Six Degrees of Lust (45 page)

same time.

Sam buried his finger in his hole, deep and hard.

Mac hollowed his cheeks and sucked harder, and sure enough,

Sam pulsated into his mouth.

Mac’s eyes rolled back in his head, the hot ambrosia that was

Sam on his tongue sending him over the edge. They fucked each

other’s mouths then, shuddering and riding the pleasure wave

until there was no more seed to be shot or swallowed.

After a few minutes Sam turned around and collapsed on

him, letting his entire body sink into Mac’s side and littering light

kisses all over his chest and throat. Still trying to recover, Mac

hugged him tighter and kissed his sweat covered brow. He was

too overwhelmed by the force of his orgasm to open his eyes

just yet.

It shouldn’t be so intense between them. It shouldn’t feel like

the world shifted every time they were together, and it definitely

shouldn’t feel so goddamn right.

Fuck.

“Let’s take a nap, kitten.”

Mac didn’t answer. There was no need to, as Sam passed out

the second the words left his mouth; body turned sideways, one

arm across Mac’s torso and his face safely tucked in the curve

of his neck. He looked relaxed, as if nothing was wrong in his

world.

Meanwhile, Mac’s was being turned upside down, and he

didn’t know what he could possibly do to stop it.

August 27, 2009

South Beach, Florida

“…and I don’t understand why you are so surprised his ass

got thrown in jail. He violated the restraining order and got smart

mouthed with the cops when they showed up.”

“You need to get him out.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to lift a finger to help

that scumbag,” Sam barked into his cell phone. “And you need to

get your priorities straight. He hurt your son!”

“Steven is my husband and Nick’s father. He has every right

to see him,” his sister whined.

“He lost those rights the moment he broke Nicky’s arm, which

is why he’s not allowed to be near him, or you,” he reminded her

for the hundredth time during their two minute conversation.

“How could you tell him where Nicky is? Jesus, Sandy… What

the hell’s wrong with you?”

“I’m going home,” she announced. “I need to get Steven

a lawyer and do everything I can to get the restraining order

cancelled.”

“If you do that, I’ll move heaven and earth to make sure you

are declared unfit as a mother.”

His voice was low and calm, even though he was visibly

shaking in outrage. It was the tone he used whenever he needed

to make sure listeners knew he meant business, and thankfully

his sister got the message, because she backed off immediately.

“I’m going to talk to Steven,” she muttered. “Then we’ll

decide what to do once Nicky returns from hockey camp. We’re

his parents, we know what’s best for him.”

“I beg to differ.”

322 Taylor V. Donovan

“He’s my son, Sam, not yours. If you wanted to be a dad so

badly, you shouldn’t have killed your daughter.”

“Fuck you, Sandy. Just… fuck you.”

He disconnected the call and took a deep breath in an effort

to calm down before he put his fist through a wall and security

came knocking on their door.

“Shit.”

He raked his fingers through his almost dry hair. “I really miss

the days when I didn’t give a shit about anything other than work

and the only life I was responsible for was my own… I really do.”

Not that he would do anything different given the opportunity,

but at the moment he was aggravated enough to mean what he

said.

“Do you need to go home? It’s okay if you do. I understand.”

Mac’s soft drawl startled the bejesus out of him. He was still

in the sunken tub, surrounded by bubbles and scented candles.

Up until his phone rang twenty minutes or so ago, Sam had been

right there with him, nestled between the Texan’s long legs and

talking about everything and nothing at all while jets of hot water

massaged their bodies damn near close to inertia.

It had been Mac’s idea to get in the tub together after a day

of scuba diving and parasailing, and for once Sam had decided

to just do what he wanted without worrying about the possible

consequences.

But now there he was, having a private conversation in front

of Mac, and after trying so hard to keep his life as removed as

possible from whatever was going on between them no less.

Sam looked down and considered Mac’s offer.

When he first got the call from Nicky’s hockey camp to let

him know Steven had shown up and tried to take his son home

with him, Sam had almost panicked. There was no way in hell

he was letting that asshole near his nephew again. But then he

was informed of how his brother-in-law had gotten stupid and

ultimately arrested. The camp officials had proven they took

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323

Nicky’s safety seriously and it’d be a few days before Steven could

work his way out of jail after resisting arrest and attacking two

officers, so there was no need. The only worry he had was his

sister, but after her final comment the last thing he needed was to

be anywhere near her. Goddamn bitch.

Besides, he refused to let her ruin his time with Mac.

“No,” he looked down at the hardwood floor, wet from him

jumping out of the tub without bothering to grab a towel first.

“Everything is under control.”

He twitched a little. He was naked in the middle of the room,

and he felt terribly exposed.

He didn’t like that.

“Come back here, then,” Mac said, extending one arm towards

Sam. “Come on, darlin’.”

Sam really didn’t want to. Somewhere in the back of his

head there was something telling him he needed to review, re-

establish, and most definitely reinforce the boundaries he’d been

so adamant about at the inception of his arrangement with Mac.

He knew the smart thing to do was to leave the room for a little

while.

Instead he put his phone down on one of the nightstands and

went in the tub again.

The moment Sam was seated between Mac’s legs, Mac

surrounded him with his muscular arms and rested his chin on

Sam’s shoulder. “Water didn’t get cold, did it?”

“It’s fine.”

“You seem very concerned.” His low voice had a soothing

effect on Sam’s shot nerves, and the way he was sliding his fingers

up and down his ribcage didn’t hurt either. “I know we aren’t that

kind of friends, but… if you wanna, you know, talk about it…”

Mac’s offer was hesitant, which Sam knew came from being sure

he would get shut down. “Or maybe I can leave the room?” Mac

offered in an ever lower voice. “Give you some privacy so that

you can call… you know… whoever it is you talk to when you get

324 Taylor V. Donovan

upset… your vacation partner, perhaps?”

