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Read Online Rough [01] - A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Laura Baumbach
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but his eyes were on James the whole time. "It's perfect. I've never had better."
His blush deepened and James dropped his gaze to the table. He picked up a breadstick and began tearing it into pieces.
"Ah." Angelo smiled at the blush creeping up James' cheeks and nodded. "Excellent, Mr.
Lord." He poured more wine into their glasses, then left, a knowing smile on his twitching lips.
The two men looked at one another and burst out laughing, the sudden awkwardness dissolving away.
James was surprised the hand on his leg never left. Bram might have been caught flirting with another man, but he didn't appear to be embarrassed by it. The man's self-confidence was rock solid.
"You never answered me. What do you do at 'Eclipse'? I had this fantasy of you in jeans and a work shirt, all sweaty and covered in concrete dust, but now I'm having trouble seeing you that way."
"Why?"
"You're too self-confident, too take-charge, to be a worker bee. I'm guessing management
-- supervisor or project lead."
"Close." Bram smiled. "Owner."
"Owner?" James nearly choked on the piece of salmon he had just swallowed. "Of
'Eclipse'?" He looked at Bram's self-depreciating smile. "Wow. I'm impressed."
Finishing off the last bit of wine in his glass, Bram shrugged. "Majority stockholder." He set the empty glass down and fingered with the edge of his napkin. "I have people who A Bit of Rough - 40
run the day-to-day nuts and bolts of it, but I stay involved in all the major contracts and have final say on what projects we take on. I work a site now and then, too."
"'Eclipse' does a fair amount of charity work. Is that your doing?" James was impressed.
Bram's company was a leader in promoting fair housing standards.
"We do some low-bid contracts for public housing and a lot of high priced bids to help pay for them." Bram shrugged off the compliment again. "I try to keep a balance between what's good for public interest and what's good for the company."
"A man used to being in charge, but knows how to compromise. I like that." James bit at his lower lip, then soothed it with a lick. "It's . . . sexy." The hand on his leg inched higher, then stopped. James flexed his thigh muscles in an unspoken acknowledgement of the thrill the movement produced.
Bram refilled his wineglass and took a large sip. "It was my father's company and he liked a hands-on approach. He loved to create beautiful buildings. For him it was more art than construction. I took over when he passed away four years ago, right after my mom. I've tried to follow in his footsteps with the company."
A melancholy tone had settled into Bram's voice and James felt a need to erase the small frown from the big man's furrowed brow. "Well, he did a good job of creating beautiful art with you. He must have been a good man." James let every ounce of attraction growing inside of him for this man show in his voice. Bram responded with a shy, appreciative smile that James cherished.
"Thank you, Jamie. And he was a good man." Bram took a steadying breath and stopped playing with his napkin. "I miss him." He sat up straighter and turned his full attention on James. "But the real guiding force in his life was my mom. She was petite, just a little thing really, quiet and intense. Kind of like you."
Bram reached over and brushed a strand of dark curl back from James' forehead, softly caressing the smooth skin with his thumb as he talked. "Same sapphire eyes, too. They both would have liked you. I'm sorry they aren't here to meet you."
James swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. The big man's sadness was almost palpable, making James' chest ache with the desire to share it and make it less of a burden for him to carry alone. "I would have liked to have met them. They sound great. They wouldn't have minded? That I'm a guy, I mean?"
"They wouldn't have chosen this lifestyle for me, if there had been a choice to be made, but they accepted it as something that just was. It was never an
His blush deepened and James dropped his gaze to the table. He picked up a breadstick and began tearing it into pieces.
"Ah." Angelo smiled at the blush creeping up James' cheeks and nodded. "Excellent, Mr.
Lord." He poured more wine into their glasses, then left, a knowing smile on his twitching lips.
The two men looked at one another and burst out laughing, the sudden awkwardness dissolving away.
James was surprised the hand on his leg never left. Bram might have been caught flirting with another man, but he didn't appear to be embarrassed by it. The man's self-confidence was rock solid.
"You never answered me. What do you do at 'Eclipse'? I had this fantasy of you in jeans and a work shirt, all sweaty and covered in concrete dust, but now I'm having trouble seeing you that way."
"Why?"
"You're too self-confident, too take-charge, to be a worker bee. I'm guessing management
-- supervisor or project lead."
"Close." Bram smiled. "Owner."
"Owner?" James nearly choked on the piece of salmon he had just swallowed. "Of
'Eclipse'?" He looked at Bram's self-depreciating smile. "Wow. I'm impressed."
Finishing off the last bit of wine in his glass, Bram shrugged. "Majority stockholder." He set the empty glass down and fingered with the edge of his napkin. "I have people who A Bit of Rough - 40
run the day-to-day nuts and bolts of it, but I stay involved in all the major contracts and have final say on what projects we take on. I work a site now and then, too."
"'Eclipse' does a fair amount of charity work. Is that your doing?" James was impressed.
Bram's company was a leader in promoting fair housing standards.
"We do some low-bid contracts for public housing and a lot of high priced bids to help pay for them." Bram shrugged off the compliment again. "I try to keep a balance between what's good for public interest and what's good for the company."
"A man used to being in charge, but knows how to compromise. I like that." James bit at his lower lip, then soothed it with a lick. "It's . . . sexy." The hand on his leg inched higher, then stopped. James flexed his thigh muscles in an unspoken acknowledgement of the thrill the movement produced.
Bram refilled his wineglass and took a large sip. "It was my father's company and he liked a hands-on approach. He loved to create beautiful buildings. For him it was more art than construction. I took over when he passed away four years ago, right after my mom. I've tried to follow in his footsteps with the company."
A melancholy tone had settled into Bram's voice and James felt a need to erase the small frown from the big man's furrowed brow. "Well, he did a good job of creating beautiful art with you. He must have been a good man." James let every ounce of attraction growing inside of him for this man show in his voice. Bram responded with a shy, appreciative smile that James cherished.
"Thank you, Jamie. And he was a good man." Bram took a steadying breath and stopped playing with his napkin. "I miss him." He sat up straighter and turned his full attention on James. "But the real guiding force in his life was my mom. She was petite, just a little thing really, quiet and intense. Kind of like you."
Bram reached over and brushed a strand of dark curl back from James' forehead, softly caressing the smooth skin with his thumb as he talked. "Same sapphire eyes, too. They both would have liked you. I'm sorry they aren't here to meet you."
James swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. The big man's sadness was almost palpable, making James' chest ache with the desire to share it and make it less of a burden for him to carry alone. "I would have liked to have met them. They sound great. They wouldn't have minded? That I'm a guy, I mean?"
"They wouldn't have chosen this lifestyle for me, if there had been a choice to be made, but they accepted it as something that just was. It was never an
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