“No problem.”
Big problem
. Why couldn’t this man be one of those people who protested a kindness until the other person gave up? He wasn’t supposed to say yes. “Go ahead and get yourself settled back in,” Grey offered anyway, “and we’ll just work around each other for a few days until you can go back home.”
“Okay.” Sirus moved across the floor, his body something of incredible fluid grace for such a big man. He paused, right back where he started, and Grey slipped back those few minutes to the guy in a towel and nothing else. Damn it, Grey had gone too long without seeing a naked man in person. That had to be it. He didn’t like thickly muscled men. He preferred sleekly sculpted and streamlined, maybe a few inches shorter than his own six feet of height.
What in the hell had he been thinking, inviting a person he didn’t even know, into his home? It was more than stupid, it was downright risky. Grey took a step back, and then another, until he bumped up against the door. He wanted to tell Sirus to get out, but he couldn’t. Not now. Jesus, Grey didn’t know what the fuck to do.
Live with it.
This had disaster written all over it.
Shit.
Sirus Wilder stood inside the cabin, silently cursing and calling himself ten kinds of foolish for agreeing to stay after getting a look at Greyson Cole. Kelsie never said her brother was so damned gorgeous. Six feet of stunning, perfectly sinewy body, thick brown hair, sun-kissed skin, and the most piercing hazel eyes with flecks of amber Sirus had ever seen.
Of course, why would Kelsie mention her brother’s near physical perfection? It wasn’t as if Grey enjoyed bending over for a stiff dick, had wet dreams about a mouth full of thick cock, or had fantasies of coming like a geyser all over another man’s body.
Sirus imagined himself standing naked and Grey moving to him, sinking to his knees…
No
. Not again. Sirus was not in the market for a relationship, and he did not do casual sex. Not that it mattered. Buttoned-up, neat, and trimmed-out on all corners, nothing about Kelsie’s brother spoke of hot, raunchy animal sex—gay or straight. This guy probably put a double-thick towel under his woman in bed so the sheets didn’t get messy. Hell, in Sirus’s mind, one of the best things about losing control was seeing all the damage done in the aftermath. Falling over into that wet spot, knowing he drew that reaction out of his partner was pure bliss to Sirus.
At least, it used to be. Not anymore.
No more lusting after straight guys.
No more convincing himself lust was love.
A heavy ache twisted Sirus’s chest, but he quickly berated himself for letting his mind drift to Paul, his previous partner, and snapped himself back into the present. The first thing that registered in his brain was Greyson Cole edging his way outside.
“Oh, hey,” Sirus dropped his bag on the floor, “do you need some help bringing anything inside?”
“What?” Grey paused, whipping his head up from where he stood outside the door.
He glanced at Sirus, barely made eye contact, and then looked away, making Sirus wonder if he had the word “murderer” etched into his forehead.
“Help?” Sirus prompted. “Do you need some help bringing stuff in from your car?”
“Oh, no, that’s all right. I have it.” Grey buttoned up his leather jacket, a garment that wouldn’t do a damn bit of good keeping him warm this high in the mountains at this time of year. “Thanks for the offer though. Umm, yeah, you do your thing and I’ll do mine.” Grey pointed in the general direction of the steps leading to the dirt path. “I’ll be right back.”
Sirus watched from a dozen feet away as Grey straightened, made a very precise turn, and moved down the stairs at an even pace. If Sirus didn’t know any better, he would say the dude had a broomstick shoved all the way up his ass, right into his spine.
Well, hell. He could already tell Greyson Cole would be tons of fun.
Wonderful.
Truth was, Grey was damned tempted to take up residence in the mountain cabin. An epidemic of romance had broken out all around him down in Raleigh, going all the way back to when he’d made the decision to become celibate. He had reached a breaking point for other people’s happiness when Kelsie and John told him they were expecting their first child, due in June. It wasn’t that Grey wasn’t thrilled for them; God knew it took them long enough to get together, and they were clearly meant for each other. But the thought of knowing he would only ever be “Uncle Grey” had him announcing he needed some time away from the business and that he planned to go out of town. Seeing the hurt in his sister’s hazel eyes, so much a mirror of his own,
almost
had Grey relenting.
