by Lyn, Viki
Graham’s climax spread through his body as furious as the coming storm. Deep, rumbling thunder roared overhead as his orgasm peaked. The crackling lightning swallowed his lusty shouts.
As Graham came down from his high, he stroked Chris’s face, those pupils dark, the sexy mouth stretched into a grimace.
Not wasting another second, Graham glided his fingers up Chris’s dick and then grasped gently, continuing a steady movement.
Chris leaned in, wrapping his arms around Graham’s neck, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck. “Ah, fuck.” He kept his hands on Graham’s hips, his fingernails digging in. Chris’s grunts turned into sexy moans as he climaxed.
Holding Chris tightly in his arms, Graham felt him shudder and then relax. Graham looked up at the steel-gray sky and exhilaration bubbled up inside of him. Chris had felt incredible and he could stay like this forever, but the sky wasn’t going to clear anytime soon.
With one hand, he slipped up his briefs and zipped up his jeans. Then he did the same for Chris, who appeared too out of it to dress. Then Graham helped Chris to his feet.
“Come on, Sleeping Beauty. I’m taking you home.”
Chris turned with half-shut eyes. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“You know I do.”
“I guess you’re a good guy after all.” Chris’s smile came out loopy, and then his chin dropped to his chest.
Well, that was a first, making a guy pass out after fooling around. Graham scooped Chris into his arms. He weighed more than Graham imagined. Had to be muscle, because the guy had no fat on him.
Graham couldn’t wait to see Chris completely naked, but that had to wait. He would tuck Chris into bed and hope he didn’t wake up with a mind-blowing headache. Most of all, Graham hoped Chris didn’t regret what they had just done. More than ever, he wanted a chance with Chris. To prove to him he was one of the good guys and worth pursuing.
Graham’s heart echoed the sentiment that there could be something more between them if Chris would give them a fighting chance.
10
Chris woke to the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling bacon filtering through the bedroom. When he sat up, he touched his temple, his head slightly buzzed. After his brain had defogged long enough to take in his surroundings, he swore under his breath when he realized he was in Graham’s bed.
Several candles on the dresser and nightstand stained the surfaces with dripped wax. A memory of candlelight playing off Graham’s golden skin came to mind. A flush of heat rose up his face. He scratched his head, trying to remember if they had done more than frottage on the beach.
Lifting up the sheet, Chris sighed with relief that he had on his boxers. He sat on the edge of the bed and accidentally kicked the whiskey bottle. Forget about blaming the drink. He had been sober—enough to know he’d encouraged Graham. That he had wanted it…though he wasn’t quite sure what it was he desired from Graham. The odds weren’t great betting on a long-distance relationship.
At least they hadn’t fucked. If they ever got that far he’d want to remember the next morning. That he wanted to wake up next to Graham spoke of how much he liked the guy.
Chris rubbed his face with the sheet and smiled as he inhaled Graham’s scent. He could live with a little frottage on the beach. They hadn’t done the dirty deed, so he had his dignity intact, barely. Getting off on the anniversary of his dads’ deaths—well, fuck, Pete and Bob would have approved. They had always encouraged him to step out of his comfort zone, risk his heart because that was when good things happened. Maybe he should heed his dads’ advice for once. Playing it safe never amounted to anything long-term or permanent.
After a shower, he dressed in a pair of clean jeans and a shirt and followed the aroma to the kitchen. His chest constricted at the sight of dirty pans and bowls and cut vegetables—at least on a cutting board. He bit back a what-the-fuck when Graham looked genuinely happy to see him.
“Making breakfast. You must be starving. You slept through the night.”
What a simple remark, but something inside of Chris melted despite the chaos Graham had created in the kitchen. Graham looked ridiculously cute wearing a blue-striped apron, stirring the ingredients in the frying pan. Dressed down in a gray T-shirt and jeans, looking like a regular guy, his hair still wet from his shower.
