breathing
heavily, sweating bullets, and pissed as hell. A kid across the aisle
had noticed his distress two hours after takeoff and had been
laughing at him while mouthing the words “Big Pussy” ever since.
Damn disrespectful kid needed to get his ass whooped.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the plane finally pulled into
the terminal. His friend patted his hand, which made Mac feel
like an even bigger wimp. He shot the other man a “bite me”
look and shook his head when Braxton started laughing.
Had it been anybody else making fun of him, Mac would
have felt compelled to beat the shit out of them. But it was Brax
and truth be told, the man would get lenience even if he laughed
at Mac for the entire transatlantic flight. Not because he was his
boss, but because he was a great friend and human being. He
was also one of the few people Mac had great respect for, even
if he’d been lying to Brax for the past several years. That it was
by omission and only so that he could honor the agreement he’d
made with his family, didn’t make it any better.
With a sigh, he got up from his seat and reached for his
30 Taylor V. Donovan
carryon. He had a feeling his mother wasn’t going to make things
easy for him, but even if she didn’t get with the program he was
still coming out. He was done hiding who he was for the benefit
of others, and as soon as he figured out how to come clean to
Braxton and Remy and the rest of his close friends without
looking like a hypocrite, he would.
“I’m so happy to be here,” Mac said to his friend. This trip
couldn’t have come at a better time for him.
“Welcome to New York City, boy.” Braxton took one of the
bags from him and slapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll take care
of business and make sure we have some fun before we head
back home.”
“Can’t wait.”
They shared a grin and followed the other passengers off the
plane.
The two men were in town to scout the market and possible
location for a night club Braxton was thinking of opening there.
Already the owner of probably the hippest, hottest, and most
famous club in not only Houston but probably southern US of
A, he’d decided he wanted to expand, and Christian Murphy, one
of Braxton’s closest friends and a favorite of the entire staff at
The Heat Wave, Mac included, had suggested NYC.
Thinking it was a great idea, Brax had immediately planned
for a four day trip and somehow decided he needed Mac with
him. Feeling like he could use the impromptu vacation, Mac had
jumped at the offer, and so there he was in NYC, more than
ready to enjoy the time in the city he was positive would feel like
a different planet to him. It would’ve been even better if Remy,
his best friend, was there to explore the city with him. But Remy
had insisted it was impossible for him to take the time off. Still,
Mac couldn’t wait.
On their way to the terminal to collect their luggage and find
Christian, their friend and chauffeur for the day, Mac looked
around at all the people coming and going, taking in the faster
pace. He was about to comment on how different from Texas
six DegRees of Lust 31
everything was when he noticed Braxton talking on his phone
a few steps ahead of him. The huge frown on his friend’s face
caught Mac by surprise, as the guy had been in a good mood only
a minute ago.
He’d almost caught up with Brax when someone rudely
bumped into him, knocking his carry-on off his shoulder and to
the ground.
“Hey!” Mac said, a little annoyed. He leaned down to pick
up his bag at the same time the other person did, and they damn
near bumped heads.
“Sorry man. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
Mac felt shivers down his spine at the deep, sultry New York
accented voice. He swallowed hard, picked up his bag then looked
at the guy. Holy fuck, he was a walking, talking orgasm. Slightly
shorter than Mac, with a swimmer’s build. His eyes were blue