Six Degrees of Lust (53 page)

actually ask. “Jaysus.” He rubbed his face and walked to the bed,

then the terrace and back inside. “Okay…” He stopped by the

small table and drummed his fingers on it a few times, all along

studying Sam’s face.

“I’m waiting.”

“How about we have no rules?” he blurted out. “How about

we stop pretendin’ we talk twice a week because that’s what we

agreed on and not because that’s what we want? From now on

378 Taylor V. Donovan

we call when we feel like it and make plans to see each other

whenever we want to be together.”

Mac took a deep breath and approached him, probably

because Sam’s eyes had opened so big they were bound to pop

out. And he might be hyperventilating a little too, which he knew

would trigger Mac’s protective instincts, as he was always reading

Sam and making sure he didn’t blow a gasket.

“I know shit is crazy for you right now with the situation

with your sister and Nicky… and even at work, with your bosses

breathing down your neck for reasons you never share with me.

I know you need to feel in control, but…” He rested his head on

Sam’s and brushed his long fingers over the erratic pulse on his

neck. “It wouldn’t change our status.”

“No…”

“We’d just be adding spontaneity to our friendship,” Mac said

softly. “And freedom.”

Sam circled Mac’s neck with his hands and swallowed hard. “I

don’t think I can do it.”

He needed the rules. He needed the structure. He needed

the balance and symmetry that came from keeping their

relationship under as much control as he could. He needed hot

and uncomplicated sex, and he really needed to concentrate on

catching that motherfucker Lev so that the gay community would

feel safe again.

That’s what he needed to focus on, his work and his nephew.

He couldn’t afford to waste time and energy wondering

whether he would get a phone call or not, and he definitely couldn’t

allow himself to get distracted by the insane lust he felt for Mac.

Were he in his right mind, he would be taking the opportunity to

end things between them. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to

think straight from the moment he first bumped into the kitten

three months ago.

It pained him to have to admit it, if only to himself, but

even though he knew it wasn’t smart, the only thing that seemed

to matter at the moment was to make sure his guy didn’t go

six DegRees of Lust
379

anywhere.

“Why not?” Mac’s fingers gently massaged Sam’s shoulders.

His green eyes were soft. “What’s the big deal?”

Sam couldn’t answer. How the hell was he going to tell his

guy that he desperately needed for things to remain the same

between them? That he’d come to depend on their set schedule?

That lately he could get through whatever shit was thrown at him

because he knew that, come Monday, he’d get to see Mac online?

That come Wednesday they’d talk and things would be a little

better? That he needed to know exactly when he’d be getting

Mac’s attention and time?

He shook his head and dropped it on Mac’s shoulder.

“Darlin’?”

“Because it is not what we agreed on…and because it sounds

too much like dating,” Sam finally said, keeping the majority of

the reasons to himself and squeezing his eyes shut at the rightness

of having Mac call him Darlin’.

Goddammit!

“No, no, look at me…” Mac forced him to lift his head and

look at him in the eye. “I told you, it doesn’t change anything.

We’d still be no strings attached and…fuck…you may not even

like me in a few weeks. You ever thought about that?”

Sam hadn’t, but only because he couldn’t come up with a

single reason why he wouldn’t. In his eyes, Mac was damn near

perfect.

“I guess what I’m asking for is the chance to do things for

you, the same way you have for me, without havin’ you knock

my head off for overstepping your boundaries. Can you do that?

Please?”

“And if I suck at it?” Sam needed a few guarantees, because

he knew he would suck. The more he talked to Mac, the more

room he’d have to mess things up. “What will happen then?”

“We’ll discuss it,” his guy assured him. “We’ll find a way. But

for now, we’ll just take it slowly, okay?”

380 Taylor V. Donovan

“And you won’t try to push me in a direction I don’t want to

go?” Sam asked, feeling his resolve slowly slip away. “Or expect

me to behave like a boyfriend would?”

“I promise you, I won’t.” Mac kissed him softly, his green eyes

shining with possibilities Sam was too scared to even name, let

alone explore. “We can do this, darlin’. You can do this.”

