Textual confusion, p.18
Textual Confusion, page 18
“What’s wrong?” he asked sweetly.
It was almost comical the way Markus immediately softened. “Nothing, honey. Here, you like this? Want to keep playing with it?” He gestured to his watch before beginning to unclasp it from his wrist.
Asher nodded eagerly, offering a sweet “thank you” when Markus strapped it to his wrist.
“Did you just give him your fucking Rolex?” Sasha asked, who’d been watching the scene in silent disbelief. “You know what? I take back what I said. You’re clearly whipped as fuck.”
After making sure Asher was once again distracted by the watch, Markus shot her an unimpressed look. “Who hurt him?” he demanded, apparently unwilling to be distracted from the topic at hand.
“It’s not my story to tell,” Sasha said.
“That’s not good enough.”
Sasha pursed her lips. “Look, it’s obvious to me that you care about him, but that shit is personal. The only reason I told you he’s been hurt at all is because I wanted to scare you away.”
Markus scowled. “What? Why?”
“Because I thought that this thing between you was just a business arrangement in your eyes, and while Asher likes to pretend he can do things like continuously sleep with the same man without letting feelings get involved, I’m not so sure he can. He feels things with his whole heart.” Sasha paused. “I was going to tell you to end things if you couldn’t deal with that… but I don’t think I have to worry about you breaking his heart, after all, do I?”
A tension-filled pause.
“No.”
Sasha smiled, the expression much more genuine than the first grin she’d offered the man. “Then I think we’ll get along just fine.” She released Asher to turn around and yell at someone on the other side of the bar. “Danny! Grow a pair and come say hi to your boss!”
Danny’s gait was somehow both reluctant and harried as he rushed over.
“Danny!” Asher greeted excitedly.
“Uh, hey, Asher,” he replied awkwardly. “Mr. Kingston.” He bowed. “It’s, um, surprising to see you here.”
“I can imagine, considering the way you had yourself plastered all over Asher on the dance floor earlier.”
Danny’s face reddened. “We’re just friends! More like brothers, really! And did I mention I’m straight?” He curled a desperate arm around Sasha’s waist and pulled her to his side. “This is my girlfriend, Sasha.”
“We’re acquainted,” Markus offered blandly. “And I’ve never seen anyone dance with their brother like that before.”
“I-I don’t-” Danny stuttered.
Sasha snorted. “As entertaining as this is, Danny and Asher really are like brothers. And as Danny’s girlfriend, I politely request that you do not tear off his dick and feed it to him.”
“What?!” Danny all but shrieked.
“No promises,” Markus said, straight-faced, and Danny looked horrified.
It made Asher upset. He took Markus’s hand. “Please don’t hurt him,” he begged.
“Of course not, sweetheart.”
Danny’s jaw slackened and he gaped at the pair for a solid few seconds before turning to Sasha. “Is this really happening right now?”
Sasha nodded, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I know. Totally whipped, right?”
Markus glared at them, and Danny immediately came to his boss’s defense. “O-of course not! He’s just, you know-”
“Unreasonably accommodating to Asher’s every whim?” Sasha suggested.
“I wouldn’t say that, per se-”
Asher yawned. He had tuned out of the conversation happening around him a while ago, and he had no idea what they were talking about, but his friends’ antics were starting to give him a headache.
He sighed, slouching sideways and resting his forehead against Markus’s broad chest. “I’m tired,” he mumbled.
“Want to go home?” Markus asked.
Asher nodded.
“I’m taking Asher home,” Markus announced, disrupting whatever petty squabble Danny and Sasha were having and helping Asher stand.
“You mean to his apartment?” Sasha asked.
“I mean to my apartment.”
Sasha pursed her lips and looked the man up and down, analyzing. “Okay. But if I find out you touched him without his explicit consent, which, by the way, drunk people can’t give, I’ll make good on that whole macho make-you-eat-your-own-dick thing.” A pause. “And I’ll make sure your mother’s watching, too,” she tacked on.
