Page 22 of Complications

Against my better judgment and good sense, I traced a finger across the prominent vein on the back of his hand. He jerked away before his hand returned to rest on his thigh, where I could touch him again. The warmth of his skin tempted me to explore more.

I knew what his mouth felt like on my cock, but not what he tasted like on my tongue. The heat of his stare sent a surge of awareness through me. When I glanced up, his dark-chocolate eyes were guarded, but the want was unmistakable.

Slowly and deliberately, I sat up in my chair while Elio met me halfway. My fingers slipped between the curls at the nape of his neck. Slowly, our lips met, and the shock of electricity sent a jolt through both of us.

We skipped over tentative exploration and jumped straight into devouring each other. Our bodies strained toward each other, but it’d never be enough. With a yank, I pulled Elio off the desk and onto my lap, where he landed with a grunt. Without hesitation, his entire body melted into me. My arms tightened around his waist, and the answering sigh from deep in his soul activated something in me.

When my lungs burned from lack of oxygen, I wrenched my mouth away from his. With a growl, I explored the skin along the column of his neck. It was salty with a sheen of sweat that drove me wild. His soft moans sent a shock of electricity through me. My throbbing cock strained against the zipper of my slacks. This man drove me insane in all the ways I didn’t know how to explain.

“This is a fucking terrible idea.”

“The worst.”

The heave of Elio’s chest tempted me even as common sense struggled to regain control, but everything was too far gone. It wouldn’t have mattered anymore. Now it was just about having him near me, feeling his skin on mine, and finally giving myself a taste of him that I desperately wanted. And needed.

Fuck.

I needed this man, and I was too goddamn tired to fight it anymore. I wanted him. He wanted me. We were both adults. He wasn’t something I could walk away from.

“We gonna do it anyway?” Elio’s question hung in the air, and I admired the shit out of him for asking it. His gaze was steady, but questioning. While I’d been contemplating, he put it on the table. It was more courage than I’d shown tonight.

“Yeah, we are.”

I needed to taste him again and again because no one had ever stirred me this way. Elio infuriated and worried me, but he also intrigued me and, fuck me, charmed me too. The insolence and the flirting were like a drug.

“Michel, you’re making a choice here.” Elio’s soft warning stopped me in my tracks. “He’ll know, and he’s gonna be pissed.”

“I’ll handle Matteo.”

Elio looked into my eyes, and it felt like he could see straight into my soul. There was nowhere to hide, and strangely, I didn’t want to. What I wanted was for him to know that he had a soft place to land with me, which, given our lives, was a fucked-up sentiment.

“I’m not worth that much effort.”

My breath caught at his words, and a sound I didn’t recognize choked my throat.

“Shut the fuck up,” I finally managed. “Yes, you fucking are.”

There wasn’t anything I could say that he’d believe, so I yanked him forward until our chests collided and smashed our mouths together. The keening sound wrapped around my larynx and squeezed out whatever breath I had left until it was gone. I’d be damned if I let anyone come between this man and me.

He needed me.

And I wasn’t letting him go.

CHAPTER FOUR

Elio

Unreal.

“Fuck me. Don’t stop,” I panted.

I knew Matteo was going to lose his shit because if he had to choose between Michel and me, he’d pick him. Their friendship went back years, and I was the parasite he got stuck with because he’d respected my dad.

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” Michel growled.

His mouth on the column of my neck sent shivers through me, each pass hardening my cock even more. His mouth was like a balm to my soul. Every bit of restlessness that plagued me disappeared, and what he left behind was pure pleasure.

It didn’t make any sense. This man turned my insides out, and I felt at peace through it all. My body tightened with anticipation, but it wasn’t fear or worry like what normally stalked me. It was something else. Something sharp and bright and consuming. And I craved every bit of it.