Before he could get out the door, his phone chimed with a response.
Come by the house before you leave.
Trey opened the door and stepped out into the gravel lot, his gaze darting over to Magnus’s house.
It would’ve been in his best interest to get in his truck and drive away, pretending he hadn’t seen Magnus’s request. If he went to that house … if he went inside…
Trey exhaled heavily, his cock thickening just from the mere thought of getting a few minutes alone with Magnus. Those instances were few and far between these days, and the absence of the intimacy they’d once shared was weighing on him heavily. Sure, it was Trey’s fault, but the longer he let himself feel something for Magnus, the worse it would be when they reached the inevitable end. Which he feared was coming much faster than he’d anticipated.
While neither of them had officially put a name to this thing between them, there was no denying a relationship had formed despite Trey’s adamance that they keep things casual. That was his fault, too. He was the one who’d claimed Magnus as his boyfriend back when they’d been searching for Ava. It had been a knee-jerk reaction, one he wished he could regret if for no other reason than it would make things so much easier.
For months, Trey had tried to pretend things were normal, that there wasn’t an enormous obstacle establishing a permanent residence between him and Magnus at this very moment. That obstacle had a name: Ava March. There was no doubt in his mind that Magnus was in love with the beautiful wisp of a woman who’d come a long way during her recovery. Physically, she was healed, but emotionally, she had a long road ahead of her.
Of course, Trey had always feared it would come to this. Being with a man who was admittedly bisexual hadn’t been the smartest move he’d ever made, but Trey wasn’t really known for his intelligent actions. He let his heart lead, even when he fought the damn thing tooth and nail.
The back door of Magnus’s house opened, and the man appeared, effectively derailing Trey’s thoughts. His breath lodged in his chest when he saw Magnus standing there, his broad, muscular torso bare, accentuated by a pair of athletic shorts riding low on his lean hips. With his dark hair tousled and his jaw unshaven, he looked like Trey’s darkest fantasy. As many men were prone to do, Magnus had spent the better part of the last four months focused on working out as a way of shoving aside the emotional turmoil. Because of that, he’d honed an already superb physique, turning it into a masterpiece. One Trey craved like all the other vices he’d come to yearn for over the years. And like an affinity for alcohol, Trey knew this particular addiction was only going to end badly.
With a crook of his finger, Magnus motioned him over.
Trey knew he shouldn’t.
He really,reallyshouldn’t.
But he would because … fuck.
Resigned to his fate—he’d been a glutton for punishment his entire life—Trey headed that way, tucking his phone in the back pocket of his jeans as he sauntered closer, meeting Magnus’s gaze. He held his stare as he stepped up onto the deck. As he approached the door, Magnus moved back, giving him room to come inside.
Go home, man. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.
A mirthless laugh rumbled in his chest as he wondered whether or not his brain was talking about his dick or his heart. It could be either because Trey wanted this man with a passion that no longer made sense.
He took another step forward, although he was mentally shouting at his legs to go in the opposite direction.
Another step, then another, and he was walking into the house.
No turning back now.
Once inside, Trey closed the door behind him.
“She’s asleep,” Magnus whispered, referring to Ava. Gesturing toward the living room, he added, “In there.”
Trey resisted the urge to look in on her. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason he’d become so fond of Ava March, but he couldn’t deny the fact he cared about her well-being. Fine, that was an understatement. Trey genuinely liked her. Probably had something to do with her upbeat attitude, the way she put one foot in front of the other despite the trauma she’d endured. Ava wasn’t living in the past, dwelling on what had happened. She was relying on her strength and her resolve to move forward, and he admired that about her.
Ever since they’d found her, Trey had been watching her from afar as she healed. With every passing day and every ounce of strength she regained after her harrowing ordeal, he admired her a little more. She was strong and smart, sweet and kind. She could’ve easily become bitter and resentful after what she’d been through. Because she wasn’t, Trey had come to know her on a friendly level, and he liked the woman. More than he should, considering Trey knew, when it came down to a decision, the man he loved would choose her over him.
“Trey,” Magnus whispered, moving toward him.
Swallowing hard, Trey held Magnus’s stare. He could see the heat churning in those hazel eyes, the desperate gleam that told him what he wanted.
Magnus’s face was leaner, his jaw more prominent even with the scruffy beginnings of a beard he was working on. The man was so handsome it sometimes hurt to look at him. At twenty-six, Magnus was in the prime of his life, his health and strength like a beacon that called to Trey in the night. He wanted just a little taste of that, even if it wouldn’t last. Trey had started to feel young himself there for a while, and that was all thanks to Magnus.
The next thing he knew, Magnus had him pressed up against the door. The heat of his body seared him as their lips collided. With a heavy inhale, Trey succumbed to the kiss, licking his way into Magnus’s mouth. He didn’t aim for gentle, but he was making an effort to be quiet, swallowing the moans that threatened to rip up his throat.
In all his life, Trey had never been with a man who unhinged him the way Magnus Storme did. From the beginning, Trey had known he was merely setting himself up for failure, but he’d done his best to keep his distance from the then twenty-four-year-old who managed to make Trey feel ten years younger than he was, which only helped to ease the twelve-year age gap by a bit. Although Trey had an aversion to their age difference, he had still developed an addiction to the man early on, craving every touch, every taste. And for a year and a half, Trey had been giving in to his baser urges the same as he was now.
He couldn’t explain this overwhelming, deep-seated desperation that consumed him whenever he was with Magnus. There was an ache inside him that refused to be sated, regardless of how hard Trey tried to do just that. Each time they were together, Trey wanted him more, until he could hardly breathe for how badly he ached.
Without hesitation, Trey shoved his hand into Magnus’s shorts, gripping the steel-hard flesh beneath. His other hand clutched Magnus’s neck, keeping their mouths fused while he stroked the velvet-smooth length of Magnus’s cock. Thick and hard, the smooth flesh moved easily beneath his palm, earning a few growls from Magnus. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to flip him around and drive into his hot, tight ass. It had been too long since they’d had sex, but they hadn’t yet figured out how to hold off on this part.
