by Sierra
She found herself standing outside Matt’s door unable, for some reason, to actually knock.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She forced herself to knock briskly, and proceeded to stand wearing her best “friendly neighbor” face while she waited for him to open the door.
“Shannon!” Those mood-eyes flashed blue, and if the way he reached out to immediately draw her into the living room was any indication, he was truly happy to see her.
God. He was even more beautiful today than he’d been at the pool. His long, dark hair was loose again, but held a slight kink where it had obviously been tied back. He was barefoot and tie-less, but his pale-gray suit pants clung lovingly to impressive thighs, and the open neck of his white dress shirt exposed a triangle of golden skin just begging to be licked.
“Does the fact you’re here mean you’re ready to take me up on my offer of dinner?” He took the keys from her hand and dropped them on the small occasional table by the door, and then led her to the couch with a boyish enthusiasm that was completely charming.
“I’m afraid I’ve come to take you up on your other offer.” Shannon displayed her punctured finger. “It looks like I’m not man enough to take on the damn couch.” She pouted prettily. “It bit me!” When Matthew laughed at her dramatics she continued, “So does your offer to help me schlep furniture still stand? I could really use some extra muscle.”
Taking her hand with a flourish, Matthew pressed a gentle kiss to the damaged digit and then, meeting her eyes with a wicked smile, he drew the finger into his mouth and sucked lightly. Shannon savored the shudder that worked down her spine at the sensation, and watched as his eyes went heavy-lidded and smoky.
* * * * *
Matthew felt like rubbing his hands together in glee. Not only was his hot little mermaid here in his home, but she needed his help! He imagined them, sweaty and out of breath from moving the couch, falling on it together, wrapped in each other.
“Oh yeah.” She tasted amazing, like salt and spice. He was suddenly famished for her, and he imagined all the other places on her body he’d like to be sucking right now. He tried to keep the evil intent off his face and out of his voice. “My offer still stands.”
“Thanks.” Her voice was breathy as she leaned back into the soft cocoon of his sofa. “I really thought I could handle it myself, but once the couch drew first blood, I knew it was time to call in reinforcements.”
Matt bent down and gathered her legs up, propping her feet on his coffee table before heading to the kitchen.
“Well, before you go back into the fray, let me give you some fortification.” He opened the refrigerator and took a moment to regret he was indeed a bachelor, and his refrigerator reflected it. “I’ve got domestic beer, some orange juice, German beer, a flat diet soda, and, oh, some beer from a local microbrewery,” he called out with a grimace. “What can I get for you?”
“Gee.” Her laughter sounded like bells. “It’s really hard to choose, but I think I’ll have to go with…um…beer.”
“An excellent choice,” he replied, carrying two bottles and two glasses into the living room. “It’s the house specialty.”
Shannon rolled her eyes and accepted both bottle and glass as he dropped onto the couch next to her. Setting the glass on the coffee table, she took a long drink directly from the bottle and leaned back with a sigh. A bit of quick maneuvering on his part and instead of leaning back into the soft surface of the couch, she found herself leaning into the decidedly hard surface of Matt’s arm. She shot him a glance.
“So, that move work much, slick?” In spite of her words, Shannon made no effort to move.
“Not since high school.” He grinned. “I’m hoping my luck is changing. Will you let me?” He didn’t say what he wanted her to let him do, mostly because there were too many things swirling through his head to choose just one. When she didn’t answer, he slid in even closer, discarding his bottle and dragging his thumb over her damp lips. In a move that seemed unconscious, she swept her tongue along behind it, capturing his flavor.
His groan was low, full of hunger and humor. “Oh yeah, you’ll let me.”
Using the same thumb to tilt her chin, Matthew kissed her. No, kiss was too bland a word for what he did to her. He began to devour her. Gently he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, toying with it with tongue and teeth before releasing it, only to repeat the small torture on her top lip. He sipped at her lips, sucking and nipping at them as if they were honey coated and his job was to lap away every drop.