“Do you really mean it, that we’ll take it slowly?” Sam wasn’t

surprised that his tone was almost pleading. He really wasn’t

ready to break it off with Mac just yet.

“I swear to you, Sam. We’ll take it as slowly as you need.”

He nodded before he could stop himself, quietly accepting

Mac’s promise.

Sam still cringed at the idea of being responsible for anyone’s

emotional well being, but he’d much rather deal with his guy’s

amended version of their agreement than the possibility of

having Mac call it quits on him.

He buried his face in Mac’s neck and breathed him in. “I

won’t have much free time.”

Sam’s priorities were providing stability for his nephew and

stopping Lev from killing again. He knew he would do whatever

it took to catch the psychotic bastard, and that most likely he

wouldn’t get to see a whole lot of Mac.

Still, he wanted to try.

He wasn’t quite ready for whatever that implied, but he was

doing it anyway.

He grabbed Mac’s blond head with both hands and pressed

their foreheads together.

“One day at a time?”

“One day at a time.”

September 2, 2009

Houston, Texas

“It’s all going according to plan. Nothing will stop me tonight,

or any other night, from doing what needs to be done to rid the

world of the likes of you.”

The tall man struggled against the ropes that bound him to

the pipes running along the wall and wished himself awake. “You

sick fuck, let me go!”

He blinked, but his surroundings didn’t change one bit.

There was just enough light in this musty confinement for

him to see the walls, splattered with red paint. Words of different

sizes were written on them.

He wasn’t dreaming, then.

This was really happening.

What he first thought would be some kinky sex with a guy

he’d met at the club had rapidly turned into a nightmare, and now

he was incapable of cutting himself loose.

Fuck.

“Let me go!”

Again he was ignored.

Looking around frantically for only God knew what, he

noticed that the red words appeared to be bible quotes of some

sort. Of all the years he had left the club with strangers, never

once did he run into someone as clearly demented as this guy.

He had to find a way to get free. His very life depended on it.

He just knew it did.

“You just don’t get it do you?” the bastard said. “I know what

you’re thinking. That by some miracle you’ll get free. But if I let

382 Taylor V. Donovan

you go, all you’ll do is find another to play your evil games with.

You are the wolf. You’ve soiled many with your perverted ways.

I can’t allow you to keep doing that. I warned you, didn’t I? I

warned you many times, but you didn’t listen! You got a chance,

but you let your unnatural urges get the best of you, and now you

must be punished for it.”

Fear paralyzed him while he watched the nut job pace back

and forth in front of him and rant about a lamb and a wolf. It

wasn’t until the guy leaned his shoulder against the far wall that

he realized the red splashes on the walls were not paint; it was

blood.

He knew about this guy. He’d heard about him on the news.

A coppery smell suddenly filled his nose, and in that moment

he knew he would never escape.

This inhuman psycho was going to kill him, and there wasn’t

a damn thing he could do about it.

About the AuthoR

Taylor V. Donovan is a compulsive reader and author of

gay romantic suspense. She is optimistically cynical about the

world; lover of history, museums and all things 80s. She is crazy

about fashion and shamelessly indulges in mind-numbing reality

television. Passionate about civil rights and equality for all.

When she is not making a living in the busiest city in the

world or telling the stories of gorgeous men hot for one another,

Taylor can be found raising her two daughters and two terribly

misbehaved furry babies in the mountains she calls home.

You can find out more about Taylor at:

http://www.taylorvdonovan.com

Trademarks acknowledgmenT

The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark

owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of

fiction:

Starbucks - Starbucks Corporation

Mac - Apple Inc.

Evian - Danone Waters of America, Inc.

Hugo Boss - HUGO BOSS

Barbie - Mattel, Inc.

Bud Light - Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

Corona - Grupo Modelo, S.A.B. de C.V.

Jagermeister - Mast-Jägermeister SE

Skype - Skype Limited

Dora the Explorer - Viacom International Inc

Candy Land - Hasbro

Call of Duty - Activision Publishing, Inc.

Skittles - Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.

Holiday Inn - IHG.