I couldn’t usually function without coffee in the morning, but it seemed Carter was a new caffeine-free pick-me-up. I had no problem functioning with Carter straddling me and offering me his mouth.
“Let it go cold.” My voice dipped in eager anticipation. “And get your mouth on mine.” I needed that even more than I needed to be inside his mouth. Who the fuck would have thought it?
His mouth was on mine in an instant. Our lips met, mouths parting. When I wrapped my arms around Carter and pulled him closer, I knew I could happily start every day like this.
Heat spread through me, and I lost myself in the touch of his mouth, the feel of his skin, and the rightness that settled in my chest.
Chapter Ten
CARTER
It wasno surprise I was not looking forward to Monday morning. The thought of seeing Scott again and the possible repercussions of what transpired Friday night left an unsavory taste in my mouth and my gut clenching in dread.
“Hey, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Tanner pressed his lips against my brow, a gesture that seemed surprisingly natural.
For the past twenty-four hours, we’d been living in a world of heat and connection. Lost in each other’s bodies, we’d spent the morning after the bar debacle pretty much in bed. I’d been quietly terrified when I’d woken in Tanner’s arms, worried that things would be awkward. Nothing could have been further from that, thank God.
We’d fallen into easy roles, not that dissimilar to our connection of the past couple of months, but this time with the delectable bonus of kisses and cocks. I grinned at the thought, despite the turmoil of work.
“Just thinking about work tomorrow.” I’d yet to share the details of Scott with Tanner, instead welcoming his touches and reveling in getting lost in comfortable conversation.
He shifted on the sofa, so I was forced to look at him. A frown dipped his brows. “What’s the problem with work?”
Releasing a heavy sigh, I knew it was time to tell him what had been going on the past few weeks. The reality was, I was embarrassed. I was a grown-ass man, a professional at that, yet I was still dealing with ridiculousness at work. The word bullying flitted through my consciousness, yet I brushed it aside. I wasn’t a kid anymore, and it certainly wasn’t high school. But still, ever since Denver had left, leaving his godson in charge, my life had plummeted right back into a time I’d hated, a time filled with bigotry and harassment. The difference was at high school—after I’d been unceremoniously outed by a few asshole jocks—I’d had a ray of light at the end of my nightmare, knowing that high school would eventually end. I’d just had to survive the final three months before graduating and leaving for college. But this was my life, my profession. Short of leaving a job I loved, I could no longer see a ray of light.
“Tell me.”
I nodded, knowing I would hate the tremble in my voice that would no doubt lace my words when I spoke. Regardless, I pushed on. I could trust Tanner with this. “That guy from Friday night.”
“The prick?”
I nodded, a smirk tilting my mouth despite my nerves. “That’s Scott.”
Tanner tilted his head, his eyes tightening before he spoke. “The guy who’s taken over for your boss?”
I nodded again. I’d already told him briefly about what had been happening at work with the changeover. Obviously over dinner the past few weeks, I’d neglected to share with him exactly what had been going on.
He reached out and placed his hand on my forearm. “Tell me.”
I watched his jaw clench, understanding he was pissed off on my behalf. I would have been lying if the knowledge didn’t stir a lightness in my chest, the first I’d felt about work since Scott had started making my life miserable.
“When Denver was around the first week, everything was fine. Well, sort of. Things with Scott were a bit, I don’t know, awkward.” I shrugged. I’d just brushed it aside as an uptight personality and his nerves at stepping up to run the place. He’d been thrown into the deep end, so I’d assumed it was just the stress of the situation.
“Then what happened?”
“It started off as little things, a few ‘jokey’ comments thrown my way about liking dick and the ‘fags’ in a new TV show.” I’d held my own often, laughing along, even throwing it back, and trying to shut him down about how inappropriate he was being. “It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I noticed more and more cancellations with some of my more regular clients, you know, weekly injections, even a couple of operations.” I glanced at Tanner’s thumb as he rubbed it over my arm in soothing circles and then I took a breath, appreciating how the slightest attention gave me the added boost to continue.
“I mentioned it to Lauren, who said she’d noticed it too. She actually checked it out for me, and last week, she told me that each cancellation had actually been swapped to an appointment with Scott.”
Tanner’s hand stilled. “What the fuck? He’s stealing clients from you?”
I shrugged again. “I had no idea what to think, so I went and asked him. At first he shrugged it off saying he had nothing to do with the bookings, but then the next day I saw Mrs. Carson heading out after an appointment, which she’d previously had with me. When I said hi, she seemed surprised to see me, letting me know that her appointment had been changed to Dr. Anderson since I was on a research project and was having to hand over my clients.”
When she’d told me, my grin had frozen in place. It took her asking me if I was okay to bring me out of my daze before I’d smiled politely and excused myself. I’d immediately sought out Scott and asked for an explanation.
I shook my head. “He said he’d had a few complaints and requests to change to him, and that he then thought it best that he change some of my longstanding appointments while he investigated further.” Heat rushed to my cheeks at the memory. I’d been as shocked as I was annoyed, so much so I’d just stood there like a freakin’ goober trying to make sense of everything before he’d ushered me out as he had another client.
“On Friday, I finally approached him and asked for an explanation.”
