Love For Hire (13 page)

“To have me pretend to be your boyfriend while neglecting to tell me what your ‘good deed’ entailed wasn’t really helpful after all. You do know that, right?” Jayden thought about the quotation marks on “good deed,” and the way Matt cringed made it clear the man had caught on to his sarcasm.

“I’m sorry,” Matt repeated, deflating a bit.

His skin was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, Jayden was tempted to ask him if he was all right. He bit down on his tongue to stop himself from giving away the fact that he still cared, and eventually the moment passed.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked me as well or if you were simply playing along,” Matt offered, “but when I gave you the teddy bear, your eyes lit up, so I thought you might have some feelings for me after all. And frankly, the sex was fantastic.”

Jayden snorted; he didn’t want to be vain, but it would be a shame if after all the sex he had had in his life he didn’t know his way around a cock or a vagina. It might be crude, and he wasn’t going to say it out loud, but in this case he had to agree with the saying “practice makes perfect.”

And Matt wasn’t wrong; Jayden did care for him. But why was he here now?

“Look,” Jayden said slowly, “I do appreciate the apology and all”—he made a hand-waving gesture to emphasize what he had just said—“but why are you here?”

Matt twitched, fidgeting with the hem of his jeans, a clear sign that even though he tried to appear calm and in control, he was actually far from it.

Jayden considered this, watching the man he had come to care about deeply, until eventually Matt found the courage to say what he had come here to say.

“I am in love with you.”

Jayden blinked. “Come again?” he said, and then he leaned forward, pinching Matt’s arm, because the only explanation he could come up with was that he was dreaming.

Or should he maybe have pinched himself?

“Somewhere between you pretending to be my boyfriend and you leaving, I fell in love with you.”

“Huh….”

“I still care about Scott,” Matt quickly added, his blue eyes hooded, and it was obvious this was important to him, so Jayden wouldn’t have been able to look away even if he had wanted to. “I’ve known him for so long. He is a part of my life, but we both agreed we’ve always been more like friends with benefits than actual lovers.”

“But—” Jayden tried to object. The change from boyfriend to friend was happening far too quickly for him to believe it.

“We started out as friends long before we fell into bed,” Matt explained, and the edge to his voice told Jayden that regardless of how outlandish and unbelievable this sounded, Matt wasn’t lying. “And we were good together, but it wasn’t because we were in love. We’re good friends and we always will be.”

Jayden opened his mouth, then closed it again because he had nothing to offer. “You love me?” he asked eventually, his eyes widening further because he couldn’t believe it. “Why?”

The question got him a chuckle from Matt. Then Matt shifted on his seat so he was facing Jayden fully. “The first thing I noticed about you was your fighting spirit,” the man started to say, and Jayden had to roll his eyes. “Fighting spirit?” Was the man delusional? He was a coward; he ran away from danger, not toward it, and he had a tendency to avoid conflict at all costs, since it never ended well for him.

If he were braver, he would’ve stood up to his father, he would’ve found a way to do more with his life, and while he was still proud to have come this far, he was more than aware he had no education. Someone with a bit more brains and backbone would’ve found a different way to get out of his former life.

“And I would be lying if I were to say I didn’t find you pleasing to look at.” Matt followed the statement with a leer.

Seriously? The man was incorrigible. But Jayden would be lying if he didn’t admit to liking that about Matt.

“I could probably make you a list, but nothing changes the fact I’ve fallen in love with you, and I would like to give
us
a try.”

The offer silenced Jayden. All thoughts flew out the window, leaving him drawing a blank. “I care for you too,” he said slowly, wanting to give something back to Matt, because it couldn’t have been easy for him to come out with his declaration.

“Then come away with me,” Matt suddenly interrupted him, not letting Jayden think too long about what the confession could mean for the life he had built here in this new town.

“Come away with you?” he repeated. “Where to?”

Instead of giving him a direct answer, Matt said, “My family has tons of places, and I’d like to spend some time with you. Just the two of us. A holiday of sorts to get to know each other better.”

“What about
after
our holiday?”

