The Other Man (The Other Man Series Book 1) (16 page)

“This feels weird,” I admitted, not tearing my eyes from the TV. Stroking my fingers through Daisy’s fur.

Hours later, we were at Zach’s house after he had asked me to stay. It was where I wanted to be, but I still wasn’t sure that it was the right thing to do. It felt like I was taking advantage, in a way, but he insisted and honestly, I just wanted one day without any arguments. So I was staying.

But it felt weird. Too normal. Too average.

I could feel Zach’s eyes on me, “What feels weird?”

“This,” I tilted my bottle of beer towards the TV. “Us. Absolutely nothing about us so far has been normal. Just sitting here, drinking and watching the TV, it feels weird. I’m sort of waiting for the next drama to happen.”

“It was an intense situation, Blake. I’m not saying life will just be all daisies and buttercups now, but we‘re allowed to have a night in front of the TV without the world caving in around us,” he joked.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” I blurted, then froze. I hadn’t meant to say that. I don’t what I was planning to say but it wasn’t that. I felt it, sure, but there was no ready I was ready for him to know that. “Forget it, it’s too soon. It doesn’t matter.”

“Calm yourself. You already know I love you, it’s good to know it isn’t one-sided, but it’s also not a surprise.”

Wow, that was a little cocky, if not completely arrogant. I told him as much. He laughed but shook his head.

“It’s not cocky, you misunderstand me. Have you not wondered why you have no issue talking about sucking cock, you can fuck me like a pro, you’ll get down on your knees and swallow my dick to the back of your throat...but you can’t even fathom the thought of touching another man?”

As he spoke, my mouth filled with saliva. I longed to do everything to him that he’d just said. But he was right, when I thought about having another man bent over and taking my cock, I could practically feel my skin turn green with nausea. I nodded and pursed my lips, “It’s all I ever think about,” I agreed. “It makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.”

“Why?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Because, Blake, we’re soulmates.”

I scoffed, then paused, and scoffed again. Soulmates. What a ridiculous thing to say. I wasn’t one of those who believed in such things. I believed you just liked spending time with someone, so you worked at making a relationship and keeping it. Fate, destiny, all those other ‘higher powers’, just didn’t make sense to me.

“You can scoff all you like, but I’m right. Think about it, would you have ever considered leaving Carlie and uprooting your entire life, for anyone else?”

No, I wouldn’t have but that was just about timing. Had Zach come along at any other time in our marriage, there was no way I’d have done any of it. He just would have been another face in another day. Nothing more and nothing less.

“Ok, let’s say this. How long did it take you to decide that you thought Carlie might actually be
the one
?”

I shook my head, I couldn’t remember, “Three months? Six months? I don’t know. I asked her to marry me when we’d been together for a year and a half. We were married six months later.”

“Blake,” Zach began. “Do you realise that we’ve only known each other for about four weeks? Yes, in terms of time, it’s been five months, but we didn’t see or speak to each other for almost four of those. People don’t fall in love in the space of a few weeks. Deny it all you want, you were in love with me by the second week. Call it fate, insta-love, or whatever else people call it these days but whether you believe it or not, it happened and it stayed. I love you because you have the other half of my soul, Blake and that’s not something that happens every day.”

“You really believe that?”

He tilted his head to the side, “Which bit?”

“All of it. But mainly that I have the other half of your soul.”

“I don’t just believe it, I know it. I feel it right down in my stomach, in my bones and in my cock. It’s so easy to throw out words like ‘own’, but that’s how it feels. Like you own me. And I hope, now, or one day soon, that I’ll own just a little bit of you too.”

I felt that. The ownership thing. Where you just feel like your entire body doesn’t belong to you, or like someone else’s name is etched into the surface. Was that what soulmates were about? Still seemed like a bit of a stretch to me and it must have shown on my face.

“Don’t think logically because feelings don’t follow the rules of logic. That about how it
feels
, Blake. Picture this. A new member joins my gym, he’s tall, dark, and his body is sculptured the way most men can only dream of. He comes to me for help, tells me that he’s not quite sure how to safely move up to the next set of weights. He’s lying, clearly. The way he’s built, he knows how to do the perfect workout. He just wants to be close to me, to touch me,” I could feel my blood pressure start to rise. “He’s a charmer, he knows exactly what to say and when to say it. Innocent touches here, small compliments there. I’m oblivious, I don’t notice he’s doing it because why would I? I’m with you. Then he steps it up, his touches become more often, his words are suggestive. He makes it clear that he wants me and he’s going to do everything in his power to have me.”

