Alex continued to stare out the window as if lost in thought. “You should leave. It’d be in your best interest.”
“Why’s that, Lexie?”
Alex sucked in a sharp breath, turning to stare at Matt in shock.
“Don’t call me that,” Alex said, lust suddenly deep in his voice, making his southern accent more noticeable. Alex’s eyes were heavy as they ran over him, making a shiver of desire wash over Matt without warning. The reason for his tension was obvious now. Matt wasn’t the only one feeling the electric connection between them. Alex swallowed hard before he met Matt’s eyes, not even bothering to hide the effect one simple nickname had on him. “Don’t call me Lex either.”
Deciding if Alex could be bold, he could too. Matt stared back, studying Alex’s long form, taking in the way he made a simple T-shirt and jeans look sinfully good with his strong swimmer’s build and naturally tan skin. Unable to help himself, he looked to Alex’s crotch, seeing the outline of a long, thick cock through his jeans.
It probably would be in his best interest to go, because his entire being was throbbing with sexual desire and a need for contact. Matt felt as if he’d been drowning for six years, and Alex was suddenly the air he needed to breathe. It took more strength than he knew he had not to cross the kitchen and close the space between them.
“You want me,” Matt said, his voice sounding breathy even to his own ears. His Georgia accent was far more noticeable than Alex’s Florida drawl. “You never stopped wanting me, did you? You’ve missed me.”
“I had forgotten your tendency to just spit out whatever comes to mind.” Alex took another deep breath and turned back to look out the window. “Bad, nasty habit.”
Matt lifted his eyebrows as he studied Alex from behind, knowing he was being a fool for making his interest so blatantly obvious. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m not fucking Holly,” Alex said, avoiding the real question Matt was inquiring about. “She’s not exactly my type, is she?”
“Who is your type?”
Alex turned back to him, his eyes narrowed as they ran over Matt once more. “You should go, Matty.”
Matt understood now what a simple nickname could do. A fresh rush of longing washed over him as he remembered the brush of Alex’s breath against his ear, and his body sweaty and naked pressed against Matt’s while he groaned the endearment.
“I think I’ll have a beer,” Matt said as a distraction, trying to remind himself Holly was still in the house as he reached for the beer.
With the exception of wine, Matt didn’t drink anymore. His life was too stressful, and he wasn’t depressed enough to want a heart attack. So he was no longer adept with the bar skill of popping a beer top off on an angled surface, but he was frustrated enough to twist it off with the palm of his hand, welcoming the sting it caused.
Holly returned from ordering pizza to find Matt gulping down a beer and Alex popping the cap off his second bottle in a few short minutes. Her gaze darted back and forth between the two of them before she huffed, probably trying to get a clear breath through the sexual tension choking the air out of the kitchen. She clapped her hands, the sound echoing over the distant crash of waves against the beach. “How about poker?”
“Sure, why not?” Alex mumbled against the rim of his beer bottle, his eyes wide and dazed. “Let’s play poker. That sounds like
lots
of fun.”
* * * *
“Wow, I am racking up.” Holly pulled a pile of bills toward her, not even hiding her delight over the win. “We need to do this again. How long are you in town, snowbirdie?”
Matt took a long drink of his beer. “Two weeks.”
“How’d you get that long off work?” Alex reached for his wallet and pulled out a twenty. His distraction over Matt had allowed Holly to drain all his small bills. “I need change, Hol.”
“I haven’t taken a vacation in six years. I’ve earned two weeks off. I need change too.” Matt obviously suffered from the same small-bill problem as Alex. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his money clip, slipping out a fifty. “Can you crack a bigger bill?”
“Give ’er here.” Holly started sorting out the money she had in front of her, having enough to dole out seventy dollars in small bills to Matt and Alex. “This is really a party. I’m having the best time.”
“We’re so glad,” Alex said drily as he threw a dollar into the ante pile.
Alex took another drink of his beer as Holly worked on dealing the cards. Unable to help himself, he looked to Matt who met his eyes over the rim of his beer bottle. The two of them had worked their way through the six-pack Matt brought and were now on Alex’s personal store he kept in the fridge for baseball games or the love of his life unexpectedly showing up for pizza and poker.
