Guardian (9 page)

A
lex sifted through his mail
, searching for the one envelope he wanted the most. Most address labels on the reverse were from other firms, letters from one attorney to another, so he scrutinized each and every one.

God, the guy was a senior partner. That didn’t bode well for the firm’s longevity.

The envelope was thick, heavy, and he opened it with care. For some reason he still half-expected it to be thirty pages of
fuck you we changed our minds
, but after skim-reading it he began to relax.

And then he read it more thoroughly, just to be absolutely certain.

Montgomery was dropping the claim. The petition had been withdrawn. Not only was this great news for Phoebe, it also meant that if Montgomery ever tried this nonsense again in the future it was yet another nail in the coffin of any potential case he may try to make.

Now Alex could go see Ty. He had a reason. And more than that, this would be their last meeting as client and attorney.

No more conflict of interest. No more risk.

Alex could finally ask. He could work out whether all those mixed signals he’d been getting over the past weeks were leading anywhere, or whether Ty would back down and walk out of his life.

“C’mon,” he said to Val. “Let’s go see whether I’m about to get things horribly wrong.”

A
lex mustered all
the professionalism that he could as he strode into Ty’s workshop. Val’s claws clicked against the concrete floor as she trotted along beside him.

He swept his gaze across the shop, but there was no sign of the burly giant, so he continued on to the office and peeked through the open door.

Ty’s head was down as he worked at his computer, but he looked up the moment Alex dipped his head past the doorway. “Hey! Come in!”

“Thanks.” Alex managed to keep the tightness in his throat from entering his voice, and he strode purposefully to the desk. “Special delivery.”

Ty’s brows remained drawn together as Alex laid the envelope down. A flicker of excitement shone in his eyes, but it was chased away by something darker.

Fear? No, not quite. Sadness? Yes, that was it.

Alex bit his lip. “It’s from Detwiller. Montgomery has withdrawn his petition. The court clerk has acknowledged the withdrawal and has notified the judge. No mediation, no trial…” He hesitated. “It’s over,” he added quietly.

“Over,” Ty echoed. He fiddled with the envelope, then tore it open and skimmed the contents.

“Yep.” Alex watched Ty’s hands, but he couldn’t think of what else to say. He didn’t want to push Ty away if the man was teetering on the edge of making his mind up how he felt.

Maybe he should leave it a while anyway. Give it some time, so that it was absolutely clear that Ty was no longer his client when Alex finally made a move. Or it could all be Titus’s unavailability which made him so attractive in the first place. He should wait a week or two and see whether he still felt this pull now that Ty wasn’t a client.

Christ, why was this so difficult? He’d asked guys out before. Some said yes, some said no, that’s how life worked.

Because all the ones who said yes were bad for you.

Alex wavered on his feet. That was his problem, wasn’t it? He was attracted to men like Ty and not a single one of them had treated him well. Sure, he absolutely adored being tossed around by a man twice his size, and at Alex’s height it was hard to find those, but the bad boys were called
bad boys
for a reason. They were bad.

Scratch that. They were awful.

“Are you okay?”

Ty’s question penetrated his reverie, and Alex sat down. “Sorry. I was miles away.”

“Yeah.” Ty wheeled his chair back from his desk to stand, then moved around and perched on the desk to gaze down at Alex. “You been working too hard?”

Alex blinked as Ty’s crotch became all but eye-level in front of him.

Another goddamn mixed signal. Did Ty even know he was doing this shit?

“No,” Alex croaked. He tore his gaze upward, but that just meant he was looking at those tremendous feathered forearms and the ridged stomach the t-shirt adhered to. He squirmed uncomfortably, but dragging his eyes further up now placed Ty’s thick biceps, his broad chest firmly in his view. The t-shirt was stretched taut across his muscles, which made the darker nubs of his nipples really goddamn obvious.

“Does this mean you’re not my attorney anymore?” Ty rumbled.

