Not possessive. Not careless. Just there.
The realization settled slowly. His body had accepted it before his mind caught up. Jasper was warm. Solid. Breathing evenly behind him.
He stayed still, afraid that moving would break something.
Jasper shifted, his hand flexing once against Bennett’s stomach before settling again. Bennett’s pulse jumped. The contact was simple. It did not feel simple.
“You’re awake,” Jasper murmured.
“Yes,” Bennett said quietly.
“Okay,” Jasper replied, voice still sleep-soft. “Do you want me to move?”
The question landed gently. No assumption. No pressure.
Bennett considered it honestly.
“No,” he said.
Jasper’s arm tightened just a little. “Good.”
They lay there for a moment, the quiet thick and intimate. Bennett stared at the pale light creeping through the window and let himself feel it. The warmth. The closeness. The fact that he was not panicking.
Jasper’s fingers brushed his shirt, barely there. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Bennett said again. He meant it this time.
Jasper kissed the back of his shoulder, lips lingering, tongue darting out to taste salt-warm skin. Bennett’s breath caught, his body responding immediately, blood rushing south.
“Tell me if that is too much,” Jasper murmured against his skin.
Bennett shook his head. “It’s not.”
Jasper kissed lower, teeth grazing the curve where shoulder met spine. His hand splayed across Bennett’s stomach, fingers dipping teasingly below his waistband. Bennett turned in his arms, facing him fully, already half-hard. Jasper’s eyes were still hazy with sleep, expression open and unguarded, but his gaze dropped to Bennett’s mouth with unmistakable hunger.
“You’re staring,” Jasper said.
“I’m allowed,” Bennett replied.
Jasper smiled. “You are.”
Bennett reached out and brushed his thumb along Jasper’s jaw, tracing the familiar line he had memorized over the last few days. Jasper leaned into the touch without hesitation, then turned his head to press a kiss to Bennett’s palm, tongue flicking against sensitive skin.
Bennett kissed him.
It was unhurried but deep, mouths opening immediately, tongues sliding together with practiced ease now. Jasper’s hand cupped the back of Bennett’s head, angling him for better access. Bennett felt it then, the want building steadily and undeniably, heat pooling low in his belly, his cock hardening as Jasper’s thigh pressed between his legs.
He pulled back slightly. “I need to say something.”
Jasper stilled. “Okay.”
“I don’t know what I am doing,” Bennett said. “I don’t have a reference point for this.”
Jasper nodded. “We can figure it out together.”
Bennett swallowed. “I might stop. I might need to slow down.”
“That’s fine,” Jasper said. “Just tell me.”
