but differences in their genetics gave us slightly different powers, I guess.”
“How’d they get away from Itor?”
“They escaped. Like mother, like son, I guess,” he said bitterly. When Ian said nothing, Tag sighed. “Why did you come out here, anyway?”
“Because you’re running,” Ian said. “It’s what you always do when shit gets real.”
Tag bristled. “I do not.”
One blond eyebrow cocked. “Remember when I invited you to spend the night at my place for the first time? You went AWOL at work and didn’t come back for a week. When you did, you made up excuses not to see me.”
Yeah, okay, he’d done that. They’d been dating for about a month, and he’d been starting to let his guard down. Until that point, he’d been content to see Ian whenever Ian showed up at the bar or called to see if Tag wanted to hang out. But about four weeks in, he’d started to look forward to seeing Ian, and he’d ached when the guy wasn’t around.
Spending the night would have been a huge step, especially since he’d been on the verge of letting things in bed go places he’d only been with Justice.
Clearing his throat as if it would also clear away all those memories, he said, “That’s once.”
Ian looked at him like he was a dumbass. “There was the time when you were sick and I brought you soup. I didn’t hear from you for days afterward.”
Justice had always brought him soup when he was sick in college. Whether it was a hangover or the flu, Justice’d made sure he was comfortable. And yeah, those memories—and others—had often boiled over into his relationship with Ian. He’d only finally let Justice’s hold on him go when Itor grabbed him.
“Fuck you.”
“See? You’re running.” Ian stomped his boot, breaking off chunks of snow. “Bet Justice would say the same thing. You run.”
“So you came out here to point out my flaws? If you’re trying to seduce me, you’d better up your game.” Bitterness welled at the reminder that seducing was Ian’s job, and he couldn’t help but add, “Especially since now I know how you operate.”
Pain flickered in Ian’s eyes, followed immediately by anger. “Is that how Justice got you to suck his cock?” he shot back. “He upped his game?”
Tag shoved to his feet. “Are you trying to get a rise out of me, or do you really want to know? Because if you want to know, here’s the deal. I saw Justice, and I didn’t know if I wanted to punch him or kiss him.” He glared at Ian. “You, I just want to punch.”
Ian snorted, his hot breath turning to vapor in the cold air. “Clearly, since you didn’t have my cock in your mouth two minutes after seeing me again.”
Tag ignored that and sent another blast of his metal-heating power into the far wall. “I was glad Justice was here.”
Really glad, considering he’d figured there was a good chance Justice wouldn’t come, and then he’d have been screwed. He’d had Itor on his tail for weeks, and he’d thought that he’d be safe here, but the last time he’d gone to town, the locals had told him someone had been nosing around, asking about him.
His only hope for survival had been Justice.
“You’re saying you were so grateful he came to your rescue that you blew him?”
Okay, now Ian was starting to piss him off. More, anyway. “Yeah. Basically.” Not at all.
Beneath the anger and hurt, despite all the bad blood between them, he’d just been happy to see Justice. And when he’d seen the smoldering heat behind the wall of ice in Justice’s eyes, he’d felt his defenses weaken.
The funny thing was that it wasn’t the heat that had gone straight to his gut. It was the ice. It was the chilling hardness that hadn’t been there four years ago. He could blame ACRO for it—probably would because that was the easy thing to do—but he couldn’t stop feeling as though he had been at least partially responsible for putting it there.
Then Justice had backed him against the
“How’d they get away from Itor?”
“They escaped. Like mother, like son, I guess,” he said bitterly. When Ian said nothing, Tag sighed. “Why did you come out here, anyway?”
“Because you’re running,” Ian said. “It’s what you always do when shit gets real.”
Tag bristled. “I do not.”
One blond eyebrow cocked. “Remember when I invited you to spend the night at my place for the first time? You went AWOL at work and didn’t come back for a week. When you did, you made up excuses not to see me.”
Yeah, okay, he’d done that. They’d been dating for about a month, and he’d been starting to let his guard down. Until that point, he’d been content to see Ian whenever Ian showed up at the bar or called to see if Tag wanted to hang out. But about four weeks in, he’d started to look forward to seeing Ian, and he’d ached when the guy wasn’t around.
Spending the night would have been a huge step, especially since he’d been on the verge of letting things in bed go places he’d only been with Justice.
Clearing his throat as if it would also clear away all those memories, he said, “That’s once.”
Ian looked at him like he was a dumbass. “There was the time when you were sick and I brought you soup. I didn’t hear from you for days afterward.”
Justice had always brought him soup when he was sick in college. Whether it was a hangover or the flu, Justice’d made sure he was comfortable. And yeah, those memories—and others—had often boiled over into his relationship with Ian. He’d only finally let Justice’s hold on him go when Itor grabbed him.
“Fuck you.”
“See? You’re running.” Ian stomped his boot, breaking off chunks of snow. “Bet Justice would say the same thing. You run.”
“So you came out here to point out my flaws? If you’re trying to seduce me, you’d better up your game.” Bitterness welled at the reminder that seducing was Ian’s job, and he couldn’t help but add, “Especially since now I know how you operate.”
Pain flickered in Ian’s eyes, followed immediately by anger. “Is that how Justice got you to suck his cock?” he shot back. “He upped his game?”
Tag shoved to his feet. “Are you trying to get a rise out of me, or do you really want to know? Because if you want to know, here’s the deal. I saw Justice, and I didn’t know if I wanted to punch him or kiss him.” He glared at Ian. “You, I just want to punch.”
Ian snorted, his hot breath turning to vapor in the cold air. “Clearly, since you didn’t have my cock in your mouth two minutes after seeing me again.”
Tag ignored that and sent another blast of his metal-heating power into the far wall. “I was glad Justice was here.”
Really glad, considering he’d figured there was a good chance Justice wouldn’t come, and then he’d have been screwed. He’d had Itor on his tail for weeks, and he’d thought that he’d be safe here, but the last time he’d gone to town, the locals had told him someone had been nosing around, asking about him.
His only hope for survival had been Justice.
“You’re saying you were so grateful he came to your rescue that you blew him?”
Okay, now Ian was starting to piss him off. More, anyway. “Yeah. Basically.” Not at all.
Beneath the anger and hurt, despite all the bad blood between them, he’d just been happy to see Justice. And when he’d seen the smoldering heat behind the wall of ice in Justice’s eyes, he’d felt his defenses weaken.
The funny thing was that it wasn’t the heat that had gone straight to his gut. It was the ice. It was the chilling hardness that hadn’t been there four years ago. He could blame ACRO for it—probably would because that was the easy thing to do—but he couldn’t stop feeling as though he had been at least partially responsible for putting it there.
Then Justice had backed him against the
Similar Books
