Finding You: The Complete Box Set (a contemporary MM romance series)

by Ana Ashley

  I won’t deny that jealousy reared its ugly head. And fuck me if I knew just where that jealousy was coming from.

  First of all, I only ever hooked up with guys on rare occasions when I needed to connect with another human being on a physical level. Second of all, they were all strictly no strings attached.

  My heart and head only had space for three things, the hospital, the center, and my relationship with Joel and his family.

  I’d been a complete ass all the way up the elevator and on the main deck, and I knew it. I’d completely ignored Isaac, responding to anything he asked with one-word answers.

  Isaac was an intriguing man, and despite my behavior, I did want to know more about him. Even when I wasn’t speaking to him, I observed as he carried himself with intrinsic shyness and a hidden strength that radiated from him. I wasn’t even sure he was aware of it, and I wished I could take some of it for myself.

  Because everything about Isaac was making me want more, I didn't even consider that he might be in a relationship with someone at home in Portugal.

  Then we got to the top deck, and the colors of the sunset were amazing. The low light framed Isaac perfectly. We were standing so close I could smell his shampoo, and it was all I could do to stop from running my hands through his soft curls, so I put them in the pockets of my coat.

  I needed answers. Two things I knew to be the truth. I wouldn’t do anything if Isaac had a boyfriend, and I needed to apologize for being an ass.

  I nearly lost it when Isaac mentioned Alex was his brother, but when he stopped my next question with his lips, I knew I was utterly and completely screwed. It was a quick kiss that made me chase after his lips when they parted from mine.

  “Did you have a question?” he whispered, the corners of his mouth curling up in a smile. He put his hand on my chin to lift my head up so I could see the mistletoe that hung all around the deck. I knew there was a reason I loved Christmas.

  “I had a full quiz,” I said, looking back at him breathless and wanting that mouth on mine again, wanting to taste him properly.

  He put his arms around my shoulders, pulling me down to him again and saying, “I’m good with quizzes.” And then he kissed me again, this time slower, his lips parting and taking in mine, his tongue, soft and sweet, seeking permission to enter. It didn’t take me long to go from the spectator in this show to full-on participant.

  I pressed Isaac further against the wall, feeling his arousal against mine. He moaned, rolling his hips against mine and driving me insane. His tongue dueled with mine and his hands fisted the back of my sweater, as though he was consciously stopping himself from undressing me.

  “Christ, Isaac.” I stopped the kiss before we got arrested for public indecency. Even in a city like New York, I was pretty sure no one wanted to see this much action between two people. I didn’t pull away, though. In fact, I pressed closer to him. The feeling of his erection against mine felt far too good to make it stop. He let out a sexy, raspy groan.

  Isaac was breathless, and his tanned skin looked flushed as though he had just been kissed within an inch of his life, which he had. I’d made sure of it.

  “This is the best day ever,” Isaac murmured against my lips, coming closer again.

  “And you haven’t even had cookie dough.”

  “Clearly, I haven’t lived,” he said with a chuckle, but then looked down and flushed a glorious shade of red.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked, finally running my hands through his hair like I’d been dying to do since I’d first touched it last night.

  “Will you…um… come back to the hotel with me?”

  This was a clear invite to spend the night, not on the couch, but with him in that king-size bed. I wanted to jump at the chance to have Isaac naked and pressed against me in bed. My mind quickly pictured all the things I wanted to do to him, and those I wanted him to do to me.

  “You’re leaving tomorrow.” I wasn’t sure why I felt I had to remind us. Or was it that I had to remind myself?

  “There is still tonight, Max,” he said in earnest. “I have a feeling that a chunk of me was stolen a minute ago. You can give it back right now, no consequence. Or you can hold it with me tonight, and tomorrow, you get to keep it forever.”

