Page 95 of Captivated
“Then don’t sleep on it,” Nate blurted. “We can do what we did last night. Me in the bed, you on top of it. Not that you’ll want to be under anything tonight, it’s so hot.” Zeeb stared at him, and Nate hastened to explain. “It’s just that… well….” He sighed. “Last night was the best I’ve slept in a long time.”
“And you’re hopin’ to repeat the experience,” Zeeb concluded.
Nate nodded, his pulse racing.
Zeeb studied him for a few seconds. “Well, who am I to deprive a man of a good night’s sleep?” He smiled. “Sure.” Then his eyes twinkled. “But I’ll take two beers if you’ve got ’em.”
Nate beamed. “Deal.” He glanced at the frying pan. “Don’t look now, but your masterpiece of an omelet is about to cremate itself.”
“Aw fuck.” Zeeb scraped the ham and onions off the bottom of the pan.
“Pile on the cheese and we won’t even notice,” Nate told him.
Zeeb let out a huff. “I’llnotice.” He poured the eggs over the slightly charred contents. “Oh well. I guess it all adds to the flavor.” He pointed to the fridge. “Grab the beers.” He snickered. “They might make the food taste better.”
“Or get us too buzzed to notice.”
Nate breathed a little easier.
He’s staying.
Zeeb was glad he’d left his toothbrush in Nate’s bathroom. He brushed quickly, then changed into the shorts he wore to sleep in. By the time he put out the lights in the living room and climbed the stairs, Nate was already under the sheet, lying on one side of the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Zeeb perched on the edge of the mattress. “If I snore, it’s your fault.”
Nate blinked. “How do you work that out?”
“The beer was your idea, and I snore now and then when I’ve had a couple.”
“Good to know.” Nate rolled onto his side facing the wall, and Zeeb climbed onto the bed, facing Nate’s back. He gazed at the smooth bare flesh in front of him. Relief flooded through him to find no scars.
Thank God.He didn’t think he could bear it if he thought they’d beaten Nate badly enough to leave reminders etched into his skin.
Then he reasoned they’d done enough damage just with their words.
Nate snapped off the light, and moonlight penetrated the dark space, falling in shafts of blue on the white sheet.
Zeeb’s mind was refusing to shut down for the night, however.
“Nate?”
“Hmm?”
“You said something about purity tests.” Zeeb paused. “Is it okay to ask about them?”
Nate said nothing, and Zeeb’s stomach roiled.
“Forget it. I think you’ve talked enough for one day.”
“No, it’s okay. But… would it be okay if I tell you about it as though it’s a story? Is that all right?”
Zeeb got where Nate was going. “Sort of putting a little distance between you and the memory, is that the idea?”
“Yeah, exactly that.”
“Then fine. Tell me a bedtime story.” The space between them felt all kinds of wrong, and Zeeb wanted to shift closer, to hold Nate to him while he spun his tale that wasn’t fiction.
Except that felt wrong too. It was like a horror story.
