Love For Hire (6 page)

There was a tub, a separate shower stall, and so many fluffy towels he could completely wrap himself up in them if he wanted to. Soap, shower gels, and shampoo were all lined up for him, and someone had even brought him a toothbrush!

He smiled, eagerly looking at everything. He didn’t allow any dark thoughts to surface, like acknowledging that this hadn’t been done specifically for him; this had been someone’s job, but did it really matter? It made him feel welcome, it made him smile, and he made a point of taking his pleasures where he could find them, because most of his life, he rarely had a chance to.

Telling himself there were always people who had it worse than him helped on some days, but it didn’t change the reality of what he did and where he lived.

He shed his clothes, letting them fall to the floor, and on naked feet he padded over to the shower. He was just about to enter when his eyes flickered to the tub. A considering look flashed across his face.

Shower or bath…
hmm
….

He was torn; on one hand, he enjoyed a good shower, but on the other, he couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to take a hot bath, and with this thought in his mind, the decision was made.

Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

He quickly turned on the faucet, checking the temperature, and then he settled in to wait until the tub was filled. He impatiently tapped his foot until the water was high enough for him to sink into it.

Sighing, he slowly submerged himself. Only then did it occur to him that maybe bathing with his stitches was a bad idea.

He paused, debating whether he should get up again, but then he shook his head, deciding the damage had already been done, so he might just as well stay put and enjoy it. He refrained from adding some bath salts, though, because he didn’t know if they would do more harm than good.

Jayden closed his eyes, willing himself to relax, and while at first it took a conscious effort, soon his arms and legs went limp with pleasure. The hot water was soothing his muscles, calming aches and pains he hadn’t even been aware of having. Slowly, he let his fingers trail over his chest, running them lower until he reached his cock.

Masturbating was something every guy did on a regular basis, but it had been a while since he had been able to fully enjoy it. In the shower at home, he had always been in a hurry because there was always the chance of someone walking in on him. Yes, it might sound odd for someone like him to be ashamed of jerking off, but he couldn’t help drawing a line between being naked professionally and being naked in private. One thing he did for money, to survive; the other was for his own enjoyment.

He wrapped his slender fingers around his cock, allowing the water to lubricate the slide of his hand. His cock slowly rose to the occasion, and even though he wanted to fuck his hand, he was still too self-conscious to go for it. His side wasn’t aching at the moment, but maybe thrusting upward at an odd angle might not be a good thing.

It didn’t matter; he got enough friction by simply pulling at his cock, his fingers scraping over the head while his other hand was digging lower, gently touching his balls. His ass got enough action most days that he hardly ever felt the need to go there, and it was the same today.

The flutters in his stomach got more intense, his breathing turned ragged, and the steam rising from the water felt extra hot, at least in his mind. The lust currently coursing through his body was surely enough to set anything on fire.

“Argh!” he groaned, somewhere between a hoarse scream and a yelp, and he came seconds later. He pumped his cock until he was spent, and when he slumped backward, he slowly slid down, only realizing what was happening when he swallowed some water.

He spluttered, laughing at himself, and steadied himself on the side, slowly rising to his feet. Water was cascading down his body, rivulets were pooling in places before continuing their descent, and he laughed freely as he shook his head like a wet dog. Dark strands slapped across his face and water was spraying left and right, but he didn’t care. He chuckled happily. He had one foot on the tiled floor when a voice came out of nowhere.

“I wanted to ask you if you were up to watching the game.”

Visions of splitting his head open flashed through his mind, but thankfully, a strong hand grabbed his wrist before they could become reality. Jolts of electricity shot through him and his mind, unhelpfully, was saying, “You’ve come home.”

He gasped, swallowing hard, and this time his rapidly beating heart wasn’t due to arousal but more to a mix of fear and being startled.

“You sure are beautiful.” Matt’s voice wasn’t more than a whisper, and Jayden was still standing there, his hand caught in Matt’s strong grip, when the man reached out, allowing his fingers to trail in a leisurely fashion down Jayden’s smooth chest.

