by AG Meiers
Jayden had wanted nothing more than to move down on Sven’s body and to lick his hard dick all over. Sadly, there’d been no indication in Sven’s behavior that he would welcome a wake-up blowjob.
The fact that Jayden was pining for a man he should be seducing and Sven was passing on sex he had technically already paid for, was bittersweet.
“Whenever you’re ready.” Sven’s words pulled Jayden back from the edge of a depressive abyss that had opened up in front of him. Sven had already shouldered his backpack and was standing at the bottom of the pile of boulders where Jayden was climbing.
Jayden jumped too quickly down the still-wet rocks, and slipped on the last few steps, sailing with flailing arms into Sven.
A lesser man would have tumbled backward and landed flat on his ass, but Sven only let out a surprised grunt and absorbed Jayden’s forward momentum. His arms wrapped around Jayden, keeping them both up right. For a moment they stood frozen.
Finally Jayden untangled himself enough to apologize for the unplanned assault, but the words stuck in his throat when he met Sven’s bright-blue eyes, which were glittering with heat. Oxygen was suddenly in short supply and before Jayden could remember how to breathe, Sven’s lips were on top of his. Yes, more. God, more please.
Maybe it was meant to be just a quick kiss to smooth over Jayden’s embarrassment, but he melted against the rough fabric of Sven’s shirt. Sven’s tongue brushed Jayden’s lower lip, and Jayden opened to Sven’s request with a small mewl. It took both of them over the edge. Sven’s kiss turned carnal, possessive, and hot. Crazy hot.
The view, the mountain, the air, everything ceased to exist. All that mattered was Sven’s large, calloused palm gripping the back of his neck and Sven’s hard body pressing against him through layers of fabric. Please. More.
Jayden tilted his head backward more to give Sven better access. The small movement seemed to make Sven pause for a second. “Jayden. Oh God. Yes.” The ragged words stole Jayden’s ability to stand upright, and he had to grasp Sven’s shirt to prevent himself from sinking to his knees. Their lips crashed together again, but just when he was ready to forget about common decency and get rid of some of his layers, Sven broke their kiss. Hungry eyes roamed over Jayden.
“What you do to me,” Sven whispered. “You’re all I can think of. All the time. I want . . . I . . . everything.”
He turned abruptly and started the descent, leaving a dazed, panting Jayden behind.
It took Jayden a few minutes to catch up with him. There was no stopping to talk about green stuff like Sven had done on the way up. Just a steady pace downhill, and Jayden was barely able to keep up. Still, nothing could wipe the goofy grin off his face. Sven wanted him. The most perfect guy in the world wanted him. Him, Jayden Calver. By some miracle, he hadn’t completely fucked this up. Things would be okay. Better than okay, because tonight, he would take the lead. He wouldn’t wait for Sven to make up his mind. There would be sex tonight. Glorious, sweaty sex. Earth-shattering sex with Sven in front of the fire in their cozy cabin.
The clouds had moved back in when they finally reached the trailhead. Jayden tried to speed up, because he’d fallen behind quite a bit now. Hopefully, Sven had been thinking about hot, sweaty sex too and that was the reason they were racing down the mountain. The thought made him laugh. Good thing Sven was still too far ahead, because Jayden wasn’t sure how he could explain his silly cheerfulness.
Sven had barely gotten to the road when the lodge door opened, and a tall stranger stepped out. Jayden was too far away to catch the greeting, but the other man pulled Sven into a full-body hug, and Sven stayed in his embrace for a few moments. Jayden’s step faltered, and he barely caught himself from falling flat on his face. What the fuck?
The two men only stepped apart when the lodge door opened again, and Orla and Greg joined them on the small porch. Jayden finally got close enough to hear bits of the overly friendly welcome.
His hand still on the stranger’s shoulder, Sven said, “Dave, I can’t believe you’re here. The roads are a mess. How did you even get through?”
“It wasn’t too bad. Nothing the jeep couldn’t handle. Actually, it was kinda fun. I like a little mud on my tires.”
