EIGHTEEN
“I’msorrythenight got ruined for us.”
Kit had been silent on the ride home from the club, and I’d been ambivalent about what he expected me to do. Did I act like I hadn’t almost killed a man right there in front of everyone? I’d let him set the pace of whatever happened after. His silence had been little help in figuring out what to do now.
It’d been far too long since I’d had a relationship.
“I’m sorry that asshole thought he had a right to touch you.” I reached for his coat and helped him out of it. “And I’m sorry I got caught up talking to Mike and didn’t see when he got too close.”
Kit took the coat from my arms, opened the closet, and threw it inside, not caring that it slid off the rack onto the floor.
“It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. He’s always been a bit of an asshole.”
I frowned at Kit. “Wait a minute. You knew that guy?”
“He’s my mother’s friend I told you about.” He walked off, and I followed him to his bedroom.
“The guy who ‘accidentally’ killed your cat?”
“Yeah.” He folded his arms across his chest and hugged himself. “I didn’t think he’d still frequent the club.”
“Let me guess. You used to play there with him?”
“A long time ago. I didn’t expect him to be there.”
“I wish you’d told me that before we went there. We wouldn’t have gone.”
“Why not?”
I stroked a finger over his cheek. He’d gotten rid of the makeup when he freshened up before we left the club. “I don’t want to play with you where another man used to.”
He dropped his arms. “What are you saying? It’s not like there are a lot of clubs where we can play.”
“Then we can play at home. What’s wrong with that?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sully. It’s different. I’m sure we’d have fun here too, but it’s so much easier getting in the space when I’m at the club. There are other people there who are into the same thing I am. It feels good to play with other cats.”
It still rankled that this man used to fuck him. It was one thing to know it had happened, but I didn’t want to have confrontations with these assholes from his past. That was where they belonged. Firmly in the past.
I cupped his cheek. “He touched you. You told me no one was going to do that. I believed you.”
He closed his eyes and placed a hand over mine. “I didn’t think anyone would. He was just a giant asshole.”
“Did he hit you when you two were together?”
His eyes flew open and connected with mine for a brief second, then flickered away. “It doesn’t matter.”
The son of a bitch. No wonder he didn’t like impact play punishment. “I wish I’d broken his fucking leg. Better yet to prevent him from touching you ever again.”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“Do you have to ask?”
I slipped an arm around his waist and lifted him. He was so small. He weighed next to nothing. With a hand on his back, I brought him up against me. Kit wrapped his legs around my waist. I rubbed a hand down his back and caressed his right ass cheek.
“Make no mistake, Kit.” I pressed my face to his neck. “Had he kicked you, I would’ve killed him.” I kissed the soft skin. “Maybe not right then. I’m not stupid. But I would’ve found him and killed him. You’re right that I like other men looking at you, envying me for having you, but I draw the line at them touching you.”
“Sully.” Kit slipped a hand in my hair and dropped his head back. I explored his silky skin with my lips, licking the pulse that fluttered at the base of his neck. I nipped, then sucked on the flesh.