Armand
Zio’s ability todraw the truth out of me was fascinating. I never spoke aboutmon père; he was dead to me. Not only had he abandoned us, but the few memories I had of him were terrible. Arsène and his family were the only ones who knew about that period in my life, because they’d saved me from it. There was no need to get that personal with someone who would be gone in the morning.
But Zio was different. After he confided about his sad parental situation, I trusted my secrets were safe with somebody who understood. It allowed me to show him the ugliness I had worked hard to keep hidden. I had never let anyone other than Arsène see that side of me, so it was strange how easily it came to me with Zio.
It made me crave him even more. However, he seemed to be fighting a war within himself. Every time he got close to giving in to the magnetic attraction between us, he’d get scared off by how much he wanted me. Something deeper was going on, and I intended to figure out what was holding him back. I was more determined than before to have him. “You seem more relaxed around me now.”
“Two of these definitely helped,” he said with a cute giggle, pointing at his almost empty margarita. “Sorry if I made it weird earlier.”
“No apologies are necessary.”
“You’re very confusing.” His brows furrowed as he studied me. “Like,reallyconfusing.”
I tilted my head as I regarded him. “In what way?”
“You’re impossible, but you’re real. You act as if you want me, but there’s no way in hell that’s true.” He scoffed as if it were the most ridiculous notion he had ever heard before.
The confirmation that he was at least aware I wanted him helped me judge where I stood with him. “Why not?”
“People like you don’t want guys like me.” After hearing about how his parents rejected him, his disbelief was more understandable. I was about to speak when he continued. “And guys like me aren’t supposed to want people like you.”
“Why not?”
He bit his lower lip as he hesitated. “Because you make me want things I shouldn’t, which is so damn confusing.”
“Such as?”
He gave me a pointed look. “You. I’m not supposed to want you. But you keep making me want you, and it’s fucking with my head, not gonna lie.”
“What if I want you to want me?” My question made him flush bright red. “What if I desired that very much?”
He touched the back of his fingers against his cheeks to check if they were as flushed as they felt. “It’s against the rules.”
“What rules?”
“The ones that say I play for the other team,” he mumbled without looking at me. “But you cause me to question the ethics of switching teams, which is scary. It’s not worth it for one game, but…”
Hearing he was straight explained a lot about his scared reactions to being attracted to me. “But you still want to?”
Hiding his face in his hands, he groaned. “But what if it’s not just for one game? What if I end up wanting to sign on for a permanent transfer?”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“Only if you were playing for keeps. But that’s not what this is about.” He sighed heavily, avoiding my eyes. “I’m not even sure that’s what I’m hoping for. I’m so confused, I’m using sports metaphors, for fuck’s sake. I don’t know anything about sports.”
“Zio, look at me.” I waited until he obeyed before I continued speaking. “I’m not interested in playing a game with your heart.”
He fidgeted under my gaze. “I’d disappoint you by being an awkward virgin with a man.”
“There would be nothing disappointing about that,” I reassured him. “I’d takeverygood care of you.”
My words sent a visible shiver through him that made my ego purr. “I’m not saying no. But I need a little more time to sort my thoughts out about this before I can say yes.”
His comment gave me hope I still had a chance with him. “Take all the time you need. I have no intention of pressuring you into something you’re not comfortable doing.”
“Which is a huge tick in the column of why I should give in to you.” His wry grin was adorable. “For what it’s worth, the voice in the back of my mind isveryvocal about letting you introduce me to a whole new world of pleasure. You don’t make it easy to tell it no.”
“Whatever it’s promising you, reality will be better than you can fathom.”
