Alluring Passion: A MM Contemporary Bundle

by Peter Styles

  I shouldn’t do this. He clearly really likes me. It just isn’t fair to do this to him.

  It also wasn’t fair to give up on the one thing he wanted most. And if this was the only way to get it…

  “As long as you feed me pizza, I’ll come.”

  Chris grinned and grabbed his other hand, holding them between their bodies tightly. Then, he leaned down. Jeremiah saw his lips descend and closed his eyes, bracing for it, but the kiss landed on his cheek instead of his lips. It burned him all the same, perhaps even more so because of the sweetness of it all.

  When he opened his eyes again, dizzy and swaying, Chris had already gone.

  I have to tell Markus that he’s wrong.

  Turning away, Jeremiah went to the driver and tried to sift through his thoughts all through the long drive back to the apartment. However, the more he tried to sort them, the messier they became. He gave up out of frustration and barged into the living room, forgetting to be quiet and polite for the first time since he moved in.

  Markus sprang to his feet and hurried toward him. “Well?” he demanded. “Did you find out his secrets?”

  “He… uh… refused to talk business yet.” Jeremiah looked down at his feet. “Listen, Markus, I think you’re wrong about him. He—”

  Markus interrupted him with a firm tap on the nose, a frown on his lips and in his eyes. “Now, now. I’m never wrong. You just need to dig deeper. More dates. Do whatever you think is right.”

  Chris wouldn’t have interrupted.

  “Yeah, okay,” Jeremiah muttered. Somehow, he didn’t think it would be very hard to take that second date, and that was worrying.

  Chapter 9

  He was really starting to come out of his shell there at the end.

  It had been a full four days since their date, and Chris thought he would hear from the other man by now. He couldn’t help but to worry that he read the situation entirely wrong, but Jeremiah had all but promised they would have a second date. The most he could do was hope the college man was busy with his schoolwork and that was why he didn’t answer his phone. Chris had both called and texted the other, once each, in an attempt to not seem needy.

  “Sir?”

  The word hardly registered. He fiddled with the papers in front of him, frowning down at them. Numbers and letters crawled across the page without any order at all, unfocused and meaningless even though they should have been important to him. He knew they were important. These numbers represented profits and growth, pointing to the future of his company. These forms were his livelihood… and he couldn’t have cared less.

  “Chris!”

  He jerked his head up, hand jumping across the stack of forms. Papers went flying, skittering across the long meeting table and drifting to the floor. His secretary stared at him from where she sat a few chairs away, her eyebrows raised sharply.

  “Chris, are you paying attention? This is very serious.”

  “I’m listening,” he replied. “I was just deep in thought. Go on.”

  “Well, what do you think about the strategy that was just proposed?” another of the team asked. Their voice echoed with fake mockery, poking fun at him because it was quite obvious that he was lying.

  He didn’t really mind though. In fact, he smiled and relaxed a little as the others around the table chuckled at their boss’s behavior. He wasn’t just their boss, however. They were all family, and they knew that he could be a bit spacey at times and it was their job to catch those lapses. Though that didn’t mean they would let it go quietly.

  He was just about to ask to have the strategy repeated for him, when his pocket buzzed. He grabbed for it without thinking, pulling out his phone and standing up in the same motion. “Sorry but I have to answer this. I trust you to come up with the best solution without me and to fill me in when I come back.”

  It was his personal phone that rang, in the right pocket. There was only one person he wanted to hear from right now; one person he had been waiting to speak with for days. His soul told him this caller was exactly who he wanted, and so he didn’t even look at the name before answering.

  “Jeremiah!”

  “Nope,” the caller croaked. “Name’s Christopher. Nice guess though.”

  Chris winced, berating himself for being so stupid. Lesson learned: always check the number first, no matter what. “Sorry, Dad. I thought you were someone else.”

  “Clearly,” his father said, amusement in his rough voice. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “No, no,” Chris reassured him, moving away from the meeting room door and farther off down the hallway to come stand before the windows that overlooked the street. “I was in a meeting but you rescued me.”

  His father let out a soft laugh. “You’ll remember those meetings fondly in a few years when you’re so busy doing meet and greets that you don’t even have time to sit down. What was the topic?”

  “I’m actually not sure, really.”

  “Son, you have to focus. This is the future of your company that we’re talking about, here.”

  Chris snorted. “I am focusing, trust me. I’m focusing on restructuring my life in the near future so that I’m not so overworked all the time.”

  “But if you’re not overworked, you’re not doing it right.”

  “Well…” Chris lowered his voice, making a quick decision about what he was going to say. “I met someone. I’ve been thinking about them, is all.”

  “How serious is it, Son?”

  “Well…” He paused, embarrassed suddenly. “We’ve only been on one date.”

  “Ha! One date? And you’re going to completely rearrange your whole life after one date only? That’s not anything to base anything on. You’ll get in over your head.”

  I shouldn’t have told him. I probably shouldn’t tell anyone this just yet.

  “Is there an actual reason you called to talk, Dad? Or did you just want to make fun of my personal life?”

