“I don’t have that much to eat.” He winced and turned to Alex, who was sitting at one of the stools behind the bar with his long legs stretched out in front of him. “Are you hungry?”
“Unbelievable, Tarrington. It’s amazing you ever get a chick to fuck you.” Alex laughed and shook his head, then glanced around the kitchen. “I’ve never seen this place on the inside. It’s even bigger than it looks.”
“You want a tour?” Matt asked hoping to distract from his failure as a host.
“Yeah.” Alex surprised him by agreeing. “I’m a big fan of lavish indulgence.”
It should be an insult, but it didn’t really sound like one, and Matt arched an eyebrow to clarify. “Are you really?”
Alex shrugged as he stood up. “I enjoy the fabulous as much as the next gay guy.”
Matt was still having a hard time telling if he was joking or not. He’d noticed Alex did that a lot, wash hot and cold. Like showing up tonight when he’d sworn not to. It was confusing and irritating and certainly didn’t help Matt’s anxiety.
Matt gave Alex a tour of the house as the tension loomed between them like an ominous prediction of an impending collision. Everything about the place was open and light. It was full of windows and white tile and helped lighten the mood a little. Matt liked it for just that reason, because it was everything his mother hated. There was nothing about this beach property that was stifling or oppressive. It was a haven from his real life, and the more time Matt spent in it, the more he wanted to buy it instead of just rent it for the year.
The fun part was, as they went from room to room, Alex started loosening up. He was enjoying every aspect of the house, and Matt realized he hadn’t been lying. There was a part of Alex that genuinely appreciated architecture and interior design. It was a stark contrast to the Joe Six-Pack persona Alex put out to the world, and Matt found he liked this Alex a lot more.
“So if we hook up”—Alex walked up to the king-size bed in the master bedroom—“do I get mistress benefits?”
“What are mistress benefits?”
“A car, a bank account, shopping sprees, and trips to the French Rivera.” Alex fell back against the neatly made bed, leaning on his elbows as he put himself on display. “It’s a small price to pay for all the forbidden things I can give you that a wife can’t.”
Matt stood there staring at Alex, spread out on the bed, that black shirt showing off his beautiful body, those tight jeans clinging to all the right places. More frustrated as the seconds ticked by, Matt was almost inclined to agree.
Instead he smiled back. “You think I can’t find some other guy free of charge to give me what you’re offering?”
“That’s the truth.” Alex got up and looked Matt over for one hot moment. “Baby, they’d be paying
you
.”
The compliment caught him off guard, as did the endearment. Matt’s cheeks heated to the point he turned away to save his dignity. He wasn’t sure why Alex could do that to him when he’d never been shy or reserved when it came to sex.
This whole situation was throwing him off, and half of him couldn’t understand why he’d invited Alex over to begin with when he’d been resolved to his straight, conservative upper-crust lifestyle that would probably end with him marrying a woman like his mother and hating life like any good Tarrington man should. The other half of him—
the bottom half
—had been hard since Alex arrived.
“You blush too easily, Matty.” Alex went back to exploring the house. “You gotta stop that.”
Matt winced, hating that he was being so obvious with his nervousness, still he asked, “Why?”
“’Cause it gets my dick hard,” Alex said from the master bathroom and then added, “Very nice. Italian marble. Dual showerheads. This shower has hot sex written all over it.”
Matt needed more to drink—lots more.
* * * *
Alex wasn’t nearly as peeved about cooking as he probably should be. The kitchen was state of the art and playing in it was exciting. Matt didn’t have many groceries, and the things he did have were all sort of ridiculous, so trying to make a real meal was a fun challenge.
Besides, it distracted him from the rash decision to come here when he’d spent the entire day trying to talk himself out of it. In the end, his dick won the debate because Matt was too hot for his own good, and that scene on the beach had been one of the sexiest things Alex had ever experienced.
It was just sex. The attraction was mutual, so what could it hurt? It’s not like either of them wanted to pick out matching his-and-his towels.
On his search for ingredients, he found leftover grilled chicken breast from some fancy restaurant on Bay Boulevard. Alex cubed it and set it aside as he cooked the penne pasta he found in the pantry. Cream for Matt’s coffee. Butter for toast. There were little plastic containers of grated parmesan from the same restaurant; that’d be helpful.
