Page 36 of A Life Betrayed

“Please,” Mathias scoffed. “Your family wasn’t exactly the Bradys.”

“No, but my brother looked out for me. You had no one.”

Mathias pulled himself up and leaned back against the edge of the bath. “Kids are soft. They like to make up stories.”

Rayan studied him, the weight of things left unsaid filling the space between them. Mathias’s gaze dropped to his chest, to the raised white dimple just below the clavicle. “Does it still give you trouble?”

“Sometimes,” Rayan admitted. “It’s not so bad.” There was a soft trickle from the tap and the faint echo of water lapping against cast iron. “I kind of like it now. This way, I won’t forget.”

Mathias was silent for a moment then placed his hands on both sides of the bath and drew himself up. “My skin’s about to peel off.” He stepped out and took down a towel, a small puddle of water appearing on the floor at his feet.

Rayan moved to follow, goose bumps breaking out across his skin as his body hit the cold air. He raised himself from the bath,feeling flushed and wobbly. Mathias reached toward the rack for another towel and handed it to him.

Rayan brought it to his head and rubbed it through his wet hair. “Has the rain let up?”

He lowered the towel to find Mathias looking at him with a bemused expression. Rayan realized they were inches from each other, completely naked, the heat rising from their steadily cooling bodies. And he’d asked about the weather.

He lurched forward, and Mathias’s arms encircled his waist as Rayan kissed him. Mathias pushed him backward until he bumped against the vanity, and then the man was lifting him up onto the edge, spreading his thighs as he ground his cock against Rayan’s. Since leaving Toronto, Rayan had felt neutered, an emptiness snatching away any trace of feeling. Now it surged back to life. Mathias’s hands on him and the feel of his warm, wet skin beneath Rayan’s fingers stoked a fire he hadn’t realized had gone out.

He suppressed a moan as Mathias nipped his ear with his teeth and ran his mouth down the side of his neck. Mathias’s hand moved between Rayan’s legs, capturing his cock and running it through his fist. Then Rayan was pushing him back and getting to his knees on the bathroom floor. He looked up at Mathias as he brought him to his mouth. Mathias let out a hiss as he took him in to the root, one hand reaching out to grip a fistful of Rayan’s hair. They moved together, Mathias guiding him with his hand while Rayan gripped the back of the man’s legs. Rayan refused to touch his own cock as it curved upward toward his stomach, his head buzzing as Mathias slid back and forth between his lips. The pace was at first steady and restrained then abruptly quicker, with a growing urgency to their movement. Rayan dug his fingers into the taut muscle of Mathias’s thighs, a hum of pleasure rising in his chest.

“Rayan,” Mathias warned, his voice thick.

But Rayan would not relent. He wanted Mathias’s release—wanted it sliding down the back of his throat. He felt the clench of fingers in his hair, and then Mathias was coming, his face clouded, teeth bared. Rayan swallowed and let him slip from his mouth.

Mathias stood unmoving, breathing hard. Then he reached down and pulled Rayan to his feet and wordlessly led him into the bedroom, where Mathias doubled him over on the bed, hands pressing down on the backs of Rayan’s knees. Mathias brought his mouth to the base of Rayan’s cock then slowly, achingly, moved it lower.

Rayan made a sound that wasn’t his own, something bestial tearing from his lungs. Mathias held this card close to his chest. He’d discovered, after the first time, that it had the power to annihilate Rayan—get him from nothing to coming in a matter of moments. It was mostly the thought of Mathias holding him down while he ate him out that rendered Rayan completely fucking senseless.

Wait. The word was close to Rayan’s lips despite his entire body crying outplease. Fortunately, he was no longer capable of forming intelligible words. He thrashed his head to the side, almost biting through his lip, the feeling both too much and not enough at the same time. Mathias moved his tongue languidly, undaunted, reducing him to an incoherent mess. Unable to fight the overpowering urge, Rayan reached desperately for his cock, managing only a few short jerks before he came with a force that blurred his vision, a guttural howl wrenched from his throat.

Mathias released him, and Rayan slumped back on the bed, his body deadweight. After moving to lie beside him, Mathias kissed his shoulder as Rayan returned to himself. “Look at you, all wrung out,” Mathias said.

Rayan curved into him, pressing against the heat of Mathias’s naked body. The heaviness had lifted momentarily, allowing himto see past the darkness that had descended. “I haven’t given up,” he said into the man’s chest.

“Good. Because this could go any number of ways, and I need you to keep a clear head.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Rayan said, smarting at the familiar reproach. That had always been his problem—feeling too much.

Mathias pulled himself up and leaned back against the headboard with a sigh. Only then did Rayan notice how tired he looked. He’d been so addled the past few days that he’d no idea what Mathias had been contending with.

After a moment, Mathias spoke. “He wore a white shirt and had your eyes.”

A hot jolt seized Rayan’s stomach, and he sat up. “Stop,” he said forcefully.

“You wanted to talk about him, so here we are.” Mathias turned to look at him. “He was coming down from something. It must’ve been a decent hit because I noticed the twitches.”

Mathias had never spoken about what he remembered from that day. Somehow, it made it more real after all those years existing only in Rayan’s mind. “He was manic,” Rayan muttered. “I hadn’t seen him in days. It had been getting so bad he barely recognized me anymore.” He noticed he was gripping the sheets and stared down at his hands.

“He told me no matter what happened, he wouldn’t leave me.” It was the first time Rayan had said it out loud—not realizing, until he’d spoken the words, how tightly he’d held onto them.

Mathias’s face softened. “It was a doomed promise, Rayan,” he said quietly. “One you keep until you can’t.”

“I know,” Rayan said with a half smile. “I just didn’t realize how much I believed it until he was gone.”

Mathias was getting dressed in the bathroom when his phone began to ring. Still in bed, Rayan listened as he picked up. There was a long pause.

“I’ll be there,” Mathias said, the words coming out muffled through the half-open door. Mathias stepped into the bedroom shortly afterward and slipped on his jacket. “I brought food.” He gave Rayan a pointed look. “Hands off my booze.”

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