Author: Olivia Cunning

“It feels fantastic. I like that look on your face when you lose your train of thought. I want to see it again.”

And he wanted her to have what she wanted. He moved his hands to rest gently on her hips and pumped into her body. Every muscle in his body was taut, every nerve ending alight with sensation. It didn’t take him long to find his peak. She tried to pull away again, but he held her firmly by the hips and increased his tempo until he found the pinnacle of pleasure. Involuntary spasms gripped the base of his cock in hard, pulsing waves. He called out in triumph, his head tilted back in abandon, as he spent himself within her. Inside Reagan.

Reagan.

When his body went limp, a sweet tranquility washed over him. He collapsed forward, arms wrapping around Reagan’s waist as he pressed her back to his front. His hands moved to hold her breasts; his lips moved against the back of her shoulders as he produced repetitive sighs of contentment. No awkwardness after. Just togetherness.

Reagan’s arms began to tremble with fatigue and though she didn’t complain, Trey released her and pulled out of her body. He stripped the condom from his softening cock and tossed it somewhere. He didn’t know where, he just wanted to wrap his body around his woman and nestle his bare cock against that scrumptious ass of hers.

“So doggie style is your favorite?” she murmured once he had her tucked securely against his chest and trapped in the tangle of his arms and legs.

“There are more than three positions,” he said drowsily.

She squirmed so that her butt rubbed against his cock. “Good point. Trey?”

“Hmm?” He was almost asleep already. Not that he planned to stay that way for long. He just needed a little nap before they made good use of that second condom.

“Promise me something?”

“What’s that?”

“Next time we’ll come together.”

He grinned and nuzzled her soft hair. “That’s a promise.”

Chapter 9

Ethan poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar. He probably should just go to bed—he’d had a long, dreadfully boring night guarding a meat-packing plant—but his thoughts were too turbulent to sleep. The guy, Trey, had spent the entire night with Reagan. Ethan had thought for sure that Trey would be gone by the time he got home. It had been that thought which had gotten him through his shift. Otherwise he would have left the job to check on her and encourage her new boyfriend to leave. Ethan had peeked in on them when he’d first arrived and found them entwined in her bed looking exhausted yet sated. At least he hadn’t had to listen to them go at it all night. That would have been torture.

He took a sip of his coffee. He couldn’t blame Reagan for wanting someone to love. He didn’t like it, but he had blown his chance with her. It had been his fault, not hers. He knew it wasn’t fair of him to try to keep her to himself, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her with another man. Reagan’s bedroom door creaked open and he smiled to himself. “Did you sleep well?” he asked her.

“Definitely,” Trey’s deep voice sounded behind him. “Reagan’s bed is much more comfortable than the bunks on the tour bus. And she’s a fantastic cuddler.”

Ethan scowled into his cup of coffee. So it wasn’t the light of his life emerging from her bedroom, but that dipshit she’d brought home the night before. Ethan glanced over his shoulder and found the guy dressed in a T-shirt with a towel wrapped around his hips. Trey looked even sexier in the morning with his hair all astray and a shadow of beard growth on his jaw—the bastard. At least he didn’t have a lollipop in his mouth this morning.

“Your jeans are in the oven,” Ethan told him and turned his attention back to his coffee.

Trey chuckled and Ethan wished he didn’t have to hate him.

“There’s a place they haven’t been before,” Trey said. “And they have been in a lot of unusual places.”

“They were still wet.” And the faster they dried, the faster Ethan could shove him out the door. Then Ethan could console Reagan when she became upset that her new boyfriend had already taken off on her. She needn’t know that Ethan had bodily removed Trey from the apartment, right?

“The smell of coffee woke me.” Trey glanced hopefully in the direction of the coffeepot.

“I didn’t take you for a morning person.”

“Went to sleep earlier than usual,” he said with a devilish grin. “Reagan wore me out.”

Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. The man was utterly, devastatingly gorgeous when he smiled. Maybe instead of kicking him out of the apartment he could catch his attention in another way. He’d love to take a go at him. The only thing that kept Ethan perched on his stool instead of reaching for the half-naked man in his kitchen was the memory of Reagan’s face when she’d caught him with Joseph. She’d been devastated. If Ethan made a move on Trey, she’d probably never forgive him. He couldn’t take that chance.

“Help yourself,” Ethan said, waving a hand at the coffeepot.

Trey glanced around the kitchen and peeked in a cabinet looking for a mug.

“That one,” Ethan said, pointing at the cabinet next to the stove.

Trey opened the cabinet indicated and retrieved a mug. And dropped his towel. Ethan stifled a moan. The man had a perfect ass. Well, except for the ridiculous tattoo on one cheek. “What in the…”

Trey glanced over his shoulder at Ethan and followed his line of sight to his ass. “Lost a bet.” He ran a hand over his flank. “People keep telling me to get it removed, but it’s a great conversation starter.” He grinned as if to prove his point.

Ethan chuckled. “You dropped your towel on purpose, didn’t you?”

Trey shook his head. “Why would I do that?”

