Bruised (Bruised Book 1) Read online

  Likes me? “Umm, no, it’s okay.”

  Adam grinned wickedly, bracing his forearms on the table and leaning forward a little. “No need to blush like that, Kaz. Sure, I don’t think Cooper would’ve said no to a shag if you offered, but he generally thinks you’re a good person. He worries about you almost as much as I do at work.”

  Why did everyone worry about me at work? Was it really that obvious that I wasn’t comfortable, that I didn’t like it, that I couldn’t do it? That I wasn’t cut out to be a bartender? “I haven’t really spoken much to Cooper.” He tended to stay behind the bar all night, not taking many breaks. Whenever he did, he was busy flirting with people—or Adam. Now I thought about it, maybe Adam had flirted back a lot too, but since he’d been with Nick I’d never given it any serious thought.

  “Cooper’s a decent lad, so if you still need a place to crash, I’ll ring him up right now.”

  “Oh, no, it’s fine now, really.” Adam had been honest with me. I should return that favour and be honest with him too. “I broke up with Al.”

  His brows drew together in a frown. “You did? Why? When?”

  “Well, yesterday, basically.” I swallowed, thinking back to the note I’d left. He must’ve been furious when he came home and found it, but he hadn’t called or texted me. Not yet, anyway.

  “I’m sorry?” he offered quietly, obviously trying to read me.

  “Don’t be,” I murmured. “It’s been a long time coming. I just… I had to find a place to go before I could end it, because I could never live with him after that. He wouldn’t have let me end it if I continued to live with him.” Then he would’ve probably forced me to sex too, which he’d never actually done before. Guilt-tripped me into sucking his dick, maybe, but never outright force.

  “What do you mean?” The frown from before was back, deeper now. “He wouldn’t have let you?”

  “It means exactly that.” I licked my upper lip, then nibbled nervously on the bottom one. “You can’t tell anyone, Adam, but… he’s not a nice person. I know he seems like it from the outside, but he’s really not. He’s never left a bruise anywhere visible, but—he likes to slap me around.” And slapping my face didn’t usually leave bruises as compared to when he used his fists. Not that that was often, but even once was enough.

  “The fuck?” And like that, Adam’s calm, happy demeanour was gone. “That fucker’s hurt you?” His hands fisted.

  It warmed to know he cared about me. “It’s over now, okay?” I didn’t want him to do anything on my behalf. As long as Al stayed away, I was happy to let him be.

  “I swear I’ll hurt him,” Adam murmured, clenching and unclenching his fists. “You don’t hit people who doesn’t deserve it. If I so much as see him touch you, I swear I’ll hit him in the face. And I hit hard.”

  A startled chuckle left me. “Wynn said something like that too.”

  He froze, eyes widening a fraction. “Wynn?”

  Oh! Well… Shit.

  “As in… Wynn?” Adam’s anger bled away to be replaced by surprise, eagerness, and then he seemed like he couldn’t quite believe the conclusion he’d come to. “You’re shagging Wynn?” He dragged both hands over his face, laughing. “Wow. I’ve seen many people try to get him on the hook when he’s out and about in the club, but no one’s ever succeeded. Cooper said Wynn rejected him too once. How’d you manage to seduce him?”

  “It wasn’t so much seduction,” I mumbled, partly embarrassed and partly pleased by the fact Wynn didn’t seem to get with everyone who threw themselves at his feet. “The day I botched my audition, when you left after work… He found me bawling my eyes out. I don’t think there was anything sexy at all about that situation.”

  He turned thoughtful. “Three days ago? That’s when you first met?”

  I nodded. “I went home with him. Not for… you know… but because I was a wreck and I couldn’t go back home to Al’s like that. But Wynn didn’t mind. He comforted me. He was so nice. No one’s ever been that nice to me.”

  Adam’s frown was back. “Then you haven’t met many nice people, Kaz.”

  “He said the same thing,” I chuckled darkly. “And I guess not. Besides my family, there’s only you and Mathilda. Al’s never really cared, and I was stupid to think he did. I should’ve realised it before I moved in with him, but… I guess I fancied him too much and was just happy that he fancied me back.”

