Rhys’s companion inhaled sharply, shock flaring across his face once more.
Rhys stiffened. He narrowed his eyes at Wade, some of his color returning as he finally came out of the shocked daze he’d been in.
“Business partner,” Rhys said, his voice hardening. He dropped down from the counter and looked at his companion. “I’m sorry Michael, but can we call it a night? I need to talk to Wade.” He ran a hand through his hair and gave the man an apologetic half-smile.
Wade didn’t miss the fact that the smile didn’t quite reach Rhys’s pale and very much angry eyes. Quite frankly, Wade didn’t care. As long as Rhys sent the man he’d been intending to spend the night with packing, Wade was prepared to deal with Rhys in any state he found him in. He glanced down and felt his dick throb.
Even one where he has a raging hard-on.
Rhys opened the door of his condo and felt a draft of air on the back of his neck as Wade came in behind him. Rhys shrugged out of his coat, dropped it on a hook on the stand in the foyer, and turned to glare at the hulking figure standing silently a few feet from him.
Rhys folded his arms across his chest. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” he said coldly.
Wade took his coat off, threw it on the stand, and stormed past Rhys, his gorgeous face set in grim lines. Rhys ground his teeth together and turned to follow him into the lounge. Wade strode to the bar next to the floor-to-ceiling glass wall overlooking the terrace that wrapped around the condo, poured himself a Scotch, and downed it.
Despite the maelstrom of emotions that had been roaring through Rhys since the moment he’d seen Wade in Saron’s restroom, he couldn’t help but admire the way Wade’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed angrily.
Why couldn’t he just look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame for one goddamn second?
Rhys still couldn’t believe Wade had been there tonight. That Wade had seen him kissing Michael. That Wade had pulled Michael off him as if he had prior claim to Rhys himself, a claim Wade openly asserted when he said he was Rhys’s partner.
Rhys closed his eyes briefly before tugging at his necktie.
Well, that cat is well and truly out of the bag now. He knows I’m gay.
On the tail end of that thought came an unsettling realization.
And he doesn’t seem in the least bit bothered by it.
Not that Rhys thought for one minute Wade would act like a homophobe. It was just that admitting his sexuality to him would have put Wade a step closer to one day realizing that Rhys had feelings for him.
Another wave of guilt washed over Rhys when he recalled Michael’s expression while he’d been trying to convince the lawyer that he was going to be okay. As Michael finally left the club’s restroom, Rhys couldn’t miss the hurt look in his eyes when he’d cast a final glance at Wade. It had to be obvious to Michael that he bore a striking resemblance to the man who had barged in on the two of them and who stood glaring at the lawyer as if he were a child killer.
A heavy silence had fallen between Rhys and Wade after the door swung close behind Michael. Rhys had hesitated before heading for the exit. A hand had closed around his wrist in an iron grip before he could reach it, halting him in his tracks.
“Where are you going?” Wade said silkily.
Rhys’s heart pounded erratically as he looked from where Wade’s fingers lay against his skin, to the stormy blue eyes boring into him. He knew Wade could feel his racing pulse where he was touching him.
“Back to my apartment,” Rhys said in as stony a voice as he could muster.
“I’m coming with you,” Wade said gruffly.
“I didn’t expect anything less,” Rhys retorted.
To Rhys’s shock, Wade had kept a firm grip on his hand as they headed back into the club, as if he were afraid Rhys would run off and disappear into the night. And he didn’t let go even after they got in a cab and headed over to Rhys’s place. In fact, it wasn’t until they entered the lift that would take them up to the apartment that Wade finally relinquished his deadly hold on Rhys’s arm, the strained hush between them since they’d left the club’s restroom still in place.
Wade finished his drink, wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and turned to stare at Rhys.
“Why did you never tell me you were gay?”
Rhys swallowed a sigh. Here we go. “Because it’s none of your business.”
A muscle jumped in Wade’s cheek. “I’m your best friend.”
Rhys shrugged. “So? That doesn’t give you the right to know about my sex life.”
