Read Six Degrees of Lust Online
Authors: Taylor V. Donovan
Tags: #MLR Press LLC, #Print ISBN#978-1-60820-414-4, #Ebook ISBN# 978-1-60820-415-1
soothing voice of his that Sam was positive would help bring
Nicky back to the happy place he’d been at before making his
request.
“Do you like Logan’s makeup?” Sam asked his nephew
casually.
“Yeah,” he whispered.
“What’s your favorite? Personally I like the smoky eye
shadow.” That got Nick to look up at him, but he just swallowed
hard and shrugged a little. “Aww, come on! You gotta have a
favorite.”
“The eyeliner?” he more asked than said.
“That’s my favorite too,” Logan said, and was rewarded with
a tentative smile. “You ever put eyeliner on before?” Nicky just
shrugged. “Tell you what. You eat whatever I serve you and I’ll
let you use my stuff. And if you feel up to it we can talk about the
times you’ve tried it before and why you like it. Deal?”
“It’s fine if you want to, kiddo.” Sam encouraged him.
“Thank you!” Nicky hugged Sam so tightly he almost sent
him to the floor. Sam hugged him back for as long as he allowed,
which was two seconds flat. “Let me go, Uncle Sam. You’re
embarrassing me again.”
“Jesus, you’re growing way too fast.” Sam kissed him on the
forehead and let him go, pleased that his nephew didn’t object to
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that as well. “See you tomorrow, and be good, okay?”
“I promise.” He ran towards the building, not waiting for
Logan.
Sam handed the overnight bag to his friend and took a deep
breath. “I haven’t noticed any tendencies in him before.”
“It could be nothing, you know. Maybe he just likes the
makeup.”
“I know that, but whether he’s going to be Goth or gay, I
want to know. I need to be there for him.”
“We will be.”
“Thanks for keeping him tonight. I know it was last minute,
but Sandy’s been in some kind of funk and I just don’t feel
comfortable leaving Nicky alone with her.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I don’t like how terrified he looked… Maybe I should stay
and talk to him.”
“I think he’ll be fine, but I guess you can stay with him tonight
and go get laid tomorrow if it’d make you feel better,” his friend
said in a not so casual tone.
“That wouldn’t work.”
“Why not? I don’t mind having Nicky over tomorrow as well.
Friday or Saturday, what difference does it make, really?”
“Stop fishing, Logan.”
“Then stop pretending this is random sex you’re getting
tonight. You’ve been waiting on pins and needles for whoever it
is you’re meeting with.”
“I have not!”
“‘Fess up already!”
“He’s from Texas and will only be here for a few hours, which
is why tomorrow night wouldn’t work. But I’m thinking I really
need to stay with Nicky and—”
“What? Are you going to bail out on Lover Boy?” Logan
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115
interrupted in a mocking tone. “And after he traveled all the way
here to be with you? Shame on you, Sam!”
“Nicky is more important to me than some piece of ass.”
“Oh, please.” Logan rolled his eyes at him in a rather dramatic
way.
“Oh please, what?”
“When and where did you meet him, anyway? Who is he? I
can’t believe you had sex so good it rated a repeat and didn’t tell
me about it!”
“I haven’t had sex with him.” Sam ignored his friend’s previous
questions. He wasn’t ready to discuss Mac with Logan just yet. If
ever. “And I never said I’ve met him before either.”
“Are you seriously trying to tell me you haven’t done
anything? Do I have to point out the fact you are staying with
him overnight?” his friend asked, skepticism ringing in his voice.
“I’m your best friend, Sam, I know you. And I certainly don’t
need for you to tell me you’ve been with this guy before and want
him again. Badly. I can tell.”
“No intercourse, so this isn’t a repeat,” he muttered.
“Semantics, dear.”
“It’s the truth.”
“You’re splitting hairs. Care to tell me why?”
Sam rubbed his forehead with his fingers. Sometimes it really
sucked to have an expert in human behavior as a best friend.
“Can we not talk about it now? Please?”
“We don’t have to talk about it at all.” Which of course was
nothing but code for we-are-so-talking-about-it-as-soon-as-
possible.
“It’s just that…” He shook his head. “You know me. I…” He
took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“I understand.” And Logan really did. He knew Sam wouldn’t
talk about whatever was different about this guy until he was
good to do so, but that wasn’t going to stop the guy from asking.
116 Taylor V. Donovan
“Come on, Logan,” Nicky yelled, holding the glass door open.
“I want to start on those movies!”
“I’m going to go inside. Remember I’m taking the kiddo with
me to the LGBT center in the morning for some volunteer work,
okay?”
“That’s fine.” Grateful for the change in subject, he took a
few seconds to study his friend. “You think your special case will
show up tomorrow?”
“I’m hopeful, but not holding my breath. He hasn’t shown up
in the past two weeks, and when he does he never says a word.”
“Got a name out of him yet?”
“Not even that. He’s been studying me. A few times I thought
he was getting ready to come to me, but it never happened.”
A little over a month ago a young guy had shown up so
bruised up Logan could barely make out his features. He didn’t
seem to be an addict, but he was painfully skinny. Logan, of
course, approached him with a sandwich, a drink, and some good
intentioned questions. The guy had taken the snack but nothing
else.
After that he’d shown up several times, sat in the group
sessions and listened to everyone, but never said a word about
himself, driving Logan a little crazy.
Although he did as much as he could for the kids he counseled,
Logan always remained professional and somewhat detached.
He’d go out of his mind if he got personally invested in every
case he saw. But Sam knew his friend was worried out of his
mind about that particular teen. He had yet to talk to him, but
for some reason Logan was touched by his appearance or aura
or whatever it was Logan saw in him, and it was killing him not
being able to help.
