Matt stared at the shredded paper. “I don’t think so.”
Wren tsked. “I mean the cigarette packet.”
“I still don’t think so. What do you imagine’s going on?”
“I know how this is going to sound but I wonder if I’ve just been teaching English to a group of illegal aliens. Maybe they were registered with Ezispeke to give them a legitimate way to enter the country, but now they’re here, they’re working on the streets.”
Matt chewed his nail.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“You could be on to something. A couple of weeks ago, there was a report of bright lights seen over Otley. Spacecraft bringing illegal aliens? It all fits.” He snorted with laughter.
She pressed her lips together.
“Leave it, Wren. There must be hundreds and hundreds of students on Ezispeke’s books. Plus it’s a bit presumptuous to assume these women are prostitutes.”
“She had a black eye and a cut lip,” Wren blurted.
“Who did?”
“Ardita Chani. She said she’d walked into a door.”
“Maybe she did. Bloody hell, Wren, you see a conspiracy in everything. Remember when you spotted that hat in the pond and made Dad wade in and check there wasn’t a body attached? And when you found a letter James wrote for a homework assignment and you thought he really was planning to graffiti the bridge over the motorway? You got him into so much trouble.” He roared with laughter.
Wren deflated like an old balloon.
“Plus, if there’s some sort of fraud in this, why the hell would your boss make you sign the registers?”
“Because that legitimizes it.” She hadn’t thought of that before but it seemed right. Well, it might if others had names added to their registers too. If no one else had any extra names then maybe Matt was right, she was making this into something it wasn’t. She’d have to check it out.
“How did you get the private work?” Matt asked.
“The boss of one of my students asked me.”
“Is the guy who dropped you off the boss or the student?”
“Student.”
“Want me to do a background check?”
“No. He’s okay.” He likely wasn’t but Wren didn’t want to get Tomas into trouble until she’d thought through the consequences. “You’re probably right. I’m making this into something it isn’t.”
“If it makes you feel uncomfortable, don’t give any more private lessons. Don’t anyway.”
Wren bristled. How come every guy thought he could tell her what to do? “It’s really well paid.”
“You’re not that desperate for money, are you? I’ll lend you a couple of hundred if you want.”
“No, it’s okay, thanks.”
“And no more getting into cars with guys you don’t know very well. Dad would be furious. A house you’d never been to before? Letting a guy who made you feel uncomfortable give you a lift? At least you had the sense not to reveal where you actually live. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
She let Matt think she’d let it drop, but she hadn’t. In the car they talked about his plan to take Jennifer to Paris for the weekend for her birthday and Wren kept him away from the subject of her love life, which was spiraling down a black hole.
* * * * *
Adam sat in his car outside Wren’s flat for three hours. He’d rung the bell several times wondering if she could see it was him and was ignoring him, until a neighbor emerged and told him she wasn’t in.
Regardless of whether there was any future for him and Wren or not, he shouldn’t have left last night without saying…something. It made what they’d done seem cheap and it wasn’t. Sitting here with no distractions had given him a chance to think about his future and what he wanted. He was doing himself no favors by not facing up to the reality of his personal life.
He needed a man as much as he needed a woman. He wanted Tomas, even with all his hang-ups, and he wanted Wren. Maybe it wouldn’t last but he had to try. Why not just tell Wren and see what she said? At least he’d know one way or the other. Maybe he ought to invite the pair for a meal at his apartment and see where things went. Not that he could cook, but he could get takeout.
A car pulled up outside the apartment entrance and Wren emerged from the passenger side. As Adam was about to exit his vehicle, a tall, dark-haired guy climbed out to stand next to her and Adam stayed where he was, slumped down in his seat. For a moment, he thought it was Tomas, but he’d never seen this guy before. The man put his arm around Wren’s shoulders and they walked to the door of her apartment block. When Adam saw him land a kiss on her head, he clenched the steering wheel. Wren wrapped her arms around the man’s back and held tight.
