Free With or Without Him by Barbara Elsborg Page B

about it. At least he’d never have to see him again.
    So why did that leave him with an empty feeling in his gut?
     
     
    Haris lay in bed rethinking Wilson’s description of what he’d seen and heard in the warehouse and told himself to let this go. Tyler was a mess and Haris didn’t need that sort of complication in his life. Not again.
    But I want him.
    He rolled over and scrunched up the pillow under his head. He needed to stick to the plan he’d settled on after Karl; when the need for sex grew too much—find a guy, rent a hotel room and fuck the malaise out of his system.
    Except he hadn’t. Not for four months because his so-called plan hadn’t cured the depression in his soul.
    Haris shook when he thought of Karl, the last man he’d been involved with, and how it had been so right and then so wrong. He’d promised himself then, he’d never let anyone get that close again, never fall in love.
    He rolled the other way and watched the digital display of his alarm ticking seconds off he’d never get back. This is the life we’re given. One life . One opportunity to be happy, to make others happy, and I’m letting it slip through my fingers because I’m afraid. He released a strangled laugh. He was successful in a business where risk was everything and yet he couldn’t extend that to his private life?
    Forget Tyler.
    Not a good idea to be with someone who took such chances with his life, no matter what the reward. A thousand pounds to be tied up and gagged? The ticket price suggested more had been required of Tyler than that. The guy had been willing to have the ball gag strapped to his mouth even though it freaked him out. Yet Haris understood the taste of desperation. Who was he to criticize Tyler for taking that risk?
    Forget him.
    It wasn’t that easy. His cock tented his shorts and the ache in his balls had reached painful proportions. Haris slid his hand down and freed his erection, taking it firmly in his grasp. Not difficult to imagine Tyler’s long fingers wrapped around him, pumping his cock. A rush of pleasure slid along his veins as he began to stroke himself.
    A single thought about the beauty of Tyler’s dick, and pre-come soaked his fingers. Haris kicked off the bed cover and worked his cock with both hands. He bit his lip as his breathing hitched. In his mind, he had Tyler’s mouth around him, Tyler’s ass to bury himself in, Tyler’s moans filling his ears. Haris bent his knees, spread his legs and pressed his heels into the bed as he jerked himself off, lifting his hips in the same rhythm as if he were thrusting into Tyler.
    Telltale tingles pricked the back of his skull, his balls drew up tight to his body and launched him straight into meltdown. Haris gasped as he came, his cock spurting warm silky jets over his belly.
    As his heart rate calmed and his breathing eased, he knew that hadn’t helped at all.
     
     
    Haris woke in the morning thinking about Tyler, jacked off in the shower thinking about him, and instead of a morning wank putting him in a good mood, it set him on edge. He brushed his teeth so hard he made his gums bleed and he nicked his cheek twice with his razor. When he walked into the kitchen, Wilson gave him a long look. For once, a single glare was enough to silence his garrulous valet.
    Wilson put a large mug of coffee with hot milk in front of him, poured him a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and handed over the paper. Haris read it without taking in a word and ate two slices of toast and marmalade without tasting a mouthful.
    “Could we fit a grand piano in the library?” he asked.
    Wilson showed no surprise at the sudden question. “Yes, if I could find a home for everything else you have in there. But if I might be so bold as to suggest you start with something a little smaller. Perhaps the triangle. Not that I have any doubt that as soon as you begin piano lessons, your natural talent will ensure you’ll make astounding progress. I’ve been