me and it was nice to know that
wasn't totally true. Always nice to find some support when you least
expect it. Tossing him a grateful smile, I nodded. "Not to mention you
could also count on cousin James to cover up for a big scrape?"

His grin widened. "Yeah. That too."


"Only you could carry off that shirt."

And it was true. I was satisfied with my plain boring black suit but that
would never do for James. A crushed shell pink silk shirt with a simple
tailored dark gray jacket that fell almost to his knees, single silver
stud winking discreetly in his ear, tan and chocolate beads strung around
his manly throat. Anyone else would have looked odd in the prissy pink
but James Burbridge just looked plain hot. He exuded charisma - and a
heady amount of testosterone. And the gorgeous bastard had my tongue
rolling out of my mouth.

James just sat there across from me, a sexy grin spreading across his
handsome face. "Can I take the fact that you're drooling over me as a
compliment?"

"The manager looked like she would prefer you on the silver platter," I
grumbled half to myself as I shook open the napkin. As we'd been ushered
into the private salon of the restaurant, the young female manager could
barely keep her eyes off Burbdidge's superior ass. Not that I could blame
her entirely. But that didn't mean that she had to bring in an appetizer
on the house with a wink and a smile for James.

Keeping his amused gaze on me, he patted me soothingly on the arm. "John,
now, now, you already know I'm your main dish."

I eyed him carefully. His shirt had been left unbuttoned at the top,
revealing the sculpted splendour of his pectorals, all golden and
glistening under the dimmed lights and I could just imagine leaning over
and tearing the shirt open to feast on it. The lustful thoughts had my
hard-on leaping up in anticipation. "Don't tempt me. I'm this close from
jumping over the table."

Reading my intentions easily, he jerked back in surprise. "John, I didn't
get myself cleaned up to be mauled."

The astonishment on his dark, handsome face was enough and I settled into
a deep laugh, my arousal put aside for the moment. There would be time
enough for that later. It always amazed me that I had been keeping such
an uncontrollable libido in check for so long. It was simple enough - I
saw James and I got a hard-on. Seeing how sinfully good the man looked
tonight, I knew I couldn't be entirely blamed. "So what do you think?"

"This is wonderful. And I bet it'd cost like hell," he replied with a
slight lift of his dark eyebrows.

"Like that ever stopped you." It wasn't dagger cheap but it didn't cost
like hell either. A private dining room was easy enough to obtain in
Kuala Lumpur. Easy enough especially when you carried the Sung family
name. It surprised me to hear him speak of budgets when he was the man
who never knew what it meant.

"Touche," James replied with another laugh. His extravagance was after
all a well known fact in the family. "Hey, now I have to live on a
budget. My sugar daddy, the guy who holds my purse strings, is a really
stingy man."

It had always been a sore point for James that his considerable wealth
was tied up in a trust fund managed by my grandfather and me. Old Man
Sung had thought it more prudent to have his share of the family wealth
managed by us rather than left in the hands of someone he deemed
irresponsible, thoughtless and spendthrift. Funny how he'd managed to
worm it into the conversation and for once he didn't even look all that
angry or bitter about it anymore. In fact he looked more resigned to the
fact than anything.

In the recent months however, he seemed to have changed and I'd noticed
that he'd started keeping savings of his own which considerably surprised
me. The considerable profits he made from his recent ad and print work
helped beef up his finances and pretty soon, I wouldn't be surprised if
he had enough credit to maintain his previously expensive lifestyle
without any bolstering supplements from his trust fund.

It didn't surprise me however to hear me saying. "James, you know I'm
always ready to extend your allowance."

"I was kidding. That's not what I meant," he answered with a wry grin. "I
know you keep an eye on my finances and you'd know that I've been trying
to cut down my expenditure these few months. Terribly painful but I've
tried to keep to a budget. It has been working so far and anyway, the
supplement from my ad work is tiding me over just fine."

