Wicked Hearts (6 page)

grinned at himself, well aware he was looking for a way around the rule.

But after all, weren"t rules made to be broken?

You’re a bastard, Armstrong. Don’t do it.

The thought startled him. Why not do it? It was a win-win, any way he looked at it.

He"d get to fuck Jeff, who, to his surprise, he had to admit really turned him on, and

he"d make a cool, easy five thousand on top of it.

Hank didn"t need to know he"d enjoyed it, and what Jeff didn"t know wouldn"t hurt

him.

Would it?

Reese had to admit, this was definitely the strangest situation he"d ever been in.

He"d allowed Hank to involve him in this sort of game before. Up until now, he"d told

himself it didn"t matter. Up until now it hadn"t mattered. But somehow, this time, it was

different.

Jeff was different.

He"d expected a nerd who couldn"t talk about anything except computer code and

old Star Trek episodes. The stutter had fit right in with his expectations. So had the

small, cluttered apartment littered with empty pizza boxes, and bookshelves crammed

with comic books, science fiction paperbacks and esoteric tomes nobody without an

advanced degree could hope or want to decipher. Even his looks had fit the

stereotype—the pale skin of someone always glued to their computer, the over-long,

unkempt hair falling into his face while he worked, the ratty clothes of a college bum.

Definitely not Reese"s type. Normally he went for guys older than himself. Guys

with money and social standing who knew how to dress and what to order on the

menu. Guys who didn"t blush and stammer when you looked at them.

So why couldn"t he get Jeff out of his mind?

Reese prided himself on living in the moment. Even when he was seeing someone,

he rarely gave them a thought when he wasn"t with them. But ever since that first kiss

in Jeff"s apartment, he"d been off kilter, as if a magnet was messing with his internal

radar and throwing him off course.

Something about Jeff kept distracting him. He both liked and mistrusted it. What

was going on? It would be good to fuck him and get it over with. Hopefully, once he

fulfilled the terms of the wager, he could put it, and Jeff, behind him, pocket the cash

and move on.

Reese had left Jeff at his place after they"d returned from the brief hike. They agreed

to meet for dinner at an Italian place that was within walking distance of Reese"s

neighborhood. He"d bring Jeff home afterwards and the seduction would begin in

earnest.

He looked around the bedroom with reasonable satisfaction. He"d put fresh sheets

on the bed, vacuumed the carpets and cleaned the bathroom. He had two bottles of

champagne chilling in the refrigerator and the hot tub—a gift from Hank—heated to

perfection. He would make sure Jeff was completely relaxed and receptive before he

claimed his prey.

Reese showered but decided to skip the shave, aware the two-day dark blond

stubble on his cheeks and chin gave him a rugged, sexy look. He selected a soft caramel

brown cashmere sweater over jeans. Normally he would have worn light wool trousers

with the cashmere, but he wanted Jeff of the holey jeans and faded T-shirts to feel as at

home as possible.

He stared at his bed, imagining Jeff, naked and writhing beneath him, unaware his

every move and sound were being recorded for someone else"s amusement. A strange,

niggling feeling slithered its way into his consciousness. What the hell was he doing?

Maybe he really had a shot with this guy. Was he going to blow it by doing something

stupid?

He liked Jeff. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed being with him. He was so

different from the men Reese usually surrounded himself with. His shyness and innate

modesty, traits Reese usually would have disparaged, were somehow endearing in Jeff.

What the fuck was going on? Hank would laugh his ass off if Reese ever admitted

to these ridiculous sentimental feelings. Was he losing his touch? He stared at himself a

moment in the mirror over his bureau and slowly shook his head, shaking away the

image of Jeff at the top of the mountain, his silver-gray eyes shining as he stared into

Reese"s.

Reese Armstrong was impervious to love. Nobody could get past his armor. It"s

what kept him sharp, what kept him safe. Love was sticky and messy. Love was for

fools. The wager had been made, and the goods, by the end of the evening, would be

delivered.

As he headed out of the bedroom, he flicked the switch beside the door that would

turn on the motion sensors in the camera hidden in the smoke detector. It would record

directly to his DVR. He closed his eyes, imagining the expression on Hank"s face when

he handed him the video.

Life was good.

So why did he feel so bad?

~*~

After dinner, Jeff drove Reese the short distance to his house. Jeff had enjoyed

himself at the restaurant, a family Italian place without the pretension of the bistro

they"d had lunch at earlier in the week. The food was good and their talk easy and

friendly. Jeff had felt more relaxed than he could remember, though probably the half

bottle of wine he"d consumed with the meal hadn"t hurt in that regard.

They took a short walk along the tree-lined streets of Reese"s neighborhood, quite a

cut above where Jeff lived. Turning up a stone path laid along the side of a small but

well-tended lawn, Reese unlocked the front door of a white one-story house with red

shutters and a matching red door. He gestured Jeff inside.

The house was tidy and comfortably furnished, with large, airy rooms. Jeff was

embarrassed, thinking of his place and what Reese must have thought of it.

He could have afforded to live much better than he did. He"d taken the small, cheap

apartment when he"d first arrived in Denver, telling himself he"d find something better

once he was certain he was staying. For the first time, he thought he might be ready to

make Denver his home.

After retrieving a bottle of champagne, an ice bucket and two glasses, Reese led Jeff

out to the back deck. They sat on low, comfortable deck chairs, sipping cold champagne

and admiring the view of the mountains glowing purple and orange in the twilight of

the setting sun.

“Wanna get in the hot tub?” Reese suggested.

“I haven"t got a bathing suit.”

“That"s all right, neither do I.”

Jeff watched, mesmerized, as Reese stood and pulled the soft sweater over his head.

His mouth actually watered as he stared at the broad, muscular chest.

