...Within a couple of seconds, Blaine knew taking off his shirt had been a mistake. And if he had any sense, he’d extricate himself now, before things got out of hand. But Adrian’s clever fingers were like magic, untangling the knots, and relaxing the muscles. By the time he’d finished massaging his shoulders and back, Blaine felt boneless and content, and on the verge of drifting off to sleep.

“Feel better?” Adrian asked as he stepped away and picked up his drink.

Blaine flexed his shoulders. His muscles had loosened up, and he felt great, better than he had in months. Problem was, thanks to Adrian’s magic hands and his own x-rated thoughts, he now had a major erection. “I feel good. Really good. I’d forgotten what a good massage can accomplish. All I need now is a hot shower, and—”

Adrian grinned and gave him an inquiring look. “Some really hot sex?”

Blaine’s face was on fire. He wasn’t sure if it was the result of drinking the two beers too fast, or if it was a reaction to Adrian’s bluntness. He pressed the cold bottle against his left cheek. “I…umm…I…”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. From what you’ve said, it sounds to me like the guy was working you like a job, and you didn’t even realize what was going on. Now you’re scared of it happening again. Am I right?”

“Wouldn’t you be scared?”

“I’ve had something similar happen to me. And yes, for a while I was scared of meeting someone and having the same thing happen again. But then I decided being robbed of my dignity was more than enough. I wouldn’t allow what he did to me ruin my life.”

“You think that’s what I’m doing?”

“I know you are.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I’m not made of ice, bro. I feel the chemistry between us just as strongly as you do, maybe even more because I’m not trying to deny it. I felt it the moment I first saw you at the bar, and so did you. Yet you wouldn’t give me more than a fast half-glance. And the reason you wouldn’t really look at me is because you’re scared to admit you’re human. Scared of getting involved again. Scared of getting kicked in the gut again. I knew you didn’t really want to show me Jay’s condo tonight—you were afraid of what might happen, but you were caught in the middle with no way out. Am I right?”

Blaine didn’t answer. Everything Adrian had said was one hundred percent correct. He was guilty of a whole lot of stuff. It was just too bad he didn’t have whatever it took to admit it all out loud.

“We all make mistakes, errors in judgment, whatever you want to call them,” Adrian continued. “And we all have to get over them the best way we know how. But don’t cheat yourself by judging everyone on the basis of one bad experience.”

“Do you practice what you preach?”

“I try to. It doesn’t always work out, but at least I try.”

Blaine tensed as Adrian moved in behind him again. Then he shivered with barely controlled excitement as Adrian’s teeth and lips began to nip and nuzzle his neck. “I want you, and I know you want me. So why don’t we forget everything but the here and the now? It doesn’t have to be for more than this one time. Unless, of course, you want more.”

Once again, Blaine knew everything Adrian said was right. The past was over, done. He needed to forgive and forget, then move on and start enjoying life again. However, he couldn’t just snap his fingers and have things go back to the way they were before Colin. He needed time. He drank a little of his beer on the off chance it would give him the strength to resist Adrian’s advances.

Except his sexual frustration was reaching an all time high, and his powers of resistance were about ten points below inadequate. He shifted position on the chair to ease the ache in his groin. His cock was so hard, so loaded, he could barely think straight.

But then Adrian’s hands moved slowly down over his chest and his belly until they reached the hard bump at the juncture of his thighs and paused. He could feel the heat of Adrian’s hands through the thin denim of his jeans. If he moved as much as a millimeter, he’d come. He knew that for sure.

Yes, he wanted Adrian, and yes, he was scared shitless. He’d never been good at casual sex. Probably because he’d never been able to take what he wanted and just blow it off the way some guys could. He always had to get too damn involved. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, trying to summon the energy to push the other man away.