Shannon sighed and slid her hand into his hair, pulling him closer. Her softness and heat burned him, and when his tongue slid craftily in and rubbed over hers, he felt the fire from the inside out. He hoped maybe she felt the same, because when he started a short, light suction on her tongue, Shannon gave a low moan and began to knead at his shoulder with one hand while stroking through his hair with the other.
When his teasing got to be too much, and she was wriggling and pressing her thighs together, she apparently decided to fight fire with fire and sucked his tongue into her mouth. At his muffled grunt of pleasure, she smiled into the kiss, sucking more intensely still.
Captivated, Matt slid an arm behind her and eased her onto the couch, following her down to prop himself on his forearms, caging her with his body. To his great satisfaction, Shannon automatically slid one foot to the floor, making room for him in the cradle of her pelvis. When he deliberately stroked his erection against the damp denim at the apex of her body, she sighed and arched closer.
His hips began a rhythmic pulsing against hers, and Matthew realized if he didn’t stop now, he’d end up taking her right there on his couch. Ignoring his outraged cock, he lifted his lips from hers and sucked air in through his teeth when she took the opportunity to lick at the soft skin just below his ear and work one small hand between them to stroke the length of his erection. Gritting his teeth so hard he almost expected his jaw to crack, he choked out his one and only warning.
“We need to stop now, or I won’t be able to.”
“I don’t want to stop.” She licked a path of fire down his neck.
“You didn’t come up here for this,” he reminded her, and his dick howled in protest.
“No, I know.” She pushed into the soothing stroke of his hand down her torso.
“Maybe you should think about it, be sure it’s what you want before we do something that can’t be undone.” And what the fuck was he doing talking her out of it? His body was raging, had been raging since Daniel had buried himself balls deep in his ass on Sunday night. But then, maybe sex with Daniel was precisely why he wanted Shannon to be very sure. He already had one reluctant lover; Matthew didn’t know if he could handle a second.
Slowly, painfully, Matthew lifted himself from Shannon’s welcoming body. He smiled at her regretful sigh and pressed a quick, soft kiss to her swollen lips.
“Go on down. I’ll change and come down and help you do battle with the dreaded couch.” She smiled back, though her eyes were still dreamy and somewhat out of focus. When she just lay there watching his mouth, Matt grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. It didn’t do either of them any good when she landed against his body. It took a minute before he could bring himself to stop kneading at her waist and release her.
* * * * *
Daniel bounded up the stairs to Matt’s place, too agitated to wait for the elevator. His stomach was knotted with stress. He’d been stressed out since he’d given in to Matthew’s seduction. A big part of him felt guilty, while an even bigger part wanted to do it again. The sex was good—rough and carnal, and Matt seemed to have no issues letting Daniel take the lead.
Lost in thought, he wasn’t looking where he was going as he exited the stairwell on Matt’s floor. A soft thud and a small, feminine “Omph” had him looking down.
Sprawled on the floor in front of him was the most delicious female he’d encountered in a long while.
“You just going to stand there, or
are you going to help a girl up?”
Daniel crossed his arms. Her voice was mellow. It reminded him of music. And there was something in her eyes. An openness. A calming effect when she looked at him. It warmed his insides, relieving some of the tension he’d felt just a moment before.
“Well, I don’t know.” He deliberately ran his eyes over her curvy body. “What’s my incentive for helping a damsel in distress?”
“Listen, big guy, you can’t knock a girl on her ass and expect her to help herself up. What kind of gentleman would you be?” She had the most adorable way of wrinkling her nose when she smiled. He wanted to see her smile again.
Daniel laughed, the first real one he’d had in a long time. Reaching down, he grasped her forearm, helping her to stand. He deliberately pulled too hard, causing her to stumble straight into his arms. He tightened his grip around her back. Her smell was intoxicating, her nipples—hard little nubs—brushed over his chest. Thoughts of her lying between him and Matt clouded his brain.