Chris took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He could get past a dirty kitchen, and the slew of pots and pans spread across his counter. Lighten up for once. Then he’d think about how to handle the conversation they needed to have about yesterday’s unexpected flirtation. Ah shit, he should tell it like it was—sex without penetration.
Graham had set the table for two, complete with a vase of daisies as the centerpiece. He must have cut them from the memorial garden in the backyard. As Chris walked by, he straightened the fork before continuing to the kitchen counter.
Graham eyed him with curiosity. “I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty. You didn’t have much in the fridge, so I raided the restaurant’s kitchen.”
“You’re shittin’ me. How did you get past Loren? He doesn’t like anyone near his domain. Did he threaten you with a knife?”
His chef ran a tight ship and accounted for every carrot and stick of butter. To think that Graham waltzed in and got what he wanted, even if he was a guest, spoke highly of his negotiation skills.
Graham shrugged. “He was cool.”
Chris approached the counter for a sponge and got sidetracked by the cracked eggshells piled in the sink. Before he could clean up the mess, Graham came up from behind and propped his chin on Chris’s shoulder.
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” Graham reached around Chris and turned on the faucet. “Just wash the shells down the garbage disposal. That’s what it’s for.”
“Yeah, well…” Chris used the sponge on the litter of white shells.
Graham took the sponge from Chris and set it aside. “I’ve been known to make a mess, but I always clean up after myself.”
“I bet you do.” Chris leaned against the sink. It amazed him that Graham seemed unfazed by his control-freak nature. “You’re the one who moved my vitamin bottles the other day.”
Graham raised his hands, a spatula in one and a paring knife in the other. “Guilty as charged.”
He looked anything but guilty. In fact he looked rather pleased with himself. Chris should be angry. He didn’t like strangers touching his things. Not that Graham was a stranger, not after rubbing their dicks together.
Shit. Relax, man.
“I’m weird about stuff like that.” And that was why Chris was single. Rarely did he allow others into his private life. There was Honda, and Chris considered Josh a friend as well, and he had friends from college, but he preferred a quieter life without hopping between bars and picking up strangers.
Graham handed Chris the knife. “Cut up the zucchini. Small pieces.” He smiled. “Go on, chop. Chop.”
They worked in companionable silence. Chris cut the squash into precise half rounds. His breath hitched when Graham came up from behind. Graham pressed in ever so slightly, enough for Chris to feel his erection. A hand ran down his spine, and Chris dropped the knife on the board.
Graham’s warm body made Chris ache in a good way.
“Despite our rocky start, yesterday felt terrific,” Graham spoke in Chris’s ear, creating a pleasant sensation in Chris’s chest.
Chris turned around and slipped his hands around Graham’s waist. He nibbled Graham’s earlobe and placed a kiss in the same spot. Resting his forehead on Graham’s shoulder, he muttered. “I don’t regret yesterday.”
“That makes me a happy man.” Graham reached back and shut off the stove. “I’ve always had a thing for kitchens.” A knock at the back door halted Graham’s kiss. “Now you get visitors?”
Guilt pulled Chris back to reality. If someone saw him kissing a guest, it’d be all over Secretus in a matter of nanoseconds. He stepped around the counter as he pulled down the hem of hi
s shirt. If caught, what would this say to his staff, that he could break the rules because he owned the place? He didn’t like to lead that way.
Relief flooded him when he realized that, from the angle of the doorway, Josh could not have witnessed the kiss. He let Josh in, but he didn’t offer Josh a chair, and he didn’t like the way Josh’s eyes crinkled in amusement at seeing Graham cooking in the kitchen.
Josh coughed lightly. “I hope you’re finding everything satisfactory, Mr. Winter.”
Graham flipped the eggs in the frying pan. “I’m very comfortable. Oh, and I won’t need a room. Chris has agreed that I can stay here.” He smirked at Chris as he turned down the burner.
“Hey, when—”
“We discussed it this morning. Remember? I’m settled in. It would be a hassle to pack again.”
