Waiting for Rain (6 page)

I scowled. “Yes, well. He took me a little off guard. He’s such a fucking prick.”

Rain looked at me with a grin as we walked into the cool, dimly lit bar. I headed off behind the counter to the under-counter fridge. I opened the door and took out a few cubes of ice, wrapped them in a clean dishcloth, and held it against my lip. It reminded me of the incident with Trevor. A few patrons were seated, sipping their drinks. Eddie was at the far table, serving food. He glanced up at me and nodded, looking a little surprised at seeing me in his domain. I moved out from behind the bar into the open with the cloth against my cut. The ice cold bit into it.

“Christ, that stings.”

Rain chuckled. “Don’t be such a baby. If you weren’t such a feisty little git, you wouldn’t have that rather sexy pout.”

My insides churned at his words. My groin was already a little heated from him simply being in such close proximity. “Feisty little git? Pouty?” I said indignantly. He smiled a slow, warm smile that definitely made my cock want to play nice.

“Compliments, I promise. You had great lips before. Now they’re just poutier.”

Our eyes met, and I think both of us lost our breath. He cleared his throat and moved away. His voice was quiet when he spoke next.

“What you did out there was pretty brave, considering the other guy was a helluva lot bigger than you. Tammy’s lucky to have you as a friend.”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t going to let him hurt her. I’ve taken on worse before.”

He nodded. “I’ve no doubt you have. You have balls, I can tell you.
I
would have thought twice about taking him on.”

I couldn’t help myself. “Oh, I definitely have balls,” I murmured. “Maybe one day you’ll get to meet them.”

No sooner had the words slipped out than I wanted to take them back.

What the hell is wrong with me? I sound like a slut.

Rain grinned. “It’s obviously my lucky day. Feisty, pouty, and forward. I like that in a man.” He smiled wolfishly. “There are other things I like in a man too, but I’ll let you figure that one out. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

His constant play on words made me sweat, and I saw Eddie wandering over to the bar. My cock was straining at the front of my pants. From the bulge at his groin, so was Rain’s. I felt a surge of pride at being able to cause that reaction in him.

He eyed me lazily. “I’d also like to see if I can make it onto that preferred dick list of yours. I’m pretty sure I’d be a one.” He winked. I swallowed, thinking about the implications of that comment, my mouth starting to water as I imagined my lips wrapped around whatever he had bulging in his jeans.

“Toby, my God, man! Are you all right? Jerome told me what happened. He saw you in the parking lot with that idiot, Neil.”

Simon’s anxious voice catapulted me out of my dirty fantasy, and I blinked and stared at him. He stood in front of me, a worried expression on his face. He took my jaw, as Rain had, examining it gently. Rain stepped back warily.

“I’m fine, Simon. Nothing a little ice won’t cure.”

Simon looked over at Rain, and I noticed his fleeting glance downward at Rain’s crotch, then to mine. Neither of us left anything to the imagination. I wanted the floor to open and swallow me up. Rain looked at Simon with challenge in his eyes.

Hell, didn’t the man have any shame? This was my bloody boss noticing just how turned on we both were with each other.

“I see you’re in good hands, Toby,” Simon said as he moved away. “Keep using the ice, and take some time off if you need. I’ll cover the front for you and anything else you need me to do.”

Before I could respond, he’d disappeared. I groaned. “God, that was bloody embarrassing.”

Rain eyed me curiously. “What? Him seeing you have a hard-on for me?”

I opened my mouth to deny it but thought that was a little silly, seeing as how the physical evidence was right there in front of us. “That and the fact he knows I got smacked, and the fact that he seems a little disappointed with me.”

Rain took my arm and pulled me over into a darkened corner, out of the way of Eddie’s obviously listening ears and other customers. “You do know he has the hots for you, Toby?” he said with a frown.

My mouth must have gaped open because my split lip protested. Rain leaned in with a soft chuckle and nudged it shut with his hand.

“You think that too?” I said feebly as the world spun.

Rain nodded. “Oh yes. That man definitely has a thing for you. He saw us together and decided to bow out gracefully. I think he wanted to kiss your boo-boo better.”

Then, to my complete amazement, Rain leaned over in front of the whole bar—well, all right, there was only Eddie and about four other people—and kissed my swollen lip, his lips lingering on the cut. I felt the slight touch of his tongue on it, as if he was trying to lick it better.

