“Nothing.”
Nice try. “Let me see your hands, now.” He used the same tone of voice on Marcus he normally reserved for Lillie. “Come on.” He gestured with his hand, shooting Marcus a stern look.
After a little grumbling, Marcus reluctantly held out his hands, and Tyler whooped with laughter, doubling over.
The fingernails on Marcus’s right hand glittered with pink-sparkle nail polish, while the ones on his left sparkled purple. Except for a bit of smearing at the top, they were surprisingly neat.
“What…how—how did that happen?” Laughter bubbled through Tyler’s words.
“She asked,” said Marcus, frowning. “How was I supposed to say no to her?” He scratched at one nail. “I didn’t want her to cry.”
This couldn’t be the same Marcus he knew from only a few short months ago. That man would never have spoken to a child, never mind play with one and let her paint his nails. Still, he had to understand Tyler made the parenting decisions and wasn’t about to let her fall into the trap of buying her whatever she wanted.
“We’ve spoken about giving in to her and spoiling her with too much stuff. I don’t want her drowning in more toys than she’ll ever use.”
“She was going on and on about how Rebecca got this doll, and then all these kids in the restaurant had one too. I didn’t think it was so wrong, and before I bought it for her I made her promise to donate some of her toys to the children’s hospital and the homeless shelter Zach volunteers at.”
This was the side no one else ever saw of Marcus; the charitable, giving side. There was so much more to this man than Tyler had ever imagined. Somewhat mollified with the explanation, Tyler gave in grudgingly. “Well, that’s better than nothing, I guess.”
“I knew you’d see it like that.”
But he wasn’t about to let Marcus get off that easily. “Care to finish the story? How did you get from buying her an American Girl doll to wearing a tiara and strawberry lip gloss?” He kissed Marcus. “Not that I mind, because you taste delicious, but I’m curious.”
“I haven’t the faintest clue,” said Marcus, rolling onto his side, facing Tyler, his slow, easy smile lighting up his face. “But in case you didn’t realize it, she’s kind of hard to say no to. Kind of like her uncle.” Marcus reached for him, his warm palm cupping the nape of his neck, sliding into his hair.
They kissed again, slow and warm with the burgeoning pleasure that comes with a new relationship where you’ve been intimate, yet still know there are pieces of your lover you’ve yet to discover. Tyler pressed his mouth to Marcus’s, deepening their kiss.
With a low growl that sent shivers up Tyler’s spine, Marcus pulled him close, molding their bodies together, and Tyler could feel every hard bump and ridge of bone and muscle pressing into his flesh. Even through his clothes, Marcus’s hardness was impressive, and Tyler wrapped his legs around Marcus’s hips, nestling their groins close.
“Let’s go to the bedroom.” Marcus slipped his strong hands under Tyler’s shirt and kneaded the tension from his back, sending shockwaves through Tyler’s body. “I’ve been thinking of you all day and how much I want you.” He continued to nuzzle Tyler, kissing his neck and teasing the shell of his ear with his hot tongue and breath.
Desire rippled through Tyler, the pleasurable ache flowing through him like chocolate, rich and sweet. He moaned, and Marcus chuckled in his ear, low and deep.
“It’s going to take all night to do the things I want to you.” He stood and tugged Tyler up, lacing their fingers together. “Maybe longer.”
“Don’t you have to go to work tonight? Angela is coming at six. I need to shower and get down to the club as well.” Angela was the overnight sitter they hired when they both worked at the club. Tyler had about as much desire to dance tonight as he did in running naked through Central Park in the snow.
“I called her earlier and told her not to come and that we’ll see her on Monday. I’m taking the night off.”
Tyler’s eyes widened, but he remained silent. He’d been working at the club for three months and couldn’t ever remember Marcus taking a night off, especially a Friday night.
“Really?” He kept his voice casual, but inside Tyler couldn’t be more thrilled, though he wondered at this sudden change of heart.
“Yeah. I thought we’d all have dinner, and then the two of us could spend the entire night together, by ourselves, instead of me watching other guys ogle your ass.”
As they walked into the bedroom, Marcus slipped his hands inside Tyler’s jeans, fondling him. Tyler grew harder by the minute, his cock straining painfully against the zipper of his jeans.
“You have nothing to worry about. This ass is yours—I’m all yours.”
Marcus pushed him down on the bed. “Fucking right you are. And no one else has a right to touch what’s mine.” His powerful thighs straddled Tyler’s hips, and Tyler, who’d never liked a controlling, dominating man before, wanted Marcus to take him hard. “I don’t even like when they watch you, thinking that they have a chance.”
He watched Marcus strip off his shirt and toss it on the floor. “Show me how much you want me, then,” said Tyler. “Right here.” He popped the buttons on his jeans, shimmied out of them, and lay back, stroking his cock; Marcus stood, quickly unzipping his pants, then leaving them in a pile on the floor, along with his black boxers.
“Every time I see you shake that ass in the club I want to fucking kill every man who even looks at you.” Marcus flung his leg over Tyler’s hip, and their erect cocks slid together, creating the perfect friction; Tyler bucked up, opening himself wide.
Tyler grabbed Marcus’s face between his hands. “Fuck me so hard you’ll leave a part of yourself in me. You have to know after these months it’s only you I want.”
The inscrutable expression on Marcus’s face unnerved Tyler. Did he reveal too much, too soon?
