Love Was Not an Option Read online

  “You okay?” Nick asked, going to kneel beside him, the concern in his voice very real.

  “I…will be,” Greg managed to get out. “Damn…” He shot Nick a look. “You didn’t warn me about…” He gestured at the steep slope behind them as he eased back until he was sitting and began massaging his calf.

  “Here, let me,” Nick said sitting cross-legged in front of him. He lifted Greg’s leg onto his lap and set to work. “Charlie horse?” he asked when Greg let out a yelp of pain.

  “Charlie elephant,” Greg replied, biting down on his lip. Nick carefully worked on the knotted muscle until Greg sighed in relief, saying, “You’re good. I think I’ll keep you around in case it happens again.” He winked.

  Nick figured he was teasing, and so replied, “I have no problem with that, as long as the pay is adequate.”

  “I think I can come up with some sort of compensation.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, Greg turned red, ducking his head. “Forget I said that,” he muttered.

  Should I, or do I…? Nick took a deep breath. “Why? I think you were voicing what maybe we both feel. An attraction, perhaps only physical, perhaps more. Right?”

  Greg looked up, nodding. “I know I definitely find you interesting, even though I’ve only known you a short time, and mostly at work where you’re very, well stand-offish is the best way to put it.”

  “Because it is at work,” Nick replied. “I make it a policy not to let any personal feelings, beyond the normal concern for my employee’s lives, intervene. It’s not good business to do otherwise.”

  “Yeah. The boss messing around with one of his people would set a bad precedent,” Greg said with a rueful smile. “Have you…? Have there been times when you wished you could break that rule?”

  “Not until now,” Nick admitted, wondering what the hell he was doing. He’s human, Goddammit. Interesting, attractive, sexy…and human.

  “You’re not going to do anything about it, though, are you?” Greg said, getting to his feet. He hobbled for a step or two, then with a muttered “I’m fine,” waved Nick away when he joined him and offered his arm.

  “You didn’t give me time to answer,” Nick replied. “If we remain strictly businesslike when we’re at work, and if you’re willing to keep things casual and nothing more…”

  Greg grinned. “The dreaded friends with benefits?”

  “Would that be so bad?”

  After a moment’s thought, Greg shook his head. “It’s better than nothing.”

  “Then let’s give it a shot, but not until we get home.” Nick chuckled. “Which means you have to make it back down to your car, first.” He offered his arm again.

  Greg rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I’m quite capable of walking…and I emphasize walking, down the hill on my own. Running, however…”

  “Got it,” Nick said with a grin.

  By the time they made it to their cars, Greg was moving without limping. “Do we want to stop for something to eat?” he asked. “Well, after we’ve gone home and cleaned up. I don’t think people want two sweaty men sitting at the table next to them.”

  “Sure. Name the place.”

  Greg did. “It’s a decent restaurant and usually not too crowded on Sundays.”

  “I know the place. I’ll meet you there in, say, an hour?”

  “You’re on,” Greg replied.

  * * * *

  It took Nick a little more than an hour to show up at the restaurant as he lived across town from it. He arrived to find Greg sitting patiently on a bench belonging to the shop next door.

  Greg jumped to his feet, telling Nick, “I put my name on the list. We’re probably at the top of it by now.” He glanced pointedly at his watch, chortling when Nick flipped his off.

  They weren’t next, but they only had a five minute wait until the hostess called Greg’s name. She led them to a table for two along the side wall. The waitress appeared moments later with menus and a pot, asking if they wanted some coffee, and filling their cups when they nodded. She gave them a few minutes to decide what they wanted to eat before returning to take their orders.

  When she left, Nick and Greg sipped their coffees until Greg said, “The silence is deafening.”

  “It is, so…um…We already know all about our childhoods, from last time. I’m not in the mood to talk about work.”

  “Me, neither,” Greg agreed. “Books? Movies? Sports? Whose place we’re going to after we eat?”

  Nick snorted. “That went directly to the point. Yours is closer.”

