Echo (9 page)

Cole sat up and watched him pick his shirt up off the coffee table and pull it over his head. "
I get the feeling that you need a chance to process
. Do you really have to go?" he asked plaintively.

Anderson smiled at him. "We both have to go to work tomorrow and you need to get your sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." He stepped over to the couch and pressed a kiss against Cole's mouth, their tongues clashing for a moment before he pulled away. "I've gotta go."

"
I've gotta go
," Cole echoed. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"You don't have to say it like that," Anderson laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said firmly.

Cole watched him walk to the door and leave, his hand reaching back around to lock the door before he closed it.

Sighing heavily, Cole flopped back on the couch.

He honestly couldn't believe what had just happened, and his body was still tingling from it. But the one thought that kept running through his mind was: "
I want more
."

He wanted more of Anderson's kisses and Anderson's touches. He wanted to see the other man completely out of his clothes and he wanted to press their bare skin together.

His passions had finally been ignited and he wanted
everything
.

The idea of it made him giggle and wriggle on the couch. From first kiss to first real sexual experience in one visit.

Maybe everything had happened too fast, but that first kiss... it had completely blown him out of the water. To feel Anderson's hands on his shoulders, holding him in place so his lips could peck almost chastely against Cole's. Then there was a wet swipe of tongue that almost had Cole pulling away in disgust, but the heady heat of Anderson's thumbs brushing against the sides of his neck had him opening his mouth almost helplessly.

And once he let Anderson in... he didn't want to stop the kisses; he wanted them to go on forever. It felt as though Anderson was trying to devour his mouth, to just eat him alive, and it seemed like the greatest thing ever. Heat and wet and he was so hard he could barely breathe and Anderson's lashes were so dark against his cheeks when he closed his eyes during their kisses that Cole wanted to lick his skin.

It felt as though he swooned, because he went from standing in the middle of the room to lying on the couch and it was the most natural thing ever. The feeling of Anderson's body pressing down on his own made something click in his head and he felt like a puzzle that had found its last piece.

Maybe everything had gone too fast and he should have stopped Anderson, but he didn't want to. If he could have, he happily would have gone all the way and regrets would have been something for tomorrow. So to have Anderson be so considerate of his feelings... to just give him pleasure but not take anything more, it made Cole feel precious somehow.

He couldn't wait until he saw Anderson again.

Cole pressed his fingers against his lips and stared up at the ceiling dreamily. His body felt warm and loose and it just seemed that all was right with the world.

CHAPTER SEVEN

There was something a bit awkward about coming to work after he'd gotten a hand-job from the man that was supposed to be his new boss; the guy that might possibly be his kinda-sorta boyfriend, though they hadn't made any firm agreements yet.

Just walking into work, he felt as though everyone that looked at him could tell exactly what he'd been up to the night before. It just felt as though it was branded into his skin.

He made his way to his new office and settled in behind his desk. It was kind of a surprise to see two files in his IN box when he was used to dozens. He didn't know what he was going to do with himself.

Picking up a highlighter, he got to work marking the most relevant information. Once he was done with that, he would compile all the information in a summarizing report of just the important bits.

He sunk into his work and went into that mindset where he completely closed out the outside world. So it was a surprise when he looked up and found Anderson sitting in the chair in front of his desk, one leg crossed over the other as he flipped through a magazine.

"Took you long enough to realize I was here." Anderson grinned at him.

Cole blinked, then glanced at his watch. Without even knowing it, he'd been working for close to two hours. "
Took you long enough to realize I was here
. I didn't even hear you come in. I must have been in the zone or something."

Anderson laughed. "Or something. You didn't even hear me close the door behind me." He stood up and jerked a thumb toward the door. "You wanna go get some lunch?"

"
You wanna go get some lunch?
" Cole could feel himself flushing. "Um, I don't really know how to say this, but I'm not one of those people that are willing to try anything at work. Ever. I just feel like work should be for work, and after-work is for... well, you know?"

"It's nothing like that," Anderson excused. He probably thought he was being really smooth, but Cole could tell that he'd semi-hoped Cole would let that kind of thing go on. "I just thought that maybe you're hungry. We can be friends at work without everyone thinking that we're something more than that. Plus, everyone needs to eat sometime, so what's the big deal about us eating together?"

"
So what's the big deal about us eating together?
Relax, guy," Cole said, standing up. "You're getting all defensive and there's no reason for it. Let's go get something to eat, that's fine. I just thought that I'd mention that I wasn't going to do any kissing or making out or anything at work." He hoped he sounded as worldly as he was trying to come across, and not like some cringing virgin.

