The Ex's Boyfriend excerpt

 

He slammed the glass back down and started to walk toward the door, but, oh fuck, Ben was front and center.

Pissed.

As.

Hell.

“Where you going, Mark?” He knew his name? Crap. Course the idiot said it like he was spitting out an obscenity.

Mark figured he really didn’t expect an answer.

He moved around Ben and kept walking, hoping, praying, the dumb drunk would give up.

Ben grabbed Mark by the arm again and swung him around, twisting his arm behind and up Mark’s back, forcing Mark into Ben’s chest.

Guess not.

“Hey! Fucker! I was talking to you!”

Ben was tall. And big. So, Mark had to shift his gaze up to see the man’s face.

“You turn me down,” Ben ground out as he gave Mark a little shake, sending searing pain through his trapped arm. “and now you’re just ignoring me?”

His words were more than slurred and, unfortunately, the liquor was making him bold, and Mark just could not break free. “Let go, you asshole! You’re fucking drunk.” He wanted to tell him he was hurting him but stopped short of blurting that out, thinking Leon would somehow hear. Or Rogan would. “Leave me alone.”

“I don’t think so, you fucking tease. Swinging that ass of yours and then laughing when someone takes notice.” He managed to grab one of Mark’s butt cheeks with his other hand.

“What are you talking about? I don’t do that…”

“Yes, you do. Pretending to be with that guy who just left? He doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

This was definitely becoming more problematic. “Let go…” Mark struggled harder even though it hurt his arm, but then Ben stopped as he brought his face down into Mark’s.

“But don’t worry, I’ll take care of ya.” Ben laughed and leaned over to kiss Mark’s throat.

Mark thrashed again and shouted, “Get off me, you asshole!”

Suddenly Ben jerked back and glanced over to a man who had just stepped up.

“Come on, Ben,” the newcomer whispered. “You’re making a scene again. Why do you get like this? Let the guy go. They’re going to call the cops.”

“This is the guy I told you about…” Ben slurred.

Say what, now? The guy he talked about? Oh shit…

Mark kicked at Jimmy distracting Ben enough to let go. Mark was able to push Jimmy back and ran. But Ben came after him and somehow grabbed him by his hair. Mark swung around with all his might, hair painfully ripping from his head. “Let go!” he shouted as he once again batted Ben’s hands away.

But Ben wasn’t giving up. Mark pitched himself to the side to avoid Ben’s left fist and unfortunately slammed into a tall table, knocking it over as he went down, glasses and liquid going everywhere. Several people who were standing at the table had to step back, one of them screamed as glass broke. Mark made it to his feet, intending to get away, except Ben was there with a fist to Mark’s stomach and Mark was back on the floor on his ass.

Even in pain, he had to get up. But Ben was again making for him so he rolled, risking being cut by broken glass, thinking to avoid the man. Except Ben moved faster than a drunk man should be able to. He knocked Mark all the way down and pinned him to the floor on his stomach by sitting on Mark’s thighs.

“Damn, Ben,” Jimmy ground out from somewhere off to Mark’s left. “Downstairs you might be able to do this kind of thing, but not up here.”

Mark twisted to try to dislodge the drunk. Unfortunately, besides being big and strong, the man was also heavy, and Mark just could not shake him. Except, suddenly, with a frantic twist of Mark’s body, Ben’s weight was gone. There had been a scuffle and Ben was no longer grinding Mark into the floor.

Mark wasn’t going to wait around and find out what the drunk had in store for him next. He once again scrambled to his feet and swung around just in time to see Ben coming off Rogan’s fist and flopping to the floor himself.

Rogan?

Mark was too shocked to even move as a disappointed groan came up from the people around him.

“When someone says no,” Rogan growled down at Ben who sat rubbing his jaw, probably not even comprehending what had happened. “They mean no.”

Ben glared up at Rogan and hissed. “You fucker!” he shouted as he shot to his feet and came at Rogan. But a raised knee at the exact right moment put Ben back on the floor with an uff, rolling in pain, clutching his privates.

Ben’s friend, Jimmy, stepped up and told Rogan he would take Ben home. Then he turned to Mark. “Look, Ben’s just drunk right now. He’s… well, different when he’s sober.” Shaking his head, he bent over to the groaning Ben, helped him to his feet and took him away. This time, they actually left the building. It was then Mark saw the bartender standing off to the side and wringing his hands.

