“I’m staying,” Connor confirmed. “I think this is what I wassupposed to find out here. You, and a chance to start over. Go back to what Ilove instead of being blinded by ambition.”
Max grinned, darting close to kiss Connor, parting his lips andjust gently nibbling on Connor’s lower one. He was still experimenting withexactly how he wanted to kiss Connor, but Connor didn’t seem to mind beingexperimented on.
Connor laid a hand on Max’s hip, toying with the waistband of hisunderwear. Max hadn’t been able to tell before he got under the covers, butConnor apparently slept naked.
“You’re overdressed,” Connor murmured against his mouth, hookinghis thumb into the elastic.
Max swallowed. Blood was already rushing to his cock, just fromthe lightest touch of Connor’s fingers against his skin.
“You could fix that,” he said, his voice breaking.
He knew what he wanted this time, all he had to do was work up thenerve to ask for it.
Connor smirked, pulling Max’s underwear down, the palm of his handgrazing Max’s cock as he shoved it aside. Max wriggled to help him, pushingthem down past his knees and then kicking them off, losing them somewhere underthe covers.
“I want, uh…” he began, his ears burning with embarrassment. Heknew Connor wouldn’t laugh at him, but he was still new to this. Still unusedto asking for anything, let alone what he was about to ask for. “Umm. To… feelyou inside me.”
His whole face felt hot, especially since he couldn’t think of a worseway to phrase that, but it was out in the open now. Connor would either say yesor no.
“Do you?” Connor asked, raising an eyebrow. His eyes lit up,sparkling in the low light of the bedroom. He searched Max’s face, wetting hislips slowly.
Warm arousal pooled in the pit of Max’s stomach. He liked it whenConnor looked at him like that.
Max nodded, his heart hammering in his chest. He wanted this alot.He’d been thinking about it since he’d watched Connor do it.
Connor grinned again, rolling over and opening the drawer of hisnightstand. He rummaged in it for a moment, and Max heard the crinkle of a foilpacket.
His stomach bottomed out. Connor was going to do this for him.
Nerves and excitement swirled in his gut, both feelings making hisskin tingle, his pulse pound.
“If you need me to back off at all, there’s no shame in it,”Connor said seriously. “You don’t have to go all the way your first time.”
Max nodded in understanding, some of the knots in his stomacheasing off. He wanted this, but he’d never tried it before.
He trusted Connor, though. Connor had come through for him overand over. He’d take care of Max in this, too.
“Do you need me to move?” Max asked, all the possible positionsthey could do this in running through his mind.
To his surprise, Connor shook his head. “No. You’re perfect justthe way you are, and I’m too exhausted to do anything other than lie down.”
“We don’t have to do this now,” Max said.
“I’d like to,” Connor responded softly, reaching out to strokeMax’s thigh. “I almost lost you. I’m still terrified by the thought that Imight have. Sex would make me feel better.”
Max nodded, his throat suddenly dry. It’d make him feel better,too. “Okay.”
Connor smiled at him, soft and slow but with so much love in hiseyes that it was almost enough to knock the breath out of Max’s lungs. Hegrabbed Max’s knee, hitching it up over his hip and holding it in place withhis elbow.
Max shifted a little closer, eager for the warmth of Connor’sbody. Every moment he was with Connor made all the anxiety of the last few daysmelt away.
Max listened as Connor uncapped the lube, closing his eyes inanticipation. He had no idea how this was going to feel, but he knew Connorwould have warned him if it was going to hurt.
“Stop me if it’s too much,” Connor murmured after a moment,sliding lube-slicked fingers between Max’s ass cheeks. Max squirmed as Connor’sfingers brushed over his hole, his heart pounding in his chest.
This was it. Connor was going to be inside him, and he couldn’twait. His heart was already pounding, deafening in his ears, but he wasmorethan ready for it.
He hissed as Connor pushed a fingertip inside him. It didn’t hurt,not at all, but it wasweird.
