Jared’s brows crept up, and Christian gave Alexander an incredulous look, too. Alexander was seven years older than him and Mila, but apparently a ten-year age difference was unthinkable.
“Look, calm down—”
“I’m calm,” Alexander said, sounding anything but calm. “We’re leaving.”
Christian was still so stunned that he didn’t even protest, letting Alexander practically drag him out of the house. He’d barely managed to grab his jacket and wave goodbye to Jared, who was watching them leave with a bewildered expression on his face.
The drive to Christian’s place was silent and tense. Alexander ignored Christian, his eyes fixed ahead.
Christian wasn’t sure what to think. It was the first time he’d seen Alexander lose his self-control. He’d always had a gut feeling Alexander’s unflappable, unemotional behavior was just a facade, but actually seeing it was a different matter entirely.
A part of him felt ridiculously giddy because Alexander had lost his self-control because of him. It had to mean something, right? Right? But on the other hand, he knew Alexander wouldn’t be happy at all about his lack of self-control.
He was proven right as Alexander looked tenser and tenser with every passing minute.
Alexander broke the silence only when they reached Christian’s place.
“Do you want him?” he asked, killing the engine. His face was inscrutable again, but his voice was sharp and hard.
Christian hesitated, unsure how to handle this.
Jared was Alexander’s close friend and cousin. He didn’t want to do anything that would harm their friendship, but... he wasn’t unselfish, dammit. He wanted. He wanted to make Alexander jealous—badly. He wanted Alexander to feel what he felt every time he saw Alexander with Mila. He wanted to make him mad with jealousy.
“He’s very hot,” Christian said. “He’s exactly my type.” Sorry, Jared, he apologized inwardly and looked Alexander in the eye. “So yeah, I want him—”
Alexander lunged forward and slammed their lips together, hand fisting in Christian’s hair. Christian gasped and tried to kiss him back, but Alexander didn’t let him. The kiss was hard and cruel, a brutal branding. It was a kiss meant to punish, but all it did was elicit desperate need and hunger. Moaning, Christian parted his lips wider, wanting him deeper, more—god, it’d been so long—
Alexander tore his lips away, breathing hard. “I can’t do this,” he said, as though to himself, looking at him hungrily, hand still in Christian’s hair. He started leaning in again, but stopped, swore under his breath and sat back into his seat, his eyes fixed in front of him and every muscle in his body so tense it looked like he might snap.
Inhaling shakily, Christian reached out. “Alec—”
“Don’t,” Alexander bit out. “Don’t touch me. Please.” He rubbed his face. “Please get out.”
Christian stared at him and then got out of the car, still trembling faintly.
He watched as the car sped out of the driveway and onto the street, the tires screeching.
And everything went quiet.
He was alone.
Chapter 18
When Alexander got home, Mila greeted him with a smile and a kiss on his cheek.
He flinched, but she didn’t notice.
“You’re late,” she said. “I thought you’d be home before me.”
Alexander pulled off his coat and threw it on the coat stand. It slithered off and onto the floor. He stopped by the couch but didn’t sit down and walked to the window instead.
It was dark outside. It was snowing again, soft gentle flakes fluttering to the ground in a beautiful cascade of glimmering white.
“Alexander?” Mila said hesitantly.
He heard her pick up his coat.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
He closed his eyes for a moment, his back to her. Yes, something was wrong. Him.
“Where were you?”
“At Jared’s place.” His hand gripped the window sill, and he had to take a few deep breaths to control the surge of rage. This was ridiculous. Jared was like a brother to him. They’d grown up together. He shouldn’t feel like killing him because of one kiss.
“He arrived already?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
The snow was getting heavier and the wind was picking up right behind it.
“Alexander?”
“I didn’t tell you something,” he said tonelessly. “I’ve been hanging out with Christian lately.”
Her breath hitched in her throat.
There was a long silence. The only sound he could hear was the faint howling of the wind outside.
“Okay,” Mila said, her voice shaking a bit. “Did you—did you sleep with him?”
Alexander’s grip on the window sill got tighter. “No.”
Another long silence.
“Did you want to?”
A bare branch knocked against the window.
The silence lengthened.
Her harsh, bitter laugh cut through the room. “You can’t even deny it. Look at me, dammit!”
Alexander turned around.
She stood in the middle of the room, her face flushed and eyes wide and shiny. An ugly, shaky smile twisted her lips. “Is that it? Are you going to dump me for him?”
Alexander’s brows furrowed. “Why are you even asking me that? You shouldn’t give me a choice. You can’t be okay with this.”