PREDICTABLY, JENN’s team won the task, and the ribbing had been mostly good-natured as they walked back to the lodge. With Rachel and her team on dinner duty, they’d hurried off to clean up and get started on prep.
After sitting around doing nothing all day, Daryl had opted to go for a run to rid himself of all the excess energy thrumming through his veins. He felt antsy, off-kilter, and though deep down he knew the reason why, he set off determined to exorcise some of it.
Despite a punishing run through the trees and a cool shower after, the moment he took the tie in his hands and wrapped it around Jason’s head, covering his eyes, he was as jittery as ever. He lingered over the knot, fingers smoothing the soft silk.
The room was silent, only their breathing audible in the stillness.
Daryl patted the ends of the tie flat, grazing the back of Jason’s neck, and Jason’s breath hitched.
Daryl froze, that one small sound going straight to his cock.
He stared at the smooth section of skin in front of him, fingers itching to trace above the collar of Jason’s T-shirt and maybe dip underneath. Jason’s head dropped forward, exposing more of his neck, and Daryl closed his eyes, taking a hasty step back, teeth aching with the urge to drop down.
How had he thought this part would be easier?
Adjusting himself, thankful Jason couldn’t see—although judging from his slight smirk he seemed to know anyway—Daryl cleared his throat, hoping his voice didn’t betray him. “You ready?”
Jason nodded. “Lead the way.”
Walking towards the door, giving instructions for Jason as he went, Daryl took a deep breath and hoped like fuck he could get through this without repeating the stupid mistakes they made the night before.
Or worse.
There might be no Rachel to interrupt them this time.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Being blindfolded was as bad as Jason thought it would be.
Not the fact that he couldn’t see where he was going. After steering Daryl around the night before, he remembered how many steps it was to the staircase, and besides, he had Daryl’s hand on the small of his back, guiding him.
And that was the problem.
Daryl.
Jason was hyper-aware of everything he did. Each touch felt like a brand to Jason’s skin, despite the layers of clothing between them. His scent hung heavy in the air—better now they weren’t in their room anymore—but still enough to make Jason’s heart beat faster than normal. And when he leaned in close to say something, his breath ghosted over Jason’s skin, eliciting a shiver, every single time.
Whether or not Daryl was doing it on purpose, as payback maybe, Jason couldn’t tell, but he must be aware of the effect he was having.
Their kiss last night had been one of the hottest moments he’d experienced. The culmination of the tension that had built between them over the course of the night. If Rachel hadn’t knocked on that door, Jason was certain there’d have been orgasms.
He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
No doubt sex with Daryl would’ve been hot, Jason hadn’t been entirely truthful last night after their kiss. While he didn’t necessarily think everyone he had sex with was bond material, he didn’t go into any relationship—be it a one-off or something longer term—with the express intention of never wanting a bond to form.
If it happened, it happened.
He trusted his instincts to steer him on the right path.
And when he’d told Daryl they could have a little tension-relieving sex, that there was no bond potential between them, he’d lied. Because how could he know? How could either of them? The potential sometimes didn’t materialise until you got to know each other better, either physically or mentally. No two bonds were the same. Look at Gareth and Cam, and then Sara and Rachel—two totally different circumstances.
Daryl should know that as well as Jason, but for whatever reason, he chose to remain in the dark about them as much as he could.
If Daryl took him up on his offer of no-strings sex, what would happen if a bond started to form?
They didn’t have to act on it, but Jason would want to, he knew himself well enough to accept that as truth. And Daryl would think he’d lied to him.
Which he kind of had.
