Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Justin gave him a bitter smile. “That’s the thing,” he said quietly. “I don’t. You’ve trained me into preferring your company to anyone else’s.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It is, when you treat me like a thing you own but don’t like. You treat me like a pet you keep on a leash and don’t want to share but refuse to pet yourself.”
“You want me to pet you?”
Justin flushed bright red and scowled at him. “You know what I mean,” he muttered, not quite meeting his eyes.
Peter smiled, amused and fascinated by his embarrassment. “Are you saying that if I pet you, you’ll give up on your soulmate?”
Justin glared, something uncertain about his expression, before dropping his gaze. “Don’t joke about it, Peter. Please.”
What?
Placing his hand on Justin’s chin, Peter tipped his face up and studied it, his amusement gone.
“You will,” he said slowly, his stomach clenching. “You will actually give up on your soulmate for me.” The mere thought was… Fuck, it was heady.
Christ, what was wrong with him? Why did the idea of having such power—completely unprofessional, inappropriate power—over his associate made him exhilarated, as if he was on the verge of closing a multi-million-dollar deal? Was the boy actually correct and Peter liked being the center of his life? The thought was disturbing on several levels.
But not enough to stop him from pushing. Not enough to suppress the need to know.
“Admit it,” Peter ordered.
Justin laughed a little. “Wow, you’re actually as cruel as people think you are.”
Peter pressed his thumb against the corner of Justin’s mouth. Justin didn’t seem to be breathing at all.
“Admit it,” Peter repeated, more quietly.
Justin sucked in a breath, his pupils blown wide. He gave a shaky laugh. “I’m not sure what your purpose is. To humiliate me? If it is, congrats—I’m sufficiently humiliated.”
“Just say it, Justin.” Peter looked him in the eyes steadily. “Do you want me?”
Justin’s throat worked. “Everyone wants you, and you know it, you smug dick.”
“Objection,” Peter said, allowing a tiny smile to curl his lips. “The question was addressed to you, not everyone.”
“The objection is irrelevant because the answer is the same, regardless of who it’s addressed to.” Justin glowered at him, his face red. “Happy now? Now stop groping me. I’m already thoroughly humiliated.”
“I’m holding your chin. It’s hardly groping.”
Justin scoffed. “You might as well be holding my dick, Peter. The effect is the same. Let go.”
Peter didn’t let go. He was well aware that he should, that he was edging closer and closer to sexual harassment territory—which was something he was normally very responsible about—but he couldn’t seem to stop now. He shifted his grip, turning it into a caress of Justin’s cheek, perversely enjoying the shiver it elicited. “Look at you. If your soulmate walked into this room right now, you wouldn’t even look at them. You wouldn’t care. All you’d see is me.” Me, me, mine.
“God, I fucking hate you right now,” Justin breathed out, his eyelids growing heavy as he turned his head and nuzzled into Peter’s hand like a touch-starved thing.
Watching him, transfixed, Peter pressed his thumb against Justin’s lips. They parted, soft and wet, sucking his thumb in, and Peter nearly groaned, arousal making him lightheaded. He burned to replace his thumb with his cock.
Fuck. He should stop. He must stop. He was taking it too far. He was the boy’s boss and the managing partner of the firm. He couldn’t possibly risk his sterling reputation and career for the chance to stick his cock in his personal associate’s mouth, no matter how good it might feel. It didn’t matter that Justin clearly wanted the same. Their respective positions made any sexual relationship between them impossible without ruining their careers. Justin wouldn’t want to be known as the guy who sucked his boss’s cock in order to be put on a partner track.
“We should stop,” Peter said, his eyes on Justin’s mouth around his thumb.
Justin lifted his heavy-lidded eyes to him. “We should,” he mumbled breathlessly around Peter’s thumb.
“This can’t happen,” Peter said. To his disgust, it didn’t sound as firm it should have.
Get a grip, Hayes.
He removed his thumb from Justin’s mouth.
“Why not?” Justin almost whined, blinking at him dazedly. His lips looked very red. And shiny. They’d look so good around his cock.
“The power imbalance between us is so vast, I can’t initiate anything without being accused of sexual harassment—”
“I wouldn’t!” Justin protested.
“You might not,” Peter said softly. To his surprise and annoyance, he wasn’t really worried about being sued by Justin. He trusted his associate that much, apparently. “But other people would not see it that way. So I can’t touch you. I won’t.”
Justin grabbed Peter’s tie. He pulled him down by his tie until their foreheads pressed together. “No,” he said, inhaling shakily, his pupils dilated. “You can’t do this. I want you. You want me. I can feel it.” Justin’s mouth touched his, the touch barely there, his lips trembling. “Peter,” he whispered. “Peter.” And then the kiss became hungrier, deeper, his lips clinging to Peter’s, his tongue shoving into Peter’s mouth clumsily, ravenously, as if Justin wanted to consume him, whining, kissing hard, desperate, and needy, curling his fingers around Peter’s tie and trying to pull him closer, standing on his toes to reach him better. “Please. Kiss me—kiss me back—”