Chapter Fifteen

T hursday rolled around and Ryker heard Marshal and Bishop coming down the hallway. Making a right turn, Ryker hauled ass down the hall that would lead him to the kitchen.

"Ryker?" Marshal called after him, but he didn't slow.

He wasn't ready to talk to Marshal right then. Hell, he wasn't prepared to talk to the guy for the next freaking year.

Humiliation didn't begin to describe his feelings. To think that he'd tried to hook up with a married man. Well, technically, Marshal wasn't married, but he was in a common-law relationship and that was the same in his mind.

All those months they'd worked side by side and Marshal had never said a word about his woman or his kids.

Not. One. Fucking. Word.

He stormed into the kitchen and snatched a piece of garlic bread from the cutting board where Mrs. Clare was assembling the pile for the lunch table.

"Thanks," he mumbled, tearing off a bite with a gnashing of teeth as he stomped out the other end of the room. Entering the back hallway that would lead him in either the direction of the terrarium or the outside grounds, he chose the grounds.

The maze designed by his grandfather was an easy place to avoid Marshal.

Or so he thought as he reached the middle of the maze.

"There isn't a place on this estate that you can hide from me."

"I'm not hiding." Ryker tipped his chin and glanced up.

He'd taken a seat on one of the numerous stone benches throughout the maze and he now regretted it when faced with Marshal's massive size looming over him.

But he wasn't going to stand up. This was his home, damn it, and he wasn't going to let Marshal…

What?

Apologize? Give excuses? Hear about his lovely common-law wife and children?

His heart hurt and his eyes stung and it pissed him off.

"What do you want?" Yes, his tone was belligerent, but he didn't care.

"I'm sorry."

Okay, that caught him off guard. Marshal wasn't one to apologize. And just what was the guy sorry about? That was the question now, wasn't it?

"About?" he challenged.

"About not telling you I have kids."

So, it was about the children and not about the man ignoring the tension between them. Why would it be? After all, they'd never been nor would they ever be anything more.

Right?

Right.

That thought took the wind out of his ire and he deflated.

"Apology accepted," he murmured softly, glancing away because if he continued holding Marshal's piercing blue gaze, then he would start bawling.

And Langston men didn't cry.

Ryker held his breath when Marshal sank onto the bench next to him with a heavy sigh.

"I wanted to tell you so many times." The man's guilty tone irritated him.

"And you fought doing so for twelve years?"

A muscle ticked in Marshal's jaw and Ryker's snort was derision-filled. That wasn't lost on Marshal, if the tightening of the man's shoulders were any indication.

"I try to keep my family separate from the job."

Okay, that hurt.

Fuck, Ryker squeezed his hands into fists.

"You kept it a secret, but told my father," Ryker accused.

"I'm not going to apologize for having a family."

"I'm not mad you have a family," he snapped out of patience. "I'm pissed because you didn't tell me . I thought we were friends."

Marshal sucked in a quick breath, the sound drifted in the air along with birds, a distant lawn mower, and a trickle of the maze water fountain, but Ryker heard the quick inhalation.

"Are we not friends?" he asked tightly, and then forgot to breathe when Marshal reached over and linked their fingers together.

He swallowed hard and his mouth went dry when Marshal lifted his hand to his lips.

Was Marshal not happy with his woman?

He tried to pull his hand free, but Marshal overpowered him and then sent his heart thumping when he slid his lips down over the inside of his wrist, mouthing his pulse.

"You asshole!" Okay, it was a bit dramatic, but he was no cheater.

His free hand slapped Marshal, catching the man flat on the cheek and sending the guy's head sideways with the force.

With his hand now free, Ryker leaped to his feet, but Marshal caught him from behind. Arms like iron were locked around his waist until he stopped struggling.

Their harsh breathing filled the space and after a long moment, Marshal leaned his head down and pressed it against the back of Ryker's neck, the man's arms tightening.

"Let me go." Ryker didn't even recognize his agony-filled voice.

"Why?" Marshal croaked like he was having trouble breathing.

"I will not be the reason you cheat on your woman." The hurt in his voice came through loud and clear.

"She's dead."

His heart broke and he stayed still for a long moment before he twisted around until he faced Marshal. The man's arms loosened but only slightly, and Ryker found himself pressed against Marshal's muscled frame. One hand slipped up his back and cradled his head, lifting his face upward.

Suddenly, the thought of Marshal seeing his scars sent him into a panic and he turned his face away, which was ridiculous because the man had seen them before. Only now it felt different. He was no longer beautiful.

"Don't hide from me." Marshal breathed the words against his injured cheek, the soft touch of the man's mouth was accompanied by the prickle of his perfectly groomed facial hair.

Ryker shuddered. "I'm ugly."

Rather than pay Ryker lip service, Marshal dipped his head and took the young man's lush lips in a deep kiss. He coaxed Ryker's mouth open and then tangled their tongues together. Ryker made a small sound in the back of his throat that sent Marshal's cock iron hard and he scooped Ryker up and settled the man's slender form in his lap as he sat back down on the bench.

Ryker was making soft moaning sounds that were driving him nuts.

He had always known that if he ever took a risk on them, he and Ryker would explode together.

There was no going back from this.

His only hope was that Ryker would forgive him when things were all said and done.

"I want you."

Marshal couldn't resist or refuse the softly choked request.

Ryker owned him body and soul and they'd been heading down this road for years.

Standing, Marshal carried Ryker through the maze and toward the cottage-style guest house he'd been staying in since his return. It was secluded and located at the back of the gardens behind the maze.

Ryker slipped his arms around his neck and pressed his lips to his throat.

Entering the passcode to the guest house, Marshal stepped inside and kicked the door closed.

There was no going back.

Nor did he want to.