  “I never noticed anything amiss,” he said then. “I mean, I’d noticed you sneaking off together. And when you moved in together, I thought it was rather obvious. Then again, I couldn’t fathom living with someone I wasn’t sleeping with.” He grinned wryly. “So now you’re living with Wynn, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Wynn was at home. He’d said he’d do some work while I was out. “Four days in and I’m living with him… It sounds mental, I know. But… I don’t want Kian to find out what Al’s like. It wouldn’t do him any good to find out the guy he really likes doesn’t treat me well.”

  “Why not?” Adam asked. “I mean, he should know what a twat Alistair is, shouldn’t he? He can’t go around liking a guy who’s been hitting his little brother. I don’t care how charming and nice he is to everyone else—as long as he’s hurt you, he’s fucking dead to me.”

  My chest squeezed tight. “What if he doesn’t believe me, though?”

  “Oh, come on, now don’t you be a twat.” Adam rolled his eyes. “Of course Kian will believe you. You’re his brother, for God’s sake. Why would you lie about something like that, anyway?”

  “I reckon lots of people do,” I mumbled, uncomfortable now. “For attention or… something.”

  “Not lots of people. A select few, perhaps. But you wouldn’t.” He stared hard at me. “You should’ve told me before. Hell, you should’ve told me everything after the first time he hit you. I would’ve taken care of him.”

  Adam was all buff and muscular like Wynn. He had tattoos and piercings to match too—at least the piercings in his ears, I’d never heard Adam mention he had pierced anything else. But where Wynn was all dark and intense and mysterious, Adam was fair and optimistic and a more happy-go-lucky sort of guy.

  “I’m sorry.” I bowed my head. “I know… but—I don’t know. I guess in the end he made me think I deserved it? But I’m tired of being someone’s dirty secret. He didn’t even want to look at me during—well, you know—” I couldn’t explicitly say sex, there were too many people around us who might pick up on that words. “It was always just me getting him off, never the other way around.”

  Adam’s expression was sour. “I never would’ve thought he’d treat someone like that. That fucking hypocrite. What’s he so damn afraid or ashamed of anyway? Mathilda’s brother and nephew are gay, I’m in a gay relationship… Did he think people would mind? Instead he acted all straight while secretly keeping you on the side? And as if that’s not bad enough, he’s not even nice to you and he doesn’t give you what you deserve, in or out of bed.”

  Adam’s a good friend. I smiled at him, but I could feel my face was flushed. “Can we forget about Al? I’m done with him… I don’t want him to cloud my life now. Wynn, he’s—well, it’s only been four days, but he’s good to me.”

  A wicked gleam appeared in Adam’s eyes, the sour mood from before gone in the blink of an eye. He was easy like that, Adam; it wasn’t often he was in a bad mood, and when it was it never lasted long. “So, tell me, Kaz… How is Wynn in bed?”

  I should’ve known this was coming. “I’m not telling you that.”

  He laughed. “Just tell me one thing?”

  I nodded, but it was a bit reluctant.

  “Is he good to you? Both in and out of bed?”

  I flushed a deeper shade of red, but this was a question that was easy to answer. One I could answer without dying of embarrassment, because Adam only asked it out of worry for me. “Yeah. He is.” Very much so.

  “Good.” Adam sat back in his chair. “Because if he isn’t, I will personally ki
ck his arse, and I don’t give a fuck about my job, if it comes to it.”

  That startled a laugh out of me. “Don’t worry. I don’t think you have to worry about losing your job anytime soon.” Wynn might look tough—and maybe he was to others—but not to me. He made me feel special. He was special.

  And fuck it all, but all I wanted was to go back home to him.

  Maybe Adam saw it, because he grinned. “You in a hurry?”

  “No,” I said hurriedly. Wynn was busy with work, after all. He’d said he had a lot to do, to take my time. So I shouldn’t come home an hour after I’d left and interrupt him. “Not in a hurry at all.”

  He snorted. “I remember what it was like way back when I first got with Nick. I couldn’t wait to see him again if we were apart for even a minute. All I wanted to do, all day long, was to rip his clothes off and have fun.”