“Stop!” I yelled, my pulse roaring in my ears.

The volume of my voice made Daisy bark and her head jerked up. I shushed her and stroked her behind the ears. She calmed down instantly

I could picture it all. Every last word was burned into my brain and it hit me that he was right. It wasn’t about jealousy, because I didn’t feel jealous. I felt white hot anger searing through my limbs and paralysing my body. The man was a figment of imagination and yet I felt the uncontrollable urge to hunt him down and commit grievous bodily harm.

Ridiculous. So fucking ridiculous. Yet, it was there and it made me understand exactly what he was trying to tell me. He had his claim on me because he was getting my cock, true. But it was more than that. He’d claimed my soul and I’d claimed his.

That bond was unbreakable.

Maybe soulmates really did exist.

“You’ve had enough. It doesn’t feel good, does it?” He noted and I shook my head. No, it really didn’t feel good.

“How do you know this stuff?”

He shrugged, “Before you? I didn’t. But I pay attention, Blake. I watch and I listen. I’m also not too afraid to admit exactly how I feel and I think that made things transparent for me. I told you. I fell in love with you before I’d even met you. I’d seen pictures, I knew everything there was to know about you from someone else’s perspective, but I’d never met you. Never talked to you or felt you, never listened to you or learnt your smell. But there’s no denying that I was in love with you. You can’t tell me that doesn’t mean something, because it does. I don’t make a habit of going after married men, Blake. Difference is, you were
mine
. Carlie didn’t deserve you and she still doesn’t, but if you weren’t mine, I would never have let myself get involved. Too complicated, to dramatic, it wouldn’t have been worth the effort or the aggravation.”

“Why does that make me feel like I have a shit ton of pressure on me, right now?”

He smirked, “Because you still need to catch up.”

I agreed. I knew I loved him, I knew I wanted to be with him, but the rest of it, I hadn’t yet admitted to myself and I wasn’t sure how to.

Sighing, I rested my head on the back of the sofa.

“I’m going to have to tell my mum, she’s going to want to meet you and I’m going to have be transported back to the eighties.”

At the swift change in topic, his head jerked up and his brow furrowed.

“Why the eighties?”

“Because Zach, there’s a reason that I try not to see my mum all that often. She’s crazy. Not in an ‘I’m going to become a mass murderer’ sort of way. She’s harmless. She’s just nosy, and flighty, and she thinks she’s still twenty-five. She’s stuck in the eighties, meaning any time I spend with her, I’m stuck there too. Don’t be surprised if, when you meet her, she has the photo albums out within five minutes, looking at naked baby photos of me and she’s offering to show you her
impressive
belly dancing routines.”

He barked out a laugh, “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

The air felt thick and I stared at him, the realisation that we were really going to do this, finally sinking in and hitting home. His head moved up and down slowly, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I will see for myself.”

He offered me another drink and I shook my head. Our conversations seemed to be deep and weighty, I didn’t want to add more alcohol to mix and say something that I couldn’t take back.

“What about you? Close with your parents?” I asked.

His lips twitched, “My dad, surprisingly, yes. Mum died when I was younger but my dad is amazing. He’s the reason I have the gym.”

“How so?” I enquired, interested to learn something about him that didn’t include sex.

“He fronted me the money, simple. I always knew what I wanted and I’d worked hard to save, but a building that size and the equipment to go in it doesn’t come cheap. The bank may as well have slammed the door in my face for all the help they were when I only had a measly deposit for a mortgage. He sold his holiday home in Mallorca, sold his car and pretty much put down his life savings for me. I was approved for the mortgage, and had some leftover to make the place look good. Don’t get me wrong, he’d worked all his life and I didn’t want to take the money but he called it an ‘early inheritance’, refused to take the money back and then took off in his campervan for faraway lands and only comes back every now and then. He calls often though, last week he said something about Italy and cheese. I switch off most the time because that man can talk more than I can.”

He was smiling as he spoke, the love for his dad clear on his face. I realised that it was the first time I’d ever seen him truly relaxed and it was the way I wanted him to stay. We talked for a few more hours about family and life. I skimmed over the facts when he mentioned work because honestly, I didn’t even know what was happening myself. I knew I needed to go back eventually though. My savings would only last for so long and considering I needed to find somewhere to live, I needed to keep the small amount that I had.