“Hell, I can’t believe you didn’t get stuck.” Greg’s voice boomed across the entrance. There was a hint of respect in his statement. Sven rolled his eyes at Greg, and the younger man blushed, probably remembering his own adventure with muddy tires just a few days ago.
“What’re you doing here? I mean, not that I’m complaining. It’s been a while. It’s really great to see you.” Jayden’s stomach dropped when the stranger got Sven’s special smile, the crooked grin that lit up his whole face. The smile Jayden hadn’t gotten all day.
“I had a few days off without much to do.”
They continued talking while Jayden—unsure what to do—stood on the side of the road in front of the lodge. Sven seemed to have completely forgotten about him. His eyes were solely focused on the gorgeous tall man on the porch.
The two men made a stunning pair. Sven was bulkier and had his scruffy Viking look, while the stranger was clean-shaven with a proper haircut, and piercing blue eyes that contrasted with his dark hair and tanned skin. Still, he was clearly an outdoorsman, with his gray hiking pants and a warm, dark fleece sweater.
“So, you’ve already met my family, right?” Sven asked.
Jayden listened up. Maybe Sven would finally introduce him?
“Yeah, I’ve been here for a while. Your mom made me lunch. Best Reuben I’ve had in a long time.” The guy winked at Orla, who preened at the compliment. Jayden couldn’t suppress a small sigh. Suddenly, all eyes were on him, and there was an awkward moment of silence.
To his utter embarrassment, Sven didn’t say anything. He didn’t introduce Jayden, just stood there, frozen. Blood rushed to Jayden’s cheeks.
“Hi, I’m David Gallagher.” The stranger’s deep voice cut through the silence.
“Jayden Calver.” Jayden’s voice sounded like he’d swallowed a frog. Rough. Unsteady. He cursed himself, but it didn’t really matter, because the other man immediately dismissed him and turned back to Sven. “Your mom told me you have a kid from the city staying here. Wanna go inside? It’s starting to rain again.” Without another look at Jayden, he pulled Sven along.
There was a moment of commotion when Greg excused himself to leave for work and after some quick goodbyes, Jayden watched everybody else turn back toward the lodge. David held the door open for Orla. Before Sven stepped through the door, he stopped and with an unreadable expression said, “Jayden, you coming?” He didn’t wait for a reply though, but disappeared inside, leaving Jayden no choice but to tag along as heavy drops of rain started to fall.
Inside, Orla immediately took Jayden into the kitchen, mumbling something about checking on the chocolate chip cookies he’d baked this morning. It felt like an attempt to separate him from Sven and David . . . Goddamn, he couldn’t even remember the guy’s last name, which added to his complete humiliation.
He got himself a glass of water as Orla more or less abandoned him in the kitchen. Her eyes were alight with curiosity and a hint of confusion as she walked out. It was pretty obvious that this was the first time she’d met Sven’s good-looking friend. She had to be dying to figure out what was going on.
After putting a few cookies on a plate, Jayden quietly followed her back into the main room. Clearly, he was a glutton for punishment, but he wanted to find out more as well. He needed to know if his initial guess had been right and there was something between Sven and this guy.
Orla was leaning against the bar next to Elliot, who had given up his usual seat at the fire. She was fiddling with a towel, pretending to dry some glasses, but her eyes were glued on the two men, who sat at a table in a far corner of the room. Jayden couldn’t help but overhear the hushed conversation between her and Elliot.
“So, this one literally overcame hell and high water to get to my
lad,” Orla murmured. “There I was, all worried about the boy being alone. And there he is, doing fine getting a man hooked all on his own.”
Elliot grunted a low reply.
“A police officer. That’s not what I would have picked for him, but, my, easy on the eyes. Tall, dark, and handsome. He looks like he knows his way around the mountains. Just . . . not who I would have picked for Sven.”
“I wonder why we haven’t ever met him before. It’s typical of Sven to keep things to himself . . .” Elliot said. “That one doesn’t really seem queer. Not like—”
Jayden pulled away. He didn’t want to listen anymore. Fucking mess. He’d tried so hard to make everybody here like him. No. This couldn’t be happening. Things had been going so well. Today had been perfect. Special. The picnic. The kiss. Everything.
