Just Between Us Read Free

mouth curled upward. “You wish.”
    Ryan’s mouth dropped open. That was a new one. Sam’s usual response was an eye-roll and flat, ‘Real mature, McConnell.’ Ryan snapped his mouth shut, trying to hide his surprise, and coughed. “What?”
    Sam just laughed at Ryan’s stunned reaction. “Get the hell in the car. I’m starving.” He held open the door for Ryan, his grin wolfish. Ryan studied his friend’s face, wondering if he was reading too much into Sam’s comment. Sam cocked his head a little as Ryan remained standing a few feet away. “Coming?”
    Ryan’s dick twitched at the low tone of Sam’s voice. He swallowed hard. “Yeah, of course!” He ducked past Sam, surreptitiously adjusting his crotch as he slid into the seat. Sam slid in beside him, closing the door and pressing the button to lower the partition.
    “You remember where Broker’s is, Steve?”
    “Sure thing, Mr. Cavell, but uh...” The driver trailed off, meeting Sam’s gaze in the mirror with a sheepish grin. “You sure it’s gonna be safe for you there?”
    Steve had a point. Firebrand had catapulted Sam to super stardom. There was no doubt he’d be recognized, even at the hole-in-the-wall eatery. Ryan had seen the reaction of fangirls to the author’s presence. Their fanaticism for his characters was only exceeded by their adoration for Sam himself.
    Not that Ryan could really blame them. The man was gorgeous. Dark hair and eyes, tan skin, killer smile, tall – taller than Ryan’s 6’1” frame even – and sleekly muscled. If he wasn’t afraid of losing his best friend, he’d be just as obvious in his lusting as those fangirls.
    Remembering stories Sam had told him about having his clothes ripped and his hair pulled, Ryan reconsidered. He wouldn’t be that bad…probably.
    Sam just shrugged at his driver’s words and lightly shoved Ryan’s shoulder. “Rye here can be my bodyguard, if you’re worried, Steve. He won’t let anything happen to me. Right, Rye?”
    Ryan rubbed his hand against his jaw, trying not to think about how he would like to guard his friend’s body…with his own. “Yeah,” he managed to grind out. “We’ll manage, Steve.”
    The driver nodded and pulled out into traffic. The hairs on the back of Ryan’s neck pricked as Sam closed the partition. Feeling the increased sense of intimacy that the privacy barrier always gave settled over him like a heavy blanket.
    ***
    Ryan didn’t know what his problem was. He’d always managed to keep his desires under wraps around his friend before, not even allowing thoughts of Sam’s darkly good looks and fit body into his mind when they were alone. He couldn’t deny that Sam had been featured in more than one hot dream, but it was impossible for him to control himself then.
    For some reason, he was more on edge than usual tonight. He could smell the slightly spicy, citrusy scent of Sam’s cologne in the enclosed space, and the occasional brush of their knees made his heart want to jump out of his chest. Ryan gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to reach out and lay his hand on Sam’s muscled thigh, right beside the impressive bulge of his friend’s crotch.
    “So, uh... you were mentioned in class today!” Ryan jerked his gaze up to Sam’s face, grateful to find him absentmindedly tucking his phone into his pocket.
    “Oh?” Sam rested his right ankle on his left knee, thighs spread wide, and rubbed one long fingered hand across his chest. “Your little fangirls took time out of their Ryan worship to discuss little ol’ me?”
    Ryan snorted, rolling his eyes. “Trust me, they were all about Sam Cavell today. You even managed to win over the punk girl.”
    Sam laughed. “Yeah, the bad girls always dig me, I guess. Think maybe it’s the spy thing in the books?”
    Ryan managed a rusty chuckle at the thought of the women Sam has gotten involved with. He tried as hard as he could to tune out the details whenever Sam talked about his love life.