Every Shade by Nora Phoenix

6

Langley had wanted nothing more than to drag Alexander across the table and kiss the living daylights out of him until the man would finally admit the sexual tension between them. But he had enough professionality to keep his hands to himself, considering he was technically on a business dinner. Mixing the two was already mucky. No need to add more complications to the mix.

So he'd left after giving Alexander his first quick analysis of the numbers so the man could read it over and give it some thought. He'd told him he'd be back in a couple of days, after he'd done some market research. That, of course, was way too fancy a word for this town and its potential, but he would take this more seriously than his final project for his MBA. This was Alexander's livelihood, his inheritance, and despite everything else that was happening between them, Langley was well aware of the emotional ties Alexander had to the place.

So he'd made himself useful and had questioned his father first, then several of his former high school buddies who had stayed or come back to the area. He'd hung out in Mary's café for an hour or two, devouring her homemade apple pie and totally writing it off as a business expense. He driven around time ten times, had Googled until his eyes had crossed, and then he'd come up with a plan. A pretty spectacular one if he said so himself.

When he showed up at the gas station—dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black leather jacket, since he wasn't feeling the business outfits today—a car was parked at one of the two pumps. No one was in it, so the customer must be inside to pay. Langley parked in one of the parking spaces, doing a quick look around to confirm what he had come up with. Yeah, Alexander had a prime lot here that he could utilize to increase his revenue. Langley all but rubbed his hands as he walked inside.

He passed what had to be the owner of the car, an incredibly pretty twink with a pair of gorgeous green eyes. Langley sent him a friendly smile, then strode toward the register.

"Langley," Alexander greeted him, as always hiding his pleasure at seeing Langley. But even with his eyes shooting daggers, the man was hot as fuck.

"Xander," he said back, allowing a little sharpness in his own tone.

"I told you a thousand times my name is Alexander, not Xander."

Oh, for fuck's sake. How long would Alexander deny the truth? "Yep, I told you I’ll keep ignoring that as long as you ignore the truth."

Fuck, he was getting tired of this. Even if Alexander didn't want to act on the sparks between them, would it kill him to just acknowledge them? This was getting beyond childish.

Alexander stepped from behind the counter and stood opposite Langley, crossing his arms. "And what truth are you referring to today? That I've been somehow secretly pining for you for the last five years?"

"Not so secretly, considering you admitted to keeping track of where I was and what I was doing."

"I told you I was—"

"Stop. Fucking. Lying. Seriously, don't you get tired of ignoring and denying the obvious? Why the hell is it so hard for you to just admit you're attracted to me?"

“I’m not—"

Fuck this shit. With a lightning-fast move, Langley closed the distance between them, then curled his hand around Alexander's neck and pulled him in. From the second their lips touched, a battle ensued. The kiss was fierce, raw, but the bottom line was that Alexander was kissing him back. Their tongues were dueling, fighting for control, and they surged into each other's mouths before pushing each other out again.

Back and forth it went until Langley had pushed Alexander with his back against the wall and was rubbing himself against Alexander. Fuck, Alexander's body was exactly like he had imagined it. Hard, tough, rough. His hands were bruising as they clamped down on Langley's ass, kneeding it, pulling him close against his own body.

Hard cocks met, as eager for contact as the rest of their bodies. Langley's hands slipped under Alexander's waistband, boldly grabbing his bare ass. The moan Alexander let out into Langley's mouth made his cock jump. Not attracted to him, his ass. Literally.

The sound of a car pulling up at the pump had Langley jump back. Not that he gave two shits about being seen kissing another man, but he wouldn't do that to Alexander, especially not in his place of business. Alexander looked at him, his lips swollen, his cheeks reddened, and his expression dazed. His chest was still moving quickly with his breaths, which were almost synchronized with Langley’s panting.

Langley swiped his thumb over Alexander's mouth to wipe off the wetness, then noticed the man's impressive erection and smiled. Since Alexander seemed to be stupefied to do anything, Langley pulled the man's T-shirt down so it covered his groin.

"There. You look presentable again. We'll talk later. I'll be back."

Fuck if he was presenting him the plan now. Not when he’d just kissed him into a stupor. Business would have to wait a little longer.