Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Instead of stepping straight into Jag’s arms, though, Dane looked him up from head to toe, as if he had trouble recognizing his own mate. “Wow,” he said in the end, rubbing a flushed cheek.
Relief flooded Jag’s heart, and he turned to give Dane a full view of both the hair and his backside. “You like it?”
Frank laughed. “Are you kidding? I bet he’s now regretting that you’re going to the cinema, not staying in bed.”
Jag glanced at him with a frown. “If we planned to stay in bed, I wouldn’t have these clothes on.”
Dane rolled his bottom lip between the teeth as he watched Jag, and his eyes gained an intensely dark tint. “I want both. And I will get both. Eventually,” he said, coming close enough to touch the top of his sneaker to Jag’s own shoe. Big, warm hands cupped Jag’s face, and when Dane leaned closer, the scent of him, unspoiled by the strong perfume worn by all his other friends, flooded Jag’s senses.
“It’s so strange to see you like this. It’s you, but different. You look great,” Dane said, tugging on the braid Ros had made in Jag’s hair.
Shane rolled onto the sofa and nudged Frank with his elbow. “What did you tell Dane? That he has to bring Jag back before ten?”
Frank snorted and shook his head. “You know it’s impossible to leash that boy. All I can do is hope for the best. But Dane knows I have a shotgun.”
Dane made a face, briefly looking at the men behind him, but then pulled Jag into his fragrant embrace and kissed the side of his head. “I’m so excited! Come on.”
“Just don’t drive too fast. Jag’s not used to it, and he’ll get scared,” Shane said.
Jag growled at him. So maybe it was true, but Dane didn’t have to know all of Jag’s flaws. “I’m not scared of anything!”
“Oh yeah? What about—”
Ros covered Shane’s mouth from behind, laughing. “Have fun!”
“Don’t wait up,” Dane said, embracing Jag with one of his thick arms and heading toward the door.
“Jag, remember, if you want to go back, don’t act like a hero and tell him,” Frank remarked, pushing another embarrassment-poisoned needle into Jag’s flesh.
Jag didn’t bother to acknowledge his words, pulling Dane along to the car. They’d decided to not use Dane’s old vehicle until the matter with Rob was resolved, but Dex was kind enough to lend them his own for the evening. The payment was steep. Jag had to agree to let Dex invite a man over to the den for sex. But they did settle on it being a one-time thing.
“I’m fine,” Jag said as soon as he was in the passenger seat.
Dane leaned in to buckle Jag’s seatbelt but wouldn’t miss the opportunity for a kiss while he was at it. “You’re more than fine. I could eat you up.”
Jag smiled when Dane’s bi-colored beard tickled his skin, but he still felt uncertain about his new look. “So… you like this better?” he asked as they drove through the open gate by Shane’s home.
Dane chuckled. “No. I like both. A man can be attractive both in a sweaty T-shirt, when he’s doing some DIY, and in a tuxedo. It’s just a different kind of sexy,” he said, pulling onto the road that would lead them to civilization.
Jag eyed him with suspicion. “You’re sure you don’t have a preference? You wouldn’t rather be with a man who’d drive you to the date? Pay for it?” Jag swallowed. It had never occurred to him to save the cash he sometimes found in the junkyard for his own needs, so he bartered with it or had his friends buy anything he needed. But having to ask Frank for money in case he needed it during the date drove home how inadequate his lifestyle was to the society he was trying to participate in.
Dane took a peek at him as they faced the sun setting above the dense woods surrounding the junkyard. “Not really. I always split the bill, unless it was my birthday, or something. And since you’ve taken care of me for a long time, it’s only appropriate that I pay for us tonight, don’t you think?”
Jag sighed and stroked Dane’s arm. His blond side always seemed to shimmer in the light like some of the feathers Jag found in the woods. “My father always told us a man has to provide for his family. I think I find it hard to accept anything in return, because I feel it’s my job to give.”
The thick fingers, which were just as comforting as all of Dane’s body, squeezed his. “I am a man too, and I also want to give.”
Jag couldn’t take his eyes off Dane’s handsome profile. His beard, body hair, and even Dane’s size left no doubt about his gender. Where Jag was from, his attraction to men had been an unforgivable transgression, so why was he still holding on to some bullshit relationship ideal imprinted on him by a father who’d sooner break Jag than bend to his needs?