“Sometimes I wonder myself, but I think David does understand more than I think we know. Just keep talking to him. It’s like the physical therapy. You might not think he’s capable, but one day he’ll surprise us all.”
“I will. I’m going to clean him up and take a shower.” He checked the clock on the stove. “Colson will be here in an hour.”
“I’ll take care of David while you make yourself beautiful.”
Harper glowered. “Very funny. But thanks. I’ll take you up on the help.”
Leaving Luis chuckling, he ran upstairs, showered and dressed, debated for a bit, and put fresh sheets on the bed. He’d never had a man in his room—Ronnie had refused to have sex in his house in case David interrupted them, so they’d always gone to his apartment.
But Colson was different. Harper wanted long nights of slow, delicious lovemaking. He wanted to live in Colson’s body and feast on his kisses. Have the nights last forever. Not say good-bye when the sun came up. Harper wanted to know how it would feel to wake up with Colson in his bed and have breakfast with him.
The bell rang, and his heart picked up a beat. He laughed at himself. “Stop being an asshole.”
He opened the door to see Colson standing there, wearing a simple black T-shirt and a pair of jeans that molded to his muscled thighs. Those gorgeous tats teased the eyes anddisappeared up his biceps. A small gold hoop had replaced the little diamond. Desire swept through him, rendering him breathless.
God, he was so fucking sexy.
“Can I come in, or are you going to ogle me all day?” Colson quipped, and Harper felt his face grow hot. He stepped aside, but Colson stopped to place a brief kiss on his lips. “If you weren’t going to do it, I was.”
Harper curved a hand around Colson’s nape and held him close, running his lips across Colson’s cheek before taking his mouth in a possessive kiss. “I was, trust me. There’s no way we can spend the day together without me touching you.”
Colson gave in to the pressure of his tongue but demanded payback, and they battled, sucking and tease-tagging. “How about the night?” he whispered in Harper’s ear. “I brought my toothbrush just in case.”
God, he wanted that more than anything. “Let’s see how it goes.” He gave Colson another kiss. “But I hope so too.”
They stood in the hallway, lost in each other until Harper heard a cough behind him and turned. Luis was there with a big fucking grin on his face. Freshly shaven, David was dressed in his favorite superhero shirt and light jogging pants.
Harper reached out, and Colson grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. “David? Do you remember meeting Colson in the park? I think you had ice cream together.”
David focused on Colson, opened his mouth, and made noises. His hands twitched. Fear jumped in Harper’s chest, and afraid of David’s reaction, he took a step forward, but Colson cut him off and crossed the room to crouch beside David’s chair. The bag on his shoulder slipped to the floor.
“Hi, David. We had fun that day, didn’t we? We’re going to have an even better day today.”
David made kissing sounds, and to Harper’s shock, Colson offered his cheek to David for a kiss, then kissed him in return. No one but Luis or him had ever kissed David, not since their parents died. Tears sprang to Harper’s eyes. He grew light-headed and yet had never been so grounded. At that moment, he knew he could never let Colson go.
“Hey. How about we put your stuff in my room?”
Colson’s eyes glowed. “Yeah. Why don’t you show me the way?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Colson was almost as nervous meeting David as the night he’d lost his virginity, but when David kissed his cheek, all his fear melted away, and he kissed him back. Seeing Harper become emotional about that simple gesture tugged at his heart.
Inside Harper’s bedroom, he set his duffel on the dresser. “So, does this mean you want me to stay tonight?” Harper pulled him close and kissed him until his head spun and his toes curled. Whenever this man kissed him, he wanted to get naked. Colson smiled against the curve of Harper’s lips. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Those fathomless eyes locked into his. “I do, but the choice has to be yours. Let’s spend the day together, and then you’ll decide.”
“Fair enough. What do you have planned?”
“How about the zoo? Then we can get pizza and ice cream and a frozen coffee drink. That’s usually our treat on Saturdays in the summer.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Harper cupped his jaw. “You have no idea…” He blinked and turned away, but Colson caught his arm.
“Don’t hide from me. I appreciate how deeply you love your brother. There’s no shame in showing it.” He kissed Harper. “Tell me what’s in your heart right now.”
“You,” he said, and Colson’s heart leaped.
