Page 28 of Rules to Love By

“The, um… shelf.” Marcus pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Taking a step closer, Eli was surprised to realize he was slightly taller than Marcus, who tipped his chin a bit more to look up at him. “The shelf.”

“Um…” For a heartbeat, their gazes locked.

Eli could not have looked away if his life depended on it. He was in this now. Might as well see if he was in it alone.

There was a moment all the flirt went out of Marcus. All his defensiveness vanished, and Eli saw behind the beauty of the man to someone infinitely more attractive. Cupping his face in both hands, Eli would have kissed him, but Marcus broke away.

“The shelf,” he croaked, and backed up so fast he would have beaned his head on the edge of the melamine if Eli hadn’t clapped a hand over the sharp corner first. The impact crushed his knuckles, but it was worth it.

“Careful.” Eli pulled Marcus gently away with a grip on his arm, but this time, maintained enough of a grip on himself to let him go, physically, anyway. It was already too late to let go of his eager, hopeful idea.

“Thanks.” Marcus rubbed a hand through his curls. “Let’s just do this.”

“Are you against kissing?” Eli asked. He knew lots of guys who were. Some of the men he regularly spent time with negotiated that kind of intimacy right out of their interactions.

“I have nothing against kissing in general,” Marcus told him, voice sounding a little strained. “Just against kissing the man I happen to be working for.”

“Well, then.” Eli grinned. “Good job you’re not gonna kiss my father.”

“Same difference.” Marcus studiously organized his tools and didn’t look at him.

“Is it, though?”

“Isn’t it?” Marcus stopped what he was doing and shot a glare at Eli so abruptly, once again, Eli was caught in the depths of his near-black eyes.

“I don’t think so.” He managed to maintain a calm tone despite the weird dance his heart was doing.

“I just—it doesn’t feel professional to me.”

“Fair enough. I’ll make a deal with you, then.”

“A deal.” Marcus’s tone, too, was returning to his normal, slightly biting edge.

“A deal. No kissing until the job is done.”

“And if the job gets extended? Like it did today?”

“We renegotiate.”

“Do you negotiate everything?”

“Not everything.”

“Because it seems like it’s a thing with you.”

Eli crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the edge of one of the rinse sinks. “I’ve discovered that a lot of guys like to know exactly where they stand. It’s easier.”

“What?” A swing came back to Marcus’s hips, giving Eli a bit of whiplash trying to keep up with his moods. “No spontaneity?”

“Depends on the guy.”

“What about you? You like to play it safe? Lay out the ground rules ahead of time?” He looked up through his lashes from the drill he was fitting with a bit.

“I get the feeling that’s not how you usually roll.”

“Don’t need a lot of rules.” But now Eli could see the crack behind the pretty façade, and he wasn’t sure Marcus was telling the truth, exactly. “Takes the fun out of it.”

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