Page 58 of Resisting You

Renato took a slow breath. “What happened at the cinema?”

Closing his eyes in a long, slow blink, Frey looked for the courage to tell him. It had been a blessing in disguise that Renato hadn’t been able to understand the other dad slut shaming him in front of a bunch of first graders and their parents. He walked away feeling like shit the way he did every time that happened, but at least the one guy who wanted him didn’t know it.

“Frey,” Renato said again, this time in that voice he used when he was fucking Frey. The commanding voice that made Frey go soft and pliant and willing.

He licked his lips, then said, “He accused me of bringing you as a date.”

Renato stared for a beat. “You’re not being honest with me.”

“Does it matter what he said?” Frey asked, throwing his hands up in the air. Anger was eclipsing every single one of his other emotions. He felt like an overboiled kettle, ready to explode. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t take the feeling in his chest, or the knowledge of what he wanted, or the way Renato was looking at him like he had all the patience in the world.

He stood up and walked out without saying another word. He heard Renato make a noise behind him, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He’d already caused enough of a scene today, and he wasn’t about to do it again.

He made it just outside of the restaurant doors and around the corner to where he was parked when a firm hand grabbed him. He’d expected it, of course, and he didn’t fight when Renato dragged him to the side of the building and pinned him to the wall with a single, firm hand.

“Frey,” Renato said again.

“Stop saying my name.”

Renato’s left eyebrow lifted. “You don’t like the way I say your name?”

That was definitely not it. Every time he jerked off now, he did it to the sound of Renato’s soft accent curling around the letters of his name like tendrils of smoke. He bit his lip.

Renato’s lips curled up in an almost sinister grin. “You do like it.”

“Fuck you.”

Renato laughed. “We can do that if you want, but maybe not here.”

Frey glanced around to see if anyone was watching, and he realized he wasn’t sure if he wanted eyes on him or not. God, Renato had fucking broken him. When he looked back, Renato’s expression had sobered.

“I don’t know why you’re angry with me,” he said almost sadly.

Frey felt something crack in his chest, and he shoved Renato back. “I’m not angry with you. That’s the problem! I humiliated myself! And you!”

Renato’s hand lifted like he wanted to reach for Frey again, and God help him, but Frey wanted that too. He wanted that powerful touch pinning him in place, making all the chaos go quiet. But he didn’t. “How do you think you did that?”

“Because I’m not a goddamn whore, but everyone thinks I am!” Frey yelled, then slapped his hand over his mouth. His whole body burned with embarrassment. How was he this out of control?

Renato closed fingers around his wrist and gently pulled his hand away. His body caged Frey against the wall, not quite touching, but the presence of him was enough. “I need you to know that if you were sleeping with everyone on my staff, I wouldn’t mind so long as everyone was happy with it, okay?” He lifted his hand and gently pinched Frey’s chin. The touch was so tender it made Frey ache deep down in his core. “The only thing that matters is that you’re happy.”

Frey squeezed his eyes shut and fought the urge to lean into Renato’s touch. Fuck him, he thought. Fuck him for being all the things I’ve ever wanted in a man trapped inside a grumpy, heartless bastard.

“I’m not happy,” he whispered after far too long. “I’m not upset they think I’m sleeping around. I’m upset that the people who know me and love me—the people I’m with every single day, who have seen me drowning—don’t know me at all. They don’t see me. They don’t see that I’m in pain.”

When he looked up, Renato was completely still. He moved his hand off Frey’s chin, but instead of pulling away, he cupped his cheek and stroked the skin there. Frey’s breath caught in his chest as Renato leaned in and pressed the softest kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I see you. From the moment you started working with me, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you.”

“Yeah. I know,” Frey said, bitter because giving in to that was easier than acknowledging the feelings that Renato was creating in his chest. “You made that clear.”

“I was unkind.”

“You hated me.”

“You kept stealing my scrubs and cutting holes in my socks,” Renato said, now sounding offended.

Frey burst into laughter, and he leaned forward, burying his face in Renato’s neck. He breathed him in, slow and steady. Christ, he smelled so good. “You were messing with me too.”

“I wasn’t,” Renato said. “But maybe you wanted me to be.”

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