“I’m trying to decide.”
“What’re the options?” I murmur, tilting my head, my expression as serious as his.
“Standing here some more. Sitting down. Kicking you out.”
“Interesting set of choices.”
“I know.”
“Still upset about the duke?” I ask.
“Yes. Not just the duke.”
I press my lips together. “Oh?”
“It’s everything.” Stef shrugs a shoulder, troubled. “But I’d be lying if the duke wasn’t a factor.”
“Ah. Easy, then.”
“It’s a real problem.” Stef at last straightens, moving ever so slightly closer. “Especially…”
“Especially…?” I try.
Chewing his lower lip, he reaches out a hand to trace his fingers over my jaw. I shudder, hypersensitized to him. I nip his fingers when he lightly touches my mouth.
“Especially since all I want to do is kiss you,” Stef whispers, searching my eyes. His fingers slide to the back of my head. “And more.”
Ever so slowly, I lean in, brush my lips against his. He sighs, his lips warm and yielding, while he buries his fingers in my hair. I lean into his hand for a moment, then kiss him more deeply as his mouth opens, and I taste him with my tongue. I slide my hands around him and grip his waist, then tug him closer by his belt loops.
“Wait…” Stef says a moment later, putting his hand on my chest, his expression searching.
“Necromancy?” I ask, peering at him with a smile. “You just need to say the word.”
He laughs, then sobers. “Theo. Honestly. I don’t know what to do or think or feel. You… you’re… I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“What do you want, gorgeous?” I whisper. The last thing I want is for him to feel bad. “Let me give it to you… however you want it.”
“Cheeky.” Stef shakes his head, catching my face now between his hands. “It’s not so easy…”
“Tell me. Show me what you want.” My voice is low in my throat. I’m utterly captivated by him. It’s impossible to think clearly when he’s looking at me like that. Impossible to remember a time before him, in this drawn-out moment. All I see is Stef. God, I want him so much.
For a moment, I swear his eyes tear up, but then he’s kissing me ferociously, and I gasp with his intensity. His hunger. And need. Then it’s on, messy, seeking kisses as our hands fumble hard with our jeans and clothes—far too many of them in the way.
“Fuck. Stef. You haven’t even—shown me—” I gasp as he rakes his teeth against my neck, “—the guest room?—”
Stef continues with his eager kisses, which I’m all too happy to return. I strip off my black T-shirt in an easy motion. He stops kissing me long enough to stare admiringly at me, trace my pecs and shoulders as I shiver, then grabs me by the arm to practically drag me down the hall. Which is the sort of enthusiasm I totally encourage.
We skip the guest room. Breathing hard, I barely have a chance to take in the sight of what’s clearly his bedroom. More gorgeous architectural features and a flood of glorious natural light?—
And most of all, Stef.
I push Stef down hard onto the navy bedding on his large wooden sleigh bed, while sunlight drifts in over the closed lower shutters. Straddling him, I kiss him thoroughly as he shudders in my arms, pausing only long enough to help him roughly out of his jeans and boxers. Right now, my whole world is Stef. Nothing else matters. He’s greedy for me too, all desire, the emotion of the last couple of weeks taut and raw in his body.
All I want is him, urgent and tangled beneath me.
I push Stef’s T-shirt up and teasingly kiss his abs, and then make my way down, cupping his balls, flicking the head of his cock with the tease of my tongue, tasting the opening till Stef sobs out and bucks. His cock is more than ready.
Then, I draw him deep into my mouth, working him ferociously as he groans, fingers tight in my hair. I hold his hips, shutting my eyes to savor him. He’s incredibly hard, incredibly mine in this moment.
