Lifting on eyebrow, he asked, “When did we lose our clothes?”
The corner of Shadow’s mouth twitched as the big man lifted Pen’s foot and began to rub his calf with firm strokes.
Pen cried out in torment as the rock-hard muscles of his leg spasmed before loosening in bliss.
“Clothes…” Pen panted through those horrid, awesome hands bringing relief to his thigh muscles.
“Clothes aren’t needed and are uncomfortable in bed,” Shadow stated as he went to work on Pen’s other leg.
By the time Shadow sat a limp Pen up and began massaging his neck, Pen needed relief of a different kind on the one part of his body that didn’t feel like spaghetti. Reaching down, he grasped his dick and stroked it, rubbing his thumb over the head, concentrating on the tiny slit on top.
One second Shadow was behind him, and the next, Pen was lying on his back, looking up. For such a big man, Shadow could move fast when he wanted.
“Let go,” Shadow ordered.
Pen’s hand opened. The corner of Shadow’s mouth twitched before he leaned over and swallowed Pen’s dick. Pen tried, oh how he tried, to remain still and let Shadow’s magical mouth pleasure him, but that was not meant to be.
Pen buried his hands in the soft strands of Shadow’s long, thick hair and watched his dick slide in and out of that cavern of bliss. Moans filled the room when Shadow tongued Pen’s dick before swallowing it down with every pump of Pen’s hips.
He was losing it. Pen couldn’t hold on much longer. His balls tightened in anticipation of the orgasm to come.
A finger pressed between Pen’s ass cheeks and rubbed his hole. “Shadow?” Pen wasn’t sure what he was asking. He hadn’t expected the finger that now inched into his body.
Shadow sucked hard and swallowed around the head of Pen’s dick.
“Oh shit,” Pen shouted. Cum burst from him in great gushes, urged on by Shadow’s talented mouth. When he thought he’d finished, Shadow’s tongue stroked the length of his shaft, igniting another round of spunk pulled from his balls.
Pen collapsed back onto the bed while Shadow placed kisses on his softening dick. He hated the emptiness when Shadow removed his finger.
The bed dipped, and Pen looked up, admiring the rippling muscles of Shadow’s body as he knelt above his chest. He opened, welcoming Shadow’s huge member into his mouth.
“Your mouth is warm and moist, but your ass feels like silk,” Shadow said as he began to thrust his cock in and out. “I’m going to feel that silk around my cock soon.”
Pen’s eyes widened at Shadow’s statement, but he couldn’t say anything because the cock in question was inching its way down his throat. Pen relaxed and let Shadow find his pleasure.
Fingers grasped Pen’s hair, making him look up. The magnificent man above him was a dream come true. Pen was held prisoner by the intense gaze of Shadow’s dark and stormy brown eyes. A light sheen of sweat coated Shadow’s deeply tanned skin, and his long tresses of hair flowed around him. Never before had Pen seen such a sight. His dick hardened, and his heart softened.
Shadow pulled his cock part way out of Pen’s mouth. Pen began to suck the expanding appendage and was rewarded with hot spurts of salty cum coating his tongue.
Cum continued to fill his mouth as Shadow began short, choppy pumps. Pen was greedy and swallowed the medley of musky, bitter saltiness as fast as it came out until there wasn’t anymore.
Pen wanted to keep Shadow in his mouth forever, but the big man had other ideas. After pulling his cock out, he lay back on the bed before gathering Pen into his arms and holding him close.
Knowing his next statement wasn’t going to go over well, Pen took a deep breath before saying, “I need to go into the office today.”
Shadow buried one hand in Pen’s hair and pressed his face against his neck. An arm tightened around Pen’s waist, pulling him even closer, before Shadow grunted, “No.”
Chapter Seven
Shadow glanced over at Pen and tried to figure out how the man had talked him into letting him go into the newspaper office. If it was any consolation, Pen’s full, kissable mouth was turned down, and his lower lip was definitely sticking out in a pout. The look he slanted Shadow was so sharp, it could have stripped paint off a wall.