  That wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind, but then again… I wouldn’t mind would I? Sex with Wynn was addictive—and I was already an addict.

  Chapter 9

  Wynn was stretched out on the sofa when I came back. “I cleaned out some shelves for you in the bedroom,” he said, waving that way while keeping his focus on the TV. He said it almost nonchalantly, like it wasn’t a big deal…

  But when I entered the bedroom, I saw that he hadn’t just cleaned out some space. Almost half the wardrobe was empty, waiting for my clothes that were still packed into suitcases and stacked in the hall.

  My chest squeezed, a lump stuck in my throat, and I fought against my entirely too emotional self. He’s cleaned out space for me—because he actually wants me to stay here. I’d thought it was a done deal, but now, with all these emotions flooding me, I knew I hadn’t been fully convinced. But I was now.

  I walked back into the living room and around the sofa, to stand over him. He looked up at me slowly, almost warily. “What?”

  “Thank you.” I sank down on my knees and bent forward to hug him. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you right now.” I’d very likely still be living with Alistair if it wasn’t for him. I didn’t even want to think about that, though, so I turned my head, seeking his lips.

  He didn’t say anything, but he answered me with his kiss. It was hard and desperate and soft all at the same time and I fell into it, leaning over him, one hand slowly running down over his chest, stomach, and finally over his crotch.

  His hips bucked, giving me a handful of what hid underneath the jeans. I want to make him feel good. The way he makes me feel. So I pulled away from the kiss and shuffled over so I was leaning over his crotch instead.

  “Kasey?” He propped up on his elbows to look down at me.

  “Shh,” was all I said as I unzipped his jeans and tugged lightly at them so they were pulled down to just under his arse. His dick was half-hard, poking slightly out of the boxers that had been tugged down too.

  I licked a line from his balls to the tip.

  “Ahh, fuck.” He fell back down, hips and neck arching. “Yeah.”

  I teased the piercings with my tongue, licked the whole length some more, sucked on the tip… and then finally took him into my mouth properly. He wasn’t fully hard yet, but he’d soon get there.

  As I stared bobbing my head, his hands tangled in my hair—not to the point it hurt or to where he was guiding me, just gently resting there, almost massaging my scalp.

  I pulled off him and moved down to give some attention to his balls, sucking first one into my mouth, then the other. I rolled them in my hand, squeezing gently, then licked up his already hard and spit-slick dick. I really like sucking cock. Especially like this, with someone I knew wouldn’t just leave me high and dry after. I could continue this all day, if it wasn’t so damn good. His pre-come was salty and mmm, I just loved the taste of it on my tongue.

  “Want to come?” I asked, wrapping my hand around his length to stroke.

  “Yeah,” he answered, voice strained, a little breathless. His eyes were closed, his hips bucking slightly into my hand.

  I’d halfway hoped he’d say he’d rather fuck me, but this was good too. I could suck him to completion and get a mouthful of come at the same time. And it didn’t take long, because he was already close. A couple deep-throats, some more sucking combined with stroking him, and semen splattered in my mouth.

  I sucked the tip greedily as I swallowed what he gave me.

  “Fuck. Kasey.” He let his fingers untangle from my hair, arms sliding down to grab at my arms and haul me up for a lazy kiss. I stretched out on top of him, cupping his neck and the side of his face as our lips slid together.

  Now this I could do all day too. Just lying on him like this, sharing kisses that ranged from closed-lipped chaste ones to tongue-diving deep ones. I was so in lust with this man I’d gladly give up everything just to stay in bed with him. We wouldn’t even need food… for a while anyway.

  “How about you fuck my mouth today?” he said eventually, when he’d come down from his own orgasm.

  My breath hitched. I liked that idea. “Yeah?” I asked hopefully.

  “Yeah.” And he sounded so sure and this was exciting, because this was something I’d never done before. No one had ever let me do this to them, it was always the other way around.

  I rose up on my knees, unzipped my jeans and pulled them and my briefs down. My cock was already hard, slapping against my lower stomach as it was freed from its tight confines.