  This felt big. How did I meet this man less than a day ago and now it felt as though we’d known each other so much longer? I held his face with both my hands and caressed his cheeks with my thumbs.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Isaac.” I felt I was on the brink of something so precious, and I was scared shitless of breaking it, of ruining the best thing I’d ever had. What if giving us this would just make it all worse?

  “Let’s just explore this chemistry between us and have a good time. It doesn’t need to be anything more.” And then with a playful squeeze of my ass, he asked, “Did you say something about cookie dough?”

  A sudden lightness came over me. He got it. He knew what I was feeling and understood. Heck, maybe he even felt the same way.

  I winked, and then to prove my intentions for later, I kissed him a bit more before I grabbed his hand and led us out of the building via the two elevators and then into a cab.

  9

  Isaac

  Did I just ask a man I met less than twenty-four hours ago to come back to my hotel room with me? Shit, I think I did.

  Not that I regretted it. In fact, my body was humming with anticipation of what was about to happen. What I said to Max was the truth. We could give each other what we were each willing to offer, no strings attached.

  I’d spent all of my life being careful about what I did, what I said, and who I said it to. On the few occasions I trusted someone with my truth, the consequences had been irreversible. But on this day a few days away from Christmas in New York, thousands of miles away from home and with this incredible man, I could be Isaac for just one night.

  The cab stopped, but we weren’t in front of my hotel. Max asked me to wait while he went to pick up something for later. I couldn’t help but look at his jean-clad ass as he walked toward the shop.

  Very shortly, I was going to have my hands on that ass—minus the jeans, of course. I started to feel my own jeans tighten and had to put a damper on my thoughts so I wouldn’t embarrass myself.

  Max came back minutes later with a blue paper bag with a logo I didn’t recognize.

  “What did you get us?” I asked.

  “I am delivering on my promise of cookie dough.” Max handed me the bag so I could peek inside.

  “For us and how many people?” I laughed at the ridiculous number of small jars inside the bag.

  “I chose my favorite,” he said.

  I could see his face go red even in the dark light of the cab.

  “I have a lot of favorites. Sue me.” With an indignant shrug, he put his arms around me.

  “No need. I’ll just try them all. Might take me all night.” I teased.

  Max turned his head to look at me, and his brown eyes were blazing. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to take the cookie dough from me or smear it all over my body before he licked it clean.

  I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, feeling hot all over and in need to discard a few layers of clothing. Hell, maybe even a cold shower before I could look at Max’s dark eyes again.

  Fortunately, the hotel wasn’t far, so once we paid the fare, we thanked the driver for our double-stop journey and went inside.

  There were a few people waiting for the elevator, so since my room was only one floor up, I pulled Max toward the stairs. We’d climbed around ten steps when Max came closer and declared in my ear that it was unacceptable that we were taking the stairs since he was hoping to push me against the wall of the elevator and kiss me hard. When I groaned at his comment, he did just that, pushing me against the wall and kissing me…hard.

  “Jeez, Max. You’re going to have me naked before we get to the room.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He grabbed my hand ju
st like when we left the Empire State Building and pulled me toward the door leading to the corridor.

  My brain was clearly in a lust fog because I couldn’t remember the room number or where I put the key. I sighed in frustration, so Max once again pinned me against the wall.

  “You seem to enjoy this position.” He smirked as he opened my coat to look for the room key while touching and teasing his way around my body.

  “Nhnn, Maaax,” I moaned, pushing against his hand to get more friction.

  “Got it.” He held the key up. “2011, let’s go,” he said, pulling my hand with such urgency I nearly lost my footing.

  It was good to know I wasn’t the only one in danger of spontaneous combustion.

  No sooner were we in the room than I found myself pinned against the closed door, again.

  Max wasn’t taking prisoners as he simultaneously pushed his body to mine to keep me in place against the wall and used one hand to pull on my hair and tilt my head up so he could kiss the hell out of me while his other hand was busy removing my coat.

  With the coat gone, he proceeded to remove my sweater and open the buttons on my shirt.

