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CHAPTER TWO

RYLAN

Rylan shivered from the cool night air despite being pressed against Cameron. The man radiated heat. He couldn’t help but smile when Cameron rubbed his hand up and down Rylan’s arm, trying to warm him.

When he arrived at the club earlier, he’d wanted a night out the release the built-up tension from past few months, which had been busier than he expected. He didn’t come to the club to hook up, he only wanted to lose himself in the music and dance. After, he would head home and sleep all night and most of Saturday. He had an order due soon, and he needed to finish it, but he would collapse if he continued to work over twelve hours a day, every day without a break.

The moment he stepped in the club, he could feel eyes turn to him. Rylan wasn’t egotistical. He knew he received attention for his lithe, athletic body. But that was because of good genes and years of dance that kept him in shape.

He didn’t bother with a drink, nor did he scan the dance floor for anyone he knew. The music swelled, and he closed his eyes and let the music take over his movements, ignoring everything but the way his muscles stretched and swayed. His body heated and before long, he was alone in his head.

Rylan danced for an hour, not stopping the way his body moved to the rhythm, but something felt different. It wasn’t the men and women who wanted to dance with him, he would turn down those offers with a slight smile that wasn’t encouraging and a shake of his head.

When he blinked open his eyes, his gaze landed on a giant of a man with a curious expression on his face, leaning against the bar and staring in his direction. Rylan glanced around, wondering if he was with someone. But he stood at the bar, sipping his beer without speaking to anyone. Rylan noticed he drew gazes from many people in the club, both men and women alike.

Before he could act, disappointment flooded Rylan when a woman pressed herself against the man’s side and stroked his chest.

A solid, well-muscled chest.

Rylan swallowed down the flare of emotions rushing through him and dropped his eyes from the scene. He took a few minutes to lose himself to the thump of the beat, but before long he believed he’d forgotten about the man at the bar.

Each time he lost his battle of wills, his eyes moved toward the bar, but the man faced away from him. Rylan’s mouth watered at the width of his shoulders, the tapered curve of his waist, and the strong legs with thighs he believed were thicker than both of his put together.

Most men took in his delicate looks and his somewhat feminine body with no interest and while part of him believed this man would do the same, he still craved to find out what his reaction would be.

Turning away, Rylan cursed himself as he felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. He hated when others gawked at him as he danced and guilt swamped him when he caught himself doing the same thing to the man at the bar.

But as the hour passed, he found his gaze on the gorgeous man more often than not. He talked himself into taking a break and as he walked to the bar, a spot opened next to the man. He thanked the fates for the chance to talk to him. Even if the man ignored him, Rylan could see him up close for a few moments.

He moved closer to the open spot when a sudden wave of nervousness swamped him. Rylan didn’t have a type, but something about this man called to him. The man’s sandy blond hair was longer than it looked at a distance and the color matched the scruff on his face. It seemed he didn’t bother to shave before he came out instead of the facial hair being a permanent choice.

“Is this seat taken?”

The man didn’t answer and Rylan could see he had a look of concentration on his face. Words spewed from his mouth over the next minute, his nerves making him talk, but the words cut off when the man turned and gasped as he met Rylan’s eyes.

Rylan had to admit he’d never seen such bright hazel eyes on anyone before and he couldn’t help but smile when the man’s eyes never strayed from staring into his own. Almost like Rylan mesmerized him, but he scoffed at the notion.

“I thought you left. What’s your name?”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Rylan Ellis.”

Rylan couldn’t resist the sudden urge to follow his instincts.

“Would you like to dance, Cameron?”

With reluctance, Cameron, the name fit the man, nodded after Rylan shot down his excuse and moved onto the dance floor with him without a word. Rylan smiled when he loosened up after a few minutes.

Rylan lost track of time as he and Cameron danced. Each time there was an accidental brush of a hand against exposed skin or when they stepped closer together in the crowded club and their chests touched for a fleeting second, it felt like a shocking jolt. Although they were sedate under normal circumstances.

Dancing with Cameron was more sensual than some kisses he shared with other men. Not that he’d had much experience with other men.

Cameron glanced down and watched Rylan’s feet and hips, to see how he moved, hesitant to join in at first. But he moved when Rylan’s hands gripped him and swayed his hips. He never touched Rylan, so he reached for Cameron’s hands and placed them around his waist, and noticed he relaxed once they touched.

Rylan suspected he was careful because of his size. But Cameron didn’t intimidate Rylan although he steered clear of men as big as Cameron. Despite his care with Rylan, he could spot desire flashing from time to time in Cameron’s eyes. And other than fleeting touches when his hands squeezed around his waist, Cameron was the perfect gentleman.

He was both flattered and disappointed.

It had been past midnight when he invited Cameron to dance. Being in Cameron’s arms and feeling the flush of a true attraction for the first time in his life, Rylan didn’t want the night to come to an end. But as he opened his mouth to ask Cameron to get a drink with him, he spotted Tristan and panicked.