Mr. Rothe

by Lynn Hagen

  “Much better.” I handed him the bowl I’d scooped some of the pasta into. Curls of steam wafted from the noodles and sauce as I went to the refrigerator to get something to drink.

  “Parmesan cheese?”

  I pressed my hand to my heart when I returned to the table and set the bottled waters down. “That’s sacrilege. You have to try the dish first before you smother it in dried cheese. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted Carobano’s food.”

  Fitch snickered. “Fine, but do you have the dried cheese in case I need it?”

  With a dramatic roll of my eyes, I grabbed the container and brought it to the table before taking a seat. “Now, since I’m trying to convince you to leave behind the cheese, I’m obligated to give you your first bite.”

  I grabbed my fork and twirled the pasta around the tines. Fitch’s hazel eyes sparkled with amusement. “What, are you going to feed me?”

  “Are you averse to being pampered?” I lifted the fork, and Fitch obediently opened his mouth. His perfect lips closed around the food, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

  “The sauce,” Fitch moaned. “I can just imagine it’s even better fresh.”

  “Carobano’s is the best restaurant in town.” And only accessible by reservations. Luckily one of the Russo pack members owned the place, and my friends and I were allowed to dine anytime we wanted to.

  Also, I’d given Dominic Carobano the startup money to open the fine dining establishment, and even though Dominic insisted my meals were free, I still paid.

  And now I wanted to impress Fitch with dinner from Carobano’s. I wouldn’t simply show up. I never did that. I always ordered my food to go because normally I was putting in late hours at the office.

  “Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Fitch said. “No dried cheese.”

  “Mr. Carobano will be pleased to know he’s won over another customer.” I smiled as I watched Fitch eat his lunch. The look of pure enjoyment on his face stirred something inside me, and I wanted to see that look more often.

  “Just don’t tell my mom I liked someone else’s spaghetti better than hers.”

  I crossed my heart with my finger. “Our little secret.” I’d taken two bites when I asked, “So what do you do for a living?”

  “Nothing fancy like you,” Fitch said. “I’m a cashier at Piggly Wiggly.”

  A minimum-wage job. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever met anyone like Fitch. Just an ordinary Joe. My clients at the office were rich and powerful men and women. As a crime boss, I dealt with cutthroat individuals who always had some kind of game going to make cash hand over fist.

  Even Dominic dealt with some shady deals on the side.

  We all did. It was in our nature to always make come-ups, to line our pockets and hold on to what we had. But there Fitch sat, a cashier, no angles, no motive to get money out of me—which I would have given him for saving my life. He was a down-to-earth guy with a pert nose and lips I wanted to kiss again.

  When I looked at Fitch’s bowl and saw he’d eaten his meal, I pulled him from the table and guided him to my living room. Fitch looked up at me with trust in his eyes, and damn, that was a punch to my heart. I’d had plenty of lovers who’d looked at me with lust, desire, and greed in their eyes but never trust.

  “I feel so bad playing hooky from work,” Fitch said, “but I do need to call my boss. I don’t want to get fired.”

  “We’ll get that taken care of.” I turned to face him and brushed my hand through the back of his hair then cupped his head, bringing our lips together.

  The little moans that escaped him drove me insane. Maybe it was the fact that Fitch hadn’t wanted anything from me that this moment was natural, organic, no hidden agenda on his mind.

  If the male only knew what that meant to me.

  “Just because we’re doing this doesn’t mean I’m easy.” Fitch nibbled around my jaw. “I’m not.”

  “Never thought you were.” I groaned as I tilted my head, giving him more room to play. I was normally the aggressor, the one in charge, but for reasons I couldn’t understand, I was thoroughly enjoying letting Fitch take the lead.

  With his good hand, he fumbled with my slacks, trying to get them unfastened. I took mercy on him considering I was the reason his arm was in a sling in the first place.

  I hissed and jerked when his fingers curled around my dick. Fuck. I closed my eyes, fighting for control, fighting not to take him to the floor, and…I’d never been this close so damn fast. What in the hell was Fitch doing to me, to my senses?

  “If you stop talking to me after this, I’ll know you really are a jerk.”

