STORY EXCERPT

A sob escaped him, but he swallowed it down like a bitter pill. Getting emotional was hardly going to help him right now. He was a thief, a professional, and he was supposed to be able to think on his feet. He’d never had this problem before. Guess it turned out that there was a first time for everything. Including his friends abandoning him…

How could they just leave him like that?

How?

Like he was a piece of garbage and not their longest friend.

They’d abandoned him to the wolves, and he would never forgive them for this. And he would never forget.

No way in hell was he going to go down for this.

He closed his eyes tightly, grinding his teeth against the pain.

Think, Logan. Think, he commanded himself.

He had memorized not only the floor plan of the house, but of the nearby houses. One of them was a manor house, an empty manor house. He could go there! Sure, it was sometimes rented out, but by the laws of probability, that would mean that it was being rented out by an out-of-towner, and that played into his favor.

Logan hobbled along. He’d removed his gloves and mask, putting them in his bag. No one in their right mind would let him in looking like that.

There it was. Just one more minute of walking and he would be at the front door.

Grange Manor. The lights were on in a few windows. People were there.

Logan’s eyes widened. It was even more beautiful in person. The lights on only helped to illuminate the red-bricked house. He’d seen it numerous times in photographs when the team was first scoping out houses in the area, and it had caught his eye instantly. He loved modernity, but sometimes you just couldn’t beat an old-fashioned manor house. It was like a living, breathing piece of history ready to open its mouth and welcome you home.

Logan could only hope that the person inside would welcome him in.

The gravel crunched under his feet, causing Logan to wince as his ankle protested. He walked past a beautiful trickling fountain and was struck with a sudden urge to sit a while, to give up. He sighed, and he’d stopped for a moment, but then he felt a pressure on his shoulder, warm and sure, like it was encouraging him to walk on, not to stop, to make it to the house.

It was absurd, but Logan almost had the sudden urge to say thank you.

He shook his head. This nightmare of a night was making him lose his mind. Logan raised a hand to knock on the door. Then he knocked again. Nothing. No movement.

No, please, no…

He pounded on the door.

“Please! Please, let me in, I’m hurt. Please…” He trailed off.

His begs and pleas clearly weren’t helping. Logan tested his weight against the door and closed his eyes.

What had his life come to?

“Please…” Logan whispered one more time, sinking down onto the porch.

When the door opened and light spilled out, Logan blinked up against it, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing was real. A man stood there, tall and muscular, in a white T-shirt and a pair of shorts. He had a mass of dark curls and deep brown eyes, which were narrowed in concern down at him. It was nice to be looked at like that. A small laugh escaped Logan’s lips. This was absurd.

“Hello, I’m very sorry to bother you. I need your help. My ankle…” He gestured to the monstrosity that was now his ankle.

The man swallowed so hard that it was audible.

“You can see me?” he whispered.

Oh hell. Now it was Logan’s turn to wear a look of concern like a mask. Who the hell’s door had he knocked on?

ADULT EXCERPT

The front door to the manor slammed shut. Logan steadied his nerves as he walked to meet Henry.

It was now or never. They had almost kissed in the gardens. It was like something was hovering between them, something incomplete and wanting.

Logan strode out with such purpose that he nearly collided with Henry. Henry’s eyes widened as Logan reached out to hold him by the shoulders to stop them from colliding. Logan wanted to collide with Henry in an entirely different way.

Logan wrapped his hands into Henry’s hair and marveled at the silky softness of his waves.

“We were interrupted,” he whispered before taking a deep breath and kissing him.

Henry sucked in his own breath, like he was in shock.

Oh God, had he done the right thing in kissing him? Did Henry not want him as much as Logan wanted Henry?

Henry groaned into his mouth, opening it to him like a flower.

Okay, so maybe Henry did want him.

As if to punctuate that thought, Henry broke the kiss so that he could pull back and gaze into Logan’s eyes.

“Logan,” he whispered, his voice needy and desperate. It shot straight to Logan’s cock as it strained against his boxers.

“Do you want me?” It was Logan’s turn to be needy, apparently. But he didn’t care. Not with Henry panting and flushed in front of him.

Henry grabbed his hand and traced it down to his prick. Logan’s breathing hitched as he felt how swollen he was.

“Does that answer your question?” Henry’s eyes twinkled.

“Yes,” Logan breathed. His heart hammered. From the feel of him, he’d never taken anyone as big as Henry before. Logan’s dick twitched at the thought, at the pleasure he knew Henry could bring him.

“Good. So walk your beautiful self up those stairs, please,” Henry commanded.

Logan had to stop himself from practically running up the stairs to the nearest soft surface.

Henry laughed and took the stairs two at a time to catch up with him, lacing his hand into Logan’s and overtaking him, pulling him along the corridor and into the nearest bedroom. All Logan cared about was that there was a bed.

“Kiss me again,” Henry said, and Logan obliged.

Their kiss warmed his entire being, and it was like they couldn’t rip other’s clothes off fast enough. But it seemed like Henry was unwilling to remove his mouth from Logan’s lips, and that made it a whole lot more difficult. As his sweater got stuck, Logan stifled a laugh.

“Hang on,” he said, pulling it off himself. When he did, he took a step back and drank Henry in.

He was gorgeous. Logan finally allowed himself to admit that. Henry’s beauty had an otherworldly quality, something that Logan couldn’t quite put his finger on but wanted to. It was like he was from another time with the way his dark hair curled, the way he held himself so ramrod straight, tall and sure of himself. And his body… Logan wasn’t sure what he had been hiding under all the sweaters, but… wow. His body was toned and firm, with two perfectly formed dark nipples, a smattering of chest hair as well as a trail leading down to his erect cock, which was sticking out like it was trying to make a point. Look at me. Well, Logan was looking. He found he couldn’t look away. He finally dragged his gaze back up to meet Henry’s and found him doing the exact same thing, taking Logan in.

Logan shuffled. Guess it turned out he didn’t like being in the spotlight. But Henry seemed to like what he saw, if the heated sparkle in his gaze was anything to go by. Logan felt his cheeks heat, and Henry grinned, stepping closer and dropping a peck onto Logan’s lips. But Henry’s lips didn’t stop there. They traveled over to Logan’s neck, heading lower, lower and lower, until Henry was on his knees in front of Logan, sucking his dick into his mouth.

Logan gasped at the contact of Henry’s lips around his dick. It felt even more perfect than he imagined it would. Henry bobbed his head up and down, coating Logan with his tongue. Henry took him deeply and with force, nearly knocking Logan backward onto the bed. Henry’s hands grabbed Logan’s ass, firmly holding him in place while he pleasured him.

“Oh God, Henry,” Logan moaned. The sound of his name seemed to spur Henry on. He lightly bit Logan’s length and cupped his balls with the other hand. That was it. That was enough. One final suck and Logan spilled himself into Henry’s mouth. His legs shook, and Henry took advantage of that, pushing him down onto the bed and flipping him onto his stomach.