Here for You by Skylar M. Cates Read Free Book Online Page B

to it, in fact, that it gave Ian hope.
    At least Ian had been smart enough to keep his feelings private, and he’d never told Brendan how attracted to Cole he was. Ian and Sam’s long relationship had been a functional, practical one. Fucking Sam had been enjoyable. Sam had been athletic in bed and attentive, but theirs had never been an emotional union. The last years before Sam left him had been more about companionship.
    “I want more,” Sam told him, the day he’d packed. Ian hadn’t understood. He’d argued heatedly. He’d made his case for continuing their relationship. Sam hadn’t met somebody else then, so he had no reason to leave what they had. But Sam left anyhow.
    Ian’s desire for Cole was anything but practical. He’d lie awake nights, and it would consume him. He wondered what Cole looked like naked, what his cock looked like, what it would be like to kiss him. Every time he’d gotten near Cole, the chemistry crackled through him, and Ian wanted to strip off Cole’s clothes and screw him into oblivion. His brain would temporarily turn off, go blank, and that bothered him most of all—he always thought things through.
    Forget it, he’d lecture himself, Cole was too young. They had nothing in common. Not like with Sam, where they were both educated and from similar backgrounds.
    God, I am a fucking snob. Ian hated that side of himself. The side his parents had trained to dutifully judge people by their bank accounts and pedigree. He often wondered if being gay had saved him from totally becoming his parents. His parents were older; they’d had Ian later in life than his older siblings—“a little surprise.” He often felt like an afterthought. He didn’t fit in other ways either. He was too rambunctious for them as a young boy, and they soon taught him to curb his behavior, until being orderly became a fixed part of Ian’s world. But they couldn’t curb his sexuality, which disturbed them, so they mostly ignored it. As long as he wasn’t heterosexual, Ian was not as accepted as his older brother and sister—a piece of him remained an outsider with only his aunt Iris for comfort. It was partly the reason Ian took a chance hiring Brendan, somebody with a questionable background and little experience, which his parents would have been suspicious of, but Ian found refreshing.
    Ian went back to focusing on what he did well—work. In his office, he was cool and competent. Controlled. There was no chaos of emotions there. It was Ian doing what Ian did best: solving cases and handling litigation, with Brendan loyal at his side.
    Brendan. Ian never regretted hiring Brendan. He was sweet, the all-American kid, always smiling—though that made Brendan sound a bit vacant, and he wasn’t. He was sharp, good at his law classes, good with the clients. Brendan was too young and had too many years to go yet, but Ian imagined offering him a partnership in his firm someday, when he’d matured a little and had some real law experience. Ian recalled hinting at this future with Brendan after a particularly grueling case, saying, “I can see us together, doing this for a long time.”
    “What?” Brendan went still, blinking and then stammering, “Y-you and me?” He’d been eating an English muffin and almost spit it out.
    “You’ll be a fantastic lawyer soon enough,” Ian answered. “I’d be stupid to let you go.”
    “Oh.” Brendan had fallen silent, and Ian had become uncomfortable. Maybe Brendan didn’t desire becoming his law partner one day and didn’t want to hurt his feelings? They dropped the topic, and Ian never brought it up again, although he still hoped it would be true one day. Brendan had moped about the office that entire week, so unlike him, until finally his dark mood went away and he was his sunny self again. Ian was relieved and a bit confused, and he left the subject of Brendan’s future alone.
    Ian continued to enjoy Brendan’s company at work. He was also a diligent