I wasn’t joking.
Living downtown was bad for grocery shopping, but it had its perks. My apartment was equidistant from my office and Lior’s, which meant that in just three blocks, we were making out in the elevator as we rode up to my floor.
When we got out, Lior pushed me against my front door, kissing the back of my neck. His beard tickled my skin, making me shiver.
“I fucking missed you so much. Can’t wait to be inside you.”
I groaned. “Wait. I need to do something.” I took my phone out and messaged my brothers to give them the signal that everything had worked out and I would be away from the office until Monday. With any luck, we’d stay in bed the rest of the weekend.
I turned the phone off and got the keys out to open the door.
As soon as we got inside, Lior lifted me onto his shoulder and took me to my bedroom.
“You’re a caveman.”
“Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop.”
“No way. I want you to pillage and plunder my cave like a Neanderthal.”
He laughed. “You’re nuts.”
When he put me down, I went straight for his tie, being careful to not undo the knot completely. I threw it on the bed. “For later.”
Lior held my hand up, kissing my ring finger. “You put it back on.”
“It didn’t stay off for long. Don’t tell anyone, but I kinda love being married to you,” I said, running my hands over the hair on his chest.
“It’ll be our little secret.” His eyes searched mine for something. “Noah…”
“Yeah?”
He sat on my bed, taking me with him. I straddled his legs and rested my arms on his shoulders.
His fingers brushed my sides softly.
“Before we get naked and my brain stops functioning, I need you to know I was coming for you regardless of what the partners decided.”
“You were?” My voice was barely audible over the lump in my throat. This meant I was more important to him than anything else. No one had ever put me in that place.
“Before you strolled into my life with your confidence and swag, I’d given up on finding someone to share my life with, Noah. My passion was the museum and, newsflash, it’s not the best place to meet people.”
“I don’t know. Charlie is kinda cute.”
He put his hands on my ass and pulled me closer. “He’s also straight and married with children and a grandchild on the way.”
I sighed dramatically. “The best ones always are.”
“I’d accepted my attraction to you as something I couldn’t fight, but I didn’t expect it to turn into this kind of love.”
“I think I have some work to do until I believe you really love me. Crazy run-away-with-me mouth and all,” I said.
“Your mouth might be one of the things I love the most about you.”
I ran my fingers through the hair on the back of his head and pulled him in for a soft, wet kiss.
“I don’t know what I have to offer to you, Noah, but I love you so fucking much.”
“I can tell you. You married a stranger to keep your family business. I don’t know about many things, least of all feelings. I spent so much time avoiding them that I had to be hit with the brutal force of my love for you to understand it for what it was. But there’s one thing I do know, and that’s family.”
