Gabe rolled his light-blue eyes, doing as he was asked, bowing at the waist when he handed the plate to Dusty. “Your snacks, your hein-ass.”
The broody sulking one, Kory, snorted and turned away from Chris and Gabe. “So, quick introductions here.” Gabe hopped up to sit on the corner of the counter. “I go by Gorgeous Gabe, Dusty goes by Ashton, and Captain Cranky over there goes by Hayden Cox.” Gabe waved Kory away when he flipped him off. Chris thought the nickname was perfect for the guy—he was definitely cranky, or a jackass, probably both.
Captain Cranky stood and moved past Chris, brushing his shoulder. He loaded a paper plate with food, grabbed another beer, and went into the den, glaring at Chris as he turned the corner. “Wow, he really doesn’t like me, does he?” Chris chuckled.
“You’ll get used to it.” Gabe shrugged.
Feeling a little overwhelmed, Chris stayed close to the back door, in case he needed to make a run for it, and talked mostly to Gabe and Dusty. He asked about the house, how many guys stayed there, and if there was anything expected of them in return.
“No, man. Vic, Andrew, and Mattie only ask that we respect them and the house when we’re here. And no drugs, period. They pay for all our tests that are required if you work in the industry, which includes drug testing.” Dusty popped a couple of grapes into his mouth. Honestly, Chris had expected as much; the three men that ran All Cocks seemed genuine and honest, so it made sense that they only asked for the same in return.
The back door slammed shut again, but instead of being startled, Chris simply turned to see who it was. Already he was associating the creak and bang with the insane posse that dwelled within the home. Two more guys came running in wearing swim trunks, towels wrapped around their necks, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the wood-tiled floor. Andrew barked at them. “Boys, really? I’ve told you umpteen times to dry off before you come inside!” It was obvious Andrew’s bark was far worse than his bite, judging by the motherly tone in his voice and the fact that he smiled somewhat adoringly at the two guys who blushed at their mutual berating.
Everyone in the house laughed when one of the wet ones said, “Yes, Mother!” in response to Andrew’s ranting.
More introductions were made, and Chris swore he’d have a migraine trying to remember who everyone was in the end. But one name caught his attention: Jordan. That was the straight model for All Cocks that Victor told Chris he was going to partner him with to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Chris was about to ask, just to make sure, but Jordan beat him to it.
“I’m going to assume you’re Chris since I know all these other knuckleheads.” Jordan grinned, shaking Chris’s hand. “Victor called me earlier and filled me in a little on your situation, said he wanted me to be available for any questions you might have. So, maybe after dinner we can talk?” Jordan smiled, and it was a grin that was all white teeth framed by a Grizzly Adams beard.
“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. I think I’m a little out of my element here,” Chris joked.
Jordan clapped him on the back. “Follow me.” Grizzly Adams grabbed a couple of beers from the cooler, handing one to Chris and motioning toward the rear door. Chris smiled awkwardly at the other guy, who was still dripping on the tile as he passed by, following Jordan out to the porch.
Chapter Seven
Eye Candy
“Honest Abe!” Kory shouted. Linc ignored him, watching the newest member of their odd little family walk out onto the porch with Jordan. Kory was drunk; he could tell by the tone of his voice. Linc was too busy watching the new kid on the block at the moment to deal with Kory’s usual antics. My God, but the man was beautiful. Linc leaned against the couch and pretended to be interested in the conversation going on around him when in actuality, he was soaking in every square inch of Chris’s stunning physique.
Jordan and Chris could easily pass for brothers—both were tall, dark, and handsome with varying shades of auburn hair. Hell, they were built like offensive linemen, with broad shoulders, thick-muscled arms, and all kinds of ink. Linc couldn’t help but think about those arms pinning him down to the bed while the man fucked him into the mattress. Not wanting to be caught ogling the newbie, he turned and braced his hands on the back of the couch so he could look around and see if anyone had caught on to the fact that he was watching Chris. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was for Kory to see and start ribbing him. It wasn’t enough that he’d fucked Linc’s boyfriend—for months, he’d learned after the fact when he’d confronted Lance. No, Kory had to make sure to throw a snide comment and contemptuous glare in his direction anytime they were in the same room.
Confident no one was paying him any attention, Linc’s gaze quickly averted to Chris once again. He wore a plain white T-shirt—not a wife-beater, thank fuck—with khaki shorts and Converse sneakers. The colorful ink that wrapped around his arm disappeared beneath the sleeve and Linc wondered how the design ended, what exactly it was. Ink popped out at the collar of his shirt, and the hem of his shorts as well. Christ almighty, he wanted to see Chris naked in the worst kind of way. He was so enthralled by the view on the porch that he didn’t hear Victor step up behind him, and he jumped when Victor touched his shoulder. “Shit, scare ten years off a guy’s life, would ya!”
“I did not mean to interrupt.” Victor gave him a sad smile. “He and Jordan could be brothers, could they not?” Linc smiled and was about to agree with Victor when he caught the seriousness in Victor’s eyes. “They are very much alike, Lincoln.” Well, hell. Linc sighed. Victor was telling him that Chris was straight.
“Got it,” he choked out. Victor squeezed his shoulder before turning and walking over to where Andrew stood at the counter, cutting up some carrots for a salad. Linc gave Chris one last look and sighed, deciding to help get dinner ready to keep his eyes and mind off the hot-as-hell new, straight, gay for pay, model at All Cocks.
When Chris followed Jordan into the house a little while later, Linc couldn’t help stealing a quick glance here and there at him across the table. He seemed nice enough, well-spoken, well-mannered, but there was a hollow look to his eyes, even when the man smiled. Linc recognized that pain; it was the deep-seated pain of loss. Thankfully Chris was engrossed in the conversation he was having with Jordan and Dusty and was oblivious to Linc’s eyes on him throughout the entire meal.
When dinner was done, the table cleared, and the dishes cleaned, Linc thought he might have a few minutes to talk to the new guy. The feast Andrew cooked had them all in a food coma though, so when Chris started nodding off on the couch, Victor took him upstairs to a room he could sleep in for the night.
With the shiny new toy gone, Linc tried to pay attention to the movie, but no such luck. Instead, he sat there in the near-darkness, intermittent and random flashes of images from the television the only light in the room. He couldn’t get his mind off Chris, an image of the big, burly guy slowly pulling his shirt over his head, dropping it on the floor as he moved closer, unbuttoning his shorts, then lowering the zipper, smiling almost lasciviously… “Earth to Lincoln, are you even listening to me?” Gabe elbowed him in the ribs, hard.