"Come on," Anderson said, opening the door. The line of his shoulders was still a little tense, but relaxed as they walked down toward the cafeteria.

That was one of the good things about Bester International--to ensure that their employees were kept satisfied, the cafeteria was set up like a nice restaurant and had professional chefs on staff. It also lowered the percentage of employees that even left the building on their breaks.

Cole blushed lightly, but he let Anderson buy him a club sandwich and Greek summer salad. The cafeteria served hardier foods, but sometimes he just wanted a sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk. Anderson got himself the prime rib with mashed potatoes and gravy.

"How do you stay so fit if you eat like that all the time?" Cole asked, watching Anderson dip a large chunk of meat into a healthy amount of horseradish and au jus. "And I thought you didn't like spicy food?"

Anderson chewed quickly, then took a gulp of his drink before answering, "I have good genes. So as long as I do some exercising during the week, I can pretty much eat whatever I want whenever I want. And prime rib is always delicious, but it's better with a little bit of kick. I just don't like the horseradish too hot."

Using just the first finger and thumb of each hand, Cole carefully disassembled and ate his sandwich in pieces. A piece of toast with a clump of meat. A tomato wrapped up in lettuce. A slice of cheese by itself.

"I can't believe you're mutilating that sandwich like that," Anderson said, sounding shocked.

Cole glanced up at him. "
I can't believe you're mutilating that sandwich like that
. If you think this is gross, then you really don't want to see what I do to spicy chicken wings." He licked his fingers then wiped them on his napkin so he could take a drink of his milk. "I'm not allowed to eat chicken wings around my cousin anymore. He says it's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen."

Anderson looked at the pieces of sandwich spread across Cole's plate and made a face. "I can see where he's coming from. That's pretty gross." He smiled at Cole. "It's a good thing you're so damn cute, or this," he waved his hand over the table, "would totally be a deal breaker. I'd never talk to you ever again."

"
I'd never talk to you ever again
," Cole echoed, then grimaced. "You're a very mean man, aren't you? That's the only explanation."

He met Anderson's eyes and couldn't help the surge of warmth that went through him when he noticed that Anderson was completely focused on
him
.

He'd never had anyone outside of his family really focus on him as a person before. It made him feel special and cared for, as though there was finally someone in his life that wanted him and him alone.

Anderson's grin was rakish. "Yep, I'm the meanest man you'll ever meet." He glanced down at the table. "Do you want some more chocolate milk?"

Looking at his tomato smeared hands, Cole nodded.

He couldn't help smiling as he watched Anderson pick up his cup and carry it toward the dispenser for a refill. And if he maybe let his eyes flick down to Anderson's ass, that was just chance.

* * *

He'd wanted to go home with Cole, but Frank from accounting had cornered him and by the time he'd wrested himself away, Cole had already left. So he'd gone to his penthouse and changed into jeans and a tee shirt before making his way to Cole's apartment.

The only thing he knew was that he wanted to see Cole. So when he rang the doorbell, he was understandably surprised to see a handsome guy that definitely was
not
Cole.

He licked his lips, barely keeping himself from saying anything rude. "Is Cole here?"

The guy looked him over suspiciously, then gave him a charming smile. "You must be the Anderson I've heard so much about." He stepped out of the way, holding the door open. "Come on in, he's taking a shower and should be out in a minute."

Anderson felt something freeze in him. Why was Cole taking a shower while this guy was here?

Walking into the apartment, he didn't really see anything suspicious or anything. A video game was frozen on the TV screen and two controllers were sitting on the coffee table along with a bunch of empty soda and energy drink cans. There was an open bag of potato chips on the floor and a plastic bag showing the tops of what looked like candy wrappers.

"So, what's going on here, then?" Anderson tried to sound cool when really he wanted to slam the guy into a wall and demand to know who the hell he was.

The man walked over to the couch and flopped down. "I came by earlier today, so Cole didn't even know I was going to be here. We were playing video games until he decided to get stupid and dumped a full can of soda in his lap."

Anderson sat down in a recliner next to the coffee table. He ran his eyes over the man, getting the niggling sensation that he knew him from somewhere. It was hard to tell, since the guy had a scruffy beard going and was wearing a pair of wire framed glasses and a ball cap. He looked like kind of a hot mess, honestly.

"You want some chips?" the guy asked, kicking at the bag lightly.

"No thank you." He held out his hand. "I'm Anderson Bester."

"I know," the guy rolled his eyes, but took his hand in a firm grip. "You're all Cole's been talking about for the last couple of days. I'm Jeremy."