Chapter 36

“No,” he managed to croak. “You’re safe. There’s no one who’d go to those lengths.”

If anything, the smile deepened. “That’s a shame. I would’ve looked forward to getting you to pamper me after I won.”

“You don’t have enough people in your life to do that already?”

“Is that your way of asking if I’ve got a boyfriend? Because the answer to that is no.”

“What about Niyol?” He was embarrassed he remembered the man’s name, but there were moments, when his eyes were closed and his thoughts roamed too free to rein in, when the image of Lucas in the larger man’s shadow refused to go away.

That did the trick, though he hadn’t intended it to. Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the somber mood bleeding back in around their teasing. “He wants different things than I can give him. That’s why it never worked out.”

Ian immediately regretted mentioning him at all. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“No, no, that’s okay. It’s not your fault.”