Finding Forgiveness(6)
Hunter’s whole body was stiff but the more Roman kissed him, the more pliant Hunter’s muscles became and the younger man began pressing closer and closer. Roman managed to find a shred of sanity still left in his brain and tried to draw back from Hunter’s intoxicating mouth but whatever beast he’d awakened in Hunter wouldn’t be denied and Hunter’s mouth followed his until Roman’s head hit the headboard. And suddenly the tables were turned and it was Hunter’s tongue searching out every part of his mouth, stroking over every surface. Fire pooled in Roman’s gut as Hunter’s long fingers brushed over his ear and then clasped the side of his head to hold him still. Insecurity gave way to confidence and Hunter’s scorching caresses had Roman’s dick standing at full attention.
When they were finally forced to separate so they could grab some much needed air, Hunter drew back and lifted his fingers to his mouth. Roman didn’t dare move as he watched a gamut of emotions pass over the other man’s features – shock, wonder, dread. The last look said a lot and Roman managed to grab Hunter by the wrist before he could get up and escape like he so clearly wanted to.
“Come lay down for a bit,” he murmured when Hunter’s gaze finally lifted to meet his. “Just rest – nothing else,” Roman said softly.
Hunter looked down at where Roman was still holding on to him and Roman released him so that the young man knew anything he did from that moment forward would be his choice. Hunter looked torn for a moment and then to Roman’s surprise, he nodded. But instead of getting up and going around to the other side of the bed, Hunter actually crawled over his body and even though they didn’t actually touch, just the sight of Hunter hovering over him even for that split second had Roman stifling a moan. He couldn’t ever remember a time when he’d gotten this wound up this fast. Not once. His control in bed was like his calling card but one kiss from a nineteen-year-old kid had tied him up in a haze of desperate need.
Hunter settled on the other side of the bed and put as much space between their bodies as possible. Roman reached for the remote on the nightstand to turn off the TV and then closed his laptop before turning off the light. He didn’t bother shifting down to lay flat on the bed because he knew there was no way he was going to fall asleep anytime soon. But at some point he must have because when he woke up the next morning, he was lying on his side in the middle of the bed and there was just an empty space next to him. He ran his fingers over the sheet but it was cold to the touch and he was oddly disappointed that not one shred of evidence of Hunter’s presence still remained.
Chapter Two
Roman drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of his rental car as he looked to his right. The road didn’t look much different than the one straight ahead but the one to the right would end up taking him back to his past, to a time in his life he’d spent years trying to forget. It was a road he’d taken three months earlier when his fear had overshadowed his need to protect himself but a part of him had regretted it because all he’d done was open old wounds that had yet to close. Straight ahead was the safer option – the option that represented who he was now…a cool, collected businessman whose only focus was on the deal at hand. Turning right would be tantamount to granting the half-brother he’d idolized forgiveness.
He'd been in this exact same spot three months earlier after learning from his brother’s realtor that Gray had bought the mountain cabin a few years earlier. It was information he’d garnered in his own unique way out of the talkative woman after Gray had seemingly disappeared from the public eye. As a bestselling author, Gray Hawthorne had become a fixture in celebrity gossip rags and websites after he’d sold the rights to three of his well-known detective series books so they could be made into a movie trilogy. The move had netted Gray fame and fortune and everything that came with it, including being stalked by the paparazzi who’d ended up snapping a picture of Gray in an intimate embrace with a well-known and supposedly straight actor who was up for the lead role in the films. The picture and rumors behind it had caused endless speculation about Gray and the engaged actor. And while that part wasn’t necessarily reason for concern, the fact that Gray hadn’t been seen or heard from in the weeks following the scandal had had Roman growing concerned.
Even though he and Gray hadn’t spoken in more than three years, Gray’s celebrity status had allowed Roman glimpses into his brother’s life and when that had all gone dark, Roman had felt a twinge of fear that was entirely unwanted and unexpected. He’d tried ignoring the situation but he’d soon found himself imagining the worst when day after day went by and no one, not even those closest to Gray, had heard from him. So Roman had done some digging and found out that Marina, Gray’s realtor, had helped him find him the cabin and, on a whim, Roman had decided to make a stopover in Montana on his way out of the country to see if his wayward relative was there. So when he’d gotten to the intersection that he was currently sitting at, he hadn’t hesitated to make the turn and spend the fifteen-minute drive up the mountain to the remote cabin. But nothing had prepared Roman for what he found…nothing.