Page 41 of Rising Storm

Someone came up to ask Carter to dance and he grinned at them before walking off with the man. Isaac immediately handed Liam a twenty when the man held his hand out.

“We bet that he’d be asked to dance first,” Liam explained as he pocketed the money. “He hardly ever has to leave places like this alone. It’s that smile of his, screamswelcome.”

“That and his body,” Isaac said. “He’s been building up his muscles working as a bouncer.”

All three of the men were attractive, so Helix guessed none of them had trouble picking up men. Isaac was a little intense, but he was gorgeous. Nice clothes, perfectly coiffed hair, and ink from his neck down if the tattoos he could see were any example. And Liam had nice boy-next-door looks with his curly brown hair and friendly face.

“Who’s Jake?” Helix asked.

“Cop who went missing a year ago when he was investigating Hayrick Letsen,” Isaac said.

Inwardly, Helix froze. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was the cop his brother had supposedly killed. After getting to know Sayer again, he had a damn hard time believing that of his brother, but who knows what had happened. “You knew him?” he asked Gareth.

Gareth nodded. “Yeah.”

When he didn’t elaborate, Helix stared up at him and something told him that Gareth had known the cop really well. Like, possibly in the intimate sense. He’d known the likelihood of Gareth knowing the dead cop was strong, but he’d hoped that wasn’t the case. Damn.

“Come on, let’s dance.” Gareth stroked his back.

“I don’t dance.”

“Ah, I have a hard time believing that.” He leaned down to whisper in Helix’s ear. “With the way you move and all.”

Heat spiked in Helix’s body with Gareth’s hot breath on his ear. He stood. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They made their way onto the dance floor and Gareth immediately pulled him close. He realized he didn’t have to do anything fancy at all plastered to the man. His hips just followed Gareth’s rhythm and it didn’t take long at all for him to grow hard against him. Gareth must have noticed because his grin was wicked as he tugged him even closer, sliding one thick thigh between his.

Gareth could move his body well and Helix had no trouble following him when what they were doing was basically dry humping to the heavy beat. He looked around to find others dancing in a similar fashion, so he didn’t worry about how they looked. Instead, he just let himself enjoy the feel of Gareth moving against him. Gareth had used some spicy cologne and as it mixed with sweat, he smelled so damn good Helix wanted his mouth on him. He finally gave in and leaned in close enough to lick his neck.

He felt more than heard Gareth’s growl and he smiled against his skin.

“You are so damn sexy,” Gareth murmured in his ear. “Can’t wait to get you back to the motel.”

“You wanna leave now?”

“No, I want to draw out the anticipation. Enjoy a little more time with my friends. You having a good time?”

“I am now. You feel good.”

“They’re really nice guys. And if they come up to Maine, I’m sure you’ll hit it off with them.”

“Like I have you?” The corner of his mouth turned up.

“Well, not exactly the same. You’re mine. But you don’t have to worry about them being ex-cops like you did me. If they do this, they’ll be there for the same reasons I am.”

“And why are you there, Gareth?” He’d liked the possession in Gareth’s tone when he’d said Helix was his. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but it did make him warm.

“I told you. I want to help. I feel like we’re doing something cool and I like being a part of it. What I really want to know is if we’re going to keep up what we’re doing when we go home.” Those dark eyes latched onto his. “I meant it when I said I wanted more with you.”

Helix didn’t answer, just pulled the man closer as the music flowed into the next song. He felt Gareth laughing, though, and he couldn’t help but smile.

No, he wasn’t done with Gareth Jones.

* * *

Gareth could tellhe was getting to Helix and he loved it. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t answered the question—Gareth could see the answer in his expression. Helix was feeling something, too, and this made his heart swell with hope. He’d developed strong feelings for the man and wanted to be with him. He was pretty sure that want was a permanent one. He knew he tended to form relationships fast and that did give him pause, but something about this one was more than any of the others he’d been in.

God, Helix felt good against him, though Gareth could tell he wasn’t completely comfortable being on the dance floor. He led him back to the table and ignored the gleam in Liam’s eyes as he stared at him. Yeah, he was being obvious and he didn’t care in the least. His friends knew him, though. Knew that he didn’t go for casual hookups. Hopefully, they were rooting for him and Helix. He expected he’d be grilled big time over this.

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