“We should get back.” He turned them in the direction of the lodge.
“Yes, you’ve got to get ready for your big night.” She snickered when Jason elbowed her.
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
JASON TRUDGED UP the stairs to his room, half-excited, half feeling like he was headed to the gallows.
Taking a deep breath, he unlocked the door and went inside.
And fuck me. . .
The broad expanse of Daryl’s bare shoulders was the first thing he saw, pale and taut with muscle. Jason inwardly groaned but didn’t even try to look away. Thankfully Daryl had jeans on, but from the way the waistband sat, Jason knew they were undone at the front.
Maybe he could make it to the shower before Daryl turned around.
Kicking off his shoes near the door, Jason snatched some clean clothes from his drawers. “I’m just gonna hop in the shower if you’re done in there.”
Of course, Daryl turned around to speak to him. Of course, he’d choose now to be a chatty Kathy. “Yeah, it’s all yours.”
“Thanks.”
“Enjoy your walk?”
“Yeah, it was good.” Jason managed to keep his gaze focused on Daryl’s face, knowing he’d be done for if he dared glance down. “I’m just gonna. . .” He gestured over his shoulder towards the bathroom. Did he imagine the glint of amusement in Daryl’s eyes?
As much as Jason hoped that was true, at the back of his mind a little voice told him otherwise.
He knows you like him.
Closing the bathroom door behind him, Jason let his head fall back against it.
Bollocks.
They had twelve more days and the fucking full moon to get through. Fuck, he’d be lucky to make it through dinner unscathed, let alone the rest of it.
Come on, Jason. You’ve survived the likes of Wes and Newell. This is nothing.
Right. He steeled himself.Shower, get dressed, go downstairs.
Easy.
AFTER A QUICK shower—he’d thought it best not to linger naked under the water with Daryl only a door away, soundproofed or no—Jason got dressed in the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. A little flushed, but that could easily be blamed on the shower. The citrus shower gel he’d used, followed by the generous amount of deodorant he’d sprayed on, should hopefully go some way to masking any traces of arousal that might escape him.
He just needed to keep focused and not be distracted.
With a deep breath, Jason opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.
Daryl turned to him, dark-blue tie held loosely in his hands. “I guess we’d better do this, then.”
Jason swallowed past the lump in his throat. At least Daryl had a T-shirt on now, thank fuck for small mercies. “I guess so.” There was absolutely nothing he could do about the roughness of his voice.
Walking the few steps to close the distance between them, Jason took the tie from Daryl, the fabric soft against his fingertips. It probably wasn’t the best thing to use as a blindfold, but it would do. “Turn around.” It felt as though all the air had been sucked from the room. His hands shook as he lifted the tie, and he stopped, trying to calm himself. For fuck’s sake. It was only a big deal because he was making it into one. Daryl was perfectly relaxed, shoulders loose, waiting for him to get on with it.
Jason breathed in, then out slowly, and lifted the tie to cover Daryl’s eyes. He pulled it tight and tied it once. “That okay?” he whispered.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” The gravelliness to Daryl’s voice took Jason by surprise, and he almost dropped the tie. Not so unaffected then.
