Page 26 of A Cold Hard Truth

“Find something amateur,” Jace suggested. “Or better yet, have this online guy of yours film something for you.”

“I don’t want to watch him with another man.”

“You’re being obtuse.”

Remington smiled in spite of himself.

“Good word,” he mumbled, but Jace stabbed him in the sternum with two fingers.

“You said this guy does what you tell him?” Jace asked.

Remington answered with a jerky nod.

“Then tell him what to do. Make suggestions and offer guidance, Rem. See what happens.” Jace wiggled his toes and settled back again. “Have him work himself up, open himself, make his body ready.”

As Jace spoke, Remington felt his blood boil in his veins, and he sucked in a sharp breath, fisting his hands together in his lap.

“Tell him what you want and let him show you what it looks like,” Jace said.

“We haven’t… we haven’t done sex things yet,” he countered. “It’s been more day-to-day tasks.”

“Sounds like it’s time to level up, right? If he wants to meet in person, this would be coming anyway.” Jace leaned over and grabbed the remote off the coffee table, tossing it in Remington’s lap. “He doesn’t want to meet to talk about the weather.”

“I know,” he agreed, begrudgingly.

In the pocket of his sweats, his phone vibrated, and he knew… just knew. It was a message from George. Remington found himself fearful that his earlier message had turned George off, that he’d decided he didn’t want to drag things out any longer, that he didn’t want to deal with whatever Remington—Allan—was hiding.

“I felt that,” Jace dug his heel into Remington’s thigh. “Is it him?”

“Probably.”

“Answer it. Give me the remote, I’ll find a movie.”

Remington slid the remote into Jace’s waiting hand and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was a message from George, and Remington’s finger hovered over the screen for nearly a minute before he found the courage to press the unread message button.

A - I understand. We all have secrets, and maybe the time isn’t right. I hope I didn’t ruin things. I’ve liked everything so far. It’s helped. It’s… it’s really turned me on. When I’m waiting for a message from you, it’s like my body burns with anticipation and promise. I hope that doesn’t sound ridiculous.

G

Remington breathed out a relieved breath, ignoring the knowing look Jace threw him from the other end of the couch. Jace watched trailers of new releases, and Remington dared to dream of a future he didn’t think he deserved.

George,

Not never, just not now.

In the meantime, there’s something I would like you to do for me.

Chapter Eight

Sebastian is Fucked

“Your wife is up here causing problems,” Sebastian’s brother, Rhys, bemoaned through the phone.

“We’re divorced,” Sebastian reminded him.

“Not legally, and not yet.”

“It’s not my fault California has a six month waiting period.” He sighed and fingered a lock of hair out of his face. The mirror in the bathroom was still foggy from his earlier shower. “She’s getting my money, and she isn’t changing her name back, so what difference does it make?”