Six Degrees of Lust (38 page)

should be more conscientious about it.”

“Right.” Mac bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing

again. The man looked too cute for words whenever he got in a

snit about something.

“Talking really isn’t what I had in mind anyway.”

“You never want to talk, darlin’, but you know we’re going to,

so stop complainin’.”

“The stubble’s hot.” Sam cocked his head and let his blue eyes

check Mac out. The fact that he was doing so through a web cam

didn’t diminish the effect it had on Mac’s body. “You’re looking

good tonight.”

“You like it?” Mac rubbed his cheeks self-consciously. “Didn’t

take the time to shave today.”

“I do.”

He wasn’t surprised when Sam looked down. The guy couldn’t

pay a compliment without feeling uncomfortable, but he always

had something nice to say. Such a paradox he was sometimes.

“How about a game of online poker?” Mac asked. Truth was

he wasn’t much for talking tonight either. He was having enough

trouble keeping his tongue from rolling out of his mouth at the

hotness that was his freshly showered guy.

“Strip poker?” Sam’s heated look nearly had Mac coming in

his shorts.

“Is there any other kind?” he teased, but apparently Sam

missed it completely because he looked rather troubled for a

second.

“You tell me. Play online poker often?”

“Only with you, darlin’.”

270 Taylor V. Donovan

There it was again, that tick in the corner of Sam’s left eye that

came about whenever they stumbled upon a subject that involved

the possibility of Mac even talking to other guys. Sam never flat

out asked, but Mac never made it too difficult for him to find

out he wasn’t. Friends with benefits rules notwithstanding, it was

important to Mac that Sam knew it was just him.

Only him.

“Bring it on, then.” Sam’s tone might have been indifferent,

but Mac could tell he was relieved.

And it turned out poker was a good idea. They both got to

relax and make fun of each other’s plays, and after two winning

hands, Mac sat back and watched an already shirtless Sam start

on the button of his shorts. Then suddenly he got up from his

desk chair and went to open the bedroom door.

It baffled Mac, as Sam was anal retentive when it came to

keeping his private life a secret. God knew it took some serious

maneuvering to get him to talk about anything that wasn’t the

current news.

“Hey, champ.” The caring tone he used to address whoever

was at the door was one he’d never heard from Sam. It moved

something inside him. “You need anything?”

Mac didn’t hear an answer, but two seconds later he saw Sam

pull someone who looked like a smaller version of him inside the

room and close the door. Then the boy glanced at the computer

monitor and Mac didn’t know what to do.

Shit.

How long before Sam had a cow over his nephew seeing him?

Didn’t that violate the “don’t ask me to meet your family and

don’t expect me to meet yours” rule? But the boy kept looking,

so Mac smiled at him and waved. In turn, the boy waved back

and returned his smile.

He looked so much like Sam. They had the same black hair

and blue eyes; the same adorable smile. And he was probably

going to be as tall as his uncle when he was all grown up.

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“Mac…”

He took a deep breath and got ready for whatever it was Sam

was going to throw his way, regardless of the fact that it wasn’t

him who’d let the boy inside before terminating their video chat

session.

But Sam seemed to be fine. Maybe a little worried when he

looked at the boy, but fine.

Sam put his hands on the kids shoulder and squeezed it a

little. “This is my nephew, Nicholas.”

“I like Nicky better,” the boy rushed to say.

“Hey there, Nicky.” Mac smiled at him again. “Pleasure to

meet ya.”

“Nicky, meet Mac.”

“Hi.” The kid’s face flushed a little, but his smile got wider.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“How are you enjoyin’ your summer vacation?”

“I’m having fun. Hanging out with friends and stuff.” Nicky

took a few steps closer to the monitor. “Why do you talk so

weird?”

Mac chuckled and glanced at Sam to make sure it was okay

to answer. “Because I’m from Texas. We have a bit of a drawl

around these parts.”

“Texas… Oh!” The kid sat down on the desk chair and leaned

so close to the monitor Mac had to lean back in order to see him.

“You’re Uncle Sam’s friend. He told me he was going to see you

when you came to New York, but he didn’t know if you’re a

cowboy. Are you? Do you have cows and horses?”

“No, I’m not a cowboy.” Mac grinned. “And the last time I

saw a cow it was on my plate.”

“Your plate…? Oh! You mean a steak!” Nicky grinned,

and Mac thought he was adorable. They were powerful, those

Shaughnessy genes.

“With lots of barbecue sauce.”

272 Taylor V. Donovan

“That’s how I like it too.” Nicky grinned again. “You’re cool…

but your hockey team sucks.”

“Does it, now?” Mac said with a laugh. “I didn’t even know

we have one.” He laughed harder when the kid just stared at him.

“I like football.”

“So maybe you’re not that cool after all.”

That time it was Sam who laughed, and it turned Mac’s world

sideways.

Mac had never seen him laugh like that. He hadn’t even seen

him smile that often the few times they’d been together. Sam was

the epitome of uptight. He had no qualms about engaging in

sexual activities in the parking lot of an airport, but closed up like

a clam if someone asked him his favorite color.

But right now that man was gone, and in his place was

someone who could not only enjoy a joke, but maybe even tell

one himself. Mac shifted on his seat. Not even some of Sam’s

unexpected answers to their twenty questions game had made

him feel so off kilter before.

That laugh was proving to be lethal.

Mac never thought he’d get to witness that protective and

caring side he’d suspected Sam had all along. Getting a glimpse

at the love he had for his nephew and the kind of father he

would have been had his baby girl lived was more than Mac had

bargained for. It was unexpected insight he didn’t want.

