Page 14 of Stealing His Human

When they reached the trailhead, Brett took advantage of the restroom building and hit the head. He sighed deeply as he relieved his bladder. After shaking off and tucking himself away, Brett eyed his forearm as he washed his hands, wondering if he would end up with bruises from Karissa’s claws.

Claws. Ha. That’s exactly what they feel like, too.

Shaking his head, Brett exited the small room. The bright afternoon light made him squint. He blinked quickly, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the change from the dim stall.

Brett barely made out the broad shadow before he slammed right into it. Bouncing backward a step, he tried to keep his balance. Knowing there was a cinderblock wall to his left that hid the two doors from view, Brett rocked that way with his arm out to catch it.

“Woah, easy, Brett.” Two strong hands wrapped around Brett’s upper arms, helping him steady.

Recognizing Nedrick’s mellow tenor, Brett relaxed in the other man’s grip. His eyesight finally cooperated, and he peered at Nedrick. The man stood about the same height, but there seemed to be a wealth of strength in his wiry body.

“You okay?” Nedrick asked, worry filling his brown eyes. He squeezed Brett’s left upper arm lightly while rubbing a palm up and down his right. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Brett quickly shook his head. “I’m good,” he assured. Seeing the concern in Nedrick’s eyes, he took a swift glance around before quietly asking, “Were you hittin’ on me earlier, while changing the tire?”

Nedrick smiled. “Yeah.”

“And at the lake?” Brett had been pretty darn sure when Nedrick had knelt next to him. Even he wasn’tthatoblivious. “Pretty sure you were then, too.”

Nedrick’s smile widened into a broad grin, and his brown eyes twinkled. “And hell yeah.”

“Why?” Brett cocked his head. He didn’t get it.

“Because I’m attracted to you, Brett,” Nedrick replied. He raked his gaze over Brett’s body in a way that even he couldn’t miss. “You’re handsome, sexy, and I want to know more about you.”

“Hey, where’s Brett?”

Wincing upon hearing Karissa’s voice drift through the air, Brett sighed.

Nedrick chuckled softly. “Don’t worry,” he rumbled, leaning closer. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “Our time will come soon enough, handsome.”

Then, to Brett’s shock, Nedrick leaned in and pecked a kiss to his lips. The feel of his surprisingly soft lips were there and gone so fast that if Brett had blinked, he surely would have missed it. With a wink, Nedrick released him and headed into the stall that he’d just vacated.

Brett touched his fingertips to his lips in amazement.

Did that just happen?

Except, Brett knew that it had. He rubbed his palm over his belly as he turned and headed away from the building. His stomach felt as if a dozen butterflies flitted within, and he realized that he had a chubby... again.

Damn. That’s weird.

Except, the man’s lips hadn’t felt anything like what Brett had thought a guy’s mouth would... not that he’d thought about it often. As he strode back toward the waiting group, he wondered if that was just a fluke. The touch had been there and gone so fast.

Would it be different if the kiss had been more?

Then Karissa bounced up to his side and grabbed his arm again, and Brett figured there was no point in wondering. After this outing, he doubted Karissa would leave him alone long enough to find out.

This is going to be a long week.

*

As they hiked along, Brett knew Karissa was pissed at him. The prior evening, he’d once again refused to sleep with her in her tent. He just didn’t see the point in leading her on. Once they returned to campus, Brett hoped to never see her again except in passing when hanging out with Tyler and Tabatha.

Glad to see her true colors before anything went any further.

The hike they’d chosen today was quite a bit more difficult than yesterday’s stroll. They were working their way through a forest with some pretty steep inclines. The group was minus Paolo and Jamie, as Paolo had to work. He was a firefighter, Brett found out. Instead, they’d been joined by Luther’s cousin, Leopold—just call me Leo—as well as Leo’s partner, Jerry. While Leo was a friendly guy with a ready grin, Jerry seemed quite reserved while cute, and his shy smile was achingly sweet.

Of course, Karissa had made another under-the-breath comment aboutanother couple of fags.

---