Jayden blinked, all thoughts fleeing his brain, and his mouth hung open, waiting for a kiss that never came.

Matt suddenly pulled back as if he had been bitten, putting a few meters of safe distance between them. His blue eyes were averted, and Jayden frowned. Was there a faint blush on the man’s face?

“So?” Matt said again, “The game? Do you want to watch it?”

Jayden wasn’t able to provide an answer just now, so Matt nodded to himself, retreating further. “Well, I’ll just wait… in the… uhm… bedroom. Take your time….”

The bathroom door closed behind him, and Jayden couldn’t help but wonder what had just happened.

He hadn’t imagined the desire in Matt’s eyes, or the longing, and he was even within his rights to take what he wanted! It would’ve been good between them, Jayden was sure of it, but despite what they both wanted, the infuriating man had retreated!

It made no sense. Jayden shivered, a clear reminder of his still very wet state. Maybe he should see about getting dry, right? Unraveling the mystery that was Matt Archer could wait a bit.

Chapter Four

“
The
game sounds lovely,” Jayden said when he exited the bathroom, steam following him out. He was glad he had taken the sweatpants in with him, because at least now he was only partially naked.

Matt, too, had dressed down. He wore jeans with holes in them, a simple white T-shirt, and had bare feet. He looked artlessly sexy, especially with the tousled blond hair still gleaming from the shower.

Jayden even noticed a few droplets of water trailing down the white T-shirt, and he unconsciously licked his lips, wondering what it would be like to get a taste.

“I need to check your stitches first,” Matt said, his blue eyes focusing on Jayden. “You shouldn’t have taken a bath, not yet, at least.”

And after a shy glance, Jayden nodded, because Matt was right. “I’m sorry,” Jayden answered, but he couldn’t find it within himself to actually
be
sorry. Apart from the fact that he’d lost a few years of his life when Matt had scared him, the bath had been one of the best moments for him in recent history, and he wasn’t going to be regretting what happened any time soon.

Matt gestured for Jayden to lie down on the bed. Lots of naughty thoughts flew through Jayden’s head, but he didn’t act on any of them. He imagined spreading his legs, pulling his pants down to expose himself, and Matt looking at him before settling down between Jayden’s legs and taking his cock in his mouth.

Yes, he would definitely like that!

Instead, Matt pulled a first aid kit out of the nightstand, and if Jayden looked a bit wide-eyed at how skillfully Matt handled everything, including checking on his stitches, he never commented on it. How a supposedly spoiled rich boy like Matt could possibly have gotten any experience looking after this kind of injury was beyond him, but he couldn’t deny what he was seeing with his very own eyes.

A few grunts of pain escaped him, but no actual words were exchanged during the entire process.

At the end, Matt put self-sticking gauze over the stitches, and when he nodded to himself, Jayden finally asked, “So, is everything alright?”

He might have been casual about his wound before, and he still didn’t regret the bath he had taken, but at the same time, he didn’t want to get an infection. The knife wound hadn’t been deep, so it would heal quickly, and there were only a few stitches to worry about, but even he knew it didn’t take a serious wound for someone to get complications from a nasty infection. Sometimes even a cut on the finger could lead to unexpected consequences.

“You’re fine,” Matt said, still not looking at him while he put the contents of the first aid kit back into the box. “Sooooo,” Matt asked, drawing out the word, “are you still interested in watching the game?”

Jayden nodded eagerly because he couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the evening than curled up on a good sofa with a cold beer in his hand while watching a good game.

“Great.” There was a brief flash of an earnest, eager-to-go smile, and Jayden returned it before Matt schooled his features once more. “Come on, then….”

As with everything in Matt’s home, the flat screen TV was impressive. Jayden had no clue what game they were actually going to watch, but he didn’t say no to the popcorn or to the beer. Naturally they made a mess of things, but Jayden wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything else.

