Riordan flattened his hand over Wade’s hip. “You’re awake.”
“I’m awake. Kind of want coffee. Kind of want you.” Wade’s arm curled tighter around Riordan’s body, holding him in an embrace he doubted he’d be able to escape without some effort. Not like he’d want to.
“Do you really want coffee over me?”
Wade lifted his head and blearily looked at Riordan. His dark hair was a mess and flopping over his forehead, getting in his eyes. His tanned skin was clear of any dragon scales, though Riordan had been privileged to see them shine through a couple of times last night when they were tangled up together. They’d felt smooth and warm to his touch, just like Wade’s skin, patterned in a way that had fascinated Riordan.
“I think I want a shower,” Wade decided, being contrary.
To be fair, Riordan did think they both needed a shower after last night. The bedroom was saturated in the smell of sex, but he didn’t mind it too much, mostly because beneath it all was the smokey scent he attributed to Wade.
Riordan ran his hand up Wade’s spine to drag his fingers through thick hair, making Wade sigh. “Come on. Let’s get ready.”
Any other day and he would want to stay in bed, exploring Wade’s body for hours on end, ordering room service rather than letting the private chef into the penthouse. Any other day and he could let the hours tick away, but not today.
Wade didn’t argue, rolling away from Riordan to slide off the bed and get to his feet with a yawn. Riordan immediately missed the warmth of the other man, wanting to drag Wade close again.That itching desire to offer up his sealskin to Wade rushed through Riordan like a riptide, and he had to clench his teeth to keep the words locked away. Wade’s confession last night—that he’d never take anything not freely given—was wreaking havoc with Riordan’s self-control.
So he channeled that desire into the physical instead, crowding Wade into the walk-in shower big enough for two people once they were in the bathroom. He reached for the knob, turning the water on, not minding that it came out lukewarm first before getting hotter.
“I thought we were cleaning up,” Wade mumbled against his lips as Riordan pushed him up against the tiles and kissed him beneath the spray.
“We are,” Riordan replied, dragging his mouth and hands down the lean length of Wade’s body until he settled on his knees.
“This isn’t cleaning up. I’m pretty sure it’s—ohfuck!”
Wade’s head smacked against the tile with a faint crack when Riordan sucked his cock into his mouth, swallowing down to the root. He kept one hand on Wade’s hips to steady him rather than pin him. Riordan dragged his mouth back up the length of Wade’s cock, licking at the tip as he wrapped his other hand around the base of it, looking up at Wade. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to make you feel good.”
Wade’s face was flushed, and not just from the steam rising around them. A faint glitter of red scales edged his hairline, and Riordan had the absurd need to see how many more he could bring up through Wade’s skin.
“I think you’re gonna kill me,” Wade moaned. “Do you even know what you look like?”
Riordan smirked but didn’t bother answering, preferring instead to swallow Wade’s cock again because the sound of Wade’s moans against the shower tile was better than musicright then. He took his time, working over Wade’s cock with a thoroughness that had the younger man swearing and gasping as it hardened in his mouth. Listening to Wade fall apart above him as he swallowed around the cock in his mouth made Riordan feel good, knowing that Wade enjoyed it too. The water was still warm when Wade finally came, cock so far down Riordan’s throat he couldn’t even taste it.
Riordan looked up, drinking in the sight above him. Wade truly was gorgeous like this, with molten-gold eyes bisected by reptilian pupils and fiery red scales pushing up through his skin in scattered areas of his body, as if he couldn’t control himself in the wake of the pleasure Riordan could give him.
He pulled off after a moment, not even breathing hard, and leaned in to nuzzle his face against Wade’s stomach. He kissed his way back up warm skin to Wade’s mouth for a kiss neither of them shied away from.
“Feel free to do that every morning,” Wade said.
Riordan laughed, wanting to believe he could. “Sure.”
They didn’t spend too much more time in the shower. Wade’s stomach rumbled, and Riordan knew they’d need to eat breakfast before they dealt with everything ahead of them that day. He turned off the water, and they left the shower, drying off in the bathroom before Wade finally showed him where all the new clothes were in the closet. Riordan grabbed his sealskin from the chair in the corner and pulled it on as a leather jacket once he was dressed, nerves settling now that it was with him again.
He followed Wade out of the bedroom to the living space beyond. Wade unearthed the remote and turned on the television while Riordan checked out the refrigerator to see what the chef had left that could be used for breakfast. The morning hour meant the channel it was turned to opened up on the local news. Riordan’s attention snagged on what was being reported,and he left the carton of eggs he’d pulled from the refrigerator on the counter to join Wade in the living area.
“—fire overnight on a yacht anchored in Cambridge and owned by the same company whose hotel on the wharf had water damage from burst sprinklers yesterday, which has delayed its anticipated summer opening. It’s too soon to tell if?—”
“That wasn’t me,” Wade said, looking at his phone and not the television.
“It wasn’t anyone from my clan.”
“Any other kin who might be out looking for revenge?”
Riordan shook his head. “We don’t take on each other’s debts that way.”
“Ugh. I hate debts.” Wade found whatever he was searching for on his phone and pressed it to his ear. Riordan stepped closer, listening in on the call. The ringing stopped, but the line didn’t go to voicemail. “Was the yacht your doing?”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to speak with us ever again,” Carmen drawled. Riordan winced, still amazed at Wade’s complete lack of fear when it came to the succubus and the master vampire she followed.
