All Bets Are Off

by Marguerite Labbe

  Eli laughed and shot Ash a triumphant grin before nipping his lower lip. “Looks like you’ll have to get that strip tease another time, Georgia. I’d really much rather you fuck me.”

  Ash’s eyes lit up, and a shiver of awareness went down Eli’s spine. “I sure as hell won’t turn down an offer like that.” Ash stood up with a soft groan and stretched. For a split moment, Eli saw the exhaustion cross Ash’s face again before the other man held out his hand to him.

  Eli kissed the back of his fingers and then stepped forward, slipping his hand around the nape of Ash’s neck, stroking it with his fingertips. “Where’s your bedroom?” Ash looked as if he could use a bit of pampering, and Eli didn’t mind volunteering, especially if it meant an excuse to get his hands all over him.

  Forget one-night stands. He wasn’t leaving without Ash’s phone number and the promise to see him again.

  Ash grinned and led him down the hall to a darkened bedroom, walking backward. His jeans rode low on his hips, red-gold curls peeking out from the gaping zipper. He flipped on the bedside lamp, revealing a surprisingly neat room that was stripped of everything but the basics. “You’re still in the barracks mindset, aren’t you?” Eli teased.

  “I’m working on it.” Ash tugged on the end of Eli’s braid and slipped off the rubber band securing it, deftly undoing the braid until Eli’s hair brushed his shoulders. He buried his hands in its softness, grinning. “I’ve wanted to do that all night.”

  “So you’ve said.” Eli’s heart thumped in anticipation as Ash drew him closer. He slipped his hands in Ash’s jeans and pushed them down, leaving him completely naked. Ash kicked them to the side to lie in a heap as Eli looked him over. “Damn, Georgia,” he breathed, his cock throbbing.

  He slipped his arms around Ash’s waist as the other man pulled him close again. The kiss started out slow and exploring before quickly escalating. Eli tugged off his own jeans and boxer shorts, shivers racing through his body as he pressed against Ash and felt the delicious sensation of naked flesh against naked flesh that he’d been craving. Ash’s cock nudged between Eli’s thighs, bobbing against his balls, and Eli groaned against his mouth.

  Ash’s hands slid from Eli’s hair down his back and cupped his ass, giving it a good squeeze. Bed, that’s what they needed. That single coherent thought emerged from the chaos of his brain trying to take in every bit of sensation. Eli began to maneuver backward in the general direction of where he thought the bed would be. He wanted nothing more than to get his hands all over Ash in a slow and sensual exploration.

  They broke the kiss long enough to tumble back on the bed before they kissed again. Their tongues stroked together, tasting, exploring, and making Eli hungry for more. Eli straddled Ash’s thighs, sprawling on top of him, deepening the kiss as Ash’s hands moved all over him.

  “I wouldn’t suppose you have any massage oil handy, would you?” Eli panted against Ash’s mouth. His senses reeled, thoughts scattering as Ash shifted and their cocks rubbed against each other. “Oh fuck.”

  Ash chuckled and gently bit Eli’s jaw before his mouth moved down to devastate Eli’s throat. “Didn’t I tell you I was also a Scout when I was a kid? Always prepared.”

  Eli shook his head and laughed, somehow not at all surprised. Ash must’ve spent most of his life in one uniform or another, while Eli had spent most of his life bucking the system in any way he could. He’d never understood that about himself, how he could get so worked up over a man in uniform when he’d always known that he’d never be able to handle that kind of a lifestyle for himself.

  “What’s so funny?” Ash kissed the pulse at Eli’s throat.

  “That’s another one of those things for later.” Eli slid his mouth down Ash’s chest until he found one flat nipple. He gave it a gentle bite and a flick of his tongue, then met Ash’s gaze. “Right now, my brain isn’t wired for conversation.”

  “Good point.” Ash cupped Eli’s ass, blunt fingers teasing the cleft until he found Eli’s entrance.

