“I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just need to get cleaned up,” I said as I ran my hand through my wet hair. My clothes were soaked through but I felt hot all over, like I was burning up from the inside. It was a familiar feeling and I knew it would only get worse the longer I spent in Seth’s presence.
“Um, sure. Use any room you want,” Seth said quietly before finally turning away from me. It wasn’t until he was out of sight that the tension inside of me began to ease and the heat dissipated. I didn’t even realize my hands were clenched into fists until I reached for the handle to open the front door. I went back outside to my car to grab my bag and then made my way to the second floor where all the bedrooms were located. I bypassed the master bedroom which I knew had belonged to Seth and Trace’s parents and ignored the next room as well, since it had been Trace’s room…our room on the occasions he and I had visited his family together. That left only one room – a guest room that also happened to be right next to Seth’s room.
The guest room was nearly as large as the other three bedrooms and was nicely furnished with an iron bed covered in thick, plush bedding, a flat-screen TV above the fireplace in the corner and a nice bay window overlooking the water. The attached bathroom wasn’t as big as Seth’s but had a nice shower and vanity. But just being in the room reminded me of what I’d done to Seth in his bathroom and I felt the shame crawl over me. I’d taken something that should have been special for Seth and turned it into something dark and ugly. And if I hadn’t seen his tears, I would have fucked him without hesitation right there against his bathroom counter. Revulsion went through me even as my dick responded to the memory of seeing Seth bent over for me, his tight ass on full display.
God, I was one sick fuck.
I stripped off my wet jacket and removed my double shoulder holster with my twin 9mm Glocks and placed it in my bag. I searched out a change of clothes and stripped off the rest of what I was wearing and climbed into the shower. The hot water did little to soothe the raw lust that was tearing through me. I tried to bring up Trace’s face as I began stroking my dick but all I could see was Seth, his head thrown back, his eyes closed as I took his thick shaft down my throat. He’d held nothing back as I’d wrenched his orgasm from him and then, just before I’d sent him over, he’d called out my name.
“Fuck!” I shouted as my balls drew up tight against my body and wave after wave of pleasure tore through me. I slapped my hand against the glass shower wall as jet after jet of come shot from my body. I fought to catch my breath and when I opened my eyes, I saw the proof of my release slowly sliding down the glass. An image of my come dripping out of Seth’s ass flashed through my brain and I felt my half hard dick twitch in response. I let out a foul curse and reached up to angle the shower head to wash away the thick white streams and then finished cleaning up.
I took my time getting dressed. It was barely six o’clock but I seriously debated just calling it a night. Not because I was tired but because I wasn’t sure I had the strength to face Seth again.
I actually laughed at the irony that my life had become. I’d spent nearly six years transforming myself into a man who would never again be crippled by fear. I could take down any opponent with any weapon I was given and I’d taken the lives of some of the most brutal of criminals with barely an afterthought. And yet, here I stood, afraid to confront an innocent, gentle young man because he held more power over me than any other living soul.
But I had good reason to fear Seth because I knew that all it would take was one touch…one perfect touch and I’d shatter into a million pieces. And there would be no coming back from that.
Chapter Four
Seth
I felt tears stinging the backs of my eyes as I began pulling things out of the refrigerator for dinner. I hadn’t thought it possible that my day could get any worse after the mugging this afternoon but, oh, was I wrong. I’d been foolish to think that Ronan had shown up for any other reason than obligation, but my behavior in my bathroom had stolen the show because I’d actually believed for the briefest of moments that Ronan wanted me…not just anyone, not Trace…me. The fact that I wasn’t even an adequate placeholder had become clear when Ronan couldn’t get away from me fast enough in the front hallway. I’d thought he’d just been upset down by the beach when he’d pulled away from me after I’d touched him to get his attention, but when he’d done it again by the front door, I finally understood that I’d been utterly and completely wrong in thinking anything had changed since the day he’d walked out of my life three years ago.