Love Most Inconvenient Page 13

  Mark tore his eyes away as Dane put on his jeans. “You slept naked beside me.”

  “Yep. See, you missed your opportunity.”

  “I couldn’t do much with my hands tied.”

  “Next time I’ll leave one free.”

  “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t … you know.”

  “No, I don’t know.” He grinned. “Tell me.”

  “Fuck off, okay?”

  He laughed. “Okay. I’m hungry, Doc. Let’s eat.”

  “I don’t have my wallet. I left it…”

  “I have money. While you were snoozing, I stopped and got some.”

  “You stole it?” Mark went to splash water on his face.

  “No,” he replied. “Honest work, okay, Mr. Moral?”

  “I should take a shower.”

  “Go ahead. But hurry up.”

  Mark went into the bathroom. “This door doesn’t lock.”

  “Relax. I won’t come in.”

  Mark turned on the shower and pulled off his clothes. He got under the spray, pulled the see-through curtain across, and rinsed. There was no soap and no shampoo. “Hey, last of the big spenders,” he muttered, “there’s not any soap or—”

  “Here you go,” a voice said, handing him one of those little bars.

  “Hey, you’re not supposed to…” Mark stiffened.

  “I have my eyes closed.”

  “You do not.”

  “No, I do not.” Dane laughed. “In fact,” he opened up the curtain and grinned at Mark, “I’m not so tired today.”

  “What in hell does that mean?” Mark backed up against the tile, his heart pounding in his chest.

  Dane unzipped his jeans and took them down.

  Mark swallowed. “What are you…?”

  “I think you know,” he said, stepping into the shower. He pulled Mark up against him. “You don’t really like me, and hell, I really don’t like you either, but you’re certainly cute.” He grinned. “And I think you have a weakness for bad boys, Doc.” His arms tightened around Mark’s waist. “Kiss me. And if you don’t like it, I’ll leave you alone. Fair?”

  Fair? Nothing about this situation was fair. To have this big, handsome, muscular, naked hunk pressing him against the cool tiles, ordering him to tell him if he liked his kisses or not was unfair as hell!

  Dane’s mouth came down on his hard, tongue darting in between his teeth, engaging his own in a wicked dance. Mark’s hands came up and moved over the smooth muscles of his back and his biceps. God, he was such a hunk. The kiss deepened. He could feel his cock stiffen and brush against Dane’s erection. Suddenly, Dane released him. He pushed some of his wet hair back off his forehead.

  Mark was a little stunned. He let his gaze run the length of him, then settled back on his face.

  “So, what’s the verdict?” He smiled.

  “Verdict?” He was in a daze. “What verdict?” He licked his lip. “Fuck the verdict!” He grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed Dane against the tiles. He kissed him again, hard, one hand on his chest, the other reaching down between his thighs to fondle his erection.

  Mark’s mouth moved down Dane’s jaw to his chest. Dane murmured, “I guess you liked it.”

  Mark let his tongue move over one of Dane’s nipples. He circled it, laved it, nibbled it a little, while he stroked his cock.

  Dane placed a hand on Mark’s ass, fingers curving into his crevice, finding his entrance.

  Mark moaned a little as Dane’s finger found its way up inside of him. He pushed his finger in and out of him until Mark begged for mercy. Dane smiled at him. “Come on,” he said, turning off the shower. He took Mark’s hand and led him to the bed. Without warning, he took Mark by the shoulders and pushed him onto the bed, face first. He grabbed his hips and lifted them, spreading Mark’s ass cheeks, then he replaced his fingers with his tongue. Mark gasped. No one had ever rimmed him before. The things this man was doing with his tongue were not to be described.

  Mark cried out. Dane flipped him over and pinned his arms above his head. He kissed him hotly, licking down the length of his chest. Mark left his arms in place, allowing Dane to lick and taste him. When he took his cock into his mouth, Mark had all he could do not to come. He held on as long as he could, and just when he got to the brink, Dane rolled a condom onto his cock.

  “Hey,” Mark gasped, “where in hell did you get that?”

  “I told you I made a stop.”

  “And you assumed that…?”

  “Shut up, will ya?” Dane grinned as he began to ease his cock inside of him.

  Mark closed his eyes, licking his lips, feeling the sensation of being truly fucked, at first gentle, then Dane let out all the stops. Mark felt his teeth rattle in his head, his cock shooting in the air. It was like the goddamned Fourth of July.

  Dane smiled down at him, lowering Mark’s legs. Mark reached up and touched his face. What a beautiful face, none of that arrogance apparent now, just a sweet, almost humble smile. Who was this beautiful stranger? No. Suddenly he didn’t even want to know. All he could do was stare up at him with wonder, his entire body aching to have him inside of him again.

  Mark caressed his hair, his gaze settling on his mouth. He wanted to kiss him. Dane moved down on top of him, his breathing somewhat labored. His chest was wet with sweat. “Um,” he murmured. “That was good. That was so damn good.”