  His father sighed, suddenly sounding tired. Chris’s heart ached at the sound. “I just got to thinking about the past again, is all.”

  “Dad, you can’t keep doing that. It’s not good for your health, okay? And besides, the past is the past. It’s better buried.”

  Digging up the past, as far as he was concerned, was the path to ruin between them and they had already gone through that once.

  “I know, but I couldn’t help regretting…”

  The old man sounded so weary, so broken. Chris felt his chest tighten in sympathy. “Well, don’t. You don’t have anything to regret anymore. Neither of us does.” He glanced over at the clock. “You have a doctor’s visit in half an hour, don’t you?”

  “I’m already out the door,” his father grunted. “You can’t keep track of your own damn life but you sure seem to have a good handle on mine. I hope I’ll see you again soon, Chris.”

  “Sure. I’ll talk to you later, Dad.”

  He hung up and let out a sigh, shaking his head. Their conversations weren’t normally that rough to get through; that, combined with the fact that his father sounded sicker, made him worry that something else was really going on besides a bad case of regret. Well, he would find time to visit the old man soon. He would do that anyway, and had been for months now, but those were normally for a reason of a different nature. His father would probably appreciate to talk just for the sake of talking.

  Yeah, there was a definite change in his future as far as planning went.

  He was just about to put the phone away and head back into the meeting when it rang right in his hands, startling him so that he almost dropped it. Remembering last time, he looked at the name first.

  Jeremiah.

  All at once, he couldn’t breathe. Anticipation pulsed through his whole body, making his breath quiver in his lungs. Trembling, he slid his thumb across the green mark on the screen and brought the cell up to his ear.

  “Hey, Jeremiah.”

  “Hi,” the quiet voice on the other end of the li
ne replied.

  Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. For some reason, Chris felt that he could spend all night just listening to the sound of the other thinking and breathing. It definitely would be a better fate than hearing his employees and advisors repeating themselves all day. He still wanted to speak, but he wouldn’t rush this.

  Eventually, Jeremiah spoke up again. “I was wondering if you still might want to go out with me again for that second date? It’s okay if you don’t, I mean…”

  “Of course I do,” Chris said, not interrupting but slipping easily into the trailing gap between words. “I would love to! Are you free tonight?”

  He asked the question before even considering if he himself could be free tonight – and the answer was no – but he was still the boss, and there was still quite a lot that he could get away with even if he really shouldn’t push his luck like that.

  “Actually, I have classes until really late tonight so maybe it isn’t the best day.” He sounded disappointed. “I was just thinking about you and I had a few minutes between classes, so…”

  Jeremiah had been thinking about him too? Maybe there was more to this than his dad thought there was. He couldn’t imagine any of his one-night stands thinking about him even for just a few days after their… activities.

  “I was thinking about you too. And, if you don’t mind the idea, I can pick you up on campus and we can head out for a late dinner. The gas stations don’t ever run out of those pizzas, you know.”

  He could hear the gears turning in the other man’s head as he contemplated the situation. In the silence, Chris became aware of a small amount of background chatter and figured that the break period was over now. It was time to make a decision.

  “Well… Are you sure it wouldn’t be troublesome?”

  How does a man use a big word and still sound so cute?

  “Yeah, I’m sure. It would be my pleasure. I remember what school you’re at too.”

  “You do?” Jeremiah sounded as though he couldn’t decide whether to be flattered or creeped out. “Okay, well… I’ll text you when I’ve got like half an hour left or something, okay?”

  “Sure,” Chris replied. He closed his eyes, daring to take the leap. “You know, you can text me whenever you want. If you want.”

  “I’ll think about it. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “See you.”

  A rare creature, that unicorn, and now Chris was going to have another chance at glimpsing it. He hoped it would go even better than the last. But, for now, he had to return to the meeting.

  The looks on everyone’s faces when he arrived back told him that they hadn’t actually been expecting him to return. If he could have walked back out without looking like a fool, he would have.

  Instead, he pulled out his chair and sat down, folded his hands, and leaned forward on his elbows. “Fill me in,” he said.

  And they did.

  And he did his damnedest to follow all of it, even with all the missing pieces. He was the boss. He could do whatever he wanted… and he was a smart enough boss to realize that he actually couldn’t.

  The rest of the day passed slowly. The meeting ended. Clients filtered in and out. Chris met with some of them, but he also took calls and answered all the important emails that had been piling up in just the past few hours. Correspondence would be put on hold for no man.

  He made an effort to ignore the clock. Watching the minutes and hours go by would only worsen the sensation of slow time. He sank into his work, giving it every last bit of his concentration.

  His secretary said he looked intense. “Like an angry swan.”

  “Well, at least I’ll be graceful and beautiful,” he replied, scribbling his signature on the form in front of him. She hummed and left him alone.

  Done with that form, he pulled out the next one. Some had to be printed, and his secretary fetched those for him from the printer beside her desk. His eyes started to ache from staring so much at a computer screen but he ignored it and moved his mouse over to his inbox to refresh and answer the next email.

