“So demanding. Pushy.” Harper sank in slowly, relishing the grip of Colson’s tight ass on his shaft. Fully seated, he lowered his mouth to meet Colson’s in a bruising kiss. “I love it. And you.” He continued kissing him as he thrust strong.
“Fuck.” Colson vibrated under his touch and grasped his shaft. “So good,” he rasped. The slick sound of Colson’s hand on his dick fueled Harper’s lust, and he drove into Colson’s willing body, the colors of his ink flashing like a garden of life. Sweat poured from him, and Colson’s creamy-white skin grew red as he stiffened and came, his come spreading over his hand and their bellies.
“Rub it on me,” he growled, feeling possessive as fuck and wanting to be covered in Colson’s scent. Colson’s eyes widened, and he dipped his fingers in the puddle on his stomach and smeared it over Harper’s chest. “Now in my mouth.”
At Colson’s touch, Harper thought he’d blow apart. The harsh taste filled his nose and mouth, and with Colson having his throbbing cock in a death grip, he moaned around the sticky fingers and managed to bury himself deep in Colson, coming with a head rush that had him seeing stars.
He had no idea how much time had passed, but he managed to crack open one eye. Colson lay under him, his breath gentle puffs against his face. “I assume I’m still alive.” Harper kissedColson’s shoulder where the tattoos began. He’d never get tired of admiring all the lines and swirls of color decorating all that soft skin.
“I know I barely am. God knows if I can walk straight. So to speak.” Colson’s snicker was cut short when Harper eased out of him, and he winced. “And we’re both a mess. We’ll have to take another shower.”
“Not so fast,” Harper murmured, and slid in next to Colson and held him tight, spooning him. “I love you. So much. Don’t rush away so quickly. Lie with me a while.”
Colson nestled in closer. “I meant what I said, you know. Earlier, when we were in the shower.”
Harper kissed him, trailing his tongue down the slope of his neck to his shoulder, tracing the curve of muscle. “You think I remember what you said when you were twisting me inside out?” His dick twitched, and Colson shook with laughter. “And what the hell was that all about, anyway?”
“Me, making sure you know how much I love you. And to let you know I’ll always be there to protect you.”
“Me?” He laughed. “I’m the one with a gun, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Colson turned in his arms, as serious as Harper had ever seen him. “Everyone needs someone to watch out for them. David has you. And now you have me.”
He’d always been the strong one, shouldering everyone’s burdens, ignoring his needs to make sure others were granted theirs. From the day of David’s accident, he’d gone from a fifteen-year-old teenage boy with nothing on his mind but hanging out on the weekends with his friends, to a semi-adult, his childhood lost, dreams shunted aside.
“Let’s take that shower before they come home.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Surprising himself, Colson woke before Harper. He slipped out from under his arm, took his keys, and dressed quickly. Within minutes he was walking down the block. Dawn had settled its bright, pale fingers over the leafy silhouette of the canopy of trees, and he drew in deep breaths of the fresh morning air that hadn’t yet turned hot and humid.
Few stores were open at this hour—the bodegas were always a good bet for the late-night, after-partying bacon-egg-and-cheese on a roll, or the early morning injection of regular coffee, which any New Yorker knew was milk and two sugars. But Colson had a different stop.
It was Sunday morning. That meant bagels.
And, apparently, he wasn’t the only lunatic up at the ass-crack of dawn to get their fix. He’d had to wait ten minutes to place his order, but the smell of freshly baked bread, the tang of salt, garlic, and onion, was worth it. He walked out with a dozen assorted, three kinds of cream cheese, and lox.
When he returned, he found Harper sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands. Luis sat with him, apparently in the middle of a heavy conversation.
“Hi. Sorry if I’m interrupting.”
Eyes as pale as the morning mist widened. “You’re back?”
“I didn’t leave.” Confused, Colson set the shopping bag on the table. “Uh, I mean, yeah, I did, and I guess I should’ve left a note, but I woke up and thought it would be nice if I got breakfast for everyone, so I went to the bagel store.”
A strangled sound burst from Harper, and Luis squeezed his shoulder and nodded at Colson. “I told Harper you wouldn’t just walk out. You had no reason to sneak away without leaving a note or anything.”
Stunned by Luis’s words, Colson dropped to the chair next to Harper’s. “Is that what you thought? That I’d left without saying good-bye to you? Or David?” Disappointment crushed his heart. His voice dropped to a murmur for only them to hear. “After last night, is that really what you think of me?”
Luis slipped away, but Colson’s attention was on Harper’s ashen face and haunted eyes.
“Not you. Me. I guess I’m still waiting for the ax to drop. So many years have passed that I don’t dare to dream of possibilities.”
“Oh, babe. We’re way past that point of maybe and hoping. We’re the here and now. As real as it gets.” Colson slid his arms around Harper’s broad shoulders and rested their cheeks together.
“I thought you changed your mind and I lost you,” Harper whispered.
And there went his heart again, doing those dangerous swoops. Throat tight, Colson nuzzled into Harper, drawing in the scent he’d cocooned in and dreamed about all night.
