Blood Claim - Wolf's Recluse
an excerpt
ONE
The mere sound of his cell phone's ring-tone shouldn't make him hard. It really shouldn't.
But it did.
Matt stared at the tiny little steel-gray rectangle that was one of his only conduits to life outside his apartment. The screen on the outside of it blinked brilliant neon blue at him and the caller ID told him what he already knew. Wolfe was calling. Wolfe was the only one who ever called him anymore.
Swallowing, forcing calm and ignoring the boner, Matt reached for the phone and punched the button as he raised it to his ear. "Hey."
"Hello, Matt." Sultry, sexy voice. Did nothing to quell the monster in Matt's pants. "Are you done yet?"
Matt clicked the speaker button on his phone and set the cell on the desk beside him. "Almost." He focused on the application screens interspersed across one of the monitors on the desk before him, fingers automatically going to the keyboard to finish a line of code.
"How 'almost'?"
Matt frowned at himself and hit the backspace to erase the ridiculous thing he'd just typed. He knew better than to think he could concentrate with Wolfe's voice in the air. "I'll have them ready in a few hours."
"Excellent! Matt, you're wonderful. Our client's going to flip for this. What would I ever do without you?"
Matt smiled, letting the warmth of the praise spread through his chest. "I'm sure you'd manage," he said humbly, toying with the mouse. The program he'd written for Wolfe was good. Even he could see that. It was better than any of the other applications he'd tweaked and fixed in the time he'd been working for Wolfe and this was the first one he'd written from the ground up so it was even more special.
"Nonsense I couldn't have done it without you. You are a workhorse. You've got to let me reward you for this."
He smiled. "Bonus?" Not that he needed it. Wolfe paid him plenty for his meager necessities and then some.
A chuckle. "For certain. But I was thinking something a little more immediate. Let me take you out to dinner. To celebrate."
Matt's blood ran cold. His erection deflated. "There's nothing to celebrate yet. They haven't seen the final product."
"They'll love it. I guarantee it. So, what do you say? I know a fabulous seafood restaurant right on the beach."
Matt stared unseeing at the papers and notes strewn across the desktop between him and the two LCD monitors. "I' No."
"No?"
"I mean, thanks. Really. Thank you. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"I'"
"You have a hot date?"
He snorted. "You know I don't."
"Yes, I know you don't. You don't ever go out. Why is that?"
Matt bristled. "Wolfe, you're my boss. I don't have to tell you anything about my private life." Especially when the truth was so very odd.
"You don't have to, but I wish you would. I'd like to think we're friends."
He sat back in his chair, staring at the phone. "We're sort of friends."
Chuckle. "I'd like to get rid of the 'sort of' part."
Matt picked at a hole in his jeans. Truthfully, he'd like to get rid of the 'sort of' part too.
"Two years."
"Huh?"
"Two years you've worked for me and we've never even met. That's a shame."
Tell me about it.
Matt sighed. So the time that he had both dreaded and anticipated had finally come. He'd figured that Wolfe would want to meet him someday. Wolfe had called Matt on a recommendation of one his counselors from tech school. He'd hired Matt for the unconventional programming job on that alone and had all the HR paperwork sent via express mail to Matt. They had a completely electronic relationship, working together through email, instant message chatting and phone calls. To this day, Wolfe had never suggested they meet.
"Has it been two years?" Matt thought back. Yeah, it must have been fall because it had been a few months after that night.
No, don't think about that.
"Yes. It's been two years. And you've done amazing things to help me grow a small idea into a reality. I couldn't have come this far without you. It's beyond time that I take you out for a celebratory dinner."
He squirmed. "You don't have to do that."
"I want to." A little bit of a growl in that voice just did weird things to Matt's chest.
"I'" Matt swallowed, caught between desire and terror. He wanted to be with Wolfe, wanted to spend more time with him. But' "How about lunch?"
"Lunch?"
"Yeah. A celebratory lunch."
"It's not quite the same thing."
"It's plenty. You've done a lot for me too, you know."
"It's not plenty."
"But'"
"Tell me why you won't let me take you to dinner."
He bit his lip, thinking. He couldn't tell the truth. He knew better. It was nothing but trouble to tell anyone why he refused to go out at night.
"Did you find out that I'm gay?"
Matt's heart soared. He'd already suspected as much from looking the man up on the internet, but to hear it blurted out like that'
"Look, Matt, it's not like I'm going to jump you or turn you gay or anything like that'"
No? Why the hell not?
