Page 17 of Something Unavoidable

Apparently, Keegan hadn’t gotten that message, even though Izzy had done his best to convey it the next morning, because his hand wasstill on Izzy’s thigh.He rubbed his thumb back and forth, back and forth, barely moving it but stealing every ounce of Izzy’s focus. Izzy refused to be turned on.

Finally…finally, the meal ended. Keegan gave Izzy’s knee a final squeeze, then pushed back from the table. Izzy released a breath that shook and looked up to see Nick watching him, a hint of amusement on his lips.

Izzy scowled. Was he the one who’d set this up? Did he think Izzy’s discomfort was funny? They barely even knew each other. Izzy turned away, gathering his dishes and taking the plate to the trash to dump the mangled remains of a few potatoes and carrots. He didn’t remember doing that. He got rid of the evidence, then begged off after-dinner drinks and hightailed it back to the barn and his loft.

It was a short, dark walk—freezing cold since Izzy hadn’t bothered to bring his coat up to the house—but the icy winter air managed to clear his head some. He paused once he got inside, gripping the bars on a stall door, and scrubbed his palm against his thigh, trying to erase the phantom touch that wouldn’t stop.

That was the second time Keegan had touched him—not counting the thing in the bathroom that Izzy wasn’t thinking about. That had been… Well, Izzy wasn’t assigning blame, but that time, Keegan hadn’t done the touching. This, though—this casual, possessive shit—made Izzy’s blood boil. Who did Keeganthink he was? The next time Izzy got a chance, he was going to let the asshole know exactly how he felt about it.

The big rolling door slid open behind him, then rattled shut again with a thud. “Fuck, it’s cold out here,” Keegan said. His voice made Izzy freeze up all over again. All he could hear was the echo of “be a good boy” in that low, smooth timbre. It made his stomach—and other things farther south—clench with want.

Instead of answering, Izzy went to feed the rescues their final meal of the night. They were doing well with refeeding, and Keegan had agreed before he’d left on Friday that they could skip two a.m. and move to late evening and early morning. It suited Izzy’s schedule much better.

He tried to ignore the movement behind him as he dumped a handful of grain mixed with supplements into Klaus’s bucket, but apparently Keegan wasn’t going to let him have any peace.

“Ryan said he helped you with their feet today. I told you I’d be back in time to do it.”

Izzy bristled at the reprimand. “Well, I didn’t need you,” he snapped, ignoring his unfortunate word choice and moving on. “Sunny’s getting easier to handle. She only kicked the bucket over once.” And tried to eat Ryan’s face, but he wasn’t going to mention that part.

“Glad to hear it,” Keegan said from way too close. “Maybe we can go without sedatives tomorrow.”

Izzy swallowed against the tightness in his throat, his skin prickling. “Why are you here?” he asked at the same time that Keegan said, “We should talk about what happened.”

“Nothing. Nothing happened,” Izzy said, before he could process the question.

Keegan sighed. “Izzy—”

“No,” Izzy shot back. No. He didn’t want to talk about it. Didn’t want to acknowledge it at all. He wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened until he couldn’t feel Keegan’s hands in his hairor the way Keegan’s perfect cock filled his mouth. The taste of him. His scent. Izzy wanted it all to go away.

“Isaac,” Keegan said more firmly, his tone carrying that hint of dominance that was Izzy’s kryptonite.

Izzy shivered, his cock trying to get in on the action, despite Izzy swearing to it that therewasno action. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Keegan was closer.

Don’t come any closer. Don’t call me that. Don’t tell me what to do.Except Izzy couldn’t voice the words.

Every last one of them was a lie.

It was infuriating.

“Go to hell,” he snapped, then tried to walk away.

A hand gripped his arm, firm and unyielding when he tried to shake it off. “I don’t think that’s what you want,” Keegan said, so right that it filled Izzy with rage.

“I told you, you don’t know me.” Izzy tried to sneer his words, but they came out all wrong, tight and desperate. Dammit. He snapped, lashing out, but Keegan caught his other arm too and twisted his wrists behind his back, shocking him into stillness. He trembled, lips parting as his breathing sped up and his cock thickened.

“I think I’ve got your number,” Keegan said, amusement in his tone, his breath hot against Izzy’s ear.

Izzy went light-headed, his skin burning as he gritted his teeth against the whine trying to leave his throat. Goddammit. He struggled but then quickly gave in. Keegan might be a few inches shorter than him, but he was really damn strong. It fucked with Izzy’s brain and made himwant. He wanted Keegan to hold him tighter, to pin him down, to make Izzy take whatever he was willing to give. “Fuck you,” he whispered, letting his chin drop against his chest, his head too heavy to hold up at the moment.

Lips brushed the sensitive back of his neck, and Izzy’s breath hitched. Keegan squeezed his wrists, sending tingles all the wayup his arms and into his brain. “What do you want, Isaac?” Keegan asked, low and amused, like he already knew the answer.

A million responses flooded Izzy’s mind, insults and encouragement, protests and fantasies. His mouth was dry, and he was breathing too fast. “Do it,” he finally got out, hoping that was enough.

It wasn’t. Keegan sighed, sounding disappointed, which just made Izzy bristle. “You can do better than that,” he scolded.

Izzy burned, not sure if it was from anger, embarrassment, or arousal. Mostly anger, he decided. Because Keegan knew what he wanted, and he was an ass for making Izzy say it.

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