Winner: The Mathesons Book 4

by Declan Rhodes

  “Those weren’t here when we left for dinner. I would have noticed them.”

  “No, they weren’t,” said Jamie. “I gave the key to the apartment to my next-door neighbor, Julie, and asked for a favor. Those roses are for you.”

  I pulled my hand up to my mouth and gasped. It was a first for me. “Jamie, you didn’t have to do that. I love flowers, but no boyfriend ever got them for me. I don’t know how you knew, but they’re perfect. Wow!”

  I stepped up to the coffee table and lowered my face into the blossoms to inhale the rich, heady scent. A few seconds later, I felt Jamie’s hands tugging the tail of my shirt out of my pants.

  Jamie whispered in my ear, “I looked all around the restaurant tonight, and there was no one else there half as handsome as my Angelo.”

  I stood and leaned back against Jamie’s body. With the tail of my shirt free of my pants, he slipped a hand up inside the front pushing fingers up along my abs. It was like Jamie was pulling me into his own body and slowly absorbing me. The sensation was electric.

  As Jamie’s opposite hand began to unbutton my shirt, I reached behind me to grab each of his ass cheeks, pulling him in tight. He was hard. My breathing suddenly turned ragged as I helped his hips grind against me.

  My shirt opened, and Jamie’s hands kneaded the flesh of my chest. He whispered in my ear, “I’ll never ever get enough of you, but that won’t stop me from trying.”

  I let go of the ass cheeks and turned around, reaching for Jamie’s belt, unbuckling it, and pulling it free of his pants. As I held the long strip of leather in my hand, I reached up and pulled it across the rear of Jamie’s torso holding his body close to mine. I said, “And I’ll never let you go.”

  “You’re so fucking sexy.” Jamie’s hands gripped the sides of my face as he planted a kiss on my lips intended to devour me. My cock raged hard in my pants while I took his tongue into my mouth.

  I slipped a hand between us and rubbed Jamie’s cock over the fabric of his pants. He pulled back from the kiss panting. I said, “I want to take you on the kitchen table. I’ve always had a fantasy about that.”

  “Oh, fuck. Sex anywhere outside of the bed is automatically twice as hot.”

  Stripping off Jamie’s clothes was like peeling a steaming hot treasure. I still couldn’t believe that his body was mine. When he stood naked in front of me, my breath caught in my throat. He was gorgeous. For once, I understood how a lover could leave someone breathless.

  Jamie’s kitchen table was the perfect height for us. He sat on the edge, and I gripped one of his thighs as I quickly opened my pants with the other hand. I held a condom package between my teeth while the jeans fell to the floor, and I stepped out of them.

  “You don’t have to rush. We’ve got all night,” said Jamie.

  “I have to hurry because my cock is fucking hungry for you. It won’t let me wait. Damn, you make me nuts. I want that ass. No one’s ever made me act like this. It’s a first.”

  Jamie reached out with his legs to wrap them around me just as I got the condom rolled down the length of my cock. It only took one firm thrust to slip inside. Jamie rolled his head back and let out a low, throaty howl followed by, “Fuck, Angelo. Take me!”

  I’d been in a hurry to penetrate Jamie’s sweet ass, but it was only the beginning. After the rushed start, I was ready to slow things down. I reached out for his cock with my right hand as I slowly pushed deeper inside. Jamie balanced himself on the edge of the table with his hands, gripped my body with his legs, and panted hard to try and catch his breath.

  As I felt the first drops of precum slide down Jamie’s cock into my fingers, I began to drive harder into his body. I grunted with each rutting thrust and felt my balls swing into his ass. For one moment, I paused as I growled, “I want you to come with me.”

  Jamie moaned, “Fuck, yes. It won’t take long. So fucking close.”

  I drove my cock home rocking my ass forward and back, picking up a rhythm to match my stroking of his cock. “I’m going to come, too. Oh man…”

  The sounds of sex echoed off the walls of Jamie’s loft apartment. We weren’t quiet about it, but neither of us cared. We rocked each other’s worlds.

