Kiss Me Read online

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  He grabbed the cuffs by the door and led Mal out of the small room, but before they went off in separate directions, Alejandro clasped Mal’s hand and drew him close.

  “I’m really looking forward to it,” he murmured. Then Mal felt those same perfect lips brush below his ear, lingering for half a second too long.

  Mal’s pulse spiked and he could barely choke out a, “Me, too,” before Alejandro left. His cock was hard and his skin felt too tight. For a moment, Mal was worried. If Alejandro could have this sort of effect on him after only an hour and brief contact, how on Earth was he going to survive an entire date?

  Chapter 2

  Alejandro was nervous.

  It had been months since he’d had a date, even longer since he’d bothered to ask anybody out. When he was on set, he knew what was expected of him, but that was acting, that wasn’t really him. Or at least, it wasn’t completely him. This, this was something totally different, and he’d been attracted to Mal Donnelly for too long to fuck it up at this point.

  He’d changed clothes four times by the time seven came rolling around. He’d even called Bonita twice to get her opinion.

  “Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to be looking at your clothes,” she’d chastised the second time.

  He’d hung up then. She probably had a point, but he had high hopes that Mal might not be as superficial as a lot of the guys he met.

  Alejandro knew he was good looking, knew that the care he took with his body didn’t go unnoticed. It was his livelihood, after all, but that didn’t mean that was all he was. What he liked about Mal—other than the puppy dog eyes and the shy smile and his soft, southern accent—was that Mal didn’t treat him like most men he met. They’d flirted, sure, but they’d talked as well. And the fact that Mal could transform a Groucho Marx into a Johnny Hazzard with just a little bit of film and lighting was sheer brilliance.

  When Alejandro thought about what else Mal’s hands might be able to do, he just wanted to get down on his hands and knees, and say, “Yes, please.”

  In the end, he settled for black slacks and a white shirt. Untucked. With the collar open. And he pulled his hair off his face, though he left the back free.

  He wasn’t stupid, after all. If there was one thing he knew, it was how to look good.

  At two minutes to seven, a knock came at his apartment door. Taking a deep breath, Alejandro wiped his hands on his pants and crossed to open it.

  Mal was wearing black jeans and a black shirt. His red hair was still damp and combed off his forehead, and his light brown eyes were smiling. His gaze moved down and up Alejandro’s body, and the shy smile Alejandro liked so much touched his lips.

  “Wow,” Mal greeted. “You look…great.”

  He was very glad he’d chosen loose slacks. His cock was already perking up at the appreciation in Mal’s eyes.

  “So do you.” He held the door open wider. “Did you want to come in for a drink before we go? Or we could get something at Bonita’s. She’s got an excellent wine list.”

  “I think a drink sounds good right now.” He sighed as he passed Alejandro and entered the apartment. “I’ve had a long day.”

  “What happened?” He gestured for Mal to sit while he went into the kitchen. “Do you like red wine?” he called out. “Or I’ve got beer. Brandy.” He opened the cupboard. “Wait, no brandy.”

  “Wine is good.”

  Mal waited until Alejandro returned, carrying the bottle of wine and two glasses, before answering his other question.

  “I had a really simple shoot this morning. Shouldn’t have taken any more than thirty minutes. It’s not even a job I would usually take, but I did it for a friend. Because of the rain this morning, thirty minutes became about three and a half hours. Which threw off the rest of my day.” Mal smiled slightly as he accepted the glass from Alejandro. “Honestly, thinking about tonight was the only thing that got me through it all.”

  They sat down next to each other on the couch. After setting the bottle on the coffee table, Alejandro angled his body toward Mal in order to better drink him in.

  “I’ve been looking forward to this all day, too.” He held up his glass. “To new friendships.”

  Mal touched the rip of his glass to Alejandro’s. “To new friendships.” He sipped the wine with a look of satisfaction. “This is really good. What is it?”

  “A pinot I got on a shoot in Washington.” He watched Mal catch a drop at the corner of his mouth. “I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”

  Mal got that surprised, pleased look on his face. The one Alejandro liked almost as much as his shy smile. “This is a special occasion?”