  “Isaac,” Max whispered in between kissing and licking a path from my collar to my neck and up to my ear. “I’ve wanted to do this since I saw you sleeping on the hospital bed.”

  “That’s a bit creepy.” I wanted to laugh but struggled to keep a steady voice. Max’s lips on my skin, each kiss, each lick, each nibble was threatening to make me jump out of my own body in the most delicious way.

  He looked back at me, focusing on my eyes as if he could hide inside them.

  “You just looked so peaceful, so beautiful. And then you went and opened your eyes, and I was done for.”

  Fuck, this was so much more than I was equipped to handle, but I didn’t have the strength to fight it.

  “Max, take me to bed. I need to touch you,” I blurted with what I was sure was desperation in my voice.

  Max stepped back slowly with a sly grin, leaving me still panting against the door. He started taking his clothes off slowly while walking backward. First, he took his coat off, then his sweater, and then his shoes. He never took his eyes off mine. He was like a cat stalking a mouse, except he was walking away from me, and that just wouldn’t do.

  He took off his shirt, and I got my first look at his toned upper body. It was clear that in between working at the hospital and his volunteer work, Max spent some time working out, because his defined muscles were making me salivate at the thought of running my tongue over the ridges of his stomach, and the matting of blonde hair on his chest was crying for my hands.

  “You keep looking at me like that and this is going to finish before it even gets started.” Max opened his jeans and slid them down his legs along with his underwear, leaving his cock exposed, hard and pointing in my direction.

  In four seconds flat, I took off my clothes and stalked in Max’s direction, then, without even touching him, I pushed him further into the room until the back of his legs reached the end of the bed.

  10

  Max

  I couldn’t take my eyes off Isaac. Naked Isaac was a sight to behold. I had seen him shirtless only last night, but now he was standing in front of me completely naked, his blue-green eyes full of lust and framed by the soft curls of his hair, his smooth chest with the smallest happy trail leading down to a gorgeous, thick cock.

  I sat on the bed and pulled him to straddle me, our bodies perfectly aligned. Isaac put his hands over my shoulders, tugging my hair ever so slightly.

  “Every time you ran your hands through your hair today, it was like you were purposefully torturing me,” he said, pulling my head back, and from his height advantage by straddling me, he took my mouth. Isaac’s kisses were perfection, as though he’d been made to do this with me.

  “I can’t seem to stop it around you. You just do something to me I can’t explain. I don’t know how I came to be here with you Isaac, but—” I said, but he silenced me when he reached for both our cocks and stroked us, putting just the right amount of pressure.

  “Fuck, Isaac. Oh, just like that. Fuuck!”

  I fucked his hand, lost in the pleasure he was bringing us both. He wasn’t completely unaffected. Just looking at Isaac with his eyes closed and head pulled back was unfurling a need that was building up and threatening to take me over.

  Just when I thought we were about to come undone, Isaac stopped moving his hand and slid off my lap. I groaned. He encouraged me to scoot up the bed before he straddled me again, this time on my knees, and I knew what was coming. It still didn’t prepare me for the feeling of Isaac’s mouth around my cock. He didn’t skirt around it, no kisses or licks around the area. No, he went straight for it, and this confidence was sexy as hell on him.

  His eyes were darker as they met mine and so full of need, I would have given him anything. When he asked me to take him, I was more than happy to oblige, even if I now had serious doubts about how long I would be able to last.

  I left the bed for a moment to grab a condom and a packet of lube from my wallet. When I walked back, Isaac was lying on his back where I had been moments before. I stopped for five seconds, admiring the view, seeing Isaac getting more impatient with every second that passed.

  “My turn,” I placed the two packets on the bed and used my hands and mouth to tease Isaac to the point where he was as worked up as I was. It was looking like I’d be coming shortly after being inside Isaac, and I was going to need him to be right there with me.

