Page 12 of Sweetest Hate

The call ended, so I tossed my phone on the nightstand.

Fuck. I scrubbed my hand over my scruffy jaw and leaned back in the chair. The sound of footsteps in the hall growing closer made me go still, and the following creak of my door opening caused me to tense. I studied the figure who stepped inside, realizing it was Kellan, Quinn's best friend. I'd never been attracted to the grunge look before, but something about him had immediately grabbed my attention, just as it had the first time I'd seen him several months ago.

He wanted me, and it wasn't a one-sided thing. His face had said everything with the way he'd absently bitten his plump lower lip and stared me down. I wouldn't have minded bending him over right in front of everyone and sinking balls deep in his ass. But why was Kellan in my room? Had he followed me? I was pretty fucking positive I didn't have a stalker kink, yet I didn't immediately demand that he leave.

I decided to remain quiet to observe him. Kellan casually kicked off his flip-flops and shut the door, sinking the room into almost complete darkness, except for the moonlight streaming through the window. When he went to take off his loose tank, I didn't stop him. The moonlight cast an almost bluish, ghostly tint on the bare skin he revealed as he pulled the fabric over his head. My gaze swept over his smooth chest, stopping on the silver barbells that pierced his tight little nipples. His slender fingers dipped into the band of his boardshorts, and I decided I should probably make myself known. If he was going to get naked in front of me, I wanted him to do it willingly.

My lips twitched as I remembered the look on his face as he'd stared at me tonight—simmering heat that had nothing to do with the fire. "Some would call this breaking and entering," I rasped.

* * *

KELLAN

After the littleshowdown between Quinn and Arsen, I'd spent ten minutes calming my best friend who had been more than a little worked up over the unexpected arrival of Arsen. Not only did I need a shower and change of clothes, I needed a breather from the situation.

When I entered, the room was dark, and I quickly kicked off my flip-flops before tugging off my shirt. An unsettled feeling gripped my stomach, but I wasn't sure what was causing the weird sensation. Probably just the scene of what had happened between Quinn and Arsen. Or maybe it was just Arsen's arrival and the way it had caught me completely by surprise. I couldn't get his face out of my head. My cock jerked again at the memory of those full fucking lips and steely eyes. I could only imagine what that penetrating gaze would feel like solely focused on my body.

With every intention of getting out of my clothes and in the shower to jerk off before heading back downstairs, I hooked my fingers into the band of my boardshorts.

"Some would call this breaking and entering." The roughened voice caught me off guard, and I jerked my gaze toward the darkened corner of the room, squinting at the shadowed figure of a man lounging back in a wide recliner.

"Motherfucker," I cursed while my heart pounded an insane rhythm. "What the fuck?" The question should have been,who the hell are you,but that voice was as distinct as every other part of him. Dark and dangerous, calling to me in a way that made me lose common sense. "Why are you in my room?"

The lamp on the side table clicked on, revealing his face in a golden glow. Expressionless features carved from stone, Arsen met my eyes. I swallowed hard at the intensity smoldering in his gaze.

"Motherfucker," he repeated, humming as his gaze raked over my half-dressed body. "Nope. Wrong parts. You on the other hand…" He arched a dark brow as he met my eyes again. "You always follow a guy after eye fucking the shit out of him?"

"I wasn't eye fucking you," I lied, and tacked on an indignant scoff for good measure. Quinn had been right. Arsen was an asshole. "And I didn't follow you either."

"No?" He continued to watch me with that unnerving stare. "If you're not after my dick, then why are you here?"

My brows furrowed. "Because this is my room. Why areyouhere?"

"Your room, huh? Interesting." A crooked grin grew slow and steady, a bit of sin laced with false calm. Beneath his motionless frame, he was practically a rolling storm of barely contained ruin, and yet I couldn't look away from the jerk. "Last time I checked this wasmyroom."

What was he talking about? "You weren't even here to call dibs on a room."

He cocked a slashing brow. "Why would I need to call dibs on a room in my own house?"

"Your…" I quieted as he studied me. Because this was Bill's house, of course Arsen had a room. "It seemed...empty." There wasn't anything about the space that screamedtaken. Everything seemed generically rustic, nothing like the guy watching me as if he'd pounce if I made a single move.

Arsen's lips curled on one side. "I'm afraid not, and you've apparently claimed my bedroom. Not that I'm particularly complaining."

Arsen was clearly into guys. And my body betrayed me, asshole clenching with the confirmation of that little fact alone. Still, Arsen was a dick. That much was rapidly becoming crystal clear, confirmed more and more by every word from his arrogant mouth. Even if he was interested—hell, even if he begged, I had no intention of fucking him or anything else. "I didn't know. I'll find somewhere else to stay then. I'm leaving." But I made no move to escape because Arsen was staring at me in a way that made my body refuse to cooperate.

Instead of replying or even acknowledging my explanation, he watched me in silence. A prickling sensation slid over my skin when he slowly rose to his feet. His steps were deliberately measured as he prowled forward. My muscles tensed, and my spine straightened, watching his every move. At five-nine, I wasn't usually the shortest guy in a room, but Arsen easily towered half a foot taller. When he stood mere inches in front of me, he leaned down close to my ear. "And yet, here you are, still in my room."

"I was about to leave," I repeated, but the words shook as my nerves thrashed in my body.

"You sure?" he whispered in a voice that crackled like fire, yet soothed like smoke, rough and deceptively calm. A combination that shot straight to my dick. "You don't have to leave. It would be a shame to waste an opportunity." He inhaled and growled. "Fuck, you smell good. I wonder what you taste like."

Jesus. He apparently had zero fucks to go along with a nonexistent filter to control his mouth. And how had Arsen known I was gay? Didn't matter that my cock pulsed in my shorts. I wasn't about to out myself to a guy I didn't know and had no intention of hooking up with. "I'm not into that."

"No?" He pulled back just to flash a cock-sure grin that told me he was aware I was lying.

"No." I shook my head, and a dark chuckle rumbled in his throat.

"That's too bad, little mouse." Arsen hooked a finger under my chin, tipping my head back. "Just when I thought this trip had just gotten a little more interesting."

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