Alex was buzzing, and he was certain Matt was too because the subtle exchange of looks across the table had turned into blatant eye fucking and losing a small fortune to Holly who was either completely oblivious or a manipulative bitch for taking advantage of the situation. Alex would bet the restaurant that it was the latter, because not much got past Holly.
Holly huffed, poking Alex in the side. “In or out?”
Alex reached blindly for the fresh pile of bills in front of him and tossed one into the pile. “Tell me about your girlfriend,” Alex said, making Holly choke on her iced tea, which meant he was drunker than he realized. “Your mama says you’re thinking about marrying her.”
Matt snorted, also throwing a dollar into the pile though Alex was fairly certain he hadn’t looked at the cards in his hand. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“She says you do.”
“I have a friend my mama would like me to marry, but not a girlfriend,” Matt clarified, smiling against the rim of his beer. As if to prove a point he said, “My mama told me you’re marrying Holly.”
Alex laughed, seeing the mischief in Matt’s eyes that were such a unique shade of light blue-green it was easy to get lost in them. “Good point. So no girlfriend?”
“No.” Matt set his beer down and looked to the table without glancing at the cards in his hand. His cheeks grew flushed in a way that was more than the beer. When he spoke again, his voice was low and breathy. “Why not ask if I have a boyfriend?”
Alex raised his eyebrows, feeling a strange combination of desire and wild envy wash over him. “Are you letting some guy fuck you?” he asked angrily, hating the idea of Matt beneath anyone but him. “Someone who’s
not
me?”
“O-kay,” Holly said with a long drawn out sigh. “That just went right into TMI land.”
“Do you care?” Matt countered, his eyes narrowed in both challenge and hurt. “It’s not like you want it.”
“Oh, I want it,” Alex admitted before he could stop himself, the surge of longing making him see red when he thought of Matt getting fucked by some horny asshole who didn’t appreciate what he was getting. “I hate the idea of someone else’s—”
“You are drunk,” Holly cut him off. “Really, Alex. I don’t think you realize how much you’ve been drinking.”
Alex turned to her, suddenly not giving a shit about anything but Matt sitting across from him after six long years apart. What the fuck was he doing playing poker with Holly when he could be making up for lost time?
“You win.” He reached for the stack of money in front of him and pushed all of it toward her. “Game over.”
Holly stared back at him, her eyes narrowed as if considering the situation. He saw her concern, knowing she hadn’t planned on he and Matt getting buzzed off their asses out of nervousness. He couldn’t remember the last time he had drunk enough to lose all his good sense, and it had obviously taken her by surprise. He was about to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life, and she knew it.
“You know you’ve had one too many.” Holly’s eyes widened in warning. “It’s loosened your tongue.”
“Yes, I realize that,” he said, also widening his eyes in silent communication. “I don’t plan on doing a whole lot of talking. Is your phone ringing?”
“I guess.” Holly threw down her cards and got up.
Alex waited until she’d gone into the bedroom before he leaned forward, giving Matt a long, hard look. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Matt stared him down, giving off the air of a very successful man who wasn’t used to backing down from a challenge. He finally took another drink of his beer and said against the rim, “Not currently.”
“But you have?” Alex swallowed hard against the jealousy thick in his throat. “You’ve fucked other men besides me?”
“What does it matter?”
“I just wanna know.” The emotions were choking the air out of Alex’s chest.
“Yes,” Matt finally confirmed, meeting Alex’s gaze steadily. “Sometimes I miss it, and I remedy the situation. I’ve been with other men.”
Alex actually buried his face in his hands, the long, cooling breaths he was trying to take in to keep from coming apart muffled by his fingers. “It?” he finally questioned, trying to focus on anything that wouldn’t make him lose his temper, or worse, make him break down and start crying. “What do you miss?”
“I’m not going to answer that.”
Alex peeked through his fingers, seeing Matt glaring at him with an icy-eyed stare that could be incredibly unnerving.
“I’ve missed you,” Alex whispered, knowing it was the beer making him reveal things he shouldn’t. “So much.”
“I have a phone. You could’ve called me,” Matt said, appearing unmoved by Alex’s raw emotions. “Have you changed your mind?”
Alex bit down on his tongue to keep himself from admitting he had never wanted this, not for one moment in six long, miserable years. Finally he shook his head, not daring to speak, because Matt would hear the lie.
