Shrugging, Keith said, “Food isn’t a priority for me.”
He ran the towel over his mate’s unnaturally thin frame. “Well, it needs to be. You’re underweight.” Remembering their earlier conversation, he cringed and rushed to correct his mistake. “I like how you look. You’re very handsome.”
“Oh yeah? Does that mean you’re into super skinny guys?”
“No.”
Keith arched his eyebrows. “So you’re not into me?”
“I mean yes,” he said in a rush.
“Well, in that case, I better not eat anything right now. It’s late and I need to watch my figure.”
“None of that is what I meant.” Brian rubbed his palm over his eyes. He was normally good at diplomacy, but now, when it mattered most, he kept saying the wrong thing.
Keith grinned and tugged on the towel wrapped around Brian’s waist.
“What are you doing?”
“Your chest is wet. I’m returning the favor and drying you off.” He made good on his statement and ran the towel over Brian’s torso, his movements slow and controlled. “If you didn’t mean any of that, then what is your type?”
“My type?” His synapses were firing in every direction. His mate’s attention to his body aroused him, while the things he had learned about his past distressed him, and his physical condition worried him.
“Yes. What kind of person are you into? Sexually.”
The first whiff of his mate’s scent had woven through him and recalibrated his urges and desires. He would never be sexually attracted to another person, nor did he want to be. “I’m into you. Only you.”
“Good answer.” Keith lifted the towel and rubbed it over Brian’s hair. “You’re very suave.”
“I’m being sincere.” He reached for Keith’s hand. “Even with your confounding personality, you are the most appealing person I’ve ever come across and I desperately want you, but I need to feed you.” He looked at him imploringly. “Will you eat for me?”
“Even with.”
Brian flinched. “I havegotto stop saying that.”
“You know I’m teasing you, right?” Keith draped the towel over Brian’s nape and tugged him forward until their chests bumped. “I’m so giddy that you’re my mate, I can’t help myself. I feel like I’ve gone back in time eight years.”
The little he had gleaned about Keith’s history broke his heart, but he wanted to understand more. He needed to know everything about this man. “How about we go downstairs so I can feed you and then you can tell me what happened eight years ago.” Eventually, he’d ask about the years before and after that time too, but he had to start somewhere.
“Sure.” Keith’s gaze was locked on him, and they were standing so close together that he could feel Keith’s breath whisper across his lips.
He wanted to kiss him and leaned forward to do that when one of Keith’s earlier comments slammed into Brian’s mind and he couldn’t shake it. “You implied that you’ve never been with anyone.”
“That’s right.” Keith nodded. “I’m counting on you to change that.” He grinned. “Don’t let me down.”
This man. “I won’t.” Brian raised his hands and cradled Keith’s cheeks. “But for now, I’m hoping for a kiss.” He dipped his face so closely to Keith’s that air could barely pass between them. “May I kiss you, mate?”
Eyes twinkling, Keith smiled even wider. “You may.”
Committing the moment to memory, Brian took his time. He slid his thumb over Keith’s bottom lip and looked into his twinkling brown eyes. “You really are stunning.”
“You’re beautiful and you smell delicious,” Keith whispered. “Give me a taste.”
“Gladly.” He kept bumbling over his words, but he’d get this right.
He pressed his lips to Keith’s, keeping the pressure light at first and slowly increasing it. They moved together instinctively, one tilting his head in one direction as the other went the opposite, lips parting and tugging, tongues tasting. He slid one hand behind Keith’s neck and the other around his back while Keith gripped his hip and shoulder, fingertips pressing into him. When he realized he was thrusting, he tore his mouth away from Keith’s and pressed it to the side of his neck.
“We have to stop while we still can,” Brian said breathlessly.
