Just a Bit Shameless (Straight Guys 8)

“I’m a spy,” Dominic said evenly. “I’m trained to notice these things.”

Right. Of course.

Sam pursed his lips. “What if all I wanted was a good shag, too? Andy will do nicely for that.”

A muscle pulsed in Dominic’s jaw. “Do whatever you want, then.”

Sam sighed. “Look, thanks for looking out for me, but I can take care of myself. I don’t need to be coddled.”

The tension didn’t leave Dominic’s body. He said nothing.

Sam sighed again, reaching out and squeezing Dominic’s arm. “Come on, Nick. I don’t want us to be mad at each other. I really, really appreciate that you care, but there’s such a thing as overprotectiveness, you know?”

Dominic remained silent, looking straight ahead even though they were stuck in traffic.

“Come on,” Sam said, moving closer and pressing his cheek to Dominic’s shoulder. “Stop sulking. I hate when you sulk. You get all distant and frosty, and you aren’t allowed to be distant and frosty with me.”

“Brat,” Dominic said with a snort. “I’ve spoiled you rotten.”

Grinning, Sam pressed his lips to Dominic’s scruffy cheek. “I love being spoiled by you,” he whispered, blushing. He loved the attention, the care in Dominic’s gifts. “So, let’s kiss and make up?”

Dominic turned his head and kissed him forcefully, the kiss wet, deep, and toe-curling.

It ended as suddenly as it started.

Breathing unsteadily, Sam stared at Dominic in confusion as the other man stared at the car in front, which had finally started moving. Dominic looked calm and collected, but Sam knew that with Dominic it could mean nothing.

“What was that?” Sam finally said with a chuckle, touching his wet, trembling lips.

“I did what you told me,” Dominic said stiffly, without looking at him. “We kissed and made up.”

Sam gave him an incredulous look but chose not to voice his disbelief. He didn’t speak to Dominic for the rest of the drive.

He had a lot to think about.

And plot.

Chapter 26

That night, as he lay in his soft bed, Sam carefully considered his options.

On one hand, he had never been one to give up on something he wanted without a fight. If there was even a slim chance that Dominic actually wanted him—wanted him beyond Sammy wants it, it feels pretty nice, so why not?—then Sam would be damned if he didn’t fight for that chance.

On the other hand, he didn’t want to ruin their relationship just because he was too greedy for more, and there was nothing more important to him than his relationship with Dominic. He finally had a person he adored and who cared about him, too. He finally had a home, and Sam didn’t mean this house, no matter how nice it was. He would happily live with Dominic in a shack as long as Dominic loved him back.

Even admitting it in his head made him nervous. Not because he thought that Dominic would throw him out if he found out that Sam was in love with him—after Dominic had made him his next-of-kin, Sam felt secure enough about their relationship to know that Nick wouldn’t do it—but because a big part of him was sure that Dominic would never love him back, and that he was just setting himself up for hurt.

But maybe Dominic could love him.

That tantalizing thought was all he could think about after Dominic had kissed him. Even thinking about the possibility made him warm and shivery on the inside.

He would do anything for Dominic’s love.

But before he could act, he needed to know for sure that Dominic really wanted him.

There was too much at risk.

* * *

The next evening Sam returned from his classes earlier than usual. Although it was nine already, Dominic wasn’t home yet. That would normally worry him—he didn’t like how much Dominic worked—but that day it suited him just fine.

Sam ordered pizza, took a shower, and then went to Dominic’s bedroom. Opening the wardrobe, he examined its contents. Shaking his head fondly at the amount of expensive suits that all looked the same to him, Sam found a gray-green t-shirt that hopefully didn’t cost hundreds of pounds and put it on. It was very soft and smelled faintly of Dominic.

Sam smiled at his reflection. The color brought out his eyes nicely. Although he wasn’t much shorter than Dominic, he didn’t have Dominic’s shoulders and pecs, so the shirt looked pretty big on him, falling just below his thighs. It was the perfect length—not too short to seem indecent but short enough to accentuate his long, smooth legs. His legs were his best feature, in Sam’s opinion, and he wasn’t shy to exploit them. Neither was he shy to exploit the fact that Dominic liked seeing him in his clothes. Dominic wasn’t obvious about it, but he always touched him more when Sam wore his clothes. That had to mean something, right?

Biting his lips a few times, to make them redder, and running his hand through his hair, Sam nodded at his reflection, satisfied with his appearance. He would totally shag himself. If Dominic didn’t want him… Well, at least he would know for sure that he had no chance with Dominic and would stop hoping for impossible, this time for good.