Crush (Hard Hit #5) (7 page)

“Like riding a bike,” Orlando said, not sounding anywhere near as sure as Andrei thought he intended.

“Why do Americans say this?”

Orlando eyed him curiously. “Because once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget.”

Andrei thought it over. “I wouldn’t know. We were taught to skate at a very young age, and I have not been off the ice since. As far as bike riding goes, I never had one.”

“Dude, you’ve never ridden a bike?” The disbelief in Orlando’s tone couldn’t be missed. “When I was a kid, I rode my bike everywhere. A lot of places my parents still don’t know about. If I could get there and back before my mom turned the porch light on, I was there.”

“What happened when the porch light came on?”

Orlando shook his head, as if confused by Andrei’s question. “That meant it was time to come inside. Damn, were you ever a kid?”

Andrei considered Orlando’s question carefully before answering. “Not really, no. As soon as I was old enough to stay steady on my feet, my papa trained me to be hockey star. There was no time for anything else.” Before Orlando could ask anything more about his childhood, Andrei turned the conversation back to him. “Tell me about these bike rides. Where did you go that leaves you terrified for your mama to know?”

Andrei skated backward, easily maneuvering through the crowd as he kept his gaze locked on Orlando’s face. Skating was second nature to him and he didn’t want to miss a single detail of Orlando’s story.

Orlando shrugged. “No place important really. It was more that Mom would’ve worried if she’d known I’d gone off so far, and then she would beat my ass for making her worry.” Orlando chuckled, making Andrei smile. “Seb and I used to ride over to this little mom-and-pop store every day. This old lady ran the joint by herself. Her husband had passed several years earlier, leaving her to do everything alone. She would give us free ice cream and show us the newest quilt she’d been working on. I always thought Mom would kill us if she found out we were bugging some lady and getting free stuff. Of course, when I grew up, I realized we were probably the highlight of that woman’s day. She’d never had kids of her own and no one came to visit her. We were doing good, even though we didn’t know it.” Orlando’s lips twisted into a smile. “The day I realized that, I felt good about myself. I know we were kids and, really, we would’ve listened to her talk about anything in exchange for sweets, but it also made me realize that I like myself when I’m helping people. That epiphany hit at a point in my life when I didn’t like myself at all.” Orlando shook his head. “Why do I always tell you everything?”

Andrei’s cheeks ached. He loved listening to Orlando talk. “I told you. I’m magical. Tell me, do you feel big again?”

“Like I could take over the world.”

Orlando’s tone didn’t match his calm expression.

“Then why do you still sound sad?”

“I don’t want the world. That sounds too much like work.”

Andrei tilted his head to one side, beyond curious. “What do you want, then?”

“Just you.”

Andrei laughed and threw his arms out wide. “All of this is hard work too, baby. I put your back out, eh?” Andrei loved the wicked expression growing on Orlando’s face at his taunt.

“I accept your challenge.”

*

Andrei:
What are you up to today?

Orlando:
Doing some paperwork.

Andrei:
From home?

Orlando:
Yeah.

Andrei:
Can you do it from here?

Orlando:
I could, but I can’t see Kieran letting me past the gate.

Andrei:
Kieran and Henley are on their honeymoon.

Orlando:
Be there in 10.

*

Orlando tried concentrating for twenty minutes on the paperwork spread out across Andrei’s bed. The other man’s pacing made it impossible. Andrei walked the perimeter of the room, setting Orlando’s teeth on edge. By the sixth pass, his nerves snapped.

“Are you going stir crazy?”

Andrei cast him a forlorn look. “I don’t know what this is.”

Andrei spoke English so fluently, sometimes Orlando forgot it wasn’t his first language. Sayings he’d used every day of his life were lost on Andrei. “Are you restless and bored?”

