Alex Page 3

  Yeah, like that would ever happen.

  Izzy eyed Alex shrewdly, the smile playing on her lips telling him she’d guessed the filthy thought he’d just had. Alex swallowed a groan.

  She is the devil.

  “Sleep, not sleep.” Izzy shrugged. “What happens between a husband and husband is their business.”

  Alex stifled a curse at the overt innuendo.

  “Right, I’ll be off, then.” Izzy picked up her bag and headed for the exit. “Have a nice night, you two!”

  Alex and Finn stared after her in the silence that followed.

  Finn spat in the sink, rinsed his mouth, and patted his chin dry with a towel. He frowned at his reflection in the mirror before turning and heading in the bedroom, still maddened at this latest plot twist in his great-aunt’s machinations.

  What the hell is Aunt Maggie thinking? What is sharing a bed with Alex going to achieve, exactly?

  Finn was pulling back the covers on the bed when the bedroom door opened.

  Alex padded into the room barefoot, his hair gleaming from his shower. He was using the bedroom next door to store his things and had changed into gray checkered pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt. He stopped when he saw Finn, his expression stiffening in the soft light of the lamps on the nightstands.

  He glanced at Finn’s bare chest and dark pajamas with a faint frown before looking pointedly at the side of the bed where Finn was standing.

  “I usually sleep on the left.”

  “So do I,” Finn said bluntly.

  A muscle jumped in Alex’s jawline. He raked a hand through his hair, something Finn was coming to realize the lawyer did when he was frustrated, and blew out a heavy sigh.

  “Fine,” Alex muttered testily. “Just keep to your side of the bed.”

  Finn raised an eyebrow. “What, scared I’m gonna jump you?”

  Alex blinked, surprise flaring in his pale eyes for an instant.

  Finn bit back a curse. What the hell’s gotten into me? Why am I taunting him?

  Alex recovered his composure and studied Finn with a scathing expression. “Newsflash. You’re not my type.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” Finn retorted.

  Alex stormed around Finn, yanked the covers back, climbed in his side of the bed, and turned his light off.

  Finn grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck before slowly doing the same.

  Silence descended inside the room.

  Finn stared at the glowing digits of the clock on his nightstand. He knew sleep would prove elusive tonight, just as it had every night for the last three years. He was still awake when Alex’s breathing finally slowed into the steady pattern of a deep sleep.

  Despite the distance that separated them, Finn was acutely conscious of the other man’s body heat where he lay a short reach away.

  Finn frowned as he recalled what Alex had said about Finn not being his type. He clenched his jaw and wondered if he was going crazy. Because, for one wild moment back there, he’d wanted to ask Alex what his type was.

  Chapter 5

  Damn it. I’m going stir crazy.

  Alex closed his laptop and pinched the bridge of his nose. He gazed blindly at the darkening forest beyond the deck, the sound of running water from the nearby creek soothing his frayed nerves.

  Bar Finn and his housekeeper, he hadn’t seen anyone in over a week. And he wasn’t sure if his interactions with Finn even counted as seeing the man. He was never there when Alex woke up and kept himself busy in his studio late into the night, so much so Alex didn’t even know when he came to bed. Except for the odd meals they shared, they’d barely exchanged a handful of words since their wedding.

  That had suited Alex fine for the first few days while he sorted out the mess Ryan had made of their firm in San Diego. Getting married wasn’t the only life changing decision he’d come to when he’d agreed to come to Twilight Falls. He was dissolving his business in San Diego and using his savings to start afresh, here in his hometown. It would be on a trial basis for six months, after which he would need to decide whether to stay permanently in Twilight Falls or to return to San Diego. As luck would have it, one of Wyatt’s friends was a local realtor and had emailed him particulars of places that had office space available to rent.

  Alex let out a rueful sigh. He’d become too much of a city boy in the time he’d been in San Diego. It would be a while before he got used to the slower pace of life in Twilight Falls again.

  Still, unlike a certain artist I know, it doesn’t mean I have to live like a hermit. Time to get out of here and check out the scenery.