  I hadn’t the first clue what he was talking about until he lowered to his knees. Goddamn he was a gorgeous sight. I cupped his jaw as I looked down at him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  Fitch gave me a doubtful look. “We’ll see.”

  Before I could say another word, he took the head of my cock into his mouth. This, this right here, was the sexiest fucking sight I’d ever seen. Fitch had a mouth on him—and I wasn’t referring to his dick-sucking skills—but there was also vulnerability in his hazel eyes, as if he would disappoint me.

  Not a chance in hell. I would take fumbling efforts over an expert any day. At least where Fitch was concerned. All he wanted to do was please me, and god, was I truly losing my heart to him? Was I that easy that I fell for the first person to show me genuine feelings?

  I closed my eyes and rocked my dick in and out of his mouth, savoring the feel of his lips, the lash of his tongue, the small noises he made in the back of his throat.

  In that moment, I would give Fitch anything he asked for.

  He created a suction, his mouth pressing harder around my cock, drawing my orgasm closer. I gripped his hair and let my head fall back, hissing and moaning at the raw pleasure.

  Then Fitch did the unexpected. His finger slid between my ass cheeks and tapped at my virgin hole. My legs trembled, and I gritted my teeth, unsure if I wanted him to take this a step further.

  I looked down at him. He looked up at me. Our gazes locked, he slid his finger in to the first knuckle, and I lost it. I fucking lost it. I came so hard that I saw stars. I jerked and thrust deeply into his mouth, choking him with my cum.

  Fitch moved back, pulling his finger free and rocking on his heels, smiling up at me like he’d won the Nobel Prize.

  Chapter Seven

  Fitch…

  It had been a bold move to assume Gabe would let me stick my finger in his ass. He hadn’t seemed the type. Dominant. In control. Someone who had just conspired with his friends to kill someone.

  Shocked was an understatement, but damn if I couldn’t stop smiling at the way I’d made him lose his mind. Me, Fitch Oliver, cashier extraordinaire, a nobody from the wrong side of town, had made this…this…gorgeous, rich guy shoot his load down my throat.

  But now I wondered if Gabe would kick me to the curb. Had I given in too fast? Had I made myself look like a slut?

  “You just keep impressing me.” Gabe gave a small snarl as he pulled me to my feet and kissed the breath from my lungs as he yanked my shirt off. I didn’t want to be completely naked in front of him. Gabe had a rocking body, whereas I needed to lose a good twenty pounds. I had love handles and a flabby, pale chest.

  That didn’t seem to bother Gabe. He nipped my throat as he tweaked my nipples, making my already straining cock pulse even harder. I yelped and squirmed under his sexy assault, grabbing at his swollen biceps.

  “I want to fuck you, Fitch.” His teeth scraped along my jaw. “I want to sink my cock into your tight ass.”

  I was melting into his words, ready to pass out.

  Ready to explode.

  His hands were everywhere, touching me as though I really mattered, as though he had no problem caressing my love handles, acting like the kind of lover every shmuck like me dreamed of.

  I had this gorgeous man asking to fuck me. Was I really going to turn him down? I mi
ght have been terrified of his world, of what I’d gotten pulled into, but in that moment, none of that mattered.

  I shoved his shirt up his chest—wishing I had the patience to unbutton it—and latched onto one of his nipples. His fingers slid into my hair, strangling the unruly dark strands, ramping up my desire as I teased the hard nub.

  “Fuck, Fitch.”

  Little did Gabe know how aggressive I was in bed. When I became horny, all timidity vanished. This was one area in my life where I excelled, and Gabe was about to learn that.

  I pulled away, pressed my palms against his rock-hard chest, and shoved him backward onto the couch. Then I paused. Two thick, gleaming canines were showing, and I feared I’d gone too far.

  I was also mesmerized by the sight, reminded that Gabe wasn’t human.

  He smirked. “Afraid of me, Fitch?”

  His glib question knocked me out of the daze I’d been falling into. “You wish.”

  Gabe threw his head back and laughed. “Then bring it, tiger.”

