Alec started to take a step down the stairs and halted, his brows snapping together. “What’s that mean?” Screw the fatigue, Alec prepared to do battle.
“You know how you are. When you want something, you’ll do what it takes to make it happen. Ignore all the signs that it’s wrong for you…”
“You’re such a fucking dick. Don’t say another word,” he threatened and had an arsenal of comebacks ready to blast his best friend, the latest was Stephen and how Blaine chased after that man for months, disregarding all the blatantly clear signs the guy wasn’t interested.
“So, he’s hot?” Blaine asked, apparently heeding his warning.
One of Alec’s brows arched as he continued down the steps. Alec stayed quiet all the way down, knowing if he spoke he would bury Blaine in hurt feelings.
“Okay, calm down. I get it. I thought he was hot too. I’d fuck him. It was my first thought when I saw him in all that leather.”
Alec stumbled on the last step, skidding off the carpeted stair to land hard on the marble tile as a bolt of jealousy rocketed to his core. He caught himself on the railing as anger shot straight through him. All of Key’s expletives ran through his head directed straight at his so-called friend. Alec had never wanted to hang up and cut someone out of his life like he did Blaine in that moment. He and Blaine shared property together, vacation homes and rental spaces. He wanted every single square inch of shared investments up for sale, right that minute. Fuck that asshole.
“Hahahaha. Omigod, you’re jealous.”
Hell yeah, he was jealous. What an asswipe.
“How long you know him? Like less than a couple of months. Right?” Blaine asked, seeming unperturbed by Alec’s deafening silence. So he decided to make his stance perfectly clear.
“He’s not your business.”
“Omigod, Alec. I wasn’t even sure you had actually fucked him yet. So, like you two spend time together?” Blaine asked incredulously.
“Shut up.” Alec rounded the railing and went straight back to the master bedroom.
“Like he comes to your house and you kiss on him and he wants that? Wait, are you paying him? He looked like he could be bought. Who bottoms? I bet you do.”
Alec remained silent, realizing exactly what he and Key would face if they ever made their relationship public knowledge. No one would understand, and Alec was far too possessive of Key to allow anyone to make that special man feel less than. Hell, Key was trying as hard as he could to put his baggage and insecurities about Alec behind him. What would that do to Key if someone said these things to him?
“No fucking way! You rarely bottom. Is he the reason you aren’t coming to Coachella, because if so, I’m holding your room. You’ll totally be done with him in a month’s time.”
Alec pushed open the bathroom door before shoving down his athletic shorts and letting them fall to his feet. He stepped out of them, by way of kicking off his shoes, each going in a different direction. The socks followed as he kept going for the shower. He turned on the faucet to let the water warm.
Without saying goodbye, Alec removed his earbuds and tossed them on the sink. Fuck Blaine. The tiredness of the workout was a distant memory as he stepped directly under the spray. The anger fled too. He let the hot water run over his complaining muscles. Blaine was right on one point—he did bore easily, but that sensation would have reared itself weeks ago, right when Key gave in and showed interest.
Alec lifted his hands, scrubbing his face with warm water. What was he doing?
“Stop it, Pierce,” he muttered, trying not to choke on the water that entered his mouth. Key made him so unsettled. Opening his mouth in a flood of water—that was the Key-effect. He wasn’t thinking properly. Hell, it would be better to say he wasn’t thinking at all. The biker had him so tied up.
Was he infatuated? Maybe.
Bullshit! Almost two months had passed since he’d met Key and that man had become his only focus.
Then he was in lust.
No.
Yes, he liked to fuck Key, and he loved that man pounding his ass, but he also liked everything else they did. And they were simple things like renting movies, cooking, and eating together. Key seemed to like everything Alec prepared. No matter what was put in front of Key, he treated it like the most divine cuisine—probably the reason Alec had put on five pounds. They ate really well together. Key never let him throw anything away, even taking leftovers when he left the next day. They joked. They teased. They talked. Key had turned out to be quite the conversationalist once he let his guard down.
Alec’s heart ached at the occasionally dropped details of Key’s childhood. They were like little bombs to his heart, exploding the fabric of who Alec was as a man. The connections between Key’s upbringing and the details in Alec’s ever-increasing caseload were remarkably similar. It drove Alec to fight harder for those kids, and he’d have thought he was at max-caring over the welfare of his clients. Alec stopped that train of thought. That would send his mood plummeting again, and he didn’t need that.