Ethan (Alluring Indulgence) (10 page)

Ethan
nodded, but before Beau could move back to the driver’s seat, he was being
pulled back, Ethan’s mouth latching on to his, sucking his tongue in deep and
driving him crazy with lust. A throaty growl emerged from his chest as he
pressed Ethan into the seat with his body, still refusing to touch him with his
hands.

They
ravished one another with only their mouths until they had to come up for air.
That was the only thing that stopped them though.

“I
want you,” Ethan whispered, the blue-gray of his eyes darker than Beau had ever
seen them. Even in the dim light of the truck, he could see the intensity in
his beautiful blue gaze.

Grinning,
Beau whispered, “I know,” against Ethan’s lips. “And you’ve got me.”

The
last part was probably too much, but he sensed the vulnerability in Ethan’s
words. He had admitted his need, something he’d denied for months now and Beau
wasn’t about to let him get away without knowing just how affected he was.

“Now
let me get you home.”

Ethan
nodded, and this time he let Beau move back to the driver’s seat. Before he
pulled out of the spot, Ethan opened the window and tossed the empty beer
bottles into the truck bed. The freezing air that whipped through the cab did
remarkably little to cool his overheated libido.

It
was going to be a lonely night, he could feel it.

♂♂

“Honey,
I’m home,” Ethan called out when he stepped into the empty shop the following
morning at about nine o’clock.

Thanks
to a nasty headache – he refused to call it a hangover – he’d taken his time
that morning. Didn’t matter what time it was, there was no one there to greet
him, but he wasn’t expecting anyone to be either.

Grabbing
the remote to the stereo system, Ethan clicked the power button, filling the
cavernous space with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’
White Walls
. At least
there’d be some noise to fill the empty space. Something that wasn’t going to
make him feel pathetic and lonely.

Like
talking to himself didn’t already do a good enough job.

After
dropping the wrecker’s keys that he’d ended up taking home onto his toolbox,
Ethan headed over to his office to plug in his phone. Two days in a row he’d
been too distracted to even charge the damn thing.

Before
he went back to the truck he had been working on the day before, Ethan set up
and then clicked on the coffee maker, waiting impatiently for that first dose
that would help him clear his head. Minutes later, he poured a cup, not even
waiting for it to cool before he sipped anxiously.

A
few minutes later, after downing one full cup and now armed with his oversized
mug, he surveyed the truck that had taken up a considerable amount of his time
this last week. As it turned out, the twins were hard on their vehicles, and
that usually meant one or both of their trucks were sitting in the shop these
days. This week it was Brendon’s.

Before
he could muster up the strength to get to work, the song on the radio changed
to
End of My Rope
by Trapt and Ethan suddenly felt every single hour of
sleep he had missed over the course of the last month. Including last night.

Considering
he’d been nice and buzzed, he had expected to pass out easily. No such luck.
With his brain on overload from the incident with Beau in the truck, Ethan had
been hard pressed to sleep for more than just a few minutes at a time. Dragging
his ass out of bed that morning was nearly impossible, as was getting his body
moving.

For
the first time in a long time, he didn’t want to immerse himself in an engine,
he wanted to take a break. A lengthy one. Embracing the exhaustion for the
first time in months, Ethan moved over to the old dilapidated desk that was
used to hold spare tools and after making enough room, he took a seat on its
scarred surface, his legs hanging over the edge, his feet still touching the
floor.

Out
of habit, he had propped open the main door when he came in, and it wasn’t long
before he heard tires crunching on gravel.
Please don’t let it be Blake.
Ethan wasn’t sure he could handle another confrontation with the guy. Not yet.
Hell, he hoped not ever.

Sipping
his coffee, he waited patiently for whoever his visitor was to make their
appearance. He didn’t have to wait long, and the moment Beau stepped through
the door, Ethan’s breath lodged in his chest. If he didn’t get over this
attraction, Ethan feared he was going to need some respiratory equipment just
to stay alive. He had been robbed of breath more times than he could count in
recent days just from the mere sight of Beau.

This
time was no different from any of the others.

