Page 25 of Possession

“Well, you should listen to your sister. It sounds like she’s smarter than you. And maybe learn to turn that trait off when you’re not at work.”

Sounds like she’s smarter than you.Shit, he loved the mouth on this boy.

“Are we doing this together, or are you going to let me do it myself?” Tomas said, not rising to the bait.

“Together. I don’t trust you not to tamper with the new one, then follow me into field and?—”

“Drag you back to my lair and kill you,” Tomas finished for him.

“Yes, exactly.”

“Let’s get to work, then. I’ve got someplace I’ve gotta be.”

With one more wary look, the guy darted back to the front of the car, opening the driver’s-side door and leaning in. Tomas watched, running his teeth over his bottom lip as he unabashedly stared at the way he stuck his ass out in the air. He didn’t bother disguising the fact that he was looking, so when the guy climbed back out of his car, thick parka in hand, he caught Tomas red-handed.

He huffed, pulling on his coat with jerky motions, and then stomped back over toward him. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it was rude to stare at someone?”

Tomas pretended to think about it as he pulled out the spare tire and jack. “You know, I don’t think she did, but she did teach me to show appreciation for beautiful things.”

The guy stumbled, catching himself on the side of the car and jerking his head up to stare at Tomas for a long moment. There was no way no one had called him beautiful before. With his bone structure, long legs, and plump ass, it was impossible. So he wasn’t sure why it surprised him so much. Instead of pushing his luck to try and find out, Tomas got to work.

Even though it was apparent very quickly the guy had no idea how to change a tire, Tomas didn’t give him a hard time about it. He patiently explained each thing he did just in case he needed to know for in the future.

When they were finished, he stored the jack and the flat in the compartment in the trunk and then hefted the suitcase back inside after brushing off as much snow as he could so it wouldn’t get everything else inside wet.

He closed the trunk, gave it a pat, and then turned and found the guy watching him, that same strange expression from earlier on his face.

“You’re all set,” Tomas said. “But spares aren’t meant to be driven on for long, so make sure you get a new one.”

Whatever emotion the guy had been feeling, he shook it off and rolled his eyes. “Yes, thank you, Dad. I know that.”

Tomas cocked his head and then moved toward him, slowly, just in case the guy really was scared Tomas would murder him. He backed him right up against his car and planted his hands on either side of his body. They weren’t touching anywhere, but he knew he had to feel caged in. Tomas was bigger, taller, stronger, but he didn’t tell him to back off. Didn’t shove at Tomas’s chest. Didn’t lash out with angry words. His chest moved a little faster as he stared into Tomas’s eyes though.

He was probably only three or four inches shorter, but this close, it felt like more, like he was towering over the boy. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to say thank you?”

He knew immediately the words were a mistake. The young man flinched, breaking their eye contact.

“Hey,” he said softly, pressing the side of one knuckle against his chin to urge him to lift his face. The beautiful boy sucked in a breath and met his eyes again. There was a new wariness there that hadn’t been before, and Tomas silently cursed himself.

“Thank you,” he said, a dullness in his voice Tomas didn’t like.

“You’re welcome, gatito.”

He almost asked what his name was and if he was from around there or just driving through. He could request his number, maybe see if he was interested in going on a date to scold him some more.

But in the end, he didn’t ask anything. He held his tongue, letting the moment between them surge with tension and thenease back down as neither one made a move to close the distance between them.

Shit was already complicated enough in his life. Mason hadn’t told him when—or if—Vinnie was coming back to Michigan, so the chemistry between them was stuck in a holding pattern. It didn’t feel right to try and drag this boy into the middle of things, even with his sharp little claws.

He should probably back off from Mason too, considering he didn’t know what was happening with his maybe ex, even if he’d implied they’d be open to a third in their relationship. Keeping space between them until he moved out of the clubhouse would be the smart play, but he couldn’t forget the way Mason had looked, sitting on the steps, hungry but too tired to face his friends hanging out fifty feet away from him.

Smart or not, he didn’t seem to have it in him to walk away, and as fascinated as he was with this boy’s mouth and attitude—and as much as he wanted to see if he’d push back or immediately cave under Tomas’s firm hand—it wasn’t meant to be.

“I gotta go,” he said softly, his voice a little brusque.

“Okay,” he said softly, all the sharpness from before having melted away.

“Remember what I said about getting a new tire.”

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