  He put his stuff away, left a note for Finn, and rode the Triumph into town to grab an early dinner. He’d just set foot inside a quaint little Italian place when a familiar voice reached his ears.

  “Well, if it isn’t Alex Hancock.”

  Alex turned and spotted two men staring at him from where they sat sharing a meal near the back of the crowded room. He grimaced.

  Here we go.

  Hunter Thomson and Tristan Hart smiled at him faintly while he had a brief word with a waitress and made his way to their table.

  “That look of fake surprise really doesn’t suit you, Hunter,” Alex muttered, taking the spare seat. “Wyatt tattled, didn’t he?”

  Hunter’s smile widened. “Like a little girl. We played poker last night.”

  Alex turned to Tristan. “You thrashed their sorry asses?”

  Tristan arched an eyebrow. “Always.”

  Alex felt some of the tension that had been weighing on him for the last month drain away. It had been a while since he’d last seen Hunter and Tristan. Alex stifled a sigh.

  He was realizing once more just how much he’d missed the people he’d left behind when he’d moved to San Diego.

  Wyatt, Hunter, and Tristan were but half of the group of close childhood friends Alex had grown up with in Twilight Falls. They’d met when they were five, after Alex’s mom moved to town following his parents’ divorce in Florida. Had their kindergarten teacher realized that the snot-nosed, brash kids who’d gotten into a fistfight on their first day of school would go on to become Twilight Falls’ “Terrible Seven” and make the lives of their parents, teachers, and the town’s sheriff hell over the decade and a half that followed, she would have done more than just scold them.

  His friends’ gazes locked on the gleaming band on Alex’s ring finger.

  “Is there something you need to share with us?” Hunter said, his expression sobering.

  Alex rolled his wedding ring absent-mindedly around his finger. It felt just as strange now as it had on the day Finn had slipped it on his hand. True to form, Izzy had picked perfectly-sized wedding bands for the both of them.

  “How much did Wyatt tell you?”

  “Just that you got yourself into some kind of trouble and had to come home,” Tristan said in a serious voice.

  Home, huh?

  Alex looked out of the restaurant window and was surprised at how relaxed he felt being back in Twilight Falls, the antsy feeling he’d been experiencing all week fading fast.

  He suspected his restlessness had more to do with the man he was sharing a roof with than with how isolated the estate was.

  “So, you’re gonna tell us who the lucky guy is?” Hunter said, distracting Alex from his troubled thoughts.

  Alex met Hunter and Tristan’s stares steadily. All of his friends knew he was gay. And he wasn’t the only one in their group who was either.

  “No one you know.”

  Hunter and Tristan picked up on his stiff tone. They shared a guarded glance while the waitress came over with Alex’s water and took his order.

  “Just how much trouble are you in, Alex?” Hunter said quietly.

  Alex eyed the bottle of wine the two men were sharing. He was starting to wish he hadn’t brought his bike into town just so he could have the drink he badly needed right now.

  “Give or take, to the tune of half a million dollars,” he final
ly admitted in a low voice.

  Tristan choked on his wine.

  Hunter’s eyes widened. “Fuck me.”

  “No, thanks.” Alex grimaced. “I don’t think I could get hard for you.”

  A bark of laughter escaped Tristan as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. Several women in the room glanced over at their table, their admiring looks telling Alex they liked what they were seeing. Alex stifled a wry smile.

  If only they knew.

  “Sassy as always, I see,” Tristan said, his eyes twinkling warmly.

  “I’ll have you know I’m a stud in the bedroom,” Hunter stated with an arrogant half-smile.

  “Sure you are,” Alex drawled, enjoying their banter. “The answer’s still no, studman.”

  Tristan chuckled.

  Hunter leaned forward, elbows on the table and expression turning conspiratorial. “So, you’re sleeping with this guy?”

  Alex rolled his eyes hard at his friends. “What is this, the high-school locker room?”

  The pair of inquisitive gazes opposite him did not waver.

  Christ, these two are worse than the Spanish Inquisition.

  “We’re sleeping in the same bed,” Alex admitted grudgingly. “It’s part of the contract.”