  “How do you…? Oh, from my résumé.”

  “Yep.” Closer, and I won’t have to worry about his getting nosy. Not that there’s anything out in the open at my place for him to find, but still…

  “Sounds good to me. I even cleaned house yesterday,” Greg said. “But then I generally do on Saturdays.”

  “Don’t most bachelors?”

  “And everyone else, if they’re single, working stiffs, I think.”

  “Couples probably do, too, unless one of them is a stay at home parent.”

  Greg nodded. “That’s how it was in my family. The only household chore my folks did on Saturdays was going grocery shopping, dragging us along with them.”

  “Your poor parents.” Nick gave a mock shudder, then asked, “What kind of books do you like.” He wanted to change the subject before Greg asked about his parents. He’d already told him they weren’t around that much, but he didn’t want him remembering and asking why—especially since his mother not being around had to do with her sleeping habits—when she wasn’t traveling with his father, which happened fairly regularly. When they were home, he didn’t see her until after dark.

  “Books? Oh, those things made of paper with lots of pages.” Greg grinned. “Don’t look so horrified. I read. Quite a lot, actually.” He paused when the waitress arrived with their meals, continuing once she’d left. “I like true crime, some sci-fi, psychological suspense—”

  “Wouldn’t that be horror?” Nick asked before starting to eat.

  “No. More like ‘is he or she crazy, or is what’s happening really real.’”

  “Ah. Okay.”

  Greg took a bite before saying, “I also like the paranormal stuff with vampires and werewolves, though more when it’s movies. Damn, some of them can be pretty scary, or really bad.”

  “I don’t doubt it for a minute,” Nick replied. And they’re so off the mark it isn’t funny. But I’m not going to tell him that.

  They continued discussing films and TV shows they liked, or didn’t like, while they ate. As the meal ended, Nick realized they were talking less and looking at each other more. In his case, he was thinking about what was coming next. He had a feeling Greg was doing the same thing. Greg paid the bill, telling Nick when he protested that it was his turn, and they left.

  “I’ll see you in a few minutes at my place?” Greg asked when they got to their cars.

  “Barring a catastrophe, you will.” The fact that Greg had phrased it as a question made Nick wonder if he was having second thoughts—or was worried that Nick might be.

  He had figured Greg lived in an apartment, so he was surprised when the address turned out to be a small one-story house on a shady residential street. Greg’s car was already in the driveway, and he was standing on the front stoop when Nick pulled up to park in front.

  As soon as Nick joined him, Greg said, “If you want the honest truth, I’m suddenly very nervous.”

  Nick tried to lighten his tension by saying, “Not used to picking up strange men in restaurants?”

  “I think it was in a park, but I won’t quibble,” Greg replied with a small grin as he unlocked the door and led the way inside.

  “Very nice. Homey,” Nick commented, looking around the living room. It was done in shades of cream and beige, with a fireplace directly opposite the front door. An archway on one side of the room opened onto the dining room. Nick could see a fairly modern kitchen off it. On the o
ther side was a small hallway with two doors. One was open, letting him see the bedroom. He figured the other was the bathroom.

  “Would you like something? Coffee? Beer?” Greg asked.

  Instead of answering the question, Nick closed the distance between them to put his arms around Greg’s waist. “You know what I want. The same thing you do.”

  Greg nodded toward the open hallway door. “Us, in there.”

  “Got it in one. We can have coffee afterward.” He stepped back, taking Greg’s hand to lead him to the bedroom.

  Then they were undressing, stripping off clothes, leaving them where they fell before tumbling onto the bed, Nick on his knees straddling Greg. He growled softly as he looked down at him, “You’re one sexy man when you’re naked.” He ran his hands over Greg’s torso. “Very sexy,” he reiterated before tweaking his nipples. That elicited a gasp from his lover, followed by a low moan of desire when he wrapped his hand around Greg’s hardening cock. He slid down, intending to take it into his mouth.

  “Condoms,” Greg said, quickly opening the nightstand drawer.

