Kaj’s grip on the door tightened. Noah was simply standing in front of him, hair disheveled and wet, wearing a basic black hoodie and sweatpants. But the way he was looking at him, clenching his jaw, as if he were on the verge of madness, made him look feral and sexier than ever.
Kaj stared at him, trying to look unimpressed. “What?”
“You said you’re not together.”
“So?”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
Kaj almost laughed.The audacity.
He should have slammed the door in his face, but there was an invisible force that tied him to Noah. He couldn’t look away. “What the fuck is this, Sørensen? Didn’t you say to stay away from you?”
“Are. You. Seeing. Anyone?” Noah gritted out each word.
Kaj huffed, exasperated. “No.”
Noah shoved Kaj’s chest. The door shut with a loud thud, and before he had time to process, Noah’s mouth claimed his.
No hesitation. No restraint.
With his hands cupping the sides of Kaj’s neck, thumbs forcing his jaw to the angle he wanted, Noah pressed their bodies impossibly close as he backed Kaj against the wall. He didn’t give him a second to think or adjust to the flash flood of lust that collapsed his entire system. Didn’t test the waters or tease him. Noah was on a mission to conquer everything. And fuck if defeat wasn’t sweet. Because for all his biting sarcasm and detached cruelty, when it came to this man, Kaj always lost.
Allowing him to explore every corner of his mouth, Kaj held onto the back of Noah’s hoodie like his life depended on it. They sucked on each other’s lips, chasing and attacking at the same time, alternating the softness of their tongues with stray bites. It was devastating and fierce, like an earthquake under their feet that ruptured Kaj’s willpower, sending electric pulses from the base of his skull down his spine.
Kaj’s breath was ragged.
His mind was clouded.
Past, present, and future folded into one.
No one had ever kissed like this man did, turning him into a mess of trembles and despair, hoping for the moment to extend to infinity and beyond. Kaj wanted to rip off Noah’s clothes, lick every inch of his skin, put him on his knees and fuck him until they both sagged with exhaustion. Until they were so out of themselves, they couldn’t speak. Until his fingertips were branded on Noah’s flesh.
No matter how many parallel universes existed, they would always belong together. Because you can’t have shadows without light. Good without evil. Relief without suffering.
Like the one they’d caused each other.
Fuck.
Kaj grunted and pushed Noah away. “We can’t do this.”
Noah tilted his head, a mix of confusion and irritation swirling in his eyes as his chest heaved with rapid breaths. “Judging by the bulge under that towel”—he gestured toward Kaj’s erection—“I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page about this.”
“Wha—no.” Kaj blinked fast, clenching his jaw as his stomach churned. He wanted this, but he didn’t want to want it. This man had hurt him, and he’d hurt him back, not out of hate but heartbreak. How could Noah even look at him and not feel disgusted? “Are you high or what?”
“No.”
Kaj frowned. He expected Noah to say something, but he didn’t. “What was that then?” He pointed at the door.
Noah’s nostrils flared as he took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. “I came to your room, made sure you’re not dating anyone—I’m not going to be your dirty secret again—and kissed you. You need me to draw you a diagram?”
Kaj glared at Noah, but didn’t take the bait. He was too angry to play games. “I meanwhy?”
“Because I’m tired of pretending,” he rasped, prowling toward him.
“There’s something seriously wrong with you if, after the way I’ve been treating you these past few months, if after what I did, you still want to have sex with me.”
Kaj had been too ashamed to report his own abuse. Even when Mads had offered to go with him several times, he hadn’t been brave enough to do it. Even knowing Jesper could have done the same to others, he’d never found the courage to admit what had happened to him; the fear of not being believed or laughed at bigger than anything else. Because, although Nik had taught him to always be honest and embrace who he was, the moment he did it, he became a target for a predator. Although his psychologist repeated a thousand times he wasn’t weak or guilty ofanything, the societal stereotype that men can’t be victims was too deeply engraved into the marrow of his bones. Yet here was Noah, in front of the man who’d raped him, asking for what? A rematch?
