Page 264 of Assassin

Gamble was curious.

“And you’re really not upset,” he asked.

He laughed.

“I’m ashamed I enjoyed it, and I was scared during the dream because I thought I was forcing you. That would have devastated me because I would never hurt you. Angry…not really applicable here.”

Gamble said nothing.

“Talk it out,” Poe said.

He was honest.

“I’m so confused,” he admitted, and that was the truth. Sitting this close to Poe, he, once more, felt safe.

Poe brushed some of the hair from his cheek, and stared into Gamble’s eyes.

“I’m not,” he said. “You gave me sixty days. I’m going to give you the option of keeping your word or breaking it. If you kill yourself, then, I’ll call Elizabeth and tell her that I failed. I’ll take the heat, and I’ll carry that for you.”

His heart skipped.

“Why?” he asked.

Poe was honest.

“Because you need me to be strong for you, and that was incredible sex,” he said, patting Gamble on the knee. “I at least owe you that or dinner. Something,” he said, winking at him.

Poe was trying to lighten the mood, and Gamble knew it too.

That was another thing that freaked Gamble out. He loved it too. He’d cum so hard that it pulled him from that incredible dream. All he wanted was to go back to that dream and hide there.

Where he was safe.

Poe was honest.

“If you trust me, I’ll fix you over the next two months. You have to decide if you trust me enough to do that. You’ve already done the unthinkable.”

Gamble blinked.

“Assault you?” he asked, his heart racing even harder.

He shook his head.

“No. You tamed Diablo. No one but my brother has ever been able to ride him. I saw you on him. That is something I’ll never forget.”

Gamble was honest.

“He’s misunderstood.”

Poe leaned in until his lips were by his ear.

“Oh, my dear boy, you’ve figured it out. We’re all misunderstood. When you find a way to be seen, grab onto it,” he said, standing up.

While he wanted to grab the gun, that’s how someone got hurt. For now, he had to trust Gamble. Poe had to believe he’d reached him.

He had to trust him as much as he was asking for his trust.

Because he was compelled, Poe gave him something else to keep him alive.