Page 8 of A Cold Hard Truth

Chapter Three

Remington Does his Research

The following Sunday, Remington stared at the brief exchange on the app he’d downloaded, reading and re-reading the conversation over and over again. It had been a week since he’d first talked with BlondAndBored69. A week since a random man on the internet with a ridiculous username confessed to him he wanted to be with a man.

What had come over him?

How had he been so bold?

Much to his surprise, it had feltright. The way he’d commanded the conversation. The way he’d asked and waited without leading the other man to the answer he’d hoped for. It was a ridiculous thing, to have such a rush from something so simple, so…standard.

Do you want to be with a man?he’d asked. What an audacious and obscene question for him—a virgin— to ask another person, let alone a person who had also probably never even been with a man. Clearly, nothing good could come of the conversation, let alone the coupling.

But he wanted to explore the feelings, so of course he’d turned to his books.

“The dominant must be confident and understanding of the outcome of his action before he takes it,” he mumbled, frown deepening.

How could someone be sure of something they’d never done before? How could someone be confident how something new would unfold when put into action? A person couldn’t be, least of all him. Remington closed the book and threw it at his door, just as it opened. The book landed with a solid thud against Jace’s chest, and Remington sat up, his entire body quickly breaking out in a cold sweat.

“You okay there?” Jace asked with a laugh, bending down to pick up the book. He flipped it over and read the title, his eyes widening before he looked up at Remington. “The Thoughtful Dominant?”

“It’s nothing,” Remington answered, holding his hand out and hoping Jace would return the book.

Jace walked into the bedroom and set the book on the edge of Remington’s bed, then sat down himself.

“Your face doesn’t look like it’s nothing,” Jace said.

“Just ideas.”

“They’re good ideas.” Jace picked the book up again and flipped through the pages, his stare dragging over the table of contents like it was the most curious thing he’d ever read.

“How would you know?”

Jace didn’t say anything, but tried to shut him up with a sharp look, the kind of look the book would have described asnot brokering argument. Remington licked his lips, undeterred.

“How would you know?” he asked again.

Jace shrugged and handed him the book. “There’s nothing wrong with liking things a certain way.”

“It’s more than that,” he said softly, reaching behind him and shoving the book under his pillow. “Or maybe not. Besides, it’s… nothing that would interest anyone.”

“I think you’d be surprised.”

Remington probably would have been surprised, but he wasn’t a fool. He knew while there was easily a market for a thoughtful dominant partner, there was not one for a thoughtful dominant partner who was also a virgin. If kink was about sex, and Remington didn’t know much about either, he would not make the top of anyone’s prospective partner list. No one would believe him when he asked for trust, when he tried to explain that something like that just felt natural to him, that it came easy.

“Not likely,” he said.

“Callahan, for example,” Jace continued, unbothered by Remington’s denial, “he likes when I tell him what to do in bed.”

“I didn’t need to know that.”

“I’m only saying I’m sure Callahan doesn’t strike you as the type, but people do find appeal in things you wouldn’t expect.”

“What can I do for you, Jace?” Remington asked, rolling off the bed and standing up. He tugged the hem of his shirt to straighten it, then reached to his head and fussed with his hair. He loved Jace more than anyone in his world, but he didn’t want Jace to see him flustered, and he didn’t want Jace to know about his interests.

“That’s fine.” Jace smirked. “You can change the subject. This time.”

Remington exhaled loudly.