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
before he had to leave the country on a business trip, but had no
problem doing it over the phone if necessary.
However, he did have a problem with doing it right now.
A quick look into his satchel told him he had all the essentials:
money, identification, credit card, mirror, eyeliner, lip gloss, and
a few lubricated condoms. He hadn’t had sex in the longest time,
but always made sure to carry them because a girl needed to be
ready no matter what.
His cell phone beeped softly, indicating there was a new email
in his inbox, and because it could be work related he checked
it right away, then groaned when he saw it was from Soldier of
God. The psychotic religious conservative group had somehow
gotten a hold of his email address and sent him anti-gay hate
propaganda and quotations from the bible every few weeks.
Chris refused to believe God had anything but love and
acceptance for him, so he ignored the email and put his phone
inside the satchel before hanging it over his shoulder and across
his chest. Then he grabbed his camera bag. The taxi would be
waiting for him by now and he was running late for what he
hoped was a productive meeting with a gorgeous kid that would
hopefully lead to making them both lots of money and the boy
famous.
300 Taylor V. Donovan
He opened the door and found Julian about to knock on it,
his right hand closed in a fist, his left one holding a bouquet of
red roses. Didn’t the man know Chris was more of an orchids
kind of guy?
Julian took a step forward and offered him the flowers, but
Chris stepped out of his loft and turned around to lock his door
instead. He wasn’t having any of this crap.
Julian examined him from head to shoes and back, and Chris
could have sworn there was disapproval in his eyes. He couldn’t
understand why. Didn’t he look marvelous, as usual?
“Where are you going?”
“Out.” He didn’t provide any details. “What are you doing
here?”
“I wanted to bring you this.” Once again he offered the
flowers, and once again Chris refused to take them. “I’m going
to be out of touch for a few more days. I’m so close to finishing
my masterpiece!”
“So you’ll be in your studio.”
“Yes, working out the final details.”
“Are you taking care of the apartment? After so much painting
I’d imagine it’s a mess, and I hear you haven’t let the cleaning
service inside for weeks.
“I’m not destroying your place, Christian.”
“It’s Metaphora’s,” he clarified. “Not mine.”
“You own Metaphora, so same difference. I can clean after
myself. You don’t need to worry about that. Unlike you, I wasn’t
born surrounded by servants.”
Chris shook his head and walked past Julian toward the
elevators. He pressed the down button and stared at the doors,
hoping for it to get there soon, sick of Julian’s old, repetitive
song.
“Why do you still need to be left alone if the painting is almost
ready anyway? Why can’t I come over and hang out with you
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301
while you paint?” he asked without looking at him. He was over
the guy, but he needed to understand why Julian had pursued him
so relentlessly if he was going to treat Chris like he was only an
option instead of the priority Julian swore he was.
“I need peace and quiet.”
“Then have at it, but don’t expect me to step aside and wait
for you.”
“You know I can’t work around people, Christian. I shouldn’t
have to fucking explain myself to you all the time!”
Chris was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Why the hell
was he being so loud? What was he so furious about? He turned
around to find Julian standing right behind him, hand clenched
around the bouquet, and eyes a little unfocused.
“I didn’t ask for an explanation.” Even though Julian’s
demeanor was making him feel uneasy, Chris refused to be
intimidated by it. “I have a right to see what you’ve been working
on, or have you forgotten I am part owner of the gallery that will
be showcasing your work?”
“As an artist I need—”
“So much solitude you couldn’t be bothered with taking the
time to be with me,” he interrupted. “Are you even aware of
the fact that I haven’t seen you in weeks? We barely talk, and
we certainly don’t have sex! We haven’t been in a relationship in
months, Julian!”
“So what if we don’t have sex all the time?” Julian whined.
“We can love each other without having to engage in such…”
He bit his lip, refusing to say anything else, but Chris had heard
enough.
“Engage in such what?” He shook his head sadly. “You look
repulsed, Julian…am I missing something here?”
“I love you, baby! I just want you to understand that us being
together is so much bigger than sex.”
“So you love me so much you just leave me for weeks and—”
“I’m working for us, Chris.” Julian interrupted him. “And I’m
302 Taylor V. Donovan
trying to protect you. Guys get hurt for being gay. You ought to
know that. I’m trying to make sure that you’re safe so that we can
be together the right way.”
“That makes no sense whatsoever to me.”
“I’ve made so much progress,” Julian went on. “Everything’s
going according to plan finally, and soon I’ll be all yours.”
“Safe?” Chris asked with a frown, confused by the other man’s
choice of words. “What are you trying to keep me safe from?”
“Come December, we will be spending so much time together
you’ll find yourself wishing you’d never met me,” he said, not
bothering to answer Chris.
“No.” He swallowed hard, not liking Julian’s tone or the
feverish look in his brown eyes. “We won’t be doing any such
thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m done with you.” The elevator doors finally
opened behind him and Chris rushed to get inside. “Don’t bother
to come back.”
“You can’t do this to me! You can’t do this to us!”
“Boy, was Braxton right about you,” Chris whispered. “He
warned me. Said you didn’t sound like the same guy he knew
years ago. He thought you were probably too busy painting to
talk to him, but I think you just—”
“Braxton doesn’t know shit! You shouldn’t be listening to
him, baby. He’s been behind every bad decision you’ve made in
your life!”
“What in the world are you talking about? He’s my best friend
and has always been there for me.” Chris was spitting mad now.
