Page 9 of Doubting Hearts

“I’m particular about who I suck, Neil,” I drawled. “I have to say your cock doesn’t come close on my list of preferred dicks. I have a rating, and on a scale of one to five, I’d guess you’re a….” I looked at his groin pointedly, seeing him get uncomfortable. “A minus fucking ten?”

My derogatory comment had its desired effect, as Neil swore loudly, releasing Tammy’s wrist. I was amused at his distress. It seemed that even a straight man didn’t like to think his cock wasn’t good enough to be sucked by a gay one. The amusement faded when I saw Tammy standing rubbing the wrist he’d grabbed. I scowled at Neil. He scowled back. “You bastard,” he hissed as he moved over to me, his fists clenching. Neil was a big man, six foot four and very wide. He played rugby for the local team, and a smack from his fist would definitely not be a good thing. But I held my ground. I’d met bullies before, even though I’d usually ended up the worse one off, as I honestly didn’t know when to stand down. If he smacked me one, so be it. I’d go down fighting.

I tensed as Neil reached me and stood before me, breathing deeply, his face twisted in a snarl. I smiled. I couldn’t resist my next words.

“I hear a little bit of heavy breathing going on there, Neil. Am I turning you on, ’cause I normally only hear that level of heavy breathing when a man intends fucking me. Do you fancy me, then?”

I heard Tammy’s low exclamation, her “Oh shit, Toby, you idiot” coming at the same time as the solid sound of Neil’s fist hitting my mouth, splitting the skin and driving my head back. I hadn’t expected him to retaliate so quickly—my miscalculation.

I didn’t fall, though, but staggered backward, holding my ground. I heard a tight voice behind me.

“Everything all right, here, Toby?”

I turned to see Rain Engel standing there, his face taut, his broad shoulders squared, with a look of absolute loathing on his face as he looked at Neil. He was dressed in low-slung jeans and his usual cutoff tee shirt, and I have to say even under the circumstances I appreciated the sight. His forehead had the slight sheen of sweat on it. He made no move to help me or interfere, and I felt grateful for that. “I think so, Rain. Neil here was just leaving. And he won’t be back. He’s banned from this place forthwith. No arguments, Tammy.” My voice was sharp as I saw her open her mouth. “This is a place of business. Personal stuff stays at home. Neil’s not welcome here anymore. I’m sorry.” She might be my friend, but I was still GM of this place.

She nodded slightly and stared at her boyfriend. “Neil, go home.

Sleep it off. I’ll call you later.”

My heart sank at the fact that she still intended seeing this bastard.

Neil gazed at me, then at Rain. He nodded, a slight smirk on his face.

“I see how it is. God, what’s the world coming to when a decent bloke has to put up with all these pretty boys on their doorstep?” He stepped back as he glared at Tammy. “I’ll speak to you later. This isn’t over.”

He sauntered jauntily to his car, a Pug 106 that looked a little the worse for wear, and climbed in behind the wheel. He drove off in a snarl of tires and a blast of foul-smelling exhaust smoke. I let out a breath, realizing I’d been holding it in. Tammy moved up to me. I recoiled slightly, thinking I was about to get decked. Instead she put her arms around me, hugged me, then drew back to touch my lip tenderly. I winced. “You’d better go inside and put some ice on that, or no one will be able to kiss you for a while.” Her glance flitted toward Rain, who stood there impassively.

“What was his problem?” I asked her, studying her face.

She sighed. “Someone told him I’d been flirting with Lucas, and he got upset. He’d been drinking a little. He came down to ask me what the hell I thought I was doing.”

She smiled sadly. “I’ll sort this out, one way or another. I’m sorry he hit you, Toby. I know you were just trying to protect me. I’ll call you later.” She kissed my cheek and moved away to her open car door. She climbed in and drove off, leaving me and Rain staring after her.

Rain came to stand by my side. I flinched as he gently took my jaw in this hand.

“She’s right. You’d better get some ice on that. Come on inside.”

I didn’t argue, just followed him, returning his ogling action of the other day. He had a tight backside, snugly encased in black jeans. I had to physically stop myself from reaching down and filling my hands, parting those taut cheeks to see what lay between them.

“So… I didn’t know the dickometer went as low as minus ten.” His amused words made me flush slightly.

“Oh. You heard that?”

“I heard it all. I was standing outside. You looked like you were handling it okay until he smacked you.” He opened the door and gestured to me to go first. I went in and made my way to the Mahogany Bar, the casual drinking spot for the residents. Eddie would probably be there and would have ice on hand for my mouth.

I scowled. “Yes, well. He took me a little off guard. He’s such a fucking prick.”

Rain looked at me with a grin as we walked into the cool, dimly lit bar. I headed off behind the counter to the under-counter fridge. I opened the door and took out a few cubes of ice and wrapped them in a clean dishcloth. It reminded me of the incident with Trevor.

A few patrons were seated, sipping their drinks. Eddie was at the far table, serving food. He glanced up at me and nodded, looking a little surprised at seeing me in his domain. I moved out from behind the bar into the open, putting the cloth against my cut. The icy-cold bit into it.

“Christ, that stings.”

Rain chuckled. “Don’t be such a baby. If you weren’t such a feisty little git, you wouldn’t have that rather sexy pout.”

My insides churned at his words. My groin was already a little heated from him simply being in such close proximity. “Feisty little git? Pouty?” I said indignantly. He smiled a slow, warm smile that definitely made my cock want to play nice.

“Compliments, I promise. You had great lips before. Now they’re just poutier.”