Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom 2)

“Hey,” Jamie said in a dry voice, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “How was your workout?”

Marcus made his pecs bounce—right, left, right, left and Jamie battled a smile. Better. “It was good,” he said, taking the keys out of his workout bag. “You know, you can go inside without me. That’s why I gave you the spare set of keys.”

“Right. I’ll do that next time,” Jamie said without meeting his eyes, following Marcus into the Main Squeeze and closing the door behind him. “What’s on the agenda today, boss?”

Finally out of view from the street, Marcus flattened Jamie up against the door with his body. “Taste testing,” he rasped against Jamie’s lips, relieved when Jamie’s lids grew heavy, his mouth opening on a soft groan. “I’m going to start with you.”

Jamie’s hands came up, fingers curling in the neck of Marcus’s shirt and dragging him down into a restless kiss. Marcus unsnapped Jamie’s jeans to loosen the waistband so he could slide his hands into the back of Jamie’s pants, kneading his ass cheeks with hungry hands. Where a week earlier he would have been hesitant to press his finger to Jamie’s puckered entrance, he did it now without thinking, knowing a firm index finger right there would make Jamie moan into his mouth—and Jesus it did.

Jamie’s moan. The most satisfying sound in the world.

With their mouths touching like this, the real world a million miles away, Marcus couldn’t wait any longer to tell Jamie what had been on his mind basically nonstop. “I was thinking…” he panted, rubbing a circle around Jamie’s hole with the pad of his finger, tapping it lightly once, twice. “I know you like when I’m inside you, but if you ever wanted to be inside me like that…I’m ready. I want it.”

A shudder went through Jamie, making Marcus press their bodies tighter together so he could absorb it. Feel everything together. “You’re ready to feel my fuck, baby?” Jamie asked hoarsely, rolling his hips and dragging their groins together. “Then I’ll give it to you.”

Marcus took both of Jamie’s cheeks in his hands and held him still while he ground their cocks together, side to side, up and down, their strangled growls filling the dim juice shop. “I want to be the last man to feel your fuck, Jamie.”

Jamie stiffened just a touch and if Marcus wasn’t so turned on, he might have rammed his fist into the wall. Every time he brought up the future to Jamie, the same thing happened. Jamie swerved to avoid the topic—and what the hell choice did Marcus have but to let him? He hadn’t offered Jamie a sustainable relationship, had he? No, he wouldn’t even kiss him in broad daylight. So Marcus had no choice but to swallow his frustration when Jamie gave him a quick, final kiss and freed himself from where Marcus had wedged him up against the wall.

A veil dropped in front of Jamie’s eyes, a casual smile lifting one end of his mouth. “Do you have the supplies for this taste test?” He shoved his hands into his pockets and paced farther into the shop. “I only have about an hour.”

“Did Andrew call you in early?” Marcus tugged his cell out of his pocket and checked the time. “Your shift at the bar isn’t until five.”

“I’m not working tonight. There’s a last-minute school faculty thing I have to attend. Kind of a business dinner, I guess?” Jamie shrugged. “Some of my fellow teachers want to discuss a change the school board just issued about the curriculum.”

Marcus’s stomach dropped. A whole night without Jamie? “Where is the dinner?”

“A Thai restaurant near the school.” Jamie circled around behind the counter and opened the built-in refrigerator, taking out a container of carrots Marcus had chopped earlier. “Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to it. I eat at this Thai place all the time during the school year. They have the best potstickers, but I can’t justify an hour on the train to Brooklyn just for potstickers. Tonight gives me an excuse.”

“You like Thai food that much?”

“Love it.”

It was on the tip of Marcus’s tongue to say they could get Thai takeout some time, but God, it already sounded so lame in his head. He should be taking Jamie out to restaurants. Jamie was going to eat his favorite potstickers tonight and Marcus wouldn’t even get to see his reaction. Would he smile around his first bite? No, not Jamie. He’d probably act indifferent. If Marcus was there, he’d nudge him under the table, though, until he did smile. “Um…” The night stretched out in front of Marcus like a black ocean with no sound. “What time is the dinner over? Can I see you afterwards?”

Weariness danced in Jamie’s eyes before he swallowed it up. “Yeah, I’ll probably be home before your shift at the Castle Gate ends. You know where to find me.”