“How dare you talk that way about the man that was the catalyst
for your success? He recommended your work to me, Julian!”
“I’m your best friend. Not Braxton Sinclair! And I know you
love me.”
“I don’t love you. I never did. Whatever it is we had, it’s over.”
six DegRees of Lust
303
“You can’t do that to me,” Julian yelled when the elevator
doors began to close, unable to stop them even though he tried
to stick his hand in between. “You’ll regret it if you leave me!”
Chris took a few steps back and didn’t stop until he hit the
steel wall behind him. The last thing he saw before the doors
closed entirely was the bouquet hitting the floor.
“Jesus.”
He readjusted the camera bag on his slim shoulder and willed
himself to stop shaking. Julian’s behavior was beyond artistically
temperamental and bordering on violent. That was a side of the
man Chris had never seen and most certainly didn’t care for. And
had he just threatened him?
He pressed the Lobby button on the elevator panel a few
times and prayed it didn’t make any other stops. With luck he’d
get out of the building before Julian could make his way down.
For the first time since signing his contract he was happy he
had agreed to shoot a few magazine editorials in Europe and was
due to leave New York in a few weeks. Although a lot of traveling
was involved, he enjoyed his photography work as much as he did
painting and running his own gallery with Gabi. He was utterly
attached to his friends and material possessions, so he tried to
stay in the city as much as he could, but at that particular moment
he was relieved he would be leaving for a while. Shooting the
editorials would keep him busy and away from Julian while the
man cooled off. The last thing he needed was to deal with an ex
who refused to let go.
He got out of the elevator and looked around frantically
before running outside and getting in his cab. It wasn’t until he
was settled on the backseat that he noticed the tears running
down his cheeks.
“Crap.”
He took some tissue and a mirror out of his satchel and tried
to fix his ruined makeup with a trembling hand. He knew he
wasn’t crying over yet another failed attempt at happiness. Much
as he’d tried to love Julian, he hadn’t been able to. Maybe it was
304 Taylor V. Donovan
because they weren’t quite as compatible as he’d thought. Maybe
because it was bad timing or lack of communication. There were
so many plausible reasons, and by the end of the day he’d make
sure at least five of them made perfect sense, because Chris
refused to even consider that his heart might be already taken by
somebody else.
He was an optimist. He couldn’t admit to the fact that he’d
been stupid enough to go and fall for the one guy that would not
have him.
No.
His not being able to love Julian had nothing to do with his
somewhat unfinished business with Remy Benoit.
Not a damn thing.
Finally able to breathe better, he reapplied his makeup, rested
his head on the backseat, and tried to figure out what to do.
First he needed to talk to Gabi and ask her to deal with Julian
for the time being. It would be prudent not to be around the
guy for a while. And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to contact
the gallery’s lawyer and find out what it would take to sever
Metaphora’s contractual ties with the man if things didn’t go well
on a personal level. He also considered filing a police report, but
wasn’t sure he’d be taken seriously. He’d wait a few days and see
if Julian approached him again.
Twenty-five minutes later the cab pulled up in front of
Horizons, almost fifteen more minutes than it would’ve taken
had he walked, but just in time to see the cutie coming down the
center’s entrance stairs.
He put all his problems aside and rushed to pay the driver,
but by the time he got his things and out of the car, the boy was
almost to the corner. “Shit!” Chris ran after him, designer shoes
be damned. “Hey!” he called out, then again when the boy didn’t
seem to hear him. “Hey, wait up for a minute… Hey, buttercup!”
The young beauty must have heard that, because he slowly
turned around, his left eyebrow arched so high it disappeared
into his platinum hairline. Lord, he was exquisite.
six DegRees of Lust
305
“I am not called Buttercup.”
Chris whimpered a little, his creativity and inspiration melting
all over the sidewalk. He couldn’t wait to paint and photograph
this guy.
“What are you called then?” Chris asked, finally standing in
front of the guy, who was way younger than he originally thought.
Shit. Still, he was at least six feet tall, gorgeous, had an accent and
attitude to spare. It was like looking back in time at the kid he’d
been himself.
The kid took a step back, which proved he was smart, too.
“Who wants to know?”
“My name is Christian Murphy.” He searched around in his
satchel until he found a business card and handed it to the boy. “I
own an art gallery here in Manhattan and I’m also a professional
photographer. I would like to talk to you about maybe taking
some pictures… and most definitely painting you.”
“What kind of pictures?” The boy stepped back even farther,
clearly getting the wrong idea.
“Nothing illegal. I assure you I’m as legit as they come.”
“Hmmm… I’m listening…”
“What’s your name?”
“Sasha.”
“Okay.” Chris offered the guy a reassuring smile and looked
him up and down, completely approving of his outfit. “I love
that shirt you’re wearing.”
“Thanks. I made it out of some of Babushka’s old dresses
that she let me have.”
“No way!” Chris was positively impressed. “You’re interested
in fashion, then? Because that’s one of the things I’d like to
discuss with you.”
“Did you not hear before?” He stuck out a hip and his long
platinum hair behind his ear, revealing his delicate neck. “I am
listening.”
306 Taylor V. Donovan
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen.” Which meant Chris would need to get the parents’
consent, but he wanted to get to work with the kid so badly he
was willing to talk to whomever he had to.
“Come on,” he gestured to a bench close by, happy to get
immersed in art and work and leave that ugly situation with Julian