When the car finally pulled up to Noah’s building, Kaj’s heart hammered against his ribs, an unexpected nervousness threading through him.
“Thanks,” he mumbled to the driver before stepping out into the night air that felt crisp against his skin.
Noah’s apartment was on the third floor. Kaj took the elevator, watching the numbers climb as he ran a hand through his still-damp hair. Then he turned to check himself in the mirrored wall. The stubble along his jaw gave him a rougher look than usual—tired but still fuckable. He’d thrown on a simple black T-shirt under a zip-up hoodie and his military cargo pants, not bothering with anything more elaborate. It wasn’t like their clothes stayed on for long, anyway.
Standing outside apartment 3A, Kaj hesitated before knocking. Before the echo in the hallway faded into the air, the door opened almost immediately, as if Noah had been waiting just on the other side.
“You made it,” Noah said, voice low and hoarse.
Kaj barely had time to register Noah’s appearance before Noah yanked him inside. Their mouths collided with bruising force, teeth clashing before they found their rhythm. Kaj groaned, depletion mixing like vapor with the raw need seeping into his pores. Despite his best efforts to keep things casual between them, something about Noah kept drawing Kaj back to him.
“I needed this,” Kaj breathed against Noah’s mouth, kicking the door closed behind him. It was a lame thing to admit, considering they’d been sucking each other’s dicks three days ago, but it wasn’t like there was much blood left in his brain.
Noah didn’t waste time with pleasantries, already tugging at Kaj’s hoodie. “Bedroom’s this way,” he murmured as he walked backward and pulled Kaj with him, refusing to break their kiss.
The apartment wasn’t big, but they stumbled through it as they became a tangle of limbs and desperate kisses. Noah walked backward, guiding Kaj through the darkened living room, neither willing to separate long enough to turn on a light or look where they tossed their discarded clothes. Manic. Fierce. Demanding.
“Did you get yourself ready for me?” Kaj asked, voice rough as his hands slid down to squeeze Noah’s ass.
“Why don’t you find out?”
Their legs hit the edge of Noah’s bed, and they let themselves fall, stopping the heavy mouth-to-mouth only for a second as they got comfortable on the mattress. The room was cast in shadows, with only the faint glow of streetlights filtering through half-drawn curtains, illuminating the planes and angles of Noah’s face beneath him.
“Fuck,” Kaj whispered.So fucking gorgeous.
Noah’s hair was mussed, splayed against the light sheets like spilled ink. His chest rose and fell rapidly, the letters tattooed along his collarbone seeming to dance with each breath.
“You gonna stare all night?”
“Turn over,” Kaj said as he got up and picked up his pants from the floor, reaching for his wallet He knew it wasn't the safest, but he always kept a condom here, in case he found himself in the middle of a spontaneous, raunchy adventure. His fingers fumbled through the leather pockets, finding nothing but a few bills and cards.
A cold realization washed over him.
“Shit,” he muttered, turning toward Noah. “My mind is such a mess I forgot the fucking condoms.”
Noah, who was on all fours, sat back on his heels and looked at Kaj. “I don’t have any either,” he admitted. “Haven’t needed them in a while.”
They stood there for a moment, naked and hard, the mood threatening to evaporate when Noah ran a hand through his hair and asked, “Have you fucked anyone else since we started hooking up?”
Kaj frowned but answered truthfully, “No. You?” He wasn’t sure why he was asking, or if he wanted to know.
“No.”
Kaj’s mouth went dry as relief and desire swirled in his chest.
“Fuck me bare,” Noah breathed.
The request hung between them, charged with implications beyond the physical sensations. The trust. The intimacy. The unspoken admission that whatever they were doing was evolving.
“You sure?” Kaj asked, making sure he wasn’t dreaming. The simple thought of being inside Noah with nothing between them...Fuck.
“We’re both clean, and we’re not having sex with anyone else…”
“Yeah.” Kaj nodded, enthralled by Noah reaching behind himself, biting his bottom lip as he pulled the black plug out.
“Then fuck me.”
Without wasting another second, Kaj closed the distance between them. His hands grabbed Noah’s neck, and he bent forward, crashing their mouths together. The swollen head of his dick brushed against Noah’s abdomen as their tongues unabashedly rubbed against each other.
