Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
“No, I’m just hot. I’ve been working a lot.” Jake pulled the flimsy shower curtain shut so hastily Vars could still easily see him in the slit between the polyester and the wall. When Jake took off his T-shirt and threw it to the floor, Vars saw the bruises forming around his chest, across the Kings of Hell MC emblem tattooed there. It made him feel somewhat guilty, considering how ill Jake seemed after taking the punches, so he stayed to make sure Jake was indeed fine. As angry as it had made him that Jake tried to cut off some of his facial hair, the boy was young and still on the level of pulling such pranks.
He’d not seen much of Jake’s skin so far, beyond the arms inked with black-and-white flames and the design of a bike riding on top of brass knuckles, but once his top was off, the boy’s harmoniously toned body was revealed and made Vars salivate.
Vars approached the row of sinks, each topped with a small rectangular mirror. Jake claimed they were all new, but it was a difficult thing to believe considering each of the pieces of glass was freckled with the black dots that sometimes appeared on old mirrors. The shade of the reflective surfaces was deeply unpleasant too, as it turned everything into sepia. Why would anyone choose shit like this to install in a bathroom—Vars could only guess.
He leaned over the sink and traced his fingers over his jawline. His reflection was so faint he could hardly see how his beard looked with chunks of it missing on one side.
Vars glanced over his shoulder when Jake’s sweatpants shot from behind the shower curtain and landed on the floor, but he forced himself to stay put and respect the privacy of a man in pain. Water hit the tiles and curtain inside the shower, and its thudding sound was followed by Jake’s relieved groan.
Vars stayed in case Jake needed help, but for now, he would wait.
The bulb above flickered again, transforming the room into a sepia-colored, silent trance party. Vars stared at the mirror, beckoned by a trick of light. He could have sworn that for a split second his reflection disappeared, only to come back within a blink of the defective lamp.
Chills went down Vars’s spine, but he blamed it on the cold tiles underneath his feet.
Entranced by the reflection, he forgot all about Jake until the steady whisper of falling water was interrupted by a thud.
“F-fuck,” Jake hissed from beyond the partition, sending Vars his way.
“What is it?”
“I’m okay, go away. I’m just hot.” In the slit between the shower curtain and tiles, Vars saw Jake kneel on the floor with water cascading down his naked flesh.
What if Vars had broken Jake’s rib and it punctured an organ? What if he had given him a concussion by blindly beating his head?
Heat flushed Vars’s face, and he dropped his pajama pants, walking into the stall.
He hadn’t expected the icy water biting at his feet or its spray on his chest, but after the initial shock he soldiered on and ducked straight under the stream. He let out an involuntary yelp and cringed when the frosty liquid dripped down his back but he stayed put, waiting for the shock to wear off.
Jake glanced up at him dazedly, flushed despite the cold. He started scrambling to his feet, but even that seemed to be a struggle. “You don’t have to be here,” he groaned, but it was hard to miss his gaze sliding to Vars’s dick.
Having watched Jake undress himself, Vars hardly minded the attention. The boy was so proportionately built, with wide shoulders, narrow hips, and a stomach that looked hard as a bike tire, all grooves and pronounced muscle. He had the body of a college quarterback, but physical strength wasn’t helping Jake’s obvious discomfort. It was time Vars stopped ogling him.
With a strong pull, he got Jake back to his feet and pulled him close against his own chest, making sure the cold stream hit the blond head, not because he loved the goose bumps that had broken out all over his body, but because Jake needed it.
On that note, Jake’s skin was supple like a peach, as if the shower hadn’t cooled him down at all. Even after minutes under the cold stream, Jake was so hot he could be used for a bed warmer.
“It’s fine, I’ve got you.”
Vars expected another shove, but after a few seconds of tension, Jake gave in. He rested his burning head against Vars’s shoulder and leaned against him. The mix of the icy water and the heat of Jake’s body was difficult to get used to, but at least the cold kept him from getting aroused. He’d have hated for Jake to think that Vars was hitting on him when he was in such a vulnerable position.