That was enough for Adam. He started his engine and drove away. He knew better than to jump to conclusions but that didn’t stop him. She already had a boyfriend? Or was this a new guy?
By the time he’d parked under his building, his temper had dissipated and his guesses had come down to a colleague, a friend, one of her brothers. Adam had no rights on her. They’d had stupendous sex twice, five years apart. He’d lost her once and because he’d walked out on her, he’d probably lost her again.
As he passed Tomas’ door, it opened and Adam halted.
“Want a beer?” Tomas asked.
“I thought you were bad news and I was to forget about you.”
“I am and you should.”
“I’d love a drink.”
He smiled and moved aside so Adam could enter his apartment. Tomas took two beers from the fridge, knocked off the caps and handed one over. They chinked the bottles and Adam dropped onto the couch. “I’ve been thinking,” he said.
Tomas leaned against the wall facing him. “What about?”
“You, Wren and me.”
Tomas gave a short laugh. “You might as well leave Wren off the list. I dropped her off tonight at her house in Beeston and she fell straight into the arms of a guy. They looked pretty snug.”
Adam sat up. “House?”
“Yeah. Door, windows, roof. You know the sort of thing.”
“Wren lives in an apartment. And it’s not in Beeston. I just saw a guy drop her off at her home.”
Tomas took the bottle from his mouth and smiled. “Ah, so she got me to drive her to someone else’s house and then he drove her back to her place. She doesn’t trust me. Sensible girl.”
“Her boyfriend?”
“I wondered, but now I’m thinking not.”
“She has two older brothers.”
Tomas walked over to the couch and sat next to him. “How about you?”
“What? Boyfriend or brothers?”
Tomas raised one eyebrow.
“Just me,” Adam said. “My parents only had sex that one time.”
Tomas laughed. “Funny guy.”
“We need to talk.”
That wiped the smile from Tomas’ face.
“I’m only here for three weeks and if I don’t sort this out soon, my chance will have gone. Our chance.”
“Our chance for what?”
Adam swallowed hard. “Happiness.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Our chance for happiness?” Tomas repeated. Why is my heart beating so fast?
“Are you happy?” Adam asked.
He took so long deciding what to say that the answer was obvious to both of them.
“What would make you happy?” Adam pinned him with his gaze.
Finishing this job, putting Marco and Veton and the rest of those scumbags in prison for a long time, having someone in my life to care about, having someone who cares for me.
He remained silent.
Adam leaned back on the couch and stared at him. “Money? A bigger car? A better apartment? 3-D TV?” He paused. “A wife? Kids?”
“Is that what you want?”
“I have enough money to live more than comfortably. My car’s fine. I have a great place to live. More than one place. Actually, mo
re than one car. I remain to be convinced about 3-D television.” He raised his eyebrows. “Except…” He swallowed hard, his hold tightening on the bottle. “I’m not…living. I want…”
Something more. Could Adam say what he couldn’t?
“What?” Tomas whispered.
Adam put his empty bottle on the coffee table and didn’t shift his gaze from it. “I want someone in my life to care about. I want someone who cares for me. I want them long-term.”
Oh fuck. This was as deep a conversation as Tomas had ever had with another guy. Not that he’d said much so far.
“And I was thinking that might be two someones.” Adam looked straight at him. “Wren and you.”
Long-term? Oh God. Tomas couldn’t even think past one day let alone a lifetime. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to.
“Sugar and spice.” Adam gave a tight smile. “Soft and hard. Safe and dangerous. You think you could put me off telling me you were bad news? Don’t you know that’s part of your attraction?”
The guy held himself taut as a bow string. Tomas could guess what it had taken to say all that. For a brief moment, he let himself wonder if it might be possible. When this job was over, he could ask for a transfer to London, and they could be a three.
But the job wasn’t over and might not be for more than a year. The type of work he did wasn’t conducive to having a long-term relationship, plus he wasn’t a bad guy. He was only pretending.
