Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
He was starting to realize that with the kind of past he had, he would never feel ready for exploring his sexuality. So why not dive into the unknown waters if Nero wanted him, no matter how inexperienced or awkward Miguel’s attempt might prove?
The drive took them past tiny roadside bars with roofs of canvas and rusty sheet metal, ever farther from civilization as Miguel navigated the remote roads using a map he’d found in the glove compartment. The sun had long hidden behind gray clouds, but its absence didn’t make the trees and pastures around Miguel any less lush or green.
He’d just crossed a shallow brook, glad that it hadn’t proven too deep for the Rover, when a grunt from the back of the car turned his entire attention to the body resting on the floor. With Nero’s face obscured by the seat, he focused on the tattooed hands, which balled into fists before stretching.
“You didn’t kill me,” Nero slurred, sluggishly grabbing the Malverde pendant, as if the folk saint were responsible for his survival.
Miguel had thought of what he’d say once Nero woke up, yet now he was stuck without words. He’d been driving through a plantation of banana trees and turned into a narrow track cutting through the crops, desperate for a secluded spot to park.
“I promised you safety, didn’t I?” he said as he stopped the car, feeling relatively safe after driving for thirty minutes without encountering another vehicle. The air felt choking, and he squeezed the steering wheel so hard his joints ached.
He’d waited for this moment for too long but still didn’t feel ready.
Nero exhaled and lifted his hand, reaching between the seats. “Miguel? What? Why are you here?” he mumbled with more clarity.
Miguel jumped out of the car only to enter through the back door. “What do you mean? Where else would I be?” he groaned. His place was at Nero’s side.
Chapter 18
Nero
Nero’s vision was blurry when he looked up at Miguel, who leaned over him, radiating heat as if there was a fire deep in his chest. He was so very tanned in comparison to the sunlit leaves of the banana trees filling every bit of space beyond the vehicle. His face and throat were bespeckled with grime and blood, which told the story of a daring rescue Nero hadn’t been able to witness.
It had been pretty clear from the start what Cano wanted, though while Nero did expect foul play in his future, he’d assumed they’d want to court him first, which would have given him an opportunity to make an escape. But his vague plan had been a risky one, and since he was the only one Cano wanted, what would be the point of dragging Miguel down with him? He’d been trying to set him free. Give him a favor in exchange for all the times Miguel had stuck with him and been the friend Nero had never expected.
And the idiot had fucking ruined this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I told you to leave. You had the chance to be out. Why didn’t you take it?”
Miguel stared at him with the eyes of a reptile—emotionless and so dark Nero could feel himself drowning in their murky depths. With the tinted windows making the interior dusky even on a day as sunny as this, they were both like secrets hidden in the shadow.
“You did that for me?” Miguel asked, reaching for Nero’s jaw with both hands.
Nero rolled to his hands and knees, despite his limbs dragging him down like lead blocks. His head ached as if there was an electric current trailing through his skull, and his mouth tasted sweet from the liquid those bastards had made him breathe in, but he was starting to feel more like himself, even though his body hurt as if he’d been punched in several places. Which might have been what had happened while he was out.
“What’s the point of both of us dying? You were just my bodyguard, but now you’re definitely on the kill list,” he mumbled, squeezing his eyes hard to relieve the uncomfortable sensation of sand under his lids, but when Miguel’s tough fingertips traced the sides of his face, he looked up at him. “How the hell have you survived into your thirties without this honorable behavior dragging you down?”
Miguel licked his top lip in a way that made Nero miss that warm tongue against his own. “I’m not honorable. I’m selfish. I did this for me.” He then leaned in and kissed Nero, breathless like a puppy that tried eating too fast.
The touch of his warm mouth triggered an explosion of bliss in Nero’s dazed brain. Did Miguel just say he wanted him so much that he’d risked his life to get him back?
That was crazy.
They didn’t know each other that well.