Evan had looked so fragile all tangled up in the branches. I wanted to hold him in my arms and protect him from anyone who might want to hurt him.

We needed some real information to leak about the crime spree and the only possible lead seemed to hinge on whether Trey would talk. He had to know something. No matter how much Evan wanted to protect his friend, I thought it was time to bring Trey in for questioning.

That’s a problem for when I get back to work, though.

The stairs creaked as we walked up to my back porch. Poor Evan flinched at the first one and grabbed my hand. After that, he made it the rest of the way without any problem.

On the porch, Evan turned to face me. He was standing so close that I imagined I could feel the heat of his body, but it was probably just my own desire ramping up at the hope of fucking him again. I’d imagined a dozen different ways to take him while waiting for his shift to end, and decided that I wanted to try something a little different from just hopping into bed. I planned to fuck him from behind with him bent over the bathroom sink so we could watch each other in the mirror.

I wasn’t sure now with how spooked he still looked after his battle with the tree. I worked really hard not to smirk at the thought of him flailing at the branches. Lord knew I’d been spooked by sillier stuff in the dark.

Before I worked up the nerve to make the suggestion, Evan asked, “Where are you taking me tomorrow for our big date? Will I need a tie and dress shoes?”

The curveball caught me off guard. I stammered as I replied. “What? No. Nothing like that. Unless that’s what you want?”

Evan laughed. “I don’t care, man. Anywhere is fine with me as long as you’re there. I don’t have a lot of formal clothes, though.”

I kissed his forehead as I relaxed. “Just a little Mexican place across the river in South Carolina. And then I was thinking about ice cream afterward. Now that you mention it, though, ties might be fun. I can loan you one if you need it. But no fancy shoes. We’ll call it sexy casual.”

Evan lightly punched my stomach. “You’re such a dork. Thanks for the invitation, by the way. You’re saving me from going back to my family for the weekend.”

“What’s going on back there?”

“They wanted to see me for my birthday. But, shit, I hate going home. This will be a million times better.”

“What? You have to go home, Evan. I get the reluctance, but once a year for your mom on your birthday is okay. I’ll go with you like you did for me.”

“No,” Evan said simply, pulling away from me and sitting on the porch swing.

Staying right where I was standing, but unable to stop from raising my voice, I said, “Why not? It can’t be so bad back there that one visit with me will be too much. And then you’ll have it out of the way. Jesus, you saw my family. It was horrible. But we’ll get through it. Don’t be a pussy.”

Evan rushed to me and poked his finger against my chest. “My family. My rules. Okay?”

I worked really hard to make sure I didn’t start yelling. “Sorry, Evan, but that’s bullshit. We’re in this together, right? That means we talk this shit out and do what we want and need. It isn’t a dictatorship.”

“Listen, James.” All I heard was the snap of my first name as it turned it into the deepest of profanities. “We can talk through plenty of issues and work them out like rational fucking men. But not my family. They are not up for discussion. Clear?”

Real honest-to-God crickets marked the passage of time as we stared each other down, waiting to see who would flinch first.

I finally realized that I really didn’t know enough about that relationship to tell him that he needed to endure whatever real pain they might cause just so that I could satisfy my curiosity of meeting them.

“Shit, of course. I just know how much better I felt after you met my family.” Evan looked ready to tear my head off. I raised my voice to cut him short. “But, I get it. Just because that was good for me doesn’t mean it would be good for you. Consider the topic dropped.”

Evan nodded, but didn’t seem happy or even relieved. He paced back and forth on the porch, bouncing on his toes a little with each step as if gravity was just barely able to contain his energy and keep him bound to Earth.

“Fuck!” he finally shouted. “Why’d you have to be a dick about this and then back down right away? Now I’m all pissed off and don’t even have anyone to fight anymore.”

Covering my mouth to suppress a laugh, I nodded. “Sorry. Should we just go our separate ways tonight to cool off and regroup in the morning?”

“Hell, yeah, I’m going home. Asshole. The only thing worse than the bullshit was getting all nice afterward. Now my head is all dizzy and I don’t know what to think.”

I’d fucked up and we were both suffering because of it. Poor Evan had taken the brunt of it, but, well, hell. I’d been ready to fuck and my balls ached at the thought of Evan leaving me alone for the night.

I needed to find a way to keep him around. A way that would make him feel better, too.

“See you later, prick.” Evan’s tirade seemed to be cooling despite his words. He’d stopped pacing and still hadn’t made a move to leave, but he certainly wouldn’t stay long if I didn’t say something to make staying worth his while.

“My handcuffs,” I blurted out, imagining him bound to my headboard and at my mercy while I did anything and everything to pleasure him to make up for my mistake.

Evan nodded.

Thank God.

When Evan said, “Your ass is going to look so good when I cuff you to the bed,” though, my blood went cold. The thought of him taking charge in the foul mood he was in terrified me…and curiously, excited me, too.

“Let’s go do this,” I agreed.

Evan laughed. “Your ass is mine, James.”

As odd as it sounded, those words calmed me. I thought I’d be perfectly happy with Evan owning my ass for the night.