  Hunter sucked in air.

  Tristan’s smile faded. “Contract?” His tone turned hard. “So, this is some kind of arranged gig? This guy paid you to marry him?”

  Alex hushed him and looked around nervously.

  No one appeared to have overheard them.

  He chewed the inside of his cheek as he studied his two friends. He couldn’t exactly deny that that was precisely what had happened.

  “Doesn’t sound to me like you’re sleeping with him though,” Hunter said curiously. “I take it that means sex isn’t part of the deal?”

  “It isn’t,” Alex murmured. “Izzy would never have proposed this arrangement to me otherwise.”

  Tristan groaned. “Christ, Izzy’s involved in this?”

  Hunter’s expression grew pained. “I should have guessed. That woman is a born trouble maker.”

  “Don’t be hard on her,“ Alex protested. “She really bailed me out this time.” He hesitated. “Besides, Finn’s straight, so you both can stop worrying about me.”

  Alex mulled over what he’d said to Hunter and Tristan as he rode his Triumph back up the mountain later that night. Finn was straight, so however attractive Alex found him, nothing was ever going to happen between them.

  And the sooner I accept that fact, the better.

  The house was dark when Alex crested the rise in the driveway.

  That’s strange. Finn must have gone to bed early.

  Alex rode down to the building and let himself inside. He was halfway to the stairs when a sound reached him. It had come from the direction of Finn’s studio.

  Oh. He’s still up.

  Alex hesitated, wondering whether he should go say hi. A grimace twisted his lips. He doubted Finn wanted his company, otherwise he wouldn’t be doing his damnedest to avoid him.

  Alex was about to make his way to their bedroom when a loud crash echoed from the other end of the house.

  Chapter 6

  Alex startled. He turned and bolted toward Finn’s studio, fear sending his pulse into the stratosphere. He reached the end of the corridor, yanked the studio door open, and dashed inside the giant glass box, only to stumble to an abrupt halt.

  Finn stood barefoot with his back to him in the middle of the room, the smashed pieces of a sculpture on the floor around him.

  Alex stepped toward him. “Hey, are you—”

  His words died in his throat when Finn turned to face him.

  The artist was holding a half empty bottle of whiskey casually in one hand. But it wasn’t the fact that he looked thoroughly wasted that stunned Alex.

  Instead, it was the tortured expression on the other man’s face and the self-hatred filling his eyes that made Alex draw a sharp breath. Alex glanced around and noted the mess inside the studio.

  It looked like a storm had swept over the place.

  What the hell happened here?

  He masked the nervous tension thrumming through him and met Finn’s stare.

  “Did you do that?” Alex indicated the broken sculpture.

  Finn brought the bottle of whiskey to his lips in a nonchalant gesture and swallowed a mouthful of liquor, his moody gaze focused unblinkingly on Alex.

  “What does it matter?”

  Alex frowned. It was becoming clear to him that whatever demons possessed Finn West had taken hold of him tonight and he’d decided to drown himself in alcohol to forget them.

  “You’re drunk.”

  A dispassionate chuckle left Finn’s lips. “Yeah, I am. What is it to you?” He arched an eyebrow, his expression disparaging. “You’re not my wife.”

  Anger flashed through Alex. He raised his chin challengingly.

  “No, I’m not your wife,” he retorted. “Quite frankly, I don’t think she’d be thrilled at your behavior if she were standing here right now.”

  Finn went deathly still. His eyes slowly darkened with fury.

  Alex bit his lip. Shit. That was obviously too close to home.

  Finn took a step toward him. Alex moved back reflexively.

  Finn narrowed his eyes and closed the distance between them in a flash.

  Alex was steeling himself for a punch when Finn grabbed his shoulder and walked him back forcefully to the closest wall. Alex gasped as he found himself trapped between a thick sheet of glass and the man towering over him.

  Finn placed the bottle of whiskey on a nearby worktop and took hold of Alex’s face in his callused hands. Goosebumps blasted across Alex’s skin at Finn’s heated touch. He gripped Finn’s wrists to wrench his arms away and was surprised at the other man’s strength when the latter resisted him.