“Sasha,” Danny hissed, staring at his girlfriend with wide eyes. “You can’t just say stuff like that. Apologize, please-”
Markus held up a hand and Danny immediately snapped his mouth shut. But Markus wasn’t even looking at Danny, he was focused on Sasha.
“The only reason I’ve put up with your shenanigans so far is because I’m thankful that Asher has such a good friend who looks out for him. But don’t mistake my appreciation for leniency. You ever imply that I would hurt Asher that way again, and any tolerance I’ve shown you thus far will be gone.”
Drunk as he was, even Asher could feel the tension emulating between the two. But just as soon as it’d come, it disappeared. Sasha seemed approving even as she nodded. “Okay,” she agreed easily enough before turning to Asher and pulling him into a tight embrace. “I like this one,” she whispered into his ear before releasing him.
After saying their goodbyes, Markus curled a supportive arm around Asher’s waist and half-walked/half-dragged him out of the club. He vaguely recognized the man’s driver when he hurried out of the vehicle to greet them. “Sirs!”
Asher offered him a dopey wave. “Nigel, I like-” hiccup “-your tattoo,” he said, pointing to the snake peeking above his collar. “And snakes.” A pause. “And cocks.”
He’s not sure why that was related, but it was.
Nigel blinked in shock before glancing nervously in Markus’s direction. Then he paled. Instead of responding to Asher’s oversharing, he quickly opened the door for the pair.
Which was great.
Except that Asher was currently clinging to Markus like a koala baby clung to its mother, and he didn’t want to let go. Thankfully, it only took a little whining when Markus attempted to get Asher to release him for the man to give in and essentially carry Asher into the car.
Asher ended up perched on Markus’s lap, nuzzling his face into the man’s neck as Nigel started the car. He couldn’t help but notice how good the man smelled. If pressed to describe it, Asher would say it was sandalwood, with a hint of amber. And something under that too – something salty that screamed man. It made Asher feel dizzier than even the alcohol had.
“You smell so good,” he mumbled, having lost his filter long ago. He buried his nose into the juncture of the man’s neck and shoulder to get a better whiff. “Makes me want to lick you.”
So that’s what Asher did. He pressed his tongue flat against the man’s jugular and licked a long stripe up his neck.
Markus stiffened beneath him, immediately prying Asher’s face away from his neck. “That’s enough of that now, baby.” He reached across the spacious back seat to pull a latch Asher hadn’t noticed the last time he’d been in the man’s car. “Here,” he said, reaching into the frickin’ cooler that had been revealed and pulling out a bottle of water. He pressed it into Asher’s hand. “Drink some water.”
After going on about how awesome Markus’s car was for an entire five minutes, Markus finally convinced Asher to take a few sips. But only if Markus held the bottle for him as he drank.
“You’re spoiled rotten,” the man complained, but the affection in his voice gave him away. When he finally drank enough water to appease him, he allowed Asher to curl back up onto his lap, but with strict instructions of no licking.
Apparently, wiggling wasn’t allowed either, because after a few minutes of him constantly shifting, Markus placed his hands on Asher’s hips, holding him still. “Enough.”
He seemed… tense.
Asher frowned. “Are you mad at me?” he asked.
Several emotions flashed through Markus’s eyes at that, but Asher doubted he’d have been able to name them even if he was sober.
“Why would I be mad?”
Sober Asher would probably have some ideas. For getting so drunk. For acting ridiculous. For being so sensitive and clingy and annoying when the extent of their relationship revolved around a business contract obliging Asher to be at Markus’s beck and call for sex.
Drunk Asher wasn’t so thoughtful. Or eloquent.
“I dunno.”
“No, I’m not mad.”
“Oh. Good.” Asher laid his head down on Markus’s chest. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Fingers carded soothingly through Asher’s hair, making him drowsy. Everything felt suddenly heavy. He didn’t think he could lift his head if he tried. Even his eyelids felt like weights had been glued to them.