“Damnit, Alex!” Matt pushed away from the table and stood, looking as if he might actually hit Alex. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath as he looked toward the ceiling. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
“It was my mother,” Holly said drily as she walked into the kitchen, not even attempting to make a believable lie. “I need to stay at her place tonight.”
“Bye,” Alex said in a flat voice, still speaking into his hands.
“You’re not gonna drive?” Holly asked Matt, obviously sensing the dissention in the room that had blossomed since she’d left.
“No, I’ll sleep on the couch and leave in the morning.”
“Okay, snowbirdie.” Holly’s voice was soft, and Alex peeked through his fingers once more to see her patting Matt’s arm in sisterly affection. “I’ll see you.”
Something about that broke Alex inside, knowing that even Holly, his best friend in the world, felt more for Matt’s side of things than his, and why shouldn’t she? Alex was the one who had broken it off. He’d ruined what was once beautiful and perfect. Matt had never gotten the courtesy of an explanation, and Holly knew that.
He should feel guilty for kicking Holly out of her own house, but all he could do was sit there heartsick and more turned on than he’d been in a
very
long time. He heard the front door close, and then listened for Holly to start up his car since hers was on its last legs and in the shop again. He actually exhaled a sigh of relief when he knew she had pulled out of the driveway.
“I guess I—” Matt swallowed hard as if only now realizing what it meant to be alone in the house with Alex. “I should go to bed.”
Alex dropped his hands, staring at him dubiously because they both knew where this was going and pretending now was ridiculous.
“Take off your shirt for me.” Alex studied Matt standing there, more handsome than he remembered. He’d been longing to see those thick muscles and broad shoulders since Matt first walked into the restaurant. His voice was low, husky, and demanding in a way he couldn’t mask after too many beers. “I wanna see you.”
“I don’t think so,” Matt said sardonically, giving him a narrow-eyed stare. “If anyone’s giving a strip show, it sure isn’t me.”
Alex could work with that. “Okay.” He tugged on the back of his T-shirt and pulled it off in one fluid motion. He tossed it aside and stood up, noting the way Matt’s eyes widened as he stared at Alex’s chest with a hunger he didn’t hide. Alex cupped his crotch, his dick already hard, and felt a sense of satisfaction when Matt’s gaze followed the action. “Looks good, right?”
Matt’s cheeks flushed in a way that would have made Alex instantly hard if he wasn’t already aching. Matt’s voice gave way to desire he obviously wasn’t ready to admit to as he growled, “You are still cocky and arrogant.”
“You’re still sweet,” Alex countered, humming low in his throat as he admired the red tint to Matt’s cheeks and neck. “You used to blush like that when I fucked you. God, it turned me on. Still does. I wanna eat you.”
“Oh my God.” Matt turned away from him and then looked toward the ceiling once more. “I should risk a DUI.”
“Why?” Alex walked around the table. The dark, naughty side of him he hadn’t tapped in a very long time loved the way Matt took a step back in response. “You said you missed it.”
Matt shook his head, swallowing hard once. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“No, you probably shouldn’t have.”
Matt actually made a move to leave, but Alex was on him before he could make it to the door. Savoring the surge of yearning the small chase pushed through his bloodstream, he tangled his fingers in Matt’s hair, messing up his executive hairstyle when he tugged his head back.
It was amazing Alex didn’t black out from the lust pulsing through him as he looked down into stunned eyes that reflected desire like sunshine bouncing off the ocean on the first clear day after years of bad weather. He felt raw and primal and masculine, and he needed Matt like he needed air, realizing only now just how starved he was for sexual contact. The fact that it was Matt, who was his perfect mate in every way possible, had his breathing shallow and his skin hypersensitive with the promise of pleasure.
He reached down with his other hand, tugging on Matt’s blue button-down shirt neatly tucked into his khaki pants. “Take it off, Matty,” he growled into his ear. “Let me see you.”
Matt shuddered, his eyes rolling back as he curved into the tight hold Alex had on his hair. His fingers shook as he worked on the buttons of his shirt blindly, his chest heaving, his eyes still closed against the defeat. Alex couldn’t remember him looking sexier than he did right then as he watched the long, smooth line of skin Matt revealed to him.