I'd like to share an excerpt with you from the book I'm currently working on.

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Pitch Perfect
(Working Title)

By Ann Lister
Copyright © 2023 by Ann Lister.  All rights reserved.    

Cain

    Gage sighed contentedly where he was stretched out against me on the daybed like I was his favorite body pillow. I tipped my head and took a moment to watch the way his chest lifted with each inhale. A smile formed on my face from how he had once again aligned himself like he simply couldn’t bear to be more than a few inches away. I loved these moments of calm between us but it sometimes fucked with my mind, made me think and feel things for Gage that I had no right to. This was intimate, something lovers would do or share after a long day at work and perhaps a mutually prepared meal. But we weren’t a couple. We were nothing more than co-workers, but fuck, I wanted there to be more.
   “Your boss warned me about you,” I stated to break the comfortable silence.
   “My boss?” Gage questioned.
   “I mean, Ray, your agent,” I clarified.
   “He’s definitely not my boss, although on some days he sure thinks he is,” Gage said and chuckled softly. “What the hell did he say to you?”
   “He told me your MO with previous assistants was to sleep with them,” I explained. “He said several PA’s had quit on the job because of your. . . propensity to get them into bed. It’s why he hired me instead of a woman. He thought the fact I’m gay might make me safe to work for you because you wouldn’t be tempted to screw me. But, if Ray could see the way you’re sprawled across me right now like a fleece blanket, he might start to worry about his decision to hire me.”
   Gage rolled onto his side and faced me. Just a few meager inches separated his face from mine. “Ray is full of shit about my past PA’s,” Gage said. “First of all, I didn’t sleep with all of them, and also most of them came on to me—not the other way around. What was I supposed to do? Push them away and hurt their feelings?”
   “Something tells me feelings weren’t involved on your part,” I chided.
   “You’re correct,” he said and his lips twitched with just a hint of a grin that was like warm whiskey sliding down my throat. “I had an itch and they non-verbally agreed to scratch it for me. It wasn’t my fault they thought that made them special to me. I don’t do special and I was up front about that before anything started. Also not my fault they quit.”
   “Hmm.”
   “What is your “hmm” implying?” he questioned with the lift of one dark brow.
   “Nothing—special.” It was my turn to smirk and he leaned closer and snapped his teeth together like he was about to bite me.
   “Careful, Gage. What you’re doing borders on flirting,” I teased him.
   He shrugged. “So what if I am?”
   “You shouldn’t flirt with the gay man in the room,” I said as if he needed reminding as to who he was pressed against. “It makes me feel like this is another test. You keep teasing to see if I’ll take the bait, but then what? Would you jerk the carrot away and then fire me for wanting to eat the carrot you offered?”
   Gage chuckled again. “Is the carrot a euphemism for my dick?”
   “Never mind the carrot,” I said. “The part about testing me is the serious portion of what I was talking about. Are you testing me?”
   If he had any idea how hard I was at this moment he’d certainly rethink his position on the daybed.
   “Why would I test you at all?” he asked. “Games like that hold no interest for me.”
   “Then why were you spread-eagled on the dock, naked the first day I arrived?” I asked. “That was definitely a test to see if I’d freak out seeing you naked.”
   Gage shook his head in disagreement. “That wasn’t a test at all,” he replied. “I spend a lot of time here without any clothes on. It’s the one place I can be at one with nature and not worry about the tabloid outlets hiding in the bushes.”
   “You haven’t been naked in front of me since that first day which makes your behavior seem much more like a test,” I said. “Sooo, did I pass your test that day?”
   “Are you sure I haven’t walked around naked since you started working here?” Gage asked.
   “Nope and trust me, I’d remember if you had,” I admitted.
   “Well, I’ll have to make a better effort to wear less clothing,” Gage said. He sat up on the daybed and quickly pulled off his t-shirt before laying down against me again. His soft chest hair teased my forearm when he turned to look at me.
   “You’re doing it again,” I commented.
   “What am I doing?”
   “Flirting,” I said.
   “Flirting is good clean fun but if it bothers you I can put my shirt back on,” Gage explained.
   “Can I ask you something personal?” I asked.
   “Sure, go ahead,” Gage answered.
   “Have you ever been with a man?” I asked. It was a bold question but I was suddenly very curious to hear his answer. Gage seemed to think about his answer for a bit before he started talking again.
   “Does a bet count?” he asked.
   “Do I really want to know what a bet has to do with this?” I asked incredulously.
   “You definitely want to know,” Gage said and pushed himself up against the brass headboard to sit shoulder to shoulder with me. “It’s actually a seriously funny story.”
   “Should I do another shot before you tell me? Is it that kind of story?” I asked.
   “Good point,” he said, then rolled toward a table positioned beside the bed and poured us two more shots of tequila. He handed a glass to me while he emptied his into the back of his throat.
   “Ready to hear this?” he asked.
   “As I’ll ever be.”
   “It happened quite a few years ago,” Gage began. “I made a stupid bet with the guys in my band that I seriously doubted I’d be able to get-off with a guy blowing me for no other reason than because I was straight,” Gage began.
   “Annnd?”
   “I lost the bet,” he said and flashed his million dollar smile at me.