“Someone had to kiss it. I’d rather be the one to do it,” he murmured with a dangerous glint in his eye. “I know everyone knows you’re gay, so I haven’t outed you, and most people know about me too. I’m sorry I called you a twink. I was mad at being called the hired help.”

I was still too gobsmacked and aroused to even respond. Rain turned, and I watched as his jeans-clad arse disappeared out into the lobby, leaving me in state of shock. I saw Eddie grin at me with glee, giving me a thumbs-up. The other customers didn’t seem too bothered, and I was relieved Esther Mountjoy wasn’t there. I’d be tarred and feathered by now.

I need a shower, right now. I can’t work with this huge boner. Christ, I wonder what Rain’s going to do about his? Probably flaunt it with pride.
The man hadn’t seemed too bothered about anyone seeing it.

I took a napkin off the table nearest me and held it as inconspicuously as I could across my groin. I wasn’t fooling Eddie, though. He laughed quietly as I escaped.

Chapter 4

Rain

I
F
I
hadn’t left the bar when I had, I would have swept everything off one of the tables, ripped Toby Prentiss’s snug-fitting and tailored trousers off his legs, and bent him over on the table right there and then, regardless of an audience. My cock was so hard I really needed to relieve the pressure. There was no way I could work with a hard-on like this.

I walked awkwardly to the bathroom, the rather fancy one just off the area Lucas and I were working in. I locked myself in a cubicle and proceeded to jerk myself off. It wasn’t a very busy restroom; I’d hardly noticed anyone using this one in the week I’d been here. I hoped everyone would stay out, as my moans of sheer indulgence resonated in the porcelain wilderness. It didn’t take long. The memories of seeing Toby facing down that homophobic prick in the car park, his dry, sardonic comments, and the sheer quiet ferocity of the man had me spewing my load within a few minutes. He’d been an incredible sight to see, with his shoulders tautened in anger and those strong, coltish legs standing firm even when he’d been hit. Finally, I sat back on the closed toilet, my jeans around my ankles, feeling extremely undignified but relieved. I cleaned myself up as best I could. I’d been thoughtful and used my underwear, my treasured Calvin Klein boxers, as a receptacle for most of my sticky release, but that meant I’d now have to go commando for the rest of the day.

Christ, this was getting beyond a joke. What the hell was this man doing to me? I knew I was horny, but this was something else entirely.

The last week, even though we hadn’t been really speaking to each other, I’d been aware of every move he’d made, and hearing his voice had given me a distinct thrill. I was like a kid with a crush. I’d never felt this way before, with a constant hard-on that just screamed, “Touch me, suck me, please.”

I scowled, pulling up my jeans, making sure my now-relieved cock didn’t get caught in the zipper. I quickly washed my boxers in the sink and used the blow-dryer to take some of the wet off them. Shoving them into my pocket, I looked at the man in the mirror, who stared back at me with a slightly unfocused expression. Black hair fell over his eyes, and his cheeks were flushed with the recent exertion. The dark-blue eyes I knew so well stared back at me with an expression of uncertainty, eyes that not so long ago had stared into a pair of clear green ones. About the same time, I’d felt an almost electric shock to my chest.

When I’d seen Toby with the guy in the parking lot, my first instinct had been to protect him. He was tall and wiry, but the other guy was built like a rugby forward. Hearing Toby’s confident insults and seeing the way he’d handled himself made me sure he’d done this before. He seemed very street smart, almost cocky. But I’d had the impression Toby wouldn’t have welcomed any interference from me.

But it was in the bar that I’d really felt “it.” The slight look of vulnerability on his face as he held the ice on his lip, the dirty talk between us, and the fact that his boss was crazy about him and it worried him, together with the feeling I’d had when Simon had moved in on him—my attraction to this man wasn’t purely physical. I took one last look in the mirror and grinned at the man I saw looking back.

Keep this about sex and nothing else, Rain. You just need to get laid and everything will be all right.

Two days later, I kind of got my wish. Well, it wasn’t actual sex, but it was a release of sorts. Toby and I had been skirting around each other, giving each other looks, smiling and flirting. Even Tammy was getting fed up with the sexual tension between us. I grinned when I heard her lambasting Toby one afternoon when they thought they were alone in the office. Of course, I had to creep in behind the reception desk to hear what was going on. But as it was currently empty and there was no one really around, I didn’t feel too bad about it.

