Page 19 of Tangled With You

That might have been the night he’d fallen in love.

Love.

Holy shit, it truly was. And how fucking terrifying was that?

Except lately, it was becoming less terrifying. On thecontrary, it had become downright appealing.

And, of course, he’d seen Trevor’s skill in both managingand working a case when they’d gone in together for the Mercury moneylaundering operation. Ollie might have already fallen hard for Trevor by thattime—not that he’d told a soul—but that was the operation where he realized itwasn’t just mental.

He’d wanted Trevor. To touch. To kiss. And, yeah,to fuck.

He’d sat in the audience, pretending to be a drunk patron ashe watched Trevor strip down to nothing but a g-string,and he’d gotten hard.

It had been mortifying. No, it had been terrifying.

It had been electrifying.

But after a few days, those emotions had been replaced bysomething else. Not lust, but need. His mind already knew he needed Trevor inhis life as a friend. Now, his body and his heart wanted so much more.

The knowing helped. That certainty of what and who hewanted.

Even now, though, there was an unease. It wasn’t becauseTrevor was a guy. Ollie could give a flying fuck who anyone slept with so longas they were of-age and consenting. No, what still sort of bothered Olliewasn’t that he wanted Trevor—and god how he wanted him—but that he was meetingan Ollie he’d never known before. And how had he made it all the way into histhirties without having any idea that he was attracted to men?

He didn’t have a clue about that, but he told himself itdidn’t matter. Why should it? The onlyimportant thing was Trevor. And as he looked at Trevor standing at the front ofthe room, confident and in charge, he couldn’t remember ever being with anyonewho gave him quite the same gut punch. He’d fallen hard, but it hadn’t beenfast. And he’d left Trevor hanging for far too long.

Earlier, he’d shown him how he felt.

Tonight, he needed to tell him.

He saw the instant that Trevor noticed him in the room. He’dpaused in his conversation with Denny, a lithe blonde who was one of thesharpest agents at the SSA and pretty much a savant with anything tech. Now, helooked up, met Ollie’s eyes, and flashed a quick grin.

That was all it took for Ollie to feel his cock tighten.God, he was a goner.

Was he really ready for this? Ready for what he wanted?

He was.

They’d been dancing around this for ages, hadn’t they?Friends? They were way more than friends. But the heart of their relationshiphad always been buried under the surface. Today, they’d finally pulled it tothe top. And that was exactly where it needed to be. Especially now, when Ollieknew that he’d need all his strength to get through this ordeal—and Trevor’s strength,too.

Courtney might not be the love of his life, but she wasspecial to him. And he intended to do whatever it took to make sure she camehome safe.

“Hey, McKee. How are you holding up?”

Ollie jumped, realizing that he’d gotten lost in his own thoughts,because the man standing in front of him was entirely out of context.

“Brax? What on earth are you doing here?” He’d becomefriends with Braxton Reed at the Academy, and then they’d both gone theirseparate ways.

“Transferred to LA last week,” Brax said, dragging his fingersthrough his thick, blond hair, the kind that any surfer would be proud of.Except that Brax didn’t surf. Born and bred in Denver, Brax would probably behard-pressed to even identify an ocean.

“LA? You? The man who used to rave about his time on theslopes. You do know that LA is pretty much sea level, right?”

Brax shrugged. “What can I say? They made an offer Icouldn’t refuse, and I came running. Besides, there’s Big Bear. Mt. Baldy.Mammoth. California’s not totally lacking for skiing.”

“Not totally,” Ollie repeated. “But say again? An offer youcouldn’t refuse?”

“Today’s my first day at Stark Security,” his friendannounced. “I’m sorry about the circumstances, man. But I’m glad to be helping.I like Courtney. She doesn’t deserve this shit.”

“No,” Ollie agreed. “She doesn’t.” He shook his head, stillslightly bewildered. “Damn, though, it’s good to see you.”