The last thing he could tell Adam was that he was a cop. But if Adam found out he worked for a guy who trafficked women and drugs, laundered money and didn’t think twice about using violence to attain his goals, he’d want to see him behind bars.
In any case, Tomas hadn’t managed the threesome before, so why should it be any different this time? Aside from Wren having to agree to it in the first place. And there was the little matter of not being able to get his head around being fucked. How long before Adam tired of his excuses?
“Done thinking?” Adam stared steadily at him and Tomas wanted him. Really wanted him.
But do I want to be fucked by him? Maybe. He was getting there. For the first time in as long as he could remember, the thought of feeling a guy’s cock push into him didn’t make him think about running. Not any guy’s cock. This guy’s.
“Does Wren know about this?” Tomas asked.
“Not exactly, but she’s interested.” Adam’s shoulders dropped. “Was interested.”
“What does that mean?”
“Last night, after we fucked, I snuck out while she was sleeping.”
Tomas raised his eyebrows. “Which might account for her too-bright smile this morning. What have you said to her?”
Adam shifted uneasily. “Nothing. I haven’t seen her.”
Tomas sighed. “I think this threesome just shrank to two.”
“I know she’s interested. We talked about some books she’s translated with two guys sharing a woman. Bisexual guys.”
“Interested doesn’t mean she wants to try it.” He tightened his mouth.
“Have you?” Adam asked.
“Couple of times. First was an accident.”
“Really?”
Tomas shrugged. “It wasn’t planned. I didn’t know the other two. We were drunk and sort of fell into it, almost surprised to find ourselves naked in a hotel room, but we didn’t want to stop. We had fun for a few hours, but when we woke, we split without exchanging numbers. Second time, I was approached by a guy and a woman wanting a third and we lasted until Bella decided I wasn’t good enough outside the bedroom.”
“That must have hurt.”
He wasn’t going there. “What about you?”
“Once. We lasted a few weeks until the other guy’s jealousy started to poison everything. The woman wasn’t strong enough to help maintain the balance. I only want a relationship where we’re all equal. Not easy.”
“But worth trying?”
“Yes. You agree?”
A voice in his heart screamed yes. Tomas put aside issues of practicalities. If he thought too much about it, he’d come up with a million reasons not to do it. Even if it ended up going wrong, he wanted to try. “So we work on her?”
Adam raised his head. “You want to do this?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. It was your idea. Maybe you need to work on me first.” Tomas slid his hand over Adam’s.
“How about we start with you telling me exactly who you are?”
Tomas’ heartbeat doubled. He put a puzzled expression on his face and kept his fingers immobile over Adam’s hand. “I told you. Tomas Adzovic. Want to see my driver’s license?”
“A guy who has to pretend to be crappy at English in order to keep his job?”
Tomas shrugged, his antennae twitching. “It’s a well-paid job. You saw what I was prepared to wear to keep it.”
Adam smiled. “I’d like to see what the thing looked like before you dismantled some of those straps.”
“Maybe I’d like to see you wearing it.”
“Okay.”
Oh fuck. Tomas’ cock thought that was a great idea. It hummed, delighted at the chance of seeing Adam wearing nothing but strips of leather.
“If you don’t like your job, can’t you get another?” Adam asked. “You have any qualifications?”
Oh Christ. How can this work? How can we trust each other when I have to lie? “No.”
There was a long pause before Adam spoke. Too long. What the hell? Did Adam think he was stupid?
“Nothing?” Adam asked.
He wanted him off this topic—now. “Not to speak of. Nothing that’s going to help me get a job.”
“What would you like to do?”
“I’d like to fuck you.” He launched himself at Adam.
But the guy anticipated the move, because all Tomas hit was the couch as Adam scrambled away on his backside
“Missed,” Adam said from the floor.
He flung himself at Adam’s waist and brought him down fully onto his back. “I never miss. I like to play with my food before I eat it.”
