Page 46 of Outcast
“Careful,” he said as I turned to line up the shot. “I could have some weird kink like shocking your balls with a cattle prod.”
His words made me jerk in surprise, and my shot went wide. I turned to see him smirking at me. “Well played. You got me.”
He grabbed his beer and took a big gulp. “Don’t worry, Gray. If I make this shot, then I want you to kiss the shit out of me.”
“Well, hell.” I stepped back and zipped my lips. “I’ll let you concentrate on the game.”
He laughed at me, then turned and made an easy shot of a green-striped ball into a corner pocket.
“Perfect. Keep going. One isn’t going to be enough.”
Emory’s gaze met mine, heat flickering between us. Then he turned to the game with such an intense focus that it would have been funny if it wasn’t so fucking sexy. Emory was no pool shark—and neither was I—so we missed a few shots, but we were both trying our darnedest as we gambled kisses, items of clothing, touches.
The more we drank, the riskier the bets got. Until Emory was down to his last shot to sink the eight ball, and my mouth ran away with me.
“Make this shot and I’ll suck your dick,” I told him.
His hand slipped, and he scratched—the cue ball going into the pocket instead of the eight ball.
“Too much?” I asked.
“No, I uh… I’ve just never… I want to bet you the same, but I don’t know if?—”
He went silent, biting his bottom lip as I grasped his arm. I stepped in close. “It’s a game. I’m not holding you to anything you’re not ready for.”
“I want to be ready,” he said softly. “But I haven’t done anything with a guy before. Dallas just kind of messed with my head. I got on Thrust to figure some things out about me, and then he offered to take me for a ride, and it went…”
“Badly.”
“Really badly,” he said with an embarrassed chuckle. “I’ve been too nervous to get back on the app. About the only thing that went right that night was meeting you.”
I held his gaze. “How do you feel about that kiss we had?”
“I think about it all the time,” he confessed.
“Me too.” I took the cue stick from his hands and returned it to the caddy with mine, then turned back to him. “If you want more answers, golden boy, you can figure them out with me. I’ll never push you. You’ll be safe to explore.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, all teasing bets aside, we’ll do whatever you want. Whenever you want.”
“What’s in it for you?”
“Besides knowing you won’t end up bleeding on the side of the road?”
Emory winced. “Never gonna live that down, huh?”
“You’re not the one who needs to live it down,” I said. “But I’d feel better knowing you were safe with me.”
“So…this is a rescue project?”
“Hell no. Have you looked in a mirror? You’re gorgeous.”
Pink climbed his neck, crawling over a pulse point I’d love to get my teeth into. Damn, I was half-hard as I stood here and talked a good game about keeping him safe. Stupid. No man wanted to hear that.
I leaned in. “If I’m honest, I want you so much I’m fighting the urge to throw you over the table and kiss every inch of your body right now.”
His lips parted, color flooded into his cheeks, and he nodded. “Want to get out of here?”