“I don’t know,” Matt confessed. “You’ve got a new life here.” He waved around, gesturing toward the coffee shop. “I want you to come back with me, but I understand you might not want to give all of this up.”

“Thank you,” Jayden said, meaning it with all his heart. Learning that Matt wanted him back meant a lot to him. For once he wasn’t demanding to get his way; he was asking instead. Jayden had always suspected Matt wasn’t nearly as spoiled as he liked to pretend to be, but it was like balm on his soul to be presented with proof.

Jayden’s and Matt’s childhoods couldn’t have been any different. The chasm separating them, though, wasn’t uncrossable. Jayden liked to deflect, to glide through life, making as few waves as possible, while Matt prowled through everything like an elephant in a shop.

Should he really give up everything he had built just for a chance with Matt? He didn’t really want to say this out loud, but would the risk be worth it?

A compromise was needed, because no, he didn’t want to walk away from Matt either, but he also wasn’t ready to leave his new life behind.

“How about we take it one step at a time?” he offered instead.

 Matt paused to consider for a moment, then nodded approvingly. “Sure, we can do that.”

“I’ll need to talk to Carrie first, though,” Jayden suddenly remembered, “to make sure she’s covered while I’m gone….”

He was sure she wouldn’t mind him taking off on short notice, but then again, she was still his boss. She would understand as a friend, but she also needed his help in her shop.

Before he could think any further, a hand on his thigh distracted him. His eyes focused again on Matt, who smiled at him. “Don’t worry your pretty head.”

“Hey!” Jayden protested. He wasn’t pretty, and if he wanted to worry, then he damn well would!

“I’ll cover any expenses she might have.”

“You can’t just go and buy people!” Jayden protested.

Matt calmed him down by saying, “I’m not offering to buy her but simply to cover any costs she might have while you’re gone.”

“But,” Jayden objected, but at this stage it was almost on autopilot.

“I’ve got more money than I could ever spend,” Matt continued, eyes earnest. “It’s no hardship at all to spend it on something worthwhile. And getting you to agree to come away with me is totally worth it.”

Jayden swallowed, letting the words sink in.

Matt really wanted to spend some time with him. He might not like how Matt went about things because throwing money at people simply wasn’t right, regardless of the motivation, but should Jayden really shoot himself in the foot by declining this incredible offer?

Of course not.

“Still, let me talk to her first before you go and make your offer,” he eventually said.

“Sure,” Matt agreed easily.

There was more to the pretty blond blue-eyed man than what he let people see, and even though Jayden found some mystery to be exciting, he hoped he wouldn’t regret getting involved with him again. His not-so-helpful brain supplied a number of not-quite-exciting worst-case scenarios from ending up broken-hearted to being found dead, but surely this was only his overly active imagination running away with him again!

Maybe he should give up on art and start writing romantic novels instead, since apparently he seemed to be thinking along the same lines of eternal doom and star-crossed lovers!

“How about we take some time for this before you go back inside?” The man was back to leering.

Jayden frowned, not getting the innuendo until Matt reached out and grabbed him by the back of his neck, hauling him toward himself into a kiss that rapidly turned from just saying “hello” to screaming “I want you!”

Jayden shifted his body, moving closer to Matt, closing the distance between them while his eyes closed. He opened his mouth, thrusting his own tongue toward Matt’s , and for a few moments they were at war, nibbling and twisting, tongues fighting with each other. Jayden was already half hard by the time Matt pulled away for some much-needed air.

The heated look on Matt’s face told Jayden loud and clear where this was going, and he was pretty sure his own look was a perfect mirror of Matt’s desire. No further words were needed. It was a shame the limo was really too small for a good fuck. He might be bendy, but he was no acrobat. Besides, there were other things they could do, leaving the best for later. It would give them something to look forward to, which was never a bad thing.

Matt reached for him again, but with a swift move, Jayden deposited himself in Matt’s lap. Nimble fingers reached for the zipper, and it was loud in the silence of the car when he pushed it down, pulling at the fabric until he was able to free the thick shaft.

