Page 10 of A Real Good Lie

Jay smiled, then slanted their mouths together. He cupped Callahan’s face in his hands, his thumbs beneath his chin, and he tilted him up, his tongue diving deep past Callahan’s lips. Jay kissed like he understood exactly what his mouth was capable of, and that level of confidence was one of the sexiest things Callahan had ever witnessed in his life.

His knees trembled, and he grabbed Jay by the waist so he didn’t fall over again. Jay smiled against him, pausing for a breath before returning to the task at hand, which apparently was to drive Callahan into a now never-ending state of desperation. He knew this kiss was a bad idea, and even as it happened, he knew he was ruined. Pizza and sweats on a Friday night was no longer his best life—this moment was.

There wasn’t another man on the planet that could kiss him as expertly as Jay kissed him, and Jay was a stranger. He thought about the way Jay could take him apart if he really knew Callahan, if he knew the things that made him tick, the ways to get him off, the places he favored to be touched.

It had been so long since he’d been touched.

Callahan dug his fingers into Jay’s waist, and gave his head a brief shake. It was enough, and Jay pulled away, his eyes hooded and his mouth shiny with their mingled spit.

“That was a good kiss,” Jay whispered, taking a step back.

Callahan’s entire body went cold and he pressed his fingertips against his kiss-swollen lower lip. His cock ached with want, and he had no doubt if he looked down, it would be pushing at the fly of his jeans, needy for attention. Jay made a show of dragging his tongue across his lips before looking down.

When he looked back up at Callahan’s face, he sucked his lips into his mouth and took another step back. The music was still loud, the club still dark, but for Callahan, everything was clear. He wanted this man in a way he hadn’t wanted anyone before, and that was dangerous. He didn’t know him, didn’t know anything about him.

Holy shit, he’d just kissed a stranger he met in line for the bathroom.

He covered his face with his hands, fighting back shame and arousal, and when he dropped his hands away, Jay was gone.

Chapter Four

Jace Wasn’t Expecting That

He had to leave.

There was no way Jace could be there when that beautiful, blue-eyed devil dropped his hands, because if he was, there was no way Jace could end things with only one kiss. He’d set out to Lion with the intent to find a hookup, and when he’d spotted the casually awkward looking man behind him in line for the bathrooms, he’d turned the seduction up to eleven and shot his shot.

The hot guy looked like he’d wanted to be anywhere but there, so suggesting they leave had been easier than Jace had expected. The denial had stung, but the kiss…

The kiss mortally wounded him.

He was seconds away from begging, from pleading, but the stranger covered his face and Jace could feel the shame radiating off of him in waves, and that wasn’t what he’d wanted. Jace didn’t want anyone to feel bad about him, about sex, about anything really, and so he’d run.

Just one kiss.

Okay.

Jace escaped out the back door of the club and into the alley, flattening himself against the brick wall to catch his breath. He heard the familiar sounds of someone gagging on a cock on the other side of the blue dumpster, and he had a moment of regret. He shouldn’t have gone so quickly. He should have at least asked the man’s name, but the man had asked for his and not offered his own, so maybe he didn’t want to give it.

Jace called Carmen on his walk home, needing a distraction to clear his head. She answered on the fourth ring, sounding like he’d woken her up.

“What?” she grunted.

“Are you asleep?”

“Of course I’m asleep,” she paused and something crashed in the background. “Shit. It’s almost two in the morning.”

Jace looked down at his watch with a frown.

“I forgot about the time change,” he apologized.

“I forgot about the time change,” she mocked. “I’m awake now. What do you want?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

“Liar.”

“Carmen.”