We talked, we laughed and we learned.

I got my dick sucked, returned the favour and spent the night sleeping next to my soulmate.

It was probably the most memorable day of my life.

“Well, well, lads. Look who’s decided to come crawling back to us!” Matt joked, the second I hit the station forecourt.

I smiled and flipped him off. I hadn’t realised until my feet reached the front doors, exactly how much I missed the place. Or how much I’d missed the guys. It had taken all of fifteen minutes after my shower that morning, to realise that I didn’t want to put things off anymore. Getting my life together, meant facing everything head on. I wasn’t, however, looking forward to the conversation I was about to have.

“Are you finally coming back?” Harry asked. He knew most about why I’d left since I’d been staying in his cabin, but he didn’t pry.

I frowned at the office door.
My
office door, and I nodded.

“I will be, yeah.”

He grinned and patted me on the shoulder, “Good. It’s been too quiet around here.”

I didn’t knock when I reached the office, just walked straight in. Ian’s head snapped up and a scowl marred his features. His face blanked after a second, but I saw it.

“Blake,” he acknowledged.

“You’re done. This is my job and my station. You were right, I needed to improve my performance but what you did wasn’t about me. Months back, you admitted to me yourself that you’d clung on to your job in the team for too long before you applied for Captain. Now you’re doing it again. You’re too old, and you’ve already retired so it’s not your place to make judgement calls around here anymore. I thought about it, and really, just fuck you,” his mouth dropped and his chin hit his chest. “You came in here, threatened me, threatened my job and sat in that chair like you owned the joint. Leave. If you come back
at all
, I’ll call the police. You want make falsified reports to your brother? Go ahead. The rest of the country’s captains, the regulator, the police and the goddamn queen herself won’t be able to get rid of me because I will fight you tooth and nail.”

He sputtered, face turning a mottled shade of red, “You, you can’t…”

“I can,” I said firmly. “You know it, and I know it. Get out of my station, stay away from my guys and don’t fuck around in other people’s business until you’ve got the balls to back it up. You were my friend, Ian. More than that, you were my mentor. You really should work on this midlife crisis of yours before it starts bleeding into other aspects of your life too.”

“It’s not my life that’s falling apart though, is it, Blake? Not exactly surprising that you couldn’t manage to keep hold of that pretty little wife of yours,” he leered.

A cold chill swept up my spine.

“How do you know anything about Carlie?”

His eyes were trying to portray a message that I couldn’t read, but his words made me nauseous, “Poor lady, she just needed a shoulder to cry on, someone to support her in her time of need. She was all too ready to spill all her dirty little secrets when her husband’s mentor popped round.”

“You bastard,” I croaked, fury ingrained in my voice. “I don’t know what sick games you’re playing, or even who the fuck you are, but stay away from my wife.”

He strolled around the office, something so snake-like about the way he moved. Had he always been like that and I hadn’t noticed? Leaning too close for comfort, he shot his parting blade, “She’s not your wife anymore though is she? I’ve always fancied myself a younger woman. That little glimpse of her naked thighs and the curve of her ass on show in this office, it’s etched in my mind.”

He left before the words could sink in and it’s a damn good job he did. Sick, sadistic Bastard.

I growled and punched out at the door, slamming it closed. I couldn’t understand why he’d gone from being one of the best guys I’d ever met, to that monster. The only thing I could think of, was the job. He gave it up though, he retired, it isn’t like I pushed him out. People have done worse things for less though I supposed.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of paperwork and banter with the guys. I couldn’t figure out what Ian had been doing for three weeks, but whatever it was, it wasn’t the job. Even the guys’ hours hadn’t been sent to payroll. It took me an hour or so to sort it out but I hoped they’d still get paid on time. A lot of them worked pay cheque to pay cheque, a delay would sting.

I met Zach at his house later that night and was greeted with the scent of garlic and steak as I walked through the door.

“Hey honey, I’m home!” I joked.

He appeared in the kitchen doorway, shaking his head.

“You’ve
really
got to start working on your sense of humour. If you expect me to greet you wearing a pinny and a cup of tea whilst asking you about your hard day at work, you picked the wrong guy.”

“Do
any
guys greet people wearing a pinny and a cup of tea?”

