Chapter 14
Shawn’s cousin Sage lived in a less than safe part of the city.
It was partly why Shawn didn’t see him much.
The other reason was that his cousin had been weird as hell after he was released from prison six months ago: he seemed depressed and distant, like he wasn’t even there.
At first Shawn attributed it to his aunt’s death—she had died while Sage was still in prison—but it didn’t seem to be the case.
Instead of getting better, his cousin seemed only more depressed as time went on.
Shawn was worried about him, of course, but truth be told, he had more pressing problems to think about and didn’t have time to visit his cousin.
But since he’d had to drop the kids at Mrs. Hawkins’s place before his night shift, Shawn decided to make a small detour and find out how Sage was doing.
His cousin greeted him with a grin. “Hey, come on in,” he said, opening the door wider.
It took Shawn a moment to recover from his surprise.
“You look good,” he said, patting him on the shoulder and entering the apartment.
Sage looked great actually; he’d always been the better-looking one out of the two of them.
They might share their moms’ blond hair and blue eyes, but that was where the similarities ended.
His cousin’s features were far more delicate—hell, downright exquisite.
If Christian had seen Sage, he would never call Shawn the princess anymore.
It actually made Shawn wonder, and not for the first time, whether something… had been done to his cousin in prison. If the rumors about what happened in prison were true, with a face like this…Shawn shuddered.
“How are the girls?” Sage asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.
“Good. I have the night shift tonight, so I just dropped them at their babysitter’s.”
Sage sat on the couch, cross-legged, and patted the place next to him.
Removing his jacket, Shawn took the seat. “I can’t really stay,” he said, glancing at his watch. “Or I’ll be late for work. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing—”
The door opened and a man walked into the apartment.
Seeing Shawn, he stopped and stared.
Shawn stared back. The man was tall and pretty handsome, clearly of Hispanic descent.
“Who is that?” the guy asked.
“It’s my cousin, Shawn,” Sage said, rather defensively. “Shawn, this is Xavier.”
Shawn waited for an explanation, but there was none.
But when Xavier walked over, tipped Sage’s head up and kissed him, no explanations were needed anymore.
The kiss went on and on, and Shawn could only stare. He’d been pretty sure Sage was completely straight.
Well, apparently not.
His cousin actually moaned, and Shawn looked away, beyond uncomfortable. He stood up and cleared his throat. “Um, I’d better go.” He chuckled. “You’re clearly fine.”
Behind him, the kissing stopped.
“Look,” Sage said, sounding embarrassed. “I—”
“You don’t have to explain anything,” Shawn said quickly and headed to the door. “I’ll go.”
“Wait,” Sage said. “It’s dark already. It’s not safe to walk alone around here. Xavier will drive you home.”
“I will?” Xavier murmured.
“No, it really isn’t necessary—”
“He will,” Sage said.
“I guess I will,” Xavier said. He gave Sage a short, hard kiss. “You’d better be naked and ready when I’m back, Blue Eyes.”
Flushing, Sage pushed Xavier to the door. “I’ll come over next week,” he told Shawn. “I haven’t seen the girls in ages.”
Shawn nodded and put on his jacket.
Xavier moved past him. “Let’s go. What was your name again?”
“Shawn,” he said, not sure how to talk to the guy.
“Where do you live?”
Shawn told him, and Xavier led him to a very old, rusty Ford Pinto. Shawn looked at it warily. “Are you sure this thing is safe?”
“No,” the guy said, getting in the driver’s seat.
“That’s… not very reassuring.”
“Did you want me to lie?” Xavier said with a hint of impatience, clearly eager to get it over with and go back to his cousin.
Shawn got in the car, and they took off.
“There’s no seatbelt,” Shawn muttered. “Why am I not surprised?”
Xavier didn’t deign to reply.
“So,” Shawn said after a while. “Are you my cousin’s boyfriend or something?”
“Or something,” Xavier said.
“I thought he was straight.”
