Pulled Long Read online

  Pulled Long

  By Christine d’Abo

  For months, coffee shop owner Ian Long has fantasized about a customer he knows only as “Blue Eyes.” Until he learns Blue Eyes is in the midst of a divorce—the last thing Ian wants is to be the rebound experiment of a straight guy. Giving in to lust, he invites the man into the café after hours and they indulge in a little exhibitionist play, but Ian is unwilling to get involved.

  When he’s forced to see Jeff again to return his briefcase, Ian finally agrees to go out on a date. Dinner quickly becomes an erotic encounter in a special room at the sex club Mavericks, and Ian realizes Jeff satisfies desires he didn’t know he had. The more he gets to know Jeff as a person, the harder it is to resist falling for him.

  Jeff makes it clear he’s interested in more than just sex. He wants to go public with their relationship in more ways than one. But can Ian open his heart, when he fears it will be broken?

  Book 3 of the Long Shots series.

  30,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you’re reading this Carina Press story on the brand-new e-reader, tablet, smartphone or other fun device you got this holiday season. There’s something magical about the combination of a new toy and a new story, isn’t there?

  But even if you didn’t get a new device for the holiday, this Carina Press story is still up to the task of helping you forget about holiday stress, bills, to-do lists and maybe even those few extra pounds you acquired thanks to the holiday cookies.

  This December, let our authors sweep you away with stories of love, passion, lust, betrayal and revenge that run the gamut from erotic romance to historical romance to urban fantasy and science fiction.

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Dedication

  For my girls. Thanks for making me smile every day.

  A long pull: a barista term for getting the most caffeine from an espresso shot by letting it run through the espresso maker for a longer period of time.

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Ian let his forehead fall into his hand, closed his eyes and yawned. Moving by rote, he took a gulp of cold coffee and hoped the caffeine would kick in before the indigestion. He tried to focus on the inventory sheet in front of him, but it was getting harder and harder to do as the night wore on.

  Pulled Long coffee shop, his pride and joy, had been closed for over two hours, leaving him in peace to do what he needed to make sure everyone stayed employed. He loved owning his own business, except when it came to dealing with paperwork. He wished there was a way this stuff would take care of itself.

  The late November winds had picked up, rattling the doors and forcing Ian to turn up the heat. At least this year they weren’t going to struggle to pay any bills. The store finally seemed to be on steady ground, giving them some freedom to hire a few more staff and let his sisters work fewer hours.

  Ian had no intention of working any less, no matter how much the girls bitched at him. He was determined to make this business a continued success, and would do whatever it took to make that happen. But he wasn’t going to put his sisters through any more than they had to. Unlike him, both Sadie and Paige had lives outside the shop, since both were in steady relationships. He hadn’t been surprised when Sadie showed up this morning waving an engagement ring around. He and Paige had been taking bets on how much longer Paul would wait before asking.

  Paige had won.

  Straightening in his seat, Ian gave his head a shake to drive away the exhaustion. It was closing in on midnight and he needed to be up at four-thirty to let the baker in for her shift. If he could get through the next two pages, he’d have everything ready for the inventory order tomorrow. It was hard to run a coffee shop without any coffee.

  The splattering of rain against the window made him glance up once more. Fuck, he hated this time of year. Not for the first time he wished he’d been born in another country—Jamaica perhaps—before dismissing the idea.

  A lone man came into view across the street, collar turned up against the weather, briefcase clutched to his body. Poor bastard must be having a worse day than Ian to be out in this shit so late at night. The man stopped when he was directly across from Ian and turned to look in. With the streetlight as dim as it was, it took Ian a moment to realize who was standing in the rain, staring back.

  Blue Eyes.

  The customer Ian had flirted with for months after he stumbled into their store one day, a grin on his face. The man Ian had fantasized about late at night when he was too horny to sleep but too tired to find a bed partner. A stranger who Ian felt closer to than some of the friends he’d known for years. The one who’d never told Ian his name, even after months of guessing and teasing.

  The man who turned out to have a wife lurking in the background.

  “Ex-wife,” Ian muttered.

  It had been months since he’d last seen the man. He’d come so close to asking Blue Eyes out on a date. The last time they’d met, Ian had planned on discovering his favorite food so he could book a table somewhere. Ian would have asked him out that night if Blue Eyes hadn’t received a call from his soon-to-be ex.

  Ian had chased him out of the shop. The last thing Ian needed was to be an experiment for a straight guy. He’d never be able to handle that again, not after Kyle.

  Ian tried to break eye contact but couldn’t. Blue Eyes let his briefcase fall to his side and straightened. Another gust of wind blew hard, sending his jacket flying around his legs. It was cold, wet and not a fit night for anyone.

  If Ian had any sense, he would grab his things and go upstairs. He didn’t need a man in his life right now. He certainly didn’t need some straight guy playing around with him, only to throw him aside when the next cute chick came around.

