Page 8 of Troy

I watch his dog trot back in through the kitchen door, which can only mean one thing; his owner is coming. Okay, I need to act normal. He’s going to know I placed the towel in the bathroom, but he doesn’t know when. He doesn’t know I watched him stroking himself to the most spectacular climax I have seen in a long while. He doesn’t know I heard him moan and call out my name, he doesn’t know I wish it had been me pleasuring him. He can never know that; he can never know, because I can’t offer him anything. My heart only has room for one person and Franco still claims my every heartbeat. So, I plaster a smile on my face and walk in behind his dog.

“Feel better now?” Shit, how’s he going to take that?

“Yeah, thanks. Motel showers never seem powerful enough, but that one is pretty damn awesome.” He has a blush on his cheeks as he observes me. Damn, he’s sexy.

I check his tattooed arms as they bulge out from the hem of his shirt sleeves. His biceps are huge and I can imagine the strength in them as he holds me up against the wall, my legs around his waist. Fuck! I have to stop these thoughts. I asked him here to work with us, not to drool over him and fantasize about his body pressing mine into the mattress.

Raff’s head is tilted to one side as he watches me, “Troy? You okay?” His husky voice makes my head spin. I must shake these thoughts.

“What? Yeah, sorry, I’m good.” I nod as I walk past him to the refrigerator and grab a beer. Reaching around the door, I hold it out to Raff. “Hey, you want one?”

“Sure, thanks. I need to feed Boss, would you like him to eat outside?” Raff pets his dog while he waits for my answer.

“Wherever he’s used to; I don’t mind.”

“Cool.” I watch as Raff returns to the garage. Minutes later, he comes back in with the gear he needs to sort the dog out.

The main door rattles as he takes care of his dog and Nico and Ryan walk in, pizza boxes in their hands, laughing at a private joke. But they scan the hallway and find me contemplating them.

“Hey, Troy, I see you got your man.” Nico calls out, my spine stiffening as I digest his words but all I can think of is Raff being my man. “Troy, you got McMahon?”

“Of course, he’s feeding his dog. I haven’t mentioned you coming over, I hope he’s okay with it. I’m sure he was planning to prep for his Friday presentation.” I look to the side and see Raff examining me.

“I’m sure he’ll cope.” Ryan laughs and saunters past me into the kitchen. “Shit, that’s a big dog. No wonder you were turned away.” Ryan carries on laughing and dumps the pizza onto the table before offering his hand for Raff to shake. “Hi, Raff, I’m Ryan; it’s good to meet you.”

Raff appears shocked and shakes his hand in a daze, before Nico walks in and makes the same comment about the dog but turns his attention to Raff.

“Hey, Raff, it’s good to meet you. Thank you for coming down to meet with us. Now, tonight isn’t so much about that; we will be seeing all your work and ideas on Friday. This is purely social, so we’re not going to drill you or expect a sales pitch.” Nico surveys the work surface and smiles when he sees the beers. “Cool, beer.” He wanders off to the fridge to claim his own.

Soon, we sit together and eat as Nico chats easily with Raff, grinning at his stories. The more I watch him interact with the two most important people in my life, the more I want him. I try to stop staring but every smile, laugh, even a simple hand gesture has me captivated. Finally tearing my eyes away, I find Ryan looking at me—scrutinizing me—then a little smile crosses his lips as he tilts his head in Raff’s direction. I can’t help but nod, my heart lurches up into my throat and, as I try to swallow it down, Ryan leans over to Nico and whispers something. Nico’s eyes dart up, swiveling between me and Raff, and he joins in the smiling before bending his head to whisper back to his husband. Returning my gaze to Raff to see if he has noticed our silent conversation, I find him watching the other two men with an almost wistful look on his face. Does he wish for that?

“Right, as great as it’s been to meet you tonight, Raff, we need to get home. I know we said Friday, but if you would like to call in tomorrow and just have a look at our set up, then we would love to show you around.” Nico turns to me, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Troy, unless you want to show Raff around. Just call me and let me know.” Nico shakes Raff’s hand again then pulls me into a hug and whispers softly, “I think he’s perfect. Troy.”