Eventually, it became too much work to keep his eyes open, and it didn’t take long after that for the sound of Markus’s heart beating beneath his ear to lull Asher to sleep.
He never even heard Markus’s response.
“I’m glad I’m here, too.”
CHAPTER TEN
THE PERSON YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH IS UNAVAILABLE.
Asher woke up with a pounding headache, and a furnace pressed against his back.
Still half-asleep, Asher reached blindly behind himself and prodded at the sweltering heater that had somehow wrapped itself around him.
Since when did furnaces have arms? And why was it so… fleshy?
Asher’s eyes snapped open. Oh God. His heart was running a marathon in his chest as he fought back the urge to completely freak out.
He must have slept with someone last night – someone from the club.
As unlikely as it seemed, Asher had never had a one night stand before, let alone one he couldn’t remember, and he had no idea what to do. What was the proper etiquette for something like this? Sweat stuck to his skin and his mouth felt like an animal had died in it. Was he allowed to shower before he left? Or should he just try to sneak out? Was that considered rude?
Asher was so busy panicking that he didn’t even realize that he didn’t feel the telltale soreness that came after a night spent having sex. Or that the room he’d woken up in was familiar.
“I can practically hear you overthinking,” a voice, thick with sleep, mumbled from behind him, making Asher stiffen.
At least until his brain finally kick-started and he realized he recognized the voice.
“Markus?”
The arm draped around his middle tightened. “Who else would it be?” he asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“No one!” Asher practically shouted in his haste to assure the man. “I’ve never even had a one night stand before.” Why did he think it was a good idea to share that? If Markus didn’t already think he was some pathetic, inexperienced loser, he definitely did now. “I was just… confused,” he decided on eventually.
“Probably all the tequila you had last night.”
Asher cleared his throat, embarrassed. “Yeah.”
They laid in silence for a few minutes before Asher finally gathered enough courage to turn around and face the man. When he did, he almost wished he hadn’t. Because it just wasn’t fair that Markus was somehow even more attractive when he was fresh out of sleep, hair artfully mused and eyes puffy.
Asher could only imagine how he looked in comparison, dried drool at the corner of his mouth and pillow case creases pressed into his cheek. (That’s what he usually saw when he rolled out of bed in the morning and looked in the bathroom mirror.)
Asher found it difficult to care about how he looked, however, when Markus wasn’t wearing a shirt. So much skin was on display, and it took all of Asher’s willpower not to ogle. Desperately searching for something to talk about so that he wouldn’t stare at the man’s dusky nipples, Asher went with the obvious.
“So… how did I get here, exactly?”
Markus frowned. “Don’t you remember?”
“I remembering being at The Hoy Grail. Sasha bought a lot of shots before dragging me and Danny out on the dance floor. Then-”
Then some frat boy attempted to buy you a drink before Markus arrived and chased him off.
That single thought was just the tip of the iceberg, the first sign of catastrophe as all of Asher’s memories of last night came flooding back to him.
All the embarrassing things he’d said and done replayed in his mind with crystal clear clarity. All the embarrassing things Sasha had said and done, too. (He couldn’t believe she’d sent Markus that picture!)
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, but one that had already happened, so you could do absolutely nothing to stop it, just sit and stew silently in your own mortification.
Why couldn’t Asher be one of those drunks that forgot all the humiliating things they did when they were inebriated?
“And then?” Markus pressed, tearing him from his thoughts.
“Sorry,” Asher blurted. “I was just contemplating the merits of fleeing the country and starting over somewhere new. I’m terrible at Spanish, so Mexico is out, but I hear Canada’s nice this time of year.”
Markus snorted. “It’s literally a frozen tundra right now. And you don’t have to be embarrassed. I thought you were cute.”
