Page 18 of No Reservations

The excitement Matthew demonstrated about his second private jet flight matched the first. I’d do anything to spark the wide-eyed, full smile look on his face when we stepped into the penthouse suite at our hotel. I tried to take things in from his perspective. Two bedrooms with king beds, luxurious pewter grey sofas and marble-topped tables in the main room, a bathroom with a shower big enough for three and a separate soaking tub. What did it say about me that I was so used to such luxury that I hardly noticed it anymore?

The valet set my bag on the rack in the larger bedroom, and then turned to take Matthew’s from the luggage cart. Hehesitated only a moment before carrying it into the same room. “Will that be all, gentlemen?”

“Yes, thank you.” I tipped him generously, waited for him to disappear through the door, and turned to Matthew. “You can have the other room if you’d like.” I didn’t want him to take the other bed, but it seemed prudent to offer. This was fake. A business arrangement.

Never mind the massages, hand holding, and practice kisses that felt far too real. Never mind every iota of my being filled with yearning that I could somehow keep him for my own.

Instead of fetching his suitcase, he just smiled and shook his head. “It’ll be more realistic if I stay with you. We don’t want the hotel people to gossip or anything if they see two beds messed up, right?” It sounded practical, but the gleam in his eyes seemed like something else.

Maybe it was wishful thinking. Could I dare to hope that Matthew felt even one fraction of what I did for him? It was impossible and so out of line, but I couldn’t help the attraction. Not just to his amazing body and beautiful smile, either. His fun-loving personality and caring ways drew me in and snared me.

“Yes, that sounds sensible.” It sounded perfect.

My phone vibrated, and I switched into work mode. “We haven’t much time before the Expo starts, so we do have to get ready. The car will pick us up in two hours.”

He retreated to the other bedroom to shower, and I hurried to do the same. He’d never know that I took the opportunity to stroke myself to completion while visions of him doing the same filled my mind. He strode into our room in nothing but a towel wrapped low around his hips, fetched his suit and toiletry bag, and disappeared again with a playful smile.

My dick made a valiant effort to harden again even though I’d come not ten minutes earlier. The sight of him in a towel, hairwet, with droplets of water skating over the broad planes of his chest and back was inspiring.

By the time we slipped into the limo, Matthew had tucked some of his golden retriever charm away behind a veneer of poise. When he took my hand and smiled at me as we emerged from the car again, he had transformed into his model role. He looked stunning and perfectly suited for the event, but I couldn’t help but miss the more laid-back Matthew hidden away for the sake of the public. I missed the laid-back Cole, too.

Inside, the grand hall buzzed with music-industry executives and artists mingling together, drinking champagne, and balancing tiny plates of gourmet appetizers. Tuxedos and gowns contrasted with high-end street wear, leather jackets, and club outfits on the more flamboyant musicians, singers, and rappers.

We wound a circuitous path through the crowd, stopping frequently to greet people I knew or had business connections with. Matthew played his role perfectly, charming some with his model smile, impressing others with his impeccable manners, and never losing physical contact with me for long. His fingers in mine or his palm against my back kept the tension these events always caused at bay.

“Cole!” CJ, Dylan, and Mav, three of the young men in Eclipse 6, crashed into me in a flurry of half hugs and the lingering odor of pot smoke. “We haven’t seen you in forever.”

Dylan, the biggest flirt of them by far, stepped back and gave Matthew a slow once over. “Who’s this?” He sidled up, hips swinging, and laid a hand on my date’s bicep.

“Matthew West.” I indicated each of the band members in turn. “CJ, Dylan, and Mav. The other three must be around here somewhere.” I gave Dylan a glare, and he backed off with a grin. It certainly wasn’t something they’d ever seen me do before, and the other two hid snorts and chuckles as they rolled their eyes.

Mav shook his head. “Harry’s visiting his parents, but I saw the others by the buffet table a while ago.” He turned his attention back to Matthew. “How did Cole manage to land a date like you for this party?”

Matthew flashed them that half-fake smile and stepped closer to me. “We’ve been together for months. I’m just glad I finally got time to come to one of these events with him.”

CJ smacked me on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell us you had a boyfriend? He looked around. “Maybe all the assholes will stop posting bullshit about you now, huh?”

Before I had a chance to say anything, Matthew pulled me against his side and brushed a kiss on my cheek. “It doesn’t matter what anyone says. We know what’s real, right baby?”

The brush of his lips and the endearment cascaded through me and left sparks of arousal in their wake. I met his eyes and couldn’t look away until I heard giggles coming from the band members still standing in front of us. “Stay out of trouble, please,” I said to them.

“You too, Cole!” CJ grabbed Mav’s arm, and they rushed off in the direction of the long tables of appetizers on the far side of the room. Dylan followed with a final glance and an eyebrow waggle over his shoulder.

I wanted to disappear, too. I wanted to grab Matthew’s hand and drag him back to the hotel room, strip off his impeccably tailored tuxedo, and ask him to take me. Do whatever he wanted to me. My cock throbbed, and I squeezed my eyes tight and shook my head.

We were at the Music Expo for a reason. This was my career, and I had to mingle and network like always. I had to show the world that Cole Gilliam would not let rumors get in the way of how he conducted business. I was not a liar. The only problem was that the fake relationship felt more like a lie all the time. AsMatthew took my hand and led me to the dance floor, it felt like the truest thing in the world.

***

It had all felt so real the night before, the way Matthew held my hand, kissed me, and swayed with me on the dance floor. The force of the public display was nothing compared to the actuality of his arms wrapped around me in our shared bed, his thigh thrown over my leg, and his hard cock rubbing ever so slowly against my ass cheeks. Only the thin knit of our boxers stood between fruitless desire and everything I wanted in that moment.

I pressed back against his broad chest, and his arms tightened, one palm resting over my left pec. It was easier to ignore what my heart wanted when my body hungered so insistently. I didn’t want to pull back this time. I couldn’t bear the thought of easing out of his sleeping embrace and pretending like everything between us was still as fake as in the beginning.

Matthew let out a low moan when I shifted my hips and pressed back against the steel length of him. I did it again and again, setting up a lazy rhythm that we could maybe ignore if he came to his senses and moved away. The thought of that happening sent a bolt of tension through my neck, and I sucked in a breath and stilled my hips. Before I could chide myself for giving in to such a wild urge, his hand slid down from chest to abs and settled at my waistband.

“Don’t stop,” he murmured, sending a hot breath across my ear. Matthew answered my movements with a matching one of his own. His cock pressed more tightly against me and set my nerve endings on fire.

“Matthew, are you awake?” If he wasn’t, I’d move away and jerk off in the shower to wild imaginings of him like I had a dozen times since we met.

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