  He toed his shoes off then finished undressing. Yep, my brain short-circuited as Gabe revealed all that tanned muscled flesh. He sat forward and yanked my jeans and underwear down my legs.

  “Take the rest off.” Gabe sat back and palmed his cock, biting his bottom lip. The tease. “I’m going to show you why it’s worth playing hooky from work.”

  Those words tried to force reason into my head, to tell me I was playing a dangerous game. I was a responsible adult who took my obligations seriously, and now I was threatening my livelihood by missing work, by letting my boss down because I hadn’t shown up.

  “What is it?” Gabe released his cock and sat forward. “Have you changed your mind?”

  “No.” I shook my head, forced Gabe to sit back, then straddled his corded thighs. His hands rested against my hips.

  Gabe didn’t look as though he believed me. “Then why did the spark fizzle from your eyes?”

  “My eyes were sparking?” I kissed the edge of Gabe’s jaw, hoping to distract him.

  It worked.

  Soon Gabe had me pinned beneath him, igniting my body into flames, kissing and petting me. It was pure torture, to have his hard cock gliding over my skin, to feel the droplets of pre-cum being left behind. I was in a whirlwind, drowning in Gabe’s masculine scent, cocooned by his body, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

  I had to touch, to draw my fingers over every dip and curve, to memorize where every imperfection was, to taste his skin under my lips, and to hear his heavy breathing as he explored my body.

  I’d never had anyone so eager to run his hands over me, to softly kiss my shoulder, or to look at me the way Gabe was looking at me.

  I was drugged, dizzy with this man, licking the saltiness from his body, arching into Gabe with need.

  “Give me one second.” Gabe pulled away and walked down a hallway but was back before I could wonder where he had gone. He set the bottle of lube aside then stretched back onto the couch, pulling me into his arms.

  I was lost in a haze, need engulfing me, driving me as I reached for the lube. Gabe held out his hand, and I squirted a dollop onto his fingers.

  He nibbled my lips, torturing me while sliding his fingers along my hole. Gabe distracted me with slow, lazy kisses that made me moan, made me wish this were a permanent thing. But I wasn’t an idiot. We were caught up in the moment. Two people forced together by circumstances. I no more belonged in his world than he belonged in mine.

  But I was going to enjoy myself while I had this stud all to myself.

  “Open your legs for me, beautiful.”

  If Gabe kept talking to me that way, I just might fall in love with him, and that was something I had to avoid at all costs. My heart wouldn’t be able to withstand the blow when he tired of me and moved on.

  Get out of your own head and just enjoy the moment. Stop thinking two steps ahead. I just feared that I was already losing myself to Gabriel Rothe.

  My thoughts scattered when his fingers entered me, stretching me, making my muscles burn at the invasion. I kissed him harder, gripping his arms and holding out until the burn subsided.

  Gabe scissored his fingers, twisted his wrist, and touched my hot spot, damn near making me go off like a rocket. I had to bite my lip and concentrate not to come.

  And we hadn’t even gotten to him actually sliding his cock into me. I was losing it over his fingers. But it was the way he watched me, as if gauging my reaction, fully focused on my pleasure.

  What drove me higher was the fact that I could still taste him on my lips, his essence, the sweet release that had rocked him.

  “I’m about to make you mine,” Gabe purred into my ear. I didn’t take his words at face value. Guys—including myself—loved to talk trash during sex. They were empty words that served only to ramp up the excitement.

  “Then do it.” I bucked my hips, going along with the foreplay of words. “Make me yours, stud. Tame this bronco.”

  I had never said I was good at trash talk. I would have to work on that.

  Later.

  The smile that lit up Gabe’s face made my heart shudder. He had that runway-model look that would make any woman drop her panties and make even straight men envy him. A gay man didn’t stand a chance when Gabe turned his charm on them.

  He slid his fingers free, reared back, then grabbed the lube. I’d lost my ability to breathe as I watched him lather his cock. The damn thing had plenty of girth and length. I should know. I’d just had it rammed down my throat.

  I curled my good hand into the couch cushions as Gabe lined the head of his dick to my stretched, lubed hole. He planted one hand on the arm of the couch, hovering over me, my legs pulled back in anticipation. With a scorching look, he thrust his hips, burying his dick inside me.

