Lahat ng Kabanata ng I Never Hated You : Kabanata 191 - Kabanata 200

Mark shook his head quickly. “No. I dated in university, and in theological school. But when I came back home to work, I just…at first, I made a conscious decision to focus on the job. And I was just getting over a breakup, so I wasn’t ready for something new anyhow. It made sense atfirst, but somehow I just never broke the pattern.”“That’s a long time.”Mark drew in a shaky breath, half-laugh, half-something else. “Yeah. It is.”“So maybe you’re not really thinking clearly now.” Lucas sounded like he was forcing himself to say the words. “You put a part of yourself to sleep, and then it woke up and it’s…it’s a bear coming out of hibernation. It’s hungry, and it’s ready to eat anything, even if the food isn’t really a good idea…”“I didn’t just wake up. That’s the thing, Lucas. You woke me up. I know what you’re saying about this not being a logical relationship. I get that. But I don’t feel like I really have a choice in the matter.” He wasn’t sure how much more he could say withou

“You fixed his car.” Alex’s words were almost accusing. It was a new twist on an old topic, one that Lucas was getting pretty tired of.“Yeah, I did,” Lucas shot back. “Or at least I tried to. No idea yet if it worked.”But of course Alex wasn’t concerned about automotive repair. “That’s really sweet,” he said sarcastically. “Cute, even. Almost adorable.”“Could you at least do some work while you’re bitching at me?” Lucas had swept nearly half the barn while Alex stood there holding his own broom and complaining.“I just want to hear you say it,” Alex insisted. “I want you to tell me to my face that there’s something going on between you two.”Lucas took a deep breath. “You want to hear it? Really?”Alex looked momentarily unsure, then nodded. “Yeah,” he said, and his voice was softer now.The transformation made it harder for Lucas to say the words, but he forced himself to nod. “I know it’s crazy and it’s going to fall apart hard, but yeah, Alex. There’s something going on.”Alex t

Mark let his mother talk. She was repeating herself, repeating the same things she’d been saying for months, ever since Lucas had been released. It was a travesty. A mockery of justice. An insult to her son’s memory. Mark barely heard the words. All he could think about was the shocked look on Lucas’s face. How could he have ever thought the man’s eyes were cold andunexpressive? The eyes had been the most damning part of it all, as wide and staring as they were when Lucas was caught up in passion.And Mark had walked right past him. He wasn’t sure what else he could have done. It wouldn’t have been fair to his mother to spring something like that on her without warning. She was going to the hospital to visit her ailing husband, not to hear about her son’s inappropriate romance.Damn it. Mark stood abruptly. “I need to go,” he said. “You’re staying for the afternoon, right? Kelly Abrams is taking you home?”“That’s the plan,” his mother agreed with a frown. “But why are you leaving so

And that was what God had intended, Mark realized. Sex was fun, but it was also important. Or it could be. And it would be between Mark and Lucas. “Can you stay a while?” he asked, his lips brushing against Lucas’s as he spoke.“You going to cook again?”Mark drowned Lucas’s snicker with a kiss. “I could. Or we could order in. Or…maybe we don’t need food? Not quite yet?”Lucas pulled away a little. “Don’t tease,” he said firmly.“I’m not. It feels right, now. Doesn’t it feel right to you?”“It’s been feeling right for days to me.”Well, that was fair enough. “Does it still?”Lucas licked his lips and his eyes danced as he said, “I don’t know. Maybe you could persuade me.”“Now who’s being a tease?”“Take your shirt off.”It wasn’t an outrageous request but the bluntness caught Mark by surprise. “What?”“Your shirt. Off.” Lucas raised an eyebrow. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Anything not covered by a towel, I’ve seen. So show me again.”This wasn’t quite how Mark had seen thing

Lucas trailed along behind him. The condom interruption had been good, he figured. It had helped him relax a little, made it easier for him to contemplate the slow, patient manner in which he’d have to progress. In jail, it hadn’t mattered much whether someone was new to the game, hadn’t mattered all that much if the other person was enjoying himself. It had just been about speed and power and base desires. Lucas had enjoyed that kind of sex, but it wasn’t what he wanted for Mark. Not at all.He got back to the bedroom and tossed the packets on the bedside table.Mark was looking unsure again, standing by the foot of the bed, his hands back to cupping his cock. Lucas ignored him for a moment, pulling the comforter and the top sheet back to the foot of the bed and then smoothing his hands over the mattress. He knew Mark was watching him and tried to look as if everything was casual and normal. Nobody needed to be selfconscious about anything, not here. He straightened and nodded toward