Thenheshivered. And not because he was cold.
Jake kissed the top of his head. “I’d wanted to ask you to stay,” he admitted, the words no more than a quiet, almost tentative whisper. “I’d wanted to. But I didn’t want it to seem like I was pressuring you, or, um, trying to keep you from... from going back home. Or something. I guess it sounds silly when I say that out loud, but...”
It didn’t sound silly to Rye. In fact, it sounded just like Jake—kind and thoughtful and caring.
He shook his head slightly. “It’s not silly. I...” He dropped his chin and let out a sharp breath. He honestly wasn’t sure how he would have felt if Jake had asked him to stay before he’d reached the conclusion himself. There was a good chance he would have been perfectly fine, eager, excited even. And then an equally good chance it could have backfired and made Rye panic.
Jake’s fingers brushed along Rye’s jaw, and he lifted his chin again. “I’m happy you’re here. I absolutely love it. I want... I want nothing more than to be withyou, to work every day to make you feel happy and safe. I cherish you. I cherish this. Us. Together.”
“It’s beautiful,” Rye said softly, and Jake nodded.
“You’re beautiful.” Heat flooded Rye’s cheeks, and he dipped his head again. But Jake hummed and lightly touched Rye’s chin. “It’s true. You are.”
They shared another kiss. And this time, Rye lingered in it, feeling the warmth spread all the way down to his toes. He moaned quietly and pushed himself up a little until he was resting almost on top of Jake, his knee wedged between Jake’s legs. Then he let his tongue peek out of his mouth, tease at Jake’s lips, and when Jake opened his mouth, Rye eagerly tasted him. It was more warmth, a silky heat, and intoxicating. Jake met him again and again as their tongues danced together, and when Rye finally broke the kiss however-long later, he was breathing hard. And aroused.
He lowered his forehead to rest in the crook of Jake’s neck, and then, after he’d had a moment to work up the courage, he asked, “Canyoutouchmetonight?” He tried to sound confident and sure. And to a degree, hewasconfident, because he trusted Jake completely. Also, he justreallywanted to know what it felt like.
Even with the few little fumbles, their explorations earlier in the week had been empowering for him. That was probably the right word. Jake had let Rye set the pace with everything, and he’d been infinitely patient with Rye as Rye had explored both of their bodies, learning how intimacy could be pleasurable, wonderful, loving.
Something he hadn’t even considered to be possible until Jake had shown him.
A soft hum rumbled in Jake’s chest, and Jake’s large, warm hand rubbed down Rye’s back over his shirt, stopping low on his waist. “Mmm, I would love that,” Jake said, his voice low and deep.
Rye’s body reacted, though he wasn’t sure whether it was in response to Jake’s words or his tone, and he made some small sound and buried his face into Jake’s neck.
Jake’s fingers teased under the hem of Rye’s shirt. “Is this okay? Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” Rye managed, and when Jake’s hand flattened and smoothed along Rye’s lower back—careful but not hesitant—Rye closed his eyes and moaned. He turned his head slightly to breathe a trail of kisses along Jake’s neck, and Jake continued, his hand moving in slow, sensual strokes up and down Rye’s back. Rye’s skin tingled everywhere Jake touched, and he moaned again, muffling the sound into Jake’s chest this time, when Jake’s hand ran down his side.
Jake’s breathing was ragged, like Rye’s, strained inhales followed by sharp exhales, and when Rye shifted slightly so he was more on top ofJake, heat shot straight to his groin. His arousal throbbed against Jake’s thigh, and he clung to Jake and groaned.
And Jake definitely wasn’t unaffected. He wrapped both of his arms around Rye and held him tight. Then he let out a shaky breath. “God,” he murmured, pressing a kiss into Rye’s hair. “God, Rye, I can feel you. I can feel... Mmm.” There was a pause, and then Jake’s hand smoothed down Rye’s back again, up under his shirt, and along the curve of his waist out to his hip, searing Rye’s skin as it went. “Would you be okay with it if I... if I undressed you?” Jake asked quietly. And he didn’t say the words this time, but Rye could hear the clear “You can say no” at the end of Jake’s question.
He didn’t want to say no, though. He wanted... he wanted to feel his naked body pressed up against Jake’s. He wanted Jake to be able to touch him without any clothes in the way. He wanted to show Jake how much he trusted him.
Propping up on one arm, Rye forced himself to pause. He didn’t want to say no. But he also didn’t want any of those moments of panic he was prone to. Not even a small one. He pursed his lips as he looked down at his boyfriend, and then he nodded.
“But let... let me undress you, first?” Rye said, and Jake’s expression softened.
“Of course.”
With a tentative smile, Rye got to work. And he took his time, letting himself enjoy getting to know Jake’s body. After removing Jake’s T-shirt, Rye kissed his chest all over, lingering at this one spot just below Jake’s left pec where he’d found Jake to be really sensitive. Then he did something new. Something that scared him a little but that he immediately loved.
He scooted down Jake’s body a bit and shifted until he was straddling Jake’s hips. Which meant that—
Jake sucked in a breath at the same time Rye did, a sharp jolt coursing through him. Heat and arousal met at the same spot—where Rye’s hard shaft pressed into Jake’s. He uttered some nonsense words as his hands found Jake’s hips, and then he rocked slowly against Jake, watching as Jake groaned and pushed his head back into his pillow.
“God, that’s incredible,” Jake said, his voice strained. When Rye repeated the motion, a little more distinctly this time, Jake inhaled again and then made another sound—a moan or a whine of some sort. It was deep and needy, and Rye felt exactly the same. He dropped his chin to his chest and scooted down a few more inches, taking away some of that exquisite pressure he’d started building up.
He heard Jake let out a soft sigh, almost in relief, like it had been too much for Jake as well, and then Rye took a breath, steadying himself, before he continued. His hands slipped under Jake’s pajama pants—soft blue-and-gray flannel—andunder the waistband of Jake’s briefs. Then he inched them down slowly, carefully, and Jake lifted his hips to help. After he’d slipped them off all the way, Rye tossed the pants and underwear onto the floor to join Jake’s shirt.
Then he spent time working his way back up Jake’s legs, rubbing his hands palms open along Jake’s calves and then up his outer thighs. He paused to be extra careful when he came to the large scar on Jake’s right thigh, and after he glanced up at Jake to make sure it was okay, he bent down and placed tiny kisses along the entire length of the scar. Then he straightened back up and continued on his way.
Jake had been quiet, except the occasional breathy moan, but when Rye repositioned himself again to straddle Jake’s thighs, Jake chuckled.
“My turn yet?” he asked with a silly half-smile.
Rye grinned and nodded, and then he closed his eyes. “Just go slow, please,” Rye said. He didn’t try to explain himself; he knew he didn’t need to.