“Ha! Don’t ask me. Maybe someone with a weird fetish? Count me out either way!”

I grinned and brushed a kiss across his cheek.

“I made a decision today,” I announced out of the blue. I was just as shocked as was when I finished. “I’m going to find a lawyer tomorrow and file for divorce.”

“Wow, um, good?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Yeah, it is good. I need to get ball rolling.”

One of his eyebrows rose, “You could get more than one ball rolling you know?”

“And it’s
me
who needs to work on my sense of humour?”

Before he could respond, there was a loud clatter from the kitchen and he spun around.

“Daisy, no!”

I followed him into the room and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, biting down. If I laughed, his anger would switch from the dog to me and no thank you, she could keep it! The metal skillet lay on the floor surrounded by splatters of brown liquid. And Daisy? Daisy sat in the middle, wagging her tail, tongue lolling out to the side. Looking like she’d just eaten the best meal ever. I couldn’t help it, I choked on a laugh and Zach growled.

Daisy barked and he snapped, “I wasn’t talking to you. Get out!”

She whined, but skulked towards the back door.

“Should I, um, go and get the takeout menus?” I asked.

“No, I bought extra steaks in case I ruined them. Bloody good thing I did as well. Stupid dog.”

“Is there a reason you’re attempting to make dinner?” I enquired, knowing that cooking was not part of his repertoire.

He gave me a sheepish grin, “It’s nothing special. Just smothered steak and chips. I just thought, well...I wanted to do something nice.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more to it than that?” I narrowed my eyes on him.

Looking away, he made an excellent job of studying the black and white kitchen tiles and slid his hand along the work surface.

“Well?” I prompted.

“I just want you to be comfortable here, Blake.”

His admission floored me.

“Why would I not be? If I wasn’t happy here, Zach, I wouldn’t be here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. What
would
make uncomfortable, however, is a bout of food poisoning from your cooking!”

He snorted a laugh, “Dick. Even I can’t fuck up with steak and chips.”

At that exact moment, the smoke alarm started and blaring and Zack ran to the cooker. Smoke started billowing out as he opened the door and I had to hold onto to stomach, laughing so hard I could hardly hold myself up.

Struggling to breathe, I wheezed, “You were saying?”

He threw the tray of, what were supposed to be chips, but looked more like sticks of charcoal, onto the work surface, “Fuck this! I’m ordering pizza.”

Still howling, I followed him into the lounge. He ordered food and an hour later we sat around, TV playing in the background, conversation muted as we munched on pizza.

I was adjusting to the normality. Part of me was still waiting for something to fall apart, but as the hours faded and evening creeped into night-time, I realised that was just something I would have to get over. Relationships weren’t supposed to be built around drama. I don’t know if I expected it to be different with Zach because he was a man, or just because everything had been so intense and we’d gone from zero to sixty in the space of a few months.

Either way, I had to get over it.

I wasn’t going to live my life in fear of something going wrong.

Later that night, after getting into bed, getting jacked, sucked, reamed and fucking Zach so hard that I thought I was going to break him. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.

His body covered every inch of mine and no matter how much I tried to fight it, I knew I would never be able to deny him a single thing.

He shifted away and collapsed, face down into the bed with a groan. I moved up beside him. Removing the condom, I tied it in a knot and threw it somewhere over the side of the bed.

Out of nowhere, Zach started to chuckle and within seconds his body was shaking with full on belly-laughter and I frowned over at him.

“I’m not sure if I should be insulted that you’re laughing so hard seconds after I blow my load inside you.”

Taking a few seconds to control himself, his body stayed still but his head turned to face me, “I was just thinking, do you realise that, granted it’s still only been a short time, but this is the first time we’ve actually made it to a bed before you get inside me.”

I thought back, “I’ve never thought about it to be honest. It’s probably because we never had the time to! We’re only just now allowed to have the time to play.”

“Yeah, either that or because every time you get within three feet of my mouth, you want it wrapped around your cock!”

“That too,” I agreed. “That mouth of yours should come with a warning.”

Subtly shaking his head negatively, he held my eyes when he said, “Not much point in that anymore. It isn’t like anyone else will ever find out.”

Realising exactly what he meant, my heart thumped in my chest and I sucked in a breath through my nose.

“Yeah,” I grunted, not wanting to show emotion.

He smiled.

I smiled.

He got up to clean up, I couldn’t bothered, so I slept covered in me, covered in
him.