Later that day one of his employees burst into the offices and announced her engagement.
Grey made a quick phone call to his sister, told her he would stay in phone contact, and went home to pack his bags.
That was yesterday. Valentine’s Day, for Christ’s sake. How lovely this cabin had looked in Grey’s mind,
yesterday
.
Today, he had a sexy-as-hell stranger sharing his one place of solitude, and sleeping with only one wall between them. Fuck. Grey wondered if Sirus slept in the nude. He just knew the man would radiate heat like a furnace and feel amazing to curl up against on a cold night. He bet Sirus would spoon a partner and blanket her with his big frame, probably wake up nuzzling against the fine hairs on the back of a person’s neck too.
Oh, no, no, no. Grey did not like that kind of shit. It was great in a movie or a book, but in reality, a person needed his or her own space to breathe freely. It seemed in his real life all too often, though, other men ridiculously tried to bare their soul on the first date, and became clingy and needy by the third. Grey shuddered just thinking about it. He couldn’t imagine ever revealing his most personal secrets and fears, yet other people gave their own away like candy on Halloween. He didn’t understand it one damn bit. And he was sick of dates or boyfriends trying to make him feel guilty or manipulate him into cutting open a vein just so they could watch him bleed. Grey wouldn’t ever spill his guts for a partner. If that was what was required to go out on more than one date with a person these days, Grey went ahead and decided he didn’t need to do it anymore. One-night stands didn’t really suit him either, so that left a lot of yanking the one-eyed bandit on his own. There were worse things in the world.
A soft tap sounded at the door. “Grey?” Sirus’s rich voice carried through the wood.
“Are you hungry? I made dinner. There’s more than enough for two.”
Speaking of worse things
… Grey could not get the visual of the almost-savage planes of Sirus’s face out of his mind, most compelling of which were those deep slate eyes. The guy was built of steely muscle, but his eyes said he didn’t spend all of his time thinking about his body and working out in a gym. Intelligence. That was a thousand times more dangerous than the perfection of Sirus Wilder’s physique.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Grey slumped and closed his eyes. “I’ll be right there.” He scrubbed the tiredness from his face. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Heavy shoes creaked the wood of the hardwood floor, telling Grey that Sirus had walked away. Taking a moment to remind himself that no business deal— or man—had bested him yet, Grey took a breath, gave himself a speech to be strong, and joined his temporary cabin mate for a meal.
Not giving himself any more time to think, Sirus blurted out, “Can I ask you a dumb question?”
Grey’s focus snapped up from his plate, meeting Sirus’s gaze. “Sure.” His lips thinned and his jaw clenched. “Although now I’ll feel like a fool if I can’t answer it.”
Grey didn’t crack a smile as he made that comment, but Sirus did. “I’m gonna guess you rarely—if ever—have to worry about looking foolish.”
“I like to be prepared,” Grey answered. “That’s just good business.”
Sirus would bet money Greyson Cole made that his motto in
every
aspect of his life.
Even sitting here at dinner, on vacation, his jeans and button-down shirt looked tailor-made for him. Shit. They probably were.
Taking a swig of his tea, Grey spoke from behind the rim of his glass. “What did you want to ask me?”
Sirus tried to hide his smile. “Actually, my question
is
about your business.”
The rigidity in Grey didn’t loosen one bit. “Then other than my partner, there isn’t anyone more qualified to answer than me. Shoot.”
So no joking or small talk
.
Check
. “Well, I’ve met John on a couple of occasions now, and he has mentioned that you guys own a venture capitalist firm.” His face heating, Sirus added, “I was just wondering exactly what that means. What is it you and John do?”
He quickly held up a hand. “The stripped-down version will do fine.”
