Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Mike’s exhale was long and laborious, but he met Arden’s gaze, biting his bottom lip so hard it was painful to watch. “It’s not your fault. You might have trusted the wrong person, but no one should use your inexperience against you. Not to mention he shouldn’t have touched you at fifteen in the first place, whether you wanted it or not.”
Arden slid his hand under Mike’s arm, seeking his warmth. “But it happened, and now I’m this broken thing. Afraid of something I was always horny for. It’s like he took it away from me, and made me nervous. I wasn’t like this before. Why would he do that? If he’d only been more patient, I would have fucked him eventually.”
Mike swallowed hard, his gaze darting to Arden’s as his cheeks burned with a flush. The small wrinkles around his eyes kept twitching, as if his brain hadn’t yet decided how he felt. “Why didn’t you tell me? If you’re scared, why didn’t you tell me? I’d have gone about things differently if I knew.”
Arden rubbed his eyes. “I thought… I’d be over it. Why can’t I just wipe it away and be back to normal? I do want you.”
Mike’s jaw set. “I’m gonna rip the fucker’s balls off.”
“No! That’s the other thing… I saw you obliterating that guy who hit me. You’ll end up killing Luke if you go after him.”
Mike stalled, his mouth paling as he pressed his lips together. “So what? He fucking deserves it.”
Arden put his hand over Mike’s clenched fist, but then slowly teased it open so their fingers could entwine. “But you don’t deserve to go to prison over that piece of shit.”
Mike remained silent, but he didn’t push Arden away and hung his head, constantly blinking. “I wouldn’t.”
He said it with such confidence Arden’s heart skipped a beat. The seed of revenge shouldn’t have been sown, but there it was, sprouting its ugly rotten bud in Arden’s chest.
Arden leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Mike’s swollen lips. “You’re the only person I told,” he whispered, surprised by the comfort of sharing his burden and feeling understood.
Mike hummed, gently stroking Arden’s back as they both clung to the safety of the wall in the quiet gym room, to the background noise of someone punching a sandbag downstairs. The air smelled of sweat and cleaning products, but that only reminded Arden how far away he was from Luke.
“You know we’ll only do the things you want, right? What we’re doing now’s great,” Mike whispered into Arden’s hair.
“Yes,” Arden whispered, hugging Mike in relief that Mike had been grabby from the start, but he’d been more than accommodating in bed, and it was easy to feel comfortable in his presence. “I probably shouldn’t, but I trust you.”
Mike shook his head and offered Arden a small smile, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand. “I wouldn’t hurt you. You only deserve good things.”
“Is that why I get to have your dick?” Arden winked at him, more at ease by the second.
Enamoured with his bearded knight covered in tattoos Arden leaned in for a longer kiss. He was still embarrassed that he’d lost it and hit Mike, but it couldn’t be undone, and led to a new level of understanding between them.
Mike snorted and teased Arden with a couple of light pecks, relaxing against the wall. “Sure thing. And all the delicious cum you can eat, baby.”
Arden straddled Mike’s lap for more comfort and let himself enjoy their little make-out session, realizing that maybe truth had been the first step for them to take things further. If Mike knew where Arden was coming from, he could act accordingly, and chip at his uncertainty until it crumbled. Because Arden’s mind knew Mike was safe. It was his body that needed to catch up.
“I could suck that dick all day and all night,” he murmured into Mike’s lips as he slid his fingers into the beard. “And I want it in me eventually. So much.”
Mike’s breath trembled in the back of his throat, making Arden smile, but they both froze at the sound of broken glass. Something tumbled over the floor, and Mike rolled Arden off, stiff as if he were about to fight a fully grown gorilla.
The thing looked like a soda can. Until it made a strange noise and exploded.
Chapter 16 – Mike
Mike could barely see. His eyelids had puffed up, but whenever he tried to pry his eyes open, the burn was worse than having liquor poured on fresh wounds. So he stumbled forward blind, holding Arden in his arms as if his life depended on it. He pressed his shoulder to the wall for guidance, but cries from downstairs were what steered him to the staircase.
His nose and throat ached as if he’d been attacked by a swarm of wasps rolled in ground pepper, and he found it hard to breathe, his lungs tightening in response to the unfamiliar odor. Arden clung to him like a little bird, trembling as he wheezed, setting off all the alarms in Mike’s head.