Seb’s eyes trailed to the scar on the side of Declan’s neck, ragged and tinged with pink. He imagined it must have come from one of Declan’s old jobs, and he tried not to let his imagination run wild with worry and speculation, thinking of how close things might have come to ending for him.
“You’re staring at my scar.”
Seb startled. “Oh, no, I’m sorry. I wasn’t—”
“You were,” Declan said evenly. His voice was steady and strong, but he didn’t sound angry. “It’s fine.”
“Sorry,” Seb said. He knew his cheeks were probably pink, and he turned his eyes down to Ellie. “It’s rude to stare. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Most people take a look at it.” His voice was a little warmer, which relaxed Seb.
Seb crossed his legs. Ellie turned his way, considered him, and then laid her head back down on her paws. Her fur was thick and dark, but in the light, he could see better that she had torn herself up a little on the fence.
“I hate when people stare at me,” Seb said. “I should know better.”
Declan chuckled, then caught himself and turned it into a cough.
“What?” Seb asked.
“Just can’t imagine anyone staring at you,” he said. “I’m used to it. Started when I got the tattoos, then when I lost some teeth in a fight. The scar there is just my showpiece.”
“People didn’t stare at me because of my looks. But I was always so far ahead of everyone else at school and so much younger than all of my classmates…” He trailed off. Declan might be confident enough to joke about himself, but Seb still felt too insecure to say the rest of it.
That he had always felt like a freak, a brain without a person attached to it.
So far ahead that he couldn’t enjoy his childhood and too young to relate to the older students he studied with.
“You don’t have to explain,” Declan said, waving his hand in the air. “You’re too smart for your own good. I’ve noticed.” He pushed his leg forward, nudging Seb’s foot. “Sorry they gave you a rough time about it, Seb. Fuck those people.”
Seb thought about it for a second, then laughed. “Yeah,” he said. “Fuck those people.”
It wasn’t until Ellie fell asleep that Declan and Seb finally started to move from their spots on the floor. Declan went to clean himself up, and Seb was left in the middle of the house, aching with hope that the man would be up for sleeping in his bed again. He thought the flare of desire that consumed him after Declan fought off the intruders would pass, but as time crept by, the craving Seb had for Declan was only growing stronger.
He cursed himself under his breath for letting these feelings overwhelm him. Declan hadn’t given any indication that he was gay. Seb was just fooling himself and living in fantasies because of how lonely he had let his life in the mansion become.
Then Declan returned. He glanced down at the blankets and the snoozing puppy, then up to Seb. “I’ll take Ellie out. I want to radio up to security anyway. If you’d like me in your room again, we can just set Ellie up there. Otherwise, I’m happy to watch her in my wing.”
Before Seb could say anything, Declan turned to his jacket and boots. In a flash, he was talking into the radio while he roused Ellie. Seb stood there, his heart pounding, and then allowed himself to do the most logical thing he could possibly do in a situation like that.
He grabbed the puppy’s blankets and went straight to his bedroom.