“We can always track him down, you know,” Sam suggested.
“Nothing I say will work if he doesn’t come to me on his own
time and terms. But if he shows up beaten up one more time, I
might just do that. Anyway, you better go.” Logan hugged him
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117
and kissed him on the cheek. “Have a good time. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
“Thank you again for doing this.”
“Get going, babe.” He winked at Sam and walked towards the
building. “You don’t want to be late!”
§ § § §
Mac stood under the ceiling mounted showerhead with the
taps on the hottest setting he could withstand and let the water
soothe his tired muscles. It had been a long week. Putting in time
behind the bar at The Five Alarm on top of his administrative
responsibilities and the rather stressful meetings with two
different lawyers had taken a toll on him. Financial decisions
were never easy, especially knowing the people involved wouldn’t
agree with them regardless of what he did.
As the water massaged his back he thought about the night
ahead. Providing things were at least a fraction of what they’d
been during their first encounter, it promised to be a scorching
hot and you-better-be-ready-for-the-blisters one. Mac had taken
precautions to ensure he’d be able to bask in the heat and then
get away from it before any permanent damage. Behaving as if
the whole scenario was normal and something he did on a regular
basis was part of it. But Sam was due any moment now and Mac
couldn’t be blasé anymore. Not when he was about to get what
his body had been so very inconveniently craving.
It only took a couple of seconds for him to react to memories
of the other man’s big hands all over his body, and the thought
of that long, thick prick stuffing his channel got him painfully
hard.
Again.
He grabbed the bar of soap and rubbed it between his hands,
gathering the lather while taking deep, slow breaths. Anxiety had
him wound up too tight. It had been such a long time since he
allowed another man into his body that he couldn’t help feeling
a little nervous. If he didn’t find a way to relax, his night with
Sam would be ruined before they even initiated anything. And
118 Taylor V. Donovan
wouldn’t that just suck big time?
He started to chant his favorite team’s roster for the 2009
football season.
§ § § §
Sam arrived at the hotel earlier than he had expected. For a
moment he considered waiting in his SUV until eight, but quickly
decided against it. The other man was already in his room and
knew he was coming, so why should he? He doubted Mac would
be pissed at him for showing up early.
After obtaining his key at the desk, he took the stairs to Mac’s
room and ran it across the lock without bothering to knock first.
Room 515; same number he’d had at that swanky Chelsea
hotel.
Was it a lucky number or something?
He heard the shower before the door was completely open
and, as soon as he walked into the room, saw the mist coming
under the bathroom door. His mouth suddenly went dry and his
heart beat a little faster as he walked towards it without making
a conscious decision to move. He pushed the bathroom door
slightly open.
Beyond the steam and clear shower curtain stood the body
of a god. His wet blond hair was plastered to his head, making
his strong facial features look sharper. Water ran down his lightly
tanned body, outlining muscles and angles that turned Sam on so
much he couldn’t move. With one arm braced against the tile and
the other one clearly self-pleasuring, the Texan reminded Sam of
a huge, sensual cat, and he wanted for it to pounce on him, the
rest be damned.
Then he heard the moan.
Sam’s blood rushed south so fast he felt dizzy. It sounded so
much like that mewling little noise Mac made the first time Sam
breached his body that his fingers twitched. He couldn’t wait to
do it again. He couldn’t wait to be the one to give Mac so much
pleasure he wouldn’t be able to remember his own name for days.
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119
He blinked several times until he was able to wake himself up
from the daze that had him paralyzed. He made out the bottle
of lube on the soap dish, followed the movement of Mac’s hand
for a few more seconds, then quickly stepped back out of the
bathroom.
His keys, cell phone, and wallet got dropped on one of the
nightstands along with his holstered weapon. His clothes were
discarded all over the place. Then he grabbed what he needed
from the small backpack he’d brought with him and the box
of condoms he spotted on the nightstand and returned to the
bathroom.
“Now, why’d you start without me?” he asked as he pulled the
curtain back.
Mac’s head whipped up in surprise, his bright green eyes
sliding over Sam’s naked, hard body before he completely turned
around. His hand never stopped stroking his prick.
“I know I haven’t been here too long, so you must be early.”
That accent… Jesus…
“Good thing I am too.”
“Then come here and make yourself useful.” Mac pulled him
into the shower and smacked their lips together.
Once again, there was no hesitation in another of those kisses
that totally short-circuited his brain and made him want so much
more. Sam wrapped one arm around Mac’s waist to get them as
close as possible and replaced the hand on his dick with his own.
Sam slowly began pumping it; the feel of Mac’s engorged
prick more satisfying than the best hand job anyone had ever
given him in his life.
Being so close to Mac, having him surround Sam with his
powerful arms and eat his mouth up with those sinful lips gave
Sam a thrill he felt in his stomach and all the way down to his
toes. It was the kind of thrill he hadn’t felt in years, awakening
parts of him that had remained inert since he’d so outstandingly
failed at making his one and only relationship work. Problem
120 Taylor V. Donovan
was, with thrills came uncertainty.
What was going to happen once they were done? Would one
time be enough for Sam, or would he become addicted to the
feel of Mac? To his taste? Would he find himself craving the
sensations Mac awakened in him? Seeking more of it and trying
to figure out how to get it?
He already knew walking away wouldn’t be as easy as he’d
thought, but he could do it, right? He could, because he didn’t
want any part of it, and Sam never did anything he didn’t want.
There was no reason to feel he was in way over his head. He was