Page 82 of Bonus Game
But Sloan was sitting quietly when Riley found him again, watching a hockey documentary on the TV screen while he finished off the stuffed peppers. He didn’t look up when Riley stopped beside him—didn’t indicate whether sitting close to him was off-limits.
Feeling bold, Riley grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and plopped beside Sloan, covering them both to provide some kind of intimacy.
“Don’t treat me like your fucking girlfriend just because you made me come,” Sloan snapped, but he didn’t push the blanket off, and he didn’t put space between them.
Riley gave him a minute so that he could finish eating, keeping his body tilted toward Sloan and his attention off the TV. Being nice to Sloan didn’t make him feel the same as when he took care of girls he’d slept with. It was a weird mix of friendship, aggravation, and lust that came together to create something that was uniquely Sloan. Uniquely them.
He didn’t want Sloan to be his girlfriend, and being his boyfriend wasn’t right either. It wasn’t impossible, but one handjob and three kisses was too soon for commitment.
The one thing Riley could finally accept was that he definitely didn’t mind jerking a guy off and kissing him, which meant that he was bisexual. Perhaps a very picky bisexual who needed acertain personality type to pull his interest, but he was okay with that.
Sloan was gorgeous; even his scowling profile was lovely to look at. He was masculine and sexy, too. Riley wasn’t going to deny the sharp jawline and Adam’s apple. The deep voice, the lines and lines of muscles, and the cock were all male, but Riley still wanted to touch and explore.
But even though Sloan was physically attractive, Riley didn’t think his appearance alone could have swayed him to switch preferences. Recalling their previous hostile encounters certainly shed light on that squirmy feeling he’d had whenever he argued with Sloan. He thought he’d just enjoyed riling the guy up, but now…
“Guys. I like them,” said Riley, instantly regretting his declaration when Sloan snapped his attention to him and frowned. “Not all guys, but you—you’re cool.”
Sloan’s pale brow lifted slowly. “I’m…cool?”
Riley groaned, already mourning the confidence he’d had twenty minutes earlier when he’d had Sloan pressed against the door, commanding him to let him take what was his.
“I know you don’t want a relationship, and I don’t either,” said Riley. “I just realized that I’m attracted to men—or maybeacknowledgedis the better word.I’m not sure where your head is at because you haven’t said anything, but that’s why I want to set my boundaries now.”
Sloan scoffed and set his food on the coffee table, pausing momentarily before he turned and swung his feet up onto the couch, meeting Riley’s determination head-on.
“I liked touching you, and kissing you,” Riley began, face burning. “I haven’t been…interested in anyone for a long while. I’m happy spending my spare time with Jake and Allen, and even though I want what they have, I’ve had no desire to meet people or date anyone. Joining the Citadels complicates shitbecause any relationship I start now would have to deal with distance and a demanding job, and I wouldn’t be happy leaving my partner behind constantly.”
Sloan looked like he was two seconds away from calling Riley a whiny bitch, and Riley wouldn’t blame him if he did. He couldn’t help how he felt, and even if Sloan didn’t need to hear his long-winded explanation, he wanted to saysomethingto make him understand.
“I’m attracted to men,” Riley repeated, as if doing so would help it sink in faster. “But I think I realized this because I’m attracted toyou. You piss me off constantly, but I’m growing fond of your surly attitude and your glares. I also like competing with you as much as I like hanging out and getting along. And since we’ll be together so often, it gives us plenty of time to explore this thing together…if you want.”
Sloan’s lips curled into a deeper frown, but his expression gave nothing else away. “If I want?” he echoed, his voice eerily monotone. “You want to keep doing stuff with me?”
Riley shrugged, trying to keep his posture casual. “Yeah. If you’re still interested in exploring and you don’t want any strings attached, we can do that. I have no clue how to have sex with a guy, but we can figure it out together.”
Relief flickered across Sloan’s face, but he reigned it in so fast that Riley was unsure if it really happened.
“But? There’s a but, right?” Sloan asked, his brows furrowing like a suspicious cat staring down a bowl of milk.
Riley held his breath long enough to weigh the pros and cons of his next words before deciding to spit them out and get it over with. “While we’re together, I don’t want either of us to sleep with anyone else. If you fuck me, you fuck no onebutme.Otherwise, we can go our separate ways with no hard feelings.”
Sloan nodded, as if he were expecting this. “Possessive bastard, are you?”
Riley’s eyes darted to the bruises darkening on Sloan’s throat, shoulders and chest. “Nope.”
“Fucking liar,” said Sloan, and he lifted a finger to brush over the marks left by Riley’s teeth, and heat rushed south so fast he cursed. “Fine. I won’t fuck anyone, man or woman, while we’reexperimenting.”
Riley’s mouth quirked, already prepared for what came next. “But?”
Chuckling, Sloancrawledonto his lap and gripped the back of the couch, pinning Riley much like he had been earlier. “But don’t fucking bore me, Evans. And if you fall for me, you’remine.”
Riley clenched his jaw, his hardening dick contradicting his confusion toward Sloan’s bold statement. “What does that even mean?”
Sloan gripped his jaw andslowlydragged his pert ass over the bulge in Riley’s sweats. “You know what it fucking means,” he said, flashing Riley a wicked and dangerous grin. “If you catch feelings for me, I’llownyou. I’ll be free to break your heart, or if you’rereallygood, I could be persuaded to keep you.”
Riley was beginning to understand, with blinding clarity, that Kingston wasn’t questioning his sexuality at all. If anything, he seemed eager to use Riley as a toy that he might decide to keep on his shelf forever or discard once he was bored.
A cruel king indeed.