  “You’re not my wife,” Finn repeated, slurring his words slightly.

  Alex swallowed, hyperaware of the tall, masculine body close to his. He could smell Finn’s cologne above the reek of whiskey on the other man’s breath.

  Damn. This is bad.

  Not seeing Finn for the last week had made Alex forget what a powerful impact the man he’d married could have on him this close up.

  “No,” Alex blurted out. “I’m your husband.”

  Finn stiffened at Alex’s retort. He lowered his gaze.

  Alex blinked. Wait, is he looking at—

  “Funny,” Finn murmured. He rubbed a slow thumb across Alex’s lower lip.

  Alex’s thoughts scattered to the four winds. His senses arrowed in on the shocking feeling of Finn’s intimate caress. He met Finn’s gaze, alarmed, and felt his stomach plummet.

  Finn’s eyes were feverish, dark pools threatening to swallow Alex in whatever madness had taken hold of him.

  “You sure don’t act like my husband.” With that, Finn lowered his head and took Alex’s mouth in a savage kiss.

  Alex gasped. What the—

  Finn took advantage of Alex’s parted lips and delved inside his mouth. Alex’s cock twitched. He made a small sound as Finn pushed a muscular thigh between his legs, spreading him wide open.

  This isn’t happening! Why is he—

  Heat ignited in Alex’s veins when Finn pressed into him, molding their bodies together just as he had their mouths, his hot gaze boring relentlessly into Alex’s dazed stare. Alex ignored the voice at the back of his head screaming that this was a bad idea and gave in to temptation. Eyes fluttering closed, he surrendered himself to Finn’s kiss and touch.

  A groan of approval echoed from Finn when he sensed Alex’s submission. He sucked on Alex’s lips and nipped Alex’s tongue with his teeth before wrapping his own hot flesh around Alex’s in a seductive move that had Alex weak at the knees.

  Desire swept over Alex, making him dizzy. He let go of Finn’s wrists and grabbed the back of Finn’s head, his fingers stabbing urgently through Finn’s thick hair. A feral sound rum
bled out of Finn’s chest at Alex’s desperate touch. The kiss went from savage, to slow and sultry.

  Alex’s dick hardened in an instant.

  Oh God.

  Finn was exploring his lips and mouth as if he was the finest dish he’d ever tasted, his breaths heavy and his touch fierce on Alex’s face.

  Alex moaned, powerless to stop his hips from punching forward and pressing his hot, hard length into Finn’s groin. It had been so long since he’d had sex and he knew he was close to self-combusting in the arms of the man who was devouring him as if his life depended on it.

  He blinked when something stiff nudged his thigh.

  The man, who by the feel of the erection digging into Alex, was just as aroused as he was.

  This startling realization had barely sunk into Alex’s dazed mind when Finn suddenly let go of his mouth. Alex grunted as the other man leaned heavily into him, pushing him against the glass wall. Finn’s head drooped into the crook of Alex’s neck, his hot breath sending a shiver racing through Alex.

  “Finn?” Alex mumbled. A soft snore reached his ears. He stared at the sleeping man in his arms, his heart thundering against his ribs and his dick doing painful press-ups behind his zipper. “Are you kidding me?!”

  Chapter 7

  Light stabbed through Finn’s eyelids. He flinched and shielded his eyes with a hand. Blinding pain gripped his temples in the next instant. It was followed by a wave of nausea. Finn groaned and lay still, sweat beading his forehead while he fought down the urge to throw up. It was a moment before he managed a shaky breath and carefully blinked his eyes open.

  Sun drenched trees filled his vision. Finn winced at the brightness and looked around slowly, the headache now a physical presence drilling through his skull.

  He was lying on a couch in the living room. Someone, Alex presumably, had laid a blanket over him. Finn’s gaze found the glass of water on the coffee table in front of him.

  The last thing he remembered was grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet in the dining room and heading inside his studio. Guilt stabbed through him. It was a habit he had fallen into lately: drinking to forget the past.