“Maybe one for the road,” I suggest, slanting my mouth over his. He grabs onto the back of my jacket, returning the kiss. When I pull away, I rub my knuckles over his cheek. “I gave you beard burn.”
“You know,” he says, fucking with the buttons on my shirt, “people wouldn’t see it if it were on the inside of my thighs…or a different set of cheeks.”
The words ignite something inside me. Whatever has been lying dormant all these years, Hanlon just unlocked it with that suggestion, and now, I’m ravenous to taste him everywhere. I want to leave every inch of his pale skin pink and abraded.
“Like the sound of that, do you?” he asks with a knowing smile.
“Is that how being demisexual works? You find a person you connect with, and suddenly you want to do filthy shit you’ve never even entertained as a possibility before?” I ask.
Hanlon takes a second to answer, but finally says, “I think it’s different for everyone. I don’t think you have to ascribe to onlyonetype of sexuality. I think the names are helpful simply to identify them, to give them substance. If a thing has no name, it ceases to exist. You may be a gay demisexual man, or maybe you’re abrosexual and your sexuality fluctuates. Like I said, the name is helpful because without it, it’s hard to educate,research, and advocate for it, but that doesn’t mean you have to choose just one. It’s good enough for me simply to know that you’re attracted tomeand want to be intimate withme…whatever that makes you.”
And just like that, all the pressure to discover what box I fit inside is gone.
I’m attracted to Hanlon.
And that’s all I want to be. That’s all Ihaveto be.
Nodding, I bring my forehead to his. “That makes a lot of sense. Thank you.”
Suddenly, a loud warning alarm starts blaring from my phone, making Hanlon jump.
“What the fuck is that?” he asks.
“Logan’s ringtone,” I answer calmly. “Thought I should pick something as obnoxious as he is.” Sliding the button on the screen, I answer the call on speakerphone with a disgruntled, “What?”
“I can see you’re already in the holiday spirit. Get your ass outside. I’m your designated driver.”
“What?”
I’m not happy about it, but at least Logan already knows we’re related, so he won’t find it weird that Hanlon’s here. We still drive to work separately every day, though. It might be overkill, but the absolute last fucking thing I need is people sticking their noses in my business.
“Yeah, I thought I’d give you the night off. If I drive, you can get shit-faced on Ricochet’s dime. They owe you.”
I look at Hanlon with wide eyes.
‘What do I say?’I mouth.
‘Do it,’he mouths back. ‘I’ll drive myself.’
Hanlon still doesn’t want people—outside of Logan—to know we’re brothers because he wants to complete this internship on his own merit. Although now, we both don’t want it getting out for other reasons.If the catwereto get out of the bag about him and me fooling around—because keeping my hands to myself is going to be next to impossible tonight—they might guess we’re fucking, but hopefully we can keep the incest card off the table.
“Uh, sure. Be right out,” I tell Logan, already hating this.
“I’m in no rush; we could pregame here?—”
“No! No, it’s fine. I’m ready,” I confirm, hanging up. “Ugh. I know we weren’t riding together anyway, but Ireallydidn’t want to go with Logan,” I lament. “I’ll be sure to wait for you at the gondola so you don’t have to take it up alone.”
Hanlon shoves me against the door that leads to my bathroom, kissing me hard, not holding back. This isn’t the gentle, understanding man who was here a second ago. This version of Hanlon is out to brand me with this claiming kiss. “He definitely wants to fuck you, and he was hoping to gain some ground before this party,” he growls low and menacing. “And that pisses me off.”
Does Hanlon have a side Idon’tthink is hot as fuck?It seems not.
“You know I don’t want him,” I confirm.
“Iknow that, but apparentlyhe’shaving a hard time understanding it.”
Hanlon surges forward, locking our lips together again. He is absolutelydevouringme, and I’m in heaven.
My phone chimes in my pocket, and I know it’s Logan telling me to hurry the fuck up.
