Chapter Fifteen
Leo
I woke to my head pounding so hard I fought to open my eyes, for fear of the already excruciating pain increasing once the light penetrated my skull. I decided to use this as my excuse for taking so long to notice the toasty warmth nestled at my back. At first, I assumed the heat came from the fire burning low, but promptly abandoned the idea, as surely it would have gone out hours ago.
When the heat behind me moved and snuggled in closer I froze, my addled brain finally registering the heavy weight of Gabe’s arm around my waist. How his body spooned me, his whole length aligned with mine, his morning wood pressing firmly against the top of my butt cheeks. I’d reached twenty-nine years of age, and this was the first time I’d ever awakened wrapped up in another man’s arms.
I scanned my memory, not wanting to believe my admission, but another sharp pain splintered through my head, and I screwed my eyes shut unable to concentrate on anything else.
“Here,” a gravelly voice stated next to my ear, the warm air fanning my cheek. Opening my eyes and blinking a few times to get him in focus, I found Mitch crouched down beside me, a glass of water and a couple of pain killers in his hand.
“Oh, thank God,” I mumbled, taking the tablets and throwing them in my mouth, swilling them down with the refreshing cold water. “I feel like crap,” I rasped.
His low chuckle made me smile, which turned rapidly into a grimace. Mitch’s face finally became clear, with his bloodshot eyes, and odd gray pallor to his skin, he looked about as good as I felt.
“You don’t look much better, by the way.”
He grunted his agreement.
This close, his body heat burned into me, and I saw all the tiny speckles of green in his hazel eyes which, ignoring all the red, still managed to make my stomach flutter. Mitch took back the glass, his fingers touching mine and the zap of energy between us made me lose my grip, nearly dropping the damn thing. Quicker than I could react, Mitch gripped me tighter, the pressure sending electricity through my fingers, up my arm, and straight down to my balls.
I squinted at him, and for a second caught a heated reaction in his eyes, but then he blinked, and whatever I saw, disappeared so fast I realized it had to be wishful thinking on my part. Mitch’s gaze shifted to glance over my shoulder and turning my head to look, I found Gabe raised up on an elbow staring at us, at Mitch.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said, his voice also dry as a desert. But where mine sounded like I’d drunk a gallon of spirits, his managed to sound sexy and husky. Shifting slightly, I moved my leg forward to cover my crotch as my dick decided it was time to wake up too.
Gabe’s hard length remained situated against my butt, seemingly content to maintain position there. I had to admire his self-confidence. Mind you, judging by the length of him, I’d be feeling pretty confident too. Mine wasn’t small or anything, just more in proportion to my overall size. I pushed my ass back a little, nothing too obvious, and yeah, Gabe was certainly a lot bigger than I’d given him credit for.
I wonder how big Mitch is.
While we were about the same height, his shoulders were wider, and his body was much bigger built than mine. Would his cock be the same too? I swallowed hard at the idea of him shoving his big fat cock forcefully down my throat, making me gag. The small groan the image brought out left my lips before I managed to stop the sound escaping, causing an instant frown from Mitch.
Shit .
“Your head that bad?”
“Yeah,” I replied, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. Thank God for my hangover.
“Don’t worry, the pills will kick in shortly.” He handed me the water for a second time. “Finish this and I’ll get you some more.” I did as he told me. “You want some painkillers too?” he asked Gabe without looking directly at him.
Strange…
Had I missed something while passed out last night, because before that, weren’t we all, finally, getting on well?
“God, yes.” Even when hungover, Gabe seemed more alive than me.
Mitch stood and I made sure not to look at the hefty bulge in his jeans…well, maybe a quick glance as he left for the kitchen, but no more.
Gabe dropped his head on the pillow, his hand contently wrapped around my waist, warm and heavy against me. I decided not to say anything, as I quite enjoyed having him there.
I flopped down on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning, but had to swiftly open them again to fix on the vaulted beam ceiling when the dizziness got out of control.
I groaned. “I’m never drinking again.”
“Until you do.”
“No, I’m done.” I turned to Gabe and realized how close our faces were to each other. His hair, messier than usual and without the product he used to tame it, gave him a softer, more tousled look. His sexy, day-old stubble was long enough for me to easily imagine the short hairs grazing along my shoulder as he nuzzled into my neck.
His eyes, half closed and sleepy, did crazy things to my heart, which he must be able to hear as the organ thumped so loud in my chest. Even rumpled, he was the most handsome and sophisticated man I’d ever met, which depressed me, and only confirmed how leagues apart we were. I was a washed-up lawyer forced to return to my hometown in order to pick up the smallest morsels of work, while he’d become a self-made millionaire, probably billionaire, and owner of a hugely successful construction company. Everything about him screamed money and success, while I barely whispered average.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked, lifting his arm from my waist to tap a couple of fingers on my forehead, his sleepiness gone, replaced by narrow-eyed focus.
“Nothing much, except thinking we should probably get up.”
