DanielsSurrender (2 page)

“Is this enough? Will this get you off?” Daniel’s words
buzzed against Matthew’s flesh, and Matthew couldn’t suppress a grunt of
arousal.

“Yeah, like that. Make me come.” His words were deep and
dark, like the space between the two of them.

“But there’s more I can do.” Daniel lapped at the head of
Matthew’s cock, tracing the sensitive rim with a stiffened tongue. “Look at
me.” His voice brooked no argument.

Very slowly, very deliberately, Daniel sucked his middle
finger into his mouth. Matthew groaned at the sight of those chiseled lips
closing over the thick digit. When he slowly slid it out, it glistened with
moisture.

He should have known what was coming, but somehow was still
surprised when Daniel quickly engulfed his dick in one smooth movement, and
then burrowed under Matthew’s dress pants to press that slick finger against
his anus.

He clenched reflexively, and Daniel pulled off long enough
to murmur, “You’ll have to relax and let me in, Matty, if you want to come.”
With Daniel sucking relentlessly on just the head of his dick, Matthew gradually
forced his ass to unclench, and was rewarded when Daniel’s long finger began
working its way into his tight asshole.

Matthew wasn’t a stranger to anal play. He’d had women tease
his ass in the heat of passion, and had loved it. He’d even let one adventurous
lover slide a slim vibrator up his ass and it had all but sent him through the
ceiling. But nothing had ever felt like Daniel’s finger. Unlike Matthew’s
female lovers, Daniel knew just where to press, just how to manipulate Matt’s
resistant sheath for maximum pleasure.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Between the wet heat of Daniel’s
mouth on his dick and the irresistible thrust of his finger in his ass, Matthew
knew his orgasm was imminent. Daniel seemed to know too. He reached up with his
free hand and plucked the handkerchief from Matthew’s tuxedo pocket.

Matthew’s head snapped back as his hips slammed forward.
Never removing his probing finger, Daniel released Matthew’s dick with a wet
pop, quickly covering it with the stolen handkerchief. With a raw sound of
pleasure, Matthew exploded. He could feel every contraction in his balls, in
his ass, clamping against Daniel’s finger as Daniel caught his cum in his own
damn hanky.

When the convulsions eased, Daniel drew his finger out,
provoking a last shudder. Then he set about straightening his clothing as if
nothing had happened. When he realized Matthew was still standing there, breath
unsteady and pants unzipped, he patted his cheek.

“Zip up, Matty. The night’s not over. There’s still
networking to be done.”

Once both men were decent—or, in Daniel’s case, perfect—they
emerged into the glittering throng of charity-night attendees. Daniel nabbed
two champagne flutes from a passing waiter. Handing one to Matthew, he raised
his own in salute before draining it and decisively walking away.

* * * * *

Monday afternoon found Matthew making one of his rare visits
to the Worthington Group’s corporate offices. Marcus and Meredith generally
held down the fort, depending on Matthew to work on public relations and
community outreach.

He was sitting on the edge of Carrie’s desk, enjoying a
harmless flirtation with Marcus’ executive assistant, when Daniel strode into
the office. Matthew couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as Daniel shot Carrie a
warm and wicked smile before turning a noticeably cooler one on Matthew.

“So.” Matthew was torn between amusement and irritation.
From the look on his face, Daniel seemed the tiniest bit apprehensive about
what he was going to say. “What brings you to our fine establishment today?”
His back was to Carrie, and he rolled his eyes when Daniel visibly relaxed.

“Marc and I have a lunch meeting.” He glanced around. “I
take it he isn’t here yet?” His voice was all cool velvet, but Matthew kept
remembering the whip of command as Daniel had directed his orgasm.

Carrie nodded. “He had to check in with Meredith about the
construction bids, and then he said he had to stop and talk to the new head of
Personnel before he could leave.” Carrie smiled, and her pretty face seemed to
light with a glow Matthew couldn’t help appreciating. “You can wait in his
office, if you like.” She cast a mock-scolding look at Matthew, who was still
lounging on her desk. “Matt can keep you company so some of us can get some
work done.” Her sparkling eyes gave lie to her tart words.

“I can take a hint, sweetheart.” Matthew grinned down at
her. “Though it breaks my heart for you to send me away.” He clasped her hand
and dropped a dramatic kiss on her palm. “When, oh when, will you leave my
dictator of a brother and run away with me?” He produced a wounded look at her
sparkling laughter then glanced over at Daniel, who was watching them almost
warily.

