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It was caught and deflected instantly.
Seth had blown in like a force of nature, a gale in human form. He smelled of snow, and his dark hair was tousled around his shoulders from the wind. His jaw was dark with stubble and set in a grim line, and his warm, molasses-colored eyes had gone cold and black. His shoulders were so broad they filled the frame. Without taking his eyes off Aiden, he reached back and locked the door with a decisive click.
Just the sight of him was agony. Aiden's tumultuous emotions surged violently, spilling over in a messy tide of betrayal and longing that he had no hope of controlling. His hands were shaking when he planted them against Seth's chest and shoved.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded furiously.
Seth grabbed him by the wrists and effortlessly restrained him, driving him back against the opposite wall. Aiden's shoulders collided with a framed landscape, and it fell to the floor with a crack. Pete was going to throw a fit; he was always prissy about keeping the toilets as clean and fussy as a grandmother's kitchen.
"Pete's gonna kill you for that—" he muttered, but he was interrupted when Seth shifted his grip on Aiden’s wrists to one hand, grabbed him by the chin, and kissed him hard.
"You think I care what anyone in this town thinks of me?" Seth hissed. His breath was hot against Aiden's face. "You think I ever cared? All I care about is you."
The terrible part was that Aiden's traitorous heart still desperately wanted to believe that. Maybe it was even partly true, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like Seth was just a victim of the sunk cost fallacy. He'd given up so much for Aiden; he couldn't bear to admit he'd made a mistake and taken a gamble on someone who didn't deserve it.
"Let me go," Aiden insisted, and he was proud of himself when his voice only wobbled a little. He struggled fruitlessly in Seth's hold, annoyed and insulted that he couldn't break free. He was strong, wiry, and healthy; he could flip steers without breaking a sweat, but Seth's grip was like iron. There was no give in the hands like manacles around his wrists.
"Not until you listen to me," Seth growled. "You've got to stop avoiding me, Aiden. We need to talk."
Drunken, hysterical laughter bubbled up Aiden's throat. "Oh, now you want to talk! Where was all that talk when you iced me out for years? Ignored me? Made me feel l-like—like nothing. I didn't even know what I'd done wrong. Because you didn't tell me! Why didn't you want to talk then?"
He didn't wait for an answer; he wasn't sure he even wanted one. He thrashed in Seth's hold, but the booze made his limbs sluggish and uncoordinated. Seth cursed and pressed into him, trapping his legs and pinning him against the wall to stop him from wiggling.
"Let me explain," Seth begged. "You owe me that much."
His sounded so wounded, so hurt, that it almost broke Aiden's heart. But that only enraged him more. He hated how much power Seth had over him—had always had over him—enough to make him question everything with only the hint of a disapproving tone. He'd had Aiden wrapped around his little finger, shaped and molded him when no one else gave it a second thought, and he'd allowed Aiden to believe he was something he wasn't. Aiden's whole identity was based on a lie.
Red-hot fury shot through him, and he snarled, "I don't owe you a damn thing! You're the one who lied to me! You chose to take everything on your own shoulders without even giving me a chance! Everything that's happened since then—to you, to me—it's your fault. Not mine!"
"I was protecting you!" Seth yelled. "You were just a kid. I saw the confidence you developed with us and how happy you were to finally feel like you belonged. You'd just lost your home and your mom, maybe forever, for all I knew. You deserved a fresh start!"
"I deserved your trust. I deserved to be treated like a man. At least…I thought I did." Aiden's hands were still pinned to the wall above his head. He flexed his fingers, but they'd gone numb in Seth's tight grip. He swallowed thickly and knocked his head back against the wall with a dull thud. "I don't know if I deserve anything anymore," he whispered.
Seth looked shocked. He searched Aiden's face with those stormy black eyes of his and then took a deep breath. He dipped his head to nuzzle the bridge of his nose against the edge of Aiden's jaw. "Don't say that, baby," he whispered hoarsely. "You're breaking my heart."
Aiden swallowed the lump of tears in his throat. "Let me go," he repeated stoically.
"Never." Seth tucked his face against the curve of Aiden's neck, brushing kisses against the sensitive skin there. Aiden gasped. He renewed his struggles—or tried—but his body was already betraying him and arching into the strength of Seth's body.
"You told me once that you thought we weren't good for each other…back then." Aiden's voice trembled, and he instinctively lifted his chin to allow Seth better access, even as he hated himself for it. "You were right."
"I was wrong!" Seth rasped, his stubble scraping Aiden's jaw. "I screwed up, Aiden. I hurt you. But we can get through this—together. I lived more than a decade without you, and it was hell. Don't ask me to do that again. Please."
His kiss was desperate, searching Aiden's mouth for their lost connection. Aiden shuddered, biting his lip on a moan, but Seth caught it and sucked it away on his own tongue. Aiden's knees shook, threatening to buckle. He wanted to melt into Seth's body, let his heat and strength chase away the chill that had settled into his bones these past few days. But he couldn't.
With a pained noise, Aiden turned his head, breaking the kiss. "I can't," he rasped.
Seth rested his forehead against Aiden's, panting, their hot breath mingling on their damp lips. His grip on Aiden's wrists had loosened, but he didn't release him.
"Tell me how to make it right," Seth whispered. "I'll do anything to make you forgive me."
Aiden let out a dry, crackled chuckle that sounded painful to his own ears. "You don't get it," he said, laughing brokenly. "It's not about me forgiving you. I'm the one who doesn't deserve it—not you. You're too good for me. Always have been."
"That's bullshit," Seth said fiercely. He cupped Aiden's face in his palm, but Aiden jerked his head to the side, afraid the touch would break his resolve.
"You should hate me. The stress killed your dad?—"
"Red meat and a lifetime of hard work killed my dad," Seth interrupted harshly.
