“Hell no,” he said a bit too quickly.
Brantley’s gaze scanned his face slowly, pausing on Reese’s lips.
For the first time in his thirty years, Reese felt a stirring inside him. It wasn’t the pull that was foreign. No, it was his strange attraction to this man. This man, for fuck’s sake. No denying it freaked him out a little, but he wasn’t the sort to make excuses. Yes, he was attracted to Brantley. It made no sense whatsoever, but it was a fact, nonetheless.
But like everything else, it would pass.
Fixing his gaze to Brantley’s, Reese held his ground, realizing the man had stepped closer. He would not be intimidated. Not like this.
“Tell me, Reese, would you prefer you were the one I was texting?”
Those words were said in that invariably low rasp, the sound scraping over Reese’s nerves in a way it shouldn’t have.
There was maybe an inch difference in their height—Brantley just a hair shorter—which meant they were eye to eye, nose to nose, chest to chest. Thinking about the logistics of them coming together in an intimate manner … it should’ve pissed him off, had him stumbling back. It didn’t.
“I noticed you’re not sayin’ no, Tavoularis.”
He wasn’t. But he should’ve been.
The distance between them diminished until they were practically sharing air. Reese knew he wasn’t the one who’d moved closer, but he wasn’t stepping back, either. He wanted to say it was pride that kept him rooted in place. He wasn’t about to let Brantley bully him.
But no, that wasn’t it at all.
For some fucked-up reason, Reese wanted to know just how far Brantley would push.
Chapter Nine
Christ Almighty.
Brantley’s adrenaline had spiked the instant he’d seen the glitter of a dare in Reese’s golden eyes.
The man was so close he could feel Reese’s breath fanning his face. It would be the work of a moment to close the scant few inches and press his lips to Reese’s. But as much as he wanted that, he wouldn’t dare. He was not about to take advantage of the moment. They were both worked up from events of the day. The fear for Kate’s safety was making him see things that weren’t there.
Realizing he had to get a handle on this situation, Brantley leaned back, let his gaze drop to Reese’s mouth briefly before returning to hold the man’s intense stare.
While he wasn’t going to take what he wanted, he wasn’t above pushing to see which direction it might be leading.
“What is this, Reese?”
That golden gaze dropped to his mouth and Brantley felt his lungs constrict. Oh, yeah, he could see the curiosity there. And there was no ignoring the temptation the man presented. Brantley wouldn’t deny he had a thing for the guy. Hell, he’d been fucking Cyrus nightly in an effort to expel Reese Tavoularis from his thoughts. It wasn’t working, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t doing his damnedest.
“Are you jealous of Cyrus?” He wasn’t sure why he was provoking him, but he couldn’t seem to stop.
He noticed the tic in Reese’s jaw. “I don’t know.”
Shocked to the soles of his boots, Brantley took a step back, then another, attempting to grasp what he’d said. “What?”
“You asked, I answered.”
Yeah, he’d answered in a way Brantley hadn’t expected. This was not the way he’d envisioned this playing out. Sure, he enjoyed flirting with Reese, messing with the guy because he knew Reese could handle it. But he certainly hadn’t expected such a candid response.
“Surprised?” Reese taunted.
Shaking off the weird vibe he was getting, Brantley forced a smile. “How ’bout we pretend this conversation never happened.”
“I didn’t figure you for a coward, Walker.”
Okay, now. That got his hackles up, had him stepping in, this time moving in so that his lips were dangerously close to Reese’s.
When the man’s breath hitched, Brantley realized he’d been pushing him for this response. Reese wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know if he was jealous, but he wasn’t going to make a move. Which meant he was forcing Brantley to make it.
“You’re throwin’ mixed signals here,” he countered hotly, “and I damn sure don’t appreciate it.”
The sound of tires on gravel had Brantley’s shoulders tensing even as Reese leaned over, peered around him.
“Looks like your boyfriend’s here. It’s almost like he knew this was gonna happen.”
“What was gonna happen?”
Reese’s gaze bounced back and forth over his face, but he didn’t answer the question. Instead, said, “Probably should back up now. Wouldn’t want Cyrus gettin’ any ideas.”
Because he was never one to do what people expected, Brantley leaned in a little more, keeping his voice low when he said, “You’re right. He’s a booty call. He comes over late, lets me fuck him until we’re both exhausted, then he falls asleep in my bed.”
There was a soft growl coming from Reese, which, if truth be told, was the response Brantley had been hoping for.
