“Yeah. Kind of.” A wry edge touched his voice. “So we’re both in uncharted territory.”
Jacob’s mouth twitched. “It seems so.”
“That’s fucked up, right?”
“Probably.”
Liam’s next words came out softer. “It doesn’t feel wrong to me.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Liam glanced over, a bit more guarded. “You seemed like you knew what you were doing.”
Jacob huffed, not quite a laugh. “You’re easy to read,” he said. “And I’ve been around long enough to learn a few things. Women have anal sex too, you know,” he said with a wink.
Liam didn’t look away. “So now what?”
Jacob held his gaze. “I don’t know, but I’m not done with you yet.”
The words hung between them, heavier than he meant them to be.
Before Caroline, he’d never been one to linger—sex had always been a release, not a place to rest. Even with her, closeness after had never come easy. Yet instead of rolling away, he turned toward Liam, slid a hand to his waist, and drew him close.
Liam came willingly, body molding to his. The fit was too natural, the heat between them curling into something Jacob refused to name. “You’re still shaking,” he murmured against his neck.
A soft breath left Liam. “Yeah. Maybe adrenaline. Or nerves. Or maybe you just wrecked me so hard my body hasn’t figured out what to do yet.”
Jacob’s hand tightened fractionally at his waist. “You’re safe with me.”
Liam didn’t argue. His hand skimmed absently across Jacob’s chest, pausing over his heartbeat. “Are you always this gentle after?”
Jacob went still. The answer sat too close to the surface for comfort. “I don’t usually want this part. Don’t know why I do now,” he grunted.
His thumb traced slow arcs along Liam’s side without thinking. The warmth between them was comfortable in a way Jacob rarely experienced, which was the most uncomfortable part of all.
They drifted into easy conversation until the red digits of the clock showed it was past three in the morning. Liam’s breathing finally evened out as his body eased against him, one hand resting over Jacob’s heart. Moments later, sleep claimed him.
Something between them had shifted once again. Jacob didn’t name it; he just let it settle.
***
Jacob woke to heat. Liam was wrapped around him: a leg hooked over his thigh, one arm slung across his chest, hips pressing close enough that Jacob could feel every inch of him.
They were both hard. Of course they were.
He didn’t move or pull away. He should have felt guilt. He didn’t. He should have wanted distance. He didn’t want that either.
Liam’s breath brushed his neck as he stirred. “Morning,” he mumbled, voice scratchy with sleep. “Not running away, are you?”
Jacob huffed a quiet laugh. “Wouldn’t make much sense, seeing as it’s my bed.”
Liam smiled against his skin. “Guess I’m safe then.”
The air between them stayed warm; the morning cool against their backs. Liam eventually pushed up on an elbow to look at him. “So what is this?”
Jacob met his eyes without flinching. “It’s an affair.”
The word came easily. He’d already run the math. Already accepted the cost. Dressing it up as anything else would only cheapen what burned between them.
