Page 125 of The Golden Boys
“You’ve told me a million times I’m sick,” he reminds me. “Name one time I denied that.”
We have a standoff where neither of us speaks or moves, but then he cranes his neck down to whisper in my ear—soft, deep.
“No one handles me like you do, Southside,” he croons. “And as much as I hate to admit it, that shit’s like a fucking drug to me.”
His voice has my entire body quaking with need, but I manage to stay focused.
“Well, as flattering as that is, I’m not here to amuse you,” I snap. “I only came to you for the truth. That’s the only thing I want from you at this point.”
“Then take off your clothes.” I’m shaken by the authority in his tone. “If we’re ever going to learn one another’s truth, that’s where we’ll find it.”
A quivering breath passes between my lips, but I’m determined to resist.
“In bed? That’s where you think normal people learn one another’s true colors?” I question him sternly, wanting him to know I’m not going to break for him. Even if my body is already fighting the decision.
“Not normal people. Just us,” he answers.
My chest rises when I draw in a powerful surge of air, holding his gaze when I speak again.
“Do you think I’ve forgotten Parker was just in your bed, asshole?”
The bastard actually seems surprised that’s a factor. “Is that what has you so upset?” he has the balls to ask, like him having her here is nothing.
The space between us disappears even more and he reaches to rest a hand on the small of my back, drawing me toward him.
“I didn’t touch her,” he claims, sounding annoyed that he even has to say it.
When I scoff and slip from his grasp, his eyes follow me toward the balcony where I stand just inside the threshold.
“She was in your bed, half-naked, West. And you and I both know there’s not much that bitch won’t do for you.”
He brushes his thumb over his lips, hiding a slick grin.
“She came here to talk, and also thinking I’d let her spend the night, but only because she’s delusional,” he adds with a sigh. “The conversation got heated and she said some shit that pissed me off, and in Parker World, you make things up to people with sex. But I swear to you, I never touched the girl.”
I stare at him, glaring because this feels weird, having him explainanythingto me so emphatically. Like … he actually cares. Meanwhile, I can’t tell if he’s just a really good liar, or if this is all true.
“Doesn’t it count for something that I put her ass out the second you showed up at my door?” he asks with a throaty laugh. “Or … have you forgotten that little detail?”
He’s baiting me. I’m convinced of it when he comes toward me again.
My eyes drop to his waist, where the muscles there are unbelievably cut, giving a preview of what’s just below the band of his sweats.
Don’t let him get inside your head, Blue. Just … don’t.
He’s in my face now, closer than he ought to be, breathing down on me when he speaks again.
“I couldn’t even get hard for her. Not like I do for you.”
He’s lying.
He has to be.
Before I can even finish the thought, he takes my hand and lowers it between us, forming my fingers against his dick, making me feel that the opposite is true right now. He’s solid against my palm and his size never ceases to impress me.
I stop breathing altogether when he takes my chin, forcing my gaze to meet his. I know he intends to kiss me, because he always preys on the weak, but I snap out of his spell just in time, remembering how I’d been given the cold shoulder.
“I’ve been an afterthought for you all day. And you think you’re just going to talk your way into my pants now?”