“I licked you,” Asher pointed out, as if Markus had somehow forgotten. Which was dumb, because if the fact that Asher had tongued his neck like a dog had somehow escaped Markus’s mind, the man certainly remembered the incident now.
“You also told my driver you like cocks.”
Asher covered his reddening face with his hands. “Oh God. How quickly do you think I could get a passport?”
Markus pried Asher’s hands away from his face, forcing him to meet his eyes. “You really think I’d let you get away that easily?”
Yeah, comments like that were not helping with all the blushing.
“Seriously, I’m so sorry. Sasha never should have sent you that picture last night. I’m sure you had better things to do than put up with me and my stupid bullshit-”
“I’m glad she sent it to me,” Markus interrupted before Asher could disparage himself further. He took Asher by the chin. “And if you call yourself stupid again, we’re going to have to talk about punishment, okay?”
Asher bit his lip. “You mean, like… spankings?”
“Mm-hm,” Markus hummed in agreement, leaning in until their noses nearly touched, until Asher could count the man’s eyelashes if he wanted. “When I got that text last night, you have no idea the urge I had to find you and bend you over my lap. I wanted to spank your ass cheeks red right then and there. Show everyone in that club who you belonged to.”
Asher swallowed audibly, praying that Markus couldn’t feel the way his cock twitched and began to harden at his words. “’M sorry.”
Markus shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t send it to me. I know that now.” Markus ran calloused fingers down Asher’s arm, causing goosebumps to break out on his skin. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to fuck you raw right in front of that friend of yours, though. The one you were dancing with. The same one who was referring to you as his date at the gala. Danny Volesky, tenth floor accountant.” A pause. “Tell me right now that he’s just a friend, and I’ll never bring it up again.”
“Danny’s like a brother,” Asher immediately assured. Even if the conversation between Markus and his friends last night was mostly a blur, one thing he recalled was how nervous Danny had been acting around his boss. “I swear.”
Markus stared hard into Asher’s eyes for a long moment before finally nodding, relaxing against the sheets. “Okay.”
Asher blinked. “You mean… you believe me?”
Markus raised his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, before frowning. “Has someone not believed you before?”
Asher shook his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he immediately deflected.
“It does to me,” Markus refuted.
Asher worried his bottom lip between his teeth, wondering what, if anything, he should say about his ex, Trent. “My last boyfriend just had some… issues with how close I was to my friends,” he decided on finally.
“What kind of issues?”
Clearly, Markus wasn’t about to let this go, so Asher sighed. “He accused me of cheating on him with Danny and Sasha,” he revealed. “I mean, I don’t even like women like that, and I’ve known Danny since I was a kid. The thought of being with either of them in that way makes me want to gag.”
“Sounds like your ex, whoever he was, was an insecure manchild,” Markus said bluntly.
Asher shrugged. “Maybe. I think he was probably just projecting, since it turns out that he was the one cheating on me.”
Markus tensed, the arm wrapped around Asher noticeably tightening.
“What sort of braindead moron would ever cheat on you?”
Asher picked nervously at his cuticles, refusing to meet the man’s eyes. “He said since he was bisexual that it was unrealistic for me to expect him to stay away from pussy for the rest of his life. Basically implied since it wasn’t another man he was cheating with, it wasn’t cheating at all.”
“What?” Markus deadpanned, voice toneless. But Asher wasn’t an idiot. He could tell the man was steaming.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I hope you didn’t buy that absolute load of bullshit.”
Asher shook his head. “No, I left him the same night I caught him. It wasn’t easy, though,” he admitted. “We lived together, and our apartment was under his name, so I had to move in with Danny and Sasha for a while before I could get my own place. Luckily, I had enough money saved up to find an apartment pretty quickly. All the furniture and appliances and stuff belonged to him, though, so I’m still in the process of furnishing everything…”
Asher wasn’t sure why he was sharing all of this with Markus. He hated talking about his ex, even with his friends. But now that he’d started, it was like he couldn’t stop.
