The Tension Between Us

Well, this was not the sight Colin had expected.

Not from a man who could freeze an entire bar full of bikers in an instant.

The decor didn't match his image of Lipski at all. He had expected something tied to fast cars or motorcycles. Beautiful women, maybe… Actually, he wasn't sure what exactly, but something that would scream this room belonged to a strong, testosterone-fueled man.

Instead, what he saw were cream-colored walls, curtains straight out of an old lady's house, and furniture so plain it was almost shocking in contrast to Lipski's personality.

"Something wrong?" Brad asked.

"No, no, nothing, just…" Colin instinctively glanced at his host, then back at the room.

"Oh, that?" Lipski curled his lips into a slight smile as he began to undress. "That's my parents' room. I haven't lived in this house for about ten years. Even now, I'm just a guest here until the girls' father returns, so I don't change anything unless it's necessary."

"Their father's return? I thought... they were orphans."

"Half-orphans." Now Brad grimaced noticeably, with reluctance—or rather... pain? He didn't seem to want to talk about it, so despite his growing curiosity, Colin didn't press the matter. If their father had abandoned the family, forcing his younger brother to take care of his nieces after their mother's death, no wonder Brad was reluctant to speak or even think about it. That was his private business and his family's, and Stone was merely a passerby here.

"Sit down." Instead, he returned to the issue at hand. "Let me check what you have in the first aid kit. Well, well, I see it's well-stocked."

"A habit from the old days." Brad sat down and shrugged. "My mother always liked to have something on hand to patch up her son."

"Did you often need patching up?"

"Quite a bit." Lipski grinned mischievously. Colin's heart pounded harder again. His mouth turned into a desert.

"And you, doc? Were you a good boy?"

"Apparently better than you, though I have my fair share of trouble behind me."

"Really? I'd love to hear about it."

Stone forced himself not to look into those gleaming eyes, at that broad, provocative smile.

"Maybe one evening, over a beer, we'll share some stories..."

The words that left Colin's lips surprised even himself, making him pause as he prepared the materials for dressing the wound.

"How about tonight?" Lipski didn't give him time to recover. "Of course, if you have time."

"Actually..."

Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum...

"After dinner, I was planning to go out for a bit of shopping, and..."

Ba dum, ba dum... But if he refused, it would be rude to his host.

"Maybe tomorrow..."

"Great, then it's a date for tomorrow!" Brad didn't seem offended by the delay. "You wouldn't mind if we went to 'The Grotto'?"

"'The Grotto'?"

"Right, you might not have noticed. That's the name of the bar we were at yesterday. There's another one on the other side of town, but 'The Grotto'—let's just say that's more my territory."

The bar where Lisa works...

"Sure, no problem," he agreed despite the discomfort that suddenly gripped him. Why did it have to be Lisa's bar? He immediately suppressed the unpleasant feeling. "Okay, show me your arm."

For convenience, Colin sat next to Brad and was instantly enveloped by the same incredible scent—vanilla, amber, and a forest dusted with iris powder. The fragrance was delicate, barely perceptible, yet it struck Colin's senses with overwhelming force, attacking his entire body. His breath quickened, his heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap out of his chest. His head spun. He had never struggled so much with dressing a wound before!

"Everything alright, doc?"

Brad's voice came so suddenly and so close that Colin felt every word against his skin. Hot breath brushed his cheek. He should escape, get out of here as fast as possible, but... he lifted his head.

Those dark, gleaming eyes were like powerful gravitational wells, pulling him in with an intensity he couldn't resist. He was drowning in them, and a part of him—his heart, specifically—was screaming that it wanted to sink all the way to the bottom.

His heart pounded so hard he could no longer catch his breath.

Brad's face was so close! So incredibly close!

Ba dum! Ba dum!!! BA DUM!!!

"Doc? Something wrong with my wound? It looks fine."

Ah, the wound, right...

"Everything's fine." Colin struggled to steady his trembling voice and shaking hands. "It's healing nicely..."

"You know, doc, no offense, but you'd look better without the beard."

"Oh!" The exclamation escaped him as Lipski's intense gaze pierced so deeply that every cell in his body trembled with excitement.

"You have such beautiful features, it's a shame to hide them."

'Beautiful features!'

"Th-thank you." Focus on the bandage, for God's sake!

"And your eyes. They're gentle but strong. Very beautiful and... intriguing."

Oh my God!

There wasn't a single atom in Colin's body that wasn't screaming with desire at that moment—to be in this man's arms, to let himself be embraced, caressed, and possessed! Just a moment longer, and this longing would swell so much that he would no longer be able to control himself…

Brad suddenly looked away.

"Sorry," he laughed awkwardly. "I didn't mean to put you in an uncomfortable situation. I just have this habit of saying whatever's on my mind, and…"

He probably felt just as uncomfortable as Colin—maybe even more, judging by the almost purple shade of his face.

"Oh no, it's fine," Stone reassured him, trying to focus on the bandage. "You're not the first man to compliment me, ha ha."

"I don't doubt it," Brad replied, turning his head toward him—but he did it so quickly, so abruptly, that their faces suddenly ended up much too close…