Adam laughed and tried to wriggle free. Tomas was having none of that. They began to wrestle for control, kissing and sneaking quick feels through their clothing, tweaking nipples, squeezing cocks, stroking thighs. Adam’s dick was as hard as his, his breathing just as ragged. He pressed Adam’s shoulders to the floor and pinned him down. Slowly lowering his head, he ran his mouth along the line of Adam’s chin and then down the column of his neck.
He was tempted to suck up a mark, something he hadn’t done since he was a teenager, an act that had earned him a slap on the face because he’d given the love bite to his girlfriend’s friend. Adam tasted good, a mix of salt and musk. Tomas wanted him so much that nuzzling segued into sucking.
Then Tomas was the one on his back, Adam on top, glaring at him until they started tussling again, hands all over each other as they kissed and humped and groped. They shed their clothes, working at zippers and buttons, their breaths coming in staccato bursts. Hunger raged inside Tomas to the point of pain. He needed to come, he needed Adam.
They let go of each other to pull off boxers and pants but kept their lips loosely connected, in some unspoken agreement to maintain the link. Finally, they lay naked in each other’s arms on the floor, and Tomas could feel Adam’s cock rubbing against his, his balls nudging his, his hot skin sticking to his.
“Christ,” Adam gasped.
Tomas forced his hand between their bodies, wrapped his fingers around Adam’s dick and pushed out one word, “Bed.”
Adam curled his hand around Tomas’ dick and the world wavered.
“Fuck,” Tomas blurted.
If words of one syllable were all they could manage, Tomas wasn’t sure they’d make it to the lamp-lit bedroom, but they somehow staggered to their feet, still kissing, stumbled across the floor, still kissing, until he maneuvered Adam so the back of knees hit the bed and he fell. Tomas looked down at him and had to grab his balls and p
ull down before the synapses in his brain made the final click and snapped out the order for his body to explode.
He stared at Adam and no longer wanted to fuck him, he wanted to make love to him. The guy sprawled on his duvet, all long limbs and curving muscle, like some classy model. He was the most beautiful man Tomas had ever seen. Not just his face, his whole body. His angular hipbones framed a long, thick cock, which rose straight up over a flat belly. The thick veins tracing his shaft looked like dark-jeweled chains.
Adam spread his arms, beckoned and smiled. Tomas crawled on top of him, planting his knees on either side of Adam’s.
“Lie still and let me touch you,” Tomas whispered.
He laid trembling hands on Adam’s hips, twirling his thumbs along the bony ridges before fanning out his hands to cover his abs. Tomas matched his breathing to the ebb and flow of Adam’s muscles as his chest rose and fell. Tomas stared into Adam’s eyes as he trailed his fingers down the creases of the guy’s groin until finally he stroked the delicate skin of his swollen balls.
Adam groaned. “You’re killing me.”
He lowered his smiling mouth to Adam’s and then eased down on top of him. Their cocks kissed like their lips, wet heads sliding together, rubbing, brushing, teasing. He moaned into Adam’s mouth as he felt arms slip down his back to clutch his butt, and then Adam was rocking their bodies, pushing their shafts together in a rhythmic slide.
Heat coiled low in his belly, fiery licks fluttering along his veins. He dropped his lips to land kisses around Adam’s neck and then laid a path of hot, wet sucks down to his cock. One caress with the flat of his tongue over the silky cock head and Adam squirmed.
“Not fair.” Adam squirmed harder. “You’ll have me off in a second.”
Which was sort of the point. And judging from the way Adam clung to Tomas’ shoulders to keep him right where he was over his groin, he liked this just fine. If he could make Adam come first, he’d get to fuck him rather than the other way round.
“Want to top and tail?” Adam whispered.
Tomas swiveled so they lay head to toe. He moaned around Adam’s shaft as a hot mouth engulfed his dick. He squeezed Adam’s cock at the same time as he sucked, and the beads of pre-cum bursting on his tongue made his mouth water.
Girl Most Likely To Page 18