  Nick almost said they didn’t need them, and stopped himself. They weren’t necessary, because of what he was, but Greg didn’t know that. Almost a fatal error. I’ve never even thought about doing it with a human without one. What makes him any different from the others? He wasn’t ready to think about the answer. Not then, when there were much more important things happening.

  He took the condoms when Greg handed them to him, sheathing them both. With that accomplished, he got back to what he wanted to do, which was work Greg into a frenzy before screwing him senseless. That brought up another question, which he asked after tormenting Greg’s cock with his lips and tongue until his lover was writhing under him.

  “I hope,” Nick said, keeping his fingers firmly locked around the base of Greg’s cock, “that you like to be fucked.”

  “Definitely,” Greg replied breathlessly as he grabbed the lube from the drawer.

  Nick released his hold, saying, “Don’t come without me,” while he spread some lube over his fingers and cock.

  “Wouldn’t think of it,” Greg replied with a mix of amusement and hunger. He got onto his knees, gripping the top of the headboard. When Nick pushed two fingers into him, Greg gasped. Seconds later he was moaning as Nick began stroking his sweet spot. “If you keep that up,” he managed to say, “I will come, and now.”

  “Oh, no, you won’t.” Nick wrapped his free hand around Greg’s cock. He tormented him for a few more seconds, savoring his needy groans which made his own cock harden even more than it was already. Pulling his fingers out, he pressed the head of his cock to Greg’s entrance. It took all his willpower not to thrust in rather than taking it slowly to let Greg get used to him. He felt Greg tense, knew he was hurting him, if only momentarily, and stopped to rub his back with a murmured, “Relax.”

  “Trying…to,” Greg replied, his knuckles whitening from the death-grip he had on the headboard.

  Nick carefully continued easing in until he was fully engulfed. For a brief moment, he was tempted to control Greg to help him relax and ease the pain of his intrusion. He might have if Greg hadn’t said, “Are you going to sleep back there?” There was laughter in his words, which clued Nick in that he was ready for him to do what they were there for, screw him fast and hard until they came. So he did.

  Nick rode the growing pleasure, knowing Greg felt it too as he moved in synch with him as if they’d done this a hundred times before. Suddenly, he felt Greg’s channel tighten around him. Then his lover came, with Nick following seconds later in an explosive orgasm that shook him to the core.

  They collapsed on the bed, bodies shuddering from the strength of their releases. Greg was the first to speak, once he regained his breath. “I thought it would be good, but damn, Nick.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty spectacular for a first time. I think, no, I know, we’ll be doing it again.”

  “If I have anything to say about it we will,” Greg agreed. “Not in the next ten minutes, but…”

  Nick laughed as he pulled out and rolled onto his back, looking at Greg. “Wore you out, huh?”

  “Pretty much.” Greg leaned on one elbow, gazing at Nick. “I’m not sure I have the energy to get up. And no, I did not mean that the way it sounded.” He stripped off his condom, and Nick’s, knotting them together. “Guess I have to though, to rid of these.”

  “I’ll do it,” Nick replied, taking them. He went down the hall to the bathroom, tossed them in the wastebasket, then called out, “Mind if I take a quick shower?”

  “Go for it.”

  Nick stepped into the shower stall and was about to close the door and turn on the water when Greg joined him. “I thought you didn’t have the energy to get out of bed,” Nick said with a grin.

  “I changed my mind?”

  They took turns washing each other, which led to them getting hard again, thanks in great part to Greg’s paying special attention to Nick’s cock. That, in turn, led to a second round of sex once they returned to the bedroom. When they’d recovered, Nick professed to be as surprised as Greg had said he was that they’d managed to do it again. In fact, being what he was, he would have had no problem with screwing Greg several more times before morning, given the chance. Greg proved to be an expert at foreplay, both in the shower and in bed.

  Nick didn’t suggest another round, however. Despite the fact it was only early evening, Greg looked exhausted. No wonder. Between our run, and the follow-up…Yeah, time to leave so he can get some sleep. “I’d better get out of here,” he said.

