Six Degrees of Lust (16 page)

breathless. He couldn’t lie to himself by pretending he didn’t want

more. He wanted it so badly he was vibrating with contained

energy and anticipation.

But first he had things to do.

Sam went back to his desk and forced himself to go through

the pile of reports and budgets he needed to review and approve

before his assistant could send them out to the bureau’s powers

that be.

And all the time he kept looking at the clock and thinking

“Just a few more hours…”

§ § § §

Mac closed the door softly behind him and, after leaving

his duffle on the bed, he texted Sam his room number and

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instructions to pick up a key at the front desk. At some point

between South Carolina and Virginia he had decided he didn’t

want to have to open the door for the other man; that it’d be

easier if Sam let himself in and found him watching T.V. or

something. Behaving like he wasn’t so nervous he was about to

have a breakdown.

Yeah. Better to play it casual and let Sam make the first move.

As soon as he received the I’ll be there by 8 reply, he put the

cell phone away and looked around the room he had booked

for the night. There was a door leading to the bathroom, a desk,

coffee maker, a flat screen T.V., nightstands and lamps, a couch,

and a king size bed. It would do.

Because his would be such a short stay he’d decided to avoid

Manhattan altogether and get something near the airport. From

his previous visit he knew how much of a nightmare the traffic

in NYC could be, and the last thing he wanted to do was spend

his precious, very limited time sitting in a cab trying to get from

the airport to the bed.

He walked over to the window and took in the surroundings.

He could see houses in the distance, a major highway, and a

marina. The open-space view helped him calm down some after

spending hours trapped on that frigging plane. Mac truly disliked

planes, but that hadn’t stopped him from hopping onto one yet

again just so that he could get laid. By Sexy Super Agent.

Finally.

A glance at his watch told him he had about forty-five minutes

before the Yankee showed up; enough time to take a shower and

do some preparation work.

“This is it, Mac,” he whispered. “You really did it. Came all

the way to NYC to see him again.”

Mac took what he was going to need out of his duffle bag.

The box of condoms he left on the night stand, but the lube he

took with him to the bathroom. He started the shower, took his

clothes off, and checked himself out in the mirror.

His exercise routine was the one thing he never skipped, no

108 Taylor V. Donovan

matter what. He was in great shape and knew he looked good,

but that didn’t stop him from feeling nervous. What if he didn’t

measure up to Sam’s memories of his body? Of him?

“And why wouldn’t you?” he asked his reflection. “It’s only

been a few days and you haven’t changed a bit. Don’t you dare

feel inadequate, Mackie boy, don’t you fuckin’ dare.”

He took a deep breath and stepped in the shower, all along

reminding himself he was in control. This was his show and he

was determined to run it till the very end in the way he needed to.

There was no reason to fret, especially over a man he wouldn’t

see ever again.

“If he loses interest, I can always send him home and get a

good night’s sleep.”

And he would be just fine with that.

§ § § §

“Did you remember to grab your toothbrush?”

“Yup.”

“What about clean underwear?”

“Come on, Uncle Sam!” Nicky whined, looking around

frantically, making sure they were still alone. “You’re embarrassing

me.”

Sam stopped at a red light and did his own inspecting of the

vehicle before resting his eyes on Nicky once again, a teasing

smile plastered on his face. “Nobody here but us, kiddo.”

“What if they have cameras and microphones in your truck?

I know they put them everywhere.” The boy put a hand on

the side of his mouth to conceal his words. “They can see and

hear everything.” He chuckled a little and looked around again.

“Maybe there are some under your seat.” Nick made a goofy face

and they grinned at each other.

“Then you better hope they didn’t make it to our bathroom

yet.” Nick looked horrified for about two seconds and covered

his privates with his good hand. Then he burst out in a laugh that

was music to Sam’s ears.

six DegRees of Lust
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He mussed his nephew’s hair and concentrated on the rush

hour traffic, not even bothering to ask Nicky who he meant by

“they.” It could have been aliens for all he cared. This was, hands

down, the most relaxed, childlike behavior he’d observed in his

nephew since he picked him up a month ago, and that was the

only thing that mattered to Sam at the moment.

Nick jumped up and down on his seat and leaned forward to

change the station for the tenth time since they left the house. He

seemed to get bored with the songs one minute after they started,

but Sam knew the real reason the boy kept playing with the radio

was simply because he could.

Turned out the best uncle in the entire world was the first

person ever to allow him to be in the front seat, which was

ridiculous. The boy was already twelve.

“Be careful you don’t strangle yourself with the seatbelt,” he

advised, one eye on the road and the other on the boy, looking

for signs that something may be off. He appeared to be doing

fine, but Sam needed to make sure. “Do you have the charger?

I want you to keep that phone with you all the time, okay? You

can call me if you need me.” Sam knew his best friend would

make sure Nicky was fine, but leaving the boy to spend the night

somewhere without him for the first time made him all kinds of

nervous.

“I know. I’m not a little kid.” He sat back and lowered his

face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you going out on a date?” The boy looked at him

sideways.

“Nope.”

“Then where are you going?” This time he didn’t look at Sam.

He was too busy trying to peel the edges off his cast.

“I’m going to hang out with a friend that’s coming from out of

state.” The words came out before he could think them through.

Mac was not his friend by any stretch of the imagination.

110 Taylor V. Donovan

“Out of state?”

“From Texas.”

“Texas?” The look of confusion on his handsome face made

Sam smile. “Why would anyone want to live in Texas? They only

have like cows and horses down there.”

