Page 47 of Sycopation
Ray stared at Zavier. “I didn’t. He showed up at my door. I’d never seen him before.”
Zavier’s brow knitted and he got a faraway look. Then his gaze locked back on Ray. “Andyou let him in?”
Yeah, that had been careless and thoughtless, but the guy had been all dark and pouty and full of praise and—in retrospect—he’d looked like a slightly younger version of the man who sat before him. Plus, it had been months since Ray’d gotten laid.
He put the glass to his lips and swallowed a mouthful before speaking. He’d beendesperate. “He knocked on the door, and Ithought it was Dom or Mish checking in on me. But it was that guy, and he asked if I wanted a blowjob...”
A grunt from Zavier. He rubbed his chin. “And you did.”
“Yeah. I did.” Shame wrapped him tighter than the robe, but the heat that came with it wasn’t comfortable. “Look, I don’t do drugs ’cause even over-the-counter stuff fucks me up. If I’d known, I’d have sent him away.” He shook his head. “I wish—” Wished the encounter he’d just had with Zavier—the one he’d wanted and needed for two and a half months, the one that had been hotter than fuck and mind-blowing—hadn’t come on the heels ofthat.
“Wish what?” Zavier’s voice held a kindness Ray didn’t understand.
He drank more of the water, mostly to stall for time. “What we did—I wish it hadn’t beennow. I mean—with all that—” He waved at the door.
Zavier uncrossed his legs and sighed. “That’s my fault.”
“I liked it. If that helps.”
A grin. “Oh, I know youlikedit, Ray.”
A shiver up his back, and a dull ache of need followed. But he was too spent and tired for it to go anywhere. “Did you? Like it?”
A deep chuckle. “Ray...”
God, he loved the way Zavier said his name. He swallowed the last of his water. Yeah, not the brightest question, given how hard Zavier had been. “In high school...”
“This isn’t high school.” Zavier shifted in his chair. “This isfarfrom high school.”
“You didn’t want me then.”
“Untrue.”
That one word rocked Ray to the core. He stared at Zavier. He’d always assumed that rejecting the band had also included rejectinghim.
“You were lovely back then and you’re fucking amazing now. But you were barely,barelysixteen, Ray. I was gonna turn nineteen that summer, and it just didn’t seem right.”
Ray eyed the hotel room door. “More sense than me.”
“Not really. I was a prick and full of myself.”
He couldn’t help it. “And you’re not now?”
Zavier’s eyebrows rose and he snorted softly. “Oh, Ray, you’re something else.”
Heat straight to his cheeks, especially when Zavier’s look roamed all over Ray’s body, lingering here and there. Despite how he was sitting, Zavier couldn’t quite hide his erection.
Ray licked his lips. “Like what you see?”
“Yes.” Zavier met his stare and held it until Ray couldn’t help squirming under the burning intensity. No question whatsoever that Zavier spoke the truth. “But I have particular tastes.”
“In men?”
“In sex. Dominance. Submission.” Zavier shrugged. “It’s not everyone’s thing.”
“You mean... You’re talking about BDSM.” Just the acronym ignited another spark in Ray’s tired and spent body.
Zavier nodded, his smile slight, but so damn sensuous. “That’s exactly what I mean. Ever done anything like that before now?”
