Lost Heartbeats (Alexander & Maya Book 2) by Ella Maise

scratch behind his ears.
    “Okay, I’m going to leave now before you guys make me bawl my eyes out with all this love.”
    “Yes, you shouldn’t make your friend wait. He looked really dashing, didn’t he, Alan?” Ester asked as she hugged her husband, resting her head on his shoulder.
    I lifted my eyebrows, giving her a mock worried look. “Dashing? Sure, okay, if you say so, I guess.”
    “Go on, get home now. It’s getting late,” she ushered me toward the door, Alan trailing right behind her.
    “Wow, this a first from you, Ester. I’m not sure I like being kicked out by your wife,” I said, looking at Alan over my shoulder.
    “Nothing I can do about it. If she says you shouldn’t leave the young man alone in your house, you should listen to her. But,” he insisted, lifting a finger to silence me, “if you don’t forget to bring my semlor with you the next time, I’ll see what I can do.”
    Before I could even apologize for leaving them back at the café, I was gently pushed out the door and Ester was giving me a big wink. “If he is who I think he is, I’m expecting you to bring him over before he leaves.”
    I opened my mouth to object, but she shushed me and closed the door in my face.
    Standing in their yard for a few more minutes, I tried to gather whatever courage I had left and walked to my own door.
    As soon as my hand closed around the handle, the door opened from inside and I lost my balance, falling face first into a hard, naked, very wet chest.
    Big, warm hands closed around my arms and kept me from sliding down his body.
    His perfect body.
    “I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I saw you from the window, and you looked like you were about to run out on me. Thought I should just come out and get you myself.”
    “Like this?” I asked, closing the door behind myself. My eyes slowly made their way down his body, noticing that he had on nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs.
    A very tight pair of black boxer briefs.
    I lost my train of thought for a second when I noticed the contours of his cock, curving slightly to the left, straining against his briefs. Quickly looking away, I took off my shoes and turned left to enter my small kitchen.
    “What’s wrong with this ?” he asked, the amusement obvious in his voice.
    I busied myself with grabbing a glass of water.
    “You are half naked, Alexander. You can’t go out like that here,” I said, turning around after I took a few sips.
    When he noticed I wasn’t smiling like he was, his face dropped, and he casually leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, his lean muscles slightly bulging as he crossed his arms on his chest.
    “Ok. Let’s cut the crap and talk; what’s wrong?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You are closing up on me, Maya. I didn’t think you would jump on my lap when you saw me, but you were much more welcoming just an hour ago then you are now. So, I’ll ask again, what’s wrong?”
    I took another sip of my water, trying to stall to come up with a good answer. On one hand, yeah, I was ready to jump on his lap and forget why I had to protect my heart when I was around him, savor the moment of having him this close again. But, on the other hand, I was angry at him for coming here. For dangling what I couldn’t have in front of my face.
    “Look,” I started. My voice shaky even to my own ears. “It’s obvious that I still feel something toward you.”
    “And? I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s obvious that your feelings are reciprocated. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come all the way here. So, what’s your problem?”
    “See, that’s the problem. Why would you even feel something for someone you knew for only a few days? I told you when we were in New York, I’m not your plaything, Alexander.”
    “So, basically you are saying that it is perfectly okay for you to feel something toward me in a few days, but not okay when it’s me? Is that it?”
    “You’re a guy, Alexander,” I answered