Page 54 of Just a Bit Guarded

“You should go.”

“You know I’m right, Will,” Scott said, meeting his cousin’s eyes. “Stop this while it’s not too late.” Frankly, after what he’d seen, he was beginning to wonder if it was too late already. Whatever the hell was going on, it might not be completely one-sided if Will couldn’t see the situation rationally anymore.

The truth was, Gadiel was getting married to the daughter of the president of the UAE next month.

Hopefully Will would do the right thing. The smart thing.

But then again, he always did.

***

Will locked the door behind his cousin and leaned against it for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

He’s absolutely gone on you. And for some reason, you aren’t doing anything to discourage him.

Of course he knew about Gadiel’s infatuation. Over the past few weeks, it had only grown. But Scott was wrong. He wasn’t not doing anything to discourage Gadiel. He was doing it every goddamned day—and largely failing. He did try to put some professional distance between them. He did try to be stern with Gadiel. He did try to ignore to Gadiel’s flirtations. The problem was, it worked only half of the time. Sometimes, he slipped. Sometimes, he would smile and tease back, because he was terrible at ignoring Gadiel. Terrible at not indulging him.

Sighing, Will walked to the couch. Crouching in front of it, he stared at Gadiel’s sleeping form. A wavy lock of dark hair had fallen over his face, and Will lifted his hand and brushed it away carefully.

Gadiel smiled in his sleep a little, his soft lips parting. They were so full. And so pink.

Will tore his gaze away.

Slipping his hands under Gadiel, he lifted him carefully and carried him to his bedroom.

He set him down on his bed, but a hand grabbed his shirt when Will attempted to straighten up.

“Will?” Gadiel mumbled in his sleep.

“Yeah, it’s me. Sleep, baby.”

Gadiel smiled and rolled onto his stomach, and his breathing evened out again.

Will stared at him for a long moment, watching him sleep like the worst sort of creep.

Then he turned, and left.

Chapter 21

By the end of their third week in NYC, Gadiel started feeling like he was going insane.

It wasn’t their living situation. He’d told Scott the truth: he liked this apartment. The small size of the apartment really didn’t bother him at all. He actuallylovedhow little space there was. He liked sharing the tiny bathroom with Will, liked seeing Will’s shaving kit and toothbrush next to his. Although technically they had shared an apartment before, this couldn’t be more different from the penthouse. The penthouse was so huge that they might as well have been living in different places. In this apartment they were so close all the time that he could actually hear Will moving around and getting into his bed. Gadiel loved it.He’d never had this before. He’d never shared a home with anyone, not even as a child. Living in his father’s mansion twenty rooms away from the relatives he rarely saw didn’t count.This felt... real. So much more intimate and invasive. Like a real home. Gadiel couldn’t get enough of it.

So no, the apartment wasn’t the problem.

It was Will. He was driving him crazy.

Gadiel had never had it so badly. He’d never craved anyone so much. These days, he felt like he was being edged, getting aroused and out of breath every time Will as much as brushed against him. He felt like a crackling live wire, ready to go off at the slightest provocation. And to make things worse, it wasn’tjust general horniness. Sex wasn’t the only thing he craved. He craved Will’s closeness. Will’s hands on him. His arms around him. Will’s eyes on him.

He’d told Will the truth back in Dubai: it often felt like there was a black hole inside of him, a dark pit of wants and needs, impossible to quench. He had been born hungry, starved for affection and attention. Every time Will as much as smiled at him or gave him that soft, intense look of his, it fed the hole and made it ache less. But the pit inside him wanted more. It always wanted more,moremoremore. Always insatiable, forever yearning and hungry, like a starved monster that had been fed for the first time.

Gadiel didn’t know what would happen if—whenWill stopped feeding it.

He didn’t know if he could survive it.

He’d like to say that he was just being dramatic, but he was past the point of denial by now. Gadiel had had crushes. He’d had infatuations. But this...it feltnothing like that. This was so much worse—and so much better. It felt like he washighon emotions whenever Will was close, whenever Will touched him—and then he crashed hard every time he stopped.

It was fucking torture.

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