Page 11 of Desperate Temptations

My breathing skips, stalling in my lungs because what the fuck did he just blurt out? Noise quiets to a static ringing as I take in Ethan’s embarrassed face and try to make sense of the words he just spewed. My mouth opens and shuts a few times before my eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“Okay?”

What the fuck else could I say? I’d been too busy trying to keep him from going to jail to be bothered to listen to whatever that man was saying.

Ethan nods once, laughing nervously. “I just—I don’t know why I needed to clarify that.”

“Did she imply that you wanted to fuck her in the ass… because of me?”

His face pales a bit and his throat bobs with a harsh swallow. “Yeah, I think so. I can’t remember exactly. It’s been years, but I remember getting mad at her comment. Then I didn’t talk to her for weeks.”

I lick my drying lips and step away from him, rubbing a hand down my face. Blowing out a breath, I look at my best friend with uncertainty. It’s something that should have been addressed years ago, but I let it go for him. I made sure I had little interaction with her family, but now I can see some of their ideology might have confused Ethan.

“You know that plenty of straight people have anal sex, right?” I ask hesitantly, an embarrassed flush working up to my ears.

He grimaces then groans, holding his face in his hands. “Fuck. I know this. I didn’t mean—I’m just?—”

“Look, no disrespect to Lynds and her family. Well, maybe a little disrespect, but I think they have some homophobia they need to address. And that’s on them to fix, but if you like to fuck your wife in the ass, it’s not because your best friend is bi, okay?”

Ethan lets out a hollow laugh and stands up straight, glancing at me with red cheeks. “Right, that was stupid to say.”

“I’m sure it won’t be the last either. That guy just hit a nerve. Let’s get back to the hotel and take some time to think about our next steps.”

SIX

ETHAN

My gaze is on the wall, the soft lights of the city nights reflecting onto it. It’s been hours of lying here, my mind working overtime without any real thoughts. I’ve been unhappy with Lyndsey for years, and every time I brought up the idea of separating, she’d freak out. Then it would be a few months of her putting in some effort before we’d fall into the same routine where I’d come home to an empty house for weeks at a time. The only time she’d reach out is when I’d put in a time request at the company for a vacation.

I feel like a goddamn idiot for not seeing it, like a fucking fool for putting up with her empty promises and just moving on. I’ve been racking my brain over the comments her and her family have made over the years about Trent, and I just brushed them off like they probably didn’t mean them like I thought. But they had, and I feel like a shitty friend for allowing it, for not addressing it right then and there, especially the times they did it to Trent’s face in front of me.

Guilt weighs heavy on my heart, no longer wondering why Trent kept pulling further away. Hell, if the situations were reversed,I’d probably have dropped me as a friend a long time ago. I don’t blame him for putting distance between us, but I wish I would have caught onto it sooner.

I still when I hear the rustling of sheets, figuring Trent is awake. He wouldn’t like it if I hadn’t gone to sleep yet, and he’d be convinced I need sleeping pills or something. I relax after a moment when the room falls back into silence.

The breathy moan that echoes out in the next moment shoots straight to my cock and I squeeze my fist to stop from grabbing myself. It’s been months, maybe even over a year since I’ve fucked. And after a while, even your hand doesn’t have any appeal. I’m not about to jack off to Trent having some kind of wet dream just because the noise that came from him reminds me of sex.

The slick sound of a hand pumping a cock has me slowly turning in bed. My mouth drops open when my eyes catch on Trent leaning against the headboard. His eyes are squeezed shut, his hand stroking himself, and his lips are slightly parted while his head is thrown back. My attention falls back to his lap and the erection standing tall, thick and angrily hard. This time there’s no mistaking the piercing on the underside of his cock, a single bar right below the ridge of his tip. Arousal tightens in my belly before pooling into my cock, growing and pressing against my pajama pants.

His hips thrust up and I begin to move my own, trying to get comfortable with the erection I need to take care of. My movement causes a spring in the bed to creak and Trent’s eyes snap open to land on me. I swallow, my mouth drying and my heart beating wildly when I fail to come up with something to say.

“You’re awake?” he asks, almost as if he can’t believe we’re staring at each other with his cock in his hand.

I lick my lips and clear my throat. “Yeah.”

“And you were watching?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” There’s no accusation in his question, more curiosity, but my body tenses anyway.

“I don’t know.”

Trent grunts, unhappy with the response, and I grimace.

“I wanted to,” I say, swallowing down the nerves clawing up my throat.

His pierced tongue peeks out between his lips, licking the chapped skin in a slow sweep before he looks down at his lap and starts to move his hand again.

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