“I want to see you after you get a job,” Holden said.
Of all the answers Bryce had expected, that hadn’t been one of them.
“Who knows when that will be.”
“You said it would be easy.” Holden smirked at him. “Consider it incentive.”
“You’re mean.”
“I could be,” he agreed. “If you’d like that.”
Bryce shivered, breaking eye contact to stare at the ceiling. “I won’t be able to get a job if I walk into every place with a hard-on. It’ll scare the clientele.”
“I figured the hard-on was part of the 'everyone wanting to fuck you' thing.”
Bryce’s jaw fell open and he stared at Holden, feeling more like a gaping fish than a man. “Did you just make that into a joke?”
Holden shrugged one shoulder toward his ear.
“Fine,” Bryce said, an unnerving lightness blooming in his chest. “I’ll go get a job.”
“Good.”
“How will we celebrate?”
“I haven’t decided,” Holden said simply.
“Do I get a say in the festivities?”
“As much of a say as you had last night.”
Bryce’s eyelashes fluttered in a very embarrassing way. “Okay,” he rasped.
“Is it?”
“Very.”
Holden’s tongue traced across the plump curve of his lower lip and his stare roamed over Bryce’s burning hot cheeks.
“Are you sure?”
Bryce managed an abbreviated nod, turning his entire body away from Holden. He bracketed his hands on his hips, sucking in an embarrassingly loud breath of air.
“You can’t keep doing this to a man,” he complained.
Holden let out a soft laugh. “What am I doing?”
“Reducing me to nothing more than bones and muscles andwant.”
“I can stop,” Holden suggested.
Bryce dipped his chin toward his chest in defeat. “Please don’t.”
“Get out of here, Bryce,” Holden said gently. “Go let your brother know you’re alive, go find a job, do the things you need to do, alright? I’ll be here when you’re done.”
He wanted to turn around and kiss Holden, but knew if he saw Holden there on the couch with all that skin and those blue eyes and that amazing mouth, he’d get drawn right back into bed. He had things to do, Holden had to go to work, and he’d never meant for this to happen. Everything he wanted to say tangled in his throat, so he nodded, then let himself out of Holden’s apartment. He didn’t look back, but maybe that was for the best.
CHAPTER 11