It was almost comical the way Markus immediately softened. “Nothing, honey. Here, you like this? Want to keep playing with it?” He gestured to his watch before beginning to unclasp it from his wrist.
Asher nodded eagerly, offering a sweet “thank you” when Markus strapped it to his wrist.
“Did you just give him your fucking Rolex?” Sasha asked, who’d been watching the scene in silent disbelief. “You know what? I take back what I said. You’re clearly whipped as fuck.”
After making sure Asher was once again distracted by the watch, Markus shot her an unimpressed look. “Who hurt him?” he demanded, apparently unwilling to be distracted from the topic at hand.
“It’s not my story to tell,” Sasha said.
“That’s not good enough.”
Sasha pursed her lips. “Look, it’s obvious to me that you care about him, but that shit is personal. The only reason I told you he’s been hurt at all is because I wanted to scare you away.”
Markus scowled. “What? Why?”
“Because I thought that this thing between you was just a business arrangement in your eyes, and while Asher likes to pretend he can do things like continuously sleep with the same man without letting feelings get involved, I’m not so sure he can. He feels things with his whole heart.” Sasha paused. “I was going to tell you to end things if you couldn’t deal with that… but I don’t think I have to worry about you breaking his heart, after all, do I?”
A tension-filled pause.
“No.”
Sasha smiled, the expression much more genuine than the first grin she’d offered the man. “Then I think we’ll get along just fine.” She released Asher to turn around and yell at someone on the other side of the bar. “Danny! Grow a pair and come say hi to your boss!”
Danny’s gait was somehow both reluctant and harried as he rushed over.
“Danny!” Asher greeted excitedly.
“Uh, hey, Asher,” he replied awkwardly. “Mr. Kingston.” He bowed. “It’s, um, surprising to see you here.”
“I can imagine, considering the way you had yourself plastered all over Asher on the dance floor earlier.”
Danny’s face reddened. “We’re just friends! More like brothers, really! And did I mention I’m straight?” He curled a desperate arm around Sasha’s waist and pulled her to his side. “This is my girlfriend, Sasha.”
“We’re acquainted,” Markus offered blandly. “And I’ve never seen anyone dance with their brother like that before.”
“I-I don’t-” Danny stuttered.
Sasha snorted. “As entertaining as this is, Danny and Asher really are like brothers. And as Danny’s girlfriend, I politely request that you do not tear off his dick and feed it to him.”
“What?!” Danny all but shrieked.
“No promises,” Markus said, straight-faced, and Danny looked horrified.
It made Asher upset. He took Markus’s hand. “Please don’t hurt him,” he begged.
“Of course not, sweetheart.”
Danny’s jaw slackened and he gaped at the pair for a solid few seconds before turning to Sasha. “Is this really happening right now?”
Sasha nodded, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I know. Totally whipped, right?”
Markus glared at them, and Danny immediately came to his boss’s defense. “O-of course not! He’s just, you know-”
“Unreasonably accommodating to Asher’s every whim?” Sasha suggested.
“I wouldn’t say that, per se-”
Asher yawned. He had tuned out of the conversation happening around him a while ago, and he had no idea what they were talking about, but his friends’ antics were starting to give him a headache.
He sighed, slouching sideways and resting his forehead against Markus’s broad chest. “I’m tired,” he mumbled.
“Want to go home?” Markus asked.
Asher nodded.
“I’m taking Asher home,” Markus announced, disrupting whatever petty squabble Danny and Sasha were having and helping Asher stand.
“You mean to his apartment?” Sasha asked.
“I mean to my apartment.”
Sasha pursed her lips and looked the man up and down, analyzing. “Okay. But if I find out you touched him without his explicit consent, which, by the way, drunk people can’t give, I’ll make good on that whole macho make-you-eat-your-own-dick thing.” A pause. “And I’ll make sure your mother’s watching, too,” she tacked on.