With his eyes on Jeff"s face, Reese unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his tan

legs. He was wearing a black thong, his thick cock pointing upward toward his hip

beneath the fabric.

Taking the ice bucket with the champagne, he sat on the edge of the hot tub,

dangling his legs in the water. “Come on,” he urged. “The water"s perfect. Bring your

glass.” He waved his own, reaching for the champagne to top it off.

Taking a breath, Jeff slipped out of his things, moving quickly toward the other side

of the tub. He left on his underwear, not a sexy thong, but practical cotton briefs. Setting

his glass carefully on the rim of the tub, he lowered himself into the hot, frothing water.

“This feels great,” he said, letting the water jets pummel his back. Reese reached for

Jeff"s empty glass. Without asking, he refilled it and handed it to him. Jeff knew he

didn"t need any more to drink, but he took it anyway. He remembered hearing it wasn"t

a good idea to drink in a hot tub, but the champagne was delicious, and what the hell?

They sat across from each other in silence for a while. The sky had deepened to a

dark royal blue and a few sparkling stars were sprinkled over it. Reese looked so hot,

his muscular arms stretched out along the rim of the tub, his skin ruddy from the rising

steam. He was watching Jeff, his head tilted, his gaze appraising.

“What?” Jeff said, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

“I want you.”

Jeff swallowed, his cock tingling. Was this it? Were they going to make love

tonight? Did he want that? Was he ready? Was Reese the kind of guy who wanted you

only as long as he didn"t have you?

A voice in Jeff"s head answered emphatically.
Yes. That’s exactly the kind of guy he is.

His cock ignored the voice. “I want you, too,” he said softly.

Reese stood and reached behind the tub, pulling up two towels. He held one out to

Jeff. Without a trace of self-consciousness, Reese pulled off the wet thong before

wrapping the towel around his lower body, giving Jeff a glimpse of his thick, long cock.

He stepped out of the tub and headed toward the back door of the house.

“Coming?”

Jeff hoisted himself onto the side of the tub and climbed out. He pulled off his wet

briefs, glad Reese wasn"t watching him. Quickly he wrapped the towel around his

body, grabbed his clothes and followed.

Reese led him straight to the bedroom. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the

room, so that Jeff nearly bumped into him. He could feel the heat still emanating from

Reese"s skin. He could almost taste the kisses they"d shared earlier that day.

Turning toward Jeff with narrowed eyes, Reese dropped his towel. His cock sprung

forward, beckoning like a divining rod. He backed toward the bed, holding out his

arms.

The insistent, warning voices that had been whispering all week in Jeff"s head were

entirely silenced at last, drowned out by the rush of raw need. He moved forward,

every fiber of his being alive with desire.

~*~

Reese fell back against the bed, savoring the hungry look in Jeff"s eyes. Yeah, it was

obvious Jeff wanted him. The thing was, he wanted Jeff too. He wanted him too much,

and he knew it.

He pushed away the thought. He"d sort out the emotional crap later, and toss it in

the garbage where it belonged. For now, he just wanted to possess this man, with his

dark, tousled hair falling into his face, his pale skin gleaming in the light of the rising

moon.

Reese reached for the lamp beside the bed. It wouldn"t do if there wasn"t enough

light for the hidden camera to record by. Leaning up on his elbows, he stared at Jeff,

willing him to drop the towel.

Jeff"s lips were pressed together and he was breathing hard through his nostrils,

which were slightly flared as a result. When he shook back the hair from his face, his

eyes seemed to be burning with an internal fire. His hands trembled as he let the towel

drop from his narrow hips.

Reese raked his eyes over the strong, lean body, stopping at Jeff"s cock, which was

every bit as long and thick as his own, the tip glistening with pre-cum. He met Jeff"s

eyes and dragged his tongue suggestively over his lips.

Jeff just stood there, staring hard, a flush rising over his cheeks and throat. Reese sat

up, his legs hanging over the end of the bed, ready to get the game in play. He"d warm

up the shy guy with a blowjob that would knock his socks off, if he"d been wearing any.

Reese started to slip off the bed when Jeff suddenly sprang forward. Leaning over

Reese, he pushed him back down, his grip on Reese"s shoulders unexpectedly strong.

Reese allowed himself to fall back, surprised but curious as to what Jeff had in

mind. At least the statue had come to life. He expected Jeff to go straight for his cock,

but instead Jeff knelt on the bed beside him, his eyes moving hungrily over Reese"s

body.

Reese reached again for him, thinking to pull him down, but Jeff resisted. “No,” he

said, his voice husky.

“What the—” Reese began, but Jeff cut him off by placing three fingers gently over

Reese"s lips. Jeff shook his head slowly, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

Intrigued, Reese remained silent, wondering what the hell this guy was doing.

Jeff traced Reese"s jaw line with his finger, moving it up over his lips and following

the line of his nose. He touched Reese"s eyelids, forcing him to close them. When Reese

started to open them, Jeff again touched them and Reese understood he wanted him to

keep them closed.

Okay. He could play this game, whatever it was, for a little while longer. As long as

the night ended with his cock buried in Jeff"s ass, the bet would be satisfied. If it took

them a while to get there, so much the better.

He felt Jeff"s lips grazing his cheek. Eyes still closed, he turned his face toward Jeff,

ready to be kissed, but Jeff"s mouth didn"t find his. Instead it moved down toward his

throat, leaving a trail of tiny, soft kisses along Reese"s skin.

Jeff"s hands moved over his shoulders, the palms smoothing his chest, leaving

circles of heat along his skin. Reese"s ignored cock was twitching and he reached for it,

thinking to stroke it while he waited for Jeff to get down to business.

He opened his eyes in surprise when Jeff"s caught his wrist, stopping him from