  Blue Eyes walked forward, coming to the edge of the curb but not crossing the street. Ian set his pen down and tapped his fingers on the countertop. Blue Eyes stepped onto the road, not even bothering to look for traffic, and crossed.

  Ian’s heart pounded with every step closer Blue Eyes took. He’d forgotten how handsome Blue Eyes was, how intense he was one moment, only to be grinning and easy in the next. Ian couldn’t move, his gaze locked on the other man until he stood outside the door to the shop.

  Neither of them said a word, simply stared at one another. Finally, Ian got to his feet and walked around the counter. He stopped at the end of the aisle, frozen. Beyond the kitchen to his right was the staircase leading up to his apartment. To the left was the front door and Blue Eyes in the cold night.

  Ian took a deep breath and went left.

  The expression on Blue Eyes’s face as Ian turned off the store alarm and unlocked the front door never changed. He looked tired and lifeless in a way Ian simply couldn’t chalk up to the weather and time of night. Opening the door let in a blast of cold and wet, but Ian didn’t step back. He let his gaze take in the sight of the man who still haunted his dreams, despite everything Ian did to remove him.

  “The coffee is a bit stale, but it’s warm in here at least. You better come in.”

  Blue Eyes didn’t smile or make a quip like Ian expected. Instead he nodded and made his way over to the counter, taking up a position on the stool Ian always associated with him. The normal spark was gone, and for the first time since he’d known him, Ian was worried about the man.

  Locking the door and turning the alarm back on, he jumped back into action. “I know you probably don’t care, but I’m going to make a fresh pot. I can’t handle the hard stuff this late at night normally, but if you want an espresso then I can do that too.”

  “Anything is fine. Thanks.”

  Ian turned his back and frowned, quickly dumping the hours-old coffee and cleaning the pot out with hot water.

  “Dare I ask what you were doing out there this late at night? I thought you worked in an office?”

  When there was no response, Ian turned to face him. Blue Eyes was sitting staring at the counter, a thoughtful expression on his face. When he looked up, Ian nearly forgot to breathe.

  Blue Eye got to his feet, shrugged off his coat and set it down on the stool. He then proceeded to walk around the counter and joined Ian, who still hadn’t released the empty pot.

  He held out his hand and gave Ian a blinding grin. “Hi, there. My name is Jeff Carson. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Blue Eyes—Jeff—wasn’t wearing a tie, and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone, exposing the hollow of his throat. Ian found his gaze bouncing from Jeff’s face, to his throat, down to his outstretched hand and back up.

  He wanted to rub his suddenly clammy hands on his pants, but that would have made him look nervous. And he wasn’t. Nope. Because Jeff was standing there introducing himself after months of their not-relationship, there was nothing for Ian to be nervous about.

  Not at all
.

  Carefully, Ian set the coffeepot on the counter, braced his hands for a moment before turning, grabbing Jeff by the collar and hauling him in for a kiss.

  The startled gasp from the other man was quickly swallowed up as Ian licked and sucked at Jeff’s mouth. The resistance in Jeff’s body melted as he brought his hands up to cup Ian’s head, pulling him closer. Ian took it as a positive sign when Jeff’s tongue dipped into his mouth, teasing his.

  God, he’d wanted to do this forever.

  Once his head was spinning from lack of oxygen, Ian pulled back with a gasp and stared into Jeff’s eyes.

  “Hi, I’m Ian Long.”

  Jeff licked his lips. “Nice to meet you, Ian. Come here often?”

  “I’m the owner. Can’t seem to get away.”

  “You should hire more staff. Get out more.”

  “But then I would miss out on meeting interesting customers at midnight.”

  “Can’t have that, can we?” Jeff grinned and flipped them around to press Ian’s back against the counter and buck his hips against Ian’s. “It’s nice to find a place that can provide a hot cup of coffee this time of night.”

  Ian was hard as stone. He could feel Jeff’s answering erection pressed against his thigh. “I might be able to provide something else, if I can interest you.”

  “I was interested months ago. I got the impression I wasn’t welcomed.”

  Things hadn’t changed. Ian still knew next to nothing about Jeff beyond his good nature, willingness to step in and defend others when necessary, and his relationship with his ex-wife.

  The reason Ian had pulled back.

  “Oh no, you don’t. I don’t want that brain of yours working. Not now.” Jeff leaned in and kissed him.

  This time it wasn’t thoughtful or precise. Jeff attacked him with his mouth, biting Ian’s lip, sucking the wounded flesh as he thrust his hips forward, rubbing his cock against Ian. Jeff’s hands were everywhere, touching and exploring, teasing Ian beneath his clothing.

  Moaning and arching his back into the touch, Ian lost track of the reasons why this was a bad idea.

  Jeff trailed kisses and bites across his jaw and down his neck. “I’ve had to walk past here every day on the other side of the street. Do you know how hard it was not to come in here and see you?” He bit down on Ian’s neck, pulling a gasp from him. “Do you know how badly I wanted to come in and yell at you for being a stubborn ass? Or rip that damn apron off you and drag you out of here so we could talk?”