Alex’s head bobbed automatically. “Yes,” he squeaked. He fought to look higher, and made it all the way to Ty’s mouth, but the thought of making eye contact now was terrifying, as though Titus would be able to read his thoughts if he let the man see into his eyes. He fidgeted with his glasses. “Our business is concluded. I no longer represent you in family court, and therefore you are no longer my client unless you wish to retain my services.”

Ty broke into a crooked grin. “Then it really is over. That’s great! Man, I owe you more than I can put into words, you know?” He stood and offered Alex his hand.

Alex stared at it. This was it, then. The long, dark handshake of farewell. The last touch those hands would lay on him.

He stood and reluctantly slid his fingers into Ty’s palm.

Titus’s hand clamped around his and shook it, and then the man’s strength pulled on that grip and tugged Alex forward.

Alex landed against Ty’s chest with a thud, and Titus’s arms flung around him tightly.

“I’m glad I met you,” Ty rumbled. His voice was so deep it made his chest vibrate against Alex’s body. “You’re a good guy, Alex.”

“Yeah,” Alex mumbled. He couldn’t figure out whether he dare return this hug, and in the end his hands tentatively settled on Ty’s waist. “Thanks.”

God, being in his arms was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He felt safe. Protected. Like nothing in the world could ever reach him unless Titus allowed it to. The man’s scent coiled around him, and he groaned softly.

Something dug against his hip. Something solid, hard. For a moment he thought it might be Ty’s cellphone, or maybe his wallet.

Ty’s hands shifted. They sat flat against Alex’s back, fingers spreading slowly. The hardness against him brushed against his own, and Alex’s heart hammered.

Then Titus’s mouth was on his own. Hard, demanding. His lips mashed against Alex’s, and his nose nudged Alex’s glasses until they sat crooked.

Alex’s back arched. He whimpered with need and parted his lips.

The invitation was clear, and Titus took it. His head tipped aside and his tongue slipped past, invasive and cautious both at once. He tasted faintly of toothpaste and coffee. He was hot and wet and he explored Alex’s mouth and his hands came up to cup the back of Alex’s head and his fingers slipped through Alex’s hair before they found gentle purchase on it and held him possessively.

Alex gripped Ty’s t-shirt. The body beneath it was taut, tight, and his prick hardened insistently against that hard length which pressed alongside it. Every breath he took came from Ty’s lungs. The man had become his world, his life-support system, his very existence.

He moaned with need and pressed himself against Titus’s body. His head tipped back in a wordless offer.

The grip on his hair grew stronger, the tongue in his mouth more confident. Ty’s breath carried a faint groan.

Light sparked along the edges of Alex’s vision. His hands dragged on the hem of Ty’s t-shirt and he pressed against hard, bare skin.

Titus broke the kiss with a soft gasp, but he didn’t pull away.

Alex was drowning in Ty’s presence and his legs turned to jelly. Nothing but the ex-soldier’s strength kept him from sliding to the floor in a boneless mess.

They said nothing. Alex couldn’t even find words, let alone push them toward the outside world. His thoughts were scrambled, and nothing but that kiss mattered. Cool air touched his wet lips, but it only served to reinforce the knowledge that the moisture was Titus’s, not his own.

He blinked sluggishly and swallowed. Managed to look up, to silently implore Ty to
do that again. Please. Please, don’t ever stop!

Titus’s eyes were only a couple of inches from his own. Dark with lust, and with something else. Triumph, satisfaction, it was hard to be sure.

Alex tried a smile. It came out lazy, happy, ridiculously sly. It tugged at his lips and his eyes, and he wasn’t going to try and spoil it with words.

T
y stared down at Alex
.

He didn’t know what happened. He couldn’t account for how they’d gone from a handshake to a kiss so fast, or how a word like kiss could possibly hope to encapsulate all of
that
. It wasn’t just a kiss.

It was a connection. It was a wildfire. It was a force of nature, like a desert storm which reshaped everything it touched.

