Reynaud's Redemption, стр. 15
Joe stood at his full height, eyeing Reynaud as well. The glower in Joe’s eyes reminded him of the glare Baptiste had, filled with hatred, jealousy and anger. Men like Baptiste and Joe never changed. Even if they had all the control, power and everything else they thought they desired, it was never enough. He knew Joe would have hurt Cameron, his Cameron, had Reynaud not shown up. Reynaud promised himself he would not lose another lover to hatred. Not again.
“If you have an issue with Cameron, I suggest you bring your fight to me,” Reynaud offered, contempt dripping from his words.
Joe laughed, but without humor. He walked slowly, trying to circle Reynaud, but Reynaud strolled in pace with him.
“So who are you? Cameron’s new man?” Joe snorted.
“That’s exactly who I am.”
“Is that right? Well, I have a problem with that, bucko. In case you didn’t know, Cameron doesn’t need a new man. He already has a current one—me. I’m the only man he’ll ever have.”
Reynaud scoffed. “I beg to differ. For you to claim Cameron as your own, he has to want to be your man. And he doesn’t want—or need—you.”
“You beg to differ?” Joe repeated mockingly. “What the fuck does that mean? Oh, I see. You’re one of those educated men. That’s cool. I can work with that. Just so you know, Cameron is too stupid to be happy with an intelligent man like you. But I’m not like that. No, I know how to deal with educated folk. You just gotta know how to talk to people.” He smoothed his T-shirt and dusted invisible lint from his shoulders. “Now look, uhhh…”
“Reynaud,” he supplied.
Joe screwed his face up in irritation. “Ray—what? All right, whatever.” He shrugged. “Look, dude, this ain’t your problem,” he continued in a soothing tone. “You look like the type of guy who has his shit together and you ain’t bad on the eyes either. I’m sure you can get any man you want. You don’t need this kind of drama, Ray.” Joe waved his hand toward Cameron.
“Reynaud,” he corrected.
“Whatever,” Joe said dismissively. “Look, all I’m saying is why don’t you just step off the scene, let me take what’s mine and we’ll be on our way. Cool?”
Cameron slid to the floor where he had landed against the wall. The confusion on his face was apparent, and the apprehension on it hadn’t eased either.
Reynaud continued walking with Joe in the challenge circle, but stopped when he blocked Joe’s line of sight to Cameron.
“There are two things wrong with your scenario, Joe. Cameron doesn’t belong to you, and I don’t want another man. I want Cameron.”
“Cameron is a weak man, Reynaud.” Joe’s voice grew stern and his gaze hard. “He needs a strong man like me to keep him in line. I can show him where his boundaries are and remind him when he crosses them.”
Reynaud laughed and shook his head. “Clearly we are discussing two different Camerons, or are you truly as dumb as you look?”
Joe’s stunned expression prompted Reynaud to laugh again.
“Allow me to enlighten you on the difference between the two. This Cameron”—he pointed behind him—“had enough strength to leave a man who was no good, and enough courage to move out of state, alone, to start his life over and live out his dream. That not only demonstrates a high degree of intelligence, but also perseverance.”
Reynaud crossed his arms over his chest. “The combination of that along with Cameron’s exceptional good looks, plus his gift as a chef, puts him way out of your league,” he concluded with a disbelieving scoff. “If it wasn’t for his lack of experience when you two first met, you wouldn’t have been able to talk your way into his life at all.”
Joe’s narrowed eyes flashed furiously. “So you think you’re better than me, huh?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. The only opinion that matters in this situation is Cameron’s.” Reynaud nodded in Cameron’s direction. “He has made his choice clear… And in case you missed the memo, it isn’t you,” he added with a condescending grin.
“Cameron doesn’t get a choice. I say he’s coming back with me,” Joe snarled.
Reynaud dropped his arms to his sides and widened his smile. “Try to take him.”
The moment had finally come. The one he had waited for so many years to happen. This man wanted to take his second chance away and he wasn’t about to let it happen. Couldn’t let it happen.
Reynaud braced himself for Joe’s imminent assault. He didn’t have to wait long. Joe launched himself with an announcing growl. Reynaud easily sidestepped his wild lunge. He grasped Joe’s shoulders and shoved his knee up into his chin. With a grunt, Joe fell backward on the floor.
“Fuck,” he shouted, holding his jaw. Scrambling to his feet, he wiped away the dripping blood. “All right, that’s cool. You got that one.”
Breathing hard, Joe bounced on his knees with his arms wide, readying himself for the next attack. Reynaud mimicked his movements. Just as Reynaud was about to raise his hands, Joe stepped forward, landing a perfectly executed punch to the left side of his jaw. Reynaud staggered back from the blow. Before he could react, Joe connected with another to the right side.
“Yeah, motherfucker,” Joe shouted. “How about some more of that shit?”
He threw two more punches, both landing on the sides of Reynaud’s chin again. Connecting the blows made Joe overconfident as he danced around. Reynaud licked his