Page 31 of The Guy in the Alley

I’d become downright obsessed in, what, thirty-six hours?

It’s just a silly crush.

The best way to get rid of a crush was to fuck ’em.

“You never liked playing with fire?” I asked, moving under the spray again. The hot water cascaded down, and I let out a long breath and gave my cock a stroke. “It keeps you warm.”

He hummed but said nothing. I heard him dig through the kit of medical supplies.

I tilted my head back and ran my fingers through my hair to get the suds out. I gave that a few seconds before I turned my back on him just a bit. He should see what he was about to screw. I slipped my hand between the cheeks, all absent-like, and brushed a couple fingers over my asshole.

That went on for a while…

’Cause it felt so damn good.

His exhale sent a shiver down my spine, and I was fucking done. I turned off the water and then opened the door.

Jesus Christ, he was something else. He leaned back against the counter, arms folded over his chest, and his cock left a noticeable bump in the towel. And his composure? It frustrated me as much as it turned me on to see him so unruffled. I knew he wasn’t; I could see the tension in his eyes and his jaw, but he behaved as if he had all the time in the world.

It was the most intoxicating game to see who’d make the first move.

I reached for a towel, hoping it wouldn’t stay on for long, and trailed over to the sink. Come on. Take me. Choke me out or something. I wouldn’t resist. Hell, I’d beg. I grabbed my toothbrush, standing mere inches away from him, and felt his eyes on me.

The thought of safety obviously flitted through my skull, but I wasn’t worried. I had plenty of rubbers right here under the sink. There might be a few in the bowl on the hallway table too.

My only problem with cat-and-mouse games was that I didn’t have the patience. I always lost, either because I wanted to get the show on the road or, in Ben’s case, I was itching to enjoy that show.

Before I stuck my toothbrush in my mouth, I wanted to know if there was something we could do first. I was willing to postpone brushing my teeth.

“Wanna fuck?” I asked.

His forehead creased, but otherwise, he didn’t move a muscle. “I’d weep for your generation if I had the energy to care about your dating pool.”

I guessed I was going to brush my teeth, then. Without breaking eye contact, I stuck the toothbrush into my mouth and tried to decipher what the hell that meant. Had he insulted me or just…fuck if I knew.

“I don’t have a dating pool,” I said.

“Neither do I.”

What did that mean?

I was sure I looked like a question mark, and it seemed to amuse him.

“Trace, you’re an…unbelievably sexy young man,” he murmured. Aw fuck, here came the but. “But don’t waste your time on me. I’ve got jack-shit to offer in return, and that includes a quick fuck.” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. He was no longer interested in eye contact. “At the risk of embarrassing myself—I haven’t been intimate with anyone in years, and I’m afraid human touch would break me at this point.”

I was done brushing my teeth. I spat into the sink and rinsed my mouth, and I worked up a good response, ’cause he was crazy. Not about the last part. I understood that, and it was painful. But the rest? He wasn’t so much rejecting me as he was deciding that I shouldn’t even consider him.

I wiped my mouth on my arm, then positioned myself in front of him.

He stiffened a bit and kept his arms folded over his chest like a shield.

Forget about a quick fuck. I felt the gears shift in my head, and everything was suddenly about him. I wanted to make him feel good.

If he needed to break, he could do it with me.

I lifted my hand, making sure there were no sudden movements, and I hitched a brow in silent question. We’d start easy. We had time. Right now, I only wanted to touch his arm.

He swallowed and clenched his jaw, and no words came out. I pushed it at a snail’s pace, giving him plenty of time to ease away or say no, but I wasn’t blind. He wanted this. I remembered…what it was like to be starved for comfort, and my situation hadn’t been a fraction as dire as his.

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