Much more than fine, I'd guess. Just two days ago, he'd surprised me with
a new Ebel watch that I knew had cost a pretty penny. Those odd fits of
generosity especially coming from him continually surprised me. "And the
Phnom Penh account."

"Don't remind me." James laughed modestly. "Hey, don't give me any more
pressure here. I've been biting my nails here. Uncle Jien is still
looking over some of my past work and he told me he'll call with his
final decision."

Insecurity about his work was something I'd never expected from him.
Years back when he'd apprenticed for a short while in the ad department,
he'd produced some of the best work I'd ever seen. When James really put
his mind into his work, he could produce wonders. Unfortunately, he could
never maintain the level of concentration needed in his field and soon
he'd be off carousing and gallivanting with his drunken cronies again.

"You're in. I called him while you were in the shower."

His brown eyes widened in astonishment. "You're not kidding? Seriously!"

James Burbridge looked as happy as a kid who'd woken up on Christmas
morning to find A Playstation 2 and a mountain bike. It pleased me that
I'd got to be the first to give him that piece of welcome news -
especially since I was the also the first bastard chosen to tell him the
news that his parents were finally splitting up. The look on his face
then was heartbreaking. Although James probably already knew that his
parents were utterly incompatible and that it would be better for
everyone to have them apart, I don't think he'd ever let the fact sink in
properly.

"Yeah, guess dinner just might be on you," I teased him. Ever the gruff,
grumpy old uncle, Uncle Jien never had a word of good come from his mouth
but for once, he had some grudging words of praise for James. It was
tempting to tell him what Uncle Jien told me but I decided to let him
hear it firsthand if possible so I just gave him the gist of it. "Uncle
Jien says your early work is tolerable to say the least and if you're
willing to work hard - and not goof off like the idiot that you once
were, he'd be willing to take you on again."

James winced. "His words."

"Yeah, you know how he talks." It was an amusing thought imagining James
working with the stern taskmaster Uncle Jien was reputed to be. Tempers
were definitely gonna fly and I wondered how long it would be before I
would be called in to mediate. Perhaps this time it would be different
since James himself had changed, nomatter how imperceptibly. "He's gonna
be whipping you into shape."

"I'd prefer you holding that whip," he murmured softly, his deep voice
going down an octave.

"So would I."

"God, you're a bigger pervert that I am." James chuckled softly, looking
down at the table. The man avoided my gaze, keeping those soulful brown
eyes fixed on the tablecloth but I could see the sheen of unshed tears
there. "That's really great news, John."

His hands were outstretched in the table and I reached out to hold his
hand. Giving it a supportive squeeze, I spoke softly. "I expected no less
from you, James Sung."

"Guess I'm not such a failure after all." Hastily, James ran a discreet
hand over his eyes before looking up again with a bright, grateful smile.
"Then we do have a reason to celebrate tonight."

Who knew that James could shed tears of joy. I'd seen him before with
eyes wet with unshed tears but those had been tears of anger, of
bitterness. He'd always been so unsettled before, so bottled up with
repressed rage for reasons better known to himself. He'd cursed the
world, cursed the family, cursed the parents he was born with - and he
eventually came down to cursing me. "That's definitely cause for a
celebration but that's not the reason we're here."

"It's not?" Our hands were still linked together and he tugged my hand
closer to himself. "Johnny boy, you're acting secretive and that's not
like you."

"It's not a secret. Well, not anymore."

"What is it? Are you gonna tell me you have a secret wife stashed
somewhere?" he said lightly.

"Not funny, James." I said in a warning tone. Now, that it was time to
speak, I found it more difficult than I imagined. My heart started
thudding in an unfamiliar way, my stomach was filled wih nasty
butterflies and I found my throat choked up with feeling. Perhaps I was
right to get myself totally smashed up before saying anything. Although
my parents were largely liberal-minded, they were still products of their
conservative Chinese upbringing. Although my siblings and I could be
assured of their unconditional love, outright physical affection and
terms of endearment didn't come easily to them. Unlike in the Burbridge
household where emotional instability was on the menu every night.