Alex was back in the barren pantry, grabbing anything he could to make something edible.
No garlic anywhere. That sucked.
“The chicken is mine, but the rest of that stuff I didn’t buy,” Matt said from his seat behind the bar as he watched Alex come back to the counter with his nonperishable goodies. “The other renters must have left it behind.”
“Eh, so what? They’re in unopened containers. What does it matter who bought them?” Alex set down the canned mushrooms and a jar of capers, then turned back to the stove to stir the pasta. “You sound like my brother. He freaks about shit like that too. I mean, what the fuck difference does it make? But he’d have dumped that stuff the second he got here.”
“So basically you two are polar opposites.”
“Pretty much, yeah,” Alex agreed. “We look alike, but that’s where it ends. He’s uptight, power hungry, and extremely driven. I’m a beach rat.”
Matt took a sip of whatever obscenely expensive liquor he was drinking as he watched Alex cook. “He’s straight. You’re gay.”
“Exactly.”
“Does he know you’re gay?”
Alex looked up from draining the mushrooms. “Fuck, no.”
“Why not?”
“Will doesn’t need anything else to freak out about.” Alex actually shuddered at the thought. “He’s already one drama away from medication.”
“Sounds like my mother.”
“Maybe we should hook them up.”
“Oh Christ.” Matt covered his face with his hand and cracked up. “You’d never want to do that to him. My mother’s a nightmare.”
“I’m inclined to believe you. I’ve seen your mom around, and even from a distance, she seems like a handful.” Alex smirked. “I guess it wouldn’t work out. Besides Will’s got a thing for Holly—big time.”
“Really?” Matt raised his eyebrows curiously. “Doesn’t he think you two are an item?”
“He thinks it’s more of a friends-with-benefits thing. He knows she had a boyfriend in Key West that she picked up on one of our fishing trips, so it’s obvious we’re not exclusive. She wouldn’t shut up about him—until he ended up dumping her for a local girl there. Then she was depressed for about four days and promptly forgot him. I guess it wasn’t true love after all.”
“But, you’re not friends with benefits?” Matt clarified, obviously stuck on that part. “It really is just a cover?”
“Yeah.” Alex turned back to stir the pot, embarrassed, because he knew that made him sound like an asshole. “It’s been a cover for a really long time now, and I know I gotta put an end to it. As soon as my brother graduates and doesn’t need me around to help with the bills, I’m ditching this place and moving to the Keys. He’ll be so caught up in climbing the corporate ladder he won’t give a shit if I’m queer. Holly’ll probably come with me, but at least we won’t be a couple. We can just be ourselves.”
“Why the Keys?”
“Sun, sand, and hot guys in Speedos,” Alex said as if it were obvious. “It’s utopia for gay beach bums.”
Matt laughed. “Do you own a Speedo?”
“Not traditional twinky Speedos, no, but I do own several suits designed to put certain
features
on display,” Alex assured him with a sly smile. “I look good in them too.”
“You do wax.” Matt covered his eyes with his hand and cracked up. “I knew it.”
“Fuck, yes, I do. You think I’d go to Key West looking like a lost yeti?” Alex laughed with him. “Besides it makes my dick look bigger.”
It was amazing Matt didn’t drop off the stool he was laughing so hard. It was almost as if both of them had gone over the edge of sanity, and everything suddenly seemed funny simply because the situation they found themselves in was so insane.
“One day I’m gonna take you to Key West, and you won’t be laughing so hard. ’Cause, man, Key West is a fucking party. You’d love it.”
“Even the Speedos?”
Alex’s smile grew wider. “Especially the Speedos.”
Chapter Eight
Dinner was pretty good, if Alex did say so himself.
They ate it on the big bed in the master bedroom, with the breeze blowing through the open patio door. Alex found the whole setting extremely seductive as the sun set, making the room darker. The sheer white fabric that hung down from the canopy let them feel hidden from the world, which was something they both needed tonight.
There was an enormous flat-screen television mounted on the wall, but they didn’t watch it. They enjoyed each other’s company enough that any outside entertainment felt intrusive, which was new for Alex. If he wasn’t fucking, he usually needed something else to fill the space. Holly was the only other person he was companionable enough with to need nothing but her company.
He could fuck Matt
and
talk to him—what a novelty.
