Part 2 (1/2)

”Sure. I'll meet you back here in a couple of hours once I'm finished with business.” He looked at the smile that curved the other man's lips. d.a.m.n he was hot. As he stared, the man's tongue swept out along his lower lip and Garret's groin tightened. ”I'm Garret,” he said, mesmerized by the movement of the pink tongue. He wondered what it would feel like on his c.o.c.k. ”I'm Rob.” The man reached up and brushed his fingers along the placket of Garret's khaki trousers. ”I'll be waiting.” He sat down at his table and saluted Garret with his drink, a sly smile playing about his lips.

Garret headed for the restaurant, his head spinning with alcohol, l.u.s.t, confusion, and a good dose of pain. Holden wasn't the only one upset by circ.u.mstances, he thought angrily as he followed the hostess to a private room where the rest of the Antaeus International executives were. Luckily, they were all standing around with c.o.c.ktails in hand instead of seated at the long table. He would have hated walking in late only to find them all seated and staring at him. His eyes instantly picked out Holden standing in a corner of the room, deep in conversation with his brother Declan. Briefly, he wondered if Holden had told his brother what had happened.

A hand touched his shoulder and he turned, grateful to find his boss Emily standing there in a red designer sweater and black silk slacks. ”They only seem like they'll bite,” she murmured in his ear.

Garret smiled. He liked Emily. There was a lot more to her than people realized. ”Who exactly?” he asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

She waved her hand, the contents of the martini gla.s.s slos.h.i.+ng dangerously near the rim. ”All of 'em. But mostly, those Antaeus brothers.” Her hazel eyes narrowed then. ”And Sean's brown nosed Siamese twin.”

”Siamese twin?” Garret wondered if this was some colloquialism that he didn't know.

Emily nodded, her sleek blonde ponytail bobbing. ”Vahid. He and Sean are like Siamese twins, attached at nose and a.s.s. Vahid's nose to Sean's a.s.s,” she whispered.

Garret bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself from roaring with laughter. ”How many of those have you had?” he asked his boss, gesturing toward her drink.

She shrugged carelessly and finished it. ”Who cares? It's not my dime and I'm not the one doing all the speeches tonight. I'm ent.i.tled to get blitzed on a night like this. I lost my chance to be happy because of this job. Alcohol helps make that circ.u.mstance easier to live with.”

Emily sauntered away toward the bar, balancing carefully on her spike heeled shoes. Garret's grin faded as he processed Emily's words. He would never have guessed she was so unhappy. She had a brilliant mind for finance and was a perfect corporate executive. He'd never heard anything but rave reviews for her. Getting a glimpse of her private h.e.l.l made him wonder if he would end up the same. His happiness hinged on Holden's acceptance of what was meant to be. He'd never liked having things out of his control but he'd learned early on in the stock market that he had to let go and take the risks. Dealing with Holden would be a lot like playing the stocks. And at the moment, he was losing his a.s.s...

Dinner turned out to be a boring drawn out exercise in patience and tact. Emily sat beside him getting drunker by the minute. On his other side, Vahid grew stiff with annoyance the more Emily drank. Sean's speech was like a bad spoof of motivational speakers. Far down the table from him, Holden and Declan had their heads together and were writing on napkins. Tension coiled around the back of Garret's neck and tightened his spine. He hoped like h.e.l.l that Rob was gonna suck his c.o.c.k because after this dinner, he needed some kind of release or he'd never get to sleep knowing that Holden was so near, yet so far from accepting him. The moment Sean concluded the evening, Vahid grasped Emily by the elbow and hustled her limp form from the room. Holden and Declan disappeared. Sean appeared beside him, a small smile curling his firm mouth.

”The Australia takeover has issues,” he said gesturing toward the seats his brothers had vacated. ”Don't be surprised if Holden doesn't make it back to your suite until the wee hours.” He flashed a grin then. ”Are you settling in? Learning all the names?”

Garret smiled politely. ”Yes. Emily's great. I'm going to enjoy working with her.”

”I knew you would,” Sean replied, his grin fading a little. ”She'll be grooming you to take her place one day so stay sharp.”

As Sean moved away toward another group of managers, Garret wondered what he meant about Emily grooming him to take her place. She was young and healthy and immortal. He couldn't see her leaving her job until she was ready to retire. Garret recalled her saying that she'd lost her chance for happiness because of her job. That didn't sound like someone who was preparing to leave. Perhaps Sean had some kind of promotion up his sleeve for her. Holden had said that Sean liked being the puppet master.

