He didn’t feel anything beyond relief to be out of there without catching his brother’s notice. He needed to get home. Regroup. Plan. There was no facing his brother while his crew was around. He had to catch James while he was alone if he was going to have any hope of reasoning with him. Of course, that hope might have died the moment he beat the shit out of the asshole who’d groped him while he was trying to get past the bar.
As the door started to close behind him, he heard a shout rise up above the music, angry and ruthless. He had to get the fuck out of there.Chapter SixHe should have canceled the date.
Dom tightened his fingers on his steering wheel as he drove to Abe’s the next night. He’d wanted this for so long, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d always been a little pushy about the things he wanted. It came from a childhood where he never had anything he hadn’t taken for himself. Gifts had been few and far between, and even those had usually come with a price.
Especially when they came from his father or brother.
Their father had already been in his fifties when they’d been born, and he’d lived life hard. A grifter who’d been thrilled with identical twins because he could use them. Love hadn’t been a part of the picture, and by the time Dom had run, his father had already been withering away. Didn’t matter, he and James had grown up on the streets, so he had little attachment.
And their father had taught them plenty in the early years, forcing them to go along with his plans, which included nobody knowing they were twins. Two identical faces—one public one. And one public name.
Fuck, so many years had passed, and he’d grown complacent. Comfortable. There was no way in hell he was going to let James ruin this life he’d built.
Dom took a meandering, long route to Abe’s that night. Was he being overly cautious? Probably, but dragging James into Abe’s world was the very last thing he wanted.
By the time he parked in Abe’s driveway and knocked on the door, his adrenaline, worry, and anger had swirled into this volatile mix, and he knew he definitely shouldn’t have come. Damn. A first, real date with the man of his dreams and he was ready to take off someone’s head.
Then Abe opened the door and some of his tension eased at the sight of the gorgeous man. Some. Lust ramped it up as he took in the heather gray Henley that accented his muscular arms and wide chest, the low slung, loose and faded jeans that hugged his slimmer lower half, especially his ass when he turned to shut the door.
Dom leaned against the entryway wall, unable to take his eyes off the man. Abe turned and must have read the desire on Dom’s face, because he narrowed his eyes and stepped close. Dom shut his eyes, inhaling the fresh, showered scent and that aftershave that drove him a little crazy.
“I needed this,” he whispered.
“Bad day?” Abe stepped even closer, the heat of his body seeping in to warm Dom’s. Despite the summer temperature, he’d been cold since seeing his brother the night before.
“The worst.” He opened his eyes to find Abe’s gaze on his mouth and the punch of desire that hit his gut made him suck in a breath. He lifted his hands slowly, running them up Abe’s forearms. He’d bunched the sleeves up to his elbows, and he had soft hair on his arms that felt good against his palms. “You’re hairier than me.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” Abe still watched his mouth.
“Oh, good. So, so good.” He wrapped his fingers around thick biceps and pulled Abe into his body, sliding a leg between his. His heat, his scent, wrapped Dom in a cocoon of masculinity that went to his head. “You have this same hair on your chest?”
“It’s curlier,” Abe murmured as he took Dom’s hands and ran them up under the hem of his shirt.
Lovely warm skin and crinkly hair met his palms. Dom groaned and closed his eyes again. He dropped the top of his forehead onto Abe’s shoulder and explored his belly and chest under the shirt. He did have crisp, wavier hair on both sections. He slid his hands around to the smooth skin of his back. “Abe?”
“Yeah,” he said on a faint moan.
“You feel good.” He nuzzled into his neck. “You smell good.” He opened his mouth over Abe’s pulse, licked, then pulled back. “You taste good.”
“Fuck, Dominic.” Abe’s voice went guttural and he brought Dom’s face up to capture his mouth in a kiss. He nipped Dom’s lower lip, then lightly sucked it into his mouth, making it slippery and wet. Dom opened his mouth and Abe dipped his tongue in, running it over his lips again, mixing them together.