Brennan stilled for a moment and then said, “Why would you think that?”
“Because you seem off somehow. And you’ve been spending all your nights here with me instead of with him…”
Brennan dropped his eyes and I realized the truth. “You’ve been doing that for me,” I murmured. “So I wouldn’t be alone.”
“Tristan.”
I hoped like hell I’d eaten enough to keep my medication from making me sick because there was no way I’d be able to force another bite down. I got up and took my dishes to the kitchen and emptied the leftover food in the garbage. But I couldn’t stop from flinching when Brennan’s hands closed around my arms from behind. And it wasn’t because his touch bothered me.
Well, at least not in a bad way.
“Tristan, it isn’t that,” he said and he forced me to turn and face him. “Did you mean it?” he asked. “About listening if I wanted to talk?”
Surprise went through me and I quickly nodded. Because as hard as it would be to listen to Brennan talk about someone else, I would do anything to see the joy back in his eyes that I’d seen there in the weeks after I’d returned home from New York.
Brennan stepped back and then started helping me clean the dishes. “This guy…I’m having trouble figuring him out.”
“How so?” I asked as I forced myself to concentrate on washing the plate in my hands.
“We seemed to be doing really great for a while – I kind of felt like I’d finally gotten past his defenses. But now it feels like something is off, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Did you try talking to him about it?”
“He’s not really a big talker,” Brennan said with a light chuckle. “Besides, I haven’t seen him in a few days and when I call or text, he either doesn’t get back to me or he tells me he’s too busy to talk.”
I stilled when Brennan reached past me for a couple of pieces of silverware. His arm brushed my chest and it took everything in me not to moan. Between Memphis and Brennan, I felt like I was stretched tight with constant desire. It had gotten so bad that I’d actually resorted to jerking off at night to the image of both of them taking turns pushing into me repeatedly as I rode Brennan and Memphis was at my back. Even being forced to use my non-dominant hand to work my weeping dick over hadn’t slowed down my orgasms in the least…nor taken away from their brutal intensity.
“You should go see him,” I forced myself to say, though it was the last thing I wanted. “Make him talk to you.”
“No, that’d probably just make things worse…he has these rules.”
“Fuck his rules,” I muttered as I warred with myself. As much as I hated seeing Brennan with someone else, I hated seeing him like this more. I glanced up to see Brennan looking at me in shock.
“What?” I asked. “I swear sometimes.”
“I’ve never once heard you swear in all the time that I’ve known you,” Brennan said with a smile.
I chuckled. “Well, then you know how serious I’m being. You really like this guy, right?”
Brennan nodded. “I think it’s more than just like.”
I felt my heart throb painfully in my chest at that, but I steadfastly ignored the pain and forced a smile to my lips. “The Brennan Devereaux I know always goes big or goes home.”
For some reason, Brennan didn’t smile like I thought he would. Instead he just watched me, his expression almost sad. “What?” I asked in confusion.
“Nothing,” Brennan said with a shake of his head and then preoccupied himself with putting the dish he’d been holding in the dishwasher. “I…I’ve just really missed you, you know?” he said softly and then he wrapped his arms around me from the side and gave me a long hug.
I wanted to cry at how good it felt to have him holding me again. He’d done it several times after I’d been attacked, but in recent days he’d been keeping his distance. I’d always been of the mindset that having even a little piece of Brennan would be better than nothing, but as his breath fanned across my neck, I wondered if that would be enough anymore. “Brennan, can I ask you something?” I whispered, knowing his answer would likely change things for me.
“Sure,” Brennan murmured, but he didn’t release me.
“This guy – do you love him?” I asked.
There was no hesitation on Brennan’s part when he nodded against me. “Yeah, I do.”
I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as I said, “Then you should go tell him.”
Brennan finally released me and stepped back. I focused my attention on the dishes in the hopes he wouldn’t notice my distress. “I will. Tomorrow,” he said. “How about tonight it’s just you, me and Bond…James Bond.”