“Sasha,” Danny hissed, staring at his girlfriend with wide eyes. “You can’t just say stuff like that. Apologize, please-”
Markus held up a hand and Danny immediately snapped his mouth shut. But Markus wasn’t even looking at Danny, he was focused on Sasha.
“The only reason I’ve put up with your shenanigans so far is because I’m thankful that Asher has such a good friend who looks out for him. But don’t mistake my appreciation for leniency. You ever imply that I would hurt Asher that way again, and any tolerance I’ve shown you thus far will be gone.”
Drunk as he was, even Asher could feel the tension emulating between the two. But just as soon as it’d come, it disappeared. Sasha seemed approving even as she nodded. “Okay,” she agreed easily enough before turning to Asher and pulling him into a tight embrace. “I like this one,” she whispered into his ear before releasing him.
After saying their goodbyes, Markus curled a supportive arm around Asher’s waist and half-walked/half-dragged him out of the club. He vaguely recognized the man’s driver when he hurried out of the vehicle to greet them. “Sirs!”
Asher offered him a dopey wave. “Nigel, I like-” hiccup “-your tattoo,” he said, pointing to the snake peeking above his collar. “And snakes.” A pause. “And cocks.”
He’s not sure why that was related, but it was.
Nigel blinked in shock before glancing nervously in Markus’s direction. Then he paled. Instead of responding to Asher’s oversharing, he quickly opened the door for the pair.
Which was great.
Except that Asher was currently clinging to Markus like a koala baby clung to its mother, and he didn’t want to let go. Thankfully, it only took a little whining when Markus attempted to get Asher to release him for the man to give in and essentially carry Asher into the car.
Asher ended up perched on Markus’s lap, nuzzling his face into the man’s neck as Nigel started the car. He couldn’t help but notice how good the man smelled. If pressed to describe it, Asher would say it was sandalwood, with a hint of amber. And something under that too – something salty that screamed man. It made Asher feel dizzier than even the alcohol had.
“You smell so good,” he mumbled, having lost his filter long ago. He buried his nose into the juncture of the man’s neck and shoulder to get a better whiff. “Makes me want to lick you.”
So that’s what Asher did. He pressed his tongue flat against the man’s jugular and licked a long stripe up his neck.
Markus stiffened beneath him, immediately prying Asher’s face away from his neck. “That’s enough of that now, baby.” He reached across the spacious back seat to pull a latch Asher hadn’t noticed the last time he’d been in the man’s car. “Here,” he said, reaching into the frickin’ cooler that had been revealed and pulling out a bottle of water. He pressed it into Asher’s hand. “Drink some water.”
After going on about how awesome Markus’s car was for an entire five minutes, Markus finally convinced Asher to take a few sips. But only if Markus held the bottle for him as he drank.
“You’re spoiled rotten,” the man complained, but the affection in his voice gave him away. When he finally drank enough water to appease him, he allowed Asher to curl back up onto his lap, but with strict instructions of no licking.
Apparently, wiggling wasn’t allowed either, because after a few minutes of him constantly shifting, Markus placed his hands on Asher’s hips, holding him still. “Enough.”
He seemed… tense.
Asher frowned. “Are you mad at me?” he asked.
Several emotions flashed through Markus’s eyes at that, but Asher doubted he’d have been able to name them even if he was sober.
“Why would I be mad?”
Sober Asher would probably have some ideas. For getting so drunk. For acting ridiculous. For being so sensitive and clingy and annoying when the extent of their relationship revolved around a business contract obliging Asher to be at Markus’s beck and call for sex.
Drunk Asher wasn’t so thoughtful. Or eloquent.
“I dunno.”
“No, I’m not mad.”
“Oh. Good.” Asher laid his head down on Markus’s chest. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Fingers carded soothingly through Asher’s hair, making him drowsy. Everything felt suddenly heavy. He didn’t think he could lift his head if he tried. Even his eyelids felt like weights had been glued to them.