  The moment of no turning back arrived. My body was ready. I opened my eyes and watched as Jamie balanced on his elbows and rolled his head back, gasping for air. His ab muscles clenched. I whispered, “Come…now.”

  The orgasms rattled our bodies like an earthquake. What I will always remember was the huge grin on Jamie’s face as his breathing finally slowed. He added one simple word, “Fuck,” as he reached out to pull my face forward for a kiss.

  I said, “I can’t go home tonight after this. Can I sleep here? I need to cuddle up close as we fall asleep.”

  “You can stay in my arms as long as you’d like. I won’t let go.”

  21

  Jamie

  I woke up every morning after my parents’ visit feeling energized and ready to take on the world. Every single morning began with a positive attitude. I’d never experienced such a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Not only was I successful at work, but I also had the best boyfriend anyone could hope for. Angelo’s quiet sexiness and creativity towered over anyone I’d ever dated in the past.

  A week and a half after Mom and Dad came to Dallas for their visit, I woke up early. It was an important work day. Angelo and I were approaching another deadline, and my mind raced with ideas when I opened one eye at 4:00 a.m. After trying for twenty minutes to fall back asleep, I gave up and rolled out of bed. Nothing useful was happening while I fought my busy mind.

  I sat on the sofa with a blanket pulled up to my neck and my laptop computer resting on my knees. After an hour, I had three new pitches written and a page full of commercial dialogue ready to run past Angelo.

  I also had one paragraph of dialogue that was similar to another commercial I’d seen, but I thought it was different enough that it could still work. Unfortunately, the words of one of my college professors about the evils of plagiarism echoed through my head. In the end, I moved the suspect words to a separate file and decided that I would ask Blackmoor about it when I got to Star One.

  The morning didn’t unfold the way I planned. Gloria intercepted me while I was on the way to my desk, and for once, she didn’t warn me about my transgressions. Instead, she said, “Jamie, I’m going on a short trip to Los Angeles with one of my best friends. It’s a forty-eight-hour whirlwind trip. We desperately need suggestions for sightseeing and dining. Can you help?”

  “Oh, sure. I think you have to go to the beach—Venice if you like people watching, or Redondo if you like a quiet look at the surf and sand. If you’re a fan of movies and TV, then Hollywood is a must—the walk of fame, studios, cemeteries, and homes.”

  Gloria shook her head. “That sounds like way too much for a weekend. We need help narrowing it down.”

  I scratched my chin for a moment. “For the perfect day, I would go to the beach in the morning, spend the afternoon in Hollywood, and then go up to the Griffith Observatory at night. There’s nothing on earth like that view at night. I get a huge lump in my throat every time I’m up there. If you stick great restaurants in between for meals, then you have one phenomenal day.”

  I enjoyed the conversation with Gloria, but I realized that it was ticking off precious minutes from my work day. After receiving a hug for my help, I extricated myself from the conversation and decided to head directly to Blackmoor’s office. I reasoned that once I had his opinion, I could continue on without interruptions for the rest of my day.

  The executive suite was quiet like a church compared with the constant buzz in the cubicle-filled workroom. Since winning the competition, I was a familiar presence to the bigwigs who made their employment homes in the suite. A few of them had the doors to their offices open. None of them looked up for more than a moment when they saw me.

  As I approached Blackmoor’s office, I sighed with relief. His door was slightly ajar. T
hat meant that he was there, and he could answer my questions right away. After rehearsing what I had to say one more time in my head, I approached. I heard soft voices. He’s not alone.

  I considered returning to my cubicle and placing a phone call, but curiosity got the best of me. I peeked around the door through the open gap. At first, I wasn’t surprised that Angelo was standing near the floor-to-ceiling windows with Blackmoor. He probably had questions about his work, too.

  What I saw next shocked me. Before I could pull my head back, I saw Blackmoor reach out and wrap his arms around Angelo’s waist. I couldn’t see the expression on Angelo’s face. His head was turned slightly toward the windows. Seconds later, Blackmoor leaned forward, and they kissed.

