Harvey moaned, head falling back as Ravi ran the brush through his hair. His eyes were closed, a gentle smile playing at his lips. Ravi kept up the rhythmic stroking but couldn’t take his gaze from Harvey’s face.God he’s stunning.Strong eyebrows arched over lids that currently hid his green eyes, dark eyelashes fanned against the pale skin. He hadn’t shaved since the morning, so a sandy scruff graced his jaw. His lips were plump, almost unnaturally so.
Harvey’s eyes flashed open. They were mesmerising. When Ravi had been a teenager, those eyes had been the first thing that had drawn him to Harvey, a bright luminous jewel green surrounded by the dark lashes. Whenever Harvey had looked at him, it has felt as if he was seeing right into his soul.
And it felt like that now—like he couldn’t hide.
“Rav?” Harvey’s voice was soft, a whisper.
Ravi stood frozen. When Harvey reached for his hand holding the hairbrush, he realized he’d stopped brushing. Harvey’s hand sent the same shiver through him that had happened earlier in the kitchen. Would he ever be desensitised to his touch? Harvey pulled on his hand, drawing him closer. It was impossible to resist. He bent and brought his lips to Harvey’s.
The kiss was magical—that was the only way Ravi could think of it. It was the culmination of everything he’d wanted for as long as he could remember. It was his mouth against Harvey’s, their breath mingling, his taste on his tongue, and importantly, Harvey wasn’t pushing him away. But it was over all too soon.
Harvey broke the kiss and looked at him, but his gaze was warm, a gentle smile curling his mouth.
“Sorry,” Ravi couldn’t help say. What if he’d over-stepped the boundary?
“Don’t be,” Harvey said. “It was nice.”
Nice.The way he said the word caused Ravi’s happiness to dip.Nice?“I should let you get some sleep.”
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
Ravi stepped away. “I’ll leave you—”
“No, don’t go.” Harvey reached for him again. “I’m tired, but not ready for sleep yet, not until the painkiller kicks in anyway. Why don’t you stay, and we can watch a movie?”
He probably should have said no but Ravi couldn’t help himself. There was no way in hell he could turn down an invitation to Harvey’s bed. He climbed in and accepted the remote control. They chose an action movie, and Ravi settled back into the nest of pillows, but he didn’t pay a scrap of attention to the television, too attuned to Harvey next to him. But it was still the best movie of his life.
Chapter Five
Whatthefuck?Dull grey light peeked through the edges of the blinds and Harvey blinked trying to focus.Who the hell would be calling at the crack of bloody dawn?
He groaned and reached for the phone on his bedside table, fumbling around with his left hand, and finally getting the thing to his ear. He took a deep breath and shook his head trying to clear away the last remnants of sleep.
“Hello?”This better be good.
“Hey, Harvey. It’s Parker.”
His foot brushed against a leg. “Wh—?”Holy shit!Ravi was still in the bed with him.
“Sorry, Harv, I should have paid more attention to the time difference.” Parker’s words drew his attention back to the call.
“S’kay,” he mumbled, gaze locked on Ravi, who turned over taking the doona with him. Harvey saw the moment Ravi realised he was in bed with him. His eyes widened as he laid eyes on Harvey. He opened his mouth to speak, but Harvey held a finger up to his lips. “Shh.”
“Sorry, did I interrupt you?” Parker said.
“It’s cool. Just give me a sec to sit up.” Harvey maneuvered himself into a semi-upright position, difficult with his arm in a cast. Ravi immediately scooted over and shoved an extra pillow behind his back. He smiled his thanks. “Okay, I’m good now. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing? How’s the arm?”
Harvey was relieved at the answer, worried for a moment that the early morning phone call meant Parker was in trouble. “No change since we last spoke. The cast doesn’t come off for weeks so there’s nothing new to report.”
“How’s the pain?”
Fuck Harvey hated that question. Everyone seemed to think he needed to be drugged up to his eyeballs to cope with the injury to his wrist and thumb, but he’d seen what the opiates had done to their mum after her back injury and there was no way he’d be opening himself up to that. “It’s not too bad.”
“I—”
“I’m telling the truth, little brother. Nothing a couple of Panadol can’t handle.” He looked at Ravi as he spoke, ignoring the frown. “Now, tell me what’s going on over there.” It was a Catch-22 question—he wanted to make sure Parker was coping okay with being tossed into the limelight, but damn, it was hard knowing it should have been him over there in the States at Rocktoberfest.
