Read Online Desires' Guardian by Tempeste O'Riley - Free Book Online
Authors: Tempeste O'Riley
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again.”
Merely saying that much felt like picking at a not-quite-formed scab. Ignoring his abandoned mug, Chase rubbed his temples, trying to forget it was the same motion that had started everything with Rhys in the first place.
“Chase, yelling will not help. I only ask because of how you acted when James and I first started seeing one another. My apologies for making assumptions about you. If you aren’t seeing anyone, but you had sex and are now upset”—Seth’s voice dropped low, hard—“did someone attack you?”
James tensed, and Chase knew he had to stop the panic attack before it set in.
“No, Seth. I just let things get out of hand. Rhys didn’t hurt me like that.” Chase slapped his hand over his mouth as if he could contain the words that had already slipped out. “Forget I said that last part, please,” he cried.
“Rhys? As in our friend and bodyguard Rhys? But….” James’s voice trailed off. The mixed look of anger and confusion was not any better than the panic from before, in Chase’s opinion.
“Well, Chase is Rhys’s type, James. I could see him being interested, but I do not understand how the way the two of you acted before turned into sex, with you this upset after. Rhys would not force you,” Seth added with certainty.
Chase groaned loudly. “Please, just forget I said his name. I will find someone else to work for him, and you will simply have to accept that I won’t be around when he is if I can help it. Now, please, please, please, drop it,” he begged, silently trying to will the two in front of him to listen for once—not that he held much hope of it working.
“I can’t do that, Chase. Now, tell me why you need to back out of our agreement and what Rhys did to you to make you so upset? I mean, I know you don’t usually do one-offs, but….”
R HYS AWOKE in increments, the sun pushing his consciousness to the surface against his will. His face was buried in the pillow he held crushed to his chest. Rhys pleasantly noted that it smelled of Antaeus and Chase. The memory of the night before had him hard and aching again before he opened his eyes. Rhys reached out, raising his head to look for Chase, hoping to entice the fiery little man into an encore, but the sheets were cold and empty beside him.
When he shifted to sit up and look around, his body reminded him of what he had allowed Chase to do to him. It had been years since he’d done anything but top—more than a decade, he thought. Sliding back down, Rhys drifted his right hand down his chest and abs to his cock as the night before played in his head. The way he’d kissed. The complete and heart-stopping way Chase had possessed his body. Rhys couldn’t remember ever being with someone so sensual or caring. It wasn’t just the ecstasy, but the massage and time spent prepping him, the cleanup afterward. Everything combined made waking up alone so crushing.
Chase had been angry, but when the fire turned to passion, he’d thought Chase had accepted his apology and wanted him too. Before he got too maudlin, he wondered if maybe Chase hadn’t ditched him as just another trick. Maybe something had happened…. But no, he would have woken if a phone had rung.
Rhys forced himself to get out of bed. He first went to his jeans to dig out his cell, a little disappointed to find Chase had left nothing behind. Well, except the used condom in the trash can.
Rhys stood, naked, in the middle of his bedroom as he scrolled through his contacts to find Chase’s number. It went straight to voice mail, though, killing the last hope it wasn’t really what it looked like.
“Should have known ‘Nothing else exists until morning’ meant he would be gone when I woke,” Rhys muttered as he headed to the bathroom to wash up and get dressed. Before he put on his shirt, he took a moment to look in the mirror and admire the rather clean bite marks at the juncture of neck and shoulder and the other darker little love
Merely saying that much felt like picking at a not-quite-formed scab. Ignoring his abandoned mug, Chase rubbed his temples, trying to forget it was the same motion that had started everything with Rhys in the first place.
“Chase, yelling will not help. I only ask because of how you acted when James and I first started seeing one another. My apologies for making assumptions about you. If you aren’t seeing anyone, but you had sex and are now upset”—Seth’s voice dropped low, hard—“did someone attack you?”
James tensed, and Chase knew he had to stop the panic attack before it set in.
“No, Seth. I just let things get out of hand. Rhys didn’t hurt me like that.” Chase slapped his hand over his mouth as if he could contain the words that had already slipped out. “Forget I said that last part, please,” he cried.
“Rhys? As in our friend and bodyguard Rhys? But….” James’s voice trailed off. The mixed look of anger and confusion was not any better than the panic from before, in Chase’s opinion.
“Well, Chase is Rhys’s type, James. I could see him being interested, but I do not understand how the way the two of you acted before turned into sex, with you this upset after. Rhys would not force you,” Seth added with certainty.
Chase groaned loudly. “Please, just forget I said his name. I will find someone else to work for him, and you will simply have to accept that I won’t be around when he is if I can help it. Now, please, please, please, drop it,” he begged, silently trying to will the two in front of him to listen for once—not that he held much hope of it working.
“I can’t do that, Chase. Now, tell me why you need to back out of our agreement and what Rhys did to you to make you so upset? I mean, I know you don’t usually do one-offs, but….”
R HYS AWOKE in increments, the sun pushing his consciousness to the surface against his will. His face was buried in the pillow he held crushed to his chest. Rhys pleasantly noted that it smelled of Antaeus and Chase. The memory of the night before had him hard and aching again before he opened his eyes. Rhys reached out, raising his head to look for Chase, hoping to entice the fiery little man into an encore, but the sheets were cold and empty beside him.
When he shifted to sit up and look around, his body reminded him of what he had allowed Chase to do to him. It had been years since he’d done anything but top—more than a decade, he thought. Sliding back down, Rhys drifted his right hand down his chest and abs to his cock as the night before played in his head. The way he’d kissed. The complete and heart-stopping way Chase had possessed his body. Rhys couldn’t remember ever being with someone so sensual or caring. It wasn’t just the ecstasy, but the massage and time spent prepping him, the cleanup afterward. Everything combined made waking up alone so crushing.
Chase had been angry, but when the fire turned to passion, he’d thought Chase had accepted his apology and wanted him too. Before he got too maudlin, he wondered if maybe Chase hadn’t ditched him as just another trick. Maybe something had happened…. But no, he would have woken if a phone had rung.
Rhys forced himself to get out of bed. He first went to his jeans to dig out his cell, a little disappointed to find Chase had left nothing behind. Well, except the used condom in the trash can.
Rhys stood, naked, in the middle of his bedroom as he scrolled through his contacts to find Chase’s number. It went straight to voice mail, though, killing the last hope it wasn’t really what it looked like.
“Should have known ‘Nothing else exists until morning’ meant he would be gone when I woke,” Rhys muttered as he headed to the bathroom to wash up and get dressed. Before he put on his shirt, he took a moment to look in the mirror and admire the rather clean bite marks at the juncture of neck and shoulder and the other darker little love
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