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eyed him then the bottle. "Fine, but it's going
into the back of my car and then over to Lane and Gresh's place until you sober
up for a few months."
    "Fuck, I hate you."
    "I'm fine with that if it keeps you sober." Mike
poured a bottle of cheap tequila down the drain. Their gazes met and
desperation filled Connor. He wanted to kiss Mike and hold him tight, but in
the twenty-four hours he'd been here, nothing had happened.
    "Just one glass." Alcohol wasn't the answer, but he
had no other solution to the issues buzzing through his mind.
    Mike tossed the empty bottle into the trash. The clanking
sound was so final Connor's shoulders drooped. He needed something to distract
him from reality. Riley was gone. He'd seen the aftermath. The blood and the
gore had stayed with Connor, punishing him each time he closed his eyes.
    "I'm sorry, but no, you can't even have one glass."
    "Why are you doing this?"
    "I like you, Connor. Even if you've been a total jerk to
me and have pissed me off time and time again in the last few hours, I'm not
going to let you do this anymore."
    Connor turned from the kitchen and stomped over to the couch,
sinking down low, slouching in the seat. The last words Riley had said to him still
echoed in his mind. The accusation had hit too close to home. Connor closed his
eyes and Riley's voice was there, slamming into him. "You're having an affair. You bastard."
    Connor
opened his eyes and shook his head. Mike was in front of him, his gaze
questioning. "You need to talk to me."
    He
swallowed hard, not wanting to think about the situation. "I can't."
    "You
need to get out of this house. Let's go grab a burger."
    Connor
jumped up and stalked to the bedroom. Mike jumped in front of him and blocked
him. "I'm not taking no for an answer."
    Pain
flashed through him and he screamed. The fright on Mike's face made him still.
He remembered one of his foster fathers screaming in rage. Then the fists had
flown. He hadn't been there long, but fear had forever been etched in his mind.
Connor didn't want to be like that. He calmed immediately and blew out a huge
breath. "I'm sorry. That's not how I want to be. I'm too fucked up for
you. Please, just leave me alone."
    Mike
smoothed his fingers over Connor's cheek and down his neck. "I'm not
leaving."
    "I'm
not good enough." His past failures played through his mind. He'd never
been very good at anything and this wasn't any different. Mike only knew him
from work, but if he knew what a sick bastard he was, then maybe Mike would
leave him alone and let him sink into misery.
    Mike
stepped close and brushed his lips over Connor's jaw. "We're going out to
grab a burger. That's all we need to do right now. A burger."
    "I
can't—"
    "Let
me make your decisions for you right now."
    Connor
sucked in a breath, his eyes wide. "What?"
    "I
don't want to boss you around, but you need someone to take control."
    The
shiver that snaked along his spine made his whole body shake. He closed his
eyes and sighed. Control, he needed someone to tell him what to do. That's why
he and Riley worked so well and why they didn't. Riley told him what to do in
the bedroom, but he'd never realized when Connor needed that control outside of
the bedroom.
    Mike's
hand was on his chest then his arm was around Connor's waist. He partially
opened his eyes and lowered his lips, finding Mike's mouth. At first Mike
didn't return the kiss. Then he opened his mouth and tilted his head back,
allowing Connor to possess him fully. With Riley, he'd always been the
submissive, but Mike submitted so nicely, so purely that he wanted nothing
other than to wrap his arms around him and protect him. Connor ripped his mouth
away from Mike's and stepped back. His fingers flew to his lips and he ran the
rough pads over the moist, swollen flesh.
    "Connor,
I'm so sorry. I shouldn’t have even—"
    "No,
it's okay. I don't—There was this feeling."
    "Physically?"
    "Not
really. I—I can't explain it." Deep emotions welled up inside,