Jayden snuck out the side door of the kitchen to the first-floor bathroom, trying to be quiet. No way he could keep his shit together if Orla caught him now. He crept into one of the stalls, his eyes burning. His flare of hope that Sven was interested seemed completely delusional now. He tried to ignore the stinging pain in his chest.
Bathrooms and Jayden had a long history. High school. Various jobs. Bars. Parties. In most social settings, there was a moment when he locked himself in to catch a breath and to sort out his thoughts. He was a master at balancing on the toilet rim and keeping totally still to avoid detection.
He should have known that a guy like Sven already had a boyfriend, or at least that there were guys lining up for him. Somebody like Sven deserved the best, and David Whatever-his-name seemed up for the challenge. The way the two men had hugged . . . there was clearly history. That hadn’t been just a friendly bro hug.
Why kiss me then? Why get my hopes up?
Fuck. Sven shouldn’t be going around kissing a guy like he fucking meant it when he had another man in his back pocket.
And even worse, it was pretty clear David was making Sven happy. Where did that leave Jayden? Sven’s happiness was his mission. It was his saving grace—the reason he could manage to go on with the scam without feeling guilty about his betrayal. Stupid David had taken all that away, because now Sven didn’t need Jayden in order to be happy.
There was quite a bit of confusion under all his anger as well. Sven didn’t seem like a guy who played games and, clearly, Jayden wasn’t in a position to criticize, but what the hell?
For the first time since he’d arrived, Jayden wished Sven had called him on his lies and sent him home immediately. However, he ditched the thought right away. Too much was at stake. Never again did he want to find himself locked in a room without his wallet or his phone, not knowing if the next person who walked through the door would rape him or just beat the crap out of him. He never again wanted to feel helpless and scared, waiting for some thugs to come in and sell him to the highest bidder. Working for the agency wasn’t perfect, but it was a step up from the hell he’d escaped before signing up with Nicolas Carter.
Focus on what’s important. He was on an assignment. He couldn’t fail. That was all that mattered. Didn’t matter that Orla was impressed by this David guy, even though she’d just met him three minutes ago. Didn’t matter that Sven had kissed Jayden on the mountain half an hour before. He couldn’t let his hurt feelings get in the way. His life wasn’t his own right now, but if he stayed on task and succeeded with his assignment, he was one step closer to taking control back.
The realization of how much was at stake threatened to send Jayden straight into another panic attack, so he forced himself to focus. I can do this. No need to panic. He visualized locking away all hurt and confusion so he could concentrate on what was most important. I’m safe here. Just need to relax and think.
After a while, his breathing exercise started to work and he felt calmer.
Now he needed to make a plan. He was thankful that he was in the lodge. It was the only place where his phone worked. Jayden texted the one person who would know what to do. Yeah, stuff like this probably never happened to Jackson, but maybe he’d helped out other guys in similar situations.
Jayden: U there? I need help!
It took a few seconds, but then Jackson’s reply came in with a low ding. The sound startled Jayden. Shit. Nobody could know he was hiding. He turned the phone to vibrate.
Jackson: I’m here. What’s up?
Jayden: There’s another guy. He just showed up. He and Sven obviously have history. They hugged. A lot. He’s gorgeous.
Jackson: Hold on. You’re saying another guy is moving in on your man?
My man? Jayden shivered slightly.
Jayden: Yes.
Jackson: Great. That’s good actually.
Jayden: What???
Jackson: Alex says you need an exit strategy anyway. How many days have you been there?
Jayden: 7
To Jayden it felt a lot longer, but he really had been here only seven days.
Jackson: Okay. Too early. Change of plans. You need to get all jealous and possessive.
Jayden had no reply. He was all jealous and . . . panicked. Possessive? Maybe . . .
However, besides the obvious fact that Jackson, of course, had an answer to the challenge at hand, Jayden couldn’t help but notice that Jackson also wasn’t seeing this as a disaster or a setback, but an opportunity. It was a bit of a revelation. Yeah, Jayden had always been a mess. All his life, he’d struggled with being assertive, but when had he gotten so easily defeated? His mother would hate this new loser Jayden. Mom had been a fighter. Turning lemons into lemonade.
