23
Aiden
To Aiden’s surprise, hisshoulder wasn’t too sore in the morning. Unlike other places. It was a strange sensation, though not a bad one, and his body seemed to welcome it, feeling lighter and less anxious than it tended to in the mornings. He was also less restless than he would’ve thought he would be after having sex with Darren, his mind mostly okay with that development.
Aiden rolled to his side, facing Darren who had his body pressed against Aiden’s back. He looked peaceful and ethereal save for a small frown, his chest rising and falling at even intervals. Aiden thought about waking him up, about getting up too, but then decided against that and simply watched Darren until he stirred on his own and opened his mesmerizing eyes. The frown grew for a few seconds as his groggy gaze focused on Aiden’s face. And then he smiled, a shy, boyish curving of his lips that made Aiden’s heart leap.
“Morning,” Darren rasped, the hoarse quality of his voice going straight to Aiden’s dick. He blinked slowly and directed his attention to Aiden’s shoulder. “Does it hurt?” Gently, he tracedthe indentations with his fingers, just barely touching Aiden’s skin.
Aiden let himself enjoy the caress, remembering how careful Darren had been not to overdo the bite. He probably should’ve slipped away instead of watching Darren sleep, but he’d been too comfortable, engulfed by the softness of Darren’s bed and the grounding warmth of his body. “It’s not too bad.”
Darren shuffled closer, moving his fingers to Aiden’s chin. He tilted it down and slowly pressed his lips to Aiden’s, giving him the chance to pull away before the kiss even began. Aiden didn’t do that. A part of him protested half-heartedly, shutting up the moment Darren’s taste was in his mouth. They kissed for a while, tongues tangling in a lazy but deliberate chase, but they didn’t go further as much as Aiden’s body seemed eager for it.
“We should get up and look at those blueprints,” Darren said when they pulled apart, his lips and piercing glistening.
Aiden tore his gaze away from them and nodded. “I’ll go get ready.” He got up and started collecting his clothes. He could feel Darren’s eyes roaming his naked body and he… liked it. The hunger he could feel even if he couldn’t see it, the want, the yearning, all of it soothing something deep within his soul.
“You can shower here. If you want,” Darren said as Aiden dropped his clothes on the bed and began dressing.
He could, Aiden supposed. “Sure.”
Darren tossed the covers off and got up. He crossed over to the wardrobe and got Aiden a towel while Aiden tried and failed not to check him out in all his naked glory. His body was all lean curves and defined muscle over golden skin, and if Aiden hadn’t already been dreaming about Darren, he most certainly would’ve started today.
Darren hung the towel on the bathroom door’s hook and picked up his tablet from the desk, still not bothering to cover himself. Not that Aiden was either… And on top of that, he did ashitty job pretending he didn’t notice Darren’s half-hard cock, if the grin he got was any indication.
“I’ll have a look at the warehouse’s layout while you shower,” Darren said, sitting on the bed. “It seemed pretty standard from what I saw yesterday. Hopefully, Nyle can find out something about that hidden level.”
Aiden hoped so too, but he wasn’t sure how likely it was. He slipped into the bathroom and left those thoughts for afterwards, letting the hot water and the fruity shampoo scent empty his mind and relax his body. A pang of anxiety had him wonder if he’d made a mistake acknowledging these feelings of attraction and sleeping with Darren, but the moment he walked out, Darren’s easy smile settled his nerves.
“Any luck?” Aiden asked, plopping onto the edge of the bed where a smaller towel was placed. He picked it up and got on with drying his hair. It had grown a little at the top and he tended to just run his fingers through it nowadays, giving it a messier look compared to how he’d used to style it prior to joining a forgotten royalty’s quest to reclaim a secret legacy.
Darren sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Not really.” He stood up, still naked, and studied Aiden’s chest, then his pile of clothes. Wrinkling his nose, he went to the wardrobe again and produced a change of clothes for himself as well as another towel. He dumped it all on the bed, then gave Aiden a look that was hard to read. “You can… go if you want. You don’t have to wait for me.”
Aiden didn’t really mind, but as soon as he put his T-shirt on, he reconsidered that. While comfortable, his training clothes definitely needed a wash. “I’ll go change.”
“See you in a bit,” Darren said and bent down slightly as if he wanted to kiss Aiden. But he stopped himself.
The hairs on Aiden’s neck stood up and he swallowed hard. He was of half mind to tell Darren to kiss him if he wanted, buthe wasn’t sure a kiss would be enough with how addictive this thing between them had turned out, so instead he grazed his fingers along the side of Darren’s thigh, ushering him on.
Once he was dressed, Aiden popped by his room and changed into a pair of cargo pants and a cream shirt. He slicked his hair back in the way he now did, took his supplements—but not the anxiety meds as he didn’t seem to need them today—and went to the war room where Nyle and Rick were having a heated discussion about something.
“Good morning,” Aiden said a little louder than he normally spoke so the two men would hear him.
“Hey, Aiden,” Rick tossed, giving him alook.
“Oh, hey, Kesley.” Nyle, sitting cross-legged on a chair, rocked slightly forward and threw him a smile. “Darren’s not up yet?”
“I…” Aiden trailed off, claiming one of the empty chairs next to Nyle and taking a sip from the coffee he’d made himself in the kitchen before coming here. He didn’t quite know how to reply, because saying that Darren was up and getting ready was probably going to raise some questions he didn’t feel like answering. “I think he is. He’s probably getting ready.”
Rick’s eyebrows slanted down, but Aiden decided not to think too much of it.
“Figures we wouldn’t see either of you until lunch. What time did you go to bed even?” Nyle probed, evidently finding something funny in it.
Aiden glanced at the two big screens. It was just past eleven-thirty Standard Solar Time, and while he felt more rested than normal, he probably should’ve gotten up a lot earlier. “Quite late it would seem.”
Nyle quirked an eyebrow, a mischievous gleam lighting up his blue eyes as they locked on something under Aiden’s neck. “Mhm, that much we can see.”
Aiden glanced down, just now noticing the red mark on his collarbone. His skin bruised so easily, but then again, he could’ve told Darren to be careful if he’d wanted him to be. Or he could’ve buttoned up his shirt.
