Six Degrees of Lust (27 page)

After finishing off the Italian ice he got up from the sidewalk

and looked around for a trash can, and that was when he noticed

the boy—or girl. Nicky couldn’t be sure. He’d first seen him…

her… a few weeks ago when he’d been to the center with Logan,

and again yesterday walking around. The kid kept looking at

Logan and Uncle Sam and at one point he got so close Nicky

thought the kid was going to talk to them, but maybe he… she…

changed its mind, because he… or she… turned around and

disappeared.

Nicky didn’t think the kid was dangerous. What could

someone that skinny do to his Uncle, who was big and had

muscles and even carried a gun? Could it be that he needed help?

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Making up his mind, he threw the empty ice cup in the trash

can and approached the kid.

§ § § §

Fine, I’ll tell you if I want to get fucked, but only

because you want me again so bad you’re willing to

do me whenever I feel like having you.

Sam stared at the text message, as pissed off as he was

impressed. Points to Mac for holding his own against Sam’s

trademark bluntness, but minus twenty for being a total shit

about it.

I never said that.

He sent the reply message and wiped his face with his t-shirt.

He was tired and ready for a big ass meal and a shower. After

hours of damn hard physical work and parading his half naked

body in front of dozens of boys in exchange for good tips, he

was more than ready to go home and sleep for twelve hours

straight. There was a reason he didn’t wash his own SUV.

What are you saying then?

Sam considered his reply for a few minutes, knowing too well

it’d be pivotal in his association with Mac. He could lie and say

he didn’t want to be with him. Save himself some aggravation by

moving on, or he could man up and admit that he was willing and

eager to get together again. The level of chemistry that existed

between them freaked him out. He wasn’t even sure he could

handle it, but if he was going to be honest he’d have to say that,

as long as he got to be the one to satisfy Mac’s sexual needs, he

was willing to try.

Of course he’d never say that to the other man.

I’m saying I wouldn’t mind fucking you again if we

happened to be in the same city.

He put his wet t-shirt on and finger-combed his hair. As

soon as Logan came back from buying them some drinks he was

finding Nicky, getting something to eat, and heading home.

190 Taylor V. Donovan

He looked across the street to make sure his nephew was still

in the same spot, and frowned when he noticed him in deep

conversation with a skinny blond. Was that a guy or a girl? The

long hair covering the face made it impossible for Sam to tell,

even though he was wearing impossibly tight clothes. He’d been

encouraging Nicky to make new friends, but he damn well wanted

to know who they were.

He’d taken a few steps towards the pair when his phone

started vibrating in his hand. After a glance at the display he

made a quick detour and found a relatively private spot where he

could have this conversation.

“Hello, Mac.” His heart was beating fast and his mouth was

dry but his voice didn’t give him away.

“Do you visit Texas often?” He could tell right away Mac was

relaxed. It made Sam smile that he sounded nothing like he had

the last time they’d spoken to each other.

“I can’t say I do.”

“I don’t visit NYC either, so might as well say our goodbyes

now, Yank.”

“Just like that?” Sam asked, his smile wider even though he

was still pissed over that damn email. He didn’t commit, but it

made his day to have Mac try to get him to do so. “And here I was

thinking you wanted me to teach you a few more tricks before

you go out and start sharing my valuable lessons with everything

out there that likes cock.”

Sam’s smile disappeared. It made him want to hit something,

just thinking about Mac doing the things they did together with

anybody else.

“I’m a newly awakened gay man.” That drawl made Sam

painfully hard.

“You said you’ve known you’re gay since you were seventeen.”

“But didn’t get to act much on it, so I might as well be. Can

you blame a boy for wantin’ to… broaden his horizons?”

“Not my problem if you wanna be a slut.”

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“And this comin’ from the guy who gets around. Isn’t that

what you told me? That you get around?”

“I like for my sex to be casual and have no problems staying

detached.” Man, why was it that every conversation with Mac

turned into an argument? “You, on the other hand, sound like

you’re looking for Prince Fucking Charming. Let me know if he

sticks around once you start comparing past histories and you tell

him about that horizon of yours.”

“If he doesn’t I can always give you a call.” Mac laughed

a little and Sam wanted to strangle him. “I’m pretty sure you

wouldn’t give a shit about my track record, being how detached

you remain and whatnot.”

“And what makes you think I’d take you? One of the reasons

I don’t do seconds is I hate used goods.”

“That’s it? You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that

you’d get kicked out of bed faster than shit through a goose if

them boys got a taste of your not so charmin’ personality?”

“You tell me, blondie.” Sam snickered, completely fed up

with Mac’s smart mouth. “You’ve gotten mouthfuls of it and

keep coming back for more.”

“Then you’re lucky I am, ’cause if I remember correctly, you

didn’t even want me to leave in the first place. And I only got

them mouthfuls ’cause you wanted to feel my mouth on you with

nothin’ between us.” Mac’s voice was deep, stripped of the earlier

teasing and banter. “Or did I get that wrong?”

Sam took a deep breath and straightened out his shoulders.

“No… No, you didn’t.” It scared him to admit to such a thing,

but he couldn’t lie to Mac about it. Another deep breath and he

went for broke. “We can work something out.”

“Like a long distance rendezvous?” Mac’s voice was so hoarse

Sam could barely hear him. “Or friends with benefits, maybe?”

“If you think you can handle it without getting emotionally

attached.”

“I can handle it.”