  My knees suddenly felt weak, and I nearly stumbled into the door. Bracing myself, I took a step backward and leaned against the opposite wall of the corridor, trying to catch my breath. Lowering my hands to my knees, I gasped for air while I fought to remain silent. I couldn’t let either of them know that I was there.

  I needed to vacate the office suite before either Blackmoor or Angelo remembered that the door was open. Holding my breath, I crept across the carpeted floor. Fortunately, the soft texture helped me stay silent. I made my way to the elevator and didn’t exhale until the doors slid shut, leaving me alone and safe inside.

  When I returned to my cubicle in the busy workroom, I tried to maintain a calm facial expression, but I was shaking inside. A few short hours earlier, I woke up feeling like I was on top of the world. Nothing could touch me. I saw only amazing days ahead.

  Now, all of that was suddenly crumbling to dust. Angelo was not only a vital part of my happy personal life, but he was also an important colleague helping fuel my march up the corporate ladder.

  I lowered my head into my hands as my elbows rested on the desk. Confusion reigned. I didn’t know how I’d missed the relationship between Angelo and Blackmoor. Angelo’s betrayal was like an arrow shot from a crossbow directly at my heart.

  An hour later, the shock slowly began to wear off. I had questions, a whole lot of them. I knew that the only way to start finding answers was to talk to Angelo. Unfortunately, I recoiled at the thought and saw the kiss played over and over again in my head, but I had no choice.

  Thirty minutes before lunch hour, I decided to look for Angelo at his desk. I considered a call, email, or text message, but in person was the best. I needed to see his body language when he responded to my questions. I needed a way to gauge the honesty in his answers.

  When I entered the art department, the secretary said, “He stepped out for a moment, but he should be back any minute now.” She gestured to a chair. “Would you like to wait? Mr. Moretti told me that you should be allowed to interrupt him for anything.”

  I nodded and curtly said, “I’ll wait.” Sitting down, I thought, I could interrupt him for anything except making out with Blackmoor.

  Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait for much more than thirty seconds. Angelo appeared, and he looked like his usual self. I instantly hated the innocent gaze. It taunted me. I mumbled, “Come with me to the break room. We’ve got something to discuss.”

  The innocence faded, and Angelo replaced it with an expression that was a mixture of curiosity and confusion. “Oh, okay. I planned to send you a message asking if you wanted to have lunch. Does that sound like a good idea?”

  “I can’t think about that right now. Come with me.”

  Fortunately, the lunch crowd wasn’t in the breakroom yet. The large room was empty. With measured steps, I entered the far corner and turned to face Angelo. I fought back tears as I took a deep breath.

  “What’s this about?” asked Angelo.

  I curled my fingers into fists, but I knew that I couldn’t hit him despite the tremendous wave of adrenaline sweeping over my body. I growled, “You don’t even know, do you? I saw you this morning.”

  “Saw me?”

  “The kiss.”

  I watched Angelo consider the word, and a wave of awareness swept over his eyes. In a pathetic voice, he cried, “Jamie, no.”

  “Yes. I saw you kiss Blackmoor. The door to the office was ajar. I was in the executive suite because I had a question about work. There you were in front of the windows kissing for the entire world to see. My boyfriend was making out with our boss.”

  I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, but I vowed not to cry. I couldn’t let Angelo see any weakness. I was angry. I was hurt. He didn’t deserve to see my tears.

  Angelo slowly shook his head. I waited for him to say something in response, but he didn’t. He only continued to shake his head.

  I said, “After all of that time having to endure your holier than thou attitude about me getting a boost from my brother Mason, and you do this. All of that time—blaming me when you were cheating on me!”

  I was starting to find my voice. Angelo looked up at me. He still didn’t speak, but I saw pain in his eyes. He was feeling it. I’d made him share my agony, and I was ready to make it worse. I decided to twist the knife in his gut.

  “All of that time you were sleeping with the boss! Or getting ready to. You were working on sleeping your way to the top! You betrayed me. I thought I…I thought I…fuck, Angelo! I can’t stand here and look at you. I don’t know if I can ever look at you again.”

