Forging Ties (Ties, Book 3) | ✓

Chapter 1

Hamish considered himself to be in excellent shape, but he still felt like he was dying by the time he made his way up the final steps towards the top of The Spire. When he saw Duran through the glass wall, already out on the balcony lookout, he was tempted to turn around and head straight back down. He'd been meaning to talk to him at some point, but he hadn't had a chance to get his thoughts together yet.

Fuck it, though. He'd come all the way up here. He headed outside.

Duran looked up as Hamish approached, studied him for a moment, and then returned to staring out at the view. It really was breathtaking from every direction, the ocean sparkling in the morning sunlight on one side and trees that seemed to stretch just as endlessly on the other.

"Did Yore let you in as well?" Hamish asked. "He didn't tell me you were up here."

Duran shook his head. "I lied to the guards. I told them I was the glass inspector. They let me in."

A smile quirked Hamish's lips. "You scare me a little, you know. You're way too good at lying."

"It wasn't hard. They're very stupid. I think they're mostly for show."

"Did you walk all the way up here on your own?"

"Yes." Duran flicked a glance in Hamish's direction. "If there's an alternative, I really wish I'd known before I did it."

Hamish shook his head. "It's just a hell of a climb, that's all. I'm impressed."

"It took me a couple of hours."

It had taken Hamish less than half an hour, but in a way it was more impressive for someone who wasn't as physically fit as he was to just keep pushing until they made it.

Last time Hamish had interacted with him, Duran had been flirting with everything he had. Now he just seemed... well, Hamish wasn't sure, but not happy and certainly not flirty.

"Do you know why I joined the military?" Hamish asked. "The human military, I mean, back when I was a teenager."

"Hadn't thought about it."

"Hot men and adventure, and it delivered on both of those things. Clearly we all see now that maybe it wasn't the most shining of institutions, but for young me, it was pretty great."

Duran nodded, his gaze fixed out over the ocean as the wind and the sunlight played with his hair and made it sparkle. He was so fucking effortlessly beautiful.

"Simon was the first man I had sex with. Or, well. We were both teenagers at the time. Not even really men. But we were young and horny and both attracted to men, so that's what we did. I thought it was a bit of fun. He thought we were in love. Obviously, he ended up getting hurt."

Duran leant his elbow on the railing, rested his chin in his palm, and looked at Hamish. "I promise I am not in love with you."

"Well, no, I don't think you are, but you've been through a lot and sex was involved in bad ways, and that doesn't just go away. It doesn't just stop mattering because it's inconvenient to have feelings about it, right?"

Duran shrugged and looked away again.

"You deserve someone who can take that seriously. Someone who doesn't just have sex for fun. Someone who can help you work through whatever you need to work through in whatever way you need to do that. Not some idiot who goes wherever his dick leads him."

"Well, I'm glad you're the expert on what I need. Thank you for informing me."

"Duran, come on..."

Duran shot him a withering glare. "You don't have to have sex with me, Hamish. I'm not trying to guilt you into it, because that would be fucked up. Everyone thinks they know so much about me. What's good for me, what's bad for me, what I need. They don't. They don't know anything."