Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 118592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
Memphis didn’t respond right away and I was actually grateful. But that only lasted for the several long seconds it took for him to ask, “Does Brennan know how you feel about him?”
Chapter Twelve
Memphis
“What?” Tristan whispered in surprise as he came to a stop and looked up at me.
The question was out of bounds, but the need to know was killing me. But surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the jealousy I should have been feeling now that I knew Tristan was gay. I’d suspected it after first meeting him, but I’d known for sure when I’d grabbed him after Tink had caused him to trip up on the deck.
Besides the intense rush of need I’d felt when I’d had him in my arms, I’d felt a flash of disappointment too. Because while I had no doubt that Brennan really didn’t know Tristan was gay, I also knew his feelings for his friend ran much deeper than he’d let on. Which meant I’d end up losing what I had with Brennan, especially since I suspected Tristan was struggling with the same emotions when it came to his friend.
After Brennan had gotten Tristan settled in bed a couple hours after they’d arrived at my house, Brennan and I had spent some time talking about what would happen next. He’d clearly been exhausted from the evening spent at the hospital and then the early morning drive to my place so I’d told him to lie down for a bit. My plan had been to show him to my other guestroom, but he’d quietly asked me if I would join him and I hadn’t been able to resist. I’d held him as he’d slept and I had actually drifted off at one point myself. I’d woken up in time to get some dinner going and then I’d worked on gathering more information about Tristan’s attackers while I’d waited for Brennan to get up. I’d also gotten in touch with Cain and Phoenix, the two men I’d decided would be the best guys to protect Tristan and Brennan when I wasn’t around. When Brennan had woken, we’d eaten dinner out on the deck and then Brennan had taken some food to Tristan along with his medication. After cleaning up the dishes, Brennan had wrapped his arms around me and thanked me for helping them and I’d been a goner.
I’d made love to him that night. Not fucking, not sex. Just love.
Because I had no doubt that that’s what was happening to me. Never in a million years would I have thought it possible, but I was falling in love with the young man who was supposed to have been a one-time fuck. And just like I’d worried about from the beginning, Brennan was in love with someone else…and now I knew that that someone else likely loved him back.
Which meant I was once again the odd man out.
I’d ended up in the same exact fucking position I’d been in three years earlier just before my life had gone to hell. Before everything I’d cared about had been stolen from me all because I’d fallen in love with the wrong man.
“Does he know you’re in love with him?” I asked.
Color flooded Tristan’s cheeks as he swallowed hard and dropped his eyes. “How?” he whispered.
I stepped close enough to tip Tristan’s face up. My hand was resting on his jaw and for the life of me, I couldn’t make myself move it. His skin was warm and I could feel his pulse thrumming against my fingers. It would be so easy to drop my head and taste him.
“I see it when you look at him,” I said softly as I began stroking my thumb along the line of his jaw. “But you always make sure he isn’t looking at you when you do it.”
“Oh God,” Tristan whispered.
“Does he even know you’re gay?” I asked. I was surprised to find that I already knew the answer was ‘no’ because somewhere along the way, I’d realized everything Brennan had said to me was the truth.
Tristan shook his head and I forced myself to let him go. “I don’t know if he does. We never talked about it. I mean, it’s not like I have a chance with him anyway.” He began walking again and I followed.
“I can see that he cares about you a great deal,” I hedged since it wasn’t my place to tell him how Brennan really felt. I tried not to wonder too much if there was a more selfish reason I was holding back that little bit of information.
“That’s just Brennan being Brennan,” Tristan murmured.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s really protective…always has been. Not surprising, considering his past.”
“His past?” I asked.
Tristan seemed to relax a bit and he sent me a quick look. “Brennan’s mom used to be married to Zane’s dad, but she left when Zane was like six years old. She married Brennan’s dad six or seven years later and had Brennan’s older brother, Cody. After Brennan’s dad and Cody died in a plane crash, Brennan’s mom started to drink…a lot,” Tristan said with emphasis. “Brennan ended up having to watch out for his little sister, Hannah.”