  Wynn watched it with a small smile, then shot a quick look up at me.

  I scooted forwards until my dick was within reach of his mouth. The tip tapped gently against his lips and Wynn parted them, letting me in. He bobbed up on down a few times, sucking me, slicking me up with spit. Then he simply lay back, parted his lips and left the job to me.

  I braced my arms over his head, at the arm of the sofa and started thrusting, slowly at first, not sure how fast or deep I could go. But when he grabbed my arse and pushed me into going faster, I gladly went with it. His gag reflex seemed to be non-existent, because I could bury my dick to the root without him giving any protest. I wasn’t as big as him, but still, having a cock nudge the back of your throat was bound to trigger it if it was there at all.

  His hands kneaded my arse cheeks, finger sliding down my arse to rub against my hole.

  “Oh!” I faltered as the finger, slick with spit, pressed into me, but then I started again with new vigour. I was so close—

  He didn’t swallow, as his jaw was still loose so I could fuck his mouth through my orgasm. And I did, gladly so, not stopping until I had nothing more to give. I slumped over him, resting my forehead on the back of my hands. My dick had started to soften and I pulled my hips back from his face.

  He chuckled deep in his throat. “Fuck, Kasey, that was—” He wiped come and spit off his chin, licking it off his hand so he wouldn’t make a mess of it.

  “You’re really neat, aren’t you?” It slipped out on a laugh as I stared down at him.

  He rolled his eyes back to look at me. “I hate clutter. And messes. I’ve lived in shitholes when I was a kid—I’m not living like that now.”

  So there was a reason to his almost-OCD cleanliness. I scooted backwards so I could rest fully on top of him again, tucking my head in the crook of his neck. “Is that why you cleaned out space for me? To get rid of my stuff?”

  “Partly,” he admitted. “But I also want you to know you’re welcome here.”

  My heart did a funny little flutter. “I already know that.” But showing it like he’d just done… I appreciated more than I could explain in words. “Want to help me unpack?”

  So that’s what we finally dragged ourselves off the sofa to do. We took a suitcase each into the bedroom and flipped them open almost at the same time. I put away socks and T-shirts and underwear, whereas he’d opened the one where my clothes were wrapped around some of my DVD collection.

  “What’s this?” He held one of the DVDs up. “You watch cartoons?”

  “That is not car
toons,” I huffed, offended. “It’s anime.”

  He gave me an unimpressed stare. “It’s cartoons.”

  I walked over and took the DVD from him. “Anime is not cartoons. They’re totally different. Anime is a piece of art. It differs from other forms of animation by styles, methods, production, and in process.”

  He sighed heavily. “It’s cartoons for kids.”

  “It is not—” Had he never watched anime before? Didn’t he know how amazing it was compared to crappy cartoons I’d used to watch before I discovered there was something better out there?

  “It’s about kids.” He pointed at the cover.

  I stared down at it, and yes, the main characters were kids, but… “They grow up. And they save the world and shit. Except it’s a lot more complicated than that and I can’t really explain it without you watching some for yourself—but anyway, it’s awesome. Have you never watched anime? Seriously? Not even hentai?”

  His expression didn’t change.

  Now I was the one to sigh. “Well, hentai is basically porn. Animated porn.”

  “I don’t like porn much.” He grimaced slightly.

  My eyes might as well bug out of their sockets. “You don’t like porn? But—” All the things we’d done in the few days we’d been together… that was pretty porn-y. How could he not like to watch porn? Oh, the things I was learning about him.

  “I’d rather read a good book, honestly.” He took more DVDs out of my suitcase—all of them anime. He studied the covers, glanced at the blurbs on the back of them, and threw them on the bed. “So you’re really into this shit?”

  “It’s not shit.” I was going to show him. “How about you watch some with me? My favourites. I swear, you’ll like it.” Except I couldn’t make such a promise could I? It wasn’t like I actually knew him yet. I had no idea if he’d like the same things I did or not.

  “We’ll see.” He glanced at me. “Footloose and cartoons, huh? What’s next?”