As he headed toward the bar, Garret tried to shake off his amazement that Holden had spoken those words only that morning. It seemed like a lifetime had pa.s.sed in the span of a day.

The discovery that Holden was his mate obviously made everything seem surreal. He paused, his footsteps slowing. A big part of him didn't want to meet Rob in the bar. Holden was his mate.

That was who he wanted to f.u.c.k. The memory of that angry kiss lingered in his soul. A s.h.i.+ver went through him. Holden didn't want him and Garrett didn't know how to deal. Questions he had no answers for rose within him. Did he try to convince Holden? Did he leave him alone to figure it out? And meanwhile, was he supposed to be celibate? What if Holden never came around?

Garret's eyes s.h.i.+fted from the elevators to the bar. He barely knew Holden; although, his body recognized the man as his mate. At this point, it probably didn't matter in the least if he was faithful to Holden. The man didn't even consider them a couple, let alone mates. A flash of anger spurred him on toward the bar. On the patio, Rob's long, lean form waited.

Ignoring the waitress, Garret strode over to Rob's table. ”Dinner's over.”

Rob looked up and smiled, his white teeth flas.h.i.+ng. ”So I see.” He reached out a hand and stroked Garret's thigh. ”Do you want a drink or should we go somewhere more private?”

Arousal spiraled through Garret's body. ”The coworker I'm sharing a suite with is out for a few hours on business. We can go to my suite and have a drink.”

”Sounds good to me.”

Rob rose to his feet, his long jean clad legs carrying him easily out of the bar and into the lobby. Garret followed and they got in an elevator. Alone in the car, Rob rubbed a hand over Garret's a.s.s, l.u.s.t filling his eyes. ”You bottom?” he asked in a low tone.

Garret shrugged. ”I do it all. I'm versatile,” he murmured in a sardonic tone. He eyed the other man for a moment, sizing him up. Then he said in a rough voice, ”but I'd like it a lot more if you were my little sub tonight. Would you like that?” The l.u.s.t on Rob's face fired brighter. His nostrils flared. The elevator door opened and Garret headed down the hotel corridor to his suite. Once inside, Rob reached for him, but Garret sidestepped out of reach. ”Do you want a drink?”

Rob shook his head. ”No. Are you gonna tell me what to do?”

Garret walked over to the sofa and sat down. He pointed to the s.p.a.ce between his spread thighs. ”Here,” he ordered. ”Naked.”

Rob hurried over, pulling his t-s.h.i.+rt from the waistband of his jeans. The s.h.i.+rt landed on the coffee table. The zipper of the jeans slid down and then the denim thudded to the carpet. Garret watched with narrowed eyes as Rob removed his boots and kicked the jeans aside. By the time Rob was naked, his c.o.c.k was hard. Garret noticed that it was a respectable size, curving up toward his washboard abs and belly b.u.t.ton.

”Stroke it for me,” he whispered.

With a low groan, Rob grasped his c.o.c.k and began to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e. Pre-c.u.m leaked from the thick head and Garret leaned forward, licking it up with a swipe of his tongue. Rob groaned and thrust his hips toward Garret. Digging his fingers into Rob's thigh muscle, Garret told him, ”Kneel here between my legs.”

The moment Rob was on his knees, Garret yanked the zipper down on his khakis, lifting his hips to push down his briefs and slacks. He kicked away his shoes and socks and yanked his polo s.h.i.+rt over his head. Spreading his thighs wider, he grabbed Rob by the back of the neck.

”Suck me.”

The words were rough, growled in a belligerent tone. Frustration over his situation with Holden fueled his pa.s.sion. He pushed Rob's head toward his straining c.o.c.k. Mouth open, the man came at him. He licked Garret's b.a.l.l.s and rubbed the flat of his palms over Garret's chest, tweaking his nipples. Garret's breath came harder. A low moan escaped him as Rob deep-throated his c.o.c.k. The hot wet suction sent pleasure rippling through Garrett's body. He loved the feel of Rob's mouth on his c.o.c.k. It had been a long time since someone had blown him, let alone so well.

His b.a.l.l.s tightened, but he didn't want to come yet. He pushed Rob away and got to his feet, stepping away from the sofa. He stood, legs braced apart, in front of the door to the patio. Rob still knelt by the sofa, his hand rapidly stroking his thick c.o.c.k. Sweat glistened on his hard body as he stared hungrily at Garret's shaft.

