Just a Bit Shameless (Straight Guys, #8)

by Alessandra Hazard

He touched Sammy because he wanted to. He wanted to. It wasn’t sexual. Dominic had never been attracted to men and Sammy was no exception. The boy just pushed all the right buttons in him, buttons he hadn’t even known he’d had. He felt a weird pull towards the boy, a base need to have him that wasn’t sexual. Sammy had a unique ability to make him feel fond, amused, fiercely protective—and possessive.

As the lift doors closed after Dominic, Sam found himself staring at it stupidly, feeling lost and alone. He’d forgotten what it felt like. He’d actually forgotten.

“This is probably very soppy, but I kind of adore you. You know that, right?” Dominic leaned down and kissed him on the nose. Scrunching up his nose, Sam laughed. “It doesn’t count, you know. Say something. Something soppy.” Dominic gave a snort. “Sammy, you have a government spy-slash-assassin petting your hair. It doesn’t get soppier than that for me.” Sam pouted. “You suck.”

“I want you to stay because I care about you,” Dominic said against Sammy’s temple. “I want you in my house, safe, warm, and comfortable. Because you deserve it. And if you call yourself stupid again, I’ll…” He struggled to come up with a suitable threat. For someone who knew dozens of different torture techniques, it was surprisingly hard to threaten Sammy with anything. “I’ll change the Wi-Fi password and won’t tell you what it is.”

“I’m a good liar, and I lie a lot for work. I won’t deny it. But I’ve never lied to you.” He looked Sam in the eye intently. “Trust me. Please, Sammy.”

“You know what I like about kissing you?” Dominic said, pressing their foreheads together. “I like how responsive you are. You kiss me like—like you belong to me—like you’re mine, like your mouth is mine.” He gave Sam another short, hard kiss. “It’s bloody addictive.”

After showering and finishing his nightly routine, Dominic paused, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He tried to see what Sammy saw in him. All he could see was a tired-looking man with blank eyes and a blank personality. He spent so much time pretending to be someone he wasn’t that he was no longer sure who the hell he was and what he wanted.

but he couldn’t deny that he was drawn to this young man, emotionally attracted to him in a way he’d never been to any woman, and that emotional attachment seemed to spill over and mutate into a physical need, his sexuality be damned.

“It will be smarter if we don’t do this anymore. It’s not exactly helping my crush. I refuse to be that stupid, clingy gay kid who can’t take the hint.” He laughed a little, looking down. When he lifted his gaze back to Dominic, his expression was achingly honest. “But if we keep this up, I know I’ll become him. I know you have something of a soft spot for me, but promise me you won’t indulge me from now on. I don’t want to get my hopes up only to get them crushed again and again. And I don’t want my—my stupid crush to ruin our relationship. I don’t want us to lose what we have over something that’ll never work out. Not with you.”

No amount of nice clothes would make her like cock.