Page 76 of Played
“Of course it did. It was Tom Ford.”
A small smile plays on his lips. “You always looked happy. Free. I told myself that you wouldn’t want me turning up here and ruining your perfect life. But I used that as an excuse. I was a fucking coward, and I couldn’t bear to look you in the eye after the awful things I said.”
And the awful things his father did. Does he know I came looking for him? I don’t believe he does, and there’s no point in bringing it up now. Everything is already so raw and vulnerable between us. “My life has been pretty good. And I’m sure it does look perfect from the outside. I’m incredibly privileged, and I know that. But yeah, it would have meant a lot.”
He nods, his jaw working. “You know, mostly, I…” His voice cracks. “I hoped that you’d know I couldn’t have meant any of it.”
Tears burn my eyes again.
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad. But in my head, it was one night. And then one deeply fucked-up phone conversation?—”
“Then you ghosted me after,” I remind him.
He nods. “I know. I’m not excusing it. I’m just telling you how I felt. I hoped that whenever you thought of me, you’d remember all the good stuff that came before.”
The anger and hurt from earlier threatens to bubble to the surface again, and I take a deep breath. “I did remember. That only made it harder. Don’t you get that? But what you said and what you did after—it negated everything good that came before.”
His throat works as he swallows. “I understand that. The truth is, I was never good enough for you, Mason. I never will be.” He slides his arm around my waist. “I’m not sure I can ever be the man you deserve.”
My muscles tense, and I brace myself for the inevitable breakup speech. Ironic that I’m not usually on the receiving end of it. In fact, I never have been. Not with anyone except King, and here we are again. Fuck my life.
“But I lost you once, Mase,” he says quietly. “And I’d rather become a fucking monk and live the rest of my life in solitude than lose you again. I loved you then, I loved you all the days in between, and I still love you now. So fucking much. You deserve so much more than I have to offer, but if you’ll let me, I promise to give you the best version of myself I can be.”
Fuck, that was no breakup speech. My eyes swim with tears for an entirely different reason this time. When the fuck did I become a crier?
I have no idea how we’ll navigate a relationship with him still in the closet, but we’ll figure it out. There’s a lot I’m unsure about where he and I are concerned, but there’s one thing I’m completely certain of. “I love you too, King. And you are everything I need.”
He smiles so wide it makes that cute-as-fuck dimple pop on his left cheek. “ I have something to show you.” He rolls over and grabs his phone from the nightstand, then pulls something up onthe screen and hands it to me. It’s the results of his tests from the sexual health clinic, proving he’s clean. All I can think about is being balls-deep inside him. I toss his phone to the end of the bed and roll on top of him. “I got mine yesterday, but I was in a meeting and it slipped my mind.” I rub my nose over the stubble on his jaw and inhale his masculine scent. “I really want to fuck you.”
He grips the back of my neck and grinds his hips into mine, letting me feel every hard inch of him. Fighting makes us both hard. “Then do it.”
“Let me grab my phone and I’ll show you my results.”
He shakes his head. “I trust you.”
I trust him too—at least with my body. Not sure about my heart yet, as much as I’d like to be. “Are you only letting me top because you feel bad about my meltdown?”
He throws his head back and laughs, and it’s an amazing sound. It rumbles through his chest and into mine. “No, baby. I’m letting you top because I love the way you fuck me.” His green eyes grow dark, and he tucks a short curl behind my ear. “You’re the only man I’d ever switch for, Mase.”
“Same,” I admit.
He groans softly. “I love that I’m the only guy who’s ever fucked you.” His grip on my neck tightens, and that possessive spark ignites in his eyes. “I’m the only guy who ever will. You got that?”
I push up onto my forearms. “I got it, Hotshot. Now turn over.”
He does as I ask, his face turned to the side as I trail kisses over his powerful shoulder blades. “You do have lube here, don’t you?” he asks.
I sink my teeth into the muscle at the base of his neck, leaving a satisfying red mark. “Would you let me fuck you without it?”
He presses his face into the pillow and groans before he replies. “I’d let you fuck me any way you want to, Playboy, but I would much prefer you use lube. Although I don’t want to think about why you’d have some stashed in your childhood bedroom.”
I press a kiss on the side of his neck. “I have lube, babe.”
I jump out of bed and take off my boxers before grabbing it from the drawer. By the time I get back into bed, King is naked too. Straddling him, I knead the firm muscles of his ass. “Your ass is so fucking sexy.”
He reaches back and squeezes my leg. “Then sink your cock into it, baby.”
I squirt a generous amount of lube into my hand and work it over my hard length. When I’m done, I part his cheeks and add some to his asshole too. As soon as the cold gel hits his skin, he curses and I bite back a laugh. I settle between his thick thighs, nudging them wider apart with my knees. “You hungry for my dick, babe?” I tease him, notching the crown at his entrance.