Garret pointed it at him. ”Come and get it,” he said in a low rough voice.

Rob didn't waste any time. He crawled across the carpet and engulfed Garret's c.o.c.k in his mouth again. A wave of pleasure swept over Garret and he fought not to come. ”Stroke your c.o.c.k,” he ordered.

He looked down, watching Rob's hand moving rapidly on his own turgid flesh. It was obvious to Garret that the man was going to come very soon. He buried his fingers in Rob's hair and began to f.u.c.k the man's face, at first gently, then more urgently as his o.r.g.a.s.m neared.

Rob's tongue swirled over the underside of Garret's c.o.c.k as his cheeks hollowed with each suck. Garret could feel his b.a.l.l.s tighten, a low ache beginning in them and spreading through his groin.

”f.u.c.k, yeah. Suck me,” he growled, smoke trickling from his nostrils. Garret closed his eyes and pretended the mouth that sucked him was Holden's. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he knew that what he was doing was wrong. For another, he knew that s.e.x with Holden wouldn't be anything like this. This was only l.u.s.t. Anything he did with Holden would feel a thousand times better by all accounts.

He pictured Holden's muscular form, imagining it naked, imagining what his c.o.c.k would look like. Rob rolled his tongue over Garret's c.o.c.k. Between the image of Holden's naked body and what Rob was doing to him, Garret felt his b.a.l.l.s release as pleasure flooded his senses. He cried out as he came, his c.u.m filling Rob's eager sucking mouth.

Then a growl of rage penetrated his o.r.g.a.s.m-fogged brain. Garret's eyes flew open to find Holden standing in his bedroom doorway, clad only in a damp towel, his hair wet from the shower. Fury filled Holden's amber eyes making them glow eerily in the dark room. Garret jerked away from Rob, pulling his c.o.c.k from the man's mouth just as Rob came, his c.u.m spurting out onto Garret's s.h.i.+ns.

Anger, dismay, embarra.s.sment, and fear all vied for top honors in Garret's head. His eyes were locked on Holden who glared at Rob. Holden trembled with a fury so palpable Garret didn't know what to think. Their eyes met and Garret could see Holden's confused rage. Then Holden spun around and went back in his room, slamming the door resoundingly.

Shaking with reaction from what had just happened with Holden and from the force of his o.r.g.a.s.m, Garret slumped onto the sofa. Rob slinked around picking up his clothes and getting dressed.

”I'll...uh...just take off now...it was...uh...nice...” His voice trailed away and a few minutes later he was gone.

Garret bolted from the couch, gathering his things and storming into his room, slamming the door behind him. Fury replaced every other emotion he'd felt. Holden was his mate, but the man didn't want to be. Yet, he'd barged in on Garret and looked at him with such rage that Garret had wanted to crawl to him on hands and knees and beg his forgiveness.

Tossing his clothes into a laundry bag, Garret got into the shower. Hot water gushed from the shower heads, steam quickly filling the bathroom. d.a.m.n him! Why did Holden have to make everything so difficult? It wasn't supposed to be like this when you found your mate. It wasn't supposed to be confusing and painful. It was supposed to be a joyous thing.

Leaning his forehead against the cool tile, Garret finally calmed and acknowledged to himself that the mating bonds were already winding their tendrils around him. He barely knew Holden and yet he felt guilty for being with Rob. He had to find a way to convince Holden that things would be great between them. Despite being straight, Holden would soon feel the same s.e.xual pull that Garret felt and hopefully it would help ease things between them.

Turning off the shower, Garret stepped out and dried. He slipped into bed and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out how to make Holden want him and accept a relations.h.i.+p. He kept seeing Emily, drinking herself into a stupor, and knew with every atom in his body that he didn't want to be that unhappy. It would be unbearable. Already his chest ached as if there was a gaping hole behind his breast bone.

He'd spent a lot of years solving problems for his employers and clients. Now he had a problem he needed to solve and he could barely think about it, let alone come up with a way to make everything right. As the moon crept higher in the night sky, he fell into a fitful sleep, resolving that he would find a way to fight for Holden Antaeus. The alternative would be to walk away and pretend the man didn't exist. Unfortunately, his heart knew differently and wasn't about to let him forget it.