Samuel Shaughnessy was the stud that fucked him ten

different ways to Sunday once a month. He was the hard, too

sexy for words body Mac used to get his rocks off. He couldn’t

afford to see him under a different light…to think about him in

any other way. It wasn’t safe.

“…and football is probably the most important thing for

Texans, so he’s more than cool down there.” Mac’s respect for

Sam shot up about thirty points. “Besides, have you forgotten

about the Giants and the Jets?”

“Fine.” Nicky smiled at Mac again. “I take that back, you’re

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273

still cool.”

“Well, thank you buddy.” He winked, then cleared his throat

before addressing Sam. “On that note, I’m gonna let you guys

go, okay?”

“Yeah… Champ here has something he needs to talk about.”

“You guys have a good night. It was great meeting you,

Nicky.”

“You too.” The boy waved goodbye and pretty much leapt

from the chair to his uncle’s king size bed.

“Mac, wait.” Sam stood in front of the monitor, blocking

Mac’s view of the boy. “I’m sorry for… you know…” He glanced

briefly over his shoulder.

“Don’t even mention it, darlin’,” Mac replied, forgetting

Nicky could still hear him until the boy chuckled. Shit. “Have a

good night.”

“G’night.” And before the cuteness on his screen could do

any major damage, Mac signed off and left his room.

§ § § §

Sam stared at the black screen for a few seconds before

shutting down his computer and joining his nephew in bed.

After dinner they’d played a couple of games of Call of Duty

and discussed hockey camp some more now that Nicky wasn’t

worried about being incommunicado from Sasha, and by the time

they said goodnight the boy seemed to be doing fine. But that

had apparently changed at some point during the forty minutes

Sam had spent talking to Tex.

He really wanted to find out what was on the kid’s mind, but

he couldn’t get Mac’s expression out of his own. There’d been

something there when he was talking to Nicky. Something that

was soft and tender. But then that had changed, and when he

left the only thing Sam could read on that gorgeous face was

determination, some kind of resolve. It bugged him not knowing

what it could be.

Was Mac pissed over Nicky’s interruption? Was the kitten

274 Taylor V. Donovan

mad because Sam insisted on enforcing the no family talk rule

but had now allowed for a huge part of his own life to show his

face while they’d been talking? He’d be pissed as hell if he was

Mac. Seriously, what he’d just done was so hypocritical he didn’t

even want to think about it. He had no business letting Nicky talk

to Mac when he had refused to listen to the guy the few times he

tried to talk about his friends and the twins.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Nicky said when Sam landed

next to him on the mattress.

“It’s okay.”

“Mac called you darling… Is he your boyfriend?”

“Nah, he’s just a friend.” And to a certain degree Sam

supposed he really was.

“Uncle Sam…” Nicky bit his lip once again. “Are you gay,

like Logan?”

“Nope. I’m bisexual.” He looked at his nephew. “It means

I’m attracted to both women and men.”

“Oh.”

“Does it bother you?” he asked softly. “To know that’s how

I am?”

“No.” He shook his head so hard Sam wouldn’t be surprised

if he got a kink in his neck. “I know our sexuality does not define

us as people.”

“Exactly.” And God bless Logan for teaching his nephew so

well. Sam rubbed his face with his hands and glanced at the boy.

“So tell me. What’s going on with you?”

“I got a request.” Sam waited and waited, but the boy never

finished.

“What is it, kiddo?” he pushed, turning his head so that he

could fully look at him.

“Do you think you can set me up on a date?”

“Set you up… What?”

“You know, like when I used to go on play dates?”

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Honest to God, he had no idea what the heck that was. “You

used to go on what?”

“Play dates.” Nicky bit his lip before continuing. “Dad and

Mom always set up play dates for me with Dad’s co-workers and

friends’ daughters. I hated them, but they made me go anyway.

Now I’m older so I guess it’d be a regular date, but I don’t like

any of the girls from school in that way and don’t want to ask

them out.”

“Why did you hate the play dates?” Sam asked once he found

his voice. The last thing he imagined when he opened the door

was that Nicky would finally want to talk about his father.

“Because they were so boring. The girls always wanted to play

house. They wanted for me to hold their dolls and they talked

about weddings and how I should grow up and be a doctor and

make lots of money and buy them diamonds and marry them.”

Sam chuckled at that. He still remembered his ex-wife talking

about the exact same thing back when they were teens. “All girls

want to get married.”

“I wanted to play outside with the boys, but Dad wouldn’t let

me. I was allowed to be on the hockey team but I never got to go

to the guys’ houses or anything like that.”

“Did you ask your mom to run some interference for you?”

“Yeah… I really wanted to go to my friend Jamie’s birthday

sleepover, so I asked Mom. I don’t think that went too well,

though.”

“Want to tell me why?”

“You promise not to say anything?”

“You have my word. I won’t say anything to anyone.” By

that point they were both whispering, and Sam just knew he was

about to get some much needed answers.

“I think Dad hurt Mom when she asked him to let me go to

Jamie’s house.”

“You mean physically hurt her?”

276 Taylor V. Donovan

“Yeah… her face was all bruised… She said she fell but I

know she didn’t. She never asked Dad to let me go anywhere

after that. She said I had to obey and follow instructions and I’d

be fine… and she made me go on the play dates more than ever.”

“I see…”

“I remember this girl, she said she didn’t want to have another

play date with me ’cause I’m boring. He yelled at me in the car.

Said I had to be with the girls and asked me if I…”

“If you what? What did he ask?”

Nicky swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut. “Asked me

if I was getting hard already and said I had to fuck girls as soon

as I started… you know… getting hard.”

“When was this?”

“I dunno… A year ago? I know I was eleven.”