Page 35 of Inferno

“Anders, that’s too much food,” he protests weakly.

“Don’t worry, Kitten, we can just take whatever we don’t eat home for leftovers,” I assure him, with a wink.

The server’s expression sours as she watches me blatantly flirt with my Kitten. But she doesn’t say anything and instead just tells us she’ll have our food out as soon as it’s done, then bounces away with a little less pep in her step.

“She was a pretty girl,” Henry comments.

“Who?” I ask, pretending not to have noticed.

“The server. Do women flirt with you a lot? I don’t really have much of a sense for it, but I guess I wouldn’t have assumed you were gay if you hadn’t of…” He trails off, like he doesn’t really know how to point out that I acted like a total caveman the first time we met.

“You don’t have a sense for what?” I ask, unsure what he means.

“Gaydar. I don’t.” His cheeks turn bright pink. “I don’t really have any. To be honest, the only gay person I know is…me. Until now, anyway.”

Sucking in a breath, I store away what he just told me to process later. This doesn’t feel like the time or place to have this conversation, but I say it anyway because I don’t want him to think I’m keeping things from him. “I’m bi. I’ve been in relationships with both men and women.”

Henry’s lips form a perfect O shape as he stares at me.

“I would have said I didn’t have a preference until I met you. Now male or female, none of that matters, because unless they’re you, I’m not interested.”

His chest heaves as he sucks in huge gasping breaths, staring at me like he has no idea what to say or do or feel. I’m pissed that I’ve overwhelmed him, but telling him I’m gay would have been a lie, and I don’t ever want to lie to him.

“Does it bother you that I’ve dated women?” I ask, hoping that his inexperience will also come with a lack of judgment.

“No,” he says quietly. “Does it bother you that I’ve never dated anyone?”

There’s a defiance in his eyes as he looks at me and waits for my judgment. Shaking my head, I keep my gaze fixed on his face. “No. I fucking love knowing that you’ll only ever be mine.”

“That’s not how it seemed the other night. When I told you I was a”—he lowers his voice to barely a whisper—“a virgin, you recoiled. You…” His voice sounds choked when he forces out the word, “Left.”

Jesus, I knew I’d messed up the other night, but clearly, I had no idea how much. “I didn’t leave—” I start, but he immediately speaks over me.

“You might have stayed in the same room, but you shut off, then the moment we got out of the shower, you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

“I explained that. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m not a child?—”

“I know that. I told you?—”

“I know what rejection looks like, Anders. You might have said the right thing, but I saw the look in your eyes. I felt you shut off from me. You left, and I get that. I just don’t understand why you’re here now.”

“I fucked up,” I confess. “I knew you were less experienced than me. But when you told me that no one had touched you, I saw all the things my…needs could do to you, and I panicked. I backed off, but I never left. I didn’t reject you. I just took a step back so I could decide if I could give you what you need without allowing what I need to destroy you,” I growl, the words falling out of me in a rush.

Shaking his head, he denies my words, refusing to look at me.

“Henry.”

His body language shuts down. His shoulders curl in, like he’s protecting himself…from me.

“Boy, look at me,” I growl again.

His posture straightens, and his torso snaps upright so fast that I’m worried it might have hurt him.

“You. Are. Mine. I knew it the moment I saw you, and it’s even more true now. You are perfect for me in every fucking way, and yes, it was a shock when you told me that no one had touched you. But I wasn’t upset about it, I was fucking elated. Every inch of you belongs to me, and knowing that I’ll be the only one to ever touch and lick and fuck you makes me so hard it’s insane.”

“You said you’d ruin me, that I’d end up hating you,” he whispers defiantly.

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