“Stripped-down?” The tone of Grey’s voice made it sound as if Sirus had insulted him. “Okay. Well, let’s say you have a big idea, or even just a really good but maybe radical idea. You need help getting it past phase one, launching it into something big.
You need capital, maybe more than a bank will give you based on just having a big concept. You come to us, you make a pitch, and if we think you have a good head on your shoulders and everything it takes to make your dream a success,
except
the money, then with investors John and I court, we’ll get you the money and aid you in the steps to creating a profitable business. We’ve been very successful at reading people and knowing which risks to take. When the profits start rolling in, we reap some of that reward, as do the investors. Eventually most of the business owners buy our percentage out and go on to be very successful on their own, but some stay with us, whether because they feel they need the support we offer, or they know they want to keep growing and will need more money down the line. That’s what I do.” Grey finally did smile, and it was wry … and downright sexy. “
The stripped-down version.
”
Sirus had the grace to blush. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s all right.” Grey pushed back in his chair and stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankle. “What do you do?”
“I drive a truck.” Sirus resisted the gut-level urge to apologize for his blue-collar existence. “Not nearly so glamorous as what you and John do, but I like it. I’ve been able to see a lot of the country through driving, and I own my own rig so I make my own hours. There isn’t anybody I have to report to, so I can come and go as I please and live on as much or little money as suits me. In fact, I found my cabin by meeting someone while on one of my routes. I came through these mountains a couple towns over, broke down, and had to spend a few nights with the locals. I met the woman who owned all four of these cabins before she ever put them on the market. We were talking about what we do over some burgers and fries. When she said she owned a handful of cabins on the four corners of a lake, I said, ‘If you ever want to sell one, give me a call.’ She laughed and told me she was getting them ready for sale. She brought me right up to look at them the next day, and I bought the one across from this one. I saw the water and these mountains and knew I’d come home.”
“Where are you from originally?”
“Grew up in DC. Most of my family still lives there.”
Grey settled in and crossed his arms against his chest. “Big family?”
“Big enough.” Sirus smiled, but at the same time, his chest squeezed with old wounds. Better not to think about that.
You can’t change her
. The smile stiffened on his lips, but he forced it to remain there. “Mom and Dad, four brothers, and one sister.”
“Where did you go to school?”
“Didn’t.” Trying to fight it, Sirus couldn’t stamp down the knee-jerk reaction to justify his lack of structured education. “I did fairly well in high school, but I always felt confined, like I couldn’t breathe. College didn’t feel right for me, so I didn’t go.”
“I assume since you’re the only one here that you’re not married and don’t have a wife stranded back at your cabin without water.”
Sirus quirked his head to the side and studied Grey a little more intently. “Nope. Not married.”
“Ever been?” Grey asked, barely letting a pause exist between a response and his next question. “Are you divorced?”
“Never been married.”
“How about engaged?”
“Not even engaged.” Sirus crossed his arms against his chest and drilled the man with an unwavering stare. “Would you like to know my political affiliation next? Maybe how much I paid for my cabin? Or perhaps whether or not I claim a particular religion?”
Grey sat across from Sirus and didn’t so much as flinch at the dryness in Sirus’s tone, let alone show a reaction on his face. “How many questions do you get before I get to ask another of you?”
Grey raised a brow, but other than that didn’t respond.
Suddenly needing to move, feeling like this man could see straight through his clothes right into his soul, Sirus grabbed his plate and stood. He moved to the sink but paused before turning on the water. He looked over his shoulder back to the table where Grey still sat. “Are you trying to figure out if I’m going to fleece you in the dead of night while you sleep? What exactly are you hoping to find out about me with all those questions, Grey?”
Greyson Cole’s poker face remained firmly in place. “Just trying to make conversation.”
“Now why don’t I believe that?”
Grey got up and moved to the sink to rinse his plate too. Standing so close, the guy somehow exuded dominating cool—while at the same time made it hard for Sirus to find his breath. “You don’t have to believe it.” Grey’s voice reeked of quiet command. “I don’t owe you anything else.”