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“I sprained it,” Malcom laughed awkwardly. “Stepped off the curb wrong if you can believe it.”
Roman ignored the man’s attempts to draw him into chit chat and instead said, “You assured me I’d be able to examine the property today.”
Malcom froze for a moment and then his face flushed as he nodded frantically.
“Yes, yes, you will. My son-” Malcom’s attention shifted to his wife. “Where is he?” he snapped.
“He’ll be back any second. He went to the pharmacy to get your aspirin, remember?”
Malcom’s face got even redder as he glared at his wife and a chill went through Roman as he wondered what exactly the man would have done if he hadn’t been there. Malcom’s eyes shifted back to him.
“My son will be able to show you the property – he knows it like the back of his hand,” Malcom said quickly.
Before Roman could make the man squirm even more, he heard the door behind him open and when he glanced over his shoulder, his whole body seized up with a mix of excitement and dread when he saw the shock of blond hair.
“Dad, they were out of aspirin so I got you some-”
The young man’s words died off as he lifted his head and his surprised green gaze met Roman’s. But unlike the night before, this time his eyes were anything but empty. There was only one thing in them as he glanced from Roman to his father and then back to Roman. Fear. Absolute and total fear.
Malcom’s voice barely even registered when he said, “Mr. Blackwell, this is my son, Hunter.”
* * *
No.
The word kept growing louder and louder in Hunter’s mind as he struggled to take in enough air to keep from passing out. His chest actually hurt as he took in the sapphire eyes that refused to release him from their hold.
God, if he’d seen those eyes when he’d woken up this morning, he never would have been able to force himself out of the man’s bed. Hell, it had been bad enough that he’d ended up pressed up against the guy’s broad chest with his nose buried against his neck. The temptation to swipe his tongue over the corded muscles had been so profound that he’d actually done it before he could stop himself. And he’d gotten hard instantly. Luck had been on his side because the man hadn’t woken up then or even when Hunter had disengaged himself from the strong arms that had been wrapped around him. Hunter had let himself have one last look at the guy before he’d left the hotel room, his regret that he would never see him again weighing heavily in his gut.
Hunter was helpless to tear his eyes away from the man and he was actually moving forward towards him as if being pulled by some invisible string when a sharp pain radiating through his hand stopped him. The end of his father’s crutch hit his fingers for a second time, knocking the small paper bag in his hand to the ground. He managed to turn his head long enough to see his father’s dark scowl and a tremor of fear went through him when he saw his father’s mouth moving but couldn’t hear what he was saying. God, how long had he been standing there staring at the guy?
And then the man was standing in front of him, his big hand closing over Hunter’s. He could feel the callouses that had felt so good against the back of his neck last night when the guy had held him still for his kiss.
“Roman,” the man said softly as he gently shook Hunter’s hand that was still stinging from his father’s attempt to get his attention.
“Hunter,” Hunter responded as relief coursed through him. The guy wasn’t going to reveal that they knew each other…Roman. His name was Roman. Hunter’s relief was short-lived as Roman’s finger suddenly stroked over the inside of his wrist. It felt so good that Hunter actually shuddered and he let out a soft sigh. Roman must have noticed because his gaze fell to Hunter’s mouth and heat filled his gaze.
“So as I was saying, Mr. Blackwell, Hunter will take you up to the property to have a look around and then you and I can meet back here to go over the specifics.”
Hunter was glad when Roman finally released his hand but was surprised when he didn’t look at his father when he said, “I intend to do a thorough inspection of the land, Mr. Greene. If and when I’m ready to talk specifics” – Roman finally glanced over his shoulder at Hunter’s father but his expression was steely and unflinching – “I’ll let you know.”
The look of muted outrage on his father’s face was both frightening and thrilling at the same time. Few men spoke to Malcom Greene with such blatant disrespect and the ones who did usually ended up regretting it. His father’s status as mayor probably didn’t seem like much to a man like the one standing before him but Malcom Greene’s hard-nose, conservative political views had managed to make him some powerful friends in powerful places.
“We should go,” Hunter murmured as he leaned down to grab the discarded bag off the floor. He leaned past Roman to hand the bag to his father and instantly regretted it because his body brushed up against Roman’s for the briefest of moments. He noticed his mother standing near her desk, her hands clenched around what looked like a bunch of wadded up tissues and she sent him a quick smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. He ignored the urge to go to her since that would just set his father off even more. And he knew it wouldn’t make a bit of difference…it never did.
Hunter didn’t miss his father’s warning look as he turned and hurried towards the front door. He could feel Roman’s presence behind him but didn’t turn around. As soon as they reached the sidewalk, Hunter looked up and down the quiet street. It had been pure luck that he hadn’t run into anyone he knew on his walk to the pharmacy across the city square and a borderline miracle that the clerk behind the register was an older woman he’d never seen before. But he knew his luck wouldn’t hold out for long so he quickly searched out Roman’s car and basically ran to the passenger side. He didn’t miss the strange look Roman shot him as he found his keys and then pressed the button on the key fob to unlock it. He practically jumped into the car and secured his seatbelt before dropping his head so that anybody walking by wouldn’t see his face. The car’s tinted side windows were a blessing in disguise.
“You okay?” Roman asked once he’d settled in the driver’s seat.
Hunter managed a nod since being closed up in the small space with the man whose presence was playing havoc with all his senses wasn’t making it any easier to relax. “Um, if you want to back out and go that way,” Hunter said as he pointed in the direction he was talking about. He waited but when the car remained exactly where it was, he looked up and swallowed hard when he saw Roman studying him.
“We need to talk about what happened last night.”
ChapterThree
“Nothing…nothing happened,” Hunter sputtered.
“So that wasn’t your tongue shoved down my throat last night?” Roman asked with amusement.
