Love Him Free (On the Market #1) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,28
space between them. ‘Talk after.’
It seemed an offering, and Simon would be a fool not to take it. He was resigned to his fate—whatever it was—as he let Rocco take his hand and drag him back to the sofa. He was at some sort of turning point, but as Rocco opened the first pizza box and gave him another one of his unreadable looks, Simon was well aware he had no idea what was coming next.
Chapter Six
It was entirely due to his job that Rocco had been able to hold back his desire to draw Simon into his arms and take him apart until dawn. He was hard. Not as hard as he could have been—but Rocco had learned to restrain himself on command after years and years in the film industry.
Helpful, he supposed, but Simon was testing his abilities like no one ever had. Maybe it was because he was so unrestrained—with his feelings and the way they played into every expression on his face and every motion of his body, and the tremble in his fingers as he signed, and the way he looked at Rocco. Or maybe it was because he was nothing like the men Rocco had been surrounded by since he started his work.
And he loved his job, he did. He loved the lifestyle it provided, and he loved that he was good at it. He even enjoyed most of his colleagues and the friends he had. But he was growing tired of the fear that everyone around him was just waiting to see what they could get. He once thought Eric had loved him just to love him—but that idea had been shattered without mercy. In the weeks he’d wallowed after his break-up, his heartache wasn’t for the love he lost, but for the sudden realization that no one might ever love him for the man he was.
The person beyond his body, and his skill, and the number in his bank account.
Simon was…different. It wasn’t the first time Rocco had fucked one of his fans—he didn’t do it often, but a time or two when he was just getting started he’d given in to the temptation. And after Eric, there had been parties where the two of them had devoured shy men who had managed to get an invite and spent the night pressed against the wall, trembling with need.
He hadn’t hated those moments, but Simon was not like any of those men. His concern after finding Rocco at his laptop was genuine. He looked afraid—and maybe a little hurt—that Rocco might think Simon’s friendship was anything but. Simon was a sea of complications, Rocco knew that much. There was a pain in his eyes Rocco didn’t understand, though knowing about his parents and grandmother made sense.
He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have his entire life decided for him, to be thrust in the role of guardian at such a tender, important age. To have whatever dreams he was following, whatever freedom he’d fought for, snatched by the hands of death?
It sounded like a prison sentence.
Simon was sad—and he was resigned. His bakery was failing, but he wasn’t asking for help. It was sand cupped in his hands. Rocco fought back the urge to throw money at him, to just solve the problem with a check. He could do it. He wouldn’t have a single regret, even if it turned out Simon had befriended him for that reason alone. The way Simon’s flushed skin felt against his palm when he touched him, that was worth more than he could say. He was soft, and sweet, and Rocco wanted to devour him.
When Simon rushed off before the pizza arrived, Rocco was more than aware of what was going on. He didn’t need to hear the thumping, or the moans, or the sharp cry of orgasm to know that Simon hadn’t been able to hold back. He closed his eyes and could too easily picture Simon standing over the toilet, hand flying over his dick, spilling ropes of seed into the water below.
Rocco’s mouth watered. He was often tired of sex, but he never got tired of genuine want—genuine desire in the form of a man’s hot breath and warm cock and thick tongue that wasn’t paid to be there—that wasn’t getting something out of it. He wanted Simon, and maybe coming here had been a spur of the moment decision, but he didn’t regret that for a second.