“How it’s just…” Andy gestured with his free hand. “Here. In the middle of everything. Like they just built around it.”
“Better than tearing it down like the Americans do.”
“You’re not wrong.” Andy yanked them to a stop and he stared up at the pillars that framed the portico.
They’d waited too long.
There was another large crack of thunder, and the sky opened. There was no preliminary drizzle, no hint of what was to come. Just thunder, and then rain. So much rain. People in the courtyard made to cover themselves, everyone rushing toward the entrance to the church. Andy stepped to follow, but Leonidas stopped him, pulling him away from the people, away from the courtyard.
“Where are you going?” he asked, wiping rain from his eyes. His hair was already soaking wet and plastered to his forehead, and Leonidas could barely see him through the curtain of the downpour.
“The alley.”
Leonidas pulled Andy toward a narrow alley, hoping for—and finding—a small, sheltered cut-out in one of the buildings. He pushed Andy into it, stumbling in behind. The rain was coming down so hard, they could barely see into the alley, and Leonidas turned to face Andy, feeling invigorated…among other things.
The space he’d found was small and cramped, and their hot breath mixed in the few inches that existed between them. Andy’s back was pressed against the wall, his stare steady and focused on Leonidas.
Leonidas pulled his beanie off and shook his hair out; then he wrung the beanie between his hands and water poured out of it, spattering at their feet. He smiled, tucked his hat into his back pocket, and ran his fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. Before he could think better of it, he reached out and did the same to Andy.
Andy was quick, though, his arm coming up before Leonidas noticed , his fingers curling around his wrist and catching Leonidas just as his fingertips had burrowed into the front of Andy’s hair and pressed against his scalp.
“What’s wrong?” Leonidas asked, his chest heaving with every breath he took.
“Ask first.”
“What?”
Andy’s fingers tightened around his wrist. “Ask before you touch me.”
Leonidas’s lips twitched, and lower down where Andy could not see, his cock did as well. He dragged his tongue against the sharp edges of his teeth and he gave Andy a long and thoughtful onceover. Above them, another boom of thunder, but Andy didn’t flinch, he didn’t look away. Leonidas was wet and cold from the rain, and he knew Andy had to be as well, but Andy didn’t shiver. He only held Leonidas steady, and waited for his order to be obeyed.
Leonidas had played games like this before, but it had always been just that…a game. There was something, though, about the tone of Andy’s voice that made him feel like this wasn’t a game, this wasn’t a request. This was a demand, and Leonidaswantedto obey, to give in.
“Can I touch you?” he asked, barely able to hear his own voice over the torrential downpour behind him.
“I don’t know. Can you?”
Leonidas bit down on his tongue until he tasted the warm copper of his blood. He smeared it across his teeth and swallowed.
“May I touch you?” he corrected.
Andy moved Leonidas’s hand further into his hair, then released him. The lack of pressure around his wrist was jarring, and he wanted to reach for Andy’s hand and return it to the place he’d touched, but he didn’t dare because that hadn’t been part of the request. He could, but didn’t want to, take the liberty.
His breath caught in his throat and he worked his fingers through the bleached and tangled mess of Andy’s hair until he reached the back of his head. Leonidas took a step closer and trailed his fingers down the back of Andy’s neck until all he felt was skin. He had a moment of hesitation, but then he reached up with both hands, threading his fingers through Andy’s hair and repeating the motion.
Andy’s lashes fluttered—actuallyfluttered—drops of water falling onto his cheeks as his eyes closed. Leonidas reached the base of Andy’s neck, brought his hands back forward, and did it again.
Andy groaned, a quiet sound that leaked out of his barely open mouth, and when Leonidas reached for his hair again, he was more certain, pressing his fingers into the back of Andy’s head when he got there, and then he stilled. He had Andy’s head cradled in his hands, his thumbs flat against Andy’s temples, and Andy opened his eyes.
God, they looked like olive oil, so golden and brown but nearly green at the same time. While Leonidas didn’t move, parts of him did, and his dick pulsed against his thigh in time with the frantic beating of his heart. He didn’t know what was happening, what this meant, or what this moment was, but he knew it was something, and maybe Paris was more than just a stop before his present final destination.
Even as he thought it, he knew the idea was absurd, and he closed his eyes, hoping to shield it from Andy’s focused stare, but it was too late. Like before, Andy caught it. He was quiet and thoughtful, but so painfully observant. Leonidas knew he’d never be able to get one over on this man and he cursed himself for the thought. There wouldn’t be a need to get one over on him, because this was it, this was all they had. This day, and this storm, and maybe the night, if he played his cards right, but they were both on their own journeys, their own paths.
“You can do it,” Andy said softly, his pupils dilated so large, Leonidas could make see them even in the darkness of the alcove.
“Do what?”
“Kiss me.”
