Discovering Dalton (Manchester Menage Collection #2) Read Free Page B

and legs. It was still hot, so he opened the double floor to ceiling patio doors in his room before laying naked on the bed, letting the breeze wash over him and finish drying his clammy skin.
    He was going out tonight. Manchester had a great night life, one he took advantage of too often, but he would much rather be out in town than stuck at home, especially on a nice night like this.
    They could spend the evening drinking in the beer gardens outside their favourite pubs before moving onto something heavier later. Liam smiled as he looked outside. He was dragging Troy with him whether he liked it or not. He needed time out of the house and if Liam’s suspicions about the most recent boyfriend fucking off were right, Troy could pick someone else up and forget about his heartbreak for a few hours.
    Troy was always involved in a relationship. Every time he would return home with that stupid grin on his face and a new man on his arm, it was happy days, and he drifted around the place like a kid on Christmas morning.
    It all changed a few weeks down the line when the bloke pissed off though. Troy gave his heart too easily. He also jumped from one relationship to another without pause. Liam always bugged him about it. Like tonight, if he did come out, Liam was sure Troy would find his next big love affair and it would all begin again.
    Troy needed space, but try telling him that. He never listened. The guy was incapable of being alone. He hated it. He found his own worth through the eyes of others. Probably because, despite all his achievements, he felt like he had no self-worth at all. It no doubt stemmed from his childhood, and the fact from an early age he felt pushed away, second best and forgotten by those who should have loved him. Liam tried to fill the gaping hole in Troy’s chest, but despite how much love and attention he threw at Troy, it wasn’t enough.
    Liam was the opposite. He always stayed away from relationships. One night stands or a couple of weeks with the same bloke if they held his interest were as far as he went. He didn’t give his heart to anyone, never wanted to. He’d only ever loved three people in his life. Terry, Alice, and Troy. Now there was just Troy, and Liam felt even more tied to him because of it.
    Liam was happy with his life as it was. He had Troy to come home to and joke around with. They helped each other with their struggles, talked about shit they would never talk about to anyone else, and then Liam had his pickups for sex.
    He hated it when Troy would let his recent man hang about the house, treating the place like they owned it. Liam brought people back, sure, but it wasn’t like they loafed in front of the TV or took long showers and used up all the hot water. They stayed in his room where they fucked, then, if they were lucky, they got coffee before they buggered off home.
    When Liam mentioned it, and he had, several times, Troy would talk about moving out, getting his own place, and that stopped the conversation dead, because Liam couldn’t let Troy leave. He’d miss him too much. Liam wasn’t ready to just watch him pack up his shit and go somewhere else. They’d only end up living together again after a month anyway. As soon as Troy’s recent guy had packed up and split, he’d be back with Liam, slouching around in his sweats and moaning about the recent ex, asking Liam what was wrong with him.
    Liam could never answer that question. There was nothing wrong with Troy. He was perfectly fine. Good looking, great personality, he’d bend over backwards to help anyone who needed it, and he had a warm heart. Despite the ink he was covered in from head to toe, he wasn’t anything like what people imagined, and maybe that was the issue. Other people had ideas of what Troy should be like, and he always surprised them.
    Troy wasn’t hard as nails, never spent time in prison. Hell, he’d never even pinched a penny sweet from the corner shop when they were kids. They both rode