Chapter Two
Wha?
The university had more than Adrian could have hoped for. They even had stackable plastic file boxes. He was in heaven. Of course, he also had his arms full, and between the boxes—which thankfully nested easily—and the other supplies, his arms were tired well before he got back to the woods.
Screw this. I’m stopping at Burger Dan’s for an early lunch. Might as well fuel up and give my arms a rest.
Burger Dan’s was hopping, even during this in-between-meals time. Leave it to him to stop by during family weekend at the university. The place was filled with college students milking their parents for a free meal of yummy goodness. Adrian dropped his box outside the front doorway and went in to order a burger and shake to go. He could cop a squat and eat at the edge of the woods. He would be close to home, and frankly, after living in solitude for the past six months, he had grown to prefer it. Now, being in a crowded room made him feel twice as lonely.
“Just jump in a seat when one opens up.” The waitress didn’t even stop as she said the words. The poor girl looked beyond frazzled. Who could blame her? The place was packed.
Walking up to the register, Adrian grabbed a menu and flipped through it. He always looked at the menu, but as usual decided on a cheeseburger, no onions, a side of onion rings, and a chocolate malt. The normal waitress always teased him about having onion rings after ordering no onions, prompting a banter back and forth about the difference between cooked and raw onions.
There would be no banter today. In fact, he could hear his usual waitress calling out orders ready for pickup, working as the fry cook today.
“A seat opened up at the counter.” Once again, the waitress walked by. If he wanted to get food, he was probably going to have to take a seat. He scanned the counter and found the vacant spot between a college kid clearly sporting a hangover eating with his oblivious parents and, on the other side, a hot guy. No, hot didn’t come close to describing him—and Adrian hadn’t even gotten a decent look yet.
At least my new spot has a good view.
Adrian squeezed himself onto the stool. He hated sitting at the counter. His shoulders were too wide, his legs too long, and the seat too small. The stools were clearly designed by a short, skinny dude. He bumped into the hottie as he twisted to face forward.
Just wonderful.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, not looking at the guy. He was leaving his flirty fill the void with sex ways behind. Rosemary being gone was not going to change that. There was a better way. There had to be.
“No, it was my fault. I turned around to watch you as you sat beside me. I should be apologizing to you.” His voice was rich and husky. Adrian didn’t doubt his words. The guy was interested in him. Well, his body, at least.
Fuck it. A little flirty fun was not going to cause him to fall back into his old ways.
As he turned to face the man, Adrian’s eyes locked with his cerulean orbs. The bear shifter couldn’t look away. Heck, he didn’t want to look away.
“I’m Adrian.” He lamely held out his hand, never breaking eye contact.
The man’s hand slipped into Adrian’s, and warmth traveled up his arm. He had been so long without the touch of a man, he had all but forgotten how it felt. He squeezed instead of giving the standard shake. “I’m Justin.”
“Ready to order?” The spell was broken. He would normally be irritated by the waitress’s obvious inability to see she was interrupting, but the same ineptitude to see what a customer needed had Adrian in this seat in the first place, so she was completely forgiven.
Dropping his hand, Adrian turned to face the girl. “Umm, yeah. A cheeseburger, medium rare, with no onions, a side of onion rings, and a chocolate malt. To go, please.”
“To go?” Justin inquired, sounding almost disappointed.
“Umm.” Adrian turned to face him. “Yeah. I have a pile of things outside, so I was going to have a picnic.”
“Things?” Justin placed his hand on Adrian’s knee. Rational thought fled, and it was all he could do to answer.
“Uh…some file boxes, folders, pens, those kinds of things.” Yeah, he sounded super sexy now.
Nothing a guy likes better than office-supply talk.
“We could put them in the back of my truck so you don’t have to worry about them.” Justin’s offer was a gentlemanly one, but his voice so oozing with sex appeal he might as well have been asking to strip Adrian naked, lay him on the counter, and feast on his cock as an appetizer, the way he instantly hardened.
“Okay.” Darn it. Good thing the man wasn’t a shifter, or he would surely smell the effect he had on Adrian. Not that his staring and lack of words while blushing hid it very well.
“Adrian is eating here. Please hold mine until his is ready.” His voice was different with the waitress—more friendly and normal, and far less sexy and smoldering. Adrian squared his shoulders. There was something intoxicating about having such an effect on a man, even if it was fleeting.
It has to be temporary. I can’t let myself go back to what I was like before.
“It won’t taste as good if I leave it under the heat lamp.” The waitress was right. It would go from yummy goodness to gas station food in only a few minutes.
