Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Zolt put a magnet against the ring, and when the two didn’t stick, he breathed on the piece of jewelry and stared at it through a magnifying lens.
Leo couldn’t bear the tension, so he peeked over Zolt’s shoulder. “What? What’d you think? It’s got the diamonds and stuff.”
Zolt looked back, his strong nose and brow sharp as blades against pale skin. “I don’t know, Leo. Jewelers take a hefty commission that doesn’t necessarily depend on the worth of the piece. And it’s not antique either,” he said, turning slowly. His elbow rubbed across Leo’s chest in the process, igniting a cool fire.
Leo had no idea if he was getting nervous because a gay man stood so close or because there was something wrong with him.
“Yeah, but I got it second hand, so it was already discounted. I’ve had a really shitty evening with this ring. Can’t you cut me some slack? We’ve known each other what… three years?”
Zolt sighed and put the ring down on a small metal tray before facing Leo again. The white light reflected in one of his eyes, making it reminiscent of a translucent bead. “But we’re doing business here. Your club doesn’t give me any bonuses for doing my job right.”
Leo had to fight the tremble in his lips. This had to be one of the shittiest nights of his life and now he was facing losing all his hard-earned cash as well? The whisky wasn’t helping him think or control his feelings either. The whole thing was a mess.
“Okay, okay, maybe… I don’t know. Maybe I’ll keep it for the next girl who doesn’t want to marry me.”
He leaned back, but Zolt squeezed his shoulder, pulling him right back into the cloud of his spicy cologne. “Don’t give up yet. Maybe we could work something out. I’m an open guy.”
Leo’s ears went aflame. Was Zolt suggesting what Leo thought he was suggesting? “I’m not fucking you for a discount! What the hell!” His heart pounded like mad from the indignity of it all.
Zolt rolled his eyes. “Something wrong with me?”
The question took Leo by surprise, and seconds later, he was still at a loss for words. He couldn’t help but scan Zolt’s chest one more time. From the pecs, to the tattoos, all the way to those ridiculously chiseled hip muscles, Zolt was a perfect specimen of the male species. “N-no… But I’m straight.”
He froze when Zolt reached past him to rest his hand on the counter. The forearm was still close enough that Leo could sense its heat. “Straight actors kiss other dudes on screen.”
“But we’re talking about more than kissing here. Are we? Or… are we talking kissing?” Leo’s gaze once more drifted to the wide lips hiding within the dark beard, the scar hiding secrets of Zolt’s past, and he wondered how many men a guy like him could have kissed in his life. Were kisses even special to him at all? Were they to kiss, how would Leo fare in comparison to others before him? What if he wasn’t a good kisser?
“It would need to be a damn long kiss,” Zoltan said in the softest whisper, as if he were afraid the sound of his voice would shatter Leo’s resolve.
Leo ignored the buzz of electricity diving all the way to his balls. It had to be an ego trip, because no one had ever haggled for as little as a kiss from him, let alone offered hundreds of dollars for it.
“But you can’t tell anyone about it.” Leo lowered his voice, despite no one else being there. What he was about to do was so illicit he still couldn’t get to grips with it.
Zolt smirked, his eyes blazing as he approached, backing Leo into the counter with his sheer presence. “I’d never get any if I talked.”
Leo couldn’t help the shudder going through his body. What did that mean? Did Zolt fuck many guys who needed him to keep their secret? How many? He was so hot all the gay guys in Reno surely gagged for his dick, so why did he care so much for a kiss from average Joe Leo? Was it just about the challenge of it?
His thoughts came to an abrupt stop when Zolt’s palm rested on his neck, spreading its infernal heat all over. Its tentacles crawled under Leo’s skin and reached his lips before Zolt rubbed them with his coarse thumb.
“I can keep secrets, Leo. All of them,” he whispered.
Leo gasped when Zolt brushed his lips against his. The barely-there touch was followed by the sensation of soft facial hair swiping over sensitive skin. It wasn’t even the pheromones that had Leo’s knees buckling, but the confident way Zolt held him by the neck. Zolt had command over the situation and made sure Leo knew that.