Well, that was too damn bad. If Pen insisted on going to work, then he had to do something Shadow wanted to do first. Also part of the deal was Shadow driving Pen to his job. There would be no walking, even if it was only two blocks down on Main Street.
“Are you going to tell me where we are going? I need to be at the paper by nine.” Pen made a big show of looking at his watch. “It’s already eight thirty.”
Shadow felt the corner of his mouth twitch. The man was just so prickly it amused the heck out of him. “I’ll get you to the office on time,” he assured Pen.
“That’s not telling me where we’re going,” Pen huffed. “Come on, Shadow, it can’t be that big of a secret.”
Shadow turned the Jeep into the walk-in clinic’s parking lot. Seconds later he swung the vehicle into a spot in front of the sliding glass entry doors.
“We’re here,” Shadow said and shut off the engine. Relaxing back in the seat, he waited for Pen’s response because he knew there would be one.
“I don’t understand.” Pen’s light gray eyes searched Shadow’s face. “Are you having problems from yesterday? Why didn’t you tell me something was wrong?”
Shadow took Pen’s hand. A hum of attraction shot up his arm. Every time he touched Pen that happened.
“Nothing is wrong. I brought you here so we can get tested.”
Pen blinked. A line appeared between his eyebrows. “Tested for what?” he asked before his eyebrows shot halfway up his forehead, and his light gray eyes widened. “You want to the ditch condoms?” Pen shook his head before looking at Shadow again. “Don’t you think we should discuss this first?”
Shadow shrugged one shoulder. “I told you last night.”
“And you think I took you seriously?” Pen’s voice raised an octave with every word. “At the time my dick was stuffed down your throat and I was busy coming my brains out.”
“I want to feel your silky tightness around my cock.” Shadow touched his finger under Pen’s chin while running his thumb over that luscious bottom lip. He liked the dreamy look that came into Pen’s eyes.
“How many people have you gone without condoms with?” Pen touched the dimple on Shadow’s chin with his index finger.
“No one,” Shadow answered.
“Why not?” Pen whispered.
Shadow shrugged his shoulder again. “I never cared enough before.”
The brilliant smile Pen gave Shadow not only surprised him but warmed something deep inside. Shadow wasn’t used to people most of the time, but people being nice to him and smiling at him never happened.
Then Pen did the most incredible thing. He leaned over the center console and gave Shadow a gentle kiss. Shadow stilled and let those tender lips caress his. He didn’t want it to end. But all too soon it did.
With his light gray eyes shining with warmth, Pen laid his hand against Shadow’s cheek and said, “Let’s go inside and get those tests done.”
Shadow wasted no time jumping out of the Jeep and hurrying Pen into the clinic before the confusing man changed his mind.
Fifteen minutes later a happy Shadow was driving Pen to his job at The Granite City Chronicle.
“Why does everyone call you Pen?” he asked. It was something that he had wondered since finding out Pen’s real name was Drew.
Pen’s eyes dulled, and his chest rose with a soft sigh. “When I told my family that I wanted to be a reporter, my brother laughed and laughed. He said I was going to be a pencil pusher. I thought it was dumb, but he thought the phrase was the funniest thing. From then on he called me Pen, and it stuck.”
“He sounds nice.” Shadow surprised himself. He didn’t do mushy stuff. But he disliked an unhappy Pen more. He’d rather ha
ve Pen spitting sparks at him.
“He was a typical pain-in-the-butt little brother.” Pen kept staring out the front windshield, but his hand reached over and rested on Shadow’s thigh. Shadow covered it, giving it a squeeze. “Once our parents died, we became real close. Daniel was the one who encouraged me to make a name for myself by reporting from war-torn countries.”
Shadow parked the Jeep in front of the building with The Granite City Chronicle stenciled on the huge front window. He wasn’t sure how to respond to Pen’s words, so he turned and shoved his fingers into the man’s hair and pulled him over for a kiss. Tongues tangled and heavy breathing filled the Jeep. Shadow tasted a hint of coffee and the strawberry jelly Pen had coated his toast with this morning.
Pen’s hand pushed at Shadow’s chest, making him lift his head. The hand moved from his chest to loop around the back of his neck.