  “You wicked man,” Eli said with a breathless laugh. He slid his hand down, palmed Ash’s cock and began to stroke it. Ash groaned, lifting his hips, his eyes hot on him.

  “I’m just getting started.”

  Eli had come up with any number of fantasies since first seeing Ash, and after realizing that the man harbored similar fantasies about him, Eli had been increasingly impatient to get to this exact point. A delicious excitement had taken hold of him, and Eli lifted his head to nip at Ash’s earlobe. “Are those just words or is that a promise?”

  Ash groaned, sliding his hand down Eli’s thighs. “You tell me after. Damn, you have the longest legs. Are you sure you’re a teacher? You’re the hottest teacher I’ve ever seen.”

  Eli laughed and squeezed Ash’s cock. “You’re losing track, Georgia. Massage oil?”

  Ash twisted and leaned over to fumble at the stand of drawers beside the bed. He pulled out a bottle of oil as well as a box of condoms and lube. Eli’s brows rose as he caught a glimpse of all kinds of other interesting things in that drawer before Ash shut it.

  “Here you go, projecting this all-American, boy next door vibe—who would’ve known you have a kink drawer in your bedroom,” Eli teased.

  “Who says kink isn’t all-American?”

  “Point taken.” Eli pushed Ash back against the sheets. “You look like you could use a wee bit of pampering. Indulge me.” Ash looked done in after a weekend away at training. Eli had no idea what that entailed, but he was sure it was enough to make the body ache. Not to mention that he wanted to slow things down a bit and draw their evening out. He kissed Ash’s shoulder and ran a hand down his side.

  Ash shook his head with a chuckle. “Only a fool would say no to that.”

  Eli leaned over to grab the bottle of almond scented oil as Ash tucked his hands under the back of his head. Eli straddled Ash’s thighs, unable to take his eyes off of him. There was a smattering of freckles and hair on his chest and his arms were lightly sun-kissed, the freckles darker and more numerous there.

  Eli poured some oil onto his hands and rubbed them together to warm it before bringing them down to Ash’s shoulders. He rubbed the oil around and over, slicking his skin, flexing his fingers, and began to knead away the tension he could feel. Ash groaned, his eyes fluttering shut as a smile tugged on his lips. “Oh God, yeah.”

  Eli chuckled, stroking down his chest with long, smooth sweeps of his hands, watching with pleasure as Ash relaxed.

  “Man, you’re the one who won the bet,” Ash murmured. “Shouldn’t I be doing this to you?”

  “You’re the one who spent the entire weekend busting your ass doing combat training.” Eli leaned over him, pausing to kiss the scar on his side. “Maybe you can return the favor some other time.” His stomach fluttered for a moment as he hoped for a next time.

  Ash’s answering smile held a promise. He opened half-lidded eyes, casting Eli a heated glance through rusty-tipped lashes. “You’re on.”

  Eli scooted lower, rubbing the oil more gently along the scars on his side, and Ash gave him no indication that they still caused him any pain. Once again, Ash’s eyes had closed, and with a wicked smile Eli grasped Ash’s still hard cock, giving it a firm stroke.

  Ash groaned, rocking his hips up as his cock throbbed in Eli’s hand. “Tease. Just you wait until I get my hands on you.”

  Eli chuckled, stroking him a few more times before warming some more oil between his palms. “That doesn’t sound very threatening.” More like amazing. He slid his hands down to Ash’s strong thighs, kneading down them. The hair on his legs had been bleached golden by the sun. Eli liked the texture of it under his hands.

  “Roll onto your stomach,” Eli said, scooting out of the way for him.

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Ash murmured as he obeyed, pillowing his head on his folded arms. “Between the beers and your magic hands, I’m feeling very mellow.”

  Eli leaned over him and nipped the
nape of his neck, smiling as Ash’s breath caught. “If you pass out on me, can I tease you for going AWOL?”

  “I’m sure you can come up with something a lot more inventive than teasing.”

