Page 194 of Phobia

Another slow breath in and out, and then I answered. “I’m not a fan of masks. My older brother pretty much fucked me up when I was younger, and masks were his torture device of choice, aside from his fists. If you can believe it, my reaction to masks used to be way worse. I’m okay with them now, for the most part, if I’m expecting them. Like when I see them at a Halloween party, for example, which is inevitable, I’m usually able to move past the fear. It’s when I’m caught off guard that this sort of shit happens.”

“Damn, Graysin, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” He lay his other hand in his lap and stared at it solemnly.

“I don’t really tell people about it, because it’s not usually an issue that others witness me going through. Don’t feel bad,” I reassured him. “Out of curiosity though, why did you come in here with that mask on?”

“I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I just picked it up today to wear on Halloween and was headed to my room to decide what to wear with it. I saw you in here doing your thing and…I don’t know. I guess I thought it would be funny.”

My ears perked up. “Are you coming to Blaine’s party after all?”

“Ah, no.” Gage gave me a choppy half-smile. “It’ll still be a cold day in hell when I do that. I needed a costume because I’m passing out candy over at Lacey’s house. Devon will be there too.”

“How domestic of you.” I smiled at him when he poked between two of my ribs.

“Uhhh, everything okay in here?” The question came from the doorway. Gage and I looked over and found Kellen and Nate standing just inside the room, heads cocked in a mirrored pose, and their eyes full of curiosity. It was Kellen who’d asked the question, and his mouth was turned down in a small frown. I was still ass-up on my bed, and Gage was still sitting beside me with a palm on my back. I realized how this probably looked and cringed. Gage yanked his hand away and stood up.

“Yeah, that was not at all suspicious, dude,” Nate teased. He knew that Gage and I were practically brothers. I rolled over and sat up.

Gage flipped Nate off with both hands. “Listen, I am a two-person kind of dude,” he said to the room, “and I already have my dick and my ass sufficiently taken care of, thanks.” He shot a glance over to Kellen, who stood there with his arms crossed. While this might not have been the most appropriate time for an observation like this, I couldn’t help but notice how hot Kellen’s biceps looked in his snug-fitting, long-sleeve Danville University shirt. “Seriously, man. He’s nuts about you. Haven’t been able to shut him up about it for the last two months.”

My nostrils flared, and I wanted to smother the crooked smile off Gage’s face. “Gage Elvis Michaels, you have a big fucking mouth.” Full naming him wiped the smile off his smirky face. I gave him a wicked grin of my own when he shot daggers my way.

“Your middle name is Elvis?” Nate asked while Gage headed toward the bedroom door. Gage flipped me off behind his head and the two of them left the room. “Seriously? Why the fuck am I just now finding out about…” Nate’s voice faded as they went downstairs.

Kellen’s arms fell to his sides, and he walked over to where I sat on the bed, stopping between my legs. Our eyes met and he stroked my cheek with the back of one hand. “Two months, huh?”

“Ugh.” I plopped backward on top of the pile of clothes and covered my face with my hands. “If my eye starts twitching, it’s because I’m about to stroke out from embarrassment.” I was happy to hear Kellen’s laughter as he lay down beside me. He pulled one of my hands away from my face, and I peered over at him.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you I’ve been interested in you for at least that long too?”

“Really?” He nodded. “Then why did we wait so long to…?” I gestured between us.

He stuck his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, silent for a moment. “I told you why I haven’t dated much lately. I suppose I was trying to sort things out in my head. Guess I’m a bit rusty.”

Turning on my side to face him, I propped my head in my hand and scrutinized his profile. Strong jaw. Straight nose. Full lips. He was beautiful. With a straight face, I said, “If you’re rusty, I can lube you up.” He surprised me by reaching over and pulling me on top of him. I sat on his stomach with my legs folded beneath me, no small feat with chunky boots on and the blankets and clean laundry fighting against me. His thumbs rubbing in lazy circles over my hips were soothing, and the rest of my earlier anxiety dissipated. I reached behind me and rubbed his cock. It sprung to life in my hand, and I grinned. “Is this the part where I lube you up now?”

“No. You’ll mess up the sexy…lion?…costume. And that would be a damn shame.”

“Oh, right. Yes, it’s a lion.” I pulled the hood up. “See?”

He flicked the ears and raked his gaze along my exposed chest and stomach. “Was Gage helping you with the costume or something when we came in?”

I pulled the hood back down and shook my head. “I realize that looked a little weird. He’d scared me and I tripped and fell into my bed.” Even though I knew the words were the truth, they sounded like a pathetic coverup. I hoped he believed me.

Kellen’s brows pinched together. “He came in and intentionally scared you?”

“No, no. More like he accidentally startled me. It was stupid. I had kind of a freak-out moment, and he helped me.”

His eyes scanned my face and found no lies. “Okay.”

The rubbing on my hips resumed. I slipped my hands beneath his shirt and ran them over his warm skin, enjoying the smoothness and the dusting of chest hair on the pads of my fingers. His thumbs stalled when I pinched one of his nipples. He took a controlled breath in and released it slowly. Heat burned in the dark depths of his eyes as he said, “You are so fucking tempting, it’s almost infuriating.” He pulled me forward and pressed his mouth to mine, giving me a hard, scorching kiss that left me breathless and speechless when he released me. I was still sucking in oxygen when he fisted my hair and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “If you weren’t in your costume, I’d rip your clothes right off and have my way with you.”

“How about I get up and carefully remove my costume, and then you have your way with me?”

He smiled and gazed out the window. “I like that plan too, but…I should probably try to get ahead on my reading for class. I work a few more hours than normal this week, and I don’t want to get behind.”

I sat up slowly and carefully untangled my limbs from his. “That is the boring, adult thing to do, I suppose. You have fun with that, and I’ll keep looking for a costume for you.” Kellen opened his mouth and closed it again immediately. “What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Ah, well, I love your costumes. They’re sexy as fuck, don’t get me wrong. But they’re not reallymystyle. Why don’t you leave the costume hunt to me? I’ll find something in time for this weekend. Don’t worry.”