Xavier just laughed, as though he had said something funny.
“But I’m glad he has someone, you know,” Shawn said. “I was worried about him. He was depressed after he got out of prison.”
“Really?” Xavier murmured.
“Yeah. I hope I’m wrong, but I think… I think someone did something to him in prison.”
“You’re not wrong: I did.”
Shawn opened his mouth and closed it without saying a word. He digested the information for a few moments. “You’re an ex-convict?”
“Yep.”
Great. He was in a rusty Ford Pinto, without a seatbelt on, and with an ex-convict at the wheel.
“What were you in prison for?”
“Killed eight people at a mall.”
Shawn snorted a laugh. “You don’t actually expect me to believe that, do you?”
“Your cousin did, for a long time.”
Shawn smiled, shaking his head. Sage was a bit naive. Even though he was younger than his cousin, Shawn often felt like he was the older one. “So what did you really do?”
“Manslaughter. Got drunk, got into a bar fight, someone died.”
A shiver of unease ran down Shawn’s spine. He couldn’t imagine what this guy and Sage had in common, but his cousin was clearly happy. That was the important thing, wasn’t it?
They were quiet for the rest of the drive.
“Thanks,” Shawn said when the car finally stopped in front of his building. To his surprise, Xavier got out, as well. Shawn chuckled. “No one will attack me here. You don’t have to—”
“Sage told me to get you home. I’ll get you home.” Xavier was looking over Shawn’s shoulder. “Someone’s watching us. You know that guy?”
Shawn turned around and froze. Rutledge got out of his Mercedes and strode toward them.
“Yeah, I know him,” Shawn said.
“He looks pissed,” Xavier murmured.
Shawn let out a laugh. “He pretty much always looks pissed.” He cringed—it came out almost affectionate—and Xavier shot him a sharp, assessing look.
Rutledge came to a halt.
“Hey,” Shawn said, unsure.
Rutledge gave him the glare he’d been giving him the entire week before looking at Xavier with such a look of disdain that it would make anyone feel two inches tall. “Who is that?”
Xavier seemed unfazed, even amused.
“Xavier Otero,” he said with a nice smile, stepping closer to Shawn and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I was just giving Shawn a ride.” Shawn inhaled sharply at the dirty undertone in his voice.
Rutledge clearly didn’t miss it, either. His shoulders tensed up and his gaze raked over Shawn, as if looking for evidence, before shifting to Xavier’s car. A sneer twisted his lips. “I hope the ride was comfortable.”
Xavier’s eyes flickered to Rutledge’s Mercedes. He shrugged lazily. “I don’t need a flashy car for that.”
“Nicely done, guys, that wasn’t passive-aggressive at all,” Shawn said, suppressing the urge to facepalm. He looked at Xavier. “Don’t take it personally—he’s nasty to everyone. And you”—Shawn looked at Rutledge—“tone it down a bit. He’s an ex-convict, not your student.”
“He’s a criminal?” In a blink of an eye, Shawn was yanked away from Xavier and pushed behind Rutledge’s back.
“Hey! Are you out of—”
“Get in your car and drive away,” Rutledge told Xavier. “Stay away from him or I’ll make sure you’ll be back in your cell in no time.”
Xavier narrowed his eyes, his amusement gone. “You think you can threaten me?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Shawn stepped between the two men, putting a hand on Rutledge’s chest. He glared at them. Arrogant idiots. “You.” He looked at Xavier. “Thanks for the ride, but please go home and fuck my cousin. No one’s threatening you—it’s just Rutledge’s charming personality. Go.”
Xavier nodded stiffly, climbed into his car and started it.
When the car disappeared out of sight, Shawn turned to Rutledge. “And you. What happened to jealousy being ‘for men with small dicks and low self-esteem?’”
“Nothing,” Rutledge said testily. “Are you stupid? Do you know what criminals like him do to pretty boys like you in prison? Men like him aren’t used to asking.”