  Eli drizzled oil down Ash’s spine. He had a beautiful back, broad, but not so bulky that he made Eli think of those ’roided out guys in some of those home gym commercials. The lingering tension in those muscles eased as Eli worked his way down, kneading from Ash’s shoulders to his firm ass, the sounds of Ash’s soft groans urging him on.

  “Damn, your hands are lethal,” Ash sighed.

  Eli grinned and scooted down between Ash’s legs, trailing a finger along the shadowed cleft of Ash’s ass. He loved the image of a nice butt, balls peeking out between strong thighs. He began massaging down Ash’s legs, savoring the sensations. He could touch Ash for hours. It had been a long time since he’d been able to indulge in this kind of pampering. His last lover had been a bang-and-go kind of guy.

  By the time Eli reached Ash’s ankles, the man was lying limp, his eyes closed, his breathing even. “Ash?”

  A light snore answered him. Eli sat back on his heels, both disappointed and amused. Well, Ash had warned him. He debated whether or not to wake him before reluctantly deciding against it. As much as his cock protested, it seemed cruel to wake Ash when he had such dark shadows under his eyes.

  Eli set the oil aside before drawing the sheets and blankets up around Ash. He murmured, shifting before starting to snore again. Eli dragged on his boxers and jeans, trying without much success to stifle the desire still hot in his blood.

  He flipped off the light, plunging the room into darkness before returning to the living room to grab the remainder of his clothes. They’d forgotten to shut off the TV in their eagerness to get back to the bedroom, and the memory sent another hot, aching throb through his cock.

  Eli grabbed up Ash’s baseball cap with a grin. Hey, he’d still won that. And if the man wanted to have it back, he’d have to come looking for Eli. He quickly scribbled a note and left it on the coffee table, chuckling to himself as he left.

  He roared home on his bike, the late night air cool on his skin. He was invigorated and wide awake, and his mind kept drifting back to the picture Ash made tangled up in the sheets in the bed. It was going to take Eli forever to get to sleep with that image in his head and he was going to be exhausted in the morning for the start of the school semester.

  Didn’t matter. Knowing he would be seeing Ash again would more than make up for being tired.

  The light from the Hermitage’s front door shone through the trees, and Eli heard Jabbers as he turned into the long driveway. The beagle was framed in the front window, head thrown back as he bayed in welcome. And when Eli opened the front door, Jabbers was there waiting for him, his whole body wiggling before he pounced on Eli. He laughed, rubbing the beagle’s silky ears. “You certainly know how to make a man feel welcome.”

  Jabbers sniffed all over him, resting his paws on Eli’s shoulders as he investigated him. “Smell someone new, huh, boyo? I’ve got a new friend.” Eli wished that there was more of Ash’s scent on him. His balls still ached.

  He let Jabbers out and frowned as he saw a closet door ajar. He was usually pretty good about remembering to shut it. A quick check inside showed that all of his shoes had been unmolested, so Eli closed it with a shrug, making sure it latched. Jabbers rarely missed an opportunity for mischief.

  He let Jabbers in when he scratched at the door, and the beagle dropped a worn work glove at Eli’s feet, looking up at him with pride as he thumped his tail. “What did you swipe this time, you little heathen?” Eli picked up the glove and tossed it on the kitchen counter. “I swear you’re worse than a magpie. Come on, it’s time for bed.”

  Chapter Five

  Ash awoke to the sound of rain sheeting down on the roof. He groaned and pulled the blankets back up over his head, determined not to move until the sound let up. He was cozy with the sheets curled around his naked body, scented with massage oil. The memories came back in a slow progression of erotic images. Eli naked, with his unbound hair around his shoulders and a teasing light in his blue-gray eyes.

  Only the last thing he remembered was not orgasmic bliss, it was Eli’s hands on him. And while they had been blissful, the end result had been him passing out. Ash buried his face in his pillow with another groan. He could not fucking believe he’d done that, no matter how hard the weekend had been. It was his own damn fault, letting his sisters and mother pamper him while he’d been on vacation, and for having those beers when he’d already been exhausted.

