by Lynn Hagen
“I’ll talk to Dagger.”
“Good.” Darien put his arm around Matthew and drew him close. His body heat and secure grip of his arm made Matthew sink into him. He rested his head on Darien’s chest and stared out over the town.
“I really think we can do something with this place.”
“I think so, too,” Darien said. “Just need more residents and jobs that will sustain this town.”
“Seoul is bringing one of his divisions here.” Matthew shivered as Darien’s thumb traced his arm. Darien had no clue how much Matthew needed that simple touch.
“What exactly does he do?” Darien’s hand moved from Matthew’s arm to his back, brushing soothing strokes up and down his spine.
“He owns NetPlate.”
“No shit.” Darien chuckled. “That’s one of the biggest software companies on the East Coast.”
The quiet night, Darien’s deep, lulling voice, and the serenity of the sleeping town helped to drain away the chaos inside Matthew. “It is, and Glen is opening up a division here, too. He owns the entire chain of Hunt Power Tools.”
“The same tools me and my crew use.”
Matthew nodded. “Dagger has buddies coming in. His friend will be the sheriff, and another will be a deputy. I asked Drake to be a deputy, too.”
“You’ve said that name before. Who is Drake?”
“My bodyguard.”
“Why haven’t I seen him around?”
Matthew wiggled closer, soaking up Darien’s strength and enjoying his masculine smell. He almost became dizzy with the intoxicating aroma. “There’s not much to guard in a small town. He hasn’t been needed here, but has the qualifications to still be of use.”
Darien’s arm tightened around Matthew. “Sounds like Wildfire will blossom.”
Matthew’s shoulders sagged as his chest became tight. “I hope so. It might be the only asset I have left if William has his way.”
Darien released him and stood. Matthew instantly missed the heat and strength of Darien’s body. Even if things didn’t pan out sexually between them, he could see them becoming good friends.
When Darien held out his hand, Matthew took it and was pulled to his feet. “Then let’s go talk to Dagger.”
“Okay, but just to scare William away. No murder.” Matthew didn’t have a good feeling about this, but felt as if he’d run out of options. Matthew’s lawyers had said they would ruin William’s career. Even if they did, that would only make William demand more money.
Matthew didn’t see any other way out of this as they headed down the street. William had him over a barrel, and unless he stopped his ex, Matthew just might need a job on Darien’s crew.
* * * *
“You think stalling will work?” William screeched into the phone the following morning. “You think I don’t know what you’re up to, Matthew?”
Matthew held the phone away from his ear. When William stopped trying to bust his eardrum, he put it back. “All I’m having my lawyers do is authenticate those pictures. You and I both know I never took any of them.”
“By the time I’m done with you, I’ll own your entire portfolio.” William hung up.
Matthew tossed his phone onto his bed. Paul was due to arrive today, but Matthew wasn’t banking on his help. Dagger had set things in motion, and Matthew prayed it would work and he would finally have William out of his life for good.
* * * *
A dozen of the houses were completed, along with the police station and the restaurant was nearly finished. Wildfire still had a long way to go, but Darien was happy with the progress they’d made.
His eyes widened when Matthew showed up wearing a pair of loose-fitting jeans, a T-shirt that was one size too big, and brand-new work boots.
“Okay, put me to work.”
Darien grinned. “I have an idea what kind of work you can do for me.” He pulled Matthew into his arms and they kissed right there in front of the school that was being demolished.
Catcalls and whistles filled the air. Mo’s men were a rowdy bunch. Even Darien’s guys joined in, hooting and howling like dogs.
“We’re making spectacles of ourselves,” Matthew whispered against his lips.
“I don’t care.” Darien kissed him a little longer before finally releasing him. “As cute as you look, I’m not putting you to work. There’s nothing to do right now, anyway. As soon as the debris is cleared away, I have guys coming in to pour the new foundation.”