“It will be fine.”
The waitress shrugged then nodded in agreement, probably because she was far too busy to argue.
“Well, let’s go get your things.” The slight teasing in Justin’s voice was nice. Before today, Adrian hadn’t really talked to anyone since the accident. It was refreshing. Justin grabbed his hand and tugged him from his seat. “Hopefully, no one will think these are vacant,” he mumbled to Hangover Boy as he handed him what looked like a ten-dollar bill.
“They won’t, sir.” The kid’s eyes lit up at the money. There was no way Justin was a sir—well, maybe in the I have a master and am tied to the bed kind of way, but not in the traditional way. Justin was twenty-sevenish. Hardly sir material.
“Thank you.” Justin led him by the hand through the crowd and out the door. A line had formed in the entranceway, glimmers in their eyes, hoping they had left space at the counter. It was a good thing Justin had paid the kid. They definitely would have lost their spot.
Outside, Adrian took the lead over to where he had deposited his loot. He dropped Justin’s hand and bent down to gather the boxes, only to have the other man reach them first. Such the gentleman. Although, quite frankly, there was nothing gentlemanly about the things Adrian wanted Justin to do to him.
“I got it.” Justin’s sexy voice was back. “My truck is around the back. This place is crowded for a small town.”
“Yeah, family weekend at the college.” Adrian purposely let Justin get in front of him. He had to see this man’s ass in those jeans. It did not disappoint.
In fact, Adrian had to focus not to reach over and give it a squeeze. Screw that, he wanted a two-hand squeeze that worked its way around to the front. It was official; he was back to horny boy—though this time he knew it wouldn’t be to fill the void. That never worked. This time it would be just to save himself from pain. He could see the doctor’s diagnosis now—carpal tunnel caused by over-masturbation.
“It’s right over here.” Justin turned to look over his shoulder. Darn bastard caught him staring, and from the smirk on his face, he liked it.
“How do I know you are not a serial killer leading me into your web?” Adrian’s voice was light. He had no fear of this man, but if this had been a horror movie, he would have either been thrown into the back of a van or stabbed by now.
“Oh, I am no serial killer. I’m not a spider, either.” He stopped at the back of a black truck with a camper shell and Oregon plates. “I am not denying that, like a spider, I may want to eat you, though.” Darn man had him on fire again, all with a very poorly worded innuendo. Justin held the box in one hand and popped open the tailgate and back with the other, easily sliding Adrian’s purchases in before closing the truck up.
“Would you like that?” Justin stood in front of Adrian, their faces only inches apart. Adrian was so lost in breaking down the other man’s words, he’d missed his movement.
“Like what?” He swallowed, sending up a quick prayer to the lust gods he was talking about a blow job and not something else he had missed in his lust-filled haze.
“Like me to.” He leaned his head in close, his lips so close to his ear he could feel the warmth of his breath. “Eat you. Take you in my mouth. Swallow you.”
Adrian nodded. All words escaped him. Fuck it, they had a few minutes before lunch would be ready. In fact, with that crowd, they probably had a good fifteen minutes. Not enough time to do all he wanted, but surely enough time to take the edge off.
He took the half a step between them and cupped Justin, leaving no doubt what he had in mind. His hand couldn’t come close to covering Justin’s full length, which was harder than steel. Oh yeah, the other man felt it, too.
Adrian was turned around, back against the truck with Justin’s lips on his before he even realized he was in motion. Oh God. He had forgotten the high of a good kiss. It was all need and lust. Justin explored every inch of Adrian’s mouth, and he returned the kiss with interest. Lips, teeth, tongues. They were on a mission, and Adrian melted into him, enjoying the ride. In another hour he would be back at the cabin, sorting through piles of papers and trying to be all responsible. For now, he would revel in this man’s touch.
He began to work Justin’s buttons. As sexy as button-fly jeans were, he would have loved a zipper. He wanted to taste him. Forget Justin blowing him. He was going to be Adrian’s pre-lunch treat. One. Two. Three buttons open when Justin’s hand stopped his.
“What?” Adrian panted.
“We are on the side of a diner.”
What? Was he trying to ruin the moment with facts? Screw that.
“So?” Adrian tried to pull free, but their fingers were now laced together.
“You live near here, right?”
“So?” He once again tried to resume his affections, but Justin once again kept him from doing so. Adrian wanted to growl, but he’d reveal he was a shifter, and he still didn’t know who Justin was or why he was in town. He might be someone in the know, as townies called them, but if he wasn’t, Adrian didn’t want to be the one facing consequences for sharing the nature of the town.
