Savior:A Tattered Club Story(47)

Niko looked up. Most people stared at his ink and quickly looked away. Not even the women he’d been with had wanted to lick his ink. They all wanted to lick his dick, but he wasn’t down for that. Ethan was the first person to wrap his lips around his cock since the guy in the bathroom.

When Ethan righted the hem of his snug T-shirt, Niko reached over and grabbed his hand. “I can’t be your boyfriend. I can…I can be something else. I have no idea what, but I can be this.” He leaned down to make up the difference in their heights and pressed his sticky lips against Ethan’s soft mouth.

Ethan drew his arms around Niko’s neck, instantly making the tension in his gut still. “Friends with benefits, then.” Ethan curled his lips up, but it wasn’t a genuine smile. Ethan wanted more, and he felt like a total douche asking for something physical with no attachments. He wasn’t built for the whole relationship thing.

“I’ll just find a boyfriend for the emotional stuff. Maybe he could join in sometimes.”

Niko fisted the sides of Ethan’s T-shirt. “Like fuck you will. This arrangement is you and me. Got it? No fucking boyfriends.” Niko hated the way the smile faded and a genuine one bloomed. “What are you smiling about?”

Ethan peppered soft kisses along the shades of grey-and-white sand trickling down his hourglass tattoo. “I want to kiss your neck for days. Why this one? Why an hourglass?”

“Time.” Niko stepped away. He needed distance, from what he didn’t know. “I shouldn’t have any left, but the clock keeps giving me another minute then another hour.”

Ethan’s sweet smile disappeared as he picked up the rolls of paper towels. “I’m glad the clock keeps going. I think I’m going to want you around for a while longer.”

When Ethan grabbed the doorknob, for a split second, Niko didn’t care who was on the other side. He wanted him to stay, to lie on the table and let him explore every freckle, every scar, hell every cell on that tender, lithe body.

But he let him go. He had no idea how to make someone stay. Empty promises weren’t something he could give and no matter how much he wanted to call out for him to come back, the reality was—fuck being gay—he’d never had a relationship. Was this what people did? Torture each other until one caved and all hell broke loose?

Niko headed to the bathroom, fuming at the thought of Ethan laughing in bed with another man. A boyfriend. He closed the bathroom door and turned on the sink. The cool water splashing on his face dampened his simmering temper.

If he was the man who got everything done, why couldn’t he do this? Had he pushed too hard? He pumped the dispenser several times, filling his palm with soap. As the suds ran through his fingers, he imagined Ethan in the shower, fluffy white clouds spilling over the valley between two raised pecs. Slick skin stretched tight over a slender six-pack. Holy hell. Niko leaned his fevered forehead against the cool wall.

He studied his reflection in the mirror. How could two men be so different?

Friends with benefits?

Niko turned and grabbed the doorknob. He’d give Ethan benefits so good he’d never want a boyfriend again.



*****



Niko paced outside the apartment door. With Casper calmly sitting on his haunches, tail wagging, he walked back and forth on the small landing. The fur ball had been excited ever since Niko clicked the leash to his collar. The walk over should’ve lasted longer than it had, but what started out as a casual stroll ended up in a brisk walk.

Now, what in the hell was he supposed to do? Standing outside the apartment felt too real, like when the thud of the gun echoed against the worn yellow and pink linoleum floor. Niko fought the flinch teasing his shoulders. He’d run that night when his mother had screamed and used every dish towel in the place to stop his dad’s bleeding wound.

A kid with a record looked guilty running when the victim, lying on the dirty kitchen floor with a shattered femur had ratted his son out. Just like running over here. He looked guilty on both occasions.

Stopping the frantic pacing, he slid down the wall and sat next to his panting dog. The moment he started to pet Casper’s smooth head, the fur ball leaned in and pressed this wide rib cage against Niko’s thigh. Just a guy and his dog. Maybe that was the way it should be. His life had worked out this way for a reason.

What in the hell was he doing here anyway? Not being gay but wanting to fuck Ethan was a disaster. If tonight happened, there was no going back. He couldn’t unimagine having his cock in Ethan’s ass. After kissing those sweet, eager lips, there would be no woman who’d be able to release the tension in his gut. The coil in his stomach tightened. Would he even be able to get a hard-on with them anymore?