The Love Between Us Read online

  “The Love Between Us”

  M/M Gay Romance

  Max Hudson

  © 2019

  Max Hudson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.

  Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/ (courtesy of Jerry Cole).

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner & are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images & are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.

  Edition v1.00 (2019.08.21)

  http://www.maxhudsonauthor.com

  Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: Jon Niehus, RB, JayBee and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter One

  John was glad when he finally pressed save on the work that had been driving him insane for the past week. Sums and various figures, he could handle, but his abilities had been stretched to the limit with this month’s accounts. With everyone going off on various vacations, it made everything harder to keep track of. In their company, the other departments were supposed to keep track of when they worked and the hours while the accounting department simply got the paychecks together.

  That was what they were supposed to do. But at the end of the month, it was up to John to collect what he could and figure out who had worked what. It drove him mad that grown adults could be so disorganized and then get upset when their payments were wrong.

  Disorganized and whiners. John hated both. They made his teeth grind.

  Now the last of the paychecks had been finished, and they would be good to go out on the first of the next month. And then the cycle would begin all over again.

  Fun.

  Saving the work, John prepared the paychecks to be emailed out and signed off his computer. He was looking forward to going home, taking Walrider out for his walk and having a hot shower before ordering takeout and sitting in front of the TV. The perfect start to a weekend, even if it was a bit late.

  John shrugged into his jacket, picking up his keys and wallet as he waved farewell to his colleague in the cubicle across the aisle.

  “Night, Sandy.”

  “Night.” Then Sandy stopped and turned around, her tight red curls bouncing around her head. “Who are you going down with?”

  “On my own. As always.”

  Sandy frowned.

  “You shouldn’t go into the parking lot alone. You know there have been a lot of muggings lately in the area. The CEOs told us not to go to our cars alone, remember?”

  John rolled his eyes. He hadn’t forgotten, but he thought it was foolish. The parking lot was well-lit, there were several cameras around recording everything, and you couldn’t leave without knowing the code to the doors. It was slim to none that John would even be looked at in the wrong way.

  “John…”

  “Of course I haven’t forgotten. We’ve all read the memo.” John nudged his chair under his desk with his hip. “There’s nobody to act as my babysitter.”

  “I could go with you.”

  “No offense, Sandy, but who’s going to look after you once I’m gone?”

  “Okay, I just thought I’d ask.” Sandy sighed. “I suppose you could go by the security office. Chris is on this evening.”

  John paused. Chris Bayliss, the chief of security. The head honcho when it came to keeping a lock on the company.

  And he was the only person who could put John on the defensive and keep him there. Every time the two of them met, John could feel something between them. It was intense, and it made his palms sweaty. From the way Chris acted around him, he was aware of it as well. And he kept his distance.

  It didn’t help that Chris had once been married to John’s sister.

  John realized that Sandy was still staring at him and shook himself.

  “No, I’m not bothering Chris. I’m well over twenty-one, Sandy. I can take care of myself.”

  “That’s what Rick said and look what happened to him.” Sandy pointed out. “Bloody nose, his car keys and wallet gone, along with the gold necklace he was giving to his girlfriend.”

  “He probably wouldn’t have been bothered if he hadn’t been practically twirling it around his finger.” John grunted. “And I’m not going to be that stupid. I don’t have a gold necklace, for a start.”

  Sandy bit her lip. She still didn’t look convinced.

  “If you’re sure? I can call Chris for you…”

  “I said no.” John realized he had said that a little too harshly and backed down, shaking his head. “I’ll be okay.”

  Sandy was staring at him with worry in her eyes. John wished he could reassure her a little more. Sandy was the baby of the department, but she was more like a mother hen to everyone. Things were kept running smoothly because of her. It was hard not to like her, and John didn’t want her worrying so much.

  But he wanted to get home. Hopefully, he could head out before Sandy called Chris in the security office on the ground floor so he could be intercepted. John didn’t want to deal with the man tonight.

  Shoving his belongings into his pockets, John headed out of his department and into the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor. Then he slumped against the wall, resting his head against the cold metal. The mere mention of Chris was enough to get John rattled. Nobody else could get him so nervous. The six-one silver fox had a presence that made everyone notice him, the ladies especially. But he just shrugged and got on with his work.