“Oh come on,” he whined, throwing some popcorn at the screen. The fluffy yellow-white corn made it halfway to the TV before crashing to the ground.

“Boooo.” Matt echoed his very sentiment, throwing some corn of his own, and of course he had way better aim, because his flying projectile actually reached the screen, bouncing off it before joining Jayden’s on the ground.

Jayden pouted; this wasn’t fair. He’d like to hit the screen too!

“Don’t worry.” Matt tried to sooth his bruised ego, but he didn’t quite manage. “Not everyone can have perfect aim like me.”

“Oh please,” Jayden huffed, turning slightly to throw some popcorn at Matt for a change.

“Hey!” the other man protested, retaliating by emptying his entire box, or what was left of it, over Jayden’s head.

“You… you….” Jayden was searching for the perfect word to insult Matt with, but his brain chose that very moment to desert him, because nothing came forward.

“Yes?” Matt prompted, clearly enjoying Jayden’s difficulty.

“You idiot,” he finally said.

“That all you can come up with?”

Jayden settled for glaring; clearly words weren’t his thing, and the three bottles of beer he had emptied might have had something to do with his current brain freeze.

Eventually the game ended. Jayden stretched lazily, yawning, exposing a tantalizing strip of his smooth stomach, and when he opened his eyes again, he found Matt’s blue orbs had zoomed in on his face. Matt was staring at him as if he were the last morsel standing between him and certain starvation.

It was a heady feeling to be the recipient of such a lustful stare, and for a few seconds Jayden lost all ability to speak. His mouth hung open, and then Matt reached for him, a hand settled at the back of his neck, and Jayden was hauled forward into a deep kiss.

There wasn’t anything gentle or timid about it. Matt apparently liked to do things head-on, giving them all he had, and the moment Jayden opened his lips, Matt’s tongue slid into his hot mouth, playing, tantalizing him, and with a grunt, Jayden returned the favor.

He tasted beer and some remnant of the nachos they had enjoyed earlier on, as well as something uniquely Matt. In his opinion, every person had a certain taste, a flavor, if you like, and even though he couldn’t put a name to it, he liked Matt’s taste.

Jayden grunted, shifting closer to the man, moving his legs so he was now straddling the still-sitting Matt. He was just about to sit down fully, to press his rising erection into Matt’s body, when he found himself gently shoved backward.

Jayden emitted a keening sound of protest, leaning further toward Matt, but the push he received this time was far from gentle. He toppled backward, and it was only by sheer luck he managed to catch himself before he fell off the sofa. His stitches pulled uncomfortably at his side, and this time, the grunt escaping his lips was mostly from being in pain.

“We can’t do this,” Matt whispered, his voice hoarse, and there was pain there too. Judging from the rather impressive dent in his jeans, Jayden figured he must also be feeling quite uncomfortable right about now. He could offer to take care of it for him—he didn’t mind—but the steely gaze in Matt’s eyes stopped him.

So instead of protesting, he simply nodded. He unfolded himself from the awkward position on the sofa and straightened his clothes. It was a defensive tactic more than anything, and he kept his head lowered while he nodded to Matt. “Good night, then.”

He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice, but since he was usually quite transparent, he wasn’t so sure if he succeeded.

Matt surprised him, though, by reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Later…,” the man said slowly, hidden meanings in his words Jayden couldn’t translate because he lacked the necessary information. “Not now, it isn’t time yet.”

Jayden nodded again, not sure what it meant, but did it really matter? Matt had rejected him, and when he quickly left the room to head back to his own, Jayden thought it was probably for his own good that they hadn’t gotten any further. For some strange reason he had a hard time keeping his distance from Matt. The man pulled at him, made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, which was dangerous because when it came down to it, Matt didn’t actually care about him. He doubted Matt wanted to see him come to any harm, but this was a far cry from actual friendship or plain old love.