Soldier Mine (14 page)

Authors: Amber Kell

As he stared, the fascinating creature approached the bar and settled several stools down from him. Trying to be unobtrusive, he kept an eye on the new object of his lust as the stranger talked to the bartender. A moment later a cold bottle of water was passed over and money exchanged hands. The man moved with an unconscious grace, and Sin would’ve happily paid money to see him dance. The blond’s sleek, lightly-muscled body and smooth unblemished skin made Sin want to make marks of his own…with his teeth.

“No, thank you,” he said absently to the redhead still waiting for a reply.

His almost-fuck-of-the-night followed Sin’s gaze. “If you’re holding out for Callum, you’re wasting your time,” he said bitterly.

Sin tore his gaze away from the gorgeous blond. “Why? Is he already taken?”

“No. He’s just picky.”

“Excellent. So am I.”

He waved a hand, shooing the other man away. He didn’t have time for jealous twinks, and he didn’t want any company to deter the gorgeous god of his dreams. As if he could sense Sin’s stare, Callum locked gazes with him.

Sin gave Callum a cool nod. He wanted to appear interested, not desperate, despite the fact his cock was banging at his zipper and begging to come out and play.

For the first time in a long while, the thrill of the hunt surged through Sin as the slim blond trailed his fingers across his bottle of water. He could almost hear the debate going through Callum’s head on whether or not to approach him. Deciding a little encouragement might be needed, Sin crooked his finger at his prey. There was no way he was going to let this one get away over a bit of miscommunication. Although he couldn’t see the colour of Callum’s eyes, Sin almost burned from the heat of his stare.

After several moments, Callum smiled and, like a slinky cat, sauntered towards him.

Halfway to Sin, Callum’s eye colour came into focus.

Sea-green.

The man who’d caught his eye—and, even rarer, his imagination—had brilliant green-blue eyes, an eye colour Sin had never seen before. Fascinated, he watched Callum approach.

Callum’s heart beat with thundering speed. The sexiest guy in the room was watching at Callum like he had an aching sweet tooth and Callum was made entirely out of candy. Keeping his steps slow and languorous, he approached the gorgeous stranger while trying to remember all the tips about walking sexy that an ex-stripper had once taught him.

Judging from the heat in the man’s eyes, he was doing everything right.

“Good evening,” he said as Callum reached him.

Callum took a sip of his water to wet his dry throat. “Good evening.”

He stood up, and Callum took a surprised step back. Sitting, he had looked big—standing, he was fucking enormous.

Callum’s modest five-foot-nine frame barely came to the stranger’s shoulder.

“I’m Sinclair Alverston,” he said, holding out his hand. “But everyone calls me Sin.”

Callum took a deep breath before shaking Sin’s hand. He had a piercing gaze that would make a tiger feel like prey. A tingle went through Callum at the skin-to-skin contact.

Yum.

“Callum Turner,” he said, trying to keep the excited tremor out of his voice. Sin was the sexiest thing he’d seen in a long while, and if the heat of their handshake was any indication, he would be more than willing to follow Callum home.

Sin used their joined hands to yank Callum closer. Leaning over, he spoke directly into his ear. “You are exactly what I’ve been searching for.”

Callum swallowed the moisture flooding his mouth. Now he understood the phrase ‘struck by lightning’. Sexual energy arced between them, racing back and forth across their clasped hands. It took all of Callum’s self-control to resist the urge to drop to his knees and worship the sexy god who’d chosen him for the evening. “People call you Sin?”

“All the time,” Sin purred. “Want to come home with me and I can show you how I live up to the name?”

Callum shook his head. It might be a deal-breaker, but his rule was firm. “I don’t go home with strange guys. You can come to my house, but I don’t go to strangers’ homes. I had a bad experience once.”

He suppressed a shudder. The memory still gave him nightmares sometimes.

Sin nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll leave that until we know each other better. Do you want to be with me tonight or not?”

There—it was out on the table. Did he really want this dark-haired stud wearing leather pants and a tight T-shirt that showed off his massive arms and muscular chest?

Shivers of need went through his body.

Hell yeah, I want him
!

Callum gave a shaky nod, grabbed Sin’s wrist, and headed for the door, pulling him along. Before he’d gone more than a few steps, he was jolted to a stop. Callum turned around after Sin pried Callum’s grip off his wrist. Shit, he’d just met the man, and already he’d ruined it.

To his surprise, instead of leaving, Sin wrapped an arm around Callum’s shoulders. “Take it easy, honey. I don’t like to be dragged.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Callum’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. All his manners had gone out of the window at the thought of getting his mouth and hands on Sin.

“Don’t be sorry,” Sin said, tucking Callum beneath his shoulder. “I like that you’re so eager, but there’s no hurry. We’ve got all night.”

“I’ll try to take it slow,” Callum agreed automatically. He wouldn’t really. The quicker he dragged this guy to his condo the better.

Sin smiled as he led his little darling out of the door, knowing spears of jealousy were pointed at his back from the other men in the bar. There wasn’t a soul there who didn’t want to be in his place.

