Page 36 of Where They Belong

Mason took a step back, one raised eyebrow disappearing under the stray lock of hair that never stayed in place. “Say again?”

“Think about it. He told you I was still on the ranch when I wasn’t and that I said things I couldn’t have because I wasn’t here.” Colt laid out the realizations as they solidified in his head, fast and furious now. “He told me and my mom things you said but didn’t. That you were here but you weren’t. I called here for you too, and he said the same thing to me. That you were doing good but didn’t want to talk to me anymore. Don’t you see, Mase? He played us.”

“But . . . he’d already sent me away,” Mason whispered on a broken voice.

Colt took a step closer, fighting the urge to reach for Mason. “He lied to both of us to keep us apart.”

The clock ticked loudly in the loft, moving slowly but, at the same time, too fast. Colt watched as the confusion that clouded Mason’s eyes, that dulled their lively green, slowly gave way to a new truth. And then his eyes narrowed.

“That son of a bitch,” Mason ground out. He stumbled backward a step and pressed a hand to his chest. “All this time . . .”

Mason looked at Colt—his face pinched, his eyes beseeching and etched with regret—and instinct drove Colt forward. No thought, just an overwhelming need to give comfort to someone in obvious turmoil. He closed the distance between them and pulled Mason into his arms. Mason resisted at first, his body taut and trembling, and then he deflated. He sank into Colt’s embrace, and Colt hugged him tighter, pressed his face into Mason’s hair, and breathed in the scent of leather and basil.

“I’m sorry, Mase.”

Mason gave in. Clung to Colt like he was drowning at sea and Colt was a life raft. His knees weakened, his legs turned to rubber, and the only reason he stayed upright was because of Colt’s strength. He burrowed deeper into Colt’s solid frame, into the haven of his arms, fearing if he didn’t, his body might break apart and shatter on the floor.

All the guilt he’d carried for not standing up that day, the longing and heartbreak that lingered when he’d thought Colt deliberately ignored him, wouldn’t let him explain . . . wouldn’t forgive him. It had all been because of a vicious lie created by a man who couldn’t accept that his son as he was. A man who’d caused irreparable harm to two young boys. ToColt.

Mason pushed away from Colt and took a step back. He couldn’t think being so close to the man. Not after learning the lengths his dad had gone to in orchestrating their demise.

“I’m sorry I ever believed my dad,” Mason croaked, unable to meet Colt’s eyes. The burn of embarrassment crawled up his throat and threatened to choke him. “Sorry for what he did to you and your family.”

“I’m sorry I believed him too.” Colt’s voice was soft but rough with emotion. “And that I hated you for so long. I came here wanting to hate you.”

All those years, all the hurt and guilt, all because of his dad, not Colt. And Colt . . . It crushed Mason to know that Colt had hated him.

“Do you still?”

Mason braved meeting Colt’s gaze, prepared for the worst, for Colt to lash out at him for the sins of his father. But all he saw in Colt’s eyes was understanding and something else. Something like affection.

“Not even close,” Colt said with sincerity, his voice gravelly.

Colt stared at him for a long moment. Too long. And Mason couldn’t look away. All he’d ever wanted was Colt, and now, all the reasons that had kept them apart were false.Couldhe still have what he wanted?

His whole body thrummed at being so close to Colt. His emotions were in chaos, but his heart, his body, knew exactly what it wanted.Colt. Mason ached for him. Ached with the need to lean into him again, lose himself in the peace of his embrace, breathe deeper of his warm, woodsy scent.

And then they were moving.

Bodies and lips collided. The kiss was fierce and aggressive and demanding, as though trying to make up for two decades in two seconds, and it took everything Mason had in him to keep from falling. He snaked a hand behind Colt’s neck, wrapped the other around his back, and held on for dear life as he sank even deeper into Colt.

Mason opened his mouth, and Colt plunged his tongue inside to tangle with Mason’s. Every single cell in Mason’s body ignited. Every nerve ending sizzled, and every contact point between them sparked with bolts of lightning. If it were even possible, Mason swore they were fusing together, becoming one entity of unleashed need and desire.

Jesus. He was painfully hard. His cock screamed for freedom, for release. He ground his erection into Colt, who was just as hard. Shivers charged up and down his spine.

“Bedroom,” Colt gasped into the kiss.

Mason made a sound of agreement. Words weren’t possible, not with Colt demanding the attention of his every sense, but he didn’t move. How could he when he felt detached from his body? When the entire world revolved around Colt’s powerful kiss?

“Stairs,” Colt growled against his lips. “Downstairs.”

Then Colt pushed Mason back but didn’t let go of his arms.

“Go, go, go,” Colt begged.

A whimper echoed in the small loft, and Mason didn’t care that it had come from his own throat. Without further prodding from Colt, he turned and stumbled his way down as fast as he could. Waiting for Colt to descend the stairs after him took an eternity. The moment Colt’s feet touched the floor at the bottom, Mason was on him. He couldn’t stand to not be touching Colt for even a second. To not be kissing him. Reveling in the way Colt’s hands gripped his hips and his fingers dug in like vise grips. But he needed so much more.

Colt didn’t seem any more apt to break their kiss than Mason, and it continued with fervor, only breaking for quick gasps of air and low grunts and soft chuckles as he and Colt bounced off the walls of the hallway. A hallway that seemed to go on forever.

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