“Mornin’.”
Beau stared at him and then back out the door before turning back. Ethan just
continued to look at him. The memories of last night, the drugging kisses he
had shared with the sexy man standing just a few yards away… it was more than
his over processed brain could handle at the moment.

“You
got the keys to the wrecker?” Beau asked, stopping only a couple of steps into
the shop.

Ethan
regarded him for a moment and then blurted out the first thing that came to his
mind, “Want a cup of coffee?”

Coffee?
What the fuck was wrong with him? The better answer would’ve been a simple
“yes” and nothing more.

A
sexy smile tipped the corners of Beau’s mouth and a shudder coursed down
Ethan’s spine.

“Sure,”
he said, nodding his head toward the office. “Is it made?”

“I
probably oughtta make another pot,” Ethan said, not bothering to get up. He was
too tired to move. Never mind the fact that he didn’t want to get closer to
Beau. Not any closer than he would have to. Because at this point, he couldn’t
be held responsible for his own actions.

It
wasn’t enough that his brain was on overload, but now his body was as well. On
top of that, just coming up with enough energy to maintain a safe emotional
distance from the man was more than he was up for right now. It felt like he’d
been doing it for months.

Now
that he thought about it, Ethan realized he had been trying to stay away from
Beau for months. No wonder he was tired. The guy wasn’t all that easy to
resist.

Ethan
watched Beau slip into the office, disappearing from view for a couple of
minutes. To pass the time, he stared down at his hands, flipping them over
repeatedly, hardly seeing the work roughened skin or his short, clipped
fingernails.

“I
know it seems like I’m always asking you this, but are you all right?” Beau
asked when he joined him once again, a cup of coffee in one hand, the other
tucked into the pocket of his jeans.

Ethan
looked at Beau. Actually looked at him, unable to say anything in response to
his question. It seemed odd that Beau was always asking him that; however, it
was even stranger that he seemed to be the only one. It was almost as though
Ethan had successfully isolated himself from the rest of society to the point
people didn’t even bother to see how he was doing anymore.

He
had to wonder why Beau hadn’t taken the hint the way everyone else had.

“I’ve
been better,” he said honestly, never breaking eye contact. He could only blame
the need to give in for a minute or two on the exhaustion that had suddenly
overwhelmed him. It was hard to keep up his defenses all the time, to never let
his guard down, but right at that moment, his guard didn’t even exist.

At
least not with Beau.

“Need
some help around here?” Beau asked, glancing across the open space, his gaze
returning to meet his moments later.

Ethan
wanted to tell him no, but the truth was, he actually did need help. As much of
a burden as Blake had been, at least the guy could pump out work when he did
decide to show up. And now that Blake was no longer part of his day to day, the
only thing Ethan had to look forward to were hours of time spent by himself and
tons of work backing up in the meantime.

Ethan
chuckled and glanced down at his hands again. What was he going to say? Yes.
That definitely wasn’t going to help this situation any.

“You
don’t want to say yes, do you?” Beau asked, moving closer.

Ethan
looked back up at him, wondering if this man understood him as well as it
seemed he did.

Beau
looked around again, then grinned back at Ethan. “I know this guy,” he began
with a sexy smirk. “He’s kinda in need of work at the moment. He’s pretty handy
beneath the hood.”

Ethan
laughed, letting all of the tension drain out of him for the first time in what
felt like years. “Yeah? Does he know it requires long hours?”

“I
heard he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t
taken a vacation in… well, in years actually.”

“Yeah?”
Ethan studied Beau for a moment. “He’s not looking to take one anytime soon, is
he?”

“Nope.”

Ethan
figured bringing Beau on board was better than letting Jared get involved. Who
knew what kind of asshole he’d be stuck with if his cousin got a say in who was
hired. “Well, when you see this guy, let him know I need him to be here at
seven o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Beau
nodded his head, that sexy smirk morphing into a devastating grin. “What if I
told you he’s free today?”

