Read Online Bound by Lies by Lynn Kelling - Free Book Online

snidely.
    “No one calls you Jenner. I’ve seen you threaten bodily harm for less. Especially with new people. But I guess your little boytoy isn’t totally
new,
is he?”
    “Shut up, Max.”
    “You really think this is a good idea? You were obsessed with him when he was across the street and sharing a gym with you. How the hell are you going to handle being his fucking
boss
without becoming a total psychopath?”
    Jenner tents his fingers, elbows braced on the desk. He taps the sides of his index fingers against his lips, his focus on something far away—a glimmer of possibility, something to strive for, if only he can align the pieces in just the right way.
    “He begged me,” he tells her, the soft, thick quality of his voice telling her everything his words don’t. “He looked into my eyes and
begged me
for this.”
    “You’re hopeless, you know that right? I never figured you for a romantic.”
    Pain laces his expression. He has no reply. People don’t figure him for a lot of things—being sentimental or vulnerable to loneliness and hurt feelings, or for someone just looking to trust and get close to something with true meaning without first scaring it off. There’s always a buffer of space built of fear or respect there, keeping everything and everyone at a distance, trapping him in isolation. Whenever he tries to reach out, it just pushes them farther away.
    I’m doing it again, aren’t I? I’m pursuing someone who’s going to run at the first sign that things aren’t what they seem
—
that I’m not what I seem. It’s all hopeless.
    Why do I bother, anymore?
    “Jenn, he’s not gay,” Max tells him tenderly, apologetically. “It’s gonna break your goddamned heart to be this close to him every—”
    “Leave it,” he says sharply, interrupting her. “
Leave it
.”
    “Okay. Okay, I’ll leave it,” she sighs, her fingers dancing along the doorframe as she retreats. “Just don’t wanna see you get hurt.”
    When she’s gone, he admits to the empty room, “Yeah, well, too late for that.”

Chapter 6
What Jenner Needs
    Jenner feels like he’s sentenced himself to some form of endless water torture—dying of thirst when what he craves, what his body screams out for is right there, sometimes rubbing up against him in the close confines behind the bar. And no matter how badly he needs it, how very much it literally hurts, he cannot partake. The torment flays his nerves.
    It’s been a week—one week working alongside Brayden. The added help has eased all of their burdens and Jenner has to constantly remind himself that it’s a good thing that Brayden gets along so well with the customers. Now, if only Jenner could solve the problem of his nearly constant raging hard-on, he might begin to be happy about the turn of events.
    Jenner gathers the used, dirty glasses and wipes down the bar, catching snippets of the conversation of a couple of middle-aged guys bitching about their jobs and nursing pints of lager. He tries to focus but once again starts watching Brayden out of the corner of his eye. Brayden is leaning forward with both hands braced on the counter in front of him; his lean, toned arms tense and tightly encased in the black knit fabric of his short shirt sleeves. The top half of his hair has been pulled back and braided to keep it out of the way. White, perfectly straight teeth gleam as he smiles, then laughs at something one of the long-legged women seated on stools at the other end of the bar says to him. He charms them so easily. Jenner is captivated by it, how effortlessly Brayden lures them in and keeps them at a safe distance, helpless to get away but unable to get too close. But that isn’t what keeps him peeking, stealing glances when he can be sure Brayden doesn’t notice. For Jenner it’s the details—the way Brayden’s hair will curl around on itself as it falls over his shoulder, escaping the hair tie, the strength in the way he carries himself, and the deep