He tipped his head to the side. Gave him more room. More skin. More of himself to be kissed and tasted and claimed. His hands came up to rest on Landen's forearms.
Landen made a sound against his skin. Low. Approving. The vibration of it traveled through Adriel's whole body, settled somewhere deep.
His mouth opened on Adriel's neck. Sucked gently. Just enough to feel it, just enough to make Adriel's hips press back against him without permission.
They turned toward each other. Adriel didn't know who moved first. Didn't matter. One moment he was facing the window, the next he was facing Landen, close enough to see the dark of his eyes, the slight flush on his cheekbones, the way his mouth was slightly parted.
Then they were kissing.
Soft at first. Landen's hand came up to cup his jaw, thumb tracing his cheekbone, and Adriel made a small sound against his mouth that Landen answered with a deeper press of his lips.
Landen walked him back. Step by step, slow and deliberate, until Adriel's shoulders met the glass. The city glittered cold behind him, all those lights, all that distance. But in front of him was Landen; warm and solid and consuming, his body pressed against Adriel's, his hands in Adriel's hair, his mouth takingAdriel apart with that particular focus that Adriel was learning was entirely specific to him.
Landen kissed like he had all the time in the world. Like there was nowhere else he needed to be, nothