Laughing, Graham shifted his weight even more heavily to the left, sending Thad sprawling into his lap, his thigh slipping between Graham’s. Graham tried to compensate by shifting to the right but only succeeded in tangling their bodies further and allowing Thad a chance to get his hand on the remote.
“Ah-HA!” he said, brandishing it as he pulled his arm free.
But his shoulder was still pressed against Graham’s chest, pushing the air from his lungs. Surely that was why Graham suddenly felt a little breathless, even when Thad pulled back far enough to look him in the eye.
Their faces were still very close, and Graham noticed the little flecks of silver in Thad’s dark beard for the first time. For all his clowning around, he was forty-two. A very fit, youthful looking forty-two, but still sixteen years older than Graham.
Thad was still laughing and smiling, his thick dark hair mussed from their tussle and his hazel eyes creased at the corners.
Graham liked it when he was like this, liked when he looked genuinely happy and carefree, because for all Thad pretended to be someone who was lighthearted and didn’t care about much, Graham always got the sense everything that lurked under the surface was very, very weighty. That he cared deeply but was afraid to show it.
He was good-looking too.
Graham didn’t have to be attracted to men to see that. He was handsome, especially up close like this when Graham could see the flecks of green in his hazel eyes.
Oddly, Graham still felt like he couldn’t quite draw a breath all the way and his heart was going a little too fast, thudding against his breastbone, his nose filling with the dark, spicy scent of Thad’s cologne with every strained inhale.
Thad braced his arm on the sofa, making Graham suddenly aware he was pinned in place by Thad’s position. Thad’s knee had settled between Graham’s thighs, the fly of his jeans pressing against Graham’s right hip.
Graham could hear the too-loud rasp of his own breathing and the low sound Thad made in the back of his throat.
He couldn’t seem to move, tobreathe, to push Thad away. All he could do was stare at his face as the laughter faded from it and turned into something sharper.
Hungrier.
A shiver snaked its way down Graham’s spine, like someone had trailed a cold finger along the damp heat of his skin. He could feel the flush crawling up his neck and settling in his cheeks,his fair skin probably turning the mottled red color he’d always hated.
“Fuck, yourlips,” Thad murmured.
Graham blinked, not sure what he meant. Sure, he’d been picked on about them when he was growing up, his features mocked for being too pretty for a hockey player. The teasing had pretty much stopped after his draft, after he’d bulked up and started playing collegiate, then pro hockey, although he still occasionally got chirped on the ice when the refs weren’t watching.
It didn’t bother Graham anymore.
But he—he didn’t know how he felt about it when Thad was staring at his mouth like that, tongue trailing out to swipe across his own lower lip.
Unconsciously, Graham did the same, mirroring the gesture.
“Yeah?” Thad’s voice sounded almost shaky as he slowly brought his hand up to cup Graham’s cheek.
His palm was broad and calloused, warm against Graham’s skin. He leaned in a little, his breath a little spicy from the Indian curries they’d eaten earlier.
Graham blinked, his head spinning, not sure why he wasn’t pushing Thad away, why he wasn’t …
Graham closed the distance between them, his aim a little off, his lips glancing across the corner of Thad’s mouth. He closed his eyes as Thad tightened his grip on Graham’s jaw and aligned their mouths. He brushed their lips together in a surprisingly soft gesture, almosttender, before he tilted his head and dragged the tip of his tongue against the seam of Graham’s lips.
And Graham inhaled sharply, letting Thad inside his mouth because he felt hot all over.
He wasn’t pushing Thad away. Was, instead, fisting his hand in Thad’s shirt to hold him close as the kiss deepened. He needed something to hold on to, something to anchor him because he felt so lightheaded. His head spun and he still didn’t have enough oxygen, but he did have Thad’s tongue in his mouth.
And it wasgood. Better than good.
Thad skillfully tangled his tongue against Graham’s, coaxing him to kiss back, nipping at his lower lip to urge him on. And Graham kissed him deeply—he couldn’t seem tostop—his lips tingling as Thad let out a low groan against his mouth.
He shifted, pulling Thad closer, needing more …
And then Thad’s thigh pressed gently against his cock. Even through the fabric of their clothing, it sent a sudden, dizzying bolt of lust through Graham.
And a corresponding wave of confusion.