“They got lots of people and even a hockey team. The Dallas

Stars. They won the Stanley Cup ten years ago.” Sam’s smile

broadened when Nicky looked at him. He could always count

on hockey to get his nephew’s attention. “You know, Texas is

the biggest state in the country. They’re also the second most

populated. And they have so much history… did they teach you

about the Alamo in school yet?”

Sam rolled his eyes at himself as soon as he realized he’d

just turned an innocent question into a lesson. Christ. He was

becoming such a parent.

“It makes sense that Texas is the biggest state. They need a

lot of space to put all those cows.” Again they grinned at each

other. “And they have hockey, so I guess it isn’t that bad. Is your

friend a cowboy?”

Sam snickered, trying to picture Mac on top of a horse. “No

way.”

Then he sobered up. Truth was he could very well be and Sam

wouldn’t know. Mac had mentioned work a few times but was

never specific as to what it was that he did.

“Is it a guy or a girl?”

“He’s a guy.” All male U.S. prime. Intoxicatingly so. Better to

snap out of that line of thought quick, though. He didn’t need to

get a boner around his nephew. “Why do you ask?”

Nick played with his cast some more, looked around the car,

changed the station, and counted his fingers before he finally

answered. “Just curious.”

Sam knew that wasn’t it, but there was no use in trying to

make him ‘fess up to whatever the real reason was. If he pushed

the boy when he wasn’t ready to talk about something, Nicky

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would shut down completely. Sam knew this because he was the

same way.

He made a turn onto the street where Logan’s building was

located and double parked in front of the entrance. “Hey…” He

put a finger under his nephew’s chin and turned his face towards

him. “Are you okay?”

“I am.”

“Are you sure?” He looked the boy straight in the eyes. Nicky

was a smaller replica of him. The likeness was so substantial he

could have been Sam’s own kid, and sometimes he felt like he was

looking at the boy he had been twenty years ago.

“Yeah.” He looked like he meant it, but that didn’t stop Sam

from wondering if it was too soon to be doing this.

“’Cause, if you want to, we can just go back home.”

Sam was ashamed of it, but he did resent a little having to

make that offer. He knew his life had changed. He had obligations

and responsibilities towards other people now. He might not be

entirely sure if he was ready for it, or even understood what

it all meant and entailed, but he was still two hundred percent

committed to his nephew.

Nick’s emotional recovery was his priority, but going to see

Mac was something he needed to do for himself. Under normal

circumstances he wouldn’t be staying out with the guy for so long

but alas, normal didn’t seem to apply to his behavior in relation

to Mac.

Sam was hoping that, after a few hours of wild, naughty sex,

he’d be able to finally turn that page. Take care of the lust and go

back to be the man he’d been for the past twelve years.

“But I don’t want to,” Nick was saying. “I like being with

Logan. We’re gonna have pizza and watch some old karate

movies. He’s got the best!”

“Are you positive?”

“Yup.” He looked out the window and his face lit up. “There

he is!” He tried to open the door and glanced at Sam when he

112 Taylor V. Donovan

couldn’t. “Let me out, Uncle Sam.”

Sam unlocked the doors and watched him rush out of the

SUV. He was really excited over spending the night at Logan’s

place. Nicky had known Logan since he was six. Their visits had

been sporadic, but Logan was still one of Nicky’s favorite people.

Yet another way in which uncle and nephew were identical.

He grabbed the boy’s overnight bag and went to join them on

the sidewalk.

“…and if you get tired of karate we can watch Godzilla.

I’ve got the original one.” Sam heard his friend tell Nick as he

approached. “It was filmed over fifty-five years ago, when they

didn’t have special effects or CGI. It’s pretty cool.”

“Awesome!” Nicky grinned and jumped up and down a little,

always mindful of holding his arm against his chest. In the past

weeks he’d become very adept at protecting his cast. “We’re

gonna watch black and white Godzilla.” He turned to look at

Logan again. “Did you get some popcorn?”

“Cheese flavored popcorn, sour worms, chips and dip…”

Sam saw his friend make a face. The man was a health nut. He

probably got a clogged artery from buying so much junk. “I also

got some celery and fresh fruit.”

“Good luck with that,” Sam said.

“Ewwwwww!” Nicky made gagging noises. “Come on. Do I

have to eat that crap? I’m not a kid anymore!”

“Some of it, yes,” Logan said. “Age is irrelevant when it

comes to good nutrition and health habits. Plus, didn’t you say

you want to be a pro athlete when you grow up? If you meant

it, you better get used to that crap. And while you eat it we’re

going to talk about your perception of crap food. It looks like it’s

somewhat misrepresented.”

“Huh…” Nick seemed to ponder on that for a few seconds,

and then he asked something that threw both adults for a loop.

“Will you let me mess around with your makeup if I eat some of

that disgusting green stuff instead of throwing it in the garbage

when nobody’s looking?”

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Sam and Logan looked at each other then back at Nicky, who

was now chewing on his lower lip something fierce.

“Man,” Sam finally said, keeping his tone light and playful.

“I don’t know if I should reprimand you for cheating your way

out of eating your veggies in the house or congratulate you for

your negotiating skills.” He pulled his nephew towards him and

rubbed his narrow shoulders and back, then smiled a little when

he glanced at Logan and saw him nod his approval to Sam’s

reaction.

“I think there’s a chance you guys’ similarities could turn out

to be more than physical,” his best friend said with that deep,