“It does when I’m the subject of your fuck fantasies!” Wade roared.
Chapter 5
Wade cursed himself internally as he watched Rhys turn to stone.
Wade knew he was hurting Rhys with his overbearing manner and his cruel words. Knew he had been a complete asshole for barging in on Rhys and his lover and forcing Rhys to send the other man away. Knew he had no right to be here right now, interrogating Rhys as if he were a criminal.
Except I have. Since the day I realized he wanted me. He owes me an explanation. And it’s about time I got one.
“What did you just say?” Rhys whispered, his face ashen.
Wade pushed away from the bar and stepped toward Rhys.
Rhys unfroze and stepped back.
Wade stopped then, his heart thumping in his chest, conscious he needed to keep his distance for the next precious few moments. He could see Rhys slowly unravelling before him, the carefully guarded, nonchalant mask he normally sported slipping from his beautiful face, exposing such raw emotion it took all of Wade’s willpower not to walk over and take him in his arms.
“Rhys,” Wade breathed.
Rhys shuddered at the sound of his name and closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to look at Wade.
“I saw you,” Wade admitted in a quiet voice in the frozen hush. “A year ago. I came here one night to crash at your place.”
It was several long seconds before Rhys took a ragged breath and finally spoke. “What—,” he swallowed, opened his eyes, and licked his lips, “what did you see?”
“You. In bed. You were jacking off.” Wade hesitated before meeting Rhys’s stunned gaze head on. “You called out my name when you came.”
Rhys’s hands slowly fisted by his sides.
Pain squeezed Wade’s heart as he watched Rhys’s eyes darken with a tumult of emotions. Disbelief. Shame. And an agony so deep it seemed it would tear the man he was looking at apart.
Rhys gripped his head with his hands and twisted on his heels, turning his back on Wade.
“This isn’t happening. This isn’t fucking happening,” Rhys said hoarsely, fingers curling in his hair.
Alarm flashed through Wade when he saw the shivers racking Rhys’s body. He closed the distance between them and touched Rhys’s shoulder.
“Hey, calm down. I didn’t—”
Rhys froze at Wade’s touch.
“Don’t!” he barked.
He felt Wade startle behind him. Wade slowly removed his hand from Rhys’s shoulder.
“Just…don’t,” Rhys whispered, his voice breaking as despair threatened to drown him.
Never in a million years could Rhys have imagined that Wade already knew about his sick, sinful longing for him. Had known for a year, it seemed.
But he never said any—
Rhys’s eyes widened.
No. He didn’t say anything. But he showed me how he felt. Every time he was in the same room with me, he showed me. With his body. With his words. With his eyes.
Nausea churned Rhys’s stomach as he finally realized the reason behind the growing friction between Wade and him in the last twelve months. It had obviously started after Wade witnessed him masturbating and crying out his name as he reached his orgasm. And what Wade had seen had obviously pissed him off big time.
Rhys lowered his trembling hands to his sides, blood pounding dully in his ears and casting red pulses across his vision while he stared blindly at
the floor.
So, this is it. This is how it ends.
Even though Rhys’s heart screamed that he wasn’t ready yet, wasn’t even anywhere near willing to let go of his forbidden love, he knew there would be no escape from what was unfolding between Wade and him right now. He inhaled shallowly and finally turned to face Wade. They studied each other for a timeless moment, slate-blue eyes locked on baby blue, each watching, waiting, the silence between them so taut a whisper would shatter it.
Wade took a step toward Rhys.
This time, Rhys stood his ground. He curled his fingers into fists and tilted his chin to look up at Wade when the latter stopped a foot opposite him.
“How long?” Wade said stiffly, his gaze roaming Rhys’s face, as if he were seeing him for the very first time.
Rhys cleared his throat, not sure why he suddenly felt so nervous under Wade’s laser-like stare.
Well, actually, no. I’m on edge because I’m waiting for him to punch my lights out.
“How long what?” Rhys croaked.
Wade’s gaze dropped lower. “How long have you been fantasizing about me?”
