got his wish, he was going to need lots of it. Maybe a truckload. He should think about buying stock in the lube company.
“You can have that one. It’s new, and we have more.” Nate snickered. “Joe always makes sure we have plenty on hand. I swear we need to buy stock in the damn company. We’d make millions.”
Jim laughed as Nate voiced the words that had just gone through his own head. He stood and headed for the door, pausing to turn back and look at Nate. “Thanks, Nate, for talking to me. If I have more questions, would you—”
Nate laughed. “You can ask me anything you want, Jim.”
Jim nodded, opening the door. “I’m glad Joe found you, Nate.”
“Me, too.”
Closing the door behind him, Jim shoved the bottle of lube in his pocket and headed downstairs. He needed to locate his mate and find out if he was still interested in being mated to another man.
Walking into the living room, he found Donovan talking with Chase and Joe. He waited a moment then cleared his throat. “Donovan? Can I speak with you for a moment?”
Donovan, already looking in his direction, nodded his head. Before anyone could see the blush filling his face, Jim turned and went back up the stairs. He could hear Donovan behind him as he went to the guest room on the far side of the house from Nate. He really didn’t need anyone hearing them, especially since he didn’t know if it was going to be sex or a fight.
Jim walked into the middle of the room, turning to face Donovan as he followed him in. “Please, shut the door,” he said. He watched Donovan shut the door and then turn back to him, a dark-brown eyebrow raised in query.
As Donovan stared at him, Jim suddenly couldn’t think of anything to say. His mouth felt dry, his palms sweaty. Rubbing them on his pants, he felt the bottle of lube in his pocket. Pulling it out, he handed it to Donovan.
“What’s this?”
“My answer,” Jim said with quiet emphasis.
“To what?”
“Whether I’m going to keep you or not,” Jim muttered hastily. He suddenly felt like the world’s biggest fool as Donovan just stared at him, astonishment written all over his face. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe Donovan hadn’t been thinking along the same lines.
“You seem to have given this some thought,” Donovan finally said.
Jim nodded his head as he watched Donovan’s thumb rub over the small bottle of lube and remembered what it felt like to have that very same thumb rub over the head of his cock. “I’m not sure I’ve really been thinking about anything else,” he said in a voice that seemed to come from a long way off.
Jim felt like his nerves were being stretched to the breaking point as he watched Donovan start to pace back and forth. Every few steps he would stop and look over at Jim, his eyebrows drawn together as if he were in deep thought. And Jim had no idea what he was thinking. No emotion whatsoever showed on Donovan’s face.
Finally, Donovan stopped pacing to stand in front of Jim. “Do I get a say in this?”
Jim’s mouth dropped open in shock and surprise siphoned the blood from his face. “Yes, of course you do.” Jim dropped his eyes down to the floor and pushed his hands into his jean pockets. Obviously, he was the biggest fool in the world. “I just wanted you to know how I felt.”
“Duly noted.”
Jim lifted his eyes to stare at Donovan for a moment. Disconcerted at the indifferent look in his eyes, Jim crossed his arms and pointedly looked away from Donovan’s piercing gaze. “I’ll just let you get back to what you were doing then.”
He started to step past Donovan to leave when a strong grip on his arm stopped him. Jim looked over to see Donovan’s hand on his arm, stopping him from leaving. His eyes flickered up briefly as he wondered what other humiliation he was about to endure.
Jim hesitated to say anything, torn by conflicting emotions. He wanted to turn into Donovan’s arms and kiss him again. He wanted to
Robert J. Sawyer, Stefan Bolz, Ann Christy, Samuel Peralta, Rysa Walker, Lucas Bale, Anthony Vicino, Ernie Lindsey, Carol Davis, Tracy Banghart, Michael Holden, Daniel Arthur Smith, Ernie Luis, Erik Wecks