  “You can stay,” Greg protested. “We can toss together something to eat. I think I promised you coffee.”

  “Thanks, but no.” Nick brushed a strand of sweat-dampened hair off Greg’s forehead. “This was fun, but it really is time for me to leave.”

  “I think ‘fun’ is understating it,” Greg replied with a grin and a yawn. He watched Nick sleepily when he got up and began dressing, after a trip to the bathroom to get rid of their condoms. “Next weekend?”

  “I’m all for that,” Nick said. “Just remember—”

  “This is between us, as far as anyone at work is concerned. I get that.” Greg smiled but there was a trace of sourness in his words.

  “Sorry, but that’s the way it has to be,” Nick replied, sitting on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes. Then he gave Greg a hug. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “At the dreaded staff meeting.”

  Nick chuckled, getting up. “It’s not that bad.” He left the bedroom, and then the house, before Greg could reply, making certain the front door locked behind him. On the drive home, he wondered what he’d gotten himself into, because he couldn’t deny that his feelings for Greg involved more than having a sexual relationship with him. That frightened him. He’s human, damn it. I have to remember that. Keep it light, no involvement beyond the obvious. I can do it and if he starts to get…possessive, I’ll break it off. He wasn’t certain he could do that. For the first time in forever he’d met a man, a human no less, who had managed to break through his self-imposed barriers. He couldn’t explain the attraction he felt for Greg, but it was there, and he knew he couldn’t walk away.

  Chapter 7

  Nick and Greg spent the following two Sundays together, running at the park in the afternoons then getting something to eat before ending up in Greg’s bed for more amazing sex. Both times, Greg had suggested Nick stay the night. Nick declined, although it was tempting. He wouldn’t risk it, however. ‘Keep at arm’s length, except in bed’ had become his motto. He avoided as best he could any physical contact outside of that, accepting Greg’s hugs with a brief one in return but not instigating them.

  Three weeks after their run in the mountains, Greg hinted it might be time for him to see where Nick lived. “Right now,” he’d said a bit petulantly as they left the restaurant where they’d eaten supper, “I’m beginning to wonder if I’m the only man in
your life.”

  “Get that idea out of your head this instant,” Nick had replied. “I don’t juggle lovers. I never have, I never will.” For the first time, he initiated a hug in an attempt to sooth Greg’s worries. “Perhaps next weekend. At the moment my place is a pigsty. I had the best intentions of cleaning yesterday, but I made the mistake of turning on the movie channel for background noise, and…” He shrugged.

  Greg rolled his eyes. “You got caught up in a movie, then another one.”

  “Yeah. Very lazy of me but they were good ones.” He hoped Greg didn’t ask which ones, as he had no clue what had been showing. Greg didn’t.

  He dropped the subject of visiting Nick’s house, but Nick knew it would come up again sometime in the future. What harm would there be if we did go to my house for a change? All we do is make love. Have sex, he quickly amended. Two friends who do well in bed and enjoy each other’s company otherwise. There’s no love involved. It wasn’t an option, as far as he was concerned.

  The following Sunday Nick shocked the hell out of Greg, from the look on his face, by saying, “Tonight you get to see my home.” He was finally willing to let that happen because, even though he knew he being paranoid, he’d made certain that there was nothing around which might even remotely give a hint to his other life. He even put away the photos he had of his parents that they sent him each year when they visited New Orleans. Greg would have to be half blind not to see the banner behind them in the most recent one, announcing the 2017 Jazz Festival. Given that Nick’s parents looked as young as him, it would have raised questions Nick couldn’t have answered. There were others that also spoke to when they’d been in the city, always looking as if they were in their early thirties.

  Thankfully, he kept his supply of blood in a well-concealed refrigerator in the basement. Blood was something he rarely needed unless he was physically and mentally exhausted, at which point drinking a bag of it helped him decompress.

  As had become their habit, they’d spent Sunday afternoon running, then ate supper out. When they returned to their cars, Nick gave Greg his address.