14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
“Good afternoon. You have reached WROX. How may I direct your call?” the receptionist prompted.
“This is Tony Cavalari calling in for Bronx Alauson from Black Ice,” he said. “He has a phone interview in a couple of minutes.”
“Oh, yes, he sure does,” she said. “We’ve been excited about this for weeks. Let me patch you through to the sound booth. Once they pick up they will instruct you on what to do next.”
“Sounds good and thanks for your help,” Cavalari said.
It only took a few minutes for the actual interview to get rolling and all the predictable questions Cavalari and Bronx had practiced together were asked.
No surprises were thrown at them which is just what Bronx needed to get through the interview without having an anxiety attack.
There were a few minor glitches on Bronx’s part, mainly with misinterpreting a question and confusion over a couple of Cavalari’s notes, but not bad enough for anyone to notice besides the two of them.
All in all, this was a major win and confidence booster for Bronx.
When it was over and Cavalari had disconnected their call, they pushed away from the table to high-five each other. But Bronx being Bronx, he had to take things one step further than he should—even if it got himself into trouble, which it almost always did.
A slight shove at Cavalari’s broad chest turned into a subdued body slam that had Cavalari up against the wall beside the bus door.
Cavalari allowed himself to be pinned there.
Not only did he willingly submit but he permitted a brief period of time for Bronx to assert the upper hand as well.
But as soon as Bronx attempted a new push into Cavalari’s personal space, he grabbed onto Bronx’s biceps and stopped his forward momentum.
It was a feeble effort on Cavalari’s part to maintain a reasonable amount of space between them because distance was the last thing he wanted with Bronx.
The magnetic tug to him was becoming too powerful to deny.
The last several days of being cooped up inside their traveling trash can had changed things for them.
It felt like a switch had been flipped and a closeness that wasn’t there before they left Los Angeles suddenly had smoldering embers ready to ignite into flames.
Emotions were beginning to bubble to the surface and a level of caring for the other was evident, too.
Cavalari couldn’t speak for what was going on inside Bronx’s head but his actions sure told him things had become personal for him, too, though Cavalari couldn’t let his walls down.
He knew Bronx well enough to know he had to proceed with caution or he’d be risking his job with Ventura Security.
“Don’t even think about biting me again,” Cavalari stated firmly while holding eye contact with Bronx. “Hurt like a motherfucker the last time.”
Bronx chuckled. “Awww, you don’t like being bitten?” he asked. “I thought for sure you’d be down for something like that.”
“Nope, not in the least.” It was a partial miss-truth based in the white lie category but certainly not a bold-faced one.
Cavalari was quite fond of giving or receiving an unexpected nip to an ass cheek or the inner thigh, and his absolute favorite spot was a bite to a nipple but he wasn’t revealing that piece of information to Bronx.
Bronx had no shame for his behavior and he sucked at understanding the dynamics of personal boundaries with those around him.
With seemingly nothing to fear or any possible retribution from Cavalari, he leaned in closer leaving no more than two or three inches between Bronx’s lips and Cavalari’s neck.
Without any restraint over his actions, Bronx was a very dangerous man.
It was also annoying as fuck because it forced Cavalari into a position of always being on guard.
It wasn’t as if Cavalari had no interest in having Bronx wrapped around him like a tree vine.
He loved the closeness they occasionally shared and the same lust-filled breaths they’d exchange during those moments were incredible.
But he worked for Bronx and that meant he had to keep his head on straight.
And to be clear, there was nothing straight about the things he wanted to do to Bronx or submit to if Bronx were to maul him. It was like waiting for a burning match to drop into a bucket of gasoline and Cavalari could already feel his skin burning from the heat.
The forward movement Bronx made was slow and calculated, like the proverbial snake slithering through the grass searching for prey, but Cavalari was way ahead of him.
The seconds ticked by while each of them tuned into the other’s tells and assessed what their next move might be.
The fire burning between them was as thick as an ocean harbor fog and became more and more evident with every subtle shift of Bronx’s body that ultimately brought him closer and closer to Cavalari.
It was overwhelming and his head began to swim with sensations.
Cavalari was certain this was nothing more than another twisted game for Bronx to see if he could break Cavalari’s will to keep Bronx at arm’s length.
And it sure as hell was pushing Cavalari’s limits of resolve to not cave into the temptation being presented to him on a silver fucking platter.
Temptation and lust were as strong as narcotics and equally as addicting as a Class B substance.
Cavalari wondered how much moral jail time he might expect to get for succumbing to the drug that Bronx represented to him.
Would Bronx be worth doing time in purgatory? Hell yes.
Cavalari licked his lips and swallowed several times.
His mouth suddenly felt like it had too much saliva and the man he couldn’t get out of his head was standing far too close.
It made him want things he had no right to desire.
He could smell the lemony citrus fragrance of Bronx’s skin wafting off the warm bend of his neck, felt the insane heat of his body nearly pressed against his, and it made Cavalari’s fingers itch to touch Bronx.
Everywhere. He was filled with a desperate need to take what he wanted but all his fantasies involving Bronx were firmly situated behind a very solid line that he simply couldn’t allow himself to cross.
Maybe he could — just this one time?
Bronx grinned and slightly bared his teeth before his head tipped as if he was zeroing in on the flesh of Cavalari’s thickly corded neck.
Cavalari’s body was already reacting, filling and hardening in all the right places, and goosebumps and sweat popping up in others.
All from the inevitable contact Bronx was about to make by pressing his lips and tongue to Cavalari’s overheated skin.
Bronx showed no signs of stopping, so he was going to have to be the one to put on the brakes.
Sometimes he hated always having to be the responsible one—especially with anything involving Bronx.
Hell, he’d give a kidney to be reckless just one time with Bronx.
An endless night or perhaps as long as a weekend to work out the sexual tension boiling between them. That might help the situation.
Who the hell was he kidding? There was no way a weekend would be long enough to put out the flames threatening to burn through their clothing. Not a fucking chance.
He bent his knees quickly and grabbed Bronx around the back of the thighs to hoist him over his shoulder in one fluid movement.
It took little effort on Cavalari’s part to lift Bronx.
Bronx twisted a bit and managed to slide out of Cavalari’s clutches and landed back on his feet.
Truth be told, Cavalari let it happen. If he’d wanted to keep Bronx in his grasp there was no way in hell he would have had the wiggle room to slide back to the floor.
Cavalari might get away with lying to Bronx and say he didn’t enjoy the full-frontal glide of his body over every hard ridge and flexed muscle of Cavalari’s wide chest, tented jeans, and massive thighs but he certainly couldn’t lie to himself.
The friction Bronx created was bliss and it made him thrum with a craving so powerful he wasn’t entirely sure he could control it—especially when he really didn’t want to.
This might be the one test Mr. Responsibility failed but would that really be a tragedy? Fuck, no. Cavalari would gladly sign up to go down in a ball of flames if Bronx was the one adding the accelerant to the fire.
When Bronx eased himself over Cavalari’s impressive erection he had to bite his own lip to hold back a moan that threatened to roll out of his mouth.
Once Bronx was on solid ground again he made an exaggerated attempt to squeeze around him and laughed, which lit the fuse for Cavalari and another lighthearted push and shove scuffle began.
This time it was more about teasing than anything and Cavalari went above and beyond not to hurt the man he was casually trying to subdue.
Cavalari could have easily flipped Bronx onto the floor with his sheer brawn but with a partial hearing loss that was likely due to their last wrestling match, there was no way he’d risk Bronx’s wellbeing a second time—no matter how much Bronx might deserve the beat-down.