Page 17 of No Strings Attached

Sam really wanted to believe that. He was sick and tired of feeling like every single person he encountered had a motive. That was why he relied only on himself, until Daryl.

“I don’t know you,” Sam argued. “You think your uniform means you don’t have a dark side?”

“I know I have a dark side,” Morgan snarled at him. “A uniform doesn’t erase someone’s past, Sam. I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but forcing someone to have sex with me was never one of them.”

“I wasn’t trying to fight with you.” He didn’t want the guy to be pissed at him. Not only was Morgan humungous—and could do some real damage—Sam didn’t want to get kicked out.

“And I didn’t mean to lose my temper.” Morgan sat in the chair by the television. “I just don’t like that you think I’m a creep.”

What was Sam supposed to say? He hadn’t flat-out called Morgan a creep, but he’d insinuated it. “For the past ten years I’ve had to duck and dodge unsavory jerks. You’d be amazed how many people think that a guy will do anything for a place to stay when he’s homeless.”

“I’m a cop,” Morgan said. “I’ve arrested a lot of depraved assholes. But even before that, I ran into people who thought they could pull one over on you.”

“But look at you.” Sam waved a hand in Morgan’s direction. “You’re freaking huge. No one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

“And you’d be wrong,” he said. “Size doesn’t always matter, Sam. Vultures prey on weakness. A guy down on his luck is an opportunity to them.”

That was the damn truth. Daryl had preyed on him. For two weeks he’d made Sam feel comfortable, and then he showed his true colors. Sam didn’t have a big ego, but he knew he was what most called a cute twink, and Daryl had tried to exploit him.

Just thinking about what the guy had wanted Sam to do turned his stomach and made him feel worthless.

“I’m not looking for sexual favors,” Morgan said. “I’m truly sorry about what you’ve been through, but not everyone is a vulture circling overhead.”

“So what are you, a hero?”

Morgan shook his head. “I became a cop to try and make up for some of the shit I’ve done in my past, but I’m not a hero.”

Slowly and carefully, Sam pushed himself into a sitting position. “What are some of the things you’ve done?”

As clean-cut as Morgan looked, Sam couldn’t imagine him doing dirty shit. He seemed more like the guy who always played fair, someone who had an overload of honor.

For a long moment, Morgan studied him. “I’ll share my past if you share yours.”

Sam saw what the guy was doing. “The last thing I remember is drowning in sweat as I drove down Hinkley Road. I don’t know why I left my car on the side of the road or how I ended up in that house.”

“I think the heat made you delirious,” Morgan said. “I get the fact that you probably got out to cool off. What I don’t understand is why you fled to that house.”

“I was running from…” Sam chewed on the side of his mouth, unsure he wanted to tell Morgan about Daryl. That night wasn’t Sam’s fault, but it had still been humiliating.

And terrifying.

Morgan rested his forearms on his thighs when he sat forward. “I’m not talking to you as an officer of the law, Sam. If we’re going to live under the same roof, a small level of trust has to be given. I’m asking you to take a chance and confide in me.”

“I want to trust you,” Sam admitted. “It really sucks to not have at least one person I believe in.”

“It was the same for me,” Morgan said. “My life didn’t start to change until I met Sheriff Dominic Harper. He saw I was a complete wreck, but Dominic also saw the man I could become. The guy gave me purpose, Sam. Showed me that not everyone was out to fuck me over.”

“You’re saying that my life is going to change because I met you?”

“Yes,” Morgan said without hesitation. “It only takes meeting that one person. The right person. You might say that fate guided me to you.”

Sam wasn’t sure about fate. He’d never believed in such things. You just dealt with the life you were given the best way you could. “Is it okay if I get to know you better before we talk about what led up to you finding me?”

“As long as you tell me you’re not in danger,” Morgan replied.

That wasn’t something Sam could do. He could lie, but it didn’t feel right lying to Morgan. And if Daryl found out where he was, Morgan would know that he had lied.

Besides, there was no way Morgan would believe him if he said that Daryl had had long, sharp teeth and claws. The deputy would take Sam back to the hospital for a mental evaluation.

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