No matter how hard he tried to concentrate or how incredible Blake’s mouth felt on him, Ethan couldn’t erase the mental images of Beau. And wouldn’t he fucking know it, his release was building, more aggressive in its intensity than anything Blake had ever pulled out of him. All because he envisioned Beau, the handsome, muscular blond on his knees, sucking him deep into his mouth.
The sound of a door opening and shutting had Ethan tilting his head to the side. Through hooded eyes he saw Beau, his arms crossed over his chest, his back ramrod straight as he stood some fifty feet away watching him. Like the last time, Ethan didn’t look away, but he did grasp Blake’s hair tighter.
He couldn’t... Fuck. He couldn’t do this again. It wasn’t like the last time when Beau had inadvertently stumbled upon them. Something in his chest hitched, an odd fluttering sensation that took him completely by surprise. His reaction to Beau wasn’t normal.
He didn’t want him. Didn’t need him. And maybe if he repeated it enough, it would be true.
But no matter how much he fought his reaction to Beau, Ethan didn’t want Beau to watch this. He didn’t want to hurt Beau, even if he needed to keep him at a distance. But he needed Beau to understand.
Ethan needed to remember there was a line drawn in the proverbial sand, one he wasn’t willing to negotiate with Beau.
Blake’s enthusiasm increased, the way he sucked Ethan’s dick fervently into his mouth, drawing him deeper and deeper made his skin tingle.
With his eyes still locked with Beau’s, Ethan noticed the embanked fury etched on his attractive face, even from across the room. When his expression turned to one of disdain, Ethan suddenly felt like a royal fuck up.
All it would take was one word and he could have Beau. He knew he could. He could have Beau in a million different ways. But Ethan knew tomorrow would be the same as today, and although Ethan had committed to living in the illusion he had built around himself, a man like Beau would never survive like that. He was the kind of guy who shouldn’t be hidden from the world. He should be treasured, loved… something Ethan wasn’t capable of.
Not anymore anyway.
Ethan forced his gaze from Beau and looked down at Blake for the first time since Beau walked in the room. To his horror, Blake was also looking over at Beau, a grin tilting the very corners of his lips while he continued to swallow Ethan’s cock.
Ethan growled, an overwhelming possessiveness gripping him by the balls. Latching onto Blake’s hair rigidly, Ethan ground out the only word that formed in his mind. “Stop!”
Pulling away from Blake, Ethan fumbled to shove his dick back into his jeans, his hands trembling as he did, his lungs burning from the effort to suck in air.
He did not want Blake even looking at Beau.
Mine.
Fuck. Shit. Damn.
No, dammit, he wasn’t. Beau was not his.
Never would be.
Ethan swallowed hard, then turned to look at Beau. Before he knew what he was doing, he was storming across the room toward him, his hands balled into fists at his sides.
“This doesn’t change a fucking thing,” Ethan bit out through clenched teeth.
Beau stared back at him, his original derisive expression morphing into what appeared to be determination. And that only pissed Ethan off more. He didn’t want Beau reading something into this when it meant nothing.
For a moment, he thought Beau was going to touch him, to pull him close and, in a bout of lunacy, Ethan could envision falling into Beau’s arms, grabbing onto him for all he was worth. That’s when Ethan realized he was losing his mind. He wanted Beau to touch him. To pull him up against his hard body, to kiss him the way he had on Christmas, his touch so tender, so warm that Ethan had temporarily forgotten how to breathe.
Before he could reprimand himself for even considering something that was an absolute impossibility, Beau spoke. “It changes everything, E. Everything.”
Sonuvabitch.
Damn it all to fucking hell. Ethan knew right then and there that Beau was right. Things had changed. He’d never been possessive of anyone, never wanted to protect someone else, but seeing Blake goading Beau had awakened something primitive within him.
Something he didn’t even know how to handle.
Turning, Ethan headed toward the door, wanting to forget about Blake and Beau, but before he could reach the security that came from getting as far away from Beau as possible, he stopped in his tracks.
With a backward glance, Ethan took a deep breath and then told the biggest lie of his adult life. “Nothing’s changed, Beau. I don’t want this,” he paused, swallowed. “And I don’t want you.”
Chapter One