A bright smile lit Andrei’s face. “Yes. Stir crazy. That’s fitting. I’m used to traveling around the country. Six months of squeezing in eighty-two games is hectic, and I was finished with it. But now, I’m all day, every day with the ‘I have so much time. ‘How do I fill the time?’” Andrei walked in a circle, waving his arms wildly, making Orlando laugh. Andrei was almost always a clown. It never got old. At the sound Orlando’s laughter, Andrei’s outrageousness increased. “Oh my God. What do I do? I’m so bored. How does Kieran do this job? I want to go and do something.” His gaze landed on Orlando. He prowled toward him. “Let’s do something.”

“Um, like what?” he asked, casting a look around and looking for an escape.

Andrei kept moving toward him until his knees hit the bed. With a push, he knocked Orlando over onto his back. He crawled on top of him, straddling his hips. “Let’s go somewhere.”

Orlando knew there was no way the happiness inside him wasn’t showing in his eyes. He loved the playful side of Andrei. It made him feel young. Andrei might argue that he was young, but Orlando didn’t feel like it. He couldn’t remember ever feeling like it before Andrei.

“Where do you want to go?”

Andrei dipped his head and touched his lips to Orlando’s collarbone — like he couldn’t resist a moment longer. Orlando’s heart turned over in his chest.

“Let’s go to the mountains. We could get a cabin and disappear. No stupid chirping of the cell phones. Just you and me, eh?”

At the hopeful glint in Andrei’s eyes, Orlando wanted the picture he painted with something akin to desperation. He had to be realistic. “I would love that, but I’ve got a job.”

“You could also have the flu,” Andrei said without missing a beat. “I would pay for everything. No worries.”

“Money isn’t the issue,” Orlando argued, even though he didn’t want to fight this. “I don’t want to get fired. I like what I do.”

Andrei’s expression turned wicked. “You could like what we do, eh? I could convince you,” Andrei said, promise dripping from every word as he lowered his weight onto Orlando, ensuring he couldn’t miss Andrei’s erection. His lips brushed Orlando’s jaw. “Come on, Orlando. Give me something to do.”

Tilting his chin up, Orlando gave Andrei the freedom to nibble on his neck. Lust owned him. Andrei owned him. Desire tinted his words when he answered. “I have plenty for you to do right here. We don’t need to travel.”

Andrei chuckled against Orlando’s throat, making his already hard cock stiffen even more. “Tell me exactly what you want from me, baby. There’s no need for the stir crazy to get me to do you. That’s an absolute pleasure.”

“Make me fly,” Orlando begged. Andrei’s mouth moved lower. Using his teeth, he pulled Orlando’s shirt higher. Orlando shook with laughter at the sight, even as he shifted positions, making it easier for Andrei to remove his clothing.

“I like the way my ears feel when you laugh,” Andrei confessed against Orlando’s stomach. “It makes me want to do things so I never stop hearing it.” His tongue shot out, stroking Orlando’s skin right below the navel. “It’s such a problem for me. Do I make you laugh or moan? They both sound like the butterflies in my stomach feel.”

Orlando couldn’t work up a chuckle or a sigh. This man said things that made no sense, and still the words made him weak. Orlando always felt something in his stomach too when Andrei was around. He couldn’t put a name to it and was scared to try. He’d given Andrei his word he wouldn’t feel anything for him. It was one promise that was getting harder and harder to keep by the day.

As Andrei worked Orlando’s pants down his hips, he licked a path down Orlando’s erection before coming to his feet and stripping off his own clothes. Orlando couldn’t look away. Andrei was so fucking beautiful. He made Orlando willing to do anything—forgive the man everything.

When they were both nude, Andrei crawled onto the bed, prowling up Orlando’s body. He paused, taking Orlando’s crown between his lips and making Orlando’s balls grow heavy with need. By the time Andrei kissed a path back to Orlando’s mouth, Orlando was panting. Their tongues collided, battling for supremacy. As if calling a truce, they slowed, savoring one another. Andrei rolled his hips, dragging his erection along Orlando’s. The earth shook.

