Toxic (The Complete Series): Contemporary Gay Romance Read online

  “Of course.”

  Then his hands were moving, exploring. I wished I had removed the rest of my clothes—and that he was naked, too. I wanted to feel his flesh against mine—to come together in a way he’d never experienced before.

  When his cool fingers touched my abdomen, my stomach tightened. I laughed. “Sorry. Cold.”

  He smiled and cupped his hands around his mouth, blowing on them. Some of the air escaped, brushing the head of my wet cock and completely turning me on. “Don’t apologize,” I said, smiling back. “Just touch me.”

  Liam’s eyes were slightly blurry, like he couldn’t focus without his glasses on, and I found it completely endearing. He reached out again, and when his hand closed over my cock, it was pure bliss.

  His fingers were long and slender, smooth and cool when I was hot and pulsing. The contrast made me even harder.

  He slid his hand tentatively at first, but I pumped my hips to help the rhythm and he matched the motion quickly. My hands clenched on the couch cushions.

  “Fuck. Liam—” My breath caught. “That feels so good.”

  He eyed the head of my cock and I nodded.

  Still holding me at the root, he leaned over. I felt his breath before I felt his mouth. Then his lips were touching me. Just a soft kiss on the head of my cock as his hand pumped slowly.

  Shit. He might be inexperienced, but he was a fast learner.

  “Yes,” I told him, running my hands through his hair. “Just like that.”

  I shut my eyes again, focusing on my breathing. It had been so long since someone had touched me like this—I could barely hold back. How could it feel so new and amazing?

  Liam grew bolder, his mouth closing over my cock completely. I squeezed my eyes tight, my fingers fisting in his hair. He sucked harder, moving up and down my shaft and using his hand to pump the root.

  I wondered if it would feel this good if I were inside of him? Would he even let me? Liam had basically admitted he’d never done anal. How would it feel to have him inside of me? He had no idea how good it would feel. Or for me to drive myself into him over and over. That kind of closeness, that kind of intimacy made me even harder.

  I hadn’t wanted that with anyone else in a long time, and now Liam was here. He was what I wanted and more.

  So much more—and the thought rocked me.

  The pressure built even faster now as Liam sucked harder.

  “Shit,” I hissed. “I’m going to come.”

  He lifted his head but kept his eyes on my cock as he continued to pump, as my body tightened and I blew my load. And Liam just kept pumping, looking as turned on as I felt. The orgasm hit me so hard, my body bowed off the couch as I squirted across my belly.

  Liam’s strokes slowed until his fingers caressed me lazily. I leaned in, his breath touching my lips. “That was so fucking hot.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.

  He blinked. “About it being hot?”

  I smiled and kissed him. “No, about your lack of experience. That was so good. That…”

  I didn’t have words. I just kissed him again and wondered if he’d let me put my mouth on him like that.

  Then my phone rang. I was tempted to ignore it, but Liam passed it over.

  When I answered, some of my smile faded. It was a police officer from last night and they wanted to talk to me and Liam.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked when I hung up.

  “They want us to come down to the police station.”

  When his mouth turned down in a frown, I sat up and grasped his hand in mine. “We’ll do it together. They just have a few questions.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll stay with you the whole time.” I paused. “If you want me to.”

  He leaned in, stopping when his mouth was just an inch from my own. “Yes. I want you there.”

  “Then I will be.”

  Chapter 13

  LIAM

  Going to the police station was the best thing I could have done. I ID’d the men from last night—the same ones who had come into my house, hit me and threatened me. And then I told them about the drugs. I didn’t know what would happen to my dad. I didn’t care.

  I finally got it all out. I was finally free from the past.

  And Tate was there the whole time.

  When we arrived at work later that day, it was the lightest I’d felt in a long time.

  I went behind the bar and straight to Bea. “Don’t be mad at me.”

  She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. “Thank you for acknowledging I have a reason to be mad at you.”

  “I’m sorry about last night. And I’m sorry about my dad showing up here.”

  “Did he hurt you? Did something else happen?” she asked, concern entering her voice.

  “No. I was safe and…” I smiled at a customer as they walked up. “I tell you everything.”

  So that night, as we poured drinks and listened to the band, I told her everything that had happened with my dad. I told her about the drugs and the men last night. I told her about the police station this morning.

  “Then where were you last night? You didn’t go home, did you?” she asked, eyes wide.

  I slid her the tequila and spun to grab another glass. “No way. I was…” I glanced around and then lowered my voice. “At Tate’s.”

  “Holy fuck!” She slapped a hand over her mouth, then laughed when a customer reached out to give her a high five. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Believe it.” I nudged her with my elbow. “I was there the entire time.”

  “Did you guys…?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  Almost. I would have let him if Tate’s phone hadn’t started ringing. I wanted to know what it felt like to have someone I cared about inside of me. I wanted to feel him on top of me and give him another release I knew he wanted so badly. He’d been so patient with me and I wanted to give him everything.

