Page 20 of Rock Bottom

I was stunned speechless at the sight, enough that I completely forgot why I’d come up in the first place.

Why am I standing here like a fool? I should go. But what if he hears me leaving? I can’t just stand here and watch him like a bloody voyeur.

I tore my attention away to stare at the nearby wall and cleared my throat.

“Jesus, man!” Fabric rustled as Dante scrambled to cover himself with a pillow.

“Sorry.” Why in God’s name was I apologizing? He was the one who’d made a mistake, not me. It wasn’t my fault he was too busy jerking off to hear me coming up.

“What do you want, Church?” The low growl in Dante’s voice made the skin on my arms prickle and my cock twitch.

I swallowed, but it was as if I’d stuffed my throat with cotton balls. “You…” I cleared my throat to no avail. “We…I…the…”

Dante smirked and sat up, propping his elbows up on the pillow between his legs. “God, I love it when a big, strong man trips all over himself trying to find the right words. Go on, kitten. Take a minute.”

My face burned. Why was I acting like a damn fool suddenly? It wasn’t like I’d never seen a naked man before. I wasn’t some blushing virgin. He wasn’t even the first client I’d walked in on. What the bloody hell was wrong with me?

“Don’t flirt with me when you’re…” I gestured vaguely at him.

“Harder than a steel pole?” Dante chuckled. “Well, you’re not making it any better, so why don’t you say what you came to say so I can finish and you can go wish you were here?”

“Instagram!” I sputtered and held up my phone, pointing at it. “You posted a video, Dante.”

“Is that what you’re so worked up about?” He rolled his eyes and tossed the pillow aside.

“Put on some pants,” I growled as he climbed out of bed.

“I’m trying. As far as I know, they haven’t invented insta-pants yet.”

He fished around in the mess on the floor for his discarded clothes. I turned away, but it was already too late. All the blood had rushed south, and I had to do my best to discreetly adjust my erection before he noticed it. His flirting was already bad enough. He’d never let me live it down if he saw that.

“As far as the Instagram post goes, it’s no big deal. I was careful about the shot. Nobody’s going to be able to figure out where I am from a thirty-second video, Church.” He zipped up his pants.

I turned back around, trying to remind myself that I should be fuming mad, not turned on. “Maybe not if you hadn’t left the bloody geotag on, Dante!”

“I didn’t. Did I?” He grabbed his phone off the nightstand with a frown, tapping on the screen. “Shit, I did. That was my bad, but it’s no big deal. I’ll delete the post. It’s only been seen by…” Dante cringed.

“How many people, Dante?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s deleted now. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

I clenched my fists and stepped closer. “Dammit, Dante, you have to start thinking before you do these things! What if I hadn’t gotten a notification? What if—”

“You’re stalking me on social media now?” He crossed his arms over his chest, making it impossible not to glance at the skull he had tattooed there.

“It’s my job to keep you safe, Dante.”

“No, it’s your job to babysit me and make sure I don’t sneak off and drink or pop any pills. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You don’t give a damn about me. The label execs that hired you sure as hell don’t either. They want you here to make sure I don’t fuck up After Atom’s clean and wholesome image.”

My fists curled up tight, fingernails biting into my palms. “I wouldn’t have to be here if you had an ounce of self-control!”

“You think I have no self-control?”

“I know you don’t!”

He smirked, eyes raking over me. “You talk an awful lot about self-control for a man who’s begging to submit.”

I shook my head. “You couldn’t handle me on your best day.”

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