CHAPTER 6
EDGE
When I stepped into my house shortly after midnight to find Cav sitting on my sofa, a glass of scotch in his hand, I found some of my exhaustion dissipating.
I was used to coming home to an empty apartment, although it hadn’t been this one until recent months when I’d moved.
Part of my employment package with Chatter had included luxury accommodations in one of their remodeled apartments.
I hadn’t exactly jumped at the opportunity, but after considerable thought, I figured why the hell not?
Not necessarily because it was free, but more so because it was convenient.
Living in the same building I worked in was a definite plus.
“How was your night?” Cav prompted as I took off my coat and laid it over the arm of the chair.
I didn’t speak at first, allowing myself a few seconds to acclimate to having him there. Although Cav had stayed with me from time to time—sleeping in my guest bedroom at my previous residence—he had yet to be in this apartment.
But that wasn’t the only difference. Not once had I invited Cav over with the intention of seducing him. Or vice versa.
Certainly, what you’re hoping for tonight, huh?
“Busy,” I finally said, rolling up my shirt sleeves. I thought back to an incident at the club but decided not to share the details. I was not looking to talk about business tonight. I was looking forward to … something else. “What about you? How was your date with Jamie?”
“Magnificent.” His expression was as cheerful as his voice.
I grinned. “The restaurant was nice?”
“Probably,” he joked, shifting so that his ankle crossed over his knee. “But I hardly noticed.”
“She is something, huh?”
“I’ll say.” His smile brightened. “Did you know she’s never been kissed?”
I was pouring myself two fingers of scotch and damn near missed the glass as I jerked my head up, my eyes slamming into his. “What?”
“Technically, she has now,” he said easily.
He beat you to it. How do you feel about that?
I expected to feel some sense of jealousy about the news.
I didn’t. Curious, absolutely. I knew she was a virgin, but to have never been kissed…
That seemed preposterous in this day and age.
Especially for a woman like Jamie. Hell, I figured she had men lined up around the block waiting for a chance to spend just a little time with her.
“That’s … surprising,” I muttered.
“What? That I kissed her? Or that she’d never been kissed?”
I gave him a What do you think? look.
He laughed.
I carried my drink over to the chair, composing myself after that shock. We sat silently for a moment, the tension beginning to build around us. I’d felt it before a few times, but never like this. Never quite this potent.
Maybe not. But you can’t deny you’ve always been attracted to the guy.
Yeah, there was that. From the first time I met Chris Cavanaugh, there’d been something I was attracted to. His demeanor, his good looks, that devil-may-care grin. All of it together made up the man I’d fantasized about a few times over the years.
You should try telling him that. Maybe break the ice.
I didn’t get a chance to say anything before Cav was on his feet, moving around to pour himself another drink. He seemed antsy. Whether that was in direct correlation to me or the date he’d had, I wasn’t sure, but I intended to find out.
“What is this, Cav?” I asked, not waiting for him to return to the room.
I expected him to play coy, so I was surprised when he answered with a simple, “I have no fucking idea.”
That about summed it up, I figured. We’d been doing this dance for a long time.
My gaze trailed him as he moved toward the sofa. He’d dressed up for his date, and I got the feeling Jamie had been impressed. It was rare to see Cav wearing a suit. It was a good look for him.
“It’s been building for a long time,” I admitted, knowing we had to hash this out at some point.
He sat, stared at me. “I know. For me, too.” He took a swallow of his drink. “So where does it go from here?”
I relaxed back into the chair, pretending I didn’t have a care in the world. “I want to hear about your evening.” I allowed my gaze to slide over him momentarily before slowly creeping back up to his face. “But I need you to do something for me first.”
He sipped his drink, and I could see the battle brewing in his head. He wasn’t sure he was ready to give in to this, although he’d been fighting it for as long as I had. I could see the hesitance, the uncertainty. He wanted more, but like me, he didn’t quite know how this could play out.
Finally, he said, “What do you want me to do?”
“Strip.”
When he didn’t move, I took a sip of my scotch, continued to watch him closely.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then we can talk about sports or work or whatever the hell else is on your mind.”
“But not my date?” Cav challenged.
“I didn’t say that. If you want to share, I’ll listen. But I can always get the details from Jamie.” We both knew I was giving him an out.
Or you could just tell him what you really want. Stop beating around the bush.
I could. But where was the fun in that?
When he set his empty glass down on the end table, I couldn’t look away. And when he stood, I stopped breathing momentarily.