  Even after working in the same building for practically all of his working life, straight out of university twenty years ago, John hadn’t seen Chris with anyone else after Violet. They had been divorced two years by now after six years together, and yet Chris never looked at anyone else. Women would find excuses to go to the security office just to see him, but he never took an interest.

  Not that John knew of. And he knew that he watched Chris very carefully.

  That wasn�
�t right, surely? He shouldn’t be lusting after his ex-brother-in-law. This ridiculous crush was getting worse, and John wished he would snap out of it. Previous partners had noticed his mind was elsewhere and had left pretty much soon after they brought it up. Even Violet suspected something.

  John just wanted it to leave him alone. It was bad enough that he was reminded of his unmarried status at his age without the knowledge he lusted after a man he couldn’t have.

  It was best to keep his distance. That was easy enough, seeing as their hours were different. John just needed to keep going on about his business without Chris getting in the middle of it.

  And that included walking through the parking lot without an escort.

  The doors slid open onto the parking lot and John headed out. His car was on the basement level, down a set of stairs and under a broken light. It was easy enough to pull out of the space and head toward the exit without any intrusions. That and everyone who had parked on the basement level earlier in the day had left. John didn’t need to engage in meaningless conversation with people who didn’t give a shit about him.

  He was reaching into his pocket for his keys when John was slammed into from the side. He stumbled and hit a concrete pillar, jarring his shoulder. Then he felt something sharp tickling his neck, pressing his head against the pillar.

  “Give us your money, pal, and then fuck off.”

  The voice in his ear was a low hiss. Juvenile. He was being mugged by a kid? John jammed his elbow into the kid’s stomach, forcing him back, and turned to face him. That was when he saw that his attacker wasn’t alone. He had two friends, surrounding him in a tight circle. Dressed in sweats with their hoods over their heads, their faces in partial shadow. All of them were holding knives.

  This was going to be interesting. John knew the sensible solution was not to fight, but he wasn’t in the mood to be ordered around by a group of children. He shook his head.

  “I’m not giving you anything.”

  The first boy sniggered, waving his knife at John’s face.

  “I think you are if you want to live.”

  “Fuck off.”

  The boy to his left lunged, launching a kick at John’s stomach. John blocked the kick and pushed the kid away, darting past his falling body and around his car. The other two boys ran after him, blocking off his exit. One of them thrust the knife into his face, and John blocked it, grabbing the boy’s wrist and twisting. The knife fell to the ground and there was a loud cry. A feminine cry.

  What the…?

  John grabbed the kid’s hood and tugged it off. Long blonde hair fell loose over her shoulder, and bright blue eyes blazed at him. He was being attacked by a girl?

  “Hey! That’s enough!”

  John stilled. A voice he had hoped not to hear. The girl gasped and managed to pull away, grasping at her wrist.

  “He was attacking me!” She screamed. “He hurt me!”

  John saw a tall, broad-shouldered man with silver hair come down the stairs, his hand on the butt of his gun holstered at his waist. His bristled jaw was clenched tightly, his blue eyes flickering over John before turning to the three juveniles. The girl had been joined by her friends, who surrounded her. The knives had disappeared, and they were all whimpering.

  “I thought I heard someone tell you to fuck off.” Chris said smoothly, stopping on the bottom step. “Shouldn’t you do as you’re told and fuck off?”

  “We weren’t doing anything wrong!” One of the boys protested. “We were attacked for no reason!”

  “I beg to differ, seeing as you’re in a private parking lot.” Chris put a hand on his hip, raising his eyebrows. “What are you doing in here?”

  “We were on our way home.” The girl said. She was still clutching her wrist. “And he just jumped out at us.”

  John resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Chris didn’t look amused. He shook his head.

  “When you lie to adults, you need to do better than that.” He stepped off the stairs and sauntered over to them. His hand never came off his gun. “Now you have got two choices. You can leave right now and nothing will come of your trespass and attempted robbery. Or you can argue with us and I’ll have all of you arrested and turned over to the cops. Which would you like to do?”

  The girl’s expression was sullen. She looked ready for a fight. But her companions were tugging her back with them. One was shaking his head.

  “We don’t want any trouble,” he said in a high voice. “Really.”

  “If you didn’t want trouble, you shouldn’t have tried to take this man’s wallet at knifepoint.” Chris jerked his head toward the exit. “Beat it. You’ve got five seconds to move.”

