Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

desk, tossing the clothing down on top of it. Blowing out an angry breath Con ran his fingers through his hair, giving the blond length a painful tug in an attempt to clear his head and calm down. He heard Ren cough behind him and realized that the shirt and pants along with the leather boots were doing the boy no good lying in a heap on his desk. Snatching up the bundle he turned and locked gazes with the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes he could ever recall seeing.
    The two men stood for a moment, looking at each other. As Con watched, Ren seemed to withdraw, his eyes shuttering down, as if he wished to hide his soul from view. Then, much to Con's surprise the boy spoke, but his words fell like stones at Con's feet.
    "Are those for me? I suppose you'll be expecting payment for them if they are. I mean, as I recall the last time we stood together like this, I was a few short hours from becoming your pleasure fuck for the night. And that was the price for just a meal and some wine, as I recall. I expect leather boots will demand a much higher form of payment."
    Con stood, frozen in shock. What was the boy referring to? How could he not have understood Con's intentions that last night together? Did he really view what had happened, the promise that Ren would share his bed as something this base, this callous and cold? Con frantically searched his memory for any indication he may have given the boy that all he'd wanted was a casual fuck that night. He'd been sure the boy had known that after the kiss they had shared, the future could hold nothing but more...more friendship, unspoken loyalty, perhaps love. How had the boy so completely misread Con's intentions? Before he had an opportunity to set Ren straight, the boy strode forward and dropped to his knees in front of Con.
    Con watched in something akin to horror as Ren's trembling hands reached out to loosen the belt at his waist. Before he could place a hand over Ren's to stop him, Ren had tugged down the pants and freed Con's long cock. Under the gentle touch, Con felt himself begin to stiffen and finally understand the implications of what Ren was about to do. Was this then what it'd been like for Ren? Enduring a life that boasted of being nothing better than a whore who serviced Anzel's every whim, in payment for a few spare moments free of beatings and torture? As Con looked down at the man he loved kneeling at his felt, he knew he could easily kill Anzel at that moment without any regret. Instead, Con jerked himself backward causing Ren to land in a sprawled heap on the floor.
    The blanket that had covered Ren fell open revealing a body that was whippet thin and covered in bruises and old scars. But it was not only this that drew Con's gaze, because despite the cold tone Ren had used to speak with Con, his slender cock rose firmly upward and lay against his concave stomach, already oozing a drop of precum from its rosy tip. Ren was hard with excitement. Ren wanted him...lusted for him...and, god help him, Con felt his cock respond in turn.
    Quickly turning away before the boy could see the response of his traitorous body, Con clenched his fists and sucked in a harsh breath. Finally calming enough to trust himself, he cleared his throat and spoke aloud in a rough tone.
    "Cover yourself up, boy!" And before he could stop himself, the anguished words poured out, "What in god's name are you thinking?"
    Had Con been able to see how his words affected Ren at that moment, he would have knelt and gathered the boy into his arms with soothing words to reassure him that he was startled by what Ren had done and did not mean to intentionally hurt him. As is, the thought of how Anzel might have used his boy continued to burn in his gut, causing a flash of pure hatred to cross his face. Con knew he needed to regain some measure of control over his emotions so he remained standing with his back to the boy. Ren immediately withdrew deep inside himself, the hurt and pain of Con's snarled remark flashing for a moment across his face.
    Ren scrambled to his feet and hurriedly began to pull on the borrowed clothing. At the desk, Con closed his eyes and willed his frantically beating heart to slow. This was not playing out at all like he had intended. Con needed to get a grip and calm down now! Unclenching his fists, he reached out to the tray on his desk, picked up one of the goblets that held Ren's favorite wine and, fixing a smile on his face, turned to hand it to the boy.
    He