The words should make me bristle. I’m not a child who needs protecting. I’m a grown man who can handle his own messy romantic entanglements. Besides, I’m a year older than Marshall.
But the possessive edge in his voice sends a shiver through me. I like it a little too much.
“I don’t need you to protect me,” I say, forcing the words out. “I can take care of myself.”
Marshall holds my gaze. “I know you can, but I can’t help it.”
He reaches out, his fingers tipping my chin up so I have to look at him. “I hate to see you hurt. Especially by that fucker Blaine.”
His voice goes rough at the edges, and the weight of it lands behind my ribs. I need to step away and put some space between us, but my body isn’t listening. Instead, I stay exactly where I am, pinned between the cool stone and the heat of him.
“I know we’ve been avoiding each other for years,” Marshall says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”
My heart stutters. It’s the first time either of us has admitted it out loud. We’ve been avoiding each other. And I can’t think about the reasons why, because it would be too damning.
“I care about you, Gabriel,” Marshall whispers. “A lot.”
And then he leans down and kisses me.
It’s chaste at first, just his lips against mine, soft and searching. But I can’t help myself. I part my lips, inviting him deeper, and when our tongues meet, I let out a moan that’s embarrassingly needy. My hands fist in his t-shirt, pulling him closer, and Marshall groans against my mouth.
His hands settle on my hips, pressing our bodies together. The heat of him seeps through my clothes, and I’m already half-hard, just from his mouth on mine and his hands holding me.
Marshall has just broken our agreement. And I let him.
11
Marshall
I break the kiss and pull back. My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath, and the terrace tilts slightly under my feet.
“Marshall,” Gabriel breathes against my mouth. “We shouldn’t.”
“Yeah,” I nod, my forehead still pressed to his. “You’re right, we shouldn’t.”
We both lean in at the same time.
His mouth crashes into mine, and I’m done pretending I have any control over this. My hands slide into his hair, and I angle his head so I can kiss him deeper. He makes a sound in the back of his throat, and it goes straight to my cock.
Gabriel’s the one who breaks it this time, turns his head to the side. “We should stop.”
“We should.” I’m panting as if I just ran a mile.
He looks at me, his whiskey eyes dark, his lips red and swollen. There’s a flush spreading down his neck, disappearing under the collar of his shirt.
I can’t help it. I lean in and kiss him again.
Gabriel responds immediately, his tongue sliding against mine. His hands fist in my t-shirt, pulling me in, closing the last bit of space between us.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard. Gabriel’s chest rises and falls rapidly against mine.
“This is just a distraction,” he murmurs against my lips.
The words should sting. They should remind me that I’m just a substitute, a way for him to forget about Blaine fucking Ashford. But I’m too far gone to care.
“Yeah, okay.” I grip his hips, my thumbs pressing into the soft fabric of his shirt.
I kiss under his jaw, dragging my lips down the column of his throat. His pulse hammers under my mouth, and I feel the vibration of his groan against my lips. I kiss lower, to where his neck meets his shoulder, and bite down gently.
