“You are pure temptation,” he says in a low, deep voice. It doesn’t sound like a complaint.
“Yes,” I surprise myself by agreeing.
Barrett
If it was anyone else, I’d think the guilelessness was an act. But I’m convinced Sterling truly has no idea how utterly and perfectly irresistible he is.
I help him into the car and buckle his seatbelt again without a word of protest from him.
“Where are we going?” he asks once we’re on the road.
“I have reservations at Le Poisson in Dallas.”
“Wow,” he murmurs. “That’s…wow.”
I smile to myself, pleased that I’ve impressed him. If a simple seafood dinner is enough to awe him, just wait until I get him to Vegas and show him all the things I can give him.
It’s over an hour drive there, and we pass the time by talking just like we have the past three nights at the bar. I soak up all the information Sterling gives me about his life and store it away like pieces of treasure.
When we reach the restaurant, I park and hurry around to open Sterling’s door for him, offering a hand to help him out. When I don’t drop it once he’s out, he squirms a little, looking around anxiously.
“Does it make you uncomfortable?” I ask, squeezing his hand in preparation to release it.
“No,” he answers in a hurry, tightening his fingers against mine. “I’m not used to it, is all. Nobody back in Billow is…well, you know, that way.”
“Gay?” I guess, and he nods.
“I’ve known as long as I could remember, but I never told nobody. I figured it didn’t matter either way since I never exactly had people lining up to take me out.”
I lift his hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. Sterling’s eyes go wide, and he gasps quietly, swaying toward me at the small gesture. He’s so starved for touch, it makes my heart hurt for him. I want to wrap him up in my arms and never let him go. I want to make up for every touch he’s ever missed until he can’t even remember a time when he wasn’t lighting up under my caress. My cock aches…no, my whole body aches, to take care of him the way he needs. But I’ll be patient. If I come on too strong, too fast, it’ll scare him away.
I lower his hand, but keep a grasp on it, leading him into the restaurant.
The hostess gives me a friendly smile as we step inside, the expression wavering when her eyes land on Sterling. She stares just a few seconds too long, and he starts to squirm beside me, ducking his head to hide his face. That’s all it takes for the hostess to realize she was staring, but her apologetic smile is too little too late.
Sterling keeps his head down, sticking close to me as she leads us to our table. No one else gives him a second look, but it’s obvious that the hostess’ rudeness was more than enough to make him feel like he didn’t belong here.
I give her a curt nod when we reach the table, and receive another awkward smile in return before she scurries away.
“Maybe this was a mistake,” Sterling says quietly, shuffling his feet and angling himself in the direction we just came from like he’s considering bolting back to my car.
I almost want to march back to the hostess station and let her know exactly how rude she was. But it’s obvious I’ll be much more useful to Sterling right here. Putting my hand under his chin, I gently turn his face toward me. He doesn’t resist, but the way he fidgets is a dead giveaway that he’s nervous that I’ll suddenly decide he isn’t worthy of this date.
Insecurity clouds his pretty blue eyes, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip, making it red and puffy. I tug his lip free with my thumb, holding his gaze as I slowly lean forward. He holds incredibly still, not breathing a single breath or making a sound until my lips press against his cheek where his skin is a shade of purple-ish red. The strangled gasp that he makes sounds like a near sob, and my heart breaks for him all over again. I make myself a silent vow to do everything in my power to show him exactly how he deserves to be cherished.
“If you’re uncomfortable, we can go. Pick any restaurant in the world, and I’ll take you there,” I promise.
He pulls his eyebrows together, his eyes searching mine until a half-smile forms on his lips. “You really would, wouldn’t you?” he asks. “If I told you I wanted to go to some place in Rome or New York, you’d find a way to take me there right now.”
“Say the word.”
“You are…” He bites his bottom lip again, but this time he’s still grinning, the worry in his eyes replaced with what I can only describe as disbelieving awe. “You are somethin’ else,” he concludes.
“So, what will it be? Rome?” I suggest playfully. He chuckles and shakes his head, looking at the table in front of us.
“I think this’ll do,” he decides, reaching to pull out his own chair. I tsk and stop him. He’s going to have to learn that being with me means letting me treat him like the treasure he is.
Once we’re both seated, the waiter arrives with the bottle of wine I requested ahead of time and then tells us he’ll be back shortly for our order.
Sterling opens the menu and, after a few seconds of scanning it, starts to look worried again. I can’t have that. I reach over and coax him to lower the menu.
“Do you have any allergies or foods you absolutely detest?” I ask, and he shakes his head. “Let me order for you? I’ve been here before and have a few favorites.”
I don’t miss the relief that flashes through his expression. “Thank you.”
He reaches for his wine, lifting it to his lips and taking a small sip before grimacing. I try to hide my own amusement behind my glass, watching with increasing affection as he tries to pretend to like it, taking another sip and keeping his face perfectly blank this time.
“What do you prefer to drink?” I ask.
“Oh, this is great,” he says in a hurry, making a move to drink more. I reach out and pluck the glass from between his fingers, setting it down closer to me and fixing him with a look that tells him he’s not fooling anyone. A pretty pink blush creeps over his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “I’ve never liked alcohol much.”
“What do you like?”
“Sweet tea?” he answers, making it sound more like a question.
When the waiter returns, I order Sterling a glass of sweet tea and our entrees.
“You didn’t have to do that. I’m sure the wine was expensive. I can drink it.” He reaches for the wine glass again, and I once again snatch it out of his way. If he truly was my boy, I’d warn him that he’s angling for a spanking. The thought alone makes my cock swell against my thigh.
“I promise you, I can afford to buy thousands of bottles of expensive wine and waste them all.”
“It must be wild havin’ so much money,” he muses. “Where, um, did you always have it?”
“I come from a long line of rich, greedy bastards,” I answer, seeming to surprise Sterling with my harsh tone. “I’ve never felt like any one person deserves so much. That’s why, when I turned twenty-five and got my trust fund, I decided I wanted to do something good with it. My closest friends and I run an investment firm, focusing on philanthropic endeavors and funding projects that will hopefully bring some good into the world.”