  Nothing new appeared.

  Puzzled, he glanced over at the time and realized just how late it was. Everyone else in most of NYC was ending their work day, or had already done so. Things were winding down, and he realized for the first time how quiet the office had grown. There weren’t even any voices filtering up from the lower levels, and he couldn’t hear the busy shuffling of his employees moving around outside his door. Gone was the scent of coffee, and gone was the day. The light from outside had mellowed even since the last time he checked, no longer afternoon but heading fully into evening.

  He checked his phone. Nothing from Jeremiah. Not yet, anyway. However, now that he was aware of the late hour he could start preparing for when he got that text, so he spent a few minutes returning his belongings to their proper places. As he shut down his computer, his pocket buzzed. He didn’t need to look, but he did. Of course it was Jeremiah.

  Time to go then. I want to be there and waiting.

  He stepped outside of his office and locked it behind him and was surprised to still see his secretary sitting at her own desk. “Susan? Time to go home.”

  “In a minute,” she said. “I’m in the middle of something important.”

  He had never known Susan to be late for anything, and that included leaving. Confused, he moved around behind her to look at her screen. As expected, it was turned off.

  “You’re right,” he said. “That looks incredibly important. Don’t let me interrupt it.”

  He moved off again, but slowly, so that when she looked up at him he was still within sight. “Boss?”

  “Yeah?” he said, turning back around. He had known she wanted to talk. Of course she did. People usually did. “What is it?”

  “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

  “You already are,” he replied. All thoughts of his upcoming date were out of his mind as he moved to come stand back beside her desk, leaning one hip on the sturdy furniture. “And we’re both off company time, so you can hit me with whatever you want.”

  His secretary sighed and just looked down at her hands. “I guess that’s good since it has nothing to do with business. My boyfriend just dumped me through email about an hour ago. Can you believe it? An email. While I’m at work. The bastard.”

  Chris winced. “That’s rough, Sue. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not like I didn’t see it coming, but… it’s like he doesn’t want me to work on my career! He says I love working more than I love him.” Her hands fisted in her lap. “It didn’t use to be true, but…”

  As much as the employees of his company were family, Chris didn’t touch them. He never knew when someone would cross the line, or think that he had; this was a different sort of circumstance, and so now he lay one hand on Susan’s shoulder and patted it. “So, by being a jerk, he saved you a lot of heartbreak down the road. It’s rough now but later on, you’ll find someone much better who cheers for you instead of keeping you on the sidelines.”

  “Is that a sports analogy?” Susan raised one eyebrow.

  “It was the best I could think of,” he admitted. They both laughed softly. It was something of an in-joke that he had banned anything sports-related in the building due to the fact that his rival, Markus Worth, had played football.

  “Chris, why has no woman snatched you up yet?”

  He glanced around the office but found no escape from the question. “I guess that’d be because I still think girls are icky.”

  “You’re… oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to assume.”

  He smiled a little. “It doesn’t bother me. I still appreciate the thought. And just to let you know, I’m kind of in the same boat as you. I didn’t really think I had time for anything personal, but I just met someone and… They’re special. One of the ones worth waiting for, I think. I just have to figure out how to balance everything.”

  Susan looked amused now. “I knew there h
ad to be a reason you were leaving so early. Well, I manage your schedule so… if you ever need any changes, let me know.”

  “I will. Thank you. Are you going to be okay?”

  “I think I will. And I think you’re right. Have a good night, boss.”

  “You too. Maybe think about going home though.”

  He left her giggling and went over to the stairs, leaping down them two at a time because he had no patience for the elevator. He didn’t regret stopping to talk to Susan at all—he hoped someone would do the same for him if he was in that situation—but he was very aware now that he had to hurry or else risk getting caught up in traffic.

  Traffic wasn’t terrible, but he did end up arriving at the college campus a little late. The traffic there was considerably worse than out on the streets, which was saying something. He stayed patient, though. All these college students improving their lives and looking forward to the future, he supposed he could spare an extra minute or two letting them pull out in front of him.

  He followed the signs and found the building where Jeremiah had said he would be. And he really was there, looking like a ghost where he stood in the shadows just outside the edge of the street light. Dusk pressed at the far corners of the sky, creating a mellow play of light and shadow that accented Jeremiah’s features. The other man was beautiful.

  In fact, he was more beautiful than he had been the past two times Chris saw him and the reason was simple: this was Jeremiah’s element. Light glinted off of a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He wore a t-shirt and jeans that were rumpled, accentuating the whole sleepy-eyed, sexy, academic look. With his dark, messy hair all fluffed up, as if he’d only just woken up…

  He was downright dreamy.

  Chris parked the car and waved through the window. Jeremiah didn’t return it, although he did hurry to open the door and climb inside.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Chris said. “I had to talk to my secretary.”

  Jeremiah fumbled with his seat belt. “I thought you weren’t going to talk business with me?”

  “I’m not.” Chris shifted out of park and drove off around the bend to rejoin the main road that went around the campus and its parking lots. “It wasn’t business between us.”