  “It is for me.” He ducked his lashes and sipped at his wine, suddenly embarrassed at how needy he must look to the other man. “I guess it remains to be seen whether or not it is for you, too.”

  “No. It already seems like one to me, too. I guess I’m just…still surprised.”

  “Why? Not because I asked you out.”

  Mal snorted. “Yes, because you asked me out. I don’t know what you’re accustomed to, but you…well, guys like you typically seem out of my league.”

  “Because of my movies?” Alejandro waved a hand in dismissal. “Forget that shit. None of that’s real anyway.”

  “Not because of your movies. Well, not just because of your movies. I mean, you’re gorgeous.” Mal smiled. “You appreciate my obvious talent. And, judging from the wine and your apartment, my talent isn’t the only thing you appreciate.”

  “So I like nice things.” He set down his glass and edged a little closer. “Why does that mean I can’t like the way you smile? Or notice how strong your hands are?” Before Mal could protest, Alejandro reached out and captured the one not holding the wine. He spread the fingers out, then caressed the back of them, lingering for a moment on the firm knuckles. “You sell yourself short. I would never have asked you out if I didn’t want to spend time with you.”

  Mal watched Alejandro’s fingers as they continued to move across the back of his hand. “I can’t help but believe you when you touch me like that.”

  “I guess that means I shouldn’t stop, or you’ll walk out on our date.”

  “I don’t think I’ll walk out, but maybe it’s best not to risk it.”

  With a smile, Alejandro laced their fingers together, dropping their hands to rest between them. “It’ll be awfully hard to drive like this,” he teased.

  “I have an automatic. I can drive with one hand. But…if you’re worried about my ability to drive like this, I don’t mind staying in.”

  Bonita was expecting them, but after all his nervous calls to her that day, he didn’t think she would be surprised if he didn’t show up. And he rather liked the idea of having a quiet night in. It told him a lot about Mal; it said he wasn’t interested in parading Alejandro like a trophy.

  “I think I’d like that,” Mal said softly. “A lot. Not that I’m not looking forward to eating at Bonita’s. I am. But…” He brought their linked hands up to his face and brushed his lips across Alejandro’s knuckles. “I’d like to keep you to myself, too.”

  His cock jerked at the slight contact. “You know, if you brought that poetry, I’m pretty much a goner here.”

  “Damn. I left the poetry and the portfolio at home.” He kept his mouth close to Alejandro’s hand, letting his lips brush against the skin as he spoke. “Do you do anything like that? Anything creative?”

  His answer came automatically, though his gaze was riveted by the sight of Mal’s lips on his skin. “I draw a little bit, but nothing serious.”

  “What do you draw?” Mal’s breath was impossibly warm. “People? Still life? Landscapes?”

  “People. Parts of them, at least. Hands. Ears. Mouths.” He had to swallow. His throat had never felt so dry before. “I’m not good at putting them all together.”

  Mal’s mouth traveled farther down Alejandro’s hand. “Whe
n I first started taking photos, I stuck with pictures of my dog, Sparky. I think he was the most photographed dog of all time.” He slid over on the couch, closing the inches between them. “Can I see your sketches…later?”

  On a set, it would have been the perfect segue into sex, and Alejandro would have dropped to his knees, pulled out the guy’s package, and gone to town.

  This wasn’t a set. But that didn’t mean every inch of him wasn’t aching to climb between Mal’s legs and devour everywhere his mouth could reach.

  He settled for lifting his free hand and skimming a fingertip across Mal’s lower lip. “I’m really not very good,” he repeated.

  Mal caught his finger between his lips, and his tongue darted out to lick the tip before he released him. He set his glass of wine on the coffee table, then ran his free hand up Alejandro’s arm. “Trust me. Nothing you draw can be worse than Sparky: A Study in Black and White, Part Two. But if you’d rather not, I’ll understand.”