  “Max. Please,” Isaac mewled. “So. Close.”

  This was it. I could wait no longer. I pressed my lips to his for a quick, but searing kiss before I pulled his knees up to his chest, leaving him exposed to me. He looked fucking gorgeous. The evidence of his urgency showed when he grabbed the packet of lube and started prepping himself for me.

  “God, Isaac, that’s so hot.” I couldn’t take my eyes away from him, his flushed skin, or his hole as he fucked himself with his fingers.

  When I stroked myself to the sight of him, I realized I was meant to be getting myself ready for him, too.

  As soon the condom was on, all bets were off. Isaac pushed my hands away and directed my cock toward himself.

  “I need you so bad. Please, Max.”

  I pushed in, my head feeling the tight heat of Isaac’s body. It felt so exquisite, I had to halt for a moment to stop myself from coming as much as to allow Isaac to adjust to my size.

  We were both breathing heavily, and for a brief moment, I panicked. Isaac had been in the hospital less than twenty-four hours ago. Should we be doing this?

  “Max,” he put his hands on my chest. “I’m okay, promise. I need you to keep going. Please don’t stop now.”

  I nodded and tried to go a bit deeper, slowly at first, but Isaac wanted more and started moving under me, his eyes on where we were joined together.

  I grabbed Isaac’s hands, lacing our fingers and holding them above his head as I pummeled in and out of his body, first painfully slow and then picking up speed. Isaac was moving with me, our bodies in complete synchrony, as though they were made for each other in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

  “Max, I’m so close,” he cried, and I was right there with him, so with a slight shift of my hips, I started hitting his prostate. Isaac was moaning something incoherent as his orgasm hit him hard and fast, permitting me to let go into the best, most toe-curling, body-shaking orgasm of my life.

  For a moment, I couldn’t move as aftershocks hit my body. It was then that I realized my body had been waiting for Isaac all my life, craving something it didn’t know was possible. Now it knew. I knew.

  “Best. Christmas. Ever,” Isaac said, breathing heavily from exhaustion and the weight of my body on his.

  “Ho ho ho,” I chuckled before I kissed Isaac and regretfully withdrew from him and disposed of the condom. “I think we need a shower.”

  “I agree. Then we need to check out that cooki
e dough. It’s been calling my name for the last twenty minutes.”

  “Liar, your mouth was busy twenty minutes ago.” I stalked toward him

  “Fine, two minutes then.” He jumped off from the other side of the bed.

  “You were not thinking about cookie dough when you were—”

  “Was too.” He stuck his tongue out while striding past me toward the bathroom. “Last one in the shower bottoms next.”

  Well, in that case, I was taking my time. The cookie dough was in my future and hopefully soon after that, so would Isaac.

  11

  Isaac

  I’d just had the best sex of my entire life and was still trying to process how it had happened to me. This brilliant, funny, sexy, brown-eyed, blond creature had wanted me in the same way I had wanted him.

  This just wasn’t real life for me, but much as I wanted to disbelieve it, I couldn’t deny that the sex had been real, and so had the shower we’d taken afterward. We’d cleaned each other thoroughly, laughed, and got each other hard again before our rumbling tummies reminded us it was dinner time.

  We decided to have some food from the room service menu. As much as I loved dessert, I could really go for something more nutritious than cookie dough. That would come later. Pun intended.

  I chose pizza and Max went for a dish of spaghetti with seafood. We ordered the food and put some boxer shorts on. A good idea, since I couldn’t be responsible for my actions if we’d decided to eat naked.

  Both meals looked delicious when they arrived, so we sat on the bed with our backs to the headboard, the tray between us, and shared our food.

  “So what are your hopes and dreams?” Max asked before he swirled some spaghetti on his fork.

  “Seriously?” I laughed, as I picked a slice of pizza.

  “Uh-huh.” He nodded, pulling my hand toward him and stealing a mouthful of my pizza.