“Memphis,” Tristan murmured just before he kissed me again, more firmly this time. My cock hardened at the sound of my name on his lips and I made one final attempt to put some space between us. Tristan allowed the move, but all it did was let me see the awe and excitement in his still-wet eyes. He wanted more – needed it. It was written in the way he held on to me, the way he looked at me…hell, I could tell just from the way he was breathing how badly he needed it. I told myself to stop even as I leaned in to claim his mouth. I buried my hands in his hair and tilted his head back just enough so I could get the angle I wanted and when he gasped in surprise, I dipped my tongue past his lips.
I felt fingers biting into my shoulders as Tristan tentatively kissed me back and even as a voice inside my head pointed out how inexperienced his response was, I didn’t care and I dragged him forward until there was only the armrest separating us. I explored every facet of Tristan’s mouth and then invited his tongue into mine. Tristan whimpered deep in his throat as his tongue stole into my mouth and danced with mine. And then everything spun out of control, because suddenly Tristan was shifting in the seat. Within seconds, he’d somehow managed to climb over the armrest separating us and he was straddling my lap, his fingers clutching my hair as he kissed me frantically. “Oh God, Memphis,” Tristan cried out as he fed on my mouth like a starving man. His need was intense and reminded me of Brennan.
And that was enough to cool the flames of desire.
I managed to tear my mouth free of Tristan’s, even though it was the last thing I wanted and I had to hold him by the shoulders to stop him from claiming it again. Several long seconds passed before Tristan finally seemed to come back to himself.
“Tristan, we can’t,” I began, but I didn’t have to say anything else because Tristan scrambled off of me.
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” he whispered even as his fingers went to touch his glistening lips. His face flushed with color as he shook his head in disbelief and then he was stepping back from me. His back hit the balcony railing and I automatically reached for him, but he took off before I could get to him. I called his name, but he just shook his head and trotted towards the exit.
Guilt and shame went through me as I reached for my phone and called Phoenix to let him know Tristan was on the way out. I sat back down in the chair and ran my fingers through my hair.
Fuck, I needed to tell Brennan what I’d done. Not only would he hate me for kissing his best friend, he’d realize Tristan wasn’t straight at all and there’d be nothing standing between them anymore. Brennan might have thought he loved me, but I knew better. A guy didn’t declare his love for someone else while on his deathbed if it wasn’t the real deal.
And even though I knew Brennan would be better off with Tristan, the idea of losing him made me ache. Not to mention the shame I’d caused Tristan…
I forced myself to move and saw only the security guard when I left the theater. It took only a few minutes to get back to the hotel and get the car parked. Once I was back in my room, I ignored the need to rush into the bedroom and wake up Brennan and tell him what had happened. I both wanted to end things and also pretend this whole thing had never happened.
Maybe I could have this last night with Brennan. Maybe I could slide into his perfect, giving body one more time and beg him to tell me he loved me again just so I could pretend it was real. I went to the bedroom and opened the door, but before I could enter the darkened room, my phone vibrated. I turned away from the bedroom as I pulled the phone from my pocket and felt my gut clench when I saw Phoenix’s name on the caller ID.
“I lost him,” Phoenix said the second I answered.
“What?” I asked in shock as terror hit me like a freight train.
“I was following him back to his apartment. We were almost there when he made a U-turn in an intersection. He nearly caused a wreck, Memphis,” Phoenix said in a rush.
“Where is he?” I nearly shouted.
“I don’t know. A couple of cars were blocking the intersection so it took me a few minutes to get past them. I called him, but he’s not answering.”