“You’re doing fine because I’m not trying to get in your pants. Deacon is. He’s only looking for a bit of fun, nothing serious.”
Frosty’s eyes narrow to little slits, making me think this was a bad idea. Then they get this wicked little sparkle as he pastes a saucy grin on his face. “Who said I want something serious?”
Now he’s just being a brat. Bring it.“Come on, Frosty, you don’t have a spontaneous bone in your body.”
“You don’t know anything about my body… I mean me.” He licks his lip as color floods his cheeks, but to his credit he doesn’t look away after that little slip of the tongue.
Pretending not to notice his unfortunate word choice, I rattle off a list that’s sure to piss him off. “I know you’re organized as fuck, your schedules are color coded, and you don’t break the rules. None of those traits screams spontaneity.” I look down on him with a smug grin.
“I broke the rules just today. For you.” The venom is back in his voice, but it’s the words that have me reeling.
My back hits the door as I inhale a ragged breath, my mouth so parched it’s hard to get the words out. “What rules?”
“Mine.” Hayden presses his mouth into a firm line and holds my gaze, telling me he’s not lying.Fuck.
Squeezing my eyes shut, as if that could make this whole scene disappear, I mutter, “You shouldn’t do that shit for me. I told you I’m not worth fixing.”
“Maybe I disagree.”
I feel him enter my space and slowly open my eyes. “Maybe you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Then tell me.” It’s barely more than a whisper. A plea. And it sounds so genuine I damn near confess why the mountain that used to sustain me is now slowly killing me. Then his tongue darts out to lick those plump, pink lips, and my mind goes blank.
Grabbing him by the back of the neck, I pull him to me and crush my mouth against his. Hayden’s body goes rigid for about half a second, then I feel his hands sliding up my stomach until they find my chest. Instead of pushing me away they clutch at my shirt, so I tilt my head, urging him to open for me.
The first swipe of his tongue along mine sends a jolt of lust straight to my balls, and a growl rumbling through my chest. He answers with a breathy little whimper that wakes up a primal need to devour him, and I obey, pulling him flush against me.
One hand in his silky brown hair, the other molding the globes of his ass, I take my fill of his mouth. The faint taste of mint is a sharp contrast to the cherry, almond scent filling my nose, and it’s such an unexpected combination that I keep chasing it, delving further as I search for more.
Deep in my chest I feel a tiny prick, a pang of something I don’t recognize. It’s not painful, but I’m not sure it’s pleasant either. Each time my tongue brushes against Hayden’s it flares up, demanding my attention, but my hardening cock steals my focus.
I rock my hips forward as I pull his toward me, nearly collapsing in a heap on the floor as the friction from his rigid cock travels up my dick.Shit, that’s different. And hot as fuck.I do it again, searching for another hit of bliss, when his sultry little moan stops me cold.
Fuck!I push Hayden away and drop my hands to my side, struggling to keep my chest from heaving. A glimpse at his swollen lips nearly has me wanting to reach for him again, but that foreign knot in my chest keeps me rooted in place. Without his body next to mine to muddy my senses, I recognize it.
It’s the cost of doing what I want, what I swore not to allow myself to do since my brother will never get to experience it.Desire. Comfort. Affection.And that ache of betrayal will only get worse unless I walk away.
Pasting a scowl on my face I point at him again, and say the only words that come to mind. “Stay away from Deacon.”
Frosty’s jaw drops as I give him my back and stomp out the door.
Chapter sixteen
Hayden
Ikick the door as it bangs shut, releasing a mere fraction of the pent-up energy coursing through my veins.
Of all the selfish, arrogant, douchey things a man can do, that little move is by far the worst. I mean, who warns you away from another guy, kisses the breath out of you like you belong to him, and shoves you away like you disgust him, only to give you another warning.
I get that he wasn’t planning to kiss me—the wide-eyed look of shock after he pushed me away leaves no doubt he was just as surprised by it as I was—but hedidkiss me.Hekissedme. Not the other way around. So why did he look at me like I did something wrong?
“Argghhh!” I kick the door again. Childish, I know, but since he isn’t here for me to yell at, beating on inanimate objects seems like the next best thing. Plus, it makes me feel a little better about bringing this on myself.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can fix me.”He basically stood there, wrapped in caution tape, with a neon sign flashing the word “danger” and I ignored it, thinking my background meant the warning didn’t apply to me. That I was somehow immune to anypotential fallout because of my training or the fact that my eyes have been wide open this whole time.
And those wide open eyes didn’t just notice he’s been wearing a mask to hide his pain, they noticed things like looks that lingered too long, and lip quirks that threatened to turn into actual smiles. I may not know exactly what Ryder feels for me, but he feelssomething, and I took that as a reason to keep an open mind.
I carried on as if there was nothing to worry about. No risk in allowing myself to explore my attraction toward him. Hell, Iwantedhim to kiss me this morning, despite the fact that he was acting like an ass, and when he did just now, I welcomed it. I craved it.