  Mark closed his eyes. “No argument from me,” he whispered, letting his hands move over Dane’s back and down to his ass. “You have an incredible body.”

  “You too,” he replied. “Great ass.”

  Mark laughed a little, holding him closer. Dane met his gaze. And as if he read his mind, he gently kissed his mouth. Mark’s heartbeat sped up. Dane kissed him again, the kiss a little deeper, more passionate, and Mark rolled him over on the bed. He looked down at him and smiled. “I think I like this.”

  “Good, want to do it again?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Mark laughed and then he nodded.

  They made love quite frantically, and then slept for a little while.

  Chapter Five

  Dane shook him awake a few hours later. “We have to go,” he said. “It’s almost noon. I didn’t expect to…”

  Mark felt a little embarrassed all of a sudden. Oh God, what had he done? He jumped off the bed. “Yes, well, let’s go.”

  “I’m hungry,” Dane said.

  A few minutes later, they were out the door. Mark didn’t say anything until they reached the diner on the side of the road. They quietly ordered breakfast, and Dane sipped his coffee.

  Mark stared out the window. It had started to rain. He wasn’t sure where in the hell they’d end up. He glanced over at Dane. God, being with him like that had been incredible. But he couldn’t lose his head. This man was a criminal. He’d spent his entire life trying to stay clear of these types of people. He couldn’t let anything like that happen again.

  In the car, he said, “I need to call my practise.”

  “You’ll be back soon.”

  “Dane. We need to discuss what happened. It can’t happen again. It was a one-time thing.”

  “Technically, it was twice, but okay,” he said, turning on the windshield wipers.

  “Okay? That’s it?”

  “What do you want me to say, Mark? You don’t want it to happen again? If you say no, well, I can’t very well fuck myself, although you might tell me to do that.”

  Mark tried not to laugh. “You know what I mean. Aren’t you going to protest?”

  “Do you want me to?” He glanced at him.

  “Yes, God damn it.”

  “So you can tell me to screw off? You’re weird.”

  “It didn’t mean shit to you.”

  “What did it mean to you?”

  “Ah … nothing.”

  “There you go,” he said. “So, let’s not talk about it.”

  “Suits me. Where in hell are we going?”

  “I told you, to find Charlie. If I fi
nd Charlie, I’ll let you go.”

  “In Boston?”

  “No, I’ll take you home.”

  “What a fucking gentleman. Then you’ll get arrested.”

  “I’m not going to get arrested.”

  “You’re going to run then?”

  “I’m not going to run either.”

  “You’ve committed a crime.”

  “No, I haven’t.” He looked at him. “Mark, I’m a cop.”

  Mark looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “A cop? Is this your newest delusion?”

  “It’s not a delusion. I was working undercover when you grabbed me. I was this close to solving a crime, but you scared Hawkins off. I didn’t get your sister’s boyfriend. So, he got your brother, and you got me.”

  Mark blinked. “Undercover?”

  “You got it.”

  Mark laughed.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “Look, there’s a hell of a lot of guys who walk around thinking they’re cops. It’s a real problem.”

  Dane shook his head. “Mark! Can you please believe me one fucking time? I told you I wasn’t that Hawkins guy. Am I Hawkins?”

  “No. Okay, I made a mistake, but Hawkins accused you of stealing stuff and—”

  “Yes, because I’m undercover.” He sighed. “How can I make you believe me?”

  “Okay, what’s a police officer’s oath?”

  “This is ridiculous. To serve and protect.”

  “You can read that off of any police car.”

  “I’ll stop the car right now. Call my mother.”

  “Your mother?”

  “I do have a mother.”

  “It could be a setup. You could have a fake mother.”

  “Jesus, Mark.” He glared at him. “Give me a break. I’ve never gone that far to get a fuck before.”

  “So”—Mark gave him a suspicious look—“why are you holding on to me? Why can’t I just go home?”

  “You could be in danger. What if Frankie didn’t pay up and Hawkins came after you? I was protecting you. When we get to Boston, I’ll get you home. Then I’ll find Charlie, and see if I can salvage this case.”

  “Then that means you might not be a criminal? That’s good.”

  Dane looked at him. “‘Might not be’? Anyway, does that mean you might like me a little?”

  Mark laughed. He reached over and placed a hand on his. “Yeah. That means I might like you a little.”

  Dane grinned.

  Mark removed his hand. He fell asleep before they reached Boston. When he woke up, they were surrounded by cop cars. Dane was standing outside the car, talking to the police.

  Mark got out of the car.

  Dane walked over to him. “They’ll take care of you,” he said, indicating the police cars. “They’ll make sure you get home.”

  Mark followed. “You are a cop.”

  “Yep.”

  “My brother?”

  “He’s being held for questioning in New York. He’ll be all right. They’re going to pick up Hawkins now.”