Excellent idea.

Normally, he would have been on the phone with Logan right

about now, venting to him just so that he wouldn’t choke on the

rage and guilt and remorse he was feeling. He still intended to

talk to his best friend about it, but at the moment he found that

he’d much rather stay in their fancy tub. He liked the bubbles and

the nice smelling candles and yeah, he liked feeling Mac’s arms

around him.

He liked it so much he’d slept like a baby the prior night,

his body deliciously warmed by Mac’s heat, Sam’s mind and soul

placated by his guy’s steady heartbeat. He’d been scared out of

his wits upon waking up, but that didn’t change how he’d felt.

Protected.

He’d felt safe.

Lord. He was turning into a woman.

“You don’t have to go anywhere.”

Sam made a mental note to thank his best friend for the

bathtub, right after he was done kicking his ass for booking such

an outrageously romantic room. Then he closed his eyes and

relaxed against his guy’s big body, smiling a little when he got

poked on the back.

He’d spent enough time around him to know Mac’s cock was

never entirely soft, something Sam utterly enjoyed and never

failed to take advantage of. He knew he shouldn’t be so happy he

was the one who had Mac walking around half hard and ready to

go all the time, but happy he was.

“Is that why you have Nicky and your sister living with you?

Because this Steven dude hit Nicky?”

“And my sister.” They had sort of an unspoken agreement.

Mac got to ask as many questions as he wanted, but it was Sam’s

prerogative whether to answer them or not. For reasons he didn’t

care to analyze, today he felt like it. “Fucker’s been hitting my

sister and broke Nicky’s arm. Then we got into a fight. I beat

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325

the shit out of him and had him arrested and brought up on

domestic violence charges… You know the rest.”

“The night you came to my hotel in New York…” He

caressed Sam’s right hand knuckles, as if the bruises he’d seen

then were still present.

“I was going to my sister’s when I met you at the airport.”

“I see.” He kissed Sam’s shoulder and went back to sliding his

fingers up and down his left side. “I know I’ve said this before,

but I really admire the way you are takin’ care of Nicky and your

sister.”

“Do you, now?” The way Sam chuckled sounded almost

hysterical. “’Cause truth is, I don’t have a damn clue of what I’m

doing here, Mac.” He swallowed hard and rubbed his eyes with

his fists, fully aware of the strong arms that tightened around

him. “I mean, I’m trying to help a sister that doesn’t think she

needs help and doing my damn best to provide some kind of, I

don’t know, structure for my nephew… maybe normalcy… but

Sandy is right, you know? He’s not my kid and I’ve no rights and

what the fuck do I know about raising kids, really? It’s not like

I’ve had any experience with them. I killed my own daughter, for

fuck’s sake!”

“Darlin’…”

“Goddammit!”

Sam smashed his fists in front of him, making water splash

all over the place. He was so mortified over such a display of

weakness he wished the earth would open and swallow him

whole.

What the fuck was he doing, letting Mac witness all this shit?

“I’m not having a nervous breakdown. I’m just pissed as hell.”

Was he telling Mac or himself?

Shit.

He really, really wanted to disappear.

There was no response, something he was grateful for. It

326 Taylor V. Donovan

helped him pretend he was by himself. He squeezed his eyes shut

and tried to gulp some air, but he couldn’t. Was he suffocating

on his own anxiety? And why was he so anxious anyway? Was it

because of the situation with Sandy or because he couldn’t keep

his trap shut and said things Mac had no business knowing?

He didn’t want Mac to find out how messed up he was. Not

yet, anyway. So what the hell did he think he was doing, talking

out of his ass about things better left unsaid?

He tried to breathe again but ended up sputtering water

instead, and the pressure in his chest felt tighter. Why the hell

couldn’t he breathe?

“Come on, darlin’.” Mac’s voice seemed to come from the

distance. “Scuba divin’ is over.” He coughed again, clearing his

lungs from the water that had somehow managed to get in them.

“Besides, I don’t think the bottom of this tub is anywhere near as

beautiful as those coral reefs we got to see this mornin’, so what

would you wanna go down there for?”

Sam rested his head on Mac’s shoulder and slowly opened

his eyes. It didn’t take long to realize it was the guy’s tight hold

around him what was preventing Sam from breathing… while at

the same time keeping him from drowning.

In the fucking sunken tub.

Shit on a stick, was he pathetic or what? There was a reason

why Sam always maintained a tight leash on his feelings, and

making a total fool out of himself in front of the guy he was

fucking should’ve been number one.

“Better now?”

“I’m fine,” he growled. Boy, he hated that he’d lost it in front

of Mac. Hated it.

“That’s good, ba—”

“Shut up, Mac! I’m not a fucking kid.” He had a feeling his

attitude did nothing but negate his statement, but he really didn’t

give a shit and, if Mac dared to point it out, he was getting Sam’s

elbow in the ribs.

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327

“Sam?”

“What?” he snarled. Mortification could be killer on a guy’s

manners.

“How old was your baby girl when she…?” he didn’t finish the

question, and Sam didn’t blame him. Most people had problems

putting the words baby and death together.

“She was three days old,” he whispered absently while trying

to figure out what it was about Mac that prompted him to talk.

“Jesus.” Mac’s one arm hugged him tighter, and Sam couldn’t

decide whether he wanted to run as far away as he could or just