Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Whoa. No. Keyes, you have no claim here.
Goddamn, he was becoming a sniveling pansy. This wasn’t some meaningful forever marking of time. They’d had sex.
Explosive, gratifying, out-this-world, amazing sex.
Sex that had ruined him for anyone else.
With a scowl, he reached for the hair band, adding it to his wrist before taking the rest. He didn’t say thank you.
“What’s just happened?” Alec asked, following as Keyes pivoted on his heels and headed back to the hall bathroom. He ignored the question, shutting the bathroom door in Alec’s face. He just needed a second to himself. What the fuck was wrong with him? He rushed through his morning routine, trying to control his feelings. Within minutes, he was back out, walking straight to the back door they’d used last night. Fuck this shit. He hated how he felt and hated the fucking whiplash of emotions. This was supposed to be just sex. Why was he making it something it wasn’t?
“Wait. Were you just gonna leave?” The accusation and hurt were clear in Alec’s voice. That stopped Keyes in his tracks, turning him in the direction of Alec’s voice. Alec had put on a robe and stood in front of the coffee maker, the thing loudly brewing behind him and the smell of coffee filling the room. The scene seemed very normal and, for some reason, touched his heart. Normal wasn’t something he even understood. Keyes stood there so unsure of everything as he stared at the man who had given him the world without even knowing what he had done. “Were you?” Alec’s eyebrow lifted in question.
“I gotta roll,” Keyes finally answered, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. Best to cut and run.
“What happened with the toothbrush?” Alec asked, coming closer. The way he moved into his space, so full of confidence and certainty, threw Keyes off balance.
Keyes scrunched up his face and lowered his head so as not to look Alec in the eye. What an idiot. He couldn’t just come out and admit he had been jealous.
“Just so there’s no confusion, I keep extra toothbrushes mainly due to Blaine. He has no boundaries. What’s mine is his, and he’ll use mine, and that’s why I have extra,” Alec explained, as if he knew exactly what Keyes had been thinking. He’d hit the nail on the head too.
Key nodded, accepting that answer, ignoring the “mainly,” because seriously, what the fuck was wrong with him? He had no claim on this man, no right to be possessive. So, he winced when he looked up, and said, “That’s gross.”
“My sentiments exactly. I went three days without brushing my teeth in sixth grade when I discovered he’d used my toothbrush. The commissary was out of stock, and I had to wait that long to get a new one. Since then, I’ve always had a spare for him or me. Whichever the case may be.”
He nodded again, staring at Alec. He didn’t want to stop staring. Hell, with all this time he was wasting, he could have just sucked the guy off, but even then, he still wouldn’t want to leave.
Alec let out a sigh. There was hurt there again. “You’re hard to read, and I think I’ll always be the one to make the first move.”
“I showed up here last night.”
Alec’s frustration turned to a full-on grin. “Good point. But I extended the invitation. Guess the fourth time was the charm.” Alec reached in the pocket of his robe and handed Key a small piece of paper. “Here’re all my numbers, the gate code, which you obviously don’t need, and my personal email address. I enjoyed last night. I’d really like a repeat.”
Key reached for his wallet. It wasn’t there. “Dammit.”
He scanned the room, trying to remember where they’d put his things. He found them on the kitchen bar. He went there, carefully folding the paper, tucking it inside his secret compartment.
Alec had waited for him by the back door. Keyes didn’t want to go. He didn’t. The thought of leaving had been much easier when he’d been frustrated. “I’d offer you coffee for the road, but I can’t see how that would work on your bike.”
“I’m not a coffee drinker. I shoot Red Bull,” he said, coming to stand directly in front of Alec.
“Noted. I’ll stock some. For future reference, good morning sex is a favorite of mine.”
“Noted for next time,” Keyes parroted and grinned at Alec.
“Go get on the road.” Alec gave him a wink and tried to pop him on the ass. Keyes ran his fingers over the new stubble of whiskers on Alec’s face. Alec’s hand went to his waist as he stepped in, meeting Key halfway. Keyes closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Alec’s. It was this right here, the feeling of Alec’s lips on his, that made him lose sight of everything, just him and this man. When he lingered, Alec slid his tongue over Keyes’s lips. He didn’t get midway before Keyes opened and deepened the kiss. Their bodies melting against each other in a slow languid soul-wrenchingly sweet kiss. One he didn’t want to end even when Alec pulled away from him.