“Angel, I’m not a gentleman of any sort.” He leaned in, and for a brief moment Daniel thought she would let him kiss her. Then her hazy expression cleared. She stiffened and Daniel immediately set her away from him. As she disappeared into the stairwell, Daniel waved.
“Bye, angel.”
Chapter Six
Gathering what she could of her composure, Shannon headed toward the elevator. She got there just in time for the doors to slide open, leaving her to step in and relive her moment with the second most beautiful man she’d ever seen. When he’d smiled at her, a naughty sparkle in his eyes, she’d decided he was every bit as beautiful as Matthew, in a different way.
Matthew was pure boyish charm. He radiated sex, but he also exuded fun. This man was movie-star gorgeous. There wasn’t anything boyish about him. He radiated sex, but it was dark, hinting at forbidden pleasures.
He smelled good. Really good. Matthew’s taste was still on her lips, but she wanted to taste this man, too. And his voice was like crushed velvet, brushing over her with an almost physical touch. What was happening to her? It was as if when she had driven across the Michigan state line, some inner barrier had dropped. Something had changed, freeing a woman who could hunger for two men at the same time. Who could hunger, she realized, to take two men at the same time.
He’d almost kissed her. He had touched her, and when her nipples had rubbed over his her breath had hitched, and she knew he’d felt it too. She was flushed and wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or arousal. Because if her nipples had been hard against his chest, his cock had been even harder, dragging over the soft skin of her belly. She wondered how his mouth would taste and slumped against the elevator wall. Apparently she could hunger, but she wasn’t quite brave enough to do anything about it.
Five minutes later, Shannon found herself staring at a door for the second time in less than an hour. Only this time it was her own. And she was locked on the wrong side of it.
“Fuck!” She didn’t use a lot of profanity. It was a bad habit for a teacher to get into—it wouldn’t do to slip up in front of the kiddies. But sometimes only a good old four-letter word got the point across.
Well, she could stand here like a statue hoping Matt noticed her keys and brought them down to her, or she could go back up and get them herself. Maybe she’d get lucky and catch him with his shirt off. Or his pants.
Wondering if he’d agree that she’d had enough time to “think about things”, she turned and headed back into the jaws of temptation.
* * * * *
“You forgot your keys.” Matt was smiling as he opened the door. Daniel stood leaning against the jamb with his hands tucked casually in his pockets. Matthew’s smile faded a bit, became more speculative.
“Expecting someone?” With a hungry little grin, he looked over his shoulder then back. “Wouldn’t happen to be that really hot little number I just ran into?”
Matt walked away from the door without answering. Daniel followed him in, not bothering to close the door behind him.
“What do you want, Daniel?” Matthew crossed his arms and stood facing Daniel. Daniel couldn’t help but notice the flush on Matthew’s cheeks, and the heavy thrust of his erection through his thin gray trousers. Matt’s eyes were a stormy gray-green. He must still be pissed. Daniel was very much afraid Matt was going to make this harder than he’d anticipated.
“Matty, we need to put all the shit behind us or we’ll never manage to work together. With Marcus gone, it’s up to us to finish this project on time.”
“Don’t call me Matty.” Matthew’s brows were drawn together in obvious aggravation. “I haven’t been Matty for ten fucking years.” He walked toward Daniel.
Daniel threw his hands up as if to ward off Matt’s approach. “Point taken, Matt. We still need to act like grownups.” The barb was deliberate and Matt realized it, if the narrowing of his eyes was anything to go by. “It’s past time that we come to an understanding so we can get to work.”
“Oh, I understand, Daniel. I understand that you’re in denial.”
This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. Daniel took a moment to regroup. They needed to have this out once and for all, or they’d never be able to work together. He didn’t care to examine too closely exactly why he was so determined to confront the younger man.
“There is no denial, Matt. We had fun. We got off. End of story.”
Matt stalked over to him, closing the distance between their bodies. “If it was just about getting off, then why are you so obsessed with talking it to death? Why can’t you look me in the eye?” He cupped his hand against Daniel’s tented pants, rubbing his palm roughly over his erection. “If it was just about getting off, then why do you get hard every time we’re in a room together? You look at me and you’re ready to explode. You’re the one who keeps making this about more than getting off.”