“Where are you parked?” he asked the pretty blond.

“I-I took a cab here.”

“Good, then you can ride with me.”

Callum nodded. “Okay.”

A long limousine pulled up beside them. “Here’s our ride.” Sin opened the door and motioned for Callum to get inside.

Callum slid into the vehicle without comment. Most of the twinks he picked up creamed their pants at a ride in a limo.

Dave, his driver, lowered the privacy glass. “Where to, sir?”

Callum gave him an address in a part of town that had Sin raising his eyebrows.

There might be more than one reason Callum didn’t gush over a limo ride.

Sin didn’t comment as the driver stopped in front of a luxury condominium. Built in the ritzier part of the city where housewives went jogging loaded with diamonds, the condo had a four-star restaurant attached for tenants who didn’t want to cook and anyone else lucky enough to snag a reservation. Last he’d heard there was a two-month waiting list to get in for dinner. Sin had viewed a condo in the same building a few years ago, but the price tag had scared him away. Even now, with his business flourishing, he would hesitate to put down the amount of money needed to buy into this place.

Dave opened the door for them and gave Callum an approving nod. He was definitely a higher class of company than Sin usually followed home. “Shall I wait for your call, sir?”

“No. Go home and get some rest. I’ll call a cab.”

Dave was an ex-mercenary who’d given up soldiering after he was shot in the leg and the bullet had shattered his kneecap. He’d been with Sin since he’d started his bodyguard business three years before, as both a chauffeur and a trusted friend. Long days of driving and standing around tended to tire the man, even though he was still in his early forties.

Sin hoped to spend the night. A strange wish since he rarely stayed over with his hookups.

As they approached, a doorman leapt forward to open the door to the building.

“Good evening, Mr Turner.”

“Evening, Liam.” Callum glanced over his shoulder, and Sin rushed to join him.

“Sorry, I was giving my driver directions.”

Callum’s smile was like the dawn breaking, brilliant and warm. “I hope you told him to get you in the morning. I like to make breakfast the morning after.”

“You cook?”

Callum nodded. “I’m a chef.”

Sin wrapped an arm around the younger man’s shoulders. “Then I’ll definitely stay for that.” He might even stay several nights, but he wasn’t going to share that information with his future lover. This beautiful young chef would need careful handling. Although he appeared confident, Callum had a hint of nervousness about him, as if he would call the entire thing off if Sin made a wrong move.

He let Callum lead him to a row of elevators. The prominent display of security cameras got an approving nod. Sin followed Callum into the elevator. Sin watched as he pushed the penthouse button and got a small key out of his pocket.

“It won’t go to the top floor without the key or security code,” Callum explained. His movements were filled with tension, and his hands shook a bit as he put the key in the little slot above the rows of buttons.

Sin rubbed Callum’s back in slow circles, trying to ease his rising tension.

“We don’t have to do anything tonight. We can just get to know each other.”

Callum flashed him a relieved smile. “I’d like that.”

Sin tried to mask his disappointment. He’d meant it when he’d said he was willing to wait, but that didn’t mean he wanted Callum to take him up on the offer.

The elevator doors opened, exposing a stunning mosaic that covered the entire entryway and formed an intricate pattern. Sin didn’t examine it long enough to figure out the picture. He was too distracted by Callum taking off his jacket, his sleek muscles moving beneath the thin cotton T-shirt. His cock hardened, and it took all his resolution not to jump the smaller man. Callum draped his jacket over a coat tree in the corner before turning to face Sin.

Callum cleared his throat nervously. “Can I get you an espresso?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

He followed Callum to the largest residential kitchen he’d ever seen. It was clean and modern with a huge marble island and shiny stainless-steel appliances. The commercial grade stovetop had a griddle built in the centre, and there was a bank of three refrigerators covering one wall. The room must have taken up a third of the total condo. He’d seen conventions staged in smaller places.

“Why so many fridges?”

Callum laughed. “I like to try out new recipes, but I don’t like to do it in the middle of a busy restaurant kitchen. Too many people come and bother me. This way I can be creative and make mistakes without everybody watching. Sometimes I do small catering projects up here, too. This way I’m not taking up valuable kitchen space during a meal.” Callum’s cheeks turned pink with the admission, making Sin yearn to rub against him and see if there was any heat to the colour.

“Makes sense.” It also told Sin that his chef was a lot more focused than he appeared. Anyone who went to that much trouble to create new dishes obviously loved what he did.

“Have a seat.” Callum indicated the leather stools lined around the other side of the marble work counter. Five seats were positioned along the curved counter opposite the food preparation area so visitors could talk to the chef without getting in the way. The bar was made out of brown and gold-veined marble, giving the entire room an elegant air Sin wouldn’t have attributed to a kitchen.

Sin sat and watched his host fiddle with a silver machine positioned discreetly in one corner of his immaculate kitchen. After a great deal of hissing and gurgling, he was given a small white cup of something that resembled mud.

“Wait, I have some biscotti.”

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About the Author

Amber is one of those quiet people they always tell you to watch out for. She lives in Seattle with her husband, two sons, two cats and one extremely stupid dog.