Page 46 of A Much Younger Man
Who was the vet here? “No, of course they don’t.”
“Animals play dead. They avoid contact if they’re afraid even when they really want company. They hide their pain.”
He had a point. “That last one’s reflexive. Prey animals’ lives depend on appearing healthy and in control.”
“Right, because the weakest is easily picked off. But it’s a kind of lie, isn’t it?”
“Okay. I concur. Dogs do not always say what they mean.”
“Ha, ha. Please listen to me. Animals lie toprotect themselves.”
God, he was right. All animals lied to protect themselves. And if he knew that, and had spotted me doing it…lying was pointless, wasn’t it? How long had it taken for a man half my age to teach me something I should have learned long ago?
Still stuck in my head, I got place settings but put them on the counter instead of the table. We could eat casually that late at night. I put bowls of corn chips, shredded cheese, chopped onion, and sour cream out so he could doctor his soup however he liked.
“Shawn says people should learn to listen with their hearts. That’s how you hear what the animals tell you, isn’t it?”
Hmm. “Shawn is very wise.”
“He’s amazing,” Beck agreed happily. “Him and Cooper both.”
I turned to face him. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Beck. I don’t know what to do with compliments. I might have overreacted.”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” His lips curved into a dazzling smile.
I turned away in order to ladle soup into our bowls. Also, I had to catch my breath.
Beck watched me carefully as I picked up my bowl and added handfuls of extras. He didn’t touch his bowl.
“That’s how you like it?” he asked.
“Thisis the only way to eat chicken tortilla soup. Here.” And there I was, gathering a spoonful from my bowl and offering it to him. Did I want him to take it or tell me to stop acting like we were in some skeevy soft-core porn film? As he had before, he opened his mouth and let me feed him.
A sensual explosion began in my cock and ripped through me, heating my entire body.
God, I really did have a new kink. One I’d never even considered before. Or if I had, I’d never acted on it in my life. This was a revelation of the ambiguous variety. Was it a good thing or a bad thing discovering so late in life that hand-feeding someone turned my crank so hard?
Beck swiveled on the stool, knees going to one side and then the other while he licked his lips with slow precision. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was…adorable.
“You like feeding me,” he announced with a wicked grin.
I couldn’t speak, so I settled for staring at his lips like some demented sociopath. I’d already said I wasn’t awesome with compliments. Maybe I wasn’t awesome with the bare-naked truth either.
“You want to know a secret?” His question sounded rhetorical. He didn’t give me time to answer anyway. “Tug’s a goddamn genius at figuring out other people’s kinks.”
I cleared my throat. “Is he?”
“I’m sure that’s how he always knew how to spot a mark. I know you think that’s what I’m like, but I’m not. I didn’t know about things like this before I met him either,” Beck said. “Kinks.”
I lowered my gaze to his lips. “That’s…unusually perceptive.”
“Tug is exactly that.” He gave a thoughtful downward twist of the lips. “But I don’t think Tug is interested in sex or kink at all except as currency.”
I felt for Tug—he’d obviously been on his own for a while. He was an addict. He needed help. I almost felt bad until I remembered how completely he’d betrayed his friend. Beck had grown subdued.
“I hope he gets the help he needs.”
“I hope he lands somewhere good.” Beck continued to swivel on the counter stool, back and forth, back and forth. Was that nerves? “As long as he’s chasing a high, he won’t.”