Alex’s hair was a mess, his glasses askew. His cheeks were flushed, and his lips were wet and pink and parted as he gasped for air.

Shit, the man looked so… so
fuckable
.

Ty reached for Alex’s glasses and eased them free, then turned enough to put them down on the desk behind himself. By the time he faced Alex again the flush had heightened, and confusion entered his beautiful blue eyes.

He wanted—he
needed
—to chase that confusion away. To reassure Alex, to let him know this wasn’t an accident. As though anyone could kiss like that by mistake. He ran one hand down Alex’s chest and marveled at the way it lifted toward him, pressed against his palm. It was flat. There was muscle beneath that soft cotton shirt, though it wasn’t a gym body. Alex was athletic, not built. It was the body of a man whose primary form of exercise was jogging.

Ty hadn’t ever touched a man this way. But goddamn if it didn’t make him want to do it more. And without all this material between them.

He saw Alex’s Adam’s apple bob as the man swallowed again. He couldn’t stand it, this silence between them, this desperate sharing of space with nothing more.

He lowered his head and kissed Alex again. He had no other choice. Alex’s lips drew him in and he plunged fiercely between them, tasting him, breathing him in. Everything about him was a contradiction: the softness of his mouth, the hardness of his chest; the strength of him in the courtroom and the eagerness with which he bent to Ty’s demanding mouth; the heat in his kiss and the cool touch of his fingers against Ty’s skin.

Ty growled and gripped Alex’s silken hair. He wrenched the man’s shirt free of his pants and touched his back. He ground his hips against Alex’s, and found the hardness between them ripple through him in shock.

Alex whimpered into his mouth. Hot, begging little sounds that implored Ty to do more, to go further, to bend him across Ty’s desk and fuck him.

He swore against Alex’s lips and dragged more of the attorney’s shirt free. He didn’t understand, and he didn’t care. If he wasn’t gay, or at the very least bi, then why the hell was it so important to touch every inch of Alex’s skin, to press against him, to invade his mouth and hear his desperate whines of need?

If he was straight, why was his cock so goddamn hard?

Alex’s hands jerked to life. They rolled more of Ty’s t-shirt up and caressed his sides until they found his chest.

And then his fingers brushed across Ty’s nipples, and Ty lost all sense of reason.

He turned and pushed Alex back against the desk. Gripped his thighs and hoisted him up onto it. Then he pressed forward until the attorney was crushed beneath him, back against the desk, hands desperately scrabbling for his glasses to push them to safety. Alex’s legs coiled around Ty’s hips and dragged him closer, then bucked against him, grinding and thrusting as his whimpers turned to moans.

“Jesus,” Ty hissed. “You’re a goddamn horny fucker.”

“You ever find anyone who wasn’t once they met you?” Alex’s voice was barely above a whisper. He grabbed for Ty’s rolled-up shirt and used it to pull Ty down for another kiss.

Ty obliged. He tugged on Alex’s tie to loosen it so he could get to the man’s stupid shirt buttons, but unfastening them one-handed from the wrong direction just wasn’t happening, so he settled for shoving the material all the way up to Alex’s throat and bunching it together in his fist.

Alex’s chest rose and arched against Ty’s bare skin, and he cried out into Ty’s tongue, then did this…
thing
.

Alex was suckling on his tongue. He drew it into his mouth and began to suck it slowly, from base to tip, his own tongue flickering across the end teasingly. His head rose and fell gently as he pulled Ty’s tongue between his lips then withdrew again. His eyes were bright with hunger as he gazed directly up into Ty’s own and sucked off his tongue in the most obscene, seductive, erotic motions Ty had ever felt.

Shit, if he didn’t do something, he was going to come in his pants like a damn virgin.

He pulled out of reach of Alex’s mouth, but that just made the man squirm beneath him and raise his chin in an invitation.

“Alex,” he groaned, hoarse.

