Leon stood combing out his hair, almost the last touch in his nightly ritual. Also, as Karl had learned, the first in his morning routine.
Karl was already in bed, ends of his hair damp from the wash he’d finally been able to have standing up, without it being done for him. The scent of soap and toothpaste still lingered faintly in the air. The room was somewhere between a hospital, a prison cell, and the world’s most hostile AirBnB. But Karl couldn’t focus on any of that. Not with Leon undressing across the room.
Everything Leon did seemed to be graceful, languid, and unapologetically sensual without ever crossing into posing. He peeled off each layer slowly, his skin revealed inch by agonizing inch, the long sweep of muscle, the way his spine curved as he bent to step out of his pants.
Karl swallowed. His skin felt too tight.
And then Leon slid under the covers beside him, skin warm where it brushed Karl’s. Just that was nearly too much. Karl tried not to let his breath catch, but Leon’s eyes flicked over, amused and sharp and very aware.
The silence between them stretched, taut and loaded.
Karl swallowed again. He could feel the heat rising off Leon, the way his muscles shifted just beneath the skin. So close.
Leon shifted onto his side, facing him properly now, eyes unreadable in the low light. “We’re not going to sleep any time soon, are we?”
Karl gave a low laugh, breathless. Then, deliberately, he reached out and laid his palm flat against Leon’s chest. Warm skin and a strong heartbeat, kicking up under his touch.
Leon went very still, his pupils blowing wide, black swallowing gold.
Karl traced his thumb across Leon’s sternum, following the dip between muscle and bone. “No,” he said. “We’re really not.”
His hand drifted lower, fingertips tracing the fine line of hair that disappeared beneath the blanket. Leon sucked in a breath, his hips canting upward.
“You’ve been like this all day,” Karl murmured, voice rough. “Torturing me.”
“Pretty sure you started it, honey.” Leon’s voice was uneven. “Looking hot and righteous at the same time.”
“Righteous?” Karl bit gently at his earlobe, and Leon gasped.
“You have resting martyr face when you can’t get any.”
“You’re about to have resting wrecked face,” Karl said, a growl in his voice. He slid his hand down, slow and deliberate, over the curve of Leon’s ass, then up again.
Leon’s breathing roughened. “God, yes, please. Just, no hickeys where wolves can see. I have a reputation.”
“You’re way past saving your reputation.”
“You’re smug. You’re so smug it’s disgusting.”
“Cat-like, even,” Karl said, aiming for deadpan but not quite pulling it off.
Leon gave a low groan, and Karl slid his hand to the back of his neck, tugging him in. Nothing slow or teasing about this kiss—it was heat and hunger and sheer, brutal need. Leon made a low, broken sound, his hands already skating down Karl’s back, leaving sparks in their wake.
Karl rolled them, careful of his leg, caging Leon beneath him. Leon arched up, wrapping his legs loosely around Karl’s hips, grinding their bodies together, both already shamelessly hard.
“Oh, fuck,” Karl got out, voice low and wrecked at the press of Leon’s cock against his.
Leon laughed, breathless, head tipped back against the pillow. “Quiet, remember?” he whispered.
Karl kissed down the line of his throat, soft at first, then biting just hard enough to make Leon gasp.
Leon slid his hand between them and gave a satisfied hum as he wrapped his fingers around Karl’s cock. “Oh, God, that’s nice.”
Karl swallowed a groan and reached for him in turn.
They stroked each other slowly, rhythm matching, breath ragged in the silence between them. Karl ducked his head, pressing kisses along Leon’s collarbone, his chest, catching one nipple between his teeth just to hear the sound Leon made.
It was too much and not enough. The friction, the warmth, the sweat starting to slick their skin—he wanted more. Wanted to crawl inside Leon and never come out. But they couldn’t. Not here. Not with half a dozen shifter ears just outside the door and pups who didn’t know what boundaries were.
