The bartender held up his hand as he smiled. “No worries. I charged it to the room.”
Relieved, I turned my attention back to Mason. “Up you go, big guy. Time to put you to bed.”
“Yesss!” he said, enunciating the s while raising an arm into the air. “I’ve been wanting to do that with you for a long time. Lennox says dick is the best, and I bet yours is better than his.”
Trying to ignore his words, I put my arm around his waist. “Hmm, is that so? Put your arm around me.”
Mason snorted. “Yes, sir. I like the bossy side. You’re like a bossy daddy type.” He leaned in as if to whisper in my ear, but failed. “I can be a good boy for you.”
Oh dear Jesus.I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I know, Mason. Let’s get you upstairs,” I said, shuffling us to the door and toward the elevator.
I was winning until my drunk friend leaned down to suck on my ear as we waited for the elevator. I didn’t push him awayout of fear he’d make a bigger scene. I was a former Marine. I could take a little ear sucking, even though it sent every ounce of blood in my body south. When the elevator finally opened,three people exited the car, leaving it wide open for us. Propping him against the wall, I started to close the doors when a female called out. “Hold the door, please!”
Shit. Two young ladies teetered in on high heels, smiling at us. “Ten please,” the brunette said, eyeing us.
Mason smiled and pulled me to him. “Do you remember our floor number, daddy?”
My face heated as they giggled. I was a motherfucking Marine. I wasn’t supposed to blush. Not even at Mason’s suggestive words.
“Twenty,” I said. “We’re on twenty. Two zero.”
He continued to nuzzle his face into my neck until the girls exited the elevator. “Feeling alright?”
He nodded, rubbing his beard against my skin. “Better now that you’re here.” Open-mouthed kisses landed on my neck as I fought the urge to kiss the shit out of him. My body responded in every appropriate way when he touched me, validating Hudson’s words. My mind and my body were on board for him, just not when he was inebriated.
When we finally reached the apartment, I swiped us in and ushered Mason to the sofa. Depositing him onto it, I sat on the coffee table and faced him. Even his drunk grin was sexy and prevented me from being mad at him. “Why did you get drunk?”
He lifted a finger and attempted to run it down my face. Evidently, I was moving. “You know why. I had a bad day. And I was sad because you wouldn’t give me my first gay kiss.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I don’t want to kiss anybody else. Just you.”
My heart fell for him a little more with his drunk confession. I only wanted to kiss him, too. So I went with the truth. Chanceswere, he wouldn’t remember what I said in the morning anyway. Reaching out, I cupped his face in my hands. His beard was soft to the touch as he leaned into my palm. “I wanted to kiss you. Badly. But the time wasn’t right. I didn’t want you to regret it.”
Mason blinked at me. “I could never regret kissing you. I love you.”
I smiled at him as my heart beat faster. “Why do you want to kiss me so badly?”
His eyes softened as he looked at me with the same expression he gave my dogs. Evidently, alcohol was like a truth serum. “Because you’re my person. Lennox is Dane’s person. And Evan has Hudson. Now, even Carson has Colin. But I don’t have anybody to be my person. And I thought it was you. But you don’t want to kiss me like they do.”
He broke my fucking heart. “I am your person, Mason. And when the time is right, I’ll happily give you a first kiss. But I want you to remember it for the rest of your life.”
He blinked at me, then smiled. “Yeah? You wanna kiss me for real?”
“For real. I want to be the only person you ever kiss.”
“Okay, daddy.”
I rolled my eyes as he laughed hysterically. It was time to put him to bed. “That’s it, time for bed.”
“Wait,” he said when I pulled him to his feet. “You’re gonna sleep with me, right?” The hope in his voice made my heart melt.
“Not the way you’re thinking, and only for a little while to make sure you’re okay.”
Mason sighed as I took his hands and led him to the bedroom. Walking him into his room, I sat him down and took off his shoes. He fell back, fully clothed, and rolled to one side of the bed. Slapping the side of the bed next to him, he grinned at me. “Come on, daddy. I don’t bite.”
Shaking my head, I walked into the bathroom to find a trash can and a washcloth, then placed them beside him. If he were to get sick, I’d be ready. When I returned to the room, Mason was already out.
I stood and looked at him for a while before kicking off my shoes. I sat down on the bed and flipped off the light. Lying down, I kept an eye on him all night as I contemplated what life with him could be like.
Chapter 12
