Page 31 of A Little More Forgiveness

He stepped away and gave me a full once-over. I didn’t move a muscle, letting him take his fill. His gaze travelled everywhere, making my body tingle. He lingered a while on my cock, so I flexed it, ya know, because I could. To his credit, he ignored me, carrying on as if nothing had happened, before his eyes finally returned to mine. Disregarding my comment, he simply turned to exit the room. “Make sure you tidy up your mess.” He threw over his shoulder and was gone, leaving me disappointed and with the unsettling feeling I’d lost yet another round in our ongoing game.

After clearing my mess off the shower door, I took my time and leisurely dried myself. Wrapping the towel around my waist about one and a half times, because of course everything in this home was massive, I left Mitch’s bedroom and padded down the tiny hallway to the sitting room where I’d left most of my clothes. I heard Mitch and Leo in the kitchen, but I ignored them, dropping the towel, because why the hell not? Mitch had already seen me shoot my load, so he wouldn’t be embarrassed by my nakedness. I pulled on my underwear and the oversize jeans, T-shirt, flannel shirt and sweater, then walked into the kitchen.

“Nice of you to join us,” Mitch drawled, setting my teeth instantly on edge.

“Yeah,” I replied, “I was a tad busy there for a while.”

Leo’s eyes flicked between us a few times.

“You watched the show, Mitch, and must have been able to see how distracted I was.”

“What show?” Leo asked, turning to Mitch. “What did you see?”

“Nothing worth mentioning,” he replied, and fuck if I didn’t want to punch him for his cheap comment.

“Maybe you should take a closer look the next time, to make sure.”

He sucked in a breath, and if the same images of him on his knees in front of me were going through his head as they were mine, he was probably getting hard.

“Look closer at what?” Leo asked into the silence. “Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?”

I sniggered. “Our Mitch walked in on me taking a shower, among other things. He stayed until I finished.” I gave him a direct look. “Right, Mitch?”

He gritted his teeth and the muscles in his jaw clenched a few times.

“What am I missing here?” Leo asked me but must have rapidly put two and two together, as a cute blush hit his cheeks. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“I think I’ll take the dogs out for a walk.” Not waiting for a reply, Mitch headed out of the kitchen, leaving me and Leo behind.

“Chicken,” I goaded him as he passed by me.

“Not a chicken. Simply not interested in what you’re peddling.”

Peddling? Fucking peddling?

“I’m not sure where you’re getting your sex from Mitchell, but it’s obviously from the wrong type of people if you think I’m peddling anything.” I winked at him. “I give it away for free, and always, always leave them wanting more.”

He stiffened, not taking the bait, but more telling was his refusal to look me in the eyes, silently answering my outstanding question on his sexuality. Oh yeah, he’s interested, which considering his dislike for me made the discovery even hotter. He might try to fight the attraction, but it wouldn’t do him any good. He’d eventually succumb like all the rest. By the time I’d finished with him, he’d be doing exactly what I’d said and be begging me for more.

“Would you give him a break?” Leo laid into me as soon as Mitch had left the room. “Why can’t you leave him the hell alone?”

For the second time, he’d stopped playing peacekeeper, which intrigued me. Usually, he’d go out of his way to try to calm us down, but right now he was taking sides, and definitely not mine. It shouldn’t have affected me, but after our kiss this morning, his harsh words stung. I thought we’d had a connection, a spark. I’d certainly been feeling something between us since we first met in his office. And last night in bed, I’d swear he was jerking off, or at least palming himself under the sheets, after I accidently, and then on purpose, grazed his nipple when I’d reached over to shake his hand.

So what’d changed since then? It must be the time they spent together this afternoon. I’d returned after tiding up the tools and lingering a while to take in the tranquility of the lake, only to find the cabin empty, with no sign of Leo or Mitch.

A weight sat heavy in my gut, realizing I’d been left alone again. If the two of them weren’t getting nice and cozy in the cabin while I was banished to Leo’s Jeep, they were now going off together for most of the afternoon, leaving me alone to stew. Okay, I’d gone to talk to Mitch earlier, but more to get him to apologize to Leo than anything else, and Leo had been fully aware of my reasons for going.

But something had happened while they’d been out. They’d become more relaxed around each other, more relaxed than I’d seen either of them be with me, and to be honest, their newfound friendliness rankled. I’m a grown-ass man who doesn’t need anyone, but I had a sinking feeling they were pushing me further away, and Leo defending Mitch, wanting me to ease off, smacked of them rounding on me.

Leo had also made a valid point. Why couldn’t I leave Mitch alone?

“Since when did you get all protective of our little ray of sunshine?”

He seemed taken aback. “I-I’m not. I just wish you two would stop arguing for more than a minute.”

Bullshit. “Sure, you do.”

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