Page 16 of The Boy from Half Moon

Both seemed out of the question for obvious reasons. One, Alec was my boss. Two, Luke was involved in a strange religion where I doubted the word gay was even discussed. But, if I had a choice, and there were no barriers, I was still obsessed with Luke and his innocent, yet sexual, energy.

Truthfully, Luke could only be considered a twink because of his age. His massive, muscular body and animalistic appeal gave off power-top vibes to me. The idea of him owning me with his commanding body made me weak-kneed, something I wasn’t feeling about Alec. With Alec, I felt like I’d have to have the power-top vibe, something that held no appeal for me.

“I think I’m good on my own,” I replied to Alec, answering his question about joining me in the shower.

“Just thought I’d ask,” he said. “Seems my charm hasn’t worked yet.”

“Not yet,” I responded, laughing his comment off.

“How about if I just watched?” he suggested, still pushing.

I waved him off. “Stop!” I insisted, keeping my voice lighthearted and friendly.

His interest in me was flattering for sure, but he was forcing me to walk a tightrope around him. He was my superior at my place of employment, and not just as my direct boss, either. He owned the law firm with his nearly retired father. Finding a way to appreciate his advances while stroking his ego—and keeping my job—was becoming an issue.

“I would’ve figured that, by now, you knew I’m used to getting what I want, Tate,” he began. “To be honest, I don’t take ‘no’ all that well.”

I wanted to laugh in response but got a strange feeling that he wasn’t joking. Whatever friendly feeling I’d had about enjoying his company on my day off was souring in my mind. They were more than just souring; there were warning signals relaying messages to my brain to keep a professional distance.

“Well, I’m quite sure when you figure out how boring I am, you’ll be glad we didn’t mix business with pleasure.”

Alec pulled out a barstool and sat down, appraising my body from across the room. I felt a bit spooked for just a moment. My feet felt ten times their normal weight as I was glued to my spot as he studied me.

“I highly doubt that someone like you could be boring,” he stated, dragging his finger across the marble countertop of the island, still staring directly at my crotch. “Like I said the day we met, I have big plans for you and me, Tate.”

I chuckled uncomfortably, the sound barely a whisper. I was unsure how to respond to something that seemed a bit off. “How about we start with a furniture hunt for today, boss?”

“See how easy that was?” he asked. “We’re already starting.”

He may have already started, but I was feeling creeped out.

CHAPTER TEN: Luke

“I’d put that away if I was you,” I whispered to Josiah after sneaking up behind him.

Josiah practically jumped out of his skin and hurriedly rolled up what looked like a magazine. “You scared me, Luke,” he yelped, scanning the storage room to see who may have overheard my warning.

“You think Franklin’s gonna allow that in one of his businesses?” I asked. “And where in tarnation did you get that?”

“It’s just a catalog,” he argued. “I swiped it from the doctor’s office.”

“Yeah, a catalog of half-naked women folk,” I reminded him. “Something you stole as well.”

“They’re all wearing undergarments. That’s dressed, so what’s the big deal?”

I grabbed the item and made out that it was a J.C. Penney advertisement. Opening the pages, I found women modeling underwear. “The big deal is that you’re sinning. You want Franklin or one of his henchmen finding you with this?” I asked, swatting the side of his head with the small catalog.

Josiah and I were sharing a bench we’d dragged over to a workstation in the back. The day had been slow because of a holiday the local folks were celebrating, so we were taking a lunch break while we worked on checking inventory in the backroom of our furniture store. All the ranch’s businesses were open like any other day. All I knew was that the weather was warmer, and summer was just around the corner. The reason for the outsider’s holiday? No idea.

“Want one?” he asked, holding up a sandwich wrapped in wax paper. I assumed it was ham and cheese since the women folk back at the ranch made those four out of five days a week.

I accepted a sandwich and studied Josiah while he opened his. He was small for sixteen and had just been allowed to work in one of our retail stores. All of us boys worked hard from the age of eight, but that was only on the ranch where the authorities couldn’t give us grief about underage workers. Turning sixteen was a big deal for the boys because they could get off the ranch and see what other folks were doing outside our gates. As long as you didn’t mingle with them.

Josiah was a sweet kid. Far too innocent to be carrying images of nearly naked ladies around with him, but mostly kept his nose clean. “Why you wanna look at those women?” I asked him, taking a huge bite of my sandwich. I’d been correct. Ham and cheese.

“They’re pretty,” he replied. “You can see their skin, too. He grinned mischievously. “Don’t you like lookin’ at ‘em?” he asked, shoving it under my nose.

I swatted the magazine away. “I don’t take that sorta risk, and neither should you.”

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