“You’re different than I thought. Not like me at all.” Lips brushed the back of his neck. Ben moved to stand up straighter but Dante held him in place. He kept his hands against the wall, suddenly wanting nothing more than to please his lover.

“We’re both lost,” Ben replied.

“So? Why does that mean we’re alike? You can turn around now.”

Ben did, and they were finally face to face. He wouldn’t be fucked here. He knew that but Dante would give him something. Water ran between their bodies, which were so fucking close due to lack of space.

Dante wrapped a hand around both their erections, squeezing them together and stroked.

“Fuck,” Ben groaned, his vision blurring for a completely different reason now.

“You’re kind where I never would be. You would forgive your family where I couldn’t, and yours did more to hurt you than mine, didn’t they?”

Ben didn’t answer though somehow he knew Dante didn’t expect him to.

“You would have given anything to the girl in the park, even if it wasn’t really her you were trying to help.”

“Don’t try to make a fucking hero out of me.” On reflex, Ben pumped his hips, savoring the feel of Dante’s cock against his.

“I’m not.” Dante leaned forward, his face beside Ben’s, making it so they couldn’t look in each other’s eyes.

“You helped me.”

“Not the same. I wanted to fuck you, even when I said I didn’t. That’s why I did what I did.”

Maybe he did want to fuck Ben, but it wasn’t why Dante had done it all. He didn’t have to deal with Ben’s shit, the late night calls that Dante didn’t get anything out of.

“You—”

“Shut up,” Dante cut him off, worked their pricks together faster, squeezed harder. Ben’s body felt like it would implode. He needed release, so he let go, come mixing with water as he shot his load between their bodies.

Dante didn’t come though. Ben reached for him, wanting to give Dante the same pleasure Dante had given him, but the man pushed his hand away.

“I love you, Benny.”

“I’m not done. I want more.” He couldn’t stop. Not yet. Ben reached for Dante again but the man grabbed his wrist. Ben could pull out of his hold, yet he didn’t.

“What would happen if we stopped?”

It took Ben a second to reply, but he could tell by the tone of Dante’s voice that he was serious. Why the hell wouldn’t he want to come too?

“Then you won’t be giving me what I need.”

“Why do you need it?”

“Fuck you.” He had no right to demand Ben tell him that shit. Hell, Ben didn’t even know if he knew why himself. He just knew he would lose it and he was so tired of losing it.

Dante cursed, reached around Ben and turned off the faucets. “Get out.”

Ben did. They grabbed towels and dried off. Ben watched the muscles under Dante’s skin move. The lines and curves of the tattoos looked alive. Abel’s mark. He’d marked Dante’s skin and Ben shouldn’t care about that but he did. He suddenly wanted to know more about them. About what they had, because this felt pretty one sided.

He was the weak link here. What did Ben do for Dante?

“I’m sorry.”

Dante looked at him. “For what?”

“Everything.” Because as sorry as he was, that didn’t change anything. It wouldn’t make Ben pull back. It wouldn’t make him quit inserting himself into Dante’s life and letting the man give Ben what he needed. He’d always been a selfish bastard. “Where do you want me?”

“In the bedroom. Lie on your stomach.” Dante dropped his towel, and then pulled Ben’s from him as well, before the two of them went to his room.

CHAPTER FORTY

Ben’s eyes landed on the familiar black, blindfold before anything else. He wasn’t surprised it was there, but for the first time, it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

He begged this man to fuck him, yet Dante couldn’t even look him in the eyes? “Why?”

“Why what?” Dante replied.

“Tell me why you can’t look at me.”

Dante smiled and damned if Ben’s cock didn’t start to harden again.

“You get to make demands of me, now? Lay down.”

This time, he didn’t move as easily. Ben closed his eyes, let out a deep breath and then opened them. He didn’t know why he needed to know but he did. “Please.”