No Good Deed - Marie Sexton Page 0,16

take him to bed.

But when Jonas tried to slide his hands under Charlie’s shirt, wanting to feel the thick, coarse hair on his chest, Charlie grabbed his wrists.

“Wait.” Charlie took a deep breath, as if trying to center himself, holding Jonas at arm’s length. “Stop.”

Jonas groaned. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t mean to get carried away like that.”

“Why shouldn’t we get carried away? We’re both adults, right?”

“Jonas—”

“Is this because of Gray?”

“No.”

“Are you still mad at me? Are you trying to punish me?

“Of course not.” He gently guided Jonas off his lap. “I’m just not ready to let this happen.”

Jonas gulped, stunned and hurt. If Gray wasn’t the problem, then what was? Why was he determined to push Jonas away?

He wished he knew, but Charlie didn’t say another word. He quietly said good night.

And once again, Jonas went to bed alone.

Chapter 6

Charlie lay awake for a long time after saying good night to Jonas. He could still taste Jonas’s kiss. He could still feel Jonas’s trim young body under his hands. His cock remained half-engorged, his arousal refusing to wane. He debated masturbating, but how foolish was that when he had a willing partner in the very next room?

He was being an idiot. On some level, he knew that. Jonas seemed to still want him, and God knew Charlie felt the same. But the thought of letting Jonas see him naked filled him with dread.

Maybe he could bring Jonas into his room in the dark. Leave the lights off. Tie Jonas’s hands to the headboard so he couldn’t explore Charlie’s body. Charlie could take him from behind, doggy-style, without Jonas having to feel Charlie’s fat, flabby stomach all over his back.

But Charlie could find sex like that anywhere. That wasn’t what he wanted with Jonas. He wanted to touch him and kiss him and make love to him. The problem was, he wanted to do it while wearing the body he’d had six years ago, not the one he had now.

So what exactly are you planning to do? The logical side of his brain asked. Keep putting him off until you’ve lost twenty pounds?

Yes, that’s exactly what he wanted. Except that’d take ages. By that point, Jonas would be on his way home to Seattle, short one kidney.

It was time to get over his embarrassment, but that was easier said than done. He was almost glad he had to work the next day. At least the hours at Urgent Care weren’t spent worrying about how he looked naked.

Charlie came home to dinner laid out on one end of his abuela’s big dining room table. On the other end, Jonas had set up a laptop and a big, black device that looked a bit like a monitor, except it sat at a forty-five-degree angle. Next to that was a spiral-bound sketch book and a set of pencils.

“I hope you don’t mind I set up my art stuff,” Jonas said. “I needed to get some work done.”

“Of course I don’t mind.”

Jonas told him about his commission work as they ate. He’d always done comic book–style art, and over the years, he’d been hired to do everything from magazine ads to kids’ books to pornographically illustrated novels. His current project was a pamphlet for an obstetrics clinic in New Hampshire.

“I’m trying to get as much work done now as I can,” Jonas said. “I might not have much energy after the surgery, but I’ll need the money.”

Charlie frowned at him. “You have plenty of money, don’t you? From your dad?”

Jonas winced. “Not anymore.”

“What happened? Did you spend it all?” It surprised him. Jonas wasn’t the type to spend frivolously.

“I spent a decent chunk of it finishing my degree. It seemed like a smart decision at the time.” He shrugged. “But I gave a lot of what I had left to Shelly, near the end. She lost her insurance when her husband divorced her. She’d only been working part-time. She had alimony and money from my dad, but by the end, her medical bills were enormous.”

Sitting across the table from Jonas, listening to him talk about his willingness to give everything he had to help his sister, Charlie had a hard time remembering why he’d refused sex the night before. He’d always admired Jonas. He’d always been attracted to him. Jonas’s casual flirtation made Charlie feel almost sexy.

Almost.

But was he ready to let Jonas see him naked again?

They were clearing the table when somebody knocked on the back door. Charlie had never told his neighbors to