“I did.”
“How?”
“I know everything.” He shoved the key card back into my hand, and I put it in my pocket. Anyone else in the world would’ve irritated me with something that sounded so arrogant, but he had a self-deprecating smile stuck on his face.
“It’s difficult to argue with a man who can tie an Eldredge knot.” I nudged him with my elbow.
“It’s really not hard once you take the time to learn it. I’m not magic.”
I sighed. “But who has the time for that? Besides, I’m not convinced that you aren’t.”
He shook his head and grinned, sneaking into the room in front of me. I followed, and once the door closed, thesnickof the lock seemed insanely loud. I turned to the right to set the lantern on the dresser and hissed at a sharp stab of agony in my shoulder. I rushed to put the light down and rolled my shoulder, but the pain didn’t let up.
“Are you all right?” Maurice hustled to my side with sweet concern on his face.
“Yeah, just didn’t stretch out after the mess earlier, like a smart person.”
He snorted. “I didn’t bother, either. We’re probably too old to ignore that.”
“I was too old to skip stretching at twenty,” I shot back with a snort. The pain didn’t fucking quit, and he moved around behind me. I sucked in a breath at the first tickle of his fingers along the back of my neck, and then he gained more confidence and used his firm hands to knead down along both sides of my spine. “Where’s the knot?”
“Higher. Right shoulder.” I gritted my teeth as he rubbed around, then landed on the source of my pain. “Fuck.”
The weight of his palm shifted and softened, but he didn’t back away from the horrible spot. “Shh, let me help. I can feel it. That istense.”
He pressed hard on the knot, which ached like a motherfucker, and for a moment white sparks danced in my vision. I swore I could feel the nightmare-level muscle spasm directly in the middle of my brain and all the way down to my asshole. The pain got worse, and he didn’t let go when I tried to shuffle forward.
“I don’t think I can stand it.”
“Hold on, I promise it’ll help.”
I shook my head, but after a second my muscles seemed to give up and loosened around the painful lump.
Maurice ran his thumbs over my back. “Is that any better?”
I nodded, and he kept going until I let out a long breath. “It’s a good thing you’re here or I might’ve died just now.”
A warm gust of air landed on the nape of my neck and gave me a pleasant shiver as he chuckled. “Dramatic. I don’t think it was that bad,” he said, tone dry.
“I disagree.” I glanced over my shoulder with a grin, then turned to face him. I liked that I had to look down, and he seemed as if he would fit perfectly in my arms.
Maurice’s gaze skipped around my face—he didn’t look me in the eye. “You seem too happy for someone who just had a nasty muscle cramp.”
I shrugged. “You did put your hands all over me as a result. It was an unexpected bonus.”
“Maybe you’re a faker.” Maurice sighed and shuffled away a step, and I grabbed his wrist and dragged him closer. With a chuckle, he rested his hand on my chest and dug his fingers in against my pec. “Wick, what are you doing?”
“Kissing you,” I murmured, and he sucked in a deep breath but didn’t tell me to stop, so I leaned in and angled my mouth over his. The first electric touch of our lips had my cock firming in my borrowed jeans. His stubble bit at my skin and sent adrenaline pounding through my veins. It was masculine and perfect. I sucked on his bottom lip, and he hummed against my mouth the same way he did when he was pleased something was going his way at work, and I couldn’t say why, but that sent a thrill through my chest.
I wrapped my arms around him and dragged him flush against my body, then got a delicious surprise when his hard cock nudged my hip. I thrust my tongue into his mouth, enjoying every second of taking him over. His hands slipped up my shoulders, then one cradled the back of my neck, holding me in place.
His grip didn’t hurt, but when I tried to back off to suck in a breath, he held me still, and my cock strained against my jeans and made me wish I was naked.
Distant thunder rumbled and lightning lit up the windows, but this was far more important than anything else. I ran my hands along his sides, and he wriggled the slightest bit closer, so my trapped cock poked against him. Pleasure twisted viciously in my groin and my cockhead throbbed. Fuck, I’d been hard for a while.
Sweat made my temples damp and stung my eyes. I stepped back to strip my T-shirt off and dump it on the floor.
Maurice let out a moan and dragged his gaze down my body. “Do you really want to be with me?”
