he’d already perfected the art of keeping others at a distance, although that art seemed to be slipping now.
And really, he hadn’t had time for hobbies. He’d spent the last few years building up the club, and even if it wasn’t quite what he’d envisioned when he’d first opened it—or maybe it was, and he’d just matured enough to no longer find all the sex going on in the place titillating—he was content with it. If not content, at least…resigned?
Xavier sighed and rubbed his forehead. What the hell was wrong with him? Could a
guy have a midlife crisis before he hit forty? Maybe he should Google it later, when he could dredge up the energy to care. If this was a midlife crisis, he couldn’t understand how a shiny new sports car would make him feel any better. And he sure as hell didn’t want two twenty-year-old twinks dangling from his arms. God, he hoped someone would shoot him before he did anything like that!
“Quit being a pitiful pecker,” Xavier grumbled to himself. He was making himself sick with all this internal whining. Yeesh. It was past time for this to stop. He needed to get out of the house for a while, and he had friends. Les had even told him to stop in and see Adam—
and there might be cookies.
“Sounds like a plan.” Xavier’s new habit of talking to himself might mean he was crazy, but sometimes he just needed to hear a voice, even his own. So it was probably a good idea www.total-e-bound.com
A BIT OF ME
Bailey Bradford
51
that he get out for a while. He didn’t think Adam would mind if he just dropped by to say hi.
It had to beat sitting here being all…broody.
As it turned out, Xavier’s day got a whole lot more exciting within seconds of knocking on Adam and Les’ door. He heard yelling—loud, angry and lots of curse words in a voice he was pretty sure wasn’t Adam or Les’. Concerned about his friends, Xavier banged on the door harder than he’d intended, rattling the thing on its hinges.
Then his day got very interesting as well as exciting. Before he’d even pulled his hand back, the door was yanked open. A hard body slammed into his, knocking grunts from them both. The man—and it was definitely a man—started to topple over and Xavier reached out instinctively—and that’s how Xavier found himself with an armful of sexy, furious Chase Murphy.
In the split second he flung his arms wrapped around Chase, Xavier became
immediately aware of two things. Firstly, the man’s scent was the most enticing he’d ever smelt, some mix of aromas that wrapped right around Xavier’s cock, stroking it to fullness in the space of one breath.
The second thing he noticed was how well the man fit in his arms, how perfect that
smaller, hard body felt against his. Xavier had a second’s hope his day and mood were fixing to be improved when Chase shifted slightly and a sharp pain burst over Xavier’s side, stealing his breath. Xavier jerked and loosened his hold on Chase, who stumbled back and glared up at him as Xavier tried to keep his feet under him. His side ached like he’d been hit with a sledge hammer and it dawned on him Chase had somehow managed to nail him hard in the ribs.
“What the hell was that for?” Xavier rasped as he folded his arms protectively over his middle. He glared down at the smaller man with almost as much anger as Chase glared at him.
“You startled me!” Chase finally snapped. “I open the door to leave and there’s a
fucking wall of muscle right there and how is that my fault? You shouldn’t be so…so big!”
Xavier’s anger morphed into something darker and much more enjoyable as he
watched Chase’s cheeks turn ruddy while he ranted. There was more gold in Chase’s green eyes today, maybe because he wore a pale green shirt that pulled the other colour out?
www.total-e-bound.com
A BIT OF ME
Bailey Bradford
52
Despite being a blond, he had thick, sooty lashes that somehow managed not to make him