Shawn chuckled. “Are you worried for me? I’m touched. Careful, or I’ll start thinking you actually give a damn.”
Rutledge glowered at him but said nothing.
“What are you even doing here?” Shawn asked. Belatedly, he realized his hand was still on Rutledge’s chest and was stroking it. Quickly, he removed it and shoved it into the pocket of his jacket. He glanced at Rutledge’s car. “Wait, were you waiting for me?”
“Yes.”
“Why? You could have called if you wanted to talk. You have my number.”
“I don’t. I erased it.”
Shawn’s eyebrows flew up. “Why? Did it bother you?”
A muscle twitched at Rutledge’s temple. “Because I had no need for it.”
“Then why are you here?”
Rutledge’s lips pressed together, his eyes boring into Shawn. “I’m here to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Yes, to warn you. Your performance in my class continues to be terrible—”
“Because you’ve been absolutely brutal!”
“—so don’t expect me to pass you only because of your pretty face, and lips, and eyes, and—” Rutledge cut himself off and glared at Shawn, as if it was his fault he’d just said what he said. “My point is, you won’t get special treatment, Wyatt.”
Shawn leaned toward his lips and whispered harshly, “And you came all the way here just to tell me that? I call bullshit.”
Their breathing mixed, both swift and strained, the only sound in Shawn’s ears.
Christ, Shawn couldn’t stand it anymore. He was trembling, aching—
When Rutledge crushed their lips together, the first thing Shawn felt was relief. God, finally. And then everything else faded away; there were big hands on his nape, a firm body against his, and lips, hot and searing—so good—and Shawn was moaning, trying to kiss him harder, take him deeper.
He had no idea how much time had passed when his cell phone went off in the pocket of his jacket.
With a sigh of frustration, Shawn tore his lips away and answered it.
“Yeah?” he managed, fingers clenched in Rutledge’s sweater as the man kissed his face and his neck. God, his lips seemed to burn Shawn’s skin.
“Where the hell are you?” Bill, the manager of the restaurant. Fuck. “You’re almost late for your shift!”
“Sorry, give me fifteen minutes—”
“Five!” Bill hung up.
Shawn pushed Rutledge away. “Need to go. I’m late for work.”
He walked away quickly, his legs still weak and his body aching with want.
“Idiot,” he muttered. He should have told Xavier to take him straight to work.
Hell, he shouldn’t have gone to Sage’s place at all after he’d dropped the twins at Mrs. Hawkins’s.
And he definitely shouldn’t have spent minutes sucking Rutledge’s tongue.
Tires screeched and a familiar Mercedes pulled up beside him. The car door flew open.
“Get in,” Rutledge said. “I’ll give you a ride.”
Shawn hesitated, but what the hell. He really was running late. Pointless stubbornness was stupid.
He got in and told Rutledge the address of the restaurant. Sometimes he got assigned to the restaurant at the other end of the city, but luckily for Shawn, tonight it was the one close to his place.
Neither of them spoke during the short drive. Shawn leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes as he fought for control.
Thankfully, it only took about five minutes to reach the restaurant.
“Thanks,” Shawn muttered, without looking at the other man, and opened the door.
Rutledge caught his arm.
Shawn took a shaky breath before turning to Rutledge.
Dark eyes looked at him grimly.
“Okay,” Shawn said. “But this is the last time, got it?”
He leaned toward Rutledge, buried his fingers in his hair and gave him a deep, wet kiss. Rutledge accepted the kiss passively, but Shawn could feel his body vibrate with tension, and it made Shawn achingly hard.
The cell phone went off again.
Sighing, Shawn pulled away and whispered, “This is stupid. We both know it.” He wiped his lips. “Let’s just pretended this never happened, okay?”
Rutledge said nothing—just looked at Shawn with dark, hungry eyes.
And god, Shawn wanted to kiss him again. Badly.
Swearing through his teeth, he practically jumped out of the car.