Josh’s expression remained neutral, but Chris could see the wheels turning in his manager’s head. Chris had never agreed to Graham’s suggestion, but arguing in front of Josh would only fuel more gossip.
“Great,” Josh said. “But if you change your mind, let me know. We have a bungalow available.” Josh glanced toward the hall and then looked back at Chris. “May we talk in your office? I’m making the final arrangements for Get It Together. I need to verify the workshop dates with you.” Josh winked at Graham. “This won’t take long.”
“How many are attending?” Chris had hoped his fundraising efforts would support more teens. He’d been instrumental in creating the workshop for foster teens entering adulthood. They’d learn the basics of setting up a household from opening a bank account to creating a household budget.
“Twice as many as last year,” Josh informed him.
Chris looked up at Graham, who seemed puzzled. “I’ll tell you about it later.” He led Josh into his office and shut the door.
The mischievous sparkle, the envy of every staff member, radiated off Josh. “Spill. Did you agree to put Mr. Winter up for the duration of his stay?”
Chris sighed. “Yes, he’s no trouble. I hardly see him. Now, what’s up?”
“Yeah, you hardly see him. I saw you guys leaving in his car the other day. Henri mentioned he’s jogging with you now. You know how it is. No privacy among the staff. Now he’s cooking breakfast. I’d say he’s an ideal guest.”
“His idea, not mine. He can be a pest.”
“A very handsome pest.”
“Please, sit.” Chris pointed to the chair next to him. Josh was too smart to put anything past him, but Chris wouldn’t encourage rumors about his love life.
“First the good news,” Josh said. “We have fourteen for the weekend’s workshop.”
“And the bad?”
Josh shook his head. “Our security was breached during the outage.”
“Outage? Oh, that’s why there were candles?” A blush crept up Chris’s face as he remembered the melted candles in his bedroom.
“Candles?”
“Nothing. Go on.”
“We had trouble with our generators as well. Finally got them working. The cameras caught an image of a man lurking around the grounds with a camera.”
In this day and age of selfies and the narcissistic need to chronicle every second of one’s life, Chris understood his guests would posts their vacation shots on social media. He limited Internet in the lobby only, but there was just so much he could do to prevent guests from using their devices.
“Was he one of our guests?” Chris asked.
Josh brushed his hand over his hair. “Yeah. Tom Rance. He checked out this morning. Early. Said an emergency came up at home. That’s why I had a bungalow available for Mr. Winter. Also, might be nothing, but he checked in the same time as Mr. Winter.”
A sinking feeling came over Chris. Was this Tom Rance connected to Graham in any way? “Were the generators tampered with?”
“Don’t know. It’s probably nothing but I wanted to let you know.”
Anxiousness came over Chris. “First the computer glitch, and now this. They could be related. Did Honda find out anything?”
“Still working on it. He believes it was a weird hiccup in the application.”
Josh walked over to the back door and pushed open the screen door. “Mr. Winter seems to like you.”
Chris tidied up the files on his desk, avoiding Josh’s penetrating stare. “Keep me posted.”
“You know, none of the staff would think less of you if you slept with the guy. You own the place, and you can break the rules.”
Chris shoved back in his chair. “There’s nothing between us.” Fuck. He spoke too sharply.
Josh smirked as he waved goodbye.
Chris let out a breath. All he needed was the staff nosing around. Not that Josh gossiped, but Secretus was like living in a fishbowl. Anyone with a brain would put two and two together. He should put the kibosh on spending time with Graham, but the tug of his heart told him he would do no such thing.
11
When Chris walked into the kitchen, Graham looked up from placing the juice glasses on the Formica table. The aroma of steaming eggs and bacon rose from the plates.
“That was Josh, right?” Graham said. “Mr. Sunshine behind the counter. He’s cute.”