A buzz from his phone brought him back to reality.
Jackson: J, you there?
Jayden took a deep breath and typed his reply. What do I need to do?
Jackson: You need to show that you’re ready to fight for him.
Jayden: Dude. The guy is at least six foot, built, and he’ll kill me if I try to fight him.
Jackson: Idiot. Not like that. Well, that works too, but I get the picture . . .
Jayden: So, what do I do? Give me the short list, I need to get out there again.
Jackson: Step 1, disrupt
Jayden: You mean just walk up and interrupt the conversation?
Jackson: Yes
Jayden: I can offer them some cookies.
It took Jackson a bit longer to reply. Jayden could almost see him rolling his eyes or throwing a few comments at Alex across the desks at Perfect Match.
Jackson: Okay that works. Step 2, stake your claim. Pee all over him if you have to.
Now it was Jayden’s turn to roll his eyes. This wasn’t helpful.
Jayden: How do I do that?
Jackson: Move close to him. Sit in his lap. Hold his hand. Glare at the other guy. Be rude. It’s okay to come on strong. You’re pretending to be jealous. Talk about the sex you had. How good it was. Remind the guy he’s with you. Remember you’re his perfect match.
Jayden: Ok. I’ll try. Anything else?
Jackson: Yes.
Jayden: What?
Jackson: Step 3, fuck his brains out
Perfect Match Commitment #12:
We believe in true love and in love at first sight and in happy ever after—and so should you.
“So . . . Jayden?” David raised his eyebrows. While they’d gone through a quick catch-up already, Sven had been waiting for the question. Jayden stood out in Cold Creek. No way would David have missed him, nor was he the guy to simply ignore his presence.
“Yeah, Jayden.” Sven grinned. Two could play that game. He picked up his beer and took a sip, stalling with his answer. He and David were sitting together at the table in front of the fireplace. It had taken a while, but eventually Orla had pulled everybody else into the kitchen or chased them away to give the two men some privacy.
“Jayden got swept in with the rain . . .”
Sven nodded. “Yes, something like that.”
“. . . and landed straight in your bed?”
Sven choked on his beer. David slapped his back.
>
“It’s kind of a long story,” Sven said once he recovered.
“I’ll make the time. Come on, Sven, spill. You know I’m not gonna let that go.”
“He came here through an online matchmaking service.”
“Online dating? I didn’t really picture you as the type. I remember you were pretty set against it.”
“Technically, it wasn’t my idea,” Sven said.
“Okay, you better start making some sense.” Dave pushed his beer bottle across the table impatiently.
“Orla decided that she’d waited long enough for me to bring someone home, so she and the guys went online and picked out Jayden. It was a birthday surprise.”
“Your mom got you a boy toy for your birthday?” Dave sputtered a little too loudly.
“Shut up. It’s not like that.” Sven threw a nervous look toward the back of the room. He was trying to figure out what to say. David seemed to be temporarily speechless, however, so Sven had the time to think. “Honestly, it’s more like a mail-order bride without the wedding. Full service. The agency makes travel plans and arranges a stay for ten days.”
“And then you get to return him? That’s bizarre.”
“Yeah, it’s been a little weird . . .”
“Fill me in. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I mean . . . Look, I know that a lot of couples find each other online. It’s not my thing, but it’s working well for other people. You chat or talk on the phone, you meet in person, and then you see where things are going. Perfect Match, the agency, isn’t really like that. They more or less picked Jayden for me. And then they sent him up here. That’s why Greg keeps calling him my mail-order boyfriend. He is apparently my . . . one and only match.”
“So you didn’t talk to him before?” Dave’s eyes narrowed.
“There was one call and—” Sven was still struggling to explain what bugged him about the call without sounding paranoid, so he said instead, “Okay, look, I’m sure the whole thing is . . . fine. Just, if you can avoid being a jerk for a second—” David raised his eyebrows again and leaned back in his chair. “Shit, sorry, that was uncalled for. Okay, honestly, there are a few inconsistencies that have me worried.”