“Fine, I’ll just stand here and look good.” Matthew grabbed a hard hat from the table and stuck in on his head.
“Sexy.” Darien winked. “I want you wearing that headgear the next time I fuck you.”
Matthew’s blush was deep. “Just as long as you wear your tool belt.”
Darien grabbed Matthew and hauled him back into his arms. “You’re gonna make it hard for me to work today.” He pressed Matthew’s hand to his erection trapped behind his jeans. “See?”
“Sweet,” Jordan said as he walked toward them. “A live porno.”
Matthew yanked away and pulled the hard hat from his head. Darien glared at Jordan. “Don’t you have work to do?”
He knew why Matthew had jerked from his arms. He was still worried that any affection he showed in public would be used against him. That was truly fucked-up and Darien hated that Matthew had even been put into a position to feel that way.
But it was also comical how Matthew kept looking around and repeatedly swallowing, as if the PDA police were going to arrest him at any second.
“I was working until I caught your show.” Jordan winked.
“I have things I need to take care of.” Matthew gave Jordan a withering glare before heading away.
“Did I say something wrong?” Jordan asked. “I was just teasing.”
“He may have eaten with us, and I might be interested in him, but he’s still one of the investors of this town and a very influential man, Jordan.”
Jordan looked contrite. “You’re right. Can you apologize to him for me? I didn’t mean to overstep my bounds.”
Darien knew Jordan had meant no harm, but he wanted the deference his employees had for the owners of Wildfire to remain intact. That wasn’t easy since Darien was fucking Matthew and Seoul was screwing Cory, but he still had to try.
He caught up to Matthew. “I’m sorry about that. Jordan is just…Jordan.”
“I enjoyed dinner with your men, but I think it best I keep things on a professional level with them.” Darien didn’t like Matthew’s clipped tone, and he wasn’t about to let Matthew shut him out. Not after all the hard work Darien had put into getting the stick out of Matthew’s ass.
Darien laid a hand on Matthew’s arm, making Matthew look at him. “I already talked to Jordan about that. He meant no harm.”
“I know. I’m just spooked.” Matthew began walking again and Darien fell in step beside him. “As soon as he said porno, all I saw was him catching us having sex and leaking some video online.”
Darien grabbed Matthew’s hand and drew him to a stop. “Whoa. I understand your fears, but I can give you my word Jordan would never do something like that. His mind just doesn’t work that way.”
“He seems like a nice guy, but I don’t really know him, Darien. I have to protect myself, which means backing off.” Matthew pulled his hand free and crossed his arms over his chest, which was a sure sign of defensive behavior.
Darien furrowed his brows. “Does that include me?”
“What?” Matthew squinted at Darien and shook his head. “No, not you. If anything, I owe you too much gratitude for helping me.”
Darien wasn’t sure how to take that statement. “So we fucked because you were grateful?”
Matthew palmed his face and groaned. “You’re twisting my words around.” He dropped his hand. “We fucked because I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you.”
They began to walk again. “I know it’ll take time, but you have to stop looking at every
one as if they have an ulterior motive. You’re only going to push everyone away.”
“Maybe that’s best,” Matthew said. “I’m a private person anyway, and I would rather have a working relationship with your men.”
Darien wrapped his arms around Matthew. He didn’t want to admit how good it felt whenever he touched Matthew, or how much he was starting to crave him. What they had was nothing more than a sexual friendship. Nothing more, because Darien refused to let it be more than that. Still…“You’re one complicated-ass man.”
“I know.” Matthew sighed just as his phone chirped.
Reluctantly, Darien released him so Matthew could remove his phone from his pocket. But Darien couldn’t stop touching Matthew. He draped his hand over Matthew’s nape, brushing his thumb over the edge of his hair line.
Matthew paled when he looked at the screen.
Darien snatched it and wished he could unsee what he saw. It was a picture of Matthew on his knees, completely naked, with a hard dick shoved in his mouth.
The text under the picture promised more to “cum.”
