Vengeance (The Protectors 5)

“And there’s someone shadowing Brennan?” I asked, needing reassurance that Brennan was safe if the guys decided to go after him to get to me.

“Yes, his name is Cain. I’ll spell Phoenix and Cain when they need a break and I’ll bring in some more guys if we can’t get this taken care of in a few days.”

I nodded and turned my attention to Phoenix. “Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome. I’ve got your back, Tristan,” he said and then he gave Memphis a pat on the shoulder. “I’m going to head out.”

Memphis nodded and Phoenix gave me a nod as he passed by.

“Phoenix is going to head to Seattle and sit on your apartment for a bit. You and I will head up there in a couple of hours. You’ll be able to go back to doing your normal routine…it will just include Phoenix or someone else for the foreseeable future.”

I nodded. “I…I don’t know how to repay you for all this. I was thinking I could sell my car since I don’t need it to get to school and I can take the bus-”

Memphis’s hand coming up to cradle my neck silenced me. The touch felt so good I wanted to lean into him for more contact. But it was brief because he dropped his hand a moment later and said, “That’s not necessary.” He stepped back, putting some distance between us and I felt a pang of disappointment. Then I just felt foolish because just like with Brennan, I was starting to want something I shouldn’t. And with someone who was way out of my league.

And I was making a very big assumption that Memphis was even gay. Yeah, he’d touched me a few times, kissed my head even, but that had been out of comfort and nothing more.

“Do you want some tea? Brennan told me what kind you like and I had Phoenix pick some up on his way out here.”

“Really?”

Memphis nodded and made a move to step past me, but I grabbed his arm to stop him. I swore I heard him suck in a breath, but when he looked at me, his expression was unreadable. I quickly dropped my hand. “Um, can I go for a walk? Just to stretch my legs for a bit.”

“Sure,” Memphis murmured. “I’ll come with you. There’s a trail that goes around the lake.”

“No, you don’t have to…I don’t want to take you away from something if you’re busy.”

“It’s fine,” Memphis said, his voice suddenly curt.

The shift in attitude had me rethinking the walk, but before I could say anything, Memphis turned and went to a set of stairs on the far side of the balcony. He glanced over his shoulder at me expectantly and said, “It’s this way.”

There was no anger in his voice, just distance. Like he couldn’t care less.

I hurried to him so I wouldn’t inadvertently make him more irritated and nearly tripped over my own feet as a flash of white ran past me and down the stairs. Memphis caught me by the elbow and I let out a hiss of pain when my injured hand hit his chest.

“You okay?” he asked as he took my hand in his and began rubbing my palm, as if trying to soothe away the pain. It actually worked because pain wasn’t at the forefront of my mind as his calloused skin brushed mine.

“Yeah,” I said even as my cock began to harden in my pants. I tried to pull back from Memphis, but his hand tightened on my elbow. I felt my heart start to race as his eyes fell to my mouth and I wondered if he could feel how clammy my hands had gotten. I wasn’t a stranger to physical desire, though I’d never felt it this intensely before, not even around Brennan. But I knew that was because Brennan had never held me like this. He’d never looked at me like he wanted something from me.

I had the answer to my question about Memphis’s sexuality because when I shifted even a little bit, my groin pressed against his for the briefest of moments and I felt his hardness. Between that and the way he was holding me, I was certain that for whatever inexplicable reason, he was attracted to me.

And I had no idea how to handle it. I knew without a doubt that I wanted more. I wanted him to kiss me. But I had no idea how to tell him that without actually telling him.

I’d been kissed a couple of times in the past, but that was as far as my sexual experience went. And since one of the kisses had been with my best friend, Ally, from high school who’d dared me to kiss her to see if I really wasn’t attracted to her, that one didn’t really count. Kiss number two had been with a guy, but the memory had become tainted by the events that had followed the kiss.