Page 44 of The Intimacy of Skin

Crew was late and it made me itch. He was working a half-day, but his time should’ve started twenty minutes ago. I knew he had an appointment, though he didn’t tell me what for. Hopefully, it just ran late, and he was fine.

But he wasn’t answering my texts, which only worried me further.

Heaving myself out of my office chair, I walked into the kitchen.

Tobias was cleaning the grill, and Callum was standing beside him, no doubt talking the poor guy’s ear off.

I loved it when they had fun at work. It made the environment enjoyable, which brought up morale.

Unfortunately, Layla was slacking off too and they had a lot of shit to do.

More unfortunately, I was their boss, so I had to make sure they got shit done.

I hefted my clipboard onto the metal table closest to me, a loud clang echoing through the room and disrupting them.

“All right! I know you guys had so much fun with Brandt while I was sick, and I’m sure you feel like you can actually breathe now that I’m back, but we have work to do.

Let’s go, let’s go!” I clapped my hands together, ignoring my staff’s groans of protest.

When I got in this morning, I had a new asshole torn into me by Brandt-The-Rant himself. It was long and insufferable. All he told me was that shit was behind that he could’ve done himself but chose not to.

A pattering of feet came from behind me. Expecting Brandt, I steeled myself before turning around, only to see Crew standing there, looking drop-dead fucking gorgeous.

“Crew! Wassup? Likin’ the new ’do!” Callum hollered, ignoring that he was close enough to not have to.

Crew gave Callum a stilted nod before settling back on me. “Hey, boss. ”

“You’re late.”

“Am I?” He tilted his head, peering at the clock behind my shoulder. “Looks like I am.”

Grabbing my clipboard, I hitched my thumb towards the hallway. “In my office. Close the door. I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The itching stopped. In its place, I was burning from the inside out. The pit of my stomach was fire, lapping at the walls around it as it threatened to set me aflame. Crew looked delicious, and I desperately needed a taste.

Callum turned my way, pausing his cooking when he shouldn’t be. “Come on, Price. Don’t go too hard on him, yeah? First time he’s been late like this.”

“I’ll do as I see fit. Focus on your work, everyone. If you need me, knock. But you better not need me.”

With a last warning glare, I made my way down the hallway. I tried to look like I wasn’t in a rush, and I had no idea if I’d failed or not.

The moment I had the door to my office closed behind me, I stalked towards Crew, reaching out for him greedily. He smiled at me. A full, happy smile where the creases of his eyes came together and the creases of his mouth widened.

Happiness made him look radiant.

I cornered him against the wall, barely pressing my weight against him as I stroked my fingers through his hair.

He had a properly modernized mullet now, the waves and curls at the back adding volume and the messy chic that screamed “Crew.” The sides of his head were tapered in, giving dimension to the flow of the cut.

I ran my hand through the top of his head, reveling in how soft his hair felt.

There wasn’t an inch of blond, either.

A large, sappy grin started on my face at the realization. “Jesus,” I whispered.

Crew had mentioned the blond was an attempt to look younger for clients and then started to add to his reasoning before stopping. I’d never gotten an answer about it, but I knew it was something that haunted him by the look on his face.

Seeing him return to his natural color gave me some hope. If dyeing his hair blond was to look younger for clients… then was he thinking of not going back?

His hands cupped my face and a knowing smirk was plastered on his face. “You like?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Fuck yeah, I like. You look so fucking sexy, Pretty Boy.”

“Mmm, maybe I should change my hair more often if you’re gonna look at me like that every time.”

Chuckling, I pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. “God, I love your waves. Where have these been hiding?”

He tried to capture my lips again, but I moved just in time. “In the deep recesses of my neglect. Camie, the salon lady, worked some wonders. She even gave me some product to use to bring them back to life.”

“I don’t know the lady, but I feel like I could kiss her right now.”

“Instead of kissing me, like you should be?”

“I’d never give up the option to kiss you.”

My earlier comment to my staff seemed to be working for the moment. While we had the time, I took Crew’s lips in a searing kiss that quickly evolved.

The taste of him on my tongue was intoxicating. I couldn’t get enough, diving deeper with each pass to satiate the need that had my cock begging beneath my zipper. I wrapped my arms around Crew’s waist, tapping him until he jumped up and threw his legs around me.