Chris frowned at the sound of admiration in Graham’s voice. Great. Now he felt possessive of Graham. He had better slow down these growing feelings for his guest. Because that was what Graham was, a guest who would be leaving. There also was the question of the man with the camera. Not that he thought Graham was behind any grand scheme to smear Secretus’s reputation. If anything, Graham had more to lose if he were outed publically. Still, how easily he had shoved aside the fact that Graham supported companies that went against Chris’s principles.
“Is everything okay?” Graham asked.
“Huh?”
“Whatever Josh had to tell you.”
“Oh, that, yeah, it’s been resolved.”
Graham sat next to Chris and poured the orange juice, topping off both their glasses. Usually, Chris would have moved his chair to create distance between them, but he liked sitting next to Graham, where their arms might brush, or their hands accidentally touch.
Graham set down the pitcher. “What’s the workshop all about?”
“EAN sponsors the workshop. It’s for older foster kids to learn what it takes to live on their own. We teach them how to manage their paycheck and other survival skills in living independently.”
“Wow, that’s an excellent idea. Why haven’t I heard of it?”
“We’re only in our second year. I’d read about a similar program in a magazine and thought why not create something similar here. It’s one of my favorite events.”
“You’re amazing. You know that.”
Chris scraped at his scarred hand as his face heated up. He wasn’t all that amazing, but not all foster kids were as lucky as he had been, and he wanted to give back. “I’m just helping out when I can.”
“I disagree. You have a legitimate excuse not to get involved with issues not central to Secretus. I know how busy you can get when running a company. I find what you’re doing commendable. I’m so wrapped up in Winter Media shit that half the time I don’t know what’s going on in the world.” Graham studied Chris. “But something else seems to be troubling you. Do you want to talk about it? I’m good at troubleshooting.”
A spike of uncertainty rose in Chris that maybe he shouldn’t be discussing the breach with Graham. “Nothing security can’t handle. Just had a guy lurking around last night with a camera. With the outage, our generators were down.”
“Does that worry you? The camera man, I mean? I’m surprised you keep Secretus on the down low. Do you advertise at all?”
“Even though gay is becoming socially acceptable—cool, even—Pete and Bob never advertised. And like you, there are still people that aren’t out in public about their sexuality.”
“And not one article has been written about this place?”
Chris tapped his fork against his p
late. The conversation was veering into dangerous territory. He was talking to a media hound, not a lover, and he’d better remember that. “How did you hear of Secretus?”
“I didn’t. My assistant booked the reservation. I never asked her how she knew about Secretus. I figured she read about it.”
“Know of a journalist by the name of Tom Rance?”
“Never heard of him. Is he the man with the camera?” Graham tipped back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling. He set the chair back down. “Hey, you don’t think he’s one of mine, do you?”
“Well, you are a media czar.”
Graham’s dimples popped out. “That’s an old-fashioned term, but true. He could be on my payroll, but honestly, I don’t have the time to see to day-to-day operations. I could call around?”
Those dimples killed any doubts about Graham being involved in some nefarious scheme to bring down Secretus. Shit. He was such a pushover because he didn’t want to believe Graham cozied up to him for another reason.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m sure it’s nothing.” Chris’s stomach rumbled as he tackled stacked his plate piled high with scrambled eggs and crisp bacon. “This looks great.” He took a bite of the eggs that were the right amount of fluff and perfection. “Hmm. You’re a good cook.”
“I eat out a lot. When I have a rare evening at home, I cook.” Graham scooted his chair closer to Chris. “What do you do to relax?”
“This relaxes me, being here with you.” Chris grasped Graham’s hand. “I like you, but we need to set some parameters.” He cleared his throat. “What we did on the beach, well, I don’t do that with guests.”
“I hope you don’t think of me as just a guest.”
“I’m not sure how to think of you.”
“What about friends?”
It wasn’t any one thing that set Chris’s heart racing when it came to Graham. Maybe it was the way Graham touched him so casually or those dimples when he smiled or the confident way he moved in public. Graham appeared comfortable in any given situation. Chris could work with friends, but could he work with friends with benefits?