Hard Tail (31 page)

And then, before Robin could say anything else, Dan pulled him into a kiss. His lips pressed hot and soft against Robin’s. Perhaps it was the effect of the pint he’d just had on an empty stomach; perhaps it was the sweet, musky scent rising from Dan’s body; or perhaps it was simply the relief of being saved from Charles’s advances. Whatever it was, against his better judgment Robin sank into the kiss, parting his lips and clutching Dan to him with greedy arms.

Dan slid his tongue into Robin’s mouth and made a delightful discovery. Not only did Robin have rings through his nipples, but there was a barbell through his tongue as well. Dan moaned as the metal ball made contact with his palate, his tongue. There was a tiny click every time it clashed against his teeth. God, he wanted that hot mouth around his dick so fucking badly. It had been a while since he’d had head from a bloke with a pierced tongue. Wonder if he had piercings anywhere more intimate?

He stretched on his toes to deepen the kiss, wound his arms around Robin’s neck and pressed against him, body to body. Robin must be able to feel how much he wanted him, what with the way his prick was starting to harden and rub against Robin’s thigh. He rocked his hips to emphasise the point.

Robin froze and started to pull back from the kiss.

Dan thought fast. He couldn’t lose his advantage now. Not when he had Robin exactly where he wanted him. He sank back onto his heels, gave his sultriest smile and took one of Robin’s unresisting hands, lacing their fingers together.

“Come on, gorgeous, we’re running late.” He tugged Robin after him and headed for the door, turning to call back to the old geezer with the Robin fixation. “Thanks for looking after him for me. He gets into all sorts of trouble when I’m not there to keep an eye on him.”

The pub door swung shut behind them. Dan led Robin around the corner and found a large pillar in the shadows outside a closed shop to push him up against. Robin was still dazed, his eyes hooded and his jaw slack. Yeah, that had been a great kiss. Guys were always telling him he had a talented tongue, and seeing what it had done to Robin made him swell with pride. He dropped his hands to Robin’s hips and purred seductively.

“Now, where were we?”

Robin made an alarmed sound in his throat and pulled back slightly, his body trembling. Dan gave a delighted smile. Surely the big guy wasn’t out of his depth, was he? But yes, fear lurked in his eyes.

“No need to worry, you’re in safe hands. I’ve done this plenty of times before.”

It was as if the words broke the spell his kiss had cast. Robin’s eyes widened, and his body stiffened, but not in the place Dan wanted it to.

“How many times?”

“What?”

“How many times have you done
this
before?” Robin snarled, pushing Dan away with a shove to his chest. “You make a habit of picking up strange men, do you?”

Oh God, it was back to Mr. Shouty again, was it? “You’re not that strange. I even know your surname, which is more than I do with some guys.” He’d been aiming for light banter, but the disgust on Robin’s face made him realise he’d misjudged. Dan backpedalled. “I dunno, you just seemed like you needed a hand, and I knew I owed you one, and then I couldn’t help myself, you looked so delicious.”

“Yeah, well… I was doing fine by myself, thank you very much.”

“Didn’t look like it from where I was standing. You looked like you were struggling with how to let the guy down without being rude. That’s always a recipe for disaster. Best to be honest and get it all out in the open.” Dan grinned, but it didn’t seem to make an impression on his quarry.

“What makes you think I wasn’t interested in him? I suppose someone like you wouldn’t shag an old queen like him if he were the last man on earth, although you’d quite happily work your way through every sleazy little whore at a place like the Hussars.” Robin’s lip curled up in a sneer.

“Look, I’m not a one-man kind of bloke, and I don’t see why I should be ashamed of that.” Dan stuck out his chin. He was buggered if he was going to let Robin take the moral high ground here. “I’m a player.”

“You’re a slut, you mean.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not a chance. I’ve got a girlfriend anyway. Mel. You remember?” There was no mistaking the challenge in Robin’s eyes. It was that defensiveness that fundamentally honest people always betrayed when they were lying through their teeth. “I’d better get going. I’m supposed to be meeting her at the Hat and Feather.”

Dan wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. “Funny that, I figured you were gay, the way you kissed me back in the pub. The
gay
pub, where you were having a drink with a
gay
man.” Bloody hell, if that wasn’t a blush spreading across Robin’s cheeks and making him look even more edible.

“I’m bi, but that’s nobody’s fucking business but my own, okay? Not that it matters, anyway, because I’m off to see my girlfriend. Good-bye, Dan.” His voice was sharp enough to make Dan wince, and it deterred him from following after Robin as he stalked away.

“See you soon, Robin,” he called.

Robin didn’t turn back.

Sighing heavily, Dan wrapped his jacket closer around his body and headed off towards the Hussars. Robin was right; that probably was more his kind of place, and there was no point wasting the evening. There’d be plenty of opportunity to get to work on Robin before he had to go back to London. He’d have him by the time his trip was over.

A smirk tugged at his lips.

Robin wouldn’t know what had hit him. Dan was going to rock his world.

Hard Tail

JL Merrow

Finding love can be a bumpy ride.

His job: downsized out of existence. His marriage: on the rocks. It doesn’t take a lot of arm twisting for Tim Knight to agree to get out of London and take over his injured brother’s mountain bike shop for a while. A few weeks in Southampton is a welcome break from the wreck his life has become, even though he feels like a fish out of water in this brave new world of outdoor sports and unfamiliar technical jargon.

The young man who falls—literally—through the door of the shop brings everything into sharp, unexpected focus. Tim barely accepts he’s even
in
the closet until his attraction to Matt Berridge pulls him close enough to touch the doorknob.

There’s only one problem with the loveable klutz: his bullying boyfriend. Tim is convinced Steve is the cause of the bruises that Matt blows off as part of his risky sport. But rising to the defense of the man he’s beginning to love means coming to terms with who he is—in public—in a battle not even his black belt prepared him to fight. Until now.

Warning: Contains an out-and-proud klutz, a closeted, karate-loving accountant—and a cat who thinks it’s all about him. Watch for a cameo appearance from the
Pricks and Pragmatism
lovers. May inspire yearnings for fresh air, exercise, and a fit, tanned bike mechanic of your very own.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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Hard Tail

Copyright © 2012 by J.L. Merrow

ISBN: 978-1-61921-039-4

Edited by Linda Ingmanson

Cover by Kanaxa

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: May 2012

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