Chapter Eight
Matthew had a headache that felt like an atomic bomb had exploded in his skull by the time he’d made it home. No sooner had his foot hit the carpeted bottom step than Seoul appeared at the top of the staircase, his face a mask of rage.
Not in the mood to deal with whatever had pissed him off, Matthew tried to bypass him when he reached the top, but Seoul wouldn’t budge.
“You need to know something.”
“I’m really tired and my head hurts.” All Matthew kept seeing was the rage on Darien’s face as he’d handed the phone back and walked away. The scene kept looping over and over in Matthew’s head.
Matthew remembered William taking the photo when they’d been playing around. But he also recalled deleting it later. The bastard must’ve saved it in his cloud.
Seoul held up his phone and turned it around. The picture of Matthew sucking William’s dick was like a slap to the face. He stumbled, and would have fallen down the steps had Seoul not caught him.
“Dagger and Glen were sent the same photo,” Seoul said. “It’s William’s way of warning you not to try and screw him over.”
Matthew dropped on the step and buried his face in his hands. The nightmare was never going to end. Even if he lost his mind and decided to pay William again, as soon as the money ran out, he would resurface.
Seoul sat a step above Matthew and ran a hand over his back. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”
“Turn back the clock so I can stop myself from making the biggest mistake of my life.” He looked up at Seoul. “Darien saw the photo.”
Matthew was growing very fond of Darien, but he hadn’t expected the level of hurt that crushed his chest when the man had walked away. He’d started to chase Darien down, to try to explain the picture, but really, what could he have said that would have taken the anger out of Darien’s beautiful, blue eyes?
So Matthew had scuttled home to wallow in his miserable misfortune. The thought of never seeing Darien again was more painful than Matthew wanted it to be.
“Shit.” Seoul squeezed his shoulder. “What’d he do?”
“Walked away.” Matthew rubbed the pads of his palms into his eyes. This was a complete and utter nightmare.
“That tells me he cares about you,” Seoul said. “If he hadn’t, that would have meant the photo didn’t bother him.”
Even if that were true, William had probably wrecked anything Matthew might’ve had with Darien. The image was emblazoned in Darien’s mind now.
“I knew I should’ve left him alone.”
“William?”
“Darien.” Matthew ground his teeth. He couldn’t recall a breakup—was it a breakup—that had torn him up this badly. It felt as if Matthew couldn’t breathe. All he kept seeing was how Darien looked at him with reverence as the two made love on the back deck of that house, the softly-spoken words, his touch, his kisses.
Matthew wanted to curl into a ball and cry his existence away.
When a knock sounded on the front door, Matthew shot to his feet, his heart hammering wildly.
“I doubt William is stupid enough to track you down and show up here. But if he did, I’ll bury the body for you.” Seoul moved past him and descended the steps. Seconds later, he called Matthew’s name.
Unsure what was going on, Matthew took the steps slowly, his body shaking slightly. He swallowed around the hard lump in his throat as he entered the living room.
Darien stood just inside the door. Every fiber of his being wanted to run to the man, to launch himself into Darien’s strong arms. But Matthew held back, forcing himself to stay rooted to the spot as trepidation squeezed his heart.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Seoul headed into the kitchen.
Matthew had never been so nervous in his life. He said the first thing that came to his mind. “I’m sorry you had to see…that.”
His hands curling and uncurling at his sides, Darien shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed before he opened them. “I need that image out of my head.”
“How?” Matthew wished he had the know-how because he would do it in a heartbeat.
Darien advanced toward him. Matthew took a step back, frightened of the determined look on Darien’s face. He wasn’t sure what to expect when Darien grabbed his hand and dragged Matthew upstairs, going straight to his bedroom. His stomach flipped and twirled when Darien slammed the door closed, then unbuckled his belt.
“What’re you doing?” Matthew shook like crazy as he watched Darien pull it free, drop it to the floor, then unfasten his pants.