Alex bit his lip and shuddered. “God, Ty. I’m… sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking…”

“Pretty sure I know what we’re both thinking,” he admitted. The press of their cocks against each other, pants the only barrier, was a good clue as far as he was concerned. “But I…”

He trailed off. Alex’s skin felt so good, so
right
against his own. But there was something. A voice, a warning, he couldn’t put his finger on it. A niggle at the back of his mind that told him to slow down. Take a breath.

Alex swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed, huskily. “No, you’re right.” He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. His head fell back against the desk, and the way his blond hair splayed made it look like he had a halo.

“I am?” Ty propped himself up on one elbow. How the hell could Alex know what he was thinking when Ty hadn’t worked it out himself yet?

Alex’s smile was faint, but his eyes crinkled with warmth. “I mean, other than the fact that we can’t just start fucking like bunnies on your desk. What if a customer walks in?”

Ty shrugged and smirked.

“Oh my God, you’re filthy! Okay, well. I don’t have condoms with me. Do you?”

He sucked his teeth briefly, then shook his head. “No, but—”

“Nuh uh. I’m not listening to
any
of that. That’s your cock talking. This is my line in the sand.” Alex’s hands pressed lightly against Ty’s sides. “It’s for you as well as me. You don’t know me from Adam. You can’t just go all bareback on a stranger. You wouldn’t with anyone else, would you?”

Ty sighed and pushed himself up to his feet. “No,” he conceded. “I wouldn’t.”

“Right answer.” Alex’s grin flourished, and he sat himself up as he started to pull his shirt back into place. He winced and tried to adjust himself with some subtlety, then gave up and stood instead. “Anyway. We should maybe date before we leap into bed together.”

Ty blinked at him. “Uh…”

“Hey, don’t give me that look. Just because you’re all—” Alex waved a hand at him, then snatched up his glasses and slid them on. He blinked while his eyes adjusted. “Sexy,” he finally huffed, “doesn’t mean I’m going to throw myself at you.”

“Oh.” Ty rolled his shoulders, then tucked his t-shirt back into his jeans and teased, “Is that not what just happened, then?”

Alex’s deft fingers slid the knot of his tie back up to his collar. It didn’t really help. He still looked crumpled, still beautiful and wild. “You know it isn’t.”

Ty laughed and reached in to run fingers through the messed-up blond hair. It didn’t seem to help, but that wasn’t going to stop him. “Eh, semantics.” He shrugged. “So how d’you wanna play it? You want to take me to dinner, or am I the one taking you out?”

“You take me.” At Ty’s wolfish smirk, Alex added, “Out. You take me
out
.” His fingertip landed against Ty’s chest, and his eyes narrowed. “I won’t be some… some experimentation phase for you, Titus. I’ve gone down that road. I won’t be hurt again, is that clear?”

Ty’s smile slid away from him, and he stepped closer. “You think I’m playing with you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think.” Alex’s eyes closed, and his shoulders dipped forward. He let out a breath before he gathered himself and raised his head once more. Calm. Collected. Still with a lingering touch of color in his cheeks. The light caught his lenses and masked his eyes from view for a moment. “Let’s just go out, spend some time together, and make sure this is what we both want.”

“Fine.” Ty stopped fussing with Alex’s hair and crossed his arms instead. “Okay. That sounds… fair. Disappointing, but fair. You got to promise me something, though.”

Alex adjusted his glasses, and his eyes came back into view. “What is it?”

“Promise me if it goes well I get to kiss you again.”

He held his breath as he waited for Alex’s answer. His pulse rushed in his ears. He felt ready to burst, hanging on a single word from a man whose suit probably cost more than Ty earned in a week.

“Okay.” Alex broke into a smile radiant as sunlight. “I promise.”

“Great.” He puffed out his cheeks, then decided to push his luck. “Until then, how about one for the road?”

Alex pursed his lips and gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. But he leaned in anyway.

Ty chuckled as he dipped his head. He could get used to this, yeah. A hundred percent. But maybe he should do it a few more times.

Just to be sure.