Just a Little Heartache (The Brotherhood #5) - Merry Farmer Page 0,42

He was left in nothing but his drawers and socks, chest heaving painfully.

Blake had the audacity to rake him with a hungry look, but one that held as much hopelessness as desire. “I have to,” he said, his voice cracking.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Niall insisted, peeling his socks off and stepping right up to Blake. “You are your own man. Live your own life.”

“I have a duty to my family.” Blake twisted his head away, unable to look Niall in the eyes as he spoke. “I have a responsibility to the title.”

“Miss Cannon doesn’t love you. I do.” Niall’s voice dropped to a dangerous timbre.

“And I love you,” Blake said weakly, dragging himself to meet Niall’s eyes. The words were ringing hollower and hollower as defeat clouded Blake’s expression.

“You are not some trinket to be bartered on the marriage market, Blake,” Niall growled. “You are a man of strength and talent. You could have whatever life you wanted. The nobility isn’t what it used to be. You could ignore your title and come to London to make a name for yourself on the stage, I know you could.”

Blake shook his head with an agonized half-smile. He blinked, and tears spilled down his cheeks. “No, I can’t. Nobility still means something to those stuck in it. I have no choice in the matter at all. The Cannons have money and our estate is failing. I’m going to be a duke.” He shrugged. Niall had never seen him look or sound so lost. “What would people say if I abandoned everything I am destined for to run away with my male lover?”

“They’d say that you chose love over fortune.” Niall gripped the sides of Blake’s face. “They’d say you are a hero.”

Blake shook and lowered his head, letting out a gasping breath. Tears fell on the doublet of his costume. “They’d say I was a pervert and a disgrace. They would throw me in jail, or worse.”

“Do you really care so much what people say?” Niall asked in a whisper.

Blake peeked up and met his eyes with horrible sheepishness. It shot through Niall’s heart like a poison arrow.

“I love you,” Niall hissed.

He didn’t wait for a reply. He jerked into Blake, grabbing a handful of hair at the back of Blake’s head and slamming his mouth over his, kissing him with all the frustration and anger that boiled within him. He kissed Blake with the fire of love and desperation, forcing Blake’s lips apart and thrusting his tongue as if he could claim what was his through action where words had failed.

Blake whimpered in surrender and threw his arms around Niall. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he panted, leaning his forehead against Niall’s and gulping for breath.

“I don’t accept it,” Niall growled, ripping at the buttons of Blake’s costume. “You don’t want that woman. You don’t want anyone but me.” And he intended to prove it.

He tore through Blake’s buttons and shoved the doublet off his shoulders. He wore nothing underneath, so Niall was able to run his hands freely and possessively across Blake’s chest and sides as soon as they were uncovered. He slammed into Blake with another kiss that pulled a moan of longing from Blake’s lungs. Their affair had gone on long enough that Niall knew exactly where and how to kiss and touch him in a way that would drive him mad. He dug his nails into Blake’s back, causing him to gasp, then drown that gasp with his mouth.

Passion and pain drove him on. He pushed Blake back toward the worn sofa against the wall. Blake moved as though under a spell, tear-reddened eyes half-lidded and mouth open as Niall reached for the fastenings of Blake’s trousers. He made quick work of those, shoving them and Blake’s drawers over his hips and thighs. A rush of victory and fury hit Niall as Blake’s cock sprung to life, proving that even in the middle of a tragedy, he could still make Blake hard.

“I won’t let you give this up,” Niall hissed, pushing Blake onto the sofa when they reached it. He grabbed the fabric of Blake’s trousers and pulled them off. Blake sagged against the sofa with an erotic combination of surrender and need. Niall tore off his drawers, freeing his aching erection, then climbed over Blake. “I won’t let you cast aside everything between us.”

“I can’t—” Blake started.

Niall drowned his protest with a punishing kiss. Blake groaned into his mouth as Niall