Bad Behavior (Bad in Baltimore) by K.A. Mitchell Page A

back.
    Tai had seen enough of David A. Beauchamp to know unease wasn’t something he was familiar with. That he was willing to let it show made Tai have to take a deep breath to find extra room in his chest for the heat spreading under his ribs.
    Before he could answer, David lowered himself to one knee without any of the easy grace he’d shown yesterday. But it wasn’t for Tai.
    “Hey, Jez. Who’s a pretty girl?”
    Tai released her from her stay, and she trotted forward, accepting David’s pets and rubs with wriggles and licks.
    “Yes, you are a very pretty girl. Look at those eyes.”
    Jez tilted her head as if she were an actress mugging for the camera, then swung it back at David, catching him on the shoulder hard enough to make him wobble and have to slam a hand against the wall.
    Tai stared at the leg David had stretched out in front of him, the scar and the area around it red and tight with swelling. The clench of Tai’s jaw kept back a snap of anger that would have startled Jez. Disappointment kept his frustration to an icy trickle down his spine as he got a rawhide for Jez to keep her occupied. When she was happily gnawing while sprawled on her blanket under the window, Tai hauled David to his feet, steered him into the bedroom and shut the door.
    Ignoring the seductive cast the location called up on David’s face, Tai kept his voice low and even.
    “The first thing, the very first thing I told you was you’d have to be completely honest with me.” If David couldn’t manage that much, there wasn’t a chance of this working.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You told me your leg was fine.”
    “It is fine. Well, it was.” David shrugged like that was an excuse.
    “You can’t hide pain like that. I have to trust that you’ll tell me if something is hurting you.”
    “What about that punishment you told me about?” A deep flush stained David’s throat.
    “That’s different. It would never be anything to put you at risk for injury. And I want you to be honest about how that makes you feel too.”
    The flush climbed onto David’s face.
    “Sit.” Tai pushed him gently onto the bed. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
    David shook his head. “My leg is fine. Or it was fine last night. I woke up, and it was sore and swollen. I didn’t lie to you. I haven’t lied to you.” David looked up. “Sir.”
    Tai let the moment stretch, reading David’s face, learning what he was willing to show in his eyes.
    After a minute David looked down. “This…it’s too…” He swallowed and met Tai’s gaze again, this time with a regretful grin. “I don’t think I can lie to you now.”
    Tai put a palm on David’s face, and the stubble on his cheek prickled as David leaned into the touch.
    Shifting to move a breath away from David’s lips, Tai whispered, “Was that all that was swollen and bothering you when you woke up?”
    “No.” David’s voice shook.
    God, he was so open, offering himself so sweetly, Tai wanted to put David on a spreader bar and eat that tight ass until he passed out.
    “You said you didn’t have time for a shower.” Tai peeled David’s shirt off over his head. It was twice as silky as it looked, but Tai was much more interested in what was underneath.
    “Join me.” David pushed to his feet.
    “You haven’t seen my shower, but I can watch.”
    Tai hoped his eventual coffin was roomier than the shower stall in his apartment, but the close quarters in the rest of the bathroom weren’t bothering him now. He cradled David’s face and kissed him, tugging his lips apart and tickling inside them. David shifted against Tai. With a lurch of guilt, he pulled away. After lowering the toilet lid, Tai helped him sit.
    “Sorry. Forgot about your leg.”
    “Don’t let that stop you.”
    Tai arched his brows and bent to leave wet kisses across David’s pecs, breathing in the sweat and sex smells on his skin. Trailing a palm down David’s arm, Tai stopped at the