Daniel needed to end this now. He couldn’t seem to stay casual with Matt, and there were too many reasons why they couldn’t be anything serious to each other. He wasn’t capable of giving Matt what he needed, what he deserved.
There would be no happy ending for Daniel. He would never be the hero to swoop in and save the day. He fucked. That was what he was good at. He stayed comfortable, he stayed in control. Matt deserved more.
Matt threatened the tight control Daniel had spent so many years cultivating. At thirty-six, he had his emotions contained behind a nice thick wall of ice. No one got hurt, and he didn’t have to live with guilt.
He sure as hell wasn’t telling Matt he felt something when they were together. Daniel wouldn’t even acknowledge to himself the spark of need that flickered somewhere north of his dick whenever Matt was around. As long as he didn’t acknowledge it, it wasn’t real.
“Matthew, I don’t look at you any differently than I do any other person I’ve had sex with.”
A flash, maybe hurt, passed through Matt’s eyes, and for a brief moment Daniel felt regret at his harsh words. This is for his own good.
Daniel closed his eyes, trying to gain control of the situation. Mistake. When he opened them, Matt was on him, branding his mouth with a kiss as potent as straight whiskey. Daniel tried to push him away, but Matthew wasn’t having it. He grabbed the front of Daniel’s shirt and pushed him against the wall, pressing with his body to keep him in place.
Daniel refused to open his mouth. It didn’t stop Matt from licking his lips. He pulled back and whispered against Daniel’s damp mouth, “You’re a liar, Daniel.”
Those four little words ripped through Daniel. Liar, was he?
This time he grabbed Matt and pulled him around so his back was against the wall. Daniel pushed his leg between the younger man’s thighs. Matt’s hard-on ground against his thigh. He slapped his hands against the wall, framing Matt’s head.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re asking for.” Daniel could barely form the words as hazel eyes widened, and Matt smiled.
“You keep saying th
at, and you keep being wrong.”
Daniel shook his head. He was going to regret this, but he couldn’t seem to stop.
“Then you’re a fool.” He brought his mouth crashing down on Matthew’s and thrust his tongue deeply into his mouth. Daniel plundered and pushed, taking the other man’s mouth over and over again. He bit at Matthew’s bottom lip as he pushed his hips into the cradle of his pelvis. He grabbed Matt’s jaw, widening his mouth so he could lay claim.
It wasn’t supposed to be a kiss of passion; it was punishment for pushing Daniel too far. His lips were bruising in their intensity, but Matt wasn’t intimidated. No, Matthew was moaning, his hands grasping Daniel’s ass, grinding him against his cock.
A small gasp broke the spell. Both men turned their heads toward the sound. Standing in the doorway was the little hottie Daniel had just met in the hall. He pushed away from Matt and walked to the woman. He didn’t stop until he was close enough for her breath to touch his face. Daniel let his gaze travel up and down her perfectly curved form, stopping at the beaded nipples straining against her white tank top.
She’d watched them kissing, and it had turned her on. Drawn, as if by a magnet, he lowered his head, closing the distance between their mouths. He breathed in deeply, and the sweet aroma of orange blossoms invaded his senses. When she tilted her head up to meet him, it broke the spell. Daniel pulled back with a jerk and walked out the door, leaving both Matt and the mystery woman breathing hard and wanting more.
Leaving himself wanting more.
* * * * *
They stared at each other for a long, charged minute before Matthew spoke.
“Sorry about that.” His voice was deep and raspy, and for once there was no laughter in his eyes.
“Who the hell is he?” Shannon flicked a glance at the closed door, and then to Matthew’s very obvious erection. “And is he the reason you stopped earlier?”
Matthew sighed. “He is a force of nature named Daniel Ellis. And yeah, he does have something to do with why I stopped.” When she went pale and narrowed her eyes, he hurriedly continued. “But not the way you mean.”