Page 64 of Tempting Him

"To keep a long story short, he lost his shit. He shoved Phillippe away, knocking him into a table. He tried fighting him, and I jumped on him in an attempt to protect Phillippe. It turned into a messy brawl that ended with me being forced to quit my job. I never saw or heard from Phillippe again. My dad beat me even more when we got home that day, and after that, it was non-stop verbal attacks mixed with a few physical fights.

"Mom found out and cried for weeks. For a long while, I rebelled. I stayed out, got in trouble with friends, drank, did drugs. I did a lot of shit I regret. Dad had enough right before I turned eighteen and refused to have me do anything that would stay on my record once I was legally an adult. He moved us to a new town and forced me to work for him.

“The slurs never ended. He wanted to make it known that he was disgusted by homosexuality. He said only women sucked cock. He told me I was a bitch for bending over for another man. He hated me and wanted me to hate myself. He told me I should be ashamed and embarrassed. Both of my parents eventually got to the point where they pretended like they didn't know, but that was only when I stopped fighting. They broke me over time, and I was done trying to defend myself. They'd never understand. They introduced me to women, they talked about grandkids, and made it known I was to have a son take over the company. They said they hoped to have a real man in the family again, hoping I wouldn't ruin a child with my sickness."

I stand up. "Alek, I can't even listen to this anymore. This is awful. Fuck. I'm so sorry."

He finishes his drink and drops the glass to the table noisily. "That's the gist of it. It was hell for a long time. Their deaths brought a minute sense of relief, but the damage had already been done. Mental abuse lingers. People are always concerned with physical abuse, but my wounds have healed. The ones in here," he says, pointing to his head, "are very much still raw and open."

I sit next to him, unsure if he wants any sort of affection or not, but being close seems better. "I know there's nothing I can say that'll make you feel better, but I wish I could take that away from you. Nobody deserves that."

He holds my gaze. "I think you're right. I probably should talk to a therapist."

I barely nod, my lips pinched together. "I'm sorry for making you feel like shit when this is what you were living with."

"I shouldn't expect people to know, and you'd think I'd be more aware of people's feelings considering that's all I wanted from my parents—some sort of consideration and understanding."

I sigh. "I like you, Alek. More than I should, probably, since you're my boss, my dad's friend, and leaving soon. I know nothing will come of this, and continuing will only make it harder when you do leave."

"Feels like there's more to that."

"But I don't want to stop."

His lips quirk up slightly. "I don't either, but I can't promise you anything will change."

"I get it."

"Okay."

"Okay."

He laughs. "You want to stay over?"

"Of course," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Good."

I drop to my knees between his legs and start undoing his pants.

25

I take my time,wanting to slowly unravel him. He's still holding a lot of tension in his body from the conversation about his past. My heart aches for him, and I know I can't do anything to make it better and I can't take his pain away, but right now, I can make him feel good.

Flattening my tongue, I run it up the underside of his shaft, flickering when I get to his swollen tip. He holds my gaze as I tease him, licking every side of his cock but never taking him into my mouth.

I suck one of his balls into my mouth, gently caressing it with my tongue as I moan around him. He hisses, his head dropping back as I work him over, bringing my hand to his shaft to stroke.

After a few minutes, I remove my hand and plant soft kisses on his shaft, moving up to his stomach. I unbutton his shirt and kiss all the way up his chest until I reach his neck, swiping my tongue across his Adam's apple.

"No kissing. No blowjobs from you. Those are your rules, right?" I ask.

He watches me with lust burning in his eyes. "Yeah."

"Okay. Trust that I'm not breaking those, but let me do something else."

His dark brows furrow briefly. "Okay."

I lean back in, rubbing the scruff of my face against his, nibbling on his neck while he raises his hips, letting me feel his cock against my torso.

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