Is he staring at my mouth?
Rhys swallowed and wet his lips. Wade’s pupils dilated.
Yup, he’s definitely staring at my mouth.
Rhys’s racing heart skittered all over the place as Wade continued staring at his lips.
What the fuck is going on here? Why is he looking at me like that?
“I’m waiting, Rhys,” Wade said silkily.
Oh hell!
The tension coiling through Rhys exploded in a flurry of charged words as he finally threw caution to the winds.
“You mean how long have I wanted you? Twelve years!” Rhys snapped. “How long have I thought that your dick would be the best thing I could ever suck on? About the same length of time. And you fucking me? I mean, really fucking me, as in your dick in my ass, well, I guess it’s hardly going to come as a surprise when I say twelve—”
“You ever thought of sticking it in me?” Wade interrupted.
Rhys opened and closed his mouth soundlessly, his train of thought completely derailed by Wade’s question and the curious look in his eyes.
“What?!” Rhys finally spluttered. “No! I’m more catcher than pitcher. Besides, why the hell are you even—”
“What about the dildo?” Wade said.
Rhys rocked back on his heels and blinked.
Wade lifted a hand and cradled Rhys’s chin in his palm, holding him in place. “What about the dildo, Rhys?” he repeated thickly.
Oh God. This is Hell, isn’t it? I’m in Hell. Sometime tonight, I had an accident and now I’m in purgatory, condemned to being tortured by this devil who looks like Wade.
A shiver raced down Rhys’s spine as his skin absorbed Wade’s touch and his body unconsciously angled into the intoxicating heat radiating off the powerful male frame towering over him. He’d never stood this close to Wade before, toe to toe and nose practically to nose.
Fuck, he smells good.
“I saw it,” Wade said. He leaned down and brought his lips to Rhys’s left ear. “You were using it when you were masturbating. It was big and long and thick. And you looked like you were really enjoying driving it up your ass. In fact, you came just from the dildo.”
Rhys gasped, his dick coming to life in one, rock-hard second at the wicked feel of Wade’s breath on his skin and the filthy words rolling off his tongue.
Wade’s heart thrummed against his ribs when he felt a shudder run through Rhys.
Twelve years. Twelve fucking years.
Shock reverberated through Wade at Rhys’s stormy admission. He couldn’t believe he’d been blind for so long. Couldn’t believe he’d been unable to read his best friend for that length of time.
Wade thought of all the women he’d bedded during those years, many of whom he’d gone off with while in Rhys’s company. He winced internally as he studied Rhys’s bewildered expression.
Poor baby. He must have been through hell and back.
It was clear to Wade that what he was doing and saying was shocking the hell out of Rhys. He’d guessed from Rhys’s initial reaction a couple of minutes ago that the latter had probably expected to be told off, or worse, punched for admitting to lusting after Wade.
As for Wade, he finally knew the answer to the question that had haunted him for the last year. Deep down inside, he’d probably always known. It had taken seeing Rhys with another man tonight for it to become clear. And it was hearing Rhys’s reluctant confession just now that had crystallized it into an irrevocable conviction.
And hell if that didn’t make Wade hard.
Chapter 6
He’s lost his fucking mind. There’s no other explanation for what’s happening right now. He hit his head and he’s lost his mind.
Rhys stared wildly at Wade as the latter drew his head back slightly, his fingers still holding Rhys’s chin captive.
I mean, does he even realize how close I am to losing my shit right now? If he keeps touching me like this, I’m going to come in my pants like a fucking teena—
That was when Wade leaned down and pressed his lips to Rhys’s. Rhys gasped, his heart literally skipping a beat. His eyes widened as he gazed into Wade’s focused stare while the latter curiously molded their lips together.
Rhys pushed Wade away and stepped out of his reach, his breaths coming in harsh, panicked pants, his body trembling so hard he thought his knees would give out beneath him.
He kissed me! He—
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Rhys roared. “You hate me! That’s why you’ve been acting like such an asshole the whole of this year, so why the hell are you touching me and kiss—”
Wade frowned. “I don’t hate you.”
