The Christmas Deal

Logan was sprawled on his belly on the couch at the far end, his left arm stretched out on the chaise, the sheet twisted beneath him and duvet pushed down to his feet. He’d asked about putting on the gas fireplace, and Seth had told him to feel free. Now it was overly warm, condensation glistening on the windows.

“Need to set the maximum temperature so it shuts off and doesn’t get too hot.” Seth realized a second later that he’d said the words aloud. His heart raced as he tried to focus on anything but the lust sizzling through him at the sight of Logan’s half-naked—more like three-quarters—and splayed body.

Jenna was right. Seth was ridiculously pent-up and needed to try dating before he humiliated himself and tented his slacks in front of his guest.

Grunting, Logan pushed himself up. “Huh? What?” He peered around in a daze, his sexy voice sleep-scratchy.

Yep. Hairy chest. Would it feel rough under Seth’s fingers? He tore his gaze back up to Logan’s bleary face. “Sorry! I’m so used to talking to myself I apparently don’t even realize I’m doing it.” He waved a hand around at the fogged windows. “It got too hot, huh? I can set the fireplace so it turns off after it hits a certain temp.” His other hand was still gripping the mug, which he thrust forward. “Coffee? This is black, but I have milk and sugar if you want?”

“Black’s great. Thanks.”

Seth crossed to the couch, concentrating on breathing. He put the mug on the table, afraid he’d spill it on all that exposed skin if he tried to pass it to Logan directly.

Mmm, hair on his legs and arms too.

Standing upright, Seth backed away. What was the matter with him? He encountered attractive men all the time and kept his libido in check. Was it that he’d been alone and celibate so long now that he was cracking under the pressure? Or was it that there was something undeniably intimate about having Logan sleeping under his roof? In his boxer briefs?

As Matt would say: Little bit from column A, little bit from column B.

“I’d better get to work. Have a good day! Make yourself at home. Oh, let me get you some towels.” He spun to escape before Logan could reply and tried not to think of Logan naked and wet in the shower.

He failed badly, but at least he tried.

Chapter Five

“I’ll pay you back.”

Expertly balancing the car seat with a sleeping Noah inside, Jenna opened her front door and called, “Hi, Pop!” To Logan, she said, “I know. I heard you the first three times.”

Logan nodded and kicked the door shut behind him, his hands occupied with canvas grocery bags. He’d had to borrow the money from Jenna to pay for the repair on his truck. The garage had been impatient for him to pick it up right away, and if Logan was going to be staying out in Saratoga Springs, he needed wheels.

Friday was Jenna’s temporary day off until she went back to work full time in the new year, so she’d picked him up at Seth’s and taken him to the garage.

He took off his boots and leather jacket and followed her through into the kitchen. Noah was somehow still fast asleep in the car seat, which Jenna put on the kitchen table. Logan took things out of the bags and put them on the island for her.

“Seth’s house is so beautiful,” she said for the hundredth time, tightening her ponytail. She wore sweats with a dark stain of something that had dripped down her chest. Peering around her beige and pink kitchen with a miserable expression, she sighed. “God, this is so nineties. All this laminate. Ugh.”

“It’s nice.”

Jenna narrowed her gaze. “Don’t shit a shitter. I’m dying for a new kitchen, but these kids keep wanting to eat and stuff, so.” Her face lit up again. “But wow, Seth’s great room looks incredible now. I only saw it once, back before Brandon sleazed off and I’d shamelessly invited myself over. It’s gorgeous now.”

“Yeah. Slept like a baby on that couch.” The wide leather had been soft, yet firm, and Seth had given him a pillow with cool foam in it. Logan had gotten more sleep than he had in weeks even though it had gotten too hot with the fireplace on.

He was a jobless loser who couldn’t afford rent, but Seth had brought him a steaming mug of coffee and acted like he was a real guest, not just a freeloader. They’d made a deal, but Logan was sure as hell getting more out of it.

He’d found himself thinking about Seth a lot. Seth wasn’t like most people he knew. He was…fancier. Not arrogant, though. But the way he didn’t swear, and how he did everything so neat and orderly…