“I need to get in, big guy.” Pen’s kiss-swollen mouth turned up with a smile. “I’m still pretty new and don’t want to piss people off.”
Shadow dipped his head and kissed Pen one more time. “Let’s go.”
Pen cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. “You’re going in with me?”
“I’ll follow you in,” Shadow stated.
“And then you’re going to take off and do whatever it is you do every day?” There was a shrewd look in Pen’s eye that told Shadow the reporter wanted to do some digging, without Shadow around. Tough beans, it wasn’t happening.
“Today my job is to be with you.” Shadow watched red patches form on Pen’s cheeks.
“So, are you saying, Mr. Drayton, that you are being paid to be with me?” Pen further dug himself into a hole of Shadow’s displeasure by saying, “I’ve never had money exchanged for my company before.”
Shadow wondered what kind of ruckus he would cause if he hauled Pen out of the Jeep and sat on the street curb so he could paddle the man’s ass. At that moment it almost seemed worth it. Some of his thoughts must have reflected on his face because Pen went from snarky to wary.
“Shit.” Pen backed up against the passenger door. “What are you thinking?”
“How red I can tan your ass for making statements like that,” Shadow admitted.
Pen’s light gray eyes widened as big as saucers, and his mouth opened and closed, reminding Shadow of a fish. For the first time, Shadow had shocked Pen enough that he couldn’t speak. Of course that didn’t last long.
A flood of words burst forth when Shadow grabbed Pen’s hand and started to pull him over the Jeep’s console. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Pen’s hand pushed at Shadow’s arm, trying to free his hand. “Sometimes stupid stuff comes out of my mouth.”
Shadow paused, studying Pen’s face. One of Shadow’s few foster parents who had more than a half of a brain or a caring bone in their body had once told him that every joke or off-the-wall comment held a grain of truth. The smart ones could find it and learn from it. Shadow learned fast that some of those grains meant you needed to be cautious or you would find yourself in a wealth of pain. This time he thought maybe Pen needed something.
In slow increments Shadow loosened his hold on Pen’s hand. He made sure to keep his gaze locked with Pen’s. “When you’re finished here for the day, we need to stop by my friend Mr. Saint’s house to pick up my things.”
Pen’s light gray eyes were searching Shadow’s face. “Enough to hold you over for a few days or everything?”
“Everything,” Shadow answered.
* * * *
Shit…shit…shit…
What the hell was he thinking? First he’d accused Shadow of only spending time with him because he was being paid. Then he practically challenged the man to move in with him. And they had known each other for only two days.
As Pen made his way across the sidewalk to the old red brick, two-story building, his mind continued its scrambled thoughts. Sure, the attraction and connection he felt with Shadow was out of this world. Heck, most of the time he didn’t know which way was up and chose to go along with what Shadow was making him feel in the moment.
A hand encircled Pen’s upper arm, swinging him around. Pen’s chest slammed into Shadow. Muscled arms held him close. “Thinking too hard is over-rated.”
Pen searched Shadow’s face, trying to read what the man was feeling. Was Shadow disgusted by his behavior? What was he thinking?
“I’m confused,” Pen admitted.
Shadow shrugged one shoulder. “Every day you need to decide what you can live with, and what you want to live with, and go from there.”
Pen smiled and continued to let himself drown in Shadow’s brown eyes. “You don’t say much, but when you do it’s pretty deep. What are you, a secret philosopher or something?”
“I’m just a man,” Shadow stated and leaned down.
Just before Shadow’s lips touched his, Pen whispered, “Yeah. right.”
The kiss swept Pen away from all his concerns and troubles. Calm settled around him, and he opened his mouth, letting the tip of Shadow’s tongue slide over his lips and dip inside.
Shadow lifted his head and warm chocolate-brown eyes looked down at him. “Are you ready to go in now, baby?”
“Yeah, I am.” And he was. Worrying wasn’t going to help anything. Pen decided to let whatever happened between him and Shadow happen. Right now he needed to concentrate on finding out the mysteries concerning his brother. Because he suspected what the authorities were telling him was a bunch of shit.