Rhys froze. He blinked owlishly at Wade. “What?” he mumbled after a stunned moment. “Then, why—”
“Oh, that was just me being angry with you,” Wade said dismissively, as if the hell he’d put Rhys through in the past twelve months was water under the bridge.
Rhys scowled. This asshole!
“Okay, so you don’t hate me, but you’re angry with me,” he said between gritted teeth, trying his best to ignore his aching cock. “It still doesn’t explain why you’re acting like you suddenly started batting for the other team or why—”
“I think you’re misunderstanding something here, so let me make things crystal clear,” Wade said quietly. “I’m not angry with you for wanting me. I’m angry with you because you hid it from me. And this isn’t about me suddenly finding out I’m gay either.”
A lightheaded feeling swept over Rhys as he stared at Wade.
Does the dumb bastard even know what he’s saying right now? If I’m hearing him right, he means—
Rhys lifted his chin defiantly at Wade, his nails biting into his palms as he phrased the question he so very much wanted to ask.
“So what? Are you saying if I’d told you I wanted you all those years ago, you would have responded in kind? That you would have welcomed my advances despite the fact that I’m a man—”
“I don’t know about years ago,” Wade interrupted. “But twelve months ago? Six months ago? Hell, six minutes ago?” Wade stormed across the floor, took Rhys’s face in his hands, and stared heatedly into his eyes. “It doesn’t matter that you’re a man. You’re you. My best friend. The person I’m closest to in the entire world. The person I respect more than myself.” A mocking laugh left Wade’s lips then. He closed his eyes briefly before boring into Rhys’s shocked stare once more. “The person who always kept part of himself hidden from me, for all those years. My very own enigma. And now I know why. You wanted me. All this time, you wanted me.”
Fire swept through Rhys’s entire body as Wade rubbed a thumb across his mouth. Rhys licked his lips unconsciously and nearly groaned when the tip of his tongue touched the pad of Wade’s finger. Wade’s pupils dilated before his gaze grew hooded.
“So, no, it doesn�
�t matter that you’ve got a dick and balls instead of a pussy, Rhys,” Wade continued in a gravelly voice that shot straight down Rhys’s spine and made his hole twitch. “You know what went through my mind when I saw you naked in your bed that one time? I thought you were sexy as fuck. And the sight and sound of you climaxing that night? God, it left me with such a hard-on I took several cold showers before my dick calmed down.”
With that, Wade swooped down and took Rhys’s mouth in a scorching kiss.
Soft. That was Wade’s immediate impression of their first proper kiss. His lips are soft. And just a bit chapped from chewing them so damn much.
Wade’s fingers flexed on Rhys’s skin. He steered Rhys backward to the closest wall and crowded him in before angling his head to get better access to Rhys’s lips.
A breathy sound left Rhys when Wade aligned their bodies together and pressed him into the wall. To Wade, it sounded very much like the white flag of surrender.
Finally.
He started his attack in earnest, probing Rhys’s lips with his tongue, seeking entrance, dying to get his first full taste of the enigmatic man who had bewitched him body and soul.
Oh God. Pinch me. I can’t believe this is really happen—
Rhys inhaled raggedly as Wade’s tongue swept past his lips and invaded his mouth. The scandalous words Wade had just spoken faded from his mind like mist in sunlight as he soaked in the sensation of their first kiss.
Rhys shivered and clutched at Wade’s shoulders when Wade’s tongue clashed deliciously with his.
Fuck. Me.
Rhys was an experienced man. He’d kissed plenty of guys, and some women, in his lifetime and knew full well how to tempt and tease someone with his lips and tongue.
Right now, he felt about as accomplished as a blushing virgin on her wedding night. Because Wade Tucker was a fucking master at kissing. And if he kept on doing what he was doing with his wicked mouth and his filthy tongue, Rhys knew he would embarrass himself and come apart in Wade’s arms in a matter of seconds.
The Proposition (Nights Series Book 6) Page 3