Page 95 of Thomas
Maybe if he stood here, Lord Ashford would come to him? That would be ideal. They could continue the conversation aboutThe Islandand perhaps?—
“Your drink, sir.” The bartender set the glass in front of him.
“Thank you.” Thomas pulled it closer. He took a breath, turned to look over his shoulder and frowned when he saw Lord Ashford’s back stalking away from him. Out into the main hallway that led to the front doors. “Is he leaving?”
“What in heaven’s name are you doing? Iswholeaving?” Wyatt crept up behind him, then leaned against the bar with his palms on either side of Thomas’s body so that he was trapped. “If you wanted another drink, I would have gotten it for you.”
“Ugh, Wyatt, yousuffocateme—you didn’t need to follow me in here.”
Wyatt gave him puppy dog eyes. “But I would follow you anywhere.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against Thomas’s earlobe.
Thomas rolled his eyes, turned his back to him and took a long swig of his drink. When he cast his senses outward, it was clear that Lord Ashford had left the estate.
Thomas sat up on a sharp inhale, his heart pounding in his chest and temples. Beside him, Cameron jerked in reaction to his sudden and abrupt movement.
“Thomas?” he said sleepily, voice rough and urgent. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”
Closing his eyes, Thomas placed a palm to his chest and breathed in deeply. The imagery had been so vivid and sharp. The memory of that night—the winter solstice party—rushed back to him in full color.
It was sensory overload. The feeling of seeing Cameron for the first time and his body’s and nature’s response to him. Thomas’s much younger self, bright, brazen and self-assured. Curious and obscenely hopeful. His annoyance and frustration with Wyatt. Every emotion swirled like a too-strong cocktail in his head and heart.
“Thomas?”
“I’m okay,” he said, then cleared his throat. “I remember now. I… I don’t know why, but it all came back to me, just now.”
Cameron was flat on his back beside him. His mate yawned and stretched his spine against the bedsheets. “What came back?”
“You and… everything at the winter solstice party that night. I remembered noticing you—no…” Thomas turned to look down at Cameron. “Iwantedyou. The moment… it wasn’t a blip nor insignificant. It was exactly the opposite. I left my friends to go and look for you. I pursuedyou, Cameron.”
His mate had used that description years ago, saying that their encounter was a “blip” and “insignificant.” Thomas hadn’t been able to remember the party at all, but for whatever reason, he’d strongly disliked that depiction of the events. Somewhere deep inside himself, he’d rejected it because he knew better.
“I came out of the Green Room and I found you,” Thomas went on. “You and Rachelle were staring at me from across the room.”
“Oh gods,” Cameron groaned, smiling as he brought a palm up to cover his eyes. “I’d happily forgotten about that part. I’d asked her who you were, and at that exact moment, you noticed us watching you and I wasmortified. Then I saw Wyatt comingup behind you and I couldn’t leave the place fast enough. I thought I was being an idiot. A ridiculous idiot!”
Thomas stared down at him with his lips parted slightly, disbelieving. What would have happened if Cameron had stayed and they’d talked more, and properly? What if Wyatt hadn’t come up behind Thomas like he’d owned him and scared Cameron off? What if Thomas had been bolder and not stopped at the bar but gone directly over to Cameron to strike up a conversation?
All of these questions and more turned and flipped within Thomas’s flustered brain. It had to be said, he had no regrets about his experience with Dawn. He’d learned crucial things about love, himself and his sexuality while being with her, and that could never be negated.
But if he and Cameron had properly connected that night… maybe they would have pursued something more? Maybe his elder father would have approved, and they could have been married and… and the imprisonment would never have occurred. In this impossible, alternate timeline, maybe he’d still be here, but without the pain and torment of his past?
“Hey…” Cameron pushed himself upright. He was shirtless and stunning and radiating heat, honey and spice like a bespoke furnace. “What is it?”
Thomas stared at him, the wheels in his mind refusing to cease. Or, maybe if they’d connected, things would have gone awry. Thomas had been a bit haughty back then, a bit too direct, and maybe Cameron would have been irked by that. Maybe Cameron himself wasn’t ready? Or maybe it would have been exactly the same—his elder father deciding that he could pitch Thomas to someone even better. Thomas would have been undamaged goods in that case, so a Central Eden purebred with political power and importance instead of an introverted, little-known country lord with a modest estate.
The miracle of life was that no matter how the paths twisted and turned, Thomas had still ended up exactly where he was supposed to be. With this man, in this bed. Right here, right now.
Thomas lifted his hand as he turned, gently caressing his fingertips along the line of Cameron’s jaw. He cupped his palm against the back of his head, leaned into his chest and kissed him. Thomas felt Cameron’s mild confusion, but his mate returned the affection, softly parting his lips to take the kiss deeper.
The heat of their shared nature awakened within Thomas’s being and twisted its way up his spine. He paused in the kiss only long enough to lift and throw his knee over Cameron’s body. He sat in his lap, facing him and holding his head within his palms. Their eyes mutually alighted in the darkness.
“What’s going on with you?” Cameron asked cautiously, resting his hands at Thomas’s hips.
“This was never one-sided,” Thomas said quietly, his gaze intense. “You weren’t being an idiot, nor ridiculous. That night, Iwantedyou, too, Cameron. I have always wanted you. Do you understand me?” Thomas lowered one hand and slipped it between them. He crawled his fingers into the band of Cameron’s briefs, found the heat and stiffness of him and pulled.
Cameron gasped and Thomas licked and bit his full lower lip. Then he whispered, “This was always mutual, my darling. From the moment your eyes met mine.” Thomas gripped and tugged as Cameron slid his hands up the length of his back beneath his pajama shirt, breathless and with his eyes closed.
“I wanted you,” Thomas said softly once more. “Istillwant you, and I remember you. I remember you…”
Thomas teased him and repeated the words like an incantation, until something inside of Cameron shook loose. Thomas didn’t know what exactly it was, or even that it had beenthere all this time, like a tiny marble of blockage between them. An insecurity? Maybe he would never truly know.
When Cameron flipped him over and they made love, Thomas sensed his mate lose himself in it. For the first time, Cameron wasn’t so responsible, vigilant and cautious. The lord of the manor dutifully and lovingly meeting his husband’s needs. This time, he was a little desperate, a little shy, and Cameron’s body physically trembled with want of it.
They slowly reached the height of pleasure together, and it was messy and ragged and beautiful. As Thomas pressed soft kisses to Cameron’s temple and face in the contented silence, it felt like the start of something, somehow. Another distinct divide in the unique segments of Thomas’s life.
Whatever it was, Thomas was looking forward to it. He trusted in it, and Cameron, wholeheartedly.
The end
