Noah leaned down to capture Luke’s lips in a deep, passionate kiss. Their tongues danced against each other, and Noah could taste the mix of desire and surrender in Luke’s mouth. He continued to move, his thrusts becoming faster and more intense as the pleasure built between them.
“I’m close,” Noah managed, his voice barely more than a rasp. “You feel so amazing.”
Luke wrapped his legs around Noah’s waist, pulling him deeper. “Come for me,” Luke whispered, his voice thick with need. “I want to feel you come inside me.”
The words were Noah’s undoing. With a primal cry, Noah thrust deep, his body shuddering with release. Luke arched againsthim, his own orgasm following moments later, his muscles clenching around Noah.
Noah collapsed onto Luke’s chest, their bodies still connected, their breathing heavy and synchronized. He could feel Luke’s heart pounding against his own, a steady rhythm that spoke of their shared experience. Noah buried his face in Luke’s neck, his lips pressing soft kisses against the sweat-slicked skin.
“That was…” Noah began, but the words escaped him. He’d never felt such raw emotion or connection before, and for the first time, he knew what it meant to experience true intimacy.
“I know,” Luke murmured, his arms wrapping around Noah, holding him close. “I know.”
Noah felt the warmth of Luke’s body surrounding him, the steady thrum of their combined heartbeats reverberating through him. This was more than just a physical act. It was a milestone, a turning point in both their lives.
“Stay with me,” Luke whispered, his voice soft and filled with a vulnerability that matched Noah’s own. “Stay the night.”
Noah didn’t even hesitate. “Yes,” he said, his voice firm with certainty. “I’ll stay.”
CHAPTER TEN
Luke balancedtakeout containers against his hip while fumbling with his toolbox. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across Noah’s porch, highlighting peeling paint and warped boards he’d originally planned on having fixed by now so Noah had somewhere to sit and work while Eli played in the front yard.
He didn’t bother knocking anymore. That boundary had dissolved somewhere between their first kiss and this morning when he’d left Noah’s bed before sunrise to head to the Tillerman site. Now, he moved through the house with ease, following the sound of papers shuffling in the dining room.
Luke still couldn’t believe how easily they’d fallen into what felt like a routine, and he worried what would happen tomorrow when Jenna brought Eli back. He wasn’t sure either of them was capable of pretending they weren’t screwing or making out every chance they got, but he didn’t want Eli getting mixed messages.
This was turning into a giant tangle of complications. Even worse, his friends would be over tomorrow to help bust through as many of the repairs from the storm as possible, and Keatonwas too damned perceptive. He’d know as soon as he walked in that Luke and Noah weren’t just contractor and client.
Noah sat at the makeshift desk they’d cobbled together, surrounded by essays and red pens. His reading glasses had slipped down his nose, and his usually neat hair stuck up in ways that suggested he’d been running his fingers through it in frustration. He looked…sexy. Touchable. Like something Luke could have forever if he was brave enough to reach for it.
“Brought dinner,” Luke announced, forcing lightness into his voice. “Figured you’d forget to eat while grading.”
Noah glanced up, his tired smile warming as he took in Luke’s presence. “My hero. Just let me finish this last?—”
“Nope.” Luke set down the food, gently tugging the pen from Noah’s hand. “Food first. Then we can work on Eli’s room while your brain recovers from whatever your students did toThe Great Gatsby.”
“You don’t want to know.” Noah stretched, his dress shirt pulling tight across his shoulders in a way that made Luke’s mouth go dry. Luke didn’t know shit about classic literature, but that didn’t stop him from listening to Noah rant about the bizarre tangents some of his students went on in their essays. “One of them suggested Gatsby should have just used Tinder.”
Luke laughed, already pulling containers from the bag. “Well, it would have simplified things. Though I’m not sure how you’d swipe right on a green light.”
“Please don’t give them ideas.” But Noah was smiling now, his real smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Seriously, though, you didn’t have to bring food. I could have?—”
“Let me take care of you sometimes?” The words slipped out before Luke could stop them, heavy with meaning he wasn’t ready to examine. The past few days had filled a void Luke hadn’t known existed in his heart. Instead of wanting to escape as quickly as possible, he found himself lingering in bed in the mornings, stealing every second possible in Noah’s arms. He busied himself opening plastic to-go containers, pretending not to notice how Noah’s breath caught. “I mean, you’ve been grading all afternoon. And we need to finish the ceiling in Eli’s room before he comes home.”
Noah pushed away from the desk and spun his chair around. He hooked his fingers in Luke’s belt loops, tugging until Luke was between his legs. When he rested his head against Luke’s stomach, another brick in the wall around Luke’s heart crumbled. Noah sighed, his body relaxing as Luke massaged his shoulders. “Thank you. I’ll eventually get used to not being the one trying to look after everyone else all the time.”
“Doubt it.” Luke chuckled. It hadn’t escaped his notice how Noah bristled every time Luke tried doing something nice for him. He bent to kiss the top of Noah’s head. “Come on, let’s eat. We’ve got work to do.”
With any luck, they’d get Eli’s room put back together before they fell into bed exhausted tonight. Luke wasn’t stupid enough to think there would be anymore sleepovers once Eli got home, but he also wasn’t entirely comfortable sleeping in the bed Noah’s son had slept in since the night of the storm. The sooner Eli had his own space again, the better.
They settled into a comfortable silence, sharing Thai food while Noah’s essays waited. Luke found himself watching Noah’s hands as he ate—elegant fingers that could grade papers orswing a hammer with equal grace. He’d felt those hands on his skin this morning, gentle but insistent…
Noah’s phone buzzed, Eli’s picture lighting up the screen. “Right on schedule,” Noah said softly, answering the video call. “Hey, buddy! How was the zoo?”
Luke started to move away, giving them privacy, but Noah’s hand on his wrist stopped him. He found himself drawn into their conversation, watching Eli’s excited recounting of seeing tigers and elephants. The boy’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Luke couldn’t help smiling as he demonstrated how the monkeys had thrown food at each other.
“Mr. Luke!” Eli’s face pressed closer to the camera when he noticed Luke. “Are you fixing more stuff? Did you find any treasure in the walls yet? Mom says there might be old letters or pictures!”