“I’m tired of playin’ this game, Edge.” He began unbuttoning his shirt, first the cuffs, then the rest.
When the fabric slid open, I nodded approvingly. “I am, too.”
“Then why do we keep playin’ it?”
I met his gaze, my insides burning from the lack of air. “You tell me.”
It wasn’t until he flipped the button open on his slacks and lowered the zipper that my lungs filled, and my body flooded with heat.
Chris Cavanaugh was a very attractive man.
Ruggedly good-looking with his blond hair, blue eyes, and purposely stubbled jaw.
His body was chiseled nicely, and I admired every single inch as he slowly discarded his shirt.
My attention shifted to the scars from the bullets he’d taken years back.
I remembered it like it was yesterday. I’d gotten the call and dropped everything to be at his bedside.
The man had been my best friend since college, and that news had damn near leveled me.
“Keep watchin’, Edge,” Cav growled softly as his hands moved to his hips.
Seconds later, they slid down his muscular legs, pooled on the floor. His black boxer briefs were the last to come off, but finally, he was standing in my living room naked while I watched him from what was now my favorite spot in this house.
“Is this what you wanted?” he taunted.
“It is.” I took a long swallow of my drink, eyed his cock as the liquor warmed my insides. “Looks like it’s what you wanted, too.”
“Not denyin’ it,” he drawled, a little breathier than before.
I admired his cock briefly before returning my eyes to his face. “Now, sit.”
He lowered himself back to the sofa, his attention riveted on me.
“I want you to stroke yourself while you give me the details of your date,” I explained.
“And then?”
“And then I’ll watch,” I said with a grin. Cav was eager, I could see it in his face.
“I won’t be able to hold back,” he said softly. “With you watchin’ me, I will come.”
My eyebrows lifted and dropped. “Feel free. But not until you’ve finished with the story.”
Those light blue eyes flashed with heat. “I sent Jamie flowers this afternoon, attached a card tellin’ her I had some instructions should she choose to go that route.”
Interesting. “Did she?”
Cav nodded. “I told her what I wanted her to wear, ensurin’ she knew she was to forego panties for the evenin’.”
My dick twitched, hardening more by the second as Cav explained the rest of their evening, including their dinner conversation. I allowed my gaze to rake over him, pausing every so often to watch as he leisurely stroked his thick, hard cock.
“I forgot to mention that Jamie and I discussed you tonight.” He looked almost smug as he relayed the news.
“Is that so?” I tipped my glass to my lips, waiting for him to continue.
“She asked if you and I had been together before. I told her no.” His hand fisted tightly around his dick. “She seemed somewhat disappointed, so I pushed the issue. I informed her that I’d thought about it a time or two.”
My cock throbbed, the idea making it impossible to feign indifference to this conversation. “Have you?”
His eyes locked with mine. “Many times.”
“Tell me,” I said firmly. “In your fantasies, is it my cock that’s usually in your ass? Or the other way around?”
He smirked. “Depends on my mood.”
I inhaled, exhaled, fought back the overwhelming desire that flooded my veins. “And what did Jamie say?”
He smiled, obviously noticing my immediate topic change. “She thanked me for my honesty.” Cav stroked himself firmly, his eyes partially closing as he rasped.
“That’s all she said?”
He gave a curt nod. “When I walked her to her door, I asked her if it bothered her that I wanted you.”
“Why’d you tell her?” I ignored my own dick, pressing insistently against my pants.
“Because she deserves to know.” A soft moan followed.
“You want me to dominate you?”
“No.”
I understood what he was saying. He wanted me, but not the Dom.
His big hand began stroking his cock faster, his eyes locked on mine like a lifeline. I held his stare, unable to look away.
“She said it didn’t bother her.” A frustrated groan escaped him. “So I asked her how it made her feel.”
My cock was throbbing incessantly, confined behind my slacks, where it would stay until he left. Although I would refrain while he was here, I knew I was going to have some great material to get myself off to before I fell asleep.
“What did she say?” I asked, my gaze slipping to where his hand wrapped around his cock.
“She said it made her hot. Fuck,” he groaned, his fist tightening on his dick.
“How does it make you feel?” I asked. “To know she likes the idea?”
He inhaled sharply. “Fuckin’ hot.”
“Do you like that I’m watching you jack off?”
Cav nodded.
“Do you wonder what it would feel like to have your dick in my mouth?”