“C’mon, Dan. I’ll keep you entertained until big brother
shows up.”

Daniel followed him silently into Marcus’ office and went to
stand by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Marcus had a view of the river,
breathtaking on a clear day, but the gray skies and dirty snow of late January
lent it a bleak air.

“So.” Matthew decided to take the bull by the horns. “You
look like you’re afraid I’m going to take out a full-page ad in the
Free
Press
announcing we sucked each other off.”

Daniel was surprised by Matthew’s bluntness but he didn’t
let it show. He also didn’t show his guilt—this was his best friend’s baby
brother, for fuck’s sake—or his unwilling arousal as Matthew sprawled across
the leather couch Marcus kept tilted toward the window.

“Matty—”

“That’s not my name.”

“All right,
Matt
, what happened Friday night was nice
but it was a one-time deal. I don’t do relationships, and I’m not going to make
my best friend’s little brother my fuck-buddy.”

For the first time Matthew’s eyes showed something more than
amusement and irritation.

“Daniel.” Suddenly Matthew didn’t look nearly as young and
naïve as he had just a moment before. “I told you Friday night, I know who and
what you are. I’m a big boy, and I’ve been choosing my own lovers for a good
ten years now.” His hazel eyes glowed almost green as they met Daniel’s.

“If you don’t want to fuck me, fine.” He gave a slight
smile. “I don’t lack for volunteers. But if you want to, and you’re not because
you’ve got the misconception I’m a child who doesn’t know what he’s getting
into, then that just makes you a coward.”

Daniel shot him his most vicious glare, but Matthew just
smiled again. Matthew always seemed to have a smile, a laugh, a joke. Joy
followed him like a fog.

“Or a fool,” he added, tucking his long wine-red hair behind
his ear.

Daniel glared harder.

“I don’t think you’re a coward
or
a fool. So, if you
decide you want to finish what we started Friday night…” Matthew winked and
unfolded from the couch, heading for the office door. “You know where to find
me.”

Matthew exited the office, leaving Daniel to stare,
nonplussed, at the door. He was absurdly relieved when Marcus arrived and he
could get his mind back on business.

Chapter Two

Six Months Later

Shannon Whitney was hot, sticky and achy. And she still
hadn’t completely unloaded the damn moving van. Heaving a sigh, she accepted
she was going to have to pay another day’s rental fee on her U-Haul, and
decided she would reward herself for a hard day’s work with a swim in the
glorious pool dominating the courtyard that was the centerpiece of the condo
complex.

Shannon would never have been able to afford such swanky
digs on her own, and sent a silent thank-you winging to her old college
roommate, who was currently spending a year in Germany as an Army reservist.
After changing into her black one-piece suit and grabbing a towel, she headed
out the door, making sure she had the key.

The pool was gorgeous and inviting, cool and blue and the
perfect remedy for her sweaty, miserable self. Dropping her towel on the first
chair she passed, Shannon took a breath and dived cleanly into the water,
feeling the grime and stress of the last several weeks peel away under the
chlorinated caress.

When she surfaced, blinking water from her eyes, the first
thing she saw was her towel, dangling in front of her. Attached to the towel
was a very male hand. Following the hand up, she discovered a muscular arm, a
round, hard-looking shoulder and finally a breathtakingly beautiful male face
surrounded by a fall of long, silky hair that was either black or red—with the
sun in her eyes she couldn’t really tell.

Pulling herself up onto the deck, she accepted the towel
with a smile. He was a truly edible man and she sincerely hoped he lived in the
complex. Every woman should have such eye candy at her fingertips every day.

“Welcome to the Villas.” Man, his voice was as good as his
face, and his face was as good as his body. And—
oh my God
—his body was
good enough to eat. Repeatedly. She’d been way too focused on work for way too
long. This man was clearly out of her league, but did that stop her from
creaming her bathing suit? Oh no. Not her.

“I’m Matt, the pool-side welcoming committee.” He had a
great smile, one that invited her to smile along with him. It was an invitation
she was helpless to refuse.

“I’m Shannon.” She was proud to hear her voice was steady.
She’d been half afraid it would emerge as a breathy croak.

“You’re Lisa’s roommate, right? The one who’s subletting
while she’s out of the country?” Shannon battled a brief mental picture of Matt
and Lisa, two perfect golden specimens tangled in the cool white satin sheets
she’d found on Lisa’s bed. It didn’t matter if Matt and Lisa had been lovers.
Lisa was gone and anyway, Shannon didn’t stand a chance with a demigod like
Matt.

