Page 48 of Healed Hearts

“Idiots. All of you. Roman!” I yell. “Get in here.”

Ro walks into the living room. “Can you blame me?”

“Yeah, actually, I can. I know damn well you don’t need to strike deals to get your dick sucked. Be so serious. Ugh. You suck.”

“This is payback for making me worry about you all night,” he says, smirking at me.

I roll my eyes. “Well, I’m going to change. I willnotbe leaving Julian in here with you two. And then we’re going on a date.” When I glance at Julian out of the corner of my eye, he’s already looking at me, a soft smile on his lips.

I’m dragging Julian past the idiots in the living room when I hear Beck say, “Our little chaos twink is going on a date, beautiful. Isn’t that exciting?”

Fucking menace. And he has the audacity to callmea chaos twink?

Chapter Sixteen

Julian

As Beck’s words register in my brain, I let out a loud laugh. “Did he just call you achaos twink?”

Holden groans. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” He pulls me into a bedroom and closes the door behind us.

“I think it’s cute. You don’t seem all that chaotic to me, though.”

Holden turns to me with a grin. “I think he calls me that because when he first met me, he thought I was dating Ro, and it made him jealous. But now it’s apparently a thing. He called me CT formonthsbefore I finally figured out what it meant.”

Holden pulls my shirt over his head and tosses it onto his bed. Heat pools in my lower stomach and all my blood rushes south. Fuck me, he is… exquisite. He doesn’t even seem to notice the effect he has on me, standing in front of me in just a pair of skintight boxer briefs, the swell of his cock visible through the thin fabric. He’s slim, but not overly so. He’s all lean muscles and soft skin, and I never want to stop looking at him.

“Julian?”

“Huh?” I ask, pulling my eyes back to his face.

He smirks at me. “Got a little drool there,” he says, touching the corner of his mouth. I bring my hand up, mirroring his movement, and he giggles. “You don’t actually have any drool. We don’t have to go on a date, you know? We can stay in,” he whispers, his voice a sultry purr that shoots straight to my half-hard cock.

He steps into my space and runs a finger down my chest, his green eyes burning into mine. My throat bobs with a heavy swallow as his seeking finger delves lower. His eyes are full to brimming with emotion, his pupils wide. My cock swells at the look in his eyes. It’s way harder than it has any right to be to grab his hand in mine and pull it away from me. His gaze shutters, an indifferent mask taking the place of the expression he was giving me a second ago. I clear my throat. “Date first, then we can come back to this.”

He nods, but I can tell he’s not happy about it. “Hey, darlin’, I’m thoroughly caught, okay?” I say, my voice gentle. Fuck, I hope this doesn’t go badly. I lean down and touch my nose to his. “You don’t have to use sex to seduce me or make me want you. Trust, my cock is hard enough to pound nails. But you deserve a good date, and I want to give you that.”

He nods, his nose brushing mine with the movement. He draws in a sharp breath. “Do you think you could kiss me, though?” he whispers. “I really enjoy it and…” His words trailoff. There’s so much vulnerability in his voice that it makes my heart clench painfully. Fuck, this man is going to undo me.

I slot my lips over his. He lets out a breathy moan the second our lips touch, and while I try hard to keep it chaste, it doesn’t stay that way. He grips my shirt in both his fists, something I’ve noticed he does a lot, and steps fully into my space, pressing his body to mine and trapping his hands between us.

“Julian,” he whispers against my lips, and my stomach flips. Oh fuck. Him whispering my name like that? I’m so fucked. I take a chance and lean down, hooking my arms under his thighs and lift him into my arms. He releases his grip on my shirt and wraps his arms around my neck, not once breaking our kiss. His cock is pressed against my stomach. I want him so badly, I almost can’t breathe with it, but I promised him a date. Proving to him I’m not out to hurt him is important to me. I want him to trust in that—trust inme. I slowly break our kiss. He stares into my eyes, the intensity in the green taking my breath away. I’m falling in love with him so fast. I think I have been since that very first night.

He’s definitely not ready to hear it yet.

“Get dressed and let’s go out,” I whisper, my voice rough.

Holden nods, a little dazed. I set him back on his feet, and he stumbles toward the closet. My lips tilt up into a smile. He turns to me once he’s standing in the closet. “What should I wear?” he asks.

“Um, anything you want? Why do you ask?”

He shrugs, turning back to the clothes. “I wasn’t sure where you were taking me and if I should dress a certain way.”

Truth be told,Ihave no idea where I’m taking him. I probably should have thought about it before now. “Anything you pick will be fine, I’m sure. You’re going to look perfect no matter what.” I can see the pink flush taking over his cheeks from where I’mstanding. “Hey, I’ve gotta run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back, okay?”

He pauses his exploration to give me a smile and a thumbs up.

I head out of the room, shutting the door behind me, and haul ass into the living room to find Roman and Beck. Kind of stupid of me to not have at least an idea of what to do for a date, but here we are, and I’m not above calling in reinforcements. When I step into the living room, the two of them are sitting on the couch, wrapped up in each other, talking softly. Roman notices me first, turning to me with a grin. “Did he already run you off?” he asks.

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