  Ian couldn’t form a response, especially when Jeff started to unbutton Ian’s shirt, exposing his chest to the warm air of the store.

  “Now that I’m here, that you let me in, I’m not going to leave. I’m going to do to you what I’ve been dreaming about for months now.” Pushing his shirt open, Jeff lowered his mouth to bite down on Ian’s nipple.

  Groaning, Ian reached up for Jeff’s head with one hand, while bracing himself against the counter with the other.

  “Someone will see us,” Ian whispered, trying hard not to picture Paige walking in and finding them.

  “I don’t care.”

  “The lights are on. Anyone walking past—”

  “I don’t care.” Another bite. “You’re thinking too much.”

  “But—”

  Jeff pulled Ian’s head back, stretching his neck. “Does it bother you? The idea of people seeing the two of us together?”

  “It’s not that.”

  Licking a line from Ian’s collarbone to below his ear, Jeff nipped at his earlobe. “Because given how hard your cock is right now, I think you like the idea. Being out in the open with the risk of getting caught… It turns you on, doesn’t it?”

  Ian moaned. “No.”

  “You’re not doing a good job of convincing me. And do you know what? It does turn me on.” Hot breath against the cooling skin had Ian shiver, his eyes closed as Jeff’s words wound him tight. “Knowing anyone could see us. Anyone walking with a turn of their head would get an eyeful of you half-naked in the store, my hand on your cock—” he grabbed Ian through his pants, “—and my mouth on your skin. It makes me so hard, I could come without touching myself.”

  “Jeff…”

  “What?” He squeezed Ian’s cock, teasing the head through the fabric. “What do you want? And please don’t ask me to stop, walk away, because I don’t think I can. Not now.”

  “I—” Ian sucked in a breath. It had been too long since he’d been with another man in any meaningful way. The few one-night stands he’d had left him more lonely and unsatisfied than if he’d stayed home and jerked off.

  But this?

  “No condom,” Ian managed to mutter as Jeff jerked on his belt.

  “Shit.” Jeff didn’t stop, instead pulled Ian’s cock out of his pants. “No lube either.”

  “Not here. Upstairs in my apartment.”

  “I’m not letting you go.”

  “Jeff.”

  “No.” Jeff worked on his own pants now, pulled his cock out and lined them together. “I’m not giving you a chance to kick me out again.”

  “Won’t happen.”

  “I’m not willing to take that risk.”

  Once more Jeff was kissing him, but this time he thrust his tongue in time with the canting of his hips. The slide of their naked cocks against each other had Ian scrambling to get closer. It was his turn to work the buttons free on Jeff’s shirt, exposing his naked chest. Wrapping their arms around each other, Ian reveled in the feeling of Jeff’s chest hair rubbing over his own hairless skin.

  It had been years since he’d gotten off with a guy this way. Grinding, Ian closed his eyes and sank into the sensations of Jeff’s body. The stretch and flexing of his muscles beneath his fingers as he explored the expanse of Jeff’s back. The pinch of the opened zipper against his groin as their cocks rubbed, spreading pre-come across their skin. The taste of coffee and mint mixed as they explored each other’s mouths, kissing frantically in full sight of anyone walking by. Ian pulled back, only to bite down on Jeff’s chin.

  “Come upstairs with me.”

  “No.” Growling, Jeff reached between them, recapturing both their cocks in his hand. “I want to feel you come. Here, in this store, where I’ve been picturing you.”

  Ian turned his head to see if there was anyone outside watching them. The street was empty, but the fear of getting caught was still real. Jeff chuckled as he pressed his forehead against Ian’s shoulder.

  “It’s strange, isn’t it? Knowing that any moment someone could walk by and see? What do you think they would think of you, if they did? Maybe they’d stop and watch, wishing they could be you. Or me. Watching the way your skin is flushing red, or how fucking dark your eyes are when you’re turned on like this. I bet they’d start to jerk off too. It could be a woman too. Think they’d get off on seeing us like this?”

  “Do you ever shut up?” He tried to laugh, but Jeff did something with his wrist that stole his breath. “Fuck.”

  “I would love to. I bet your ass is tight and you’d make the best noises. Are you a screamer, Ian? Do you think I could make you come so hard your neighbors would call the cops?”

  Jeff increased the pace of his hand, jerking on their shafts and brushing Ian’s balls with his free hand. Ian squeezed his eyes closed, trying to hold back the noises Jeff wanted to pull from him.

  “That’s not playing nice.” Jeff nipped at his earlobe. “Let me hear you. Give me that much. Tell me what you’re thinking. Feeling. Anything.”

  Heat fired his groin and Ian could feel his balls tighten. “Fuck, your hand is big. I want to feel you everywhere. W-want to feel you i-i-nn my ass. Shit, shit, gonna come.”

  Jeff sped up again. “Yeah, do it. I want to feel your come on my fingers and belly. Do it, Ian. Come on.”