There was already some pre-come leaking out at the top, but Jayden bent forward, licking it and taking the head into his mouth. Matt’s gasp echoed through the car, bouncing off the walls. It was music to Jayden’s ears.

Jayden struggled with getting his own jeans undone. Once he was free as well and moving so he could align himself with Matt’s cock, his hands were shoved away, allowing Matt’s bigger hands to wrap around them both.

Breathlessly, Jayden slumped against Matt’s bigger frame, hips jerking forward in rapid motions, fucking Matt’s hand. Heaven—there was no other word to describe what Matt was doing to him.

Their shafts, slick with their pre-come, rubbed against each other, stimulating the already tingling nerve endings further until Jayden thought he would lose it.

What pulled him over the edge was both brilliant and simple in nature: Matt’s hand slid down his back, long fingers teasing his crack before digging lower, brushing past his hole. That slight movement had his sphincter clenching with need, and then everything went white while he exploded in Matt’s expert hand.

His scream echoed through the confines of the car, and he didn’t care who heard him. He was too far gone to care.

When he was all spent, he slumped against his lover, nuzzling at his neck.

“Hmmm.” A content hum tore free from his throat, and he heard Matt mimic the tone in a resounding echo.

Matt, though, hadn’t come yet, so Jayden quickly shifted, snaking his hand between their bodies, lending a helping hand. He only needed to touch Matt’s hot shaft before the man underneath him buckled, letting out a scream of his own.

Silence descended once more, with both men panting harshly, slowly coming down from the heights they had soared to.

“Is there…?” Jayden was going to ask for some water to clean himself up when Matt mumbled, “Boxes, over there…,” accompanying it with a hand wave, and Jayden reluctantly rolled off the man, coming to sit back down.

He scrambled over to check, and yes, there was a compartment filled with wet tissues. He wondered if Matt had done this before, but the thought came and went quickly. Of Course a limo like this had been used for sex! It was almost mandatory, and a man like Matt would always come prepared.

Jayden cleaned himself up and threw the tissue box over to Matt when he was done.

He leaned back, tucking himself in, and with hooded eyes he watched Matt clean himself, handling his now limp cock before putting his clothes in order.

“Do you think the driver heard us?” Jayden wondered, glancing around nervously.

Matt paid him no heed, moving to unlock the door. “He’s paid well enough not to care,” he assured Jayden. “Don’t you worry.”

And in his former profession Jayden wouldn’t have worried, but he was starting a new chapter of his life, and he wanted to do it right. He didn’t want to give anyone a bad impression of him, not if he could help it!

On slightly shaky legs, he got out of the car and sent a small smile toward Matt, who was getting out of the car as well, eyes trained on Jayden as if he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to vanish in a puff of smoke. Before going back into the shop, Jayden paused, glancing backward. He stared at Matt, love dancing in his eyes as he watched the blond man leaning against the car. He couldn’t recall the last time he had seen Matt this calm, seemingly content with the world. A soft wind ruffled his golden-blond hair, taking Jayden’s breath away.

He looked like a picture from a magazine, something men and women would pin up on their walls and drool at every glance. And this man wanted to be his boyfriend! Jayden’s heart skipped a beat, and after taking a deep breath, he hurried into the shop.

The moment he entered the shop, Carrie hurried his way, shoving her brother out of her path. Mike was a fixture in the shop, much like her, and despite their somewhat less than enthusiastic meeting, Jayden had learned to like him.

She paused midstep, turning to grab her brother only to shove him toward the till. “Take care of the customers,” she ordered, leaving a gaping man behind.

Jayden had come to appreciate Mike’s crazy stories and his overly friendly attitude, but despite being harmless, he had a way of scaring people. Not the best thing if you wanted to get your customers to buy your products and come back. Jayden had been an eyewitness to a few events where Mike had managed to singlehandedly empty the shop, leaving a speechless older sister behind.

Regular customers usually eyed Mike warily, as if they expected him to sprout horns at any minute, but they tolerated his presence because he was a whiz when it came to actually making the coffee.

Today, apparently, Cassie was making an exception, and since she was the boss, Jayden refrained from commenting.