The warmth of Carter’s sweat-slicked body comforted him, and Reed could’ve stayed plastered together a bit longer, but Carter withdrew to go inside the suite. Reed presumed it was to use the bathroom. Awkward, suddenly, as if just realizing he stood naked in front of a window in Times Square, Reed bent to gather his discarded clothing and hurried away from the windows.
After rummaging in his duffel bag for a pair of sweatpants, Reed slipped them on and lay down on the sofa to catch his breath. His ass ached, and he shifted to get comfortable. It had been a while since he’d had someone inside him and never with this powerful a reaction. He could hear the water running in the bathroom and itched to go into the bedroom but found himself strangely shy. Yeah, they’d just had mind-blowing sex, but Reed realized that Carter never said a word to him the whole time. His stomach dropped, and in that moment Reed felt a bit dirty and used. He checked his watch and saw it was time to take his antianxiety medication, and for the first time he was grateful to have it. He needed to keep on top of his meds with all the upheaval in his life right now.
Carter reappeared in the living room of the suite but remained standing by the entrance.
“Why don’t you come inside? You aren’t sleeping on the sofa, you know.” His eyes flickered to the windows where they’d just been, then back to Reed. “I was waiting for you. I thought maybe I came on too strong and you decided to leave.”
Might Carter not be as confident as he appeared on the outside? The possibility that he was plagued with the same doubts and uncertainty Reed suffered from never occurred to Reed. Of course Reed knew ADHD and anxiety amplified his own fears, but Carter need never know that side of him. He wasn’t about to open himself up again to humiliation and ignorance. A brash and self-assured Carter, juxtaposed with the concerned and, dare he say it, sweet-natured man, oddly enough gave Reed a certain strength. Like he had inside knowledge to a man that most others didn’t get the chance to see. A softer, more human side that caused Reed’s heart to beat a bit faster.
“I was waiting for you to finish.”
Carter’s silvery eyes turned dark and hungry as they roamed over Reed; a shiver rippled through him involuntarily. It was ridiculous how responsive he’d become to a simple look from this man.
“We have an entire weekend; I’ve barely started.” He held out his hand. “Come on. You could use a shower, then we can order some room service and go to bed.”
Surprising himself, Reed walked up to Carter and cupping him around the nape of his neck, drew him down for a kiss that he intended to be claiming but instead turned sweetly passionate. Their tongues tangled and slid slickly, and Reed ended up with his arms around Carter’s shoulders, clinging to him as their mouths slanted over each other, their breaths mingling and becoming one.
Carter broke free, gasping for air, and wiped his lips on his sleeve. “Or we could just go to bed now and forget the room service and the shower.”
Reed smiled. “I think that’s the best idea you’ve had all night.”
Carter swatted his ass as he walked by. “I’m full of good ideas.”
***
Reed lifted hishead from the pillow and squinted at the bedside clock. Nine a.m. He groaned and flopped back down on the pillow while simultaneously stretching the early morning kinks from his sore body. Not that he was complaining—he couldn’t hold back the smile that tugged at his lips. He and Carter had stayed up into the early morning hours, mapping out the contours of each other’s bodies with lips, hands, and tongues. Reed didn’t think he’d ever felt so wanted in his life.
He rolled over to curl up to Carter’s warmth. “Hey, how’re you—”
No one was there, and the bedding was cold to the touch, as if it had been empty for a while. Still a bit fuzzy from the all-night marathon, Reed scrubbed the sleep from his eyes, disappointed Carter wasn’t there with him to wake up and say good morning.
After using the bathroom and brushing his teeth, Reed cocked his head, certain he heard voices from the outer room. Did Carter plan on inviting someone else to share their weekend? Reed had no intention of joining in a threesome and was about to walk into the living room when he heard Carter laugh. It sounded carefree—not designed to seduce, but real and from the heart. And even though he knew it was wrong, Reed couldn’t help but listen in on the conversation.
“I miss you so much. I’ll be home tomorrow night, and we can have dinner together, okay?”
Reed inched closer, straining to hear through the closed door. He knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, yet he wanted to know more about Carter. They might have agreed to keep their private lives separate, but Reed couldn’t help his curiosity.
“I love you. Bye.”
Fearful of getting caught, Reed scrambled back into bed and had settled in at the exact moment Carter opened the door and stuck his head inside. A wide smile beamed across his handsome face.
“Oh, you’re finally up. You were dead to the world an hour ago when I tried to wake you.”
Feigning a yawn, Reed pushed his fingers through the tangled waves of his hair. “Yeah, you kept me up late last night.” He stretched and through sleepy eyes watched Carter’s dark gaze roam over his half-naked body. Reed wondered who Carter spoke to. Was it another man? Reed didn’t think so. A thought occurred to him: was Carter living a double life and married to a woman, pretending to be straight?
When Carter pounced on him, taking his mouth in a bruising kiss, however, Reed’s head spun, and as was becoming more frequent, he lost the ability to focus on anything except the furious need that built inside him at Carter’s touch. Reed forgot about the call and his doubts and thought about nothing except how much he wanted Carter again.
Chapter Five
‡
Amonth hadpassed, and he shouldn’t be as excited as he was to see Carter this weekend, yet as Reed rushed to get dressed for work and packed his bag, he couldn’t help the stupid grin he knew rested on his face. Something about the illicit nature of their arrangement made it fun and different, almost like a movie script or something in a book. Making love in front of the window last time proved to be a huge turn on and Reed spent many nights re-living that experience, until the mere thought of it gave him a hard-on. It certainly wasn’t anything Reed ever expected to happen to him. He thought he was too ordinary a guy, but for some crazy reason Carter wanted him.
And God, did he want Carter. The weeks away from him were turning torturous; too many times he wanted to text him, but remembering what Carter had said from the beginning—that this was purely a sexual relationship—Reed held back and contented himself with his hand and increasingly vibrant sexual fantasies. Only once these past weeks did Reed allow his curiosity free rein, and he did a reverse look-up of Carter’s telephone number, which proved to be a bust. As suspected, the phone was registered to his office and therefore provided Reed no personal information. All it did was make him more anxious, thinking up reasons why Carter could only meet him for one weekend a month.
It all came back, Reed decided, to that conversation he’d overheard the last time they were together. In their time apart, Reed had built up an entire make-believe world for Carter, one that most likely included a wife and child. Reed imagined Carter living a closeted life and using this one weekend away to live out his true need to be who he really was.
As quickly as he built up that fantasy, Reed shot it down and dismissed his crazy thoughts. All it proved was he spent too much time watching made-for-television movies. Carter was simply a busy man who didn’t want or have time for a relationship. Maybe the person he spoke to was his mother. Reed imagined Carter had a nice family with loving parents.