* * * *
Shadow settled back in the cushioned metal chair positioned in the corner and again glanced around the closet-size room that was Pen’s office. Minutes before he had watched the plucky reporter take a laptop computer from a locked drawer, and he was now busy typing away.
Casually—yeah, right. Pen leaned sideways and picked up a pencil that had rolled from a flick of the man’s finger to the edge of the desk. Pen glanced—yeah, that wasn’t planned—out his doorway and scanned the news bullpen area.
Pen bit his lip and darted a nervous look at Shadow before his gaze settled somewhere over Shadow’s right shoulder. “Nobody is using the computer in the bullpen that contains the information software. I need to research more on the effects granite quarries have on the environment for the article I’m writing.”
“That must seem boring after reporting on bloody wars.” Shadow’s plans for the future included staying in Granite City. Now he had to wonder if this was only a pit stop for Pen. Was the man going back to foreign travels once they released his brother’s body and the facts about the Gregslist kidnapper came out?
Pen chuckled. Shadow couldn’t help but admire the man’s handsome face. “This situation is actually quite similar, except there hasn’t been any bloodshed, yet.” Pen held up one hand. “On one side, you have a money-making business that wants to make more money.” Pen held up his other hand. “On the other side, you have people who live in the area and environmentalists who are concerned how this quarry will affect their lives.”
“Sounds like a dispute, but not a war,” Shadow observed.
“Huh, that’s what you think. During county meetings where permits are considered, things have gotten pretty heated.” Pen snorted. “People don’t like explosions that break apart rock and shake the foundations of their houses. When family heirlooms start falling off shelves, it scares them.” Pen picked up a small notebook sitting next to the laptop. Shadow had noticed that the notebook had been stuffed in Pen’s back pocket when they had left the apartment. “The environmentalists are worried about the effects on water quality and soil erosion. The altercations between the crowds of picketers versus the company’s big machinery in front of the proposed area have gotten wild on more than one occasion.”
Shadow turned that information over in his mind. He still didn’t think it was in the same category as war, but if it kept Pen in the area, he’d take it. Nodding toward the door where Pen wanted to go, he asked, “Why do you have to use that c
omputer?”
Pen’s gaze dropped to his desk, and he rubbed a scratch in the wood with his finger. “It contains some special programs that help with research. The costs of producing newspapers has gone through the roof, and subscriptions are down. Hell, to make a go of it, the owner puts out separate special sections. One features agricultural news, another hunting and fishing, there’s the one with antique cars, and finally home and garden.” Pen glanced up at Shadow. “And there still isn’t any free money to upgrade computers.”
A glint of something in Pen’s gaze caught Shadow’s attention. After a moment he realized all the different logistics going on in the newsroom excited Pen. “You like it here, don’t you?”
Shadow’s insides warmed from the smile Pen gave him. “Yeah, I do. To be honest, I have a few ideas that might turn this place around.” Pen’s face grew somber, and he again avoided looking at Shadow. “I need to look something up on that computer before someone else wants to use it.”
Shadow didn’t bother to comment. He didn’t care what was on that computer. He’d be a fool to think news agencies didn’t have technical ways of digging deep into the secret caves of classified information.
Pen stood, clutching the pencil and notebook in his hands. “I’ll… um…” He jabbed one thumb toward the bullpen. “I’ll just be a little while.”
After waiting a few minutes, Shadow left the room and went to the bullpen. All of the desks were full, with men and women typing away, their gazes seemingly glued to the computer monitors.
Keeping to the perimeter, he made his way around the room while scanning every nook and cranny. Security wise, the room was a nightmare. Oversized wooden desks made for wonderful hiding spots. Large boxy file cabinets provided cover, not to mention tall stacks of magazines and newspapers were piled all around the room.
Offices like Pen’s lined the bullpen. Frazzled looking men and women dressed in wrinkled clothing would rush into one office or another and, after a few minutes, would rush out again before taking a spot behind one of the desks in the bullpen.
Shadow's Pen [Rescue for Hire 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 6