His lips quirked and I wanted them to kiss me again, forcefully, not gentle like yesterday. “Really, that’s what you were thinking?”
I nodded a couple of times, not trusting myself to speak in case I incriminated myself further.
He raised himself on his elbow once more and looked down at me. I held my breath in anticipation as his gaze dropped briefly to my mouth and up again. “Because I suspect you were thinking something else entirely.”
A sound behind the sofa had me jerking my head up to see Mitch’s upside-down face glaring at me.
“Here,” he thrust the water and tablets at Gabe.
Again, shit.
Did he not approve of two men together? No, that can’t be it, as he hadn’t flinched while Gabe had his arm draped over me, though he had watched him a bit oddly. Crap, had something happened between them last night when I’d passed out? Is that why he’s so awkward around me now? Is he actually attracted to Gabe, after all, and I’m getting in the way?
I scrambled to sit up, knocking Gabe’s arm in the process, sending the glass tumbling onto my belly, and making me flinch when the cold water splattered everywhere.
“Christ, Leo,” Gabe moaned.
“I’m sorry.” Sitting up, I ripped off the T-shirt I’d been wearing and tried mopping up the mess, only succeeding in making things worse.
“Relax, okay?” Gabe said, trying to calm me. “It’s only water, it’ll dry.”
I wasn’t worried about the water, only Mitch. I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. I needed to get out of this room as fast as possible and leave them to it.
“I-I’ll go get ready.” Untangling my legs from the sheets, I scooted off the sofa bed and scurried out of the living area. Safely locked away in the bathroom, I leaned my forehead against the door, letting the cool wood soothe my hot face. I stood there for ages, trying to calm down, but Mitch’s glare was stuck on a loop at the forefront of my mind. Turning to the sink, I flicked on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face, before dragging my gaze up to stare at my reflection in the mirror. Jeez, I looked a mess. Puffy-cheeked and red-faced again, but now with the attractive addition of bloodshot eyes.
Fucking excellent.
No wonder I’d annoyed Mitch. What possible reason would someone as fucked up as me have to expect someone as put together as Gabe, to ever notice them? Mitch being big, broad, and muscular, with his sexy midlength beard, hairy forearms, and from the peeks I’d seen, likely a thick hairy chest, I was no competition. Add in his dedication to this place, and he’d prove to be the better option time and again. I had no chance with my career in tatters and begging for scraps from my stepdad. God, I sounded so juvenile. I may outwardly appear like an adult, but underneath the layers I’d cultivated since leaving home for university, I was still the same pathetic excuse for a kid looking for approval but never doing anything right.
Staring at my face, water dripping off my chin, the same deep-seated belief I’d never amount to anything, never achieve anything, swirled in my gut. Too under the thumb and squashed down to ever get away, to ever succeed at anything apart from being a loser.
Malcolm was right. I would screw this up, was screwing it up, precisely as he predicted. Once I left here, I’d be lucky to get any work at all by the time he’d finished trashing the remnants of my reputation.
The knock on the door made me jump, the sound far too loud.
“Leo?” Mitch.
“I won’t be long. I’m about to jump into the shower.” I hoped the fact I’d not run the water wouldn’t give away my lie. I needed to get away from here. Needed to take the punishment Malcolm would dish out for my failure and disappear into oblivion, leaving Mitch and Gabe to it.
“Open the door, Leo.”
No .
“Hey, you’re not seeing me naked like you did Gabe.” I tried to joke, but my reply fell flat, realizing he’d be exceedingly unlikely to ever want to see me naked. Period.
“Please, Leo.”
“I’ll be out shortly, okay?” No way would I let him in. I didn’t want to see the disdainful expression on his face or the look of disappointment in his eyes. I’d had enough of that to last me a lifetime.
He sighed loudly, but a few seconds later I heard him retreat, making me feel worse for some reason. He’d only done as I’d asked, so why did I feel as if I’d let him down? What the hell was wrong with me?
“Get a fucking grip,” I ordered my reflection in the mirror. Forcing myself into action, I brushed my teeth and tongue…yuck. Actually turning the shower on, I stepped into the tub, pulled the curtain, and slid under the hot water, letting the spray rain over my head and shoulders and wash away my depressing thoughts and the last of my dignity. I didn’t want to get out, feeling safely cocooned at the far end of the cabin, away from them both. I would have been perfectly happy to stay there all morning, but after embarrassing myself earlier, I refused to appear even more of a coward by not facing them, so reluctantly finished and dried off.
My underwear, soaking wet from the water spill, meant I had to wrap the towel around my waist and run the gauntlet past them both into the living room to get some clean clothes out of my weekend bag. Girding myself, I opened the bathroom door and stepped through the mud room into the kitchen. Both Mitch and Gabe were seated at the table and turned my way as I made my way through.
“Leo,” Mitch tried again.
“Can I use your bedroom?” I asked, ignoring him. “I need to get dressed.”
“Sure,” he replied. I didn’t wait and, refusing to look at either of them, disappeared out of the kitchen to grab my bag and retreat to Mitch’s bedroom.