Ryan follows suit, saying good night to Raff and giving me a one-armed hug, “Go for it, Troy.”

“Let me just walk the guys out, Raff. Leave all that; I’ll be back in a minute.” I point to the leftover boxes and bottles on the table. We moved to the decking outside to enjoy the warm evening and I smile when Raff leans back in his chair, giving me a nod and a soft smile.

After listening to their words of encouragement, and the jokes about safe sex, I get them out of the house and lean back against the closed door, closing my eyes for a moment. Then, straightening my shoulders, I amble back to the man who has me entranced.

Returning, I find he has his eyes closed as he rests against the back cushion of his lounger. Without thinking, I reach my hand out and stroke through his hair. Raff’s eyes shoot open; his green eyes darken as his eyes cloud with pure lust. His hand reaches up and grasps hold of my wrist, his thumb stroking the pulse point, making me catch my breath.

“What do you want, Troy?” His voice, low and gravelly, sends shivers over my body.

“I don’t know. We have only just met but from the first moment I heard your voice I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you.” I drop down onto the chair next to him and my free hand moves to his face, my fingers fondling the soft beard.

Raff huffs out a laugh and turns our hands to his mouth, dropping a kiss on my palm. “I’ve been doing the same thing. I have searched the internet for photographs of you, I have read all the interviews you have given. I have told myself over and over that I’m being stupid, but when you turned up to take me from that awful motel, I knew my feelings for you were real. I just didn’t know how to deal with them.” I watch the flash of excitement being followed by the light extinguishing when I say there’s no rush.

“I found my boyfriend in bed with another man, we’d been together for two years. I don’t know how to deal with the thoughts I have of you.” Raff admits nervously, making me feel like a shit.

“I’m sorry that happened, Raff. I’m also sorry for coming on to you.” I drop my hand, letting it rest on my knee. As I move to stand, Raff’s hand clasps the back of my neck and pulls me up close to his mouth; I can feel his soft breath against my lips as he exhales. Leaning his forehead against mine, Raff sighs. His nose rubs up against my own as his mouth covers mine in the briefest of kisses.

My tongue slides out and swipes over my lip, trying to capture the flavor of this man’s mouth. “He means nothing to me, whereas you, Troy Ballantyne, seem to be everything.” Raff sighs.

Lowering my head again, I capture his mouth with my own and, for the first time in over three years, my heart beats faster. Nothing more than merely pressing my lips against his has awakened my lust and desire. As my hands travel up his neck and reach to let my fingers tangle in his soft, reddish brown locks, my tongue tentatively touches Raff’s soft, full, bottom lip. This time his taste explodes on my tongue like dark, rich chocolate and I want more. Sliding across the seam of his lips, I feel him part them, allowing me a sliver of access, but his tongue pushes against mine.

“Fuck!” I mumble against his mouth, unable to pull away. This feels entirely too damn good. I dip deeper into his mouth, running my tongue over his teeth before delving into the cavern. Raff’s hand in my hair holds me tightly. Then, as he caresses my tongue with his, I feel my eyes roll back in my head; his taste is like a drug. Suddenly, I feel him drawing back. Shit! Is this not doing it for him? But, as he pulls away, he captures my bottom lip and sucks it, letting his teeth tug on my tender skin. I feel a vibration as Raff groans deeply against my mouth, causing me to match it with my own.

The next kiss is on Raff’s terms as he plunges his tongue inside me, dueling with mine until overpowering me. Sucking my tongue, he releases me and moves his mouth away and down my chin. Scraping his teeth on day-old stubble and moaning as he goes. Continuing his licking and biting, he reaches the spot right below my ear. His mouth stills as he licks my sensitive skin before blowing cool air over the moistened patch. My hands clutch him to me as he moves down to the junction of my neck and shoulder, kissing every part of my skin as I crave ever more.

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