boy, to taste and touch—reassure him he wouldn’t be facing the future alone.
Donovan sighed when Silver broke the connection, then lifted his gaze. “You’re making it easier for me to get my thoughts in order. And I honestly can’t think of any way out other than quitting, which brings me back to my quandary. What would I do with my life next?”
“Quitting isn’t on the table.”
Donovan’s mouth went slack. “What? You can’t possibly think I should stay at the firm when my father is making such unreasonable demands.”
“I don’t think you should view your situation as all or nothing, and I never use the word quit. If you leave your family’s company, you’ll do so with clear purpose. Not because you’re running away.”
“Oh.” Donovan furrowed his brow. “You’re right again. Because who knows if he’d actually follow through with his threats, right? I mean, if he doesn’t have faith in Lawrence’s ability to run things, and he doesn’t want to get stuck with them, then who’s left?”
Donovan grinned, the first expression Silver had seen from him since he’d arrived that didn’t radiate imminent doom.
“Exactly. Your father has been playing on your fears of being outed all this time. Instilled shame in you for being gay, making sure you’d believe you’d lose everything if found out.” Silver shook his head. “I call bullshit.” He placed his palm on Donovan’s chest, his heart thumping out a rhythm beneath his hand. “But now you have to decide. What will you do if I’m wrong?”
Chapter Fourteen
A spray of hot water hit Donovan’s face and he sighed, the water relaxing him instantly. He was more terrified and more relieved than he’d thought possible. His dueling emotions were tugging him in opposite directions, but at least there was finally a direction at all. The wheels that had been spinning in his head the past several days were still there, but they’d slowed considerably.
Being Silver’s boy was eye-opening. But now, it was time to be Silver’s lover. So far, the only intimacy they’d shared was the hand job Silver had given him when they’d spent their first day together. Even though Donovan had been able to tell that Silver could use some release, he’d refused to let him oblige.
Donovan chuckled. He only had himself to blame after all his horndog antics from their first few meetings.
After shutting off the spigots, Donovan stepped out of the large, etched glass enclosed shower and started toweling off. He’d left Silver in the bedroom, so he could wash off the panicked sweat of his ridiculous evening at the club. After talking things out with Silver, he believed he had a better handle on things. His fears and worries hadn’t magically evaporated, but now his situation no longer seemed hopeless.
Donovan finished drying himself, then paused before draping the towel on the rail. Judging from the heated make out session on the couch after their intense discussion, Silver was ready to take the next step as well. Donovan glanced at his naked frame in the mirror. He wasn’t awful, just…not Silver.
He angled his body so he could peer over his shoulder and frowned at his tiny behind. It had never been calendar-worthy, but it was even flatter than he remembered. He stayed rail thin all the time, but where he’d once had at least some definition, there was now none. All concerns about looks aside, that couldn’t be good health-wise.
Donovan chewed his lip as he glared at his reflection. He used to love to go hiking when he was younger, had even done some mountain biking for a while before it became all about the cars. He wondered if Silver would be interested in doing anything like that. His stomach flipped, his heart fluttering from something so simple as spending time with Silver as a boyfriend—rather than as a hit and quit it at a seedy hotel where no one from his crowd might catch him.
Donovan finger-combed his damp hair and put his thoughts on hold. Silver—his Papi—had said one thing at a time, and right now, that one thing was making love. He had to laugh. When had he ever thought about sex with a man as making love? How his life had improved since Silver had taken a chance on him.
No matter what else happened, that was the one thing he couldn’t fuck up.
Donovan snatched his white terry robe from the door hook, then shrugged it on. He hated how overly aware of his body he suddenly was. Yet, how could