I held him by the bottom of his upper thighs, using my weight to keep him pinned against the wall. When I pressed against him, he let out a tiny, breathy moan that I quickly swallowed.

Kissing along his jaw, I followed his scent like a hungry wolf.

Crew had a unique, woodsy smell that mixed with the fragrant shampoo I could sense from his hair.

I was addicted to it, pressing my nose against the column of his neck.

His arms cradled my neck, one of his hands reaching into the back of my hair to hold onto and tug.

His head rolled against the wall and gave me better access to the skin of his throat, enticing me further into all that was simply him. I couldn’t stop my lips from attacking him, licking paths along the tendons that ran there. Crew tasted like mischief and salt and desire.

“Price.” He whimpered, right above my ear .

I groaned against him, desperately pushing my hips against his. My grip on his thighs tightened as I rocked us together, keening at the harsh breaths coming from him.

The rumble of his deep moans tingled against my lips as I trailed kisses and light nips on my way. When I got back to his mouth, the kiss we shared was beyond searing, and we were getting closer to the point of no return. I slid my hands further, gripping his ass.

“Price, oh fuck.” Crew moaned as he thrust his hips against me. “Come over tonight.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever had a better idea than that.”

“No, I mean—oh, Christ.” His words turned into a long whine when I slid one of my hands down the back of his pants, grabbing at his ass cheek. “Have dinner with Willow and me.”

I paused, pulling away enough to show him my raised eyebrow. “You mean cook for the two of you?”

“I mean, yeah. You know I can’t cook worth a damn.”

“You’re right about that.”

He squinted at me, playfully knocking my shoulder. “There’s a difference between being honest and being mean, you know.”

Shrugging, I leaned in and kissed him, pulling his bottom lip into my mouth to catch a taste. “If I do this, what’s the payment for my labor?”

“Mmm.” Crew carded both of his hands through my hair, leaning forward to whisper into the shell of my ear. “Have you ever been to Heaven, Prince Charming?”

The low, husky tone he used had goosebumps rising along my skin. “Can’t say I have.”

“There’s a rumor that my mouth can take you there.”

“Oh?”

I could feel his smirk against my skin as he placed featherlight, barely-there pecks underneath my ear. “Yup. Get there in three minutes or you get your money back.”

This time, I was the one to pull away and scowl. “Don’t joke like that.”

Crew laughed. A bright, melodic sound that rushed through my veins, igniting every nerve I had. “It’s a date. Go home, shower, pack a bag, and come to my place. I promise Willow won’t barge into my room again in the morning.”

“A date. I like the sound of that.”

He smiled and pulled my head closer to him. “You think that chair can hold both of us?”

I looked over to the pathetic office chair. It was old as shit and needed replacing. “It does have a four-hundred-pound weight limit.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Mischief. That’s what Crew was, and I was fucking falling for it. Hell, I’d fallen for it the first night we’d spent together when I hadn’t even known his name.

We fell into the chair with hot, chasing kisses and tongues, our hands roaming each other’s bodies as if we were exploring them for the first time. Images of bending Crew over the desk, ruining him slowly from the inside out had my cock throbbing almost painfully.

I started to undo the button of his pants, fully intending to pull his gorgeously thick dick from it when a knock sounded at the door.

We both groaned in unison, bowing our heads in disappointment.

“Just a moment!” I called out.

Crew rose from my lap, righting himself. “Don’t forget our date.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Pretty Boy. Don’t forget to tell them I tore you a new one.”

His replying grin shone brighter than what I imagined a thousand suns would. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Prince Charming.”

Dinner wasn’t as awkward as I was expecting. Willow seemed to trust me more, bantering with me as much as she did with Crew. They were at the small table already, an extra stool pulled up to it for me to sit.

“No, okay, they’re fucking terrifying and you’re just an ass for making fun of me.” Crew groaned over the sound of Willow laughing. “There are plenty of people with the same fear as me.”

Willow leaned forward, dropping her hand on top of his. “I don’t make fun of your fear of them; I make fun of you shaking in your boots at the mere mention of ’em. ”

I slid plates down in front of them, butting into their conversation right at the end. “Why are we shaking in our boots?”

“Crew is absolutely terrified of escalators. Of all the stupid shit I’ve watched this man do, he won’t dare step onto an escalator.”

“You rat bastard! He doesn’t know we were delinquents growing up. Stop talking shit.”

I swear to God, Willow’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, the stories I’ve got for you.”