“Just fuck him already!” Tammy’s voice was frustrated. “It’s driving
me
crazy. God knows what it must be doing to the two of you.”

Toby’s voice answered her with a sight hint of sulkiness. “I can’t just ‘fuck him,’ Tam.” Just the sound of those words on his lips was a turn-on, even though I scowled at the assumption I was going to be the one to be fucked. “When do we ever get the chance? He’s always in the barroom, working, or I’m working. Or Simon’s around, and I can’t invite the guy up to my room.” His voice went all prim. “You know I wouldn’t do that. And
he’s
not making any real moves, so honestly? He’s just flirting with me. I’m not even sure he’s serious about having sex.”

If I’d had a drink in my mouth, it would have spluttered all over the place.

Not serious about having sex with him? What the hell did he think I’d been trying to do for the past couple of days, with the lip licking, the smoky glances, and the accidental brushes against him when I passed by—deliberately on purpose. Christ, I’d even bought a couple of new cutoff tee shirts because he’d seemed to enjoy the look of them on my body.

I felt aggrieved that all my sexual ploys didn’t seem to be convincing him to let loose.

Tammy sighed heavily. “You, Toby Prentiss, are a bloody idiot. Anyone can see the man is besotted with you.”

I scowled at that.

Besotted? It sounded like something out of a swooning romantic novel.

“Why don’t you invite him out one night, go somewhere that the two of you can be alone together? Go out on a normal date, like normal people.”

I wasn’t sure about the whole dating thing. That sounded too serious.

“What if he says no?” Toby’s voice was quiet. “What if all he wants is a quick booty call and nothing serious?”

I nodded fervently. That sounded better.

“Then give it to him!” Tammy’s voice was exasperated. “But for God’s sake, find some way to get your rocks off, Toby, because you’re starting to frustrate
me
.” I heard them moving around in the office and turned to make a run for it. I looked straight into the eyes of Stacey, the relief receptionist, who stood behind me with an amused look on her face.

“Can I help you, Rain?” she murmured with a smile.

I shook my head as my face burned in embarrassment at being caught out. “No, err, I was looking for Toby to ask him something, but I can see he’s busy. I’ll get out of your way.”

“You know what they say about eavesdroppers.” Stacey grinned at me, her long blonde hair falling in waves around her face as she laughed. I kept what was left of my dignity, moving hastily around to the front of the desk. I hotfooted it back to the barroom, hoping that Stacey didn’t say anything about my little eavesdropping episode.

Lucas looked at me strangely when I got back and picked up my tools. He shook his head. “Rain, my friend, you have it bad.” He lifted the drill and aimed it at me. “Pow.”

“Don’t talk crap, Lucas. I just need a little loving, that’s all.” I leaned over my drawings, trying to ignore the smirk on his face.

“Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that. I honestly don’t know what the problem is. Just fuck the guy.”

This conversation was becoming uncomfortably like the one I’d just overheard. “I will. Just give me time. We seem to be having a little timing problem.”

“Ask Toby back to your place for dinner and a drink. What’s the harm in that? Then you can get all snug and cozy in that huge bed you have and play hide the sausage.” He laughed loudly.

“Jesus, Lucas, give me a break. I’m not ready to have anyone at my place.”

Lucas sauntered over to me, laying a hand on my arm, his eyes soft. “You need to open up, Rain. You can’t fight things forever. Yes, you got hurt. But that’s life. We carry on.”

I shrugged his hand off my arm. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t have the man you loved and were going to marry run off and leave you high and dry.” I heard the bitterness in my voice.

Lucas sighed. “No, I didn’t. But you need to move on.”

“Yeah, well I will, when I’m ready.” I turned and started rummaging in my toolbox. Lucas knew the conversation was over when I did that. He sighed again, going back to his drilling.

Later that evening, when Lucas had left and the hotel was quiet, I cleaned up, going outside to the garden to wash my hands under the garden tap. I liked being in the quiet solitude of the garden, with the high trees, the soft sounds of the crickets and birds, and the smell of the herb garden beside the path leading down to the parking lot. The garden was empty, the sun was still shining, and there was an air of tranquility about the place.