Again he flexed his fingers, and Leo, perhaps thinking they hurt, took hold of his hand and rubbed his fingers and knuckles. “It’ll make them feel better.”
“No, you don’t understand. They don’t hurt. They feel good, and so do I. I’m not upset about hitting Jeffrey; it felt…really good. I wanted to keep on hitting him, over and over again.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he stared at his hand, now curled in a fist in Leo’s palm. “I wanted to hurt him, like he hurt me. Worse.”
Leo held him by the shoulder, meeting his distressed gaze with determination. “You’re human. It’s only natural to be so goddamn angry, you want to hurt him. But you didn’t. And that proves—again—you’re a better person than me because ifIhadgotten to him, they’d be scraping him off the sidewalk.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
“Sure you do,” Leo said gently with a smile. “You had it under control. You didn’t need me. I was just there for backup.”
“Oh, no. Hell, no. I needed you. I need you now. I’m always going to need you.”
The smile lighting up Leo’s face brightened the room better than any lamp. “No one’s ever said that to me before. No one’s ever needed me—I never thought I’d make a difference.”
Unable to hold off any longer, Morgan swooped in for a kiss. “Once I met you, everything changed.” Their kisses slowed to lingering touches of lips and tongues. “I became a new person.”
“I don’t want you to change. I like you exactly as you are. Except when you destroy my building.” Leo raised a dark brow. “That cracked wall you mentioned the other day? The one you tried to cover up with that ugly picture?”
His heart sank, and he jumped up, hoping to distract Leo. “I did get a good cross punch in, didn’t I?” Shaking off Leo’s hands, Morgan practiced several jabs. “I can’t believe how naturally it came to me. The moment he got close, I imagined you yelling at me to keep my left hand up and go with the right. Quick and powerful.” He feigned left and punched right. “Jeffrey never saw it coming.”
Leo snorted and dived for him, then pushed him back onto the bed. “Nice try, but you’re not going to wiggle your way out of this.” His eyes darkened as Morgan shifted under him. “You’re gonna have to help me fix it.”
Breathless, Morgan ran his hands all over Leo’s smooth skin and reached up to thread his fingers in the damp hair curling at Leo’s nape. “Okay. But you have to admit it beats my shorting out the building and burning more cookies. I didn’t set off any fire alarms.”
“You set off all my alarms. I’d walk through any fire for you.” Leo nuzzled his cheek, his lips curving in a smile. “Oh, wait. I think I already did.”
Morgan’s pretend outrage lasted only a second before he lost himself in laughter and kisses and forever.