It just wasn't in me to go around offering hugs and physical affection.
It felt odd, in a way. And it felt even weirder confessing my emotions to
someone who read me like an open book but I took a deep breath and tried
my best. "Look, I always wanted to tell someone .. well, someone I care..
I wanted to say that I love you, James."

"Is that all?" James replied softly, his dark brown eyes turning soft at
the words. "You already said that. I heard it clearly enough the first
time."

"I was half-drunk and that wasn't the right place."

His laugh was the same, warm, deep and just enough to give me that
arousing thrill down my spine. "Yes, it was. I only needed to hear the
words."

"No, it wasn't right." I shook my head vehemently. As I got warmed up to
the theme, I continued a little more eloquently. "I've never told anyone
that and I always imagined something different. A different setting
perhaps. A warm tropical night beneath the stars, a secluded alcove, soft
music in the background."

His beautiful eyes widened slightly. "Look, I don't need all that
romantic shit."

"I do." The man doth protest but I could hear how his voice had wobbled.
Some of his confidence melted away and I recalled the look on his face
when he'd confided his feelings to me almost half a year ago. None of the
brash wannabe hoodlum. None of that cocky, macho attitude. At that time
James had told me that my opinion had mattered and I realized that it was
also true vice versa. His opinion, his feelings obviously meant something
to me. "And you might not admit it but you do. Your parents might not
have ever cared to make things right but I will, James. You can count on
that."

"Why, you romantic son of a bitch." he replied, his voice a tad husky. It
was one of the few times I'd seen those sexy dark eyes misted with tears
and this time he didn't bother wiping it away.

"I do have my hidden talents."

"You gonna get on your knees tonight?"

Lifting my eyebrows, I gave him a suggestive grin. "You don't have to ask
me twice."

James leaned forward on the table and I could see that the devil had come
back into his eyes. His thick, sensuous lips widened slowly into a wicked
smile. "Guess you're gonna get really lucky tonight, Mr Sung."

"I already am, Mr Burbridge." I told him as I eased myself away from the
table and crossed over to his side. There was a swinging jazzy beat to
the sentimental song playing and I knew it would be just perfect. Putting
out my hand, I gestured for him to stand up. "Come, let's dance."

In some surprise, he looked around the empty salon. "In here? People
might come in, John."

"Let them."

"You know Joey loves coming here."

"You're not afraid, are you?"

"Not with you," he replied. Rising from his seat, he took my hand in his
own and tugged me close. The familiar hot, musky scent of his cologne
tickled my senses and I recalled the scent lingering on my sheets in the
early morning. Oddly enough in the few months we'd been together, James
had left his distinctive imprint on my heart just as easily and I didn't
want it to ever fade away. He faced me with that sexy smile, that
devil-may-care look in his dark brown eyes and I gently traced the
contours of his finely etched cheekbones, the almost imperceptible
stubble on his recently shaven jaw, the firm, sensuously carved lips, the
almost imperceptible dents made by his boyish dimples. He was a gorgeous
bastard.

The thought of being found out still scared me but for now, it didn't
matter as much as having James in my arms. "Hold on to me and dance,
James Burbridge Sung."

"But.."

Placing my fingers on his lips, I kept him quiet. "Shut up."

There were times for words but not at the present. He obviously didn't
know that there was a letter in my jacket pocket. James might not have
bothered to keep in touch with Sutton Burbridge but I had kept close tabs
on him. Part of the Sung family intelligence. The last time James had
spoken to his father was more than five years ago and I doubted that he
would be pleased to find out that his father would be arriving in Kuala
Lumpur in two weeks.

But all that was in two weeks and I vowed to live more in the present as
James did. So I filed all that away for later and buried my face in my
man's broad shoulder.

"What has gotten into you tonight?" James said suspiciously as he leaned
into me, sniffing for the evidence. "Are you drunk again?"

"Yes." I shifted my head and smiled. "Drunk on you, hot stud."

His lips twisted into a sneer. "Now, that's just bullshit."