Page 47 of A Cold Hard Truth

He gestured toward the living room, as if it could be in any other location, and Sebastian gave him a quick nod and disappeared. Remington took a deep breath, waiting until his hands stopped shaking to pour two glasses of wine. He knew Sebastian preferred vodka, but he also knew how sloppy Sebastian got when he drank vodka. He was also fully aware Sebastian had quit drinking and then recently started again, but why, he wasn’t certain.

Shoving the cork back into the bottle, he stopped, something clicking into place that he hadn’t acknowledged before. He remembered the earlier messages he’d exchanged with Sebastian. When he’d been Allan and Sebastian had been George, and George told him about his vice, his crutch. When George said the structure, the guidance, had helped temper his desire to use it.

At the time, Remington hadn’t known it was drinking. He hadn’t know much about the situation with Sebastian, and while he didn’t think Sebastian was an alcoholic, he inferred enough from their earlier messages that Sebastian drank when he was uncomfortable and when he was sad. Remington remembered bringing a sloppy and sorrowful Sebastian home from brunch and made his decision.

He left the wine on the counter. Two glasses already poured, and he went to the living room empty-handed. Sebastian wasn’t sitting. Instead, he stood in front of the entertainment center, looking at the various picture frames that littered the top.

“How long have you and Jace known each other?” Sebastian asked, holding up one of the frames. His gaze drifted down to Remington’s empty hands, and he frowned, setting the picture back down.

“Six years.” Remington pointed at the couch. “Sit.”

Sebastian straightened his back, and narrowed his eyes, then made his way to the couch where he did as he’d been told.

“No drinks?” Sebastian asked. “I was promised drinks.”

“You were having issues with ‘impulse control,’” Remington repeated Sebastian’s words back to him, using air quotes for emphasis.

Sebastian settled against the cushions with a groan.

“Or did you think things would change between us just because we know who the other is?” Remington asked. He was posturing, but he guessed he would settle into things soon. He would find what felt right to him.

“Everything changed between us,” Sebastian said with a limp shrug. “You kissed me and then ghosted me.”

“I’ve had work,” he said.

“You had work before,” Sebastian countered. “You still messaged me—Allanmessaged me.”

“You could have,” he started, then stopped, snapping his mouth closed. He sat down on the couch beside Sebastian and stared straight ahead, the same void on the wall he’d looked at earlier with Jace sprawled across his lap.

Jace was right.

Remington needed to get his shit together. It didn’t matter he was a virgin. It didn’t matter Sebastian hadn’t been with a man before. It didn’t matter kink was new to them both. Everyone was new to kink at some point. What mattered was the way Remington felt when he took charge. What counted was the way Sebastian thrived when he did as he was told. The only thing of consequence was the only one they needed.

“I know I had a false start or two,” he said. “But I get it now.”

“What do you get?” Sebastian rasped.

“What you need. WhatIneed.”

“And what do I need?”

“Control,” Remington answered, the word heavy against his tongue. “Structure.”

“And what do you need?” Sebastian whispered.

“To give that to you,” he said.

“Then we’re on the same page.”

“So, no drinks,” he rasped.

Sebastian shook his head. “No drinks.”

“What then?”

Remington wasn’t sure what came next, but he was about to find out.

“Now,” he said, clearing his throat, “we need to talk.”