Page 24 of Pretty When He Bleeds

I take another sip of the whiskey and feel Luca burning a hole in the side of my head. “What?” I snap, and he shakes his head, laughing.

“You’re wound up tighter than Coach’s ass during playoffs,” he says, jabbing me in the ribs with his elbow. “You need to get laid.”

I roll my eyes and take another swig of the bottle. “What are you, my therapist?”

“I’m serious,” he continues. “You’re like a pressure cooker about to explode, man. Get someone random and blow off some steam.”

Damien chuckles and blows out a cloud of smoke. “He’s not wrong. You’ve been a miserable bastard lately.”

“Maybe I like being miserable,” I mutter, leaning back against the couch.

“Bullshit,” Damien says, grinning. “You need to get laid, like, yesterday. Find someone to take the edge off. And hey, if you’re not picky, I’m down for some platonic stress relief.”

I choke on the sip of whiskey, coughing and glaring at him. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

“Nope, I’m dead serious. You’re hot, I’m hot, and you clearly need to blow off some steam. It’s a win-win.”

Luca snickers, tipping his beer toward me in a mock toast. “He’s got a point, dude. Besides, Damien has like, zero gag reflex and he does this thing with his throat that just—”

“Jesus Christ, Devereaux,” I say, taking a long pull from the whiskey bottle while Luca bursts out laughing.

Killian decides now would be the best time to walk over, and he looks at the three of us with an amused expression. “What’s this about Bishop needing to get laid?”

“Just pointing out the obvious,” Luca says. “Your boy here is wound so tight, he’s gonna snap if someone doesn’t fuck it out of him. Or suck the life out of him, like Throat Goat Moore over there.”

Killian laughs and takes a sip of his beer. “They’re not wrong, Rome. You’ve been a fucking buzzkill lately.”

“Glad to know everyone’s so invested in my fucking sex life,” I say dryly and roll my eyes.

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Damien says and leans in close. “Offer’s still on the table and since I’m vers, I’ll even let you top.”

I glance at him, my brain fuzzy from the alcohol. Damien’s hot—objectively so. He’s got the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing down to a science and I’ve seen the outline of his cock through his sweats once or twice. Dude could ruin mewell.

It wouldn’t be the worst idea.

“You’re actually considering it,” Luca says, nudging me. “Holy shit, I didn’t think you’d actually go for it.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, holding the whiskey bottle out for Killian.

“You should do it,” he says as he takes it from me. “Get it out of your system. God knows you need it.”

Damien smirks and hands his joint over to Luca before standing up. “Alright, Bishop, let’s make it happen.”

“Wait, what?” I ask, but it’s too late—he’s already pulling me to my feet.

Luca raises his beer in a mock toast. “Have fun, boys!” He calls after us and I flip him off over my shoulder, but my heart is pounding harder than the bass.

The house feels even more packed as we weave through the bodies. People are glancing at us as Damien leads me toward the stairs, some laughing, some cheering as if they know exactly what’s about to go down.

“Relax,” Damien says over his shoulder. “You’ll thank me later.”

I don’t even argue because the alcohol buzzing in my system makes it easier to go with the flow. And honestly? I think I fucking need this.

By the time we get to my room, I’m already half-hard from the adrenaline of being dragged here. Damien kicks the door shut behind us and pushes me up against the wall next to my bed, removing his shirt and grinning at me.

Then he drops to his knees without preamble, sliding his hands up my thighs and peering up at me with a cocky grin. “You good?”

“Yeah,” I mutter and he doesn’t waste time making quick work of my jeans and boxers, tugging them down mid-thigh. My fully-hard cock springs free and I watch Damien licking his lips.

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