  He would, too. That was part of what Alejandro liked about Mal. That, and the sinuous glide of his palm over Alejandro’s biceps. Even though his shirt was lightweight, beads of sweat were already beginning to drip down the back of his collar, made worse by the obvious bulge in Mal’s crotch. He felt like he was going to jump out of his own skin, and all Mal had done was touch him. What would it be like if they were in bed? Skin to skin. Cock to cock. His legs wrapped around Mal’s hips as Mal slowly pumped in and out of his ass.

  He shuddered at the imagery. The darkening of Mal’s eyes said that the tremor had not gone unnoticed.

  “We should probably order some dinner, if we’re going to stay in,” Alejandro said in a vain attempt to regain control.

  Mal nodded, though he didn’t release Alejandro’s hand right away, and Alejandro didn’t really want him to. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular?”

  You.

  “Your choice. I’m the one depriving you of Bonita’s cooking, after all.”

  “I could be happy with pizza, actually. It’s the perfect food, if you think about it.”

  Alejandro rose from the couch, grateful for the distraction. “There’s a great place around the corner. They do a stuffed crust that melts in your mouth.”

  Mal lifted his abandoned glass and finished the wine before muttering, “That sounds perfect, then.”

  He dialed the number from memory. When he hung up, Alejandro wasn’t entirely sure what he had ordered, but his body wasn’t raging anymore, his heart back at a normal pace. He turned back to see Mal wandering around the perimeter of the room, head tilted as he looked at the CD and DVD collection that took up a major part of the wall.

  “Did you want to watch something? We’ve got time before the pizza gets here.”

  “I don’t think I could focus on a movie or anything right now. But…” He plucked a slim CD case from the shelf. “Can we listen to this?”

  His mouth curved. “Robert Johnson? Absolutely.” He was already humming under his breath by the time he reached the CD player. “This is one of my favorites.”

  The whiney, scratchy blues guitar filled the room, bringing a fresh smile to Mal’s face. “It’s one of my favorites, too, but I think I lost it somewhere between Virginia and Los Angeles.”

  “Is that where you’re originally from?”

  “Yep. When I was eighteen, I took all the money I saved for college and invested it in some professional gear. Then I took all the money my parents saved for college and moved out here.” As Mal spoke, he drifted closer to Alejandro, until he was standing within kissing distance. “My parents were less than thrilled, as you can imagine.”

  “That explains the accent then.”

  It didn’t explain why his erection returned with a vengeance, though, or why his mouth watered at the scent of Mal’s musky cologne. Unbidden, his tongue darted out to moisten his lower lip, but when Mal’s gaze dropped to follow the motion, Alejandro almost groaned.

  “You’re not still surprised I asked you out, are you?” he asked, his voice hushed and rough.

  Mal shook his head slowly. “No, not really. But I will be surprised if I can keep my hands to myself for much longer.”

  Alejandro took a long, jagged breath. “I don’t remember telling you that you had to.”

  “I didn’t want to presume,” Mal murmured before closing the space between them completely. His body fit almost perfectly against Alejandro’s larger form, and when Mal tilted his head up, Alejandro expected a kiss. But Mal seemed to change his mind at the last moment, his mouth going to Alejandro’s jaw instead of his lips.

  His lashes fluttered shut, and his hands reached out to grip Mal’s hips. The soft sensation of lips skimming just out of reach of his own sent a shiver down his spine, and Alejandro turned his head in order to touch the tip of his tongue to the curve of Mal’s ear.

  “I really do like your smile,” he breathed. “But I’m starting to think it’s everything about your mouth that I’ve been crushing on.”

  He felt that smile against his skin, and it was almost better than a kiss. “I’ve been crushing on everything about you. Since the first time I took your picture. You probably don’t even remember that.”

  It was Alejandro’s turn to smile. “Six months ago. The promo shoot for Gold Diggers.” He caught the lobe between his teeth and bit lightly. “You blushed when I got on my hands and knees to pretend to blow Lex. I spent the rest of the day wondering what your cock looked like.”

  Mal caught his breath. “I had to ask Bo for a copy of that movie after that shoot, and I fast-forwarded through all the parts that didn’t have you. Is it weird for me to admit that?”

  He pulled back, his eyes searching the other man’s. “Is that why you’re here? For some wish fulfillment thing?” God, he hoped that wasn’t the entire reason. “Because I really like you, Mal. Spending time with you was about more than just fucking.”