  Great way to make an impression on the man he’d been lusting after for weeks. His mission to get laid had ended in utter failure, and he’d lost his baseball cap in the process. The next time Eli saw him, he’d probably laugh his ass off or ignore him. And Ash wanted to see him again.

  At least the alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet. After the weekend of hard training he was disinclined to move until he absolutely had to. And he needed to come up with a way to get Eli out on a second date. Only the thought of the silent alarm kept nagging at him, not letting him relax until he stole a reluctant peek.

  8:53 a.m.

  “Fuck me.”

  Ash leapt out of bed, cursing nonstop under his breath as he scrambled to get his clothes and books together. Outside, thunder rumbled, bringing with it a new torrent of rain. What a miserable start for the semester.

  Ash felt like he’d been running behind all damn day. Between that and dashing through the incessant rain between buildings, his temper had been simmering, mostly directed toward himself. At least this was his final class of the day.

  Ash dragged his feet as he made his way through the corridors of the English building. He had put off taking his final English credits as long as possible. Hell, he would’ve waited until the final semester in the spring, but he was already pretty loaded down with what he wanted to take. He had finally decided to suck it up and fit it in this fall. And he’d managed to find a class that actually piqued his interest. If nothing else, he wouldn’t be reading a stack of books that made no sense, written by people who had died centuries ago.

  He reached the classroom with only two minutes to spare and frowned when he found it empty. Cursing, Ash pulled out his itinerary. He’d printed out the new one just this morning before he left because the school was terrible about changing rooms around the last week leading up to the start of school.

  “The Dying Art of Correspondence: An Intimate Study of Historic Letters” with Dr. E. Hollister, Room 113, English Building.

  Ash was in the right room. They wouldn’t have canceled it on the last day, would they? Fuck.

  He spied a taped piece of paper fallen near the door and scooped it up. Meeting in the Allie B. Martin Library, ground floor, back of building.

  Ash sighed and stuck it back on the door in case he wasn’t the only one running late and took off for the room at a jog. It was like he could see his drill instructor up in his face and telling him to get a move on unless he wanted to find himself doing double duty for being late. The memory of that voice sent him from a jog to a dead run.

  At least it wasn’t far. Ash dashed across the quad to the renovated library on the other side. The guy behind the counter looked up with a bored air as Ash rushed in. “If you’re looking for the class, it’s in the back,” he said and went back to flipping through his book. Ash headed back toward the historic part of the library. It had high ceilings, dark paneling, and cozy nooks between glass display cases of documents and artifacts.

  Ash hurried past rain-lashed gray windows toward the murmur of voices. Low, cushy chairs had been pulled into a circle near an old fireplace that had been fitted with glass and had an electric fire installed. Warm light danced behind the glass, and Ash’s steps quickened again as he noticed that all the chairs but one were taken.

  “It’s only five minutes after.” Ash slowed at the sound of the familiar voice. He stared at the back of
Eli’s head, his long, auburn hair caught back in a tie at the back of his neck. The last time he’d seen Eli, it had tumbled about his shoulders in a sex-tangled mess. Right before he embarrassed himself by passing out like a tipsy prom date.

  Holy fuck. He froze and rubbed a hand over his damp hair. He’d definitely intended on looking Eli up and apologizing later on today. He just had an opportunity to do it sooner, now. And this was not the old, boring professor he’d been expecting. A grin broke out across his face as he stepped closer.

  “It looks like we’re only waiting for Ashley,” Eli said, leaning back in his chair. “We’ll just give her a few more minutes since it’s particularly nasty outside this afternoon.”

  Ash bit back a groan. “Only my mama dares call me that. I prefer Ash.”

  Eli’s head whipped around, his eyes widening and lips parting in pure astonishment. Ash gave him an apologetic smile, hoping that expression wouldn’t change to one of disdain. The stunned look in those blue-gray eyes flashed to desire then to an “oh shit” look as Eli seemed to realize that Ashley was not the girl he’d been expecting, but the man he’d been naked with the night before.