“I’ve never eaten in bed before,” Matt said as he took a bite of the chicken pasta Alex made. “Not once. Even in college I went down to eat my meals in the dining room of the frat house.”
Alex turned to look at Matt, who was sitting cross-legged on the made bed, as if still looking for something formal. In comparison, Alex was sprawled on his stomach as he teased, “Just one of many firsts I plan to introduce you to in this bed.”
Matt coughed, and Alex laughed, admiring the way Matt’s cheeks colored under his tan. “You’re so easy.”
Matt shrugged self-consciously and looked back to his plate. “Only with you.”
There was something so endearingly honest and open about that statement, and it hit Alex how much Matt was trusting him. Most guys in his situation would have run the other way as fast as they could, but there was a core of raw strength in Matt, something that let him go after what he wanted, even if everything and everyone around him was diametrically opposed to the indulgence.
Alex found that kind of courage very sexy.
He reached over and touched Matt’s thigh. He ran his hand over hard muscles and crisp black hairs before sliding it underneath the line of his khaki shorts. Matt tensed with a low grunt of surprise. The fork clattered to the plate, and Alex looked up to see Matt’s eyes close heavily.
So fucking responsive.
Alex had fed him. He’d made sure he had enough to drink to unwind without being drunk, and he’d done it all without being too obvious about his intentions to deliberately relax him. He’d officially earned the right to take advantage of Matt Tarrington.
He pushed his hand higher to graze Matt’s balls as he continued to study him. Matt’s breathing was already uneven, his eyes closed tight against the rush of lust that exploded between them with very little effort. Food forgotten, Alex rolled into him and buried his face in Matt’s crotch, just to feel the outline of that that thick, hard cock against his cheek. To sense the heat off his powerful body and hear the startled gasp of unbidden desire burst out from the center of Matt’s chest.
“I’m gonna blow you now, Matty,” Alex said against the fly of Matt’s shorts. “Sound good?”
Matt took a shuddering breath. “Yeah,” he agreed and then shifted to lean back on one hand. “It sounds awesome.”
Alex gave him a knowing smile, then grabbed both plates. He sat up to hastily set them on the nightstand next to Matt’s drink. Then he pulled off his T-shirt, feeling Matt’s eyes on him as he did it.
He tossed the material aside to find Matt studying him intently. Alex couldn’t resist arching a smug eyebrow. “Thought I’d give you a little eye candy while I was at it.”
“You’re very cocky,” Matt said with a broken laugh as his light gaze ran hungrily over Alex once more. “Unbelievably so.”
“And you’re about to find out why.” Alex gave him a bold smile and leaned over to bury his face in the curve of Matt’s neck. He trailed his tongue over his pulse point before whispering in his ear, “I’m not one of those prissy sorority girls you’re used to doing, Matty. My goal is to
taste you
. Get it?”
Matt’s head fell to the side, giving Alex better access as he groaned, “Fuck.”
“Hot, right?” Alex kissed his neck and ran his hand over Matt’s hard pectoral muscles. “You like the idea of blowing in my mouth?”
“Yes,” Matt whispered, his voice low and gravelly with need. “Very much.”
“Me too,” Alex admitted as he kissed and licked at Matt’s neck while pulling at his shirt. “Take it off. You’re not the only one who enjoys the eye candy.”
Matt complied, pushing Alex away long enough to tug his shirt off and toss it to the ground. Then he leaned back on one arm, offering himself up, and Alex didn’t hesitate. He bent down to suck on one small tan nipple, scraping his teeth over it before he moved to the other.
Alex continued to lick and kiss his broad chest as Matt threaded his fingers through Alex’s hair, holding him closer. The intimacy of it got to Alex, and his enthusiasm for enjoying Matt’s body only grew as his lips moved down to the top ridges of his abdominal muscles. Then he pulled at Matt’s belt, smiling against his warm skin.
“Only you would wear a belt with shorts,” he said with a laugh.
Matt let out a grunt that might have been his attempt at a laugh, but it was obvious he was already past the ability to joke around. Instead he just stroked Alex’s hair.
Alex looked up at the soft caress to see Matt watching him finish with the belt, his gaze searing and intense, and his breathing shallow with need. The longing written all over his handsome face was so blatant it hit Alex in the solar plexus.