“Should I call the police?” he fretted. “I would much prefer we don’t because they already hate this place…”

“No,” Rogan commanded the bartender, but then glanced at Mark. “Unless you want to press assault charges. You have plenty of witnesses.” The big man’s gaze darted around the group still gathered, a scowl on his beautiful face.

Mark shook his head. “No. I don’t want to press charges.” He should though. He was shaking, his body hurting all over, from his hair to his stomach to his abused and surely bruised ass. This is the guy I was talking about… He was being stalked. Oh God. Was this how Leon felt? His heart panged hard with guilt.

Rogan took the few steps to Mark. “Are you alright?” He asked as he reached down to pull up Mark’s pants. Had they been hanging down? How fucking embarrassing. Then, boldly, as if the two of them were lovers, Rogan ran his fingers through Mark’s hair a few times. “It’s a little wild,” he explained.

Overwhelmed, Mark finally slapped his hands away and stepped back, not liking at all his body’s reaction to the man’s touch. “Yes, I’m fine…” His voice was hoarse, mainly because he was fighting back tears. He ran his own hand over his hair and glanced up at Rogan. “Th- thank you for…” But the fact he needed rescuing was upsetting. Something Leon would certainly hate and be all over him about if they were still dating. Which they weren’t of course, and hadn’t for some time. Still, he glanced around, fearing the man had to have witnessed the whole thing because he always did and would slam Mark with some condescending judgement of Mark’s character.

And, oh fuck, there he was, sneering at him from behind Rogan. Mark’s heart dropped.

“You are so wretched, Mark,” Leon seethed. “God, why did I ever think you were hot?”

Rogan grimaced and spoke immediately through clenched teeth. “Leon, shut up!”

“Shut up? Shut—up? Me? He’s supposed to be a fucking Dominant, Rogan. A man in charge. All he is, and he proved it just now, is sad and pitiful! And you’re supposed to be my boyfriend! Why the fuck are you off rescuing trash like this?”

“Leon, go sit down. I mean it.” He turned his head slightly to meet the much smaller man’s gaze. “Now.” He barely raised his voice at all, but the commanding tone had a shiver chasing up Mark’s back wishing Rogan’s commands were aimed at him instead. He could hardly breathe as he gawked at the taller man. What the hell was happening to him? Damn it. Leon was right. Mark had no control over anything. Even his own body. And who was he kidding? Neither Leon nor Rogan missed Mark’s “reaction”. Because Leon was now just glaring at Mark, trying hard to murder with his eyes. While Rogan raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Bastard.

It was time to get the hell gone, away from this madness. “I have to… Damn. I just have to go.” Mark turned and ran toward the exit. Once he got outside, he continued to run, just in case someone followed him out.

But who would follow him? Certainly not Leon.

And not Rogan.

Thankfully, his apartment was only about a couple blocks from this downtown bar. Which was another reason Mark had questioned Leon’s intentions. Why make sure Mark knew he would be at a club essentially just down from where Mark lived? It just seemed so… contrived.

Fuck! Why did he think meeting up with Leon would have been any kind of a good idea, no matter what the lying son of a bitch had in mind? What a fucking nightmare tonight turned out to be. And it had nothing to do with the knowledge Leon wasn’t coming back to him. He no longer wanted him. Far from it. Not after that huge, ridiculous fiasco back there. Mark had never known Leon to be so cruel, so flat out evil.

Of course, if he were being honest with himself, he knew that wasn’t necessarily true either. Leon had been anything but loving toward the end of their relationship.

He slowed to a walk and just breathed in the cool night air. It was better this way. It was totally finished. No more questions. Mark would no longer avoid Leon at work either. He would do his job and ignore the man. It was the only good outcome from this.

Why, Leon? Why did you do that? After everything we’ve been to one another?

Five minutes later he arrived at his very dated apartment complex and dug in his pocket for his key. There had been talk of a total renovation or even demolition of the place since it was in a fairly prime location for some modern, expensive high-rise to go in. It would be just his luck to get kicked to the curb by his landlord too. As it was, he could afford the rent of his one bed, one bath tiny little space. Just big enough for one. Because, after all, he was alone.

Fuck, he hated alone.