  “I like you, too.” He reached up and brushed the back of his fingers across Alejandro’s cheek. “I don’t…if this was just a fantasy thing, I would have stuck with the movies and my fantasies. I want to spend time with you.”

  Relief flooded through him. Unable to resist, Alejandro turned his head and nipped at Mal’s strong fingers, his tongue darting out to taste the salty skin. “Good. I know it’s stupid, but…” He shook his head, grabbing Mal’s hand to drag him back to the couch. “Never mind. I’m just glad we’re both on the same page.”

  As soon as they were settled on the couch, Mal’s mouth went back to Alejandro’s neck and jaw. “It’s not stupid. I guess that sort of thing has probably happened before.”

  Too often for him to count. But now, Alejandro just wanted to concentrate on the hungry caresses of Mal’s lips, the way his tongue licked beneath his chin, his teeth caught at his stubble. Leaning back, he pulled Mal to stretch out atop him, bearing his weight at the same time he sank beneath the arousing warmth.

  “So is this a danger of your trade, too?” Alejandro smoothed his hands up and down Mal’s back, more tightly muscled than he’d imagined. “You get actors hitting on you all the time?”

  “I wouldn’t say all the time. I’ve been invited to a few dressing rooms after a shoot.” Mal’s mouth moved up his jaw, closer and closer to Alejandro’s lips. “None of them wanted me to just keep them company.”

  “I like your company.” He liked a lot about Mal. “I’m glad we were selfish tonight.”

  “Me, too. Besides, it would be awkward if everybody saw that I’m more interested in tasting you than the food.”

  Alejandro chuckled, but the sound was trapped when Mal finally skimmed over his mouth. His cock throbbed at the faint trace of Mal’s tongue, but he steeled himself against begging for more by slipping a finger inside the waistband of Mal’s jeans and stroking the line of his pelvis.

  Mal moaned softly at the contact, and slid the tip of his tongue over Alejandro’s lower lip again. Mal teased him like that again and again, his heart pounding harder with each
slow swipe. Alejandro thought he would break first, but it was Mal who groaned and pushed for more, claiming Alejandro’s mouth.

  His head spun. It had been a long time since he’d kissed someone for the sheer pleasure of kissing him, without strings, without an audience. It had been even longer since that someone had made Alejandro want to crawl on hands and knees to service him, again and again and again, until they both dripped in sweat and come, too spent to do anything but collapse against each other.

  The untapped potential with Mal made him sigh into the kisses, his fingertips digging into Mal’s hip.

  Mal shifted against him, grinding his erection against Alejandro’s. Alejandro’s pants were loose, but they still felt much too tight. Mal’s mouth was firm yet soft, and he controlled the kiss, holding himself back. He cupped the back of Alejandro’s neck with one hand, and put the other flat on his shoulder, curling his fingers into his shirt. When he finally broke away for air, his eyes were shining, and his lips were already a little swollen. He studied Alejandro’s face for a moment, then lowered his head again.

  How long they remained like that, mouth to mouth, cock to cock, Alejandro had no idea. It was impossible to keep track when it felt like his skin was going to combust, his chest explode. Every time he gasped for breath, Mal came back, sucking away even more as his expert tongue tangled with Alejandro’s.

  Only the sharp knock at his door was enough to jolt him from the blissful caresses.

  “Pizza’s here,” he rasped.

  Mal didn’t move. “I don’t care.”

  Protest was cut off by another kiss. Harder. More insistent.

  So was the next knock.

  “I need to get that.”

  Mal sighed, but he didn’t argue again. He pushed himself off Alejandro’s body and held his hand out to pull Alejandro to his feet. “I’m not really hungry.”

  Neither was Alejandro, but making out to Robert Johnson wasn’t how he’d really wanted to spend the evening. At least not entirely.

  “You can look at my sketches while we eat,” he said. Pulling out his wallet, he went the long way around the couch in an attempt to keep his hands off of Mal even more. “They’ll probably look better with cheese dripping on them anyway.”