Eventually, it became too much work to keep his eyes open, and it didn’t take long after that for the sound of Markus’s heart beating beneath his ear to lull Asher to sleep.
He never even heard Markus’s response.
“I’m glad I’m here, too.”
CHAPTER TEN
THE PERSON YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH IS UNAVAILABLE.
Asher woke up with a pounding headache, and a furnace pressed against his back.
Still half-asleep, Asher reached blindly behind himself and prodded at the sweltering heater that had somehow wrapped itself around him.
Since when did furnaces have arms? And why was it so… fleshy?
Asher’s eyes snapped open. Oh God. His heart was running a marathon in his chest as he fought back the urge to completely freak out.
He must have slept with someone last night – someone from the club.
As unlikely as it seemed, Asher had never had a one night stand before, let alone one he couldn’t remember, and he had no idea what to do. What was the proper etiquette for something like this? Sweat stuck to his skin and his mouth felt like an animal had died in it. Was he allowed to shower before he left? Or should he just try to sneak out? Was that considered rude?
Asher was so busy panicking that he didn’t even realize that he didn’t feel the telltale soreness that came after a night spent having sex. Or that the room he’d woken up in was familiar.
“I can practically hear you overthinking,” a voice, thick with sleep, mumbled from behind him, making Asher stiffen.
At least until his brain finally kick-started and he realized he recognized the voice.
“Markus?”
The arm draped around his middle tightened. “Who else would it be?” he asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“No one!” Asher practically shouted in his haste to assure the man. “I’ve never even had a one night stand before.” Why did he think it was a good idea to share that? If Markus didn’t already think he was some pathetic, inexperienced loser, he definitely did now. “I was just… confused,” he decided on eventually.
“Probably all the tequila you had last night.”
Asher cleared his throat, embarrassed. “Yeah.”
They laid in silence for a few minutes before Asher finally gathered enough courage to turn around and face the man. When he did, he almost wished he hadn’t. Because it just wasn’t fair that Markus was somehow even more attractive when he was fresh out of sleep, hair artfully mused and eyes puffy.
Asher could only imagine how he looked in comparison, dried drool at the corner of his mouth and pillow case creases pressed into his cheek. (That’s what he usually saw when he rolled out of bed in the morning and looked in the bathroom mirror.)
Asher found it difficult to care about how he looked, however, when Markus wasn’t wearing a shirt. So much skin was on display, and it took all of Asher’s willpower not to ogle. Desperately searching for something to talk about so that he wouldn’t stare at the man’s dusky nipples, Asher went with the obvious.
“So… how did I get here, exactly?”
Markus frowned. “Don’t you remember?”
“I remembering being at The Hoy Grail. Sasha bought a lot of shots before dragging me and Danny out on the dance floor. Then-”
Then some frat boy attempted to buy you a drink before Markus arrived and chased him off.
That single thought was just the tip of the iceberg, the first sign of catastrophe as all of Asher’s memories of last night came flooding back to him.
All the embarrassing things he’d said and done replayed in his mind with crystal clear clarity. All the embarrassing things Sasha had said and done, too. (He couldn’t believe she’d sent Markus that picture!)
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, but one that had already happened, so you could do absolutely nothing to stop it, just sit and stew silently in your own mortification.
Why couldn’t Asher be one of those drunks that forgot all the humiliating things they did when they were inebriated?
“And then?” Markus pressed, tearing him from his thoughts.
“Sorry,” Asher blurted. “I was just contemplating the merits of fleeing the country and starting over somewhere new. I’m terrible at Spanish, so Mexico is out, but I hear Canada’s nice this time of year.”
Markus snorted. “It’s literally a frozen tundra right now. And you don’t have to be embarrassed. I thought you were cute.”