  It didn’t even take two seconds before the three teenagers were hurrying toward the exit, the girl whispering angry protests at her friends. But they ignored her and pulled her along, ducking under the barrier and disappearing from sight.

  “Stupid kids,” Chris muttered. He turned to John. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.” John adjusted his jacket. His hands were shaking. “I could have dealt with it, you know.”

  “Really?” Chris raised his eyebrows in a skeptical look. “You thought you could handle three kids armed with switchblades? That would have been interesting.”

  “I can manage.”

  “I’m sure,” Chris drawled. He folded his arms. “You’re lucky Sandy called me, or you wouldn’t be in one piece right now.”

  John groaned. Sandy had to stick her nose into it, even after being told not to.

  “I told her not to bother you.”

  “And it’s a good thing she did.”

  “So you could tell a few kids to fuck off?” John snapped. “I had it under control.”

  “Really?”

  They stared at each other. John could feel heat creeping up his back. Arousal twisted in his stomach. Even rough around the edges, looking like he hadn’t had a shave in a while, Chris Bayliss was gorgeous. Approaching fifty and he still had an aura about him. It hadn’t faded in all the time John had known him.

  Which was a pity.

  John hissed and turned away, fumbling in his pocket for his keys.

  “Leave me alone, Chris,” he grumbled, managing to unlock the car even as his hands trembled. “Just...leave me alone.”

  “Okay,” Chris smirked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  John bit back a retort and grabbed for the car door. He knew what he wanted to do, but that wasn’t going to make anything any better. Even as he slammed the car door and turned the engine on, John could still see Chris watching him with that smirk that drove him mad.

  That man was infuriating on so many levels. John had to resist the urge to make a rude gesture at Chris as he tore out of the parking lot, his tires squealing on the asphalt.

  Chapter Two

  It was dark when John arrived back at his residence. He lived in the suburbs on the edge of the city, a single-story home that was surrounded by at least an acre of land. John had bought it thirteen years before once he had finally saved for his own place and not squandering it on the rent for the small apartment he had lived in since college. It felt much nicer heading home to a cleaner, quieter part of town than to an apartment block that was in danger of going up in flames whenever someone lit up a cigarette.

  John had made it his own. He had even bought a dog, having always wanted one since he was a kid. A Rhodesian ridgeback with the energy of a toddler, even at the ripe old age of thirteen. He made things feel more like home whenever John came back. It was better than coming back to an empty house.

  And his dog would be wondering where he was. Even though he was walked during the day by one of John’s neighbors, they always went for a run once John came home. John knew he was late, and his dog was going to make him aware of it.

  Pulling his car into the driveway, John could hear the barking as soon as he got out. He unlocked the front door, only to have a huge black animal jump up at him, licking his face.


  “Easy, Walrider!” John petted him and moved away, nudging the huge dog’s paws off his chest. “I’m home now. Fancy going for a run?”

  Walrider barked and jumped up and down. He was always ready for a run. John headed to his bedroom and changed into his running gear. As a younger man, he had hated running. But having a companion, one that didn’t talk but was always there, made it more interesting. Walrider had boundless energy. He was a good motivator.

  Walrider was still waiting by the open door, prancing around with excited yips. John couldn’t help but smile as he followed his pet outside and locked the door behind him. It was like having an excited child in the house. A very excited child. But one that was easily pleased.

  The run didn’t take very long. John would often jog down to the park, once around and then take the long way home. Walrider ran along beside him happily, occasionally pattering off to do his business before joining him again. John was glad he had remembered to grab the plastic bags before he left the house; he didn’t want to be fined. Not after last time.

  It was about an hour later by the time they reached home. John was starving. He was looking forward to ordering his usual takeout and sitting down to watch a game. One of the softball series would be on, and John just wanted to put his feet up.

  Then he saw the hatchback pulled up behind his car in the drive. Someone was sitting in the driver’s seat, slight illumination outlining his face from a device in his hand that he was concentrated on. John slowed to a walk, Walrider trotting along beside him.

  What was he doing here? He hadn’t forgotten an important date, had he? David Coyne often came over when John had forgotten something. Somehow, he preferred to chastise his son face-to-face than over the phone.

  As John walked across his lawn, the door opened and his father climbed out.

  “I thought you’d be home by now.”

  “I needed to take Walrider for a run.” John fished out his keys. “Paychecks needed to be ready to send out, so I had to stay late.”