192 Taylor V. Donovan

“Then yes, we can try this…friends with benefits thing.” Sam

swallowed hard. “But I warn you, I’ve never done this, so I don’t

know how good I’ll be and—”

“I haven’t either, darlin’.”

Fuck.

He’d missed that word so much. There was something in

Mac’s voice when he said it. Something that was warm and tender

and touched Sam deep inside. But he didn’t want to feel touched

that way, so he had to find a way to stop it.

“Don’t call me darlin’.” Sam’s tone was stern, then totally

ruined the effect by adding to it. “Not if that’s what you call

every Dick and Tom you meet, anyway.” Jesus, what the hell was

that about?

“I really don’t. I just said that ’cause you were being a total

dick.”

“I’m always a dick, so get used to it. And we need to be

completely clear on this,” he added, his voice firmer. “We need

to set some ground rules.”

“That’s fine,” the Texan agreed. “But do you think we can talk

about it later on? I’m at work now and there are things I need to

take care of.”

“What’s your schedule like?”

“I start workin’ around four every day but Mondays, unless

I take extra time off. Then I’m here at the bar till two in the

mornin’… You can always text or call me if you want.”

“Do you want me to call you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then be upfront about it and stop trying to manipulate me.

I don’t fucking like it.”

“Understood.” He could just tell Mac was smiling. The man

was such an ass.

“In the meantime I’m just going to email you.”

“Sounds good.”

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“Later.”

“Later, darlin’.”

Sam ended the call and clutched the phone in his hand with

all his strength as soon as the magnitude of what he’d just done

hit him. “Friends with benefits,” he muttered. “We’re not even

friends, for fuck’s sake!”

“There’s no reason why you couldn’t be, you know? Just relax

and get to know him a little.”

“Shit!” Sam spun around and glowered at his best friend, who

was standing a few feet away from him on the sidewalk. “How

long have you been there?”

“Long enough that I now know you’re feeling possessive

about this man.”

“I am not!” He took the bottled water Logan offered and

downed half of it. “A bad case of lust, that’s all it is.”

“I’ll say.” Logan drank some water and assessed Sam from

head to toe. “But lust to that degree you need to be careful with.”

“What do you mean, to that degree? There are no degrees.

You either feel lust or you don’t.”

“Sharing my valuable lessons with everything out there that

likes cock,” his friend quoted. “Not my fault if you want to be a

slut… You’re the one looking for Prince Fucking Charming…”

Logan raised one of his perfectly shaped eyebrows and smiled

a little. “You sounded possessive to me. I say you’re beyond

wanting this guy and have reached a level where you’re willing to

break some of your own rules in order to be with him. You’re

feeling lust to the nth degree, babe.”

“Fine.” Sam didn’t want to insult his best friend by denying

what was embarrassingly obvious at that point. “I don’t know

what it is about him. We’re supposed to be done with each other,

but I can’t stay away. We’ve fucked and argued and kissed and

fought and said goodbye three times already, and I only met him

a month ago!”

“I see…”

194 Taylor V. Donovan

Sam rubbed his face and looked down at the sidewalk. “He

emailed me… Said the sex between us was nothing special and

that he wants to go and have some fun before he falls in love

again. We fucking burned the sheets and that asshole says it was

nothing special! And he told me about this piece of shit he was

with for years. A dude that never took him out in public… I

don’t even understand why in the world Mac would stay with

him… And he thanked me for teaching him to be with a man

properly. He said thank you for the lessons that he’ll be now

applying somewhere. Can you believe that?” He shut his mouth,

not liking one bit how he sounded at the moment.

“So you want him a whole lot. And in order to keep him from

being with other men you agreed to be friends with benefits,”

Logan said, his tone soothing and understanding.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I guess that’s the gist of it.” He shook

his head in disbelief. “The man lives in Texas and like he said,

he’s close to being a newly awakened gay man. He’ll want sex

twenty-four-seven… Jesus. Even if I were able to swing a weekly

trip to see him I couldn’t keep him completely satisfied. I know

I wouldn’t be. He’ll end up fucking other men… I just know he

will.”

“And you want to be exclusive.”

“No! Fuck no!” He looked at his friend and started pacing

around, mentally giving points to Logan for not showing the

surprise and disbelief he had to be feeling right now. “I just don’t

want to be… One of many. That’s all. And there will be plenty, I

tell you. That manipulative prick is gorgeous.”

“Manipulative how?”

“He has a way of making me do things I would never do

without looking like he’s actually trying to get me to do them. So

far he’s been this power bottom. I think he’s been topping me

from the bottom from the get go.” But he refused to think about

that. “Then there’s my health to think about as well.”

“What do you mean your health?” Now Logan sounded a bit

worried. “Please don’t tell me you—”

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“I’d never go bareback with anyone! But there was plenty of

rimming and blow jobs without latex and I don’t want to have to

give that up ’cause Mac can’t keep it in his fucking pants.”

“How about you discuss that when you call him later to set

those ground rules you need?” He smiled sideways and sipped at

his water.

“You say it like you think I’m crazy for wanting some rules,”

Sam said with a frown. “I really don’t know him and being how

this is a spur of the moment thing it’d be—”

“Please.” Logan lifted his right hand in a rather delicate and

feminine gesture. He looked fucking hot the few times he went

femme. “First of all, he does not qualify as a stranger anymore.

Don’t you see how much you know about him already? You’ve

called him, talked to him, made plans to be together. You’ve

thought about it carefully. Then you thought about it some more

and finally agreed to a friendship with benefits, so spare me the