Detective Thomas Doyle has been living a lonely, compartmentalized life ever since the death of his life partner, Aiden. He vowed never to let anybody get close to him again -- the pain of losing a loved one is too much to bear. Despite his vow, Thomas is lonely, and has a number of one-night stands, sexual encounters with unnamed men he doesn’t care to remember. Then he meets Elias. Elias Byrne knows the pain of abuse and rejection intimately. Unable to escape the clutches of his older brother, Elias dreams of someone to love, and of being loved in return. He admires Thomas, but the detective never pays him any notice. In a desperate attempt to get closer to him, Elias steals his wallet, then gives it back the next day. Pretty soon, Thomas feels a strong attraction to the fiery, arrogant, younger man. Elias intrigues him, but he resists his growing feelings because he doesn’t want to get hurt again. When Thomas rescues Elias from his abusive brother, can he also rescue them both from the loneliness that threatens to consume them? Can Elias conquer the detective’s hardened heart and find the love he always longed for? Or will Thomas stubbornly refuse to give himself another chance at love?

Elias

“No, I’m not with anybody,” he answered, with half a smile. “And that night I didn’t…I didn’t go all the way.”


Why the hell was he telling Elias this? Shit, he’d just found Elias in a bedroom with another guy and he was reassuring him that hehadn’t done it with someone? What was he thinking?


“Anyway, enough about me,” Thomas added quickly, when he noticed Elias’s little smile. “What were you doing in that room? Elias, I need to know…did they assault you? Did they hurt you? We don’t have anything against you, so you’re free to go, but…if it was…you know, if it wasn’t a relationship…if your brother, Liam…” No, it really was too hard. In that moment, he felt like a policeman who didn’t deserve his badge, something that had never happened to him before.


Upon hearing his brother’s name, Elias suddenly lifted his head and stood up. “No, my brother is not involved. Everything was consenting. Sex between men who wanted to fuck. Nothing more.”


Chapter 19