  I shrugged, a shiver running through me when I thought about how hard he’d come. How I had made him do that. Feel like that. And how I wanted more. I wanted his mouth on me. I wanted to be inside of him. I wanted everything.

  “A little of this and that,” I told her, not going into details.

  “No way. You can’t be vague.”

  “He’s hot. I’ll just tell you that,” I said.

  She threw her hands up. “God, am I the only one who isn’t getting any?” She pointed toward the band. “You think the singer is cute?”

  I smiled sweetly. “Absolutely. And he’s gay.”

  “No—wait. What?”

  I nodded. “Sorry to tell you. He plays for my team.”

  “Does everyone in this bar play for your team?” She crossed her arms. “Where are all the straight guys?”

  I pointed. “Chris is straight.”

  She looked at the bouncer, considering. “What about Holmes? He—” She got one look at my face. “No way. Seriously? Why didn’t you go for him, then? He’s seriously hot.”

  I smiled and went back to work. “I was already interested in someone else.”

  And I still was. I was only interested in Tate—had been since we first met. And now, finally, after all this time, we had the chance to be together. It was more than I ever could have hoped for.

  But I still felt guilty about staying at his place. I wanted to help out in some way. Pay for rent at the very least. Or find my own place for once.

  I grabbed the trash to take it out, pausing at the end of the bar when Bea called my name.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “Take the trash out.”

  “But what if—”

  “No. You’re right. I should be careful. I’ll see if Tate can go with me.” He was probably in his office. And I wanted an excuse to see him anyway.

  I walked down the back hall, seeing a light coming from the office. My stomach fluttered at the simple idea of seeing Tate. Of being close to him.

  Just
as I reached the door, I heard another voice from inside.

  “Are you sure that’s the best thing? Having Liam stay at your house?”

  I froze for a long moment, then ducked back immediately. Mason. That’s who had said my name. And he was talking about me with Tate.

  “He doesn’t have anywhere else to go,” Tate said.

  My stomach churned this time. No, I didn’t have anywhere else to go. But Tate said he wanted me there. I wanted to be there with him.

  “I’m just saying, you barely know this kid.”

  Kid. That was all Mason thought of me. He saw me as a kid—probably one who had brought drug dealers to his bar last night.

  Tate murmured something so low I couldn’t hear. Part of me felt bad for eavesdropping but the other part wanted to know what Tate really thought. “This is the right thing to do,” he said.

  The right thing? I bit my lip. He made it sound like I was just a charity case. Like he had to help me out because he was my boss.

  “Right or not, just be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  I turned and walked back the way I came. I didn’t want to hear any more. Mason clearly thought so little of me he didn’t even trust Tate’s judgment. And Tate…

  I wasn’t sure what to think, only that he was trying to help me. Like I was that little kid Mason thought I was.

  This morning, I’d told the police everything. I’d been empowered. And I could still be that person. The one who stood up and did the right thing. The one who took care of himself.

  No more relying on other people to take care of me. I was a free man now, and an adult in the real world.

  It was about time I acted like one.

  Chapter 14

  TATE

  Something was wrong. Liam had barely spoken with me the night before. And tonight, he was just as silent. When I’d gone into the break room to talk with him—no, to kiss him—he’d been on his phone and said he had work to do.

  Work? What kind of work? He already had a job here. Was he looking for another place to work?

  That didn’t make any sense. Once his shift ended, I caught him by the bar.

  “Hey,” I said, touching his elbow. “I thought we could ride home together.”

  He shook his head, glancing away. “That’s not necessary. Bea said I could stay with her.”

  Bea? What the fuck? “You aren’t coming back home?”

  He gave a gentle smile, glancing around like we were making a scene. “It’s your home, not mine.”

  “Liam.” I gritted my teeth. What the hell was going on? Two days ago he was breathless over me on the couch and he was acting like we were just acquaintances. “Something happened.”

  He angled his head. “What?”

  “Something happened. I know it. For you to be acting like this.” I gripped his arm. “Did your dad come back?”

  He blinked. “No.”

  “You can tell me. I’ll help you. I’ll fix it.”

  “It’s not your job to fix my problems,” he said, shaking his head. “I heard what Mason said to you. About how you need to be careful. About how I shouldn’t be staying with you. And he’s right.” Liam lifted his chin. “I can take care of myself.”

  Fuck. He’d heard us talking? “You were listening to our conversation?”

  “It was an accident. I was going to see if you could come with me while I took the trash out and—well, I should be able to do that by myself, too.”

  “But it might not be safe.”

  Liam blew out a breath, looking like he was trying to stay calm. “That’s not your problem.”

  “Fuck. Liam—” I bit off the rest of what I was going to say, realizing we were standing within hearing distance of customers and employees. “We need to talk.”

  He opened his mouth, looking ready to argue.

  “Please,” I said. “Come home tonight. We’ll talk. And if you want to go to Bea’s house after that, I’ll take you myself.”

  He struggled with that for a long moment, then finally inclined his head. “Okay.”

  I watched as he said goodbye to Bea and shared a few words with her that had her looking in my direction. What the hell? I got that Liam probably didn’t hear the best part of the conversation, but he could have come to me to straighten things out.