    “A man gave you a blowjob—to completion?”
   “That he did,” Gage admitted with a satisfied smile that lifted his whole face. He almost sounded proud of himself. “There were two rules to this bet. First one is I had to unload in the guy’s mouth and the second rule was I had to keep my eyes open and watch him blow me. They didn’t want me squeezing my eyes shut and fantasizing I was with a woman. My bass player is gay so he volunteered to stay in the room with me to watch and make sure I didn’t lie about what happened. I was soft when the dude started sucking me but I shot off like a rocket in record time. What can I say? The guy had mad oral skills.”
   “I’m not surprised,” I said.
   “That I got a blowjob from a dude or that I came down his throat like a fourteen year old getting his first blowie?” Gage laughed.
   “It’s a known fact that men give better head than women,” I proclaimed.
   “Is that so?” Gage asked, his eyes boring into mine and his mouth so damn close I could feel the heat of his breath floating across my flaming cheeks and almost taste the liquor on his tongue. His eyes became hooded and kept dropping to my mouth like he might close the small space between us and kiss me. Fuck! I wanted him to do that!
   “Gage,” I whispered after a few very heated seconds. “It looks like you want to kiss me.”
   “I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t occurred to me,” he admitted. “But, I’m not sure how to go about it. I mean, if you were a woman I’d sure as hell know what to do.”
   “I’m definitely not a woman,” I said and rolled my eyes at the absurdity of his statement, “and, if this is a line you want to cross with me, I’m consenting. But you’re gonna have to figure it out and make the first move. Just go for it and don’t overthink it too much. I mean, if that’s what you want.”
   Gage placed his hand flat over my heart and spread his fingers wide. “Wow, your heart is beating crazy fast.”
   “Can you blame me?” I asked, trying to make light of this very heavy and pivotal moment happening between us. “You’re just about laying on top of me.”
   “I’m not that close to you but I can fix that,” he said. He used the muscles in his arms to slide me down on the bed and then flung his leg over my thigh, his chest heaved against mine, and his sinful lips hovered just over my mouth. I felt like a hungry bird hoping to be fed.
   His fingers left my chest and eased around the side of my neck to cup my nape at the back. His easy touch sent shivers through me and I bit my bottom lip to prevent myself from moaning out loud. Gage ran his thumb along my jawline and made a humming sound.
   “I like this,” he said softly.
   “My scruff?” I asked. “I haven’t shaved in a couple of days.”
   “Yeahhh, I love the friction. It tickles my fingers,” Gage said with awe then leaned in and used his teeth to nip at my whiskered skin before his tongue joined in on the fun. “Don’t you dare take a razor to this. Can you leave it for me?”
   “Gage. . .”
   His mouth popped off my jaw. “You consented, but if you want me to stop I will,” he said.
   “Fuck no,” I panted. “You’re driving me absolutely crazy but I want to be certain you are fully acknowledging the fact that I’m a man and you’re—not acting straight at all.”
   “Mmm, yes. You are definitely all man,” he whispered literally against my lips. “I think that’s why I’m so turned on.”
   He was turned on? I was about to lose my ever-loving mind from this, and if he didn’t kiss me soon my head was going to explode—both heads, to be precise. But I remained patient and allowed Gage to explore my face with this fingertips, lips, and tongue. The ramp up was exquisite torture and I wasn’t complaining.
   I finally felt the tip of his tongue drag across my bottom lip and I actually allowed myself to moan. I’m not sure if he had reached his limit of waiting or if the sound that rumbled from my dry throat was the tipping point for him, but suddenly his mouth was on mine and he was owning this epic kiss. 
   His lips were soft but firm like he knew what he wanted and was finally owning it. His body lifted off mine, shifted closer, then fully stretched out on top of me again. Our hard cocks were almost notched together like puzzle pieces not quite locked into place. But, Jesus. I wanted that. His tongue slipped between my lips and grazed mine and that’s when my brain shut off being passive. He’d more than crossed the line now I was going to open myself to the pleasure he was offering and give him a little of my own. 
   I grabbed his head with both hands and held him against my open mouth. Our tongues were going crazy circling and stroking together to try and blow the other’s mind. I’ve kissed a lot of men but nothing compared to what Gage was doing to my mouth. I was on fire and simply couldn’t get enough of his lips or suck his tongue deep enough into my mouth. I craved so much more but wasn’t sure how far Gage wanted to go. I latched onto his ass and that’s when Gage began grinding into me. He was crushing my cock but the friction was bliss. I was getting dangerously close to coming and finally ripped my mouth away from his.
   I held his face in my hands. Both of us panting to catch our breaths. “If you keep rubbing on my dick I’m going to come in my pants,” I admitted.
   “It feels so fucking good,” he admitted. “I don’t want to stop—even if it means I’ll have to change my pants later.”
   I wanted to suggest we get completely naked but I just couldn’t rush Gage like that. Plus, I didn’t want to waste time removing our clothes because doing so would mean we’d momentarily have to stop kissing. I couldn’t do that. I wanted a million more hungry, frantic, and passionate kisses from Gage. I wanted him tangled around my body for the next several days to the point I couldn’t tell where my body ended and his began. I wanted to be wrapped up with him in bed, on the boat dock, in the woods up against a tree, and even in the shower. I was so pathetically weak for him. I’d wanted a taste of his mouth for days and now that he’d given that treat to me, I wanted so much more.