Ethan
knew it was time to get serious with Beau for a minute. As much as he was
enjoying this conversation, and as much as he truly was looking forward to
having someone who would come in and knock out the work that was piling up,
Ethan wanted Beau to understand what he was really getting into.

Because
it damn sure didn’t look like this attraction between the two of them was
lessening any. And Ethan was doing his damnedest to keep up his defenses, but
there was only so much one man could do.

Sliding
off of the table, Ethan left his coffee mug behind as he got to his feet and
cleared the distance between him and Beau in an instant. To his surprise, Beau
actually backed up a couple of steps.

“You
scared of me?” Ethan asked, not quite sure where the question came from.

Beau
smiled again, this time a wicked grin that had Ethan tempted to back up a few
feet.

“Quite
the opposite actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Ethan
took another step closer and watched as Beau looked around. Wondering what he
was searching for, Ethan was surprised when Beau set his coffee mug down on the
closest toolbox.

“And
what makes you think this will work out? You working here?” Ethan asked,
remembering what he’d walked over to say.

“When
it comes to work, I’m here to work.”

Of
all the things he
didn’t
know about Beau, he
did
know the guy was
a hard worker. Always had been.

Ethan
moved even closer, satisfied when Beau took one more step back and found
himself up against the corrugated metal wall.

“It’s
that easy for you?”

“For
me to what?” Beau asked, his head tilting as though he were trying to figure
Ethan out.

“You
think it’ll be easy to work here with so much…” He couldn’t finish the
sentence. He was beginning to rethink the urge to bring this topic up. Ethan
wasn’t sure he wanted to go this route. He damn sure wasn’t acting like
himself.

He
knew Beau well enough to know he could easily offer the guy a job, and he’d be
completely professional. However, Ethan was suddenly sick of professional.

“So
much what, E?” Beau questioned, his voice seductively low. “
Temptation?
”

The
next thing Ethan knew, he was the one up against the wall and Beau had both
hands flat on the wall beside his head. The heady scent of coffee and man
assaulted his senses. The room seemed to spin as he was overwhelmed with
everything he’d suppressed for this man.

“Temptation,”
Ethan confirmed in a choked whisper, letting his eyes wander to Beau’s lips.

“Do
you want to ignore it? If you do, I will.” Beau paused, seemingly waiting for
Ethan to meet his gaze. When he did, Beau said, “For you.”

God,
why did Beau sound so damn sincere? Every single word he spoke seemed to be
selected with care, always ensuring he said the right thing. It was clear that
the attraction between them was potent, strong enough to ignite this wildfire
that threatened to disintegrate them both in an instant.

Yet,
this man claimed he was willing to ignore it.

For
him.

Unable
to speak, Ethan shook his head no.

Maybe
he had lost his mind, or maybe he was even more tired than he thought. Either
way, Ethan had just lost the will to fight this anymore.

♂♂

The
moment Ethan had backed him up against the wall ranked right up there amongst
the most pleasurable experiences of Beau’s entire life. Maybe in the top three.
Including the very first time Beau kissed Ethan. And every time since.

At
least that’s what he thought until Ethan succumbed to his dominance only
seconds later. That one took the top spot on the list.

With
Ethan trapped between his body and the wall, Beau found himself searching for
oxygen. He was in control, yet he felt like he lacked any control at all.
That’s what being near Ethan did to him.

Beau
studied Ethan’s expressive blue-gray eyes as he searched for something to say;
something that would relay exactly what Beau was feeling. “I need…”

The
words wouldn’t come.

“Don’t
say it,” Ethan told him, his voice low and hoarse.

There
was a brief pause as they stared into one another’s eyes and then Ethan said
the three words that Beau never actually thought he would hear.

“Just
do it.”

Beau
swallowed hard. The urge to close his eyes and get lost in Ethan’s voice was so
strong, he wasn’t sure how he fought it. Maybe because he wanted to stare into
Ethan’s eyes, to try and see what he was feeling.

With
as much restraint as he could manage, Beau leaned forward, forcing his hands to
remain on the wall beside Ethan’s head as he pressed his lips to Ethan’s.

Soft.
Gentle.
Oh God
.

Perfect.