  It took everything I had not to touch him as we walked outside. I was getting used to taking his hand, to being close to him—as much because I wanted to be there for him as I wanted him close to me.

  We drove back to my place in silence, and I waited until we were inside before I turned to him.

  “I know you think Mason doesn’t agree with what’s going on here—” I started.

  “No, he’s right. I shouldn’t be here.”

  “Why the fuck not?” I asked.

  He stepped back in surprise. “Tate.”

  “Sorry. I just—” I ran a hand through my hair. “This is coming out of nowhere. I thought we were starting something. I thought…”

  “If it’s just because you feel sorry for me—or you feel obligated—”

  “Obligated? To have feelings for you? Sorry, but that’s shit. No one tells me who to care about.”

  He took his glasses off and rubbed them on his shirt, looking weary. “Maybe I should go.”

  He didn’t wait for a response, just headed to the couch to start gathering his clothes.

  I made myself pull in one, long calming breath, then I followed him. Before he could shove another shirt into his backpack, I touched his arm.

  “Just talk to me, Liam. This means too much to me to let it go like this,” I said.

  He looked over, conflict written all over his face. He sighed and set down the backpack. “I’m sick of being a burden on everyone else. It’s about time I took care of myself.”

  I touched his back, wishing he’d turn around and look at me. That he’d touch me. “Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean you can’t rely on other people. Listen,” I said before he could respond, “I have something to tell you, and I think it’ll explain a lot.

  “Will you just…” I took his hand and pulled him to me. “Will you listen? I think it’ll explain a lot.”

  His fingers linked around mine and relief ran through my body. I pulled him toward my bedroom. I wanted to be comfortable when we talked.

  “Tate—”

  “Just talking. We’ll relax, and I’ll tell you a little about why Mason is the way he is.”

  Liam gave in, taking off his jacket and shoes so he could lay on the bed. I joined him, pillowing my head on my hand. Liam turned to me, curled on his side in an adorable position. How could I not want to take care of him? It was in my nature. And Liam deserved it. He deserved to have someone take the weight off his shoulders for once.

  “So…” I gave him a smile. “Mason and I met after I found out my partner had been cheating on me.”

  His eyes widened. I could laugh about it now because it was the best thing that could have happened. I was over it.

  “Yeah. Were both dating the same person and we both found out that he was cheating on us—I’ll spare you the details, but basically Mason came to confront me. I thought I was in love, he thought he was in love with the same person, but we were both being cheated on. With the same person.

  “He was pissed off at first and yelled at me, but then we had a few drinks and figured out we were both being played. For a long time.”

  “That sucks,” Liam whispered, reaching out to set his hand on my hip.

  “It really sucks.” I lay back, staring up at the ceiling. Liam’s hand moved to my abdomen. “But we kind of bonded over that. Said at least we could trust each other because both of us had been faithful even when we’d suspected our partner might not be. And then I met Cole. I fell for him hard and Mason thought we were perfect. It was perfect…until the accident.”

  Liam’s breath yanked in. “What…what happened?”

  “He got hurt. Really bad. In the hospital and I—I wa
s there every day. I tried to take care of him. But he…he didn’t make it.”

  Liam touched my cheek, fingers light and cool. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah.” I cleared my throat, but my voice was still rough. “It was hard. But Mason was there the whole time and…we understood each other. We’d both had hard times. And one night we were drunk and lamenting about how fucked up the world was and how toxic most relationships were and…” I smiled at Liam. “We decided to open a bar.”

  “Toxic.”

  I nodded. “Right. The world can be a toxic place. But our place—we’re like family. That first day you came in, it felt right. Like you belonged with us. That’s why I hired you. You belonged. And I think…I think I fell in love with you that day.”

  His lips parted, hand frozen against my cheek.

  I shifted to face him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just—blurted that out. But it’s how I felt. How I feel.” I swallowed, suddenly the shy one. What if he didn’t feel the same way? “I—I tried to ignore it. And Mason was like, ‘Don’t get too close—you don’t want to get hurt.’ You have to see why he felt like that. And after my share of loses—he just wants to protect me. It’s not you—”

  “No. I know.” Liam scooted closer, his thigh resting against mine. “I had no idea—and it completely makes sense he’s trying to take care of you.”

  I relaxed. He believed me. He understood. “After Cole, I guess I just wanted to fix everything. I couldn’t fix Cole, I couldn’t make that right. But I could help fix things for you. And it wasn’t just because I felt obligated. It’s because I care about you.”

  I was too afraid to say the word again. Love. I couldn’t believe I’d said it in the first place, but I was desperate for Liam to understand.

  “Please tell me you’re not going to leave,” I whispered, shifting to face him.

  He pressed his lips to mine. “No. I won’t go. I need to call Bea and tell her. But then…can I sleep in here with you?”

  I blinked, surprised and turned on. “Yes.”

  No question, I wanted Liam here with me. And now he finally knew how I felt. Whatever happened beyond that was out of my control.

  Chapter 15