Free Too Stupid to Live(Romancelandia) by Anne Tenino Page A

kept worrying the hole in his jeans. What did the kid’s internal dialogue sound like?
    Sam’s internal dialogue went on forever. He sat there so long that Ian became concerned Sam would talk himself out of this. When he did eventually get out of the pickup, he stood there a few more seconds, looking at Ian. His hand trembled slightly where it rested on the door.
    “Okay,” Sam said quietly. He sounded hypnotized. That was it: Ian was a snake and had charmed him—the snake analogy fit him tonight. Wait, wasn’t it the snake who was charmed by the handler? But he probably shouldn’t think like that, or he’d be the one who’d back out.
    When Sam finally moved, he kept looking back over his shoulder, so much so that he ran into the handrail of his stairs. Ian grabbed his arm to steady him. “Be careful, kid.”
    Sam yanked his arm out of Ian’s hold. “It’s your fault, following me like that. Distracting me.”
    Good . “Don’t let yourself get distracted by me, kiddo,” he said.
    Sam turned and started upstairs, conspicuously looking forward. He was almost to the top before he said, “Don’t tell me what to do. I don’t take orders.”
    Ian took the last three steps in one. He walked up right behind Sam, forcing his body into the alcove of Sam’s front door. Pressing his front all along Sam’s back, arms bracketing him, palms on the door. “Oh, yes you do, kiddo,” Ian said into his ear. “From me you do.”

Well, he’d set that up nicely, hadn’t he? Gave Ian the perfect opening to go all dominant alpha hero on him. If Sam didn’t know better, he’d think his subconscious mind had planned this, but that didn’t seem possible. He’d never seen evidence of any part of his mind displaying this kind of intelligence in the past. Of course, his subconscious had never had Ian for motivation before.
    He closed his eyes as Ian pressed in closer and spoke again in that threatening, thrilling tone. “You like to fight it, don’t you? You try to pretend you aren’t submissive, but you like it, kiddo.” He started rocking his hips slowly, pushing against Sam’s ass.
    Oh, God, he’s already hard. Sam’s forehead thudded softly against the door. He couldn’t stop himself from pushing back against Ian. Except . . . something was a little off. Sam struggled to turn around in Ian’s hold.
    “I don’t do that anymore,” he said into Ian’s face. “I don’t take orders.” When Ian looked at him with raised eyebrows, Sam amended, “Unless I feel like it.”
    Ian looked at him from under his lashes. It was a strangely flirty look that threw Sam off-balance. Well, further off-balance. “Do you feel like it tonight?” Ian pulled one hand off the door, sliding it down Sam’s arm, then his hip, across his jeans to cup Sam’s groin. He even moved in a slightly menacing, completely exciting way. Slowly. Controlled and planned. Foreplay aforethought . It made Sam’s heart race, and the back of his head hit the door.
    Ian’s hand found his erection pushing against his fly through the denim. His fingers traced the shape of him while Sam watched in the porch light. “Wanna come inside?” he croaked.
    They didn’t make it past the entry. Ian shut the front door behind him with a soft click and pushed Sam against the wall, forcefully enough that it made his knees weak. Ian stared at him, hand splayed on Sam’s chest, so close but not kissing him—Sam could read the indecision in his face, and then the moment when he decided not to. That firmed his knees up again.
    So it was like that. Of course it’s like that, idiot. It’s always been like that . Sam nearly shook his head at his romantic self. Ian wasn’t some gothic, tortured, romantic lead; he was just some horny guy in real life.
    Besides, in tortured, gothic romances it took the hero way longer than this to give in to his heart’s desires and kiss the heroine. Therefore, Ian couldn’t be that type of character; Sam’s proof was in the way