“I licked you,” Asher pointed out, as if Markus had somehow forgotten. Which was dumb, because if the fact that Asher had tongued his neck like a dog had somehow escaped Markus’s mind, the man certainly remembered the incident now.
“You also told my driver you like cocks.”
Asher covered his reddening face with his hands. “Oh God. How quickly do you think I could get a passport?”
Markus pried Asher’s hands away from his face, forcing him to meet his eyes. “You really think I’d let you get away that easily?”
Yeah, comments like that were not helping with all the blushing.
“Seriously, I’m so sorry. Sasha never should have sent you that picture last night. I’m sure you had better things to do than put up with me and my stupid bullshit-”
“I’m glad she sent it to me,” Markus interrupted before Asher could disparage himself further. He took Asher by the chin. “And if you call yourself stupid again, we’re going to have to talk about punishment, okay?”
Asher bit his lip. “You mean, like… spankings?”
“Mm-hm,” Markus hummed in agreement, leaning in until their noses nearly touched, until Asher could count the man’s eyelashes if he wanted. “When I got that text last night, you have no idea the urge I had to find you and bend you over my lap. I wanted to spank your ass cheeks red right then and there. Show everyone in that club who you belonged to.”
Asher swallowed audibly, praying that Markus couldn’t feel the way his cock twitched and began to harden at his words. “’M sorry.”
Markus shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t send it to me. I know that now.” Markus ran calloused fingers down Asher’s arm, causing goosebumps to break out on his skin. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to fuck you raw right in front of that friend of yours, though. The one you were dancing with. The same one who was referring to you as his date at the gala. Danny Volesky, tenth floor accountant.” A pause. “Tell me right now that he’s just a friend, and I’ll never bring it up again.”
“Danny’s like a brother,” Asher immediately assured. Even if the conversation between Markus and his friends last night was mostly a blur, one thing he recalled was how nervous Danny had been acting around his boss. “I swear.”
Markus stared hard into Asher’s eyes for a long moment before finally nodding, relaxing against the sheets. “Okay.”
Asher blinked. “You mean… you believe me?”
Markus raised his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, before frowning. “Has someone not believed you before?”
Asher shook his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he immediately deflected.
“It does to me,” Markus refuted.
Asher worried his bottom lip between his teeth, wondering what, if anything, he should say about his ex, Trent. “My last boyfriend just had some… issues with how close I was to my friends,” he decided on finally.
“What kind of issues?”
Clearly, Markus wasn’t about to let this go, so Asher sighed. “He accused me of cheating on him with Danny and Sasha,” he revealed. “I mean, I don’t even like women like that, and I’ve known Danny since I was a kid. The thought of being with either of them in that way makes me want to gag.”
“Sounds like your ex, whoever he was, was an insecure manchild,” Markus said bluntly.
Asher shrugged. “Maybe. I think he was probably just projecting, since it turns out that he was the one cheating on me.”
Markus tensed, the arm wrapped around Asher noticeably tightening.
“What sort of braindead moron would ever cheat on you?”
Asher picked nervously at his cuticles, refusing to meet the man’s eyes. “He said since he was bisexual that it was unrealistic for me to expect him to stay away from pussy for the rest of his life. Basically implied since it wasn’t another man he was cheating with, it wasn’t cheating at all.”
“What?” Markus deadpanned, voice toneless. But Asher wasn’t an idiot. He could tell the man was steaming.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I hope you didn’t buy that absolute load of bullshit.”
Asher shook his head. “No, I left him the same night I caught him. It wasn’t easy, though,” he admitted. “We lived together, and our apartment was under his name, so I had to move in with Danny and Sasha for a while before I could get my own place. Luckily, I had enough money saved up to find an apartment pretty quickly. All the furniture and appliances and stuff belonged to him, though, so I’m still in the process of furnishing everything…”
Asher wasn’t sure why he was sharing all of this with Markus. He hated talking about his ex, even with his friends. But now that he’d started, it was like he couldn’t stop.