Never had such a small touch stolen his breath. The flavor of Andrei’s tongue, the way it curled around his before retreating. The way Andrei’s thumb pulled Orlando’s bottom lip down, allowing Andrei the freedom to sink his teeth into it. All that shit got Orlando off. No one had ever wrecked him. Andrei did. It was more addicting than crack. Andrei continued rocking against him, making love to Orlando in a way no one ever had before. He wouldn’t have believed he could come from only the friction of their cocks against each other, but the pressure building inside him told a different story.

“Orlando.”

The way Andrei breathed his name had Orlando’s eyes flying open. He had to see Andrei’s face. The man was beyond gorgeous in the throes of passion. As Orlando took in every nuance of Andrei’s features, Andrei stared back at him, as if doing the same. Andrei’s lips parted on a gasp, and an orgasm hit Orlando. It burst from the head of Orlando’s cock with surprising force. While he still rode the waves of pleasure, Andrei’s features tightened. A low moan fell from his lips. Hot semen filled the space between their bodies, slickening their skin. Andrei never once looked away. Orlando bit back the words rushing to his lips. Horror chilled his skin. He was completely in love with the man holding him. Orlando was also doomed to silence. Andrei would never, ever love him in return. He’d done too many horrible things in his life.

Chapter 5

Andrei:
Do you have any plans on the 5th?

Orlando:
I work until 11 that night.

Andrei:
Kieran asked me to take his place at this VIP preseason party at Club Khronos. Want to be my date after work? It'll be going on all night.

Orlando:
If you're there so am I.

 *

Orlando:
I'm here.

Andrei:
Sweet! Your name is on the list. Just let the guy at the front door know your name, and he'll let you in. Once inside, veer right and you'll see a silver service elevator and a set of silver doors. You can either take the elevator or go through those doors to get to the stairs. I'm up here in the VIP section. You won't have any trouble finding me. It's pretty dead up here.

Orlando:
I'm still in uniform. There wasn't time to change.

Andrei:
Mmm. Yum. Don't worry over it. There's no dress code.

Orlando:
On my way.

Every cell in Andrei's body came to life at the first sight of Orlando. In dark pants and a dark T-shirt with EMT scrolled across the back, he looked like the most delicious thing Andrei had ever seen. He ate up the vision of Orlando as he made his way toward him. Turning sideways in his seat, Andrei leaned back against the short wall of the balcony overlooking the dance floor, waiting for Orlando to claim the seat at his side. A smile lit Orlando's face when his gaze found Andrei's. The sight interfered with Andrei's breathing. As Orlando slid into the chair next to him, Andrei pulled him into his embrace. Their lips met. Everything disappeared.

"I've been missing this all the day," Andrei said between kisses, hearing how breathless he sounded and not caring. "I hope your bladder is empty, because I've made sure your glass is full, and you're not leaving this spot until I can't stand not having you alone another second."

"Whoa. This is hot. Can I get out my cell phone and record it? You know, for artistic purposes or girl porn… It's all the same really."

Andrei chuckled and pulled away. He nodded toward the lovely red-haired lady sitting across from them who was moments away from posting his kiss with Orlando all over social media. "Orlando, this is Sophie East." Orlando dutifully shook hands with everyone as Andrei made the introductions. He nodded toward the man, sitting next to Sophie, who wore a suit worth more than Andrei's car. "This is her husband, Benton. They are friends of Kieran."

"It's nice to meet you both," Orlando said, exchanging pleasantries.

Andrei motioned toward the end of the table. "Of course, you know Noah."

"Of course," Orlando said with a tight smile. If Noah noticed, he didn't show it. He glanced up from his phone and flashed Orlando a quick smile. "Hey there, Sexy Chocolate."

He promptly went back to texting and Andrei dipped his chin toward the man sitting to Noah's left. "This is Troy. Noah's best friend."

Troy tore his gaze away from his phone long enough to toss Orlando a wink. "Best friends since pre-k," he said, confirming Andrei's claim before going back to his phone.

Orlando cut his eyes at Andrei. His expression said he knew what Andrei was thinking. The men were rude as fuck.