Page 6 of Tempered By Flames

“That’s your boyfriend, right?” Liam asked, even though he knew the answer to that question.

Austin beamed. “Yeah. He’s the best boyfriend ever.”

West snorted, causing Austin to narrow his eyes at him. Liam had to press his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh. These two big, burly dragon shifter firefighters were really bickering over who had the best boyfriend? It was ridiculous, yet at the same time, endearing. It was clear they both loved their boyfriends very much.

“What about Ethan, then?” Liam asked. “Does he have a boyfriend?”

Austin’s smile faltered. He and West looked at each other, but they didn’t answer Liam. Liam had no idea why. It wasn’t that hard to tell him whether or not Ethan had a boyfriend.

“Ethan is Ethan,” Austin finally said. “You should leave him alone.”

Liam blinked. He hadn’t been planning on bothering the man. “I mean, sure. I was just curious.”

“There’s nothing to be curious about. He’s just a normal guy.”

“I’m sure he is, but you said that was your family. I guess I just wanted to get to know him like I’ll get to know the others.”

“You will eventually, but let him take the first step.”

Liam had no idea what they were talking about, and at that point, he was almost afraid to ask. It felt like there was something he shouldn’t know there. Maybe it was better to keep his mouth shut, even though he was dying to know what the mysterious Ethan was and why Austin was being so secretive about him.

Chapter Two

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IT WAS GETTING RIDICULOUS.

The problem was that Ethan didn’t know how to stop. He’d told himself not to think about Liam so many times over the past few days, yet here he was, sketching the man’s face instead of working on the tattoo design he was drawing. His customer would come in the next day, and he’d only have a handsome face to show her, which would be fine if it was what she’d asked him for.

It wasn’t. She wanted a full sleeve of flowers, and Liam had nothing to do with that, yet here he was, staring at Ethan from his sketchpad.

It was stupid. Ethan didn’t know the guy. He’d barely met him once. He hadn’t gone to that dinner, but he’d had to listen to Jonathan, Dani, and the others talk about Liam. They were very taken by him and thought he was sweet, and Ethan was sure he was. That still wasn’t a reason for him to be drawing the man. He hadn’t gone to dinner for a reason, and that was because he needed to stay away from Liam. He didn’t know how the dragon shifter would react to finding out what he was, and he couldn’t risk it. He hadn’t even really talked to West and Austin about it. They knew because Ethan had had Caleb and Jonathan tell them, but he’d never wanted to discuss it. He didn’t see a reason to. The two were still there, friendly with him, which meant that they didn’t care, which was what Ethan had been hoping for. He didn’t want anyone to make a big thing out of it. Even more so, he didn’t want anyone to use what he was as a reason to ostracize him. Austin and West didn’t seem to care, and that was great.

But Ethan didn’t know if Liam cared. He seemed intrigued, and maybe a little sad that Ethan wouldn’t be at dinner. That was ridiculous, too, although considering the open way Liam had been behaving, maybe it was just the kind of person he was. He’d seemed eager to get to know West and Austin’s friends, but Ethan hadn’t been there.

He felt like he hadn’t needed to be to get to know Liam. Everything Jonathan had to say about the new firefighter was great. Ethan half expected Liam to have cured cancer or something, but no. He was just a nice guy, and for someone like Jonathan to already be so welcoming of him after just meeting him, that was a lot to say. Jonathan was even more wary than Ethan when it came to new people. After what happened with his ex-boyfriend, it was understandable.

But Liam was nothing like Jonathan’s ex, clearly. He’d made Jonathan comfortable, and that meant that he was in Jonathan’s life to stay, which, in turn, meant he was in Ethan’s life to stay. That meant that Ethan would have to be in contact with him, and that eventually, he’d probably tell him what he was. It was anyone’s guess as to how Liam would react. Ethan prayed it would be well because he didn’t want the group to fracture, but it was anyone’s guess, and he didn’t like that kind of guessing game.

He scowled at the drawing on his sketchpad. At the moment, he wasn’t quite sure he liked Liam, either. It had nothing to do with the man and everything to do with Ethan himself, but Ethan quickly turned to a fresh page and picked up his pencil again. He had work to do, and allowing himself to be distracted by thoughts of a man wouldn’t help.

He sketched out a flower, then another, then luckily got into a rhythm that didn’t include tall, blond shifters. It got easier to focus, at least until he heard the front door of the shop open. He was sitting at the counter in the waiting area since Dani was working on someone, and he looked up, a smile already forming on his lips. The smile froze when Liam stepped in, shuffling his feet and looking around like he didn’t know if he should be there. He had the expression of a kid caught stealing something, which was both funny and endearing. This was a public place. Liam had every right to be here, although Ethan was confused.

“Hey,” Liam said as he stepped closer.

Ethan put down his pencil. “Hey. If you’re looking for West and Austin, they’re not here.”

“Oh, I know. I’m not looking for them, though.”

Ethan tensed. Was Liam looking for him?

“I actually wanted to talk to someone about covering up a scar with a tattoo,” Liam said, gesturing at his shoulder.

Ethan blinked. Of course. Why else would Liam be here?

Ethan told himself to stop being ridiculous and to once again focus on work. The fact that work now included Liam was a detail he didn’t want to think about too much. “Well, everyone is busy.”

Liam blinked. “You’re not.” He looked down at his sketchpad. “Well, you are, and those are fantastic, by the way. I guess I was just wondering why you couldn’t talk to me about it? I’m not going to ask you to tattoo me now or give me a friend’s discount or anything. I just want some information.”