  I threw my head back and cried out, my legs dropping. If I’d thought the stretch and burn had been intense with Gabe’s fingers, that was shit compared to having his cock buried inside me.

  Gabe cupped my face and kissed me, kissed the thoughts right out of my head. He started moving, unwilling or unable to give me time to adjust. He punched his hips forward, nailing my gland, morphing my pain into amazing pleasure.

  I was so lost in him that I hadn’t even thought about a condom, which had never happened before. I was always very careful, taking my health very seriously. But that was what Gabe did to me. He wrecked me, made me lose focus, and made my brain flatline.

  “God…so fucking good.” Gabe closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. I felt the flutter of his breath against my lips. “Not gonna last long.”

  I was surprised Gabe was able to get hard again so quickly. He looked in his early to mid-thirties. Guys that age usually popped off once and were done.

  Yes, I had a thing for older guys. No, it hadn’t stemmed from daddy issues, thank you very much. Older guys had more experience, had better control over their emotions, and were at a different maturity level than guys my age—which was early twenties.

  They also knew how to fuck like a dream. At least in my experience. And Gabe was no exception. He worked my body until my muscles were sore and I was heavily panting. I began to sweat as I clawed at his back, raising my ass higher so his cock would go deeper.

  I shivered and groaned when he scraped his canines across my skin. Now I had a wild urge for him to bite me.

  “Change position.” I barely got the words out, but I wanted to feel Gabe at my back. I loved being pinned down by muscles, loved feeling trapped.

  Gabe moved until his cock slipped from my ass. I wiggled, with only one good arm in use, and flipped to my hands and knees, using the arm of the couch to rest my chest against.

  He drove back inside me, no hesitation and no warning. Gabe grabbed my hips and pounded into me. God, I loved it! The sound of slapping skin echoed in the room, mingled with our moans and grunts. My cock grazed against the fabric, adding friction but not enough.

  As if reading my mind, Gabe curled his hand a
round my shaft and jerked my hard flesh to the rhythm of his thrusts.

  “I’m close.” I groaned. “So close.”

  “Me, too, baby.” Gabe blanketed my back, his weight perfect against me, holding me down as my orgasm crested. I shouted in shock when he sank his sharp teeth into my shoulder, blindsided, as my climax exploded inside me.

  Gabe licked the wound then buried his cock, gasping as his length pulsed in my ass.

  I was done. Wiped out. Ready for a long nap. That was the hardest workout I’d had in a long time.

  Gabe kissed my nape as he eased out of my body and stretched out on the couch, curling me into his arms. He placed a soft kiss on my bare shoulder. “You just blew my mind.”

  “How so?” I was struggling to keep my eyes open as I yawned.

  He ghosted his fingers down my arm. “You’re the first human I’ve had sex with, and to be honest—”

  I looked over my shoulder. “You were expecting an epic fail?”

  “I wasn’t sure what to expect.” He kissed my earlobe. “But I was afraid I’d break you.”

  I laughed. “I’m tougher than I look.”

  Gabe chuckled. “Clearly. You just keep surprising me, Fitch.”

  I would take that as a compliment since I was too tired to argue. So I snuggled against him and closed my eyes, wondering if this would be the last time in his arms. If it was, then I’d had one hell of a ride.

  So why did the thought of parting ways bother me so damn much?

  * * * *

  “Are you sure you won’t change your mind and stay the night?” Gabe asked as his driver pulled to the curb in front of my house. It was already dark out. I’d spent the rest of the day with Gabe, eating, watching a movie, and making love—no, having sex. I couldn’t allow myself to think of it any other way—a few more times.

  And I didn’t want to wear out my welcome, to make things awkward between us, so getting out while things were good was my only option.

  “I’m sure,” I said.

  “Don’t try to sneak away this time. Now you know why having Cole watch out for you is the only option.” Gabe took my hand and kissed my knuckles. It would be so freaking easy to fall for him. “In fact, I have another guy watching your house.” He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to protest. “I don’t trust Antonio. He might try to leverage your family.”