“You’re gonna get in that same position, only it’ll be my dick down your throat.”
Matthew’s heart leaped for joy. He could live with that. Replace one mental image with another. Besides, he’d been dying to taste Darien since he’d said those crass words in the bathroom at Gallagher’s.
With quivering hands, Matthew silently stripped and lowered to his knees. He clasped his hands behind his back, licked his lips, and spread his legs.
“Shit.” Darien stopped taking his jeans off and just stared.
Matthew frowned. “What? This is what you wanted, right?”
Darien nearly fell over trying to get his leg out of his jeans. “That’s exactly what I wanted.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?” Matthew asked.
“You drive me fucking crazy, you know that?” Darien threw his pants aside and stripped off his shirt. Matthew’s cock hardened at the sight of the gorgeous body on display in front of him. Hard cut lines, tanned flesh, rigid abdomen, and corded muscles that went on for miles.
Darien might be knocking on forty’s door, but his body hadn’t gotten the memo. His cock jutted in a hard, curved line, the head leaking as he moved toward Matthew. The vein that ran the length was fat, and Matthew was dying to run the flat of his tongue along it.
Matthew tried to capture the head of Darien’s cock, but instead, Darien held his chin in a gentle grip and made Matthew look up at him. “Are these the photos he was talking about?”
“They have to be. But I erased them. When he said he had photos, I thought he was talking about something dark and depraved, something he photoshopped me into.”
“I’m still pissed that I saw it.” Darien released his chin.
Seoul’s words circled in Matthew’s head. If Darien was pissed, he had feelings for Matthew. “So why are we doing this?”
“Billion-year evolutionary drive.” Darien grabbed the base of his cock. “It demands I get rid of another man’s scent. Even though we’re dealing with an image, it’s still the same.”
Matthew slid his tongue over his lower lip, watching as Darien’s eyes became heavy-lidded, sensual, bedroom eyes that turned Matthew on. “So does this mean you’re staking your claim on me?”
Darien tapped the head of his cock against Matthew’s lips. “One step at a time, sweetheart. Let’s
not make things complicated.”
Matthew didn’t like that answer. It shouldn’t bother him, though. Hadn’t he thought the same thing? Not to let things get complicated? A quick fuck? Some fun? So why did he want to demand that Darien make this complicated?
Because it feels too good when you’re in his arms.
The whole situation had become complex. Matthew didn’t like messiness. He liked clean lines and visible boundaries, but he let Darien’s remark go as he slid his tongue over the head of Darien’s cock.
“Aw, baby, you can do better than that.”
With a smirk, Matthew lavished the crown, moaning as he enjoyed the hard perfection. Darien thrust forward, and Matthew took the cock down his throat.
“Aw, yeah. Shit.” Darien grabbed Matthew’s head and fucked his hips forward in quick bursts that allowed Matthew to catch his breath before Darien’s shaft rammed back down his throat again. He started to touch Darien’s heavy balls, but Darien shook his head. “Keep your hands where they are.”
Matthew tightened the suction by pressing his lips tighter around Darien’s prick, making Darien moan even louder. The tension built, and Matthew wanted to get off, too, but Darien had demanded that he keep his hands behind his back.
Darien gasped and grunted as he came, his thick cum shooting down Matthew’s throat. Matthew took it all, savoring every last drop. The musky scent of Darien’s release, the way he shook, the long exhale the man made was enough to drive Matthew insane. And Matthew was still so hard that his balls hurt.
With a growl, Darien lifted Matthew off the floor and tossed him on the bed. Matthew laughed, wiggled, then moaned when Darien grabbed his cock and began stroking him.
In seconds Matthew cried out, jerking as he came. He shuddered when Darien licked the seed from Matthew’s chest, then fused their lips.
Darien might not want complicated, but it was too late for Matthew. In that moment, he realized he’d fallen in love with his hunky construction company owner.