“Hell if I know. Put your jeans on.”

“Do you find my tattoo offensive?” he said, opening the now-cold oven and pulling out his jeans, which were so stiff they could probably stand on their own.

“No, I find your ass distracting. If you don’t want me to come over there and…” Ethan pressed his lips together so he didn’t continue that thought. “Put your jeans on.”

“Two days ago, I would have told you to make me.” He shook his jeans out and hopped from one foot to the other as he put them on. Ethan forced himself not to stare at Trey’s cock as he pulled his jeans up and tucked it into his pants. “But things have changed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ethan asked as he watched Trey pour a cup of coffee.

“Reagan,” he said, as if saying her name explained everything. And in actuality, it did. They were on exactly the same wavelength, and it only made Ethan want him more. And not because he thought it would get rid of him. On the contrary, he wanted him to stick around indefinitely.

“I hope you have better luck with it than I did,” Ethan said. He took a sip of his coffee and watched Trey put the carafe back in the coffeemaker.

“Sugar?” Trey asked.

Ethan pushed the sugar bowl in his direction. Trey circled the counter and took a seat next to Ethan before shoveling spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his cup.

“So how was work?” Trey asked, stirring his coffee with the sugar spoon. When he licked it, Ethan’s entire body tensed.

“It sucked.”

“What do you do exactly?” Trey glanced at him and Ethan got lost in his emerald green eyes for a long moment.

“Depends on the day,” Ethan said. “Last night I guarded big slabs of beef.”

Trey paused. “I like my beef big. The bigger the better.” He tossed the spoon on the counter and massaged his forehead with one hand. “Sorry. It’s a habit. I need to watch what I say.”

Ethan chuckled. “What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without a man?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He averted his sexy green eyes as he took a sip of his coffee. He reached for the spoon and added more sugar.

It was only a matter of time before Trey messed things up with Reagan. Ethan just had to be patient. And not be the one who Trey strayed with. After Trey and Reagan inevitably broke up, then maybe Ethan would have his chance with Trey. Ethan watched him wrap both hands around his coffee mug. The man had phenomenal hands. Long, strong fingers. Thick wrists. Sinewy forearms. Ethan tore his gaze away and stared into his empty coffee mug with a scowl. It was hard to be good when temptation sat on the stool next to you. Close enough that with each breath, Ethan caught Trey’s scent mingled with Reagan’s. The combination blew his mind. Ethan decided he should head for bed. He could think about having sex with Trey and jack off. No one got hurt that way.

“So do you always guard big slabs of beef?” Trey asked. “Any experience dealing with heavy metal fans?”

Ethan turned his head to look at him. “I’ve done security at a lot of concerts.”

“Metal concerts?”

Was he questioning Ethan’s ability to guard Reagan? “A few.”

“She’s going to be a superstar. Are you ready for that?”

Abandoning his plan to head for bed, Ethan climbed from his stool to get more coffee. “Is she ready for that?”

Trey chuckled. “It definitely fucks with your mind. If you aren’t careful, you start to believe the things people say, both good and bad. You’re a god. A talentless hack. A sellout. The best thing that ever happened to the planet. A menace to society. It’s enough to drive a person nuts.”

“How do you deal with that stuff?”

“Trust only the people who are living it with you and the people who knew you before you became famous.”

“She knows she can trust me,” Ethan said. He took a seat again. His arm brushed Trey’s as he settled on the stool, and he stifled a groan of torment. The man was utterly delectable. Even when he wasn’t trying to be.

“Don’t betray that trust. She’s going to need you.” Trey caught his eye and held his gaze. “Almost as much as she needs me.”

Ethan’s first instinct was to protest. Reagan didn’t need anyone but him. He would protect her until the end. Keep everyone at minimum safe distance. No one would touch her or even look at her. He knew that wasn’t realistic, and though he only managed to hold Trey’s gaze for several seconds before he had to look into his coffee again, Trey was right. Reagan would need Trey, or someone in a similar position, to go to when things Ethan couldn’t understand weighed her down.

“She’s important to me. Her happiness is important to me.” Ethan had no idea why he was spilling those feelings to a man he hardly knew. A man who happened to be his competition for the woman he loved. Except Ethan wasn’t competing anymore. He was sitting on the bench watching from the sidelines like some loser.

“I know,” Trey said. He clapped him on the back. “It’s important to me too.”

Trey’s hand slid down Ethan’s back. It took every shred of Ethan’s willpower to stay on his stool and not tackle Trey to the floor and rip his clothes off.

“So have you always been in security?” Trey asked. His gaze drifted down Ethan’s body and he shifted on his stool uncomfortably. “You definitely have the right build for it.”

“I used to be a police officer.”

“Used to be?”

Ethan nodded. “I got fired for beating the shit out of a suspected child molester. Police brutality.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Well, I might have gotten off easier if I hadn’t already been on probation for beating the shit out of a guy who assaulted his wife.”

“You probably just got carried away.”

“Like I did when I beat the shit out of a guy for raping a sixteen-year-old girl?”