Something in the Way He Needs (Family 1)

“I’ve got a bag with several changes of clothes, but it’s all pretty much the same stuff.” He chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds. “This is me,” he added quietly.

“You look fine, Danny,” Oliver said. “Don’t mind Asher—he’s a neurotic perfectionist. Nobody can measure up to his standards.”

Remembering what Daniel had said about being between jobs, Asher figured he couldn’t afford new clothes. Not wanting to embarrass Daniel, he didn’t respond to Oliver’s antagonistic comment and just let the conversation drop.

“So, Danny.” Oliver glared at Asher as he spoke. “Is your boyfriend going to join us for dinner?”

Asher’s entire body stiffened. Daniel had a boyfriend?

“Chase has a show tonight, Ollie. I told you that,” Daniel responded. He looked at Asher as he continued talking to his brother. “And he’s my ex-boyfriend. I told you that too.”

“Oh, did you?” Oliver asked, the lack of sincerity clear in his tone. “Guess I forgot. Did you hear that, Asher? Danny’s ex is a dancer. I hear they’re really flexible. Is it true, Danny? Is Chase flexible?”

Daniel didn’t raise his voice, and his stance remained loose and nonthreatening, as he answered his brother. “Yeah, he’s flexible. Not quite as flexible as me, though.”

Asher groaned in reaction to that comment. There was no way for him to hear about Daniel’s flexibility without thinking of all the positions they could try out in bed. Hell, he didn’t need anything fancy—just the thought of pinning the man’s ankles to his ears was enough to make Asher want to skip dinner and say whatever he needed to convince Daniel to get naked.

“Thanks for reminding me to point out that little tidbit about myself, Ollie.” Daniel winked as he continued speaking to his brother. “I think you may have just cinched things for me with Asher.”

Oliver scowled and stomped away to catch up with his buddies, who were a few steps ahead of them. A small portion of Asher’s brain managed to stop thinking about consuming Daniel’s body long enough to recognize the significance of that accomplishment. He chuckled.

“I didn’t think that was possible,” Asher said, staring at Oliver’s tense retreating form as they followed the other guys to the restaurant.

“What?” Daniel asked.

“Getting Ollie to shut the fuck up when he’s trying to annoy people into going along with his plot to rule the universe.”

“Is that what he was doing?” Daniel asked quietly.

“What?” Asher asked, looking away from Oliver and into impossibly huge eyes.

“Was my brother trying to rule the universe? ’Cause I got the sense his goal was keeping me away from you.”

Asher’s jaw dropped before he could stop it. He quickly closed his mouth and furrowed his brow. Though Daniel’s words were barely audible over the loud slot machines and piped-in music, and his tone was completely even and nonaccusatory, Asher nevertheless felt as if he needed to defend himself. But he wasn’t sure what he should be defending until Daniel spoke again.

“Do you know why that would be, Ash? Do you know why Ollie would be against us spending time together?”

They reached the restaurant shortly after Daniel asked the question, and Asher found himself unusually grateful for the distraction. He wasn’t sure how he could tell Daniel his suspected reason for Oliver’s behavior—that he didn’t want his brother dating someone kinky, even if that someone was one of his closest friends. If he told Daniel the truth right off the bat, there was a chance the man would want nothing to do with him. And even though they’d just met, Asher wasn’t willing to take that risk.

For the first time in many years, Asher felt uncomfortable about what he enjoyed and uncertain about how to go about getting what he wanted. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what it was he wanted from Daniel. His body was pulsing with desire for the man next to him, that much was clear, and he wasn’t willing to lose the opportunity to sate that desire. So rather than answer Daniel’s question, Asher clasped Daniel’s hand and gave him a squeeze.

“Looks like you managed to get your brother to back off. That sort of miracle deserves a reward. Dinner’s on me.”

Chapter 4

AS IT turned out, offering to pay for Daniel’s dinner wasn’t much of a hardship. The man barely glanced at the menu and when the waiter came to take their orders, he seemed genuinely surprised, like the idea that they’d ask for food at a restaurant hadn’t crossed his mind.

“Oh, ah….” Daniel blinked at the waiter. “Water’s fine for me, thanks.”

“You’re not hungry?” Asher asked him. “I’ve been with you for the past few hours and you haven’t eaten anything. I know they’re not serving meals on the plane anymore, so… did you grab a bite at the airport?”

“They still serve meals in first class,” Oliver interrupted with this useless piece of information. Asher ignored him.