Page 5 of Nicks and Cuts

Dante kept his arms crossed tight, resisting the temptation to touch Shannon. The other man was behaving himself and hadn’t given any indication that he wanted a repeat of last weekend. It was his dick which had gotten entirely the wrong idea about the reasons Shannon was in his house. Renting the room to him would be dangerous.

Because one conversation might lead to a few beers, which might lead to something else, and he didn’t do that. He didn’t do that in town either, and yet he hadn’t been able to refuse. He should’ve been able to enjoy the casual flirtation at Pride without following through, but somehow, he’d found himself outside Shannon’s motel room…and then inside.

Perhaps if Shannon had been more truthful, it would’ve been easier to walk away. Or perhaps he’d only heard what he wanted to believe—it wasn’t as though he’d asked any questions. They’d barely spoken more than enough words to confirm that they both wanted the same thing. From the way Shannon kept glancing at him like he wanted to do more than talk about the room, and the way his dick pressed uncomfortably against the fly of his jeans, he was reasonably sure they both still wanted the same thing.

But that broke every rule he had about hooking up.

He only ever did it when he went to the city for supplies—not everything could be ordered online, and he also liked to talk to other people also in the business. They were also shows where he could turn a good profit, and classes that he wanted to do. As much as he liked Foggy Basin, there were benefits to be found in the city, one of them being anonymity.

He was sure Shannon would disagree with that. He was confident and perky and acted as though he knew exactly how to get what he wanted. Dante had already fallen into that trap once and enjoyed every moment of it. Sharon was the kind of guy who’d probably never thought twice about coming out. He simply existed with his perfectly styled hair, dark eyes, and lips that made it appear as if he were about to smile about some inside joke.

It wasn’t as though Dante needed the money that came from renting the room. His business made more than enough to support himself and maintain the property. He rented the room because his mother had. It was supposed to be a guest room or mother-in-law suite or something; however, his mother had always let medical professionals stay there when they first moved into the area. She said it helped pay for the horses. After three months of looking after her horses, he knew it was a lie.

His mother would’ve already made Shannon a coffee and be learning his life story. She’d like him, and that was enough. “You can rent the room.”

Shannon smiled and put his hand over his heart. “Thank you.”

“Aside from cleaning up after yourself, there are a couple of other rules. No messing around with my tools or interrupting classes, and no bringing people home.” He didn’t usually specify that, but he didn’t usually feel like he had to.

Shannon’s eyebrows lifted, and his lips curved in a dangerous grin. “Jealous?”

“Don’t make me change my mind. It’s my house, and I value my privacy.” He sounded gruff even to his own ears.

“I was teasing.”

“Don’t.” Why was he being so horrible?

“Okay, noted.” The almost-smile left Shannon’s lips, and he became far too serious.

Of course he had a serious side to him; he was a fucking paramedic. He wouldn’t be laughing and joking and teasing while someone was literally dying in front of him. He’d seen how quickly people could go from joking to serious. It was all dark humor until the bullets started pinging off metal or stone or whatever he was taking cover behind.

“So when can I move in? And do I get a house key? Is there anything else I need to know…does the gate at the bottom of the driveway get locked?”

Dante barked out a laugh. “I don’t think the gate has been closed in at least twenty years. The hinges are probably rusted into position.” His parents had closed the gate when they were kids mostly to stop them from riding their bikes on the road. By the time he and his sister had reached high school, the gate had been firmly in the open position. “The house key is on the room key, and you can move in whenever you want. A week’s rent is due up front.”

“Cash?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay…so tomorrow?”

“Sure. Class starts at eight and finishes at four, so come after.”

“I can do that.”

He didn’t have a fucking choice, as the last thing he wanted was Shannon turning up and distracting the class. Nor did he want to be explaining who Shannon was. What if the students thought his boyfriend was moving in?

It might impact business.

It would definitely lead to gossip. Both outcomes were unacceptable.

“Why don’t we make it six? You bring the pizza, I’ll supply the beers, and we’ll call it a welcome dinner.”

Shannon’s eyebrows twitched, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut as he nodded. Dante was sure it was more dangerous when his mouth was closed because then Shannon could be thinking anything, and it led to him assuming the worst.

It was going to be so much harder not to have thoughts about what happened in the motel room when Shannon was under the same roof.

“Deal.” Shannon stuck out his hand, and Dante shook it. He was a little too aware of the dirt smudge on his skin and the roughness of his hand compared to Shannon’s.