Page 53 of Baxter's Right-Hand Man
“My brother came at me with his fists cocked and split my head open when he knocked me against a wall. Phil’s a big guy, and he’s mean as fuck. One of those people who’s always angry about something and always sure he’s getting screwed out of his fair share. Just like our dad—fucking bullies. I was used to their brand of BS, but that fight with my brother scared me.”
Lorenzo regarded me over the rim of his wineglass. “But you still didn’t quit.”
“No.” I leaned on the island, shaking my head. “My drama teacher talked me out of it. She said actors act. Playing the role of a cross-dressing queen wasn’t going to turn me into one…unless I was very, very lucky.”
He grinned. “I like her.”
“She was the best. I owe her…a lot.” I pursed my lips and continued. “Long story short, I didn’t quit, and my already crappy home life got worse and completely deteriorated before my senior year.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t tell you all that so you’d feel sorry for me. I just know what it feels like to leave home with nothing and hope for the best. And I guess, I wanted you to know that this…” I spread my arms wide. “This isn’t where I’m from. It’s not who I am.”
Lorenzo tilted his chin quizzically. “Who are you?”
“I’m just…me. I play video games in my spare time and study old movies. Exciting, huh?”
“Which ones?”
“Hitchcock, James Bond, and Humphrey Bogart films likeThe Maltese FalconandThe Big Sleep. I have a thing for the Golden Age of Hollywood.”
“Me too. I’m a Cary Grant fiend,” he gushed. “Gary Cooper does it for me too.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.”
His smile was warm and teasing. He chattered on, reciting films he’d watched with his grandmother, listing seemingly every actor he’d ever had a crush on. Gregory Peck, Rock Hudson, Henry Cavill, Chris Pine…
God, I could lose myself in his pretty brown eyes and his meandering conversations with no rhyme, no reason, no marquee label, no outside interference.
Just him. Just me.
Fuck, I wanted him.
I took a chance and set a hand on his hip, drawing him close. “You’re very fucking pretty. Can I touch you?”
“What’d you have in mind?” Lorenzo flattened his palm on my chest.
I covered his hand and lifted it to my lips, kissing his knuckles, and the tips of each digit. His Adam’s apple slid theatrically as he briefly closed his eyes.
“This.” I sucked on a second digit, dropping his hand a moment later to cage him against the island. I nibbled his earlobe and traced the shell with the tip of my tongue, loving the way he shivered in response. “Or this.”
He sighed breathlessly, tilting his chin till our noses brushed. “Kiss me.”
I bent to lick the seam of his lips and pushed my tongue inside. Lorenzo moaned his approval, wrapping his arms around my neck and molding himself to my chest. I skimmed my fingers along his sides and grabbed his ass, squeezing his taut cheeks as I sucked and licked him. I was ravenous.
There was nothing temperate or gentle here. I couldn’t stop touching him. My hands were everywhere—tugging his hair and plucking at his shirt while I plundered like a hungry wolf. When I realized he was standing on tip-toes, I picked him up and set him on the island, stepping between his spread thighs, our mouths still fused.
I had a vague notion that I should pull away and slow things down, but I couldn’t. I hadn’t wanted anyone like this in a while. Sure, it was just sex, but he was someone I actually liked. He was a friend. I’d never touch a friend like this…with deep, passionate kisses and fervent caresses.
I broke for oxygen, sucking his bottom lip, and immediately got to work unbuttoning his shirt. He leaned on his hands to give me room, arching as I pulled the fabric apart and bent to tease his left nipple between my teeth as I scraped my thumbnail over the other.
Lo hummed my name and ran his fingers through my hair. Then he tugged, lifting my chin, he pointed at our reflection in the bank of windows next to the breakfast nook. We looked hot.
I rested my hands on his belt as I licked my way up his smooth chest and along the column of his throat. “You’re so fucking sexy.”
“Mmm.” He tipped his neck with a moan. “Can anyone see in?”