“People will see you and know what you are doing.”
“And?” Adrian leaned his head back to look at Justin. He obviously felt they needed to stop for some reason—though Justin’s erection told Adrian that reason had nothing to do with lack of chemistry. He owed it to the other man to hear him out without grabbing his cock, no matter how much it called to Adrian.
“They will talk.”
“They will, anyway.” Truth. There were more gossips in Three Rivers per capita than anywhere else he had ever been, a problem probably far more prevalent than even he knew, since he came to town only a few times a month. Amazing what he learned in the grocery store, picking out his produce. Rosemary teased there were so many gossips because there were so many secrets. Adrian wasn’t positive about that, but this liaison was surely being seen by someone, and would become fodder for the town gossips.
“You deserve better.” Justin pulled his hand from Adrian’s and buttoned up his pants.
“They began the gossip the second I sat next to you, and you don’t know me.” Adrian instantly regretted the anger tinging his voice. “Sorry. I was all caught up in”—he took a step back and waved his hand in the air, gesturing at the space between them—“this...whatever this is.”
“Oh, you know what this is.” Justin moved in close once again. “This is lust.”
In response, Adrian’s stomach growled. Because there is nothing sexier than hunger. “Sorry.”
“Come on. Our food is probably ready.” Justin took his hand as they walked back to the front entrance. The diner was still full, but there were no longer people in the entranceway. “We can finish what we started after we eat,” he added as they walked in. His smirk told Adrian he’d meant to state it just before they entered the crowded dining space, thereby not allowing him to respond. Too bad Justin was traveling through and his days in the town were most likely numbered.
Hangover Boy was gone, but he had left notes on their placemats saying, These seats taken.
“Huh,” Justin said. “Guess we could have done that.”
They sat on their stools as the waitress brought their order. From the condensation on the glass and the thinness of the malt, it had been ready for a while.
“Thanks,” he said to the waitress as the sad-looking burger was placed in front of him. Justin’s plate looked even worse. “I guess we took longer than I thought,” he mumbled, picking up a wilting onion ring.
“It was worth it,” Justin remarked, lifting his soggy BLT.
“Yeah, it really was.” He smiled, flashing a knowing look.
“So, you from here?” A hand landed on his jean-clad knee, and Adrian swore he could feel the other man’s heat instantly. The magic had not been broken by the crowded diner or the crappy food. Technically speaking, lust was not magic, but Adrian had always thought of it as such. It had the ability to make all things disappear, even if momentarily.
“No. I just got here about six months ago.” He really didn’t want to get into it all. Not that he felt guarded around Justin. For goodness’ sake, he had tried repeatedly to get his hand down Justin’s pants in the hopes of getting to suck him off. He just didn’t want the rest of the town to hear about him and Rosemary. There was already gossip he was the bastard child of Rosemary’s deceased husband coming for his inheritance. Idiots.
“Work?”
“Kind of.” It hadn’t been about work, originally, but it had turned into a career of sorts, so he didn’t really feel as though he was lying. Although, honest was not how he would describe his response, either.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” Justin probably took his standoffishness as not wanting to open up to him, and while Adrian knew they would never be more than a fling, his reaction somehow hurt him.
“No, it’s not you.” He squeezed Justin’s hand, which had now traveled a few inches up his thigh. “It’s just weird having a conversation like this while facing the open kitchen with people are all around us, is all.”
“Yeah, it is. How about we leave these, grab some coffee from that Yummy place, and finish our chat picnic style?”
Adrian liked the sound of that, and the food was pretty wretched from sitting for so long.
He turned to face Justin. “Still not a serial killer?”
“No,” the other man chuckled. “Still not a serial killer.” He raised his hand to signal the waitress for his check, and Adrian did the same.
Justin grabbed both bills as they appeared on the counter. “I’ve got this. After all, it is my fault it was inedible.”
“One could argue it was mine.” He winked to leave no room to question if he was serious or not.
“True. Maybe I should ask the waitress’s opinion.” Justin playfully slapped him on the shoulder. “Or I could just pay this, and we can be on our way?”
“I’ll get the coffee.”
Justin shook his head in mirth as he slapped some money down at their place and ushered Adrian from his spot at the counter.
For the first time since Rosemary’s accident, he was excited for something. True, it was only take-away coffee, but a coffee and chat with a hottie would be nice.
Especially if chat was code for orgasm.