"'I promise to be a good boy and not make any untoward advances."
"No. That's not it. I-I'm gay too."
Silence. "You are?"
Matt winced. Smooth move. But it was out now and probably better for it. "Yes."
"Well, I still won't make any untoward advances." Except that his voice had gone all warm again, like it did when he was amused. "Unless you ask nicely."
Matt swallowed. Had he just said that?!
Wolfe continued as though he hadn't just flirted, however minimally. "The fact remains that I'd like to take you out to dinner."
"I can't go out at night."
"Why not?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"I just' can't." It would sound stupid and you'd either never talk to me again or you'd call someone to have me committed. Neither seemed a desirable option.
Wolfe sighed. "All right, Matt. I can't very well force you."
Images flashed through Matt's mind of Wolfe holding him face down to a mattress, pinning him as his cock stabbed Matt's willing ass. There was something to be said about force.
Which was odd because, other than certain fantasies he entertained about Wolfe, force was not his thing. Especially since'
Don't go there. He stared mournfully at the phone. "I'm sorry."
"So am I. I was looking forward to getting to know you better." Why did that sound like an ending?
"Wolfe'?"
"All right." He spoke as though Matt hadn't said anything, his voice changed to brisk and efficient. "You're going to upload your changes so we can get a new compile?"
"Yeah. Wolfe'"
"Good. I'll tell Greg to expect it. Let him know if you're not ready to compile by five, yeah?"
It felt like the train with everything he'd ever wanted was leaving the station, with him still standing on the platform. "Okay. Hey, Wolfe'"
"Talk to you later, Matt. I'll be sure to put a juicy bonus in your next paycheck."
Matt opened his mouth to repeat the man's name yet again, but the line clicked off. He frowned at the lighted up screen until the "Call Ended" message blinked off. With a frustrated moan, he propped his elbows on the desk then rested his forehead in his palms.
Now he'd gone and done it. The man had been nothing but good to him in the relatively short time they'd almost known each other and he'd gone and let a stupid paranoia ruin it.
Maybe he should call Wolfe back. He could apologize and they could meet for dinner. Maybe he could get Wolfe to make it early. It would be all right. It had been two years, after all. Surely it was safe to go out now?
But just the thought of going outside his apartment made his blood run cold. The thought of doing it after the sun had gone down froze him in his tracks. Images of Daniel hanging limp in another man's embrace... Nope. He couldn't do it.
Sighing, he raised his head to look at the monitors. Keeping one cheek resting heavily on one palm, he used the other hand on the mouse and opened a web browser window. One click on a handy bookmark and up came the company website. It wasn't much of a website. Very corporate, very clean and informative about their product. The main attraction'in Matt's view at least'was a terrific picture of owner Wolfe Larsen. It was a professionally done portrait shot of the man in a sharp suit and tie before a washed out pastel blue background. Shining black hair was pulled back behind his neck, which made it look short in this picture. The hair was sacrificed, in Matt's opinion, the better to show off the sharp, classic lines of the Wolfe's brow, cheeks, nose and chin, the deep intriguing hollows that couched sparkling green eyes. His smile in this picture was mildly amused.
As opposed to the second picture Matt gained with the click of the mouse button. This page had a picture of Wolfe at a charity party. Matt was pretty sure Wolfe would have started the night all dressed up, but by the time the picture was taken any jacket and tie he might have worn were out of sight. The white dress shirt may have started the night buttoned up but in the picture all but maybe the bottom two or three buttons were loose, exposing a luscious display of bare, hairless chest and one enticing brown nipple. Here Wolfe's hair was unbound, spilling in decadent waves over one side of his face and nearly half of that exposed chest. From the looks of it, those lovely locks had to go to at least mid back, if not farther. A good looking young man sat on the arm of the sprawling chair or couch on which Wolfe sat, which is where Matt had gotten the feeling that Wolfe was gay. Now that he had confirmation, all he wanted to do was crawl into the picture and straddle that narrow lap to let those long, wicked fingers do naughty things to him.
Grunting, Matt found his hand gone from the mouse and stroking the erection in his drawstring pants. He gave partial thought to indulging'wouldn't be the first time he'd jerked off to Wolfe's picture'but he closed the browser window instead and pushed back from the desk. He stood and headed for the kitchen, needing to distract himself. Jerking off would just make him think of Wolfe more and he'd be tempted to call. But he couldn't call Wolfe. Much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to go out at night. Besides, Wolfe Larsen wouldn't want anything to do with a misfit recluse like him, despite what he said on the phone.