“Won’t Giuseppe be mad?” Arthur asked.
“He’s with Patrick for the night.”
Arthur threw his head back and laughed. “Good heavens! Is he really?”
“Mm-hmm.” Jesse smiled wolfishly and took hold of Arthur’s tie. He yanked Arthur close. “We can be as loud as we want.”
Jesse’s husky tone sent a shiver of excitement needling up Arthur’s spine, and he inhaled a shuddering breath.
“Good God,” Arthur whispered through an exhale before immediately ripping off his spectacles and tossing them onto a nearby pile of clothes.
Arthur lunged forward, slamming their lips together. He worked furiously to remove his shirt while Jesse took off his own. Disrobing further, they continued toward the bed, kissing intermittently. When the backs of Arthur’s legs bumped into thebedframe, one of Jesse’s hands found Arthur’s rear end, and he squeezed. It had the peculiar effect of causing a certain fantasy to burst into Arthur’s mind, one that he hadn’t even let himself consciously want before, but one that he now couldn’t fathom trying to rebury for even a moment longer.
“Jesse,” he rasped, slightly breathless from their passionate kissing. “I want you to fuck me.”
“You . . . what?”
Arthur huffed a soft laugh. “Sorry, that was probably unexpected. But I’m through with being too cowardly to let myself want certain things. And I want that. With you.”
Jesse sucked on his bottom lip as his eyes went wide and wild.
“Fuck, I want that too.”
He caught Arthur’s mouth in a brief but hungry kiss and then shoved Arthur backward onto the mattress. Arthur bellowed a happy laugh as Jesse climbed on top of him.
“Oh my, Mr. O’Connor, I’ve never seen you so excited about anything before,” Arthur teased as Jesse scrambled to find the bottle of oil, snatching it from the nightstand.
“Shut up,” Jesse chided before immediately slamming his lips back onto Arthur’s.
Arthur continued to laugh through their kiss, overcome with the tingly mixture of want and love and bliss. Everything was so intoxicating that he wondered for a brief moment whether he might be losing his mind. Never before had he felt so happy and so carefree.
Jesse broke their kiss and straightened. Arthur lifted his legs, hooking his hands behind his thighs and pulling them up toward his shoulders. Jesse coated his fingers with the lubricant, and Arthur’s heart stuttered as he let out a breath.
“Nervous?” Jesse asked.
Arthur swallowed thickly. “Suddenly.”
Jesse looked up with a warm, reassuring smile. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I know,” Arthur said, smiling back.
After Jesse set the lubricant aside, he brought his fingers to Arthur’s hole.
“Ready?” Jesse asked.
Arthur nodded. His heart continued to pound. Slowly, Jesse pushed one finger inside.
“Oh, God,” Arthur moaned.
Jesse began to pump his finger in and out, curling it ever so slightly every few repetitions. Arthur closed his eyes and surrendered himself to pleasure, letting his fears and worries—about his parents, about his future, and about every other Goddamned thing in his life—fall away completely.
Soon, Jesse pushed a second finger inside, and then, eventually, a third. All the while, Arthur kept his eyes closed and focused only on the pleasure that it brought him.
Arthur was still adrift in the sea of bliss and newness when Jesse paused and leaned over, coming close to his face. His breath tickled Arthur’s cheek, making the hair on his neck stand on end.
“Sweet, beautiful man,” Jesse whispered. “Are you ready for me?”
Arthur only nodded. Jesse sat up. Arthur’s eyes fluttered open in time for him to see Jesse coating his shaft. Witnessing Jesse working himself—moving his fist over his length—sent a shock of arousal straight to Arthur’s cock, causing it to throb.
