Winter's Gamble by Mechele Armstrong Page A

chuckle. “Any man can strip. You’re going to take it all off. Show me what you got.” This was going to be fun. He motioned with his hand before placing it on his thigh. His cock jerked as though maybe the touch was coming for it.
    “Okay.” Phil didn’t look convinced. In fact, he looked like a man about to go to his execution. “Keep in mind, I’m a bartender, not a stri—dancer.”
    “And another point taken.” That the man looked so nervous made Neo feel surprisingly tingly. Did Phil want to make it good for him? Didn’t he know that no matter what, it would be?
    Phil reached up with hands that seemed wooden and pulled his shirt away from his body. He lowered his head and glanced to Neo with a bedroom look that would have made a porn star jealous. He swiveled his hips, moving across the floor sideways. He brought his hands down and in a fluid motion undid the snap to his pants.
    He had Neo’s attention. Completely.
    Phil slowly slid down the zipper until it was at the bottom of the track and then spread his pants open wide. He was wearing boxers, instead of being commando, a fate that Neo cursed.
    Phil ran his hands down his chest still covered by his shirt. He grabbed the shirt in the middle and pulled up on it.
    For a too-brief second, Neo saw an expanse of skin revealed. But then the garment fell back down, covering it.
    Damn.
    Phil placed one hand on his hip and the other on the side. Moving back and forth, he began shimmying from his jeans, bit by bit.
    Now we’re getting somewhere.
    Phil left his underwear on but took his time getting the jeans down his legs and over his feet. He twirled the clothing around in his hand before letting go and sending it flying toward Neo.
    Neo caught it with ease. “Keep on going, Phil. I want to see skin besides those hairy legs.”
    Phil lifted the aforementioned body part and shook it out in front of him. He had a grin now as he got more into doing this.
    Driving Neo crazy. That’s what he was doing. Maybe he should have stripped the man himself.
    Phil lifted the bottom of his shirt, and this time, raised it farther up. More expanse of chest slowly peeked through the top as it was pulled to his shoulders. He slipped it over his head and swung it around like a lasso, before tossing that to Neo too.
    That was more like it. The man stood in front of him wearing only a pair of boxers. Goose pimples erupted on his flesh, probably from the chill.
    Neo had goose bumps for an entirely different reason. He wanted to reach out and run his fingers over the planes of his chest. He wanted to lick his way down to Phil’s boxers and pull them off with his teeth.
    He moved on the bed, sliding down, but Phil held up a hand and jerked back. “Let me finish.”
    Neo settled back against the pillows. He muttered, “Don’t take too fucking long.” He’d been the one to start it, but apparently Phil was going to finish it.
    “Never.”
    Phil turned his back to Neo.
    What was that shit? Neo sat up straighter on the bed. What the hell did the man have in mind?
    Phil’s hands came back to cover his ass. He moved, shaking his bum for all he was worth.
    Neo breathed, lying back down as his lungs tried to take in as much air as possible. Phil had a great ass, and the underwear left little to the imagination with their looseness, because Phil’s bits were hanging out. Not to mention Neo had already seen the man’s ass. He knew the goodness the material covered.
    Who would have thought this would be turning him on?
    Phil was showing less skin than the men who danced with Rose. Yet Neo found he was a drooling, almost coming, teenager all over again.
    Bastard.
    Phil finally pulled one of his hands up to the top of the underwear and slowly slipped one side down to reveal the top part of his butt cheek. The other hand slipped up and did the same for that side.
    Too slowly for words, Phil took down his underwear an inch at a time, alternating side to side.
    Neo sat up again, not because he