“That would be me,” she answered. “I don’t know what I would
have done without Lisa. There’s no way I could afford a place like this on a
teacher’s salary, and I pretty much blew my savings with the move here.”

“A teacher, hmm? The move here from where?” Surprisingly, he
sounded as if he were really interested.

“Most recently? Texas. Originally, Georgia. Both warm
climates. I can hardly wait to experience my first snowfall!”

“Oh, you’ll get over that quick enough the first time you
have to dig your car out.” But he said it with that darn inviting smile. “So,
what exactly do you teach?” He’d lowered himself to sit by her on the side of
the pool, and their dangling legs brushed against each other in a move that
might have been accidental. Or maybe not.

“Elementary school. First grade this year.” Shannon felt a
brief spurt of excitement. Teaching in the Texas public school system had been
tough. She was excited to begin fresh in a school district with some money and
lots of community support. But right now the school year was six long weeks
away, and this gorgeous man was right next to her in the here and now.

Matt cocked his head to study her for a moment. “Yep, I can
totally see you teaching first grade. I bet you’re the best read-aloud teacher
ever.” He returned her smile with one of his own. “And I bet all the little
boys will have a huge crush on you.”

Shannon laughed at his silliness as he continued.

“So, I’ll have to get my request in early, before I have a
dozen or so competitors. Will you have dinner with me?”

The invitation caught her by surprise, and he seemed to
mistake her hesitation for refusal.

“Tell you what,” he said, sliding into the pool. “I’ll race
you across the pool and back, and the loser has to take the winner to dinner.”
He smiled so engagingly she found herself slipping into the water to join him
before she had time to think.

“It sounds to me like a win-win situation for you.” She laughed
up at him while clutching the edge of the pool.

“I guess it’s my job to make it a win-win situation for both
of us,” he replied before giving a brief countdown and taking off.

“Hey!” Shannon splashed after him, and they spent the next
hour frolicking in the water until neither could have said who won or lost the
race.

* * * * *

Matthew was sprawled on his oversized velour couch watching
football when the phone rang. He spared a brief moment to hope it might be his
hot little mermaid before looking at the caller ID. With a resigned sigh, he
answered.

“Meredith. Who died?” Because that would be the only reason
she would call him on a Sunday afternoon.

“Died? Matt, are you drunk?” She sounded distracted and
maybe a bit worried, but her voice lacked its normal icy bite.

“I’m kidding, Meri. What do you need?”

“Have you spoken with Marcus at all this weekend?” Now the
worry in her voice was completely clear. Something had happened to upset her.
“He took Carrie and went AWOL Friday afternoon, and then called me this morning
to say he’s taking some time off. He yelled at me.”

Now
Matthew
was worried too. Marcus never took time
off. Hadn’t even taken time off when that vicious viper of an ex-wife Karen had
raked them all over the coals. More than that, Marcus tended to treat Meredith
with kid gloves. He’d once told Matthew his divorce had hurt Meredith more than
it had hurt him, and Matthew knew he wouldn’t deliberately worry or upset her.
At least not without some sort of explanation.

“Well, what did he say?” There must be something going on.
Knowing Marcus, it had to do with the business, and knowing Meredith, she was
blowing things out of proportion.

“He didn’t say anything, Matt.” She blew out a sigh. “He
called this morning and told me to, and I quote, ‘tell Matty to get his ass
into the office. I’m not coming in.’ He’s not answering his phone, Matt. Not at
home or his cell.”

She paused for a moment, and he could almost picture her
pinching the bridge of her nose before taking a deep breath to continue.

“I’m not worried about the company. I, uh, we can handle
that.” Matthew wasn’t sure what surprised him more, her saying she wasn’t
worried about work or her including him in the equation. “But he didn’t sound
good. Didn’t sound like himself.”

“Okay.” Now it was Matt’s turn to think for a minute. “Okay,
obviously I’ll come in tomorrow and we can divvy up his appointments. I’ll keep
trying to get him on the phone, and I can go by his house too.” Not only was
she letting him take control of the situation, but he could almost feel her
relief over the phone, which was totally out of character for his control-freak
sister. “I’ll call you if I get him, and you do the same.”

Her agreement was subdued.

“It’ll be fine, Meri. Marcus is immortal.”

As he hung up the phone, Matthew just wished he believed his
own words.