  Mark reached out and clutched his arm. “And what about you?”

  “I’m going after Charlie.”

  “Be careful.”

  Dane smiled at him and walked away. It dawned on Mark a few minutes after Dane had disappeared from his view that he hadn’t asked him if he’d ever see him again.

  * * * *

  A week later, things had pretty much returned to normal, as much as things could be normal in his crazy family. Mark was back at his clinic. Hawkins’ restaurant was up for sale, and Christopher Hawkins was awaiting trial. Frankie was scheduled to be a key witness for the prosecution.

  On the third Sunday of the month, two weeks later, Mark went to his parents’ house, as usual. Julie met him at the front door. “Hey, bro,” she said.

  “How are you, Julie? How’s everyone?” he asked. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He missed Dane. He found himself thinking about him all the time. Was he safe? Would he ever see him again?

  “It’s tense, what with Frankie in trouble again,” Julie said.

  “He was lucky this time. How do you feel about Christopher and what happened?”

  “He was no good.” She shrugged. “Oh, and by the way, no baby,” she mouthed.

  “No baby?”

  “It was false, the results. I took another test and … I got my period.”

  Mark didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. All of this, for nothing. At that moment, his mother came into the hallway and hugged him. “Come, there’s lots of food,” she said. Wasn’t there always lots of food?

  Frankie was quiet throughout the meal. His father talked about the ball game, and mother was just mother, going on about the neighbors and how they could use a good doctor.

  At seven o’clock, he was back in his empty apartment across town and glad to be there. He had a dream about Dane, that he was kissing him. He woke up with the taste of him on his mouth.

  * * * *

  First thing Monday morning, he had an emergency, a dog with a broken leg, and a cat who’d slugged it out with a raccoon. He was ready to call it a day by three when his receptionist popped her head in the door of his examining room. “Got room for one more?”

  “Is it an emergency?”

  “I … well, I don’t know. He doesn’t have an animal. Says he needs to see you.”

  “He?”

  “Oh, definitely a he,” she smiled, then waved her hand in front of her face like a fan, “gorgeous.”

  “Ah, okay, send him in.” Dare he hope? Dane definitely fit the definition of gorgeous. He held his breath until the door opened.

  Dane smiled at him. “Hi, Doc,” he said, walking in.

  Mark swallowed. He’d missed him so much. “Hello.” He cleared his throat. “What can I do for you?”

  “Oh, lots of things.” He grinned.

  “Do you have an animal with you?” He tried not to look too enthusiastic, but he couldn’t stop smiling.

  “I’m thinking about getting one. Will I be able to book regular appointments with you if I get a … let’s say, a goldfish?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Mark laughed. “Well, I don’t usually do goldfish.”

  “What about lonely cops with a name that sounds like a dog’s?” He closed the door behind him and moved closer.

  “Maybe. What’s your name again?”

  He held out his hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dane, Dane Fitzgerald. You spell that D-a-n-e.”

  “Mark Merchant.” He took his hand and as he did, Dane pulled him forward.

  “I want to kiss you, Doc Merchant. Is that allowed in here?”

  “Definitely, Detective,” Mark murmured against his mouth.

  Dane drew him closer, kissed him tenderly, then released him.

  “What? Why’d you stop?” Mark asked.

  “I’ll be back,” he said coyly. “I’ve got to go and buy that goldfish.”

  Mark pulled Dane back into his arms, running his hands over his delicious biceps. “Plenty of time for goldfish later; right now, I’m in desperate need of a cop.”

  “You did break the law a while back,” he mused.

  Mark pulled closer. “You’re right. I do need to pay for my crime. Let’s get out of here, shall we? You can punish me.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “How about the cabin? I have fond memories of being up there with you half naked.”

  “Are you going to tie me up again?” Dane kissed his forehead and gazed deep into his eyes.

  “Definitely.”

  Dane backed away, fished in the pocket of his jeans, and threw him the keys. “This time, baby,” he said with a wink, “you drive.”

  The End

  About the Author:

  D.J. Manly is first and foremost a writer, but is also a college professor, a small business operator, and a sociologist who works as a consultant on research projects. D.J. is a proud Canadian who lives in French
Canada, and is fluent in both English and French. Human rights are a great concern, and D.J. longs for a peaceful world free of sexism, racism, and homophobia.

  D.J. writes for the pure love of writing, and always with the reader in mind. If D.J. doesn't enjoy reading it, it won't be written. Great characters, great sex, and a great love are the elements you'll find in D.J's work.

  There is nothing quite as exciting as beautiful men falling in love. Come taste D.J's work, but be careful—you may become as addicted to reading it as D.J. is to writing it. One reviewer wrote that reading D.J. can give you "third degree burns in an air conditioned room." That says it all.

  E-mail D.J. any time with questions or comments. Visit D.J. online at www.djmanly.com