  I stood in place for another thirty seconds waiting for him to say something. I didn’t know what I hoped to hear, and I didn’t know whether I could trust what he told me if he did have something to say.

  Angelo didn’t respond. Instead, he merely lowered his head, shaking it again. He had no words.

  Breathing hard, I knew that I had to leave the breakroom to stop myself from succumbing to the tears. I uttered the one word I hoped that I would never say to Angelo, “Goodbye.”

  The next several minutes are a blur in my memory. I don’t even remember getting into the elevator and walking back to my cubicle. The guy at the next desk over glanced at me and said, “Are you sure you’re feeling well, Jamie? You don’t look so good. You look kind of pale.”

  Barely maintaining my composure, I found Gloria, and I told her that I was sick, and I needed to take the afternoon off. I must have looked awful. She didn’t question me. As Gloria waved toward the door, she said, “Take care of yourself. Get some rest and plenty of fluids. Hopefully, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

  22

  Angelo

  I was stunned. After Jamie left, I walked back to my desk, head down, deep in thought. I’d never asked for anything from Charles. Our encounter had nothing to do with work advancement.

  I naively thought that I could handle all of his advances, and I didn’t tell anyone what was happening. Until the morning of the kiss, it didn’t matter anyway. I didn’t have anything for a formal complaint. Charles’s endless wave of compliments made me uneasy, but there was nothing inherently wrong with them.

  I rewound the day in my head as I sat at my desk. Charles called me up to his office first thing in the morning. When I arrived, he was sitting behind his desk and said, “You know that I’m quite impressed with your work, Angelo. Can I get you a cup of coffee? I’m still waking up, and I need a little caffeine boost.”

  I declined his offer. “No, I’m good. I’m happy with how everything is going, too. Working with Jamie has been great, and I think we’re both proud of our projects. Thank you for all of the opportunities.”

  Charles nodded as he stepped past me. “Jamie Matheson is a good man. I think he’s more a team player than his older brother.”

  I was left alone in the office for a few minutes while Charles exited to make himself some coffee. I wondered what the comment about Jamie’s family meant. The possibility of Charles knowing Mason or one of Jamie’s other brothers wasn’t a surprise. The advertising world could feel very small sometimes.

  While Charles was gone, I tried to figure out why he might have called me to his office without Jamie. His compliments, both in email and occasionally in person, c
onstantly worried me. I feared that he would try to split us up. I considered the possibility that Charles wanted to collaborate directly with me. What actually happened next didn’t occur to me.

  I heard the doorknob turn behind me, and Charles entered with a steaming hot cup of coffee. He pushed the door behind him, but it didn’t close all the way. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a long-standing nervous response to anyone closing an office door tight with me inside since the incident with Walker.

  Charles started to sit behind his desk, but he changed his mind. He sipped his coffee and then beckoned to me. “Angelo, come over here to the windows.”

  I pushed my chair back, set my legal pad on the front of Charles’s desk, and walked over to the windows. He had a gorgeous view of downtown Dallas. I wondered about how beautiful it would be at night with all the lights twinkling in office windows and the red taillights of cars speeding into the distance.

  As I approached, Charles wrapped an arm around my shoulders. It was too close, and I took a half-step back. He smiled and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe that’s a little too familiar, but then again…” His voice faded.

  “Charles?”

  “Yes?”

  “What does that mean?”

  Charles placed his hands on either side of my waist. I shivered but tried hard to avoid letting him see that I was nervous. He said, “I know the story, Angelo. I know what you’ve offered before, but you didn’t have what he needed. All of that is different between us. I’m interested in you not what I can get from you.”

  I looked into his eyes. I saw nothing there. They were two lifeless, dark pools. I detected no emotion. Charles was missing any sparkle of life in his eyes. I saw only endless gloom.

  Somehow he knew about Walker. That was obvious. I stammered out, “What makes me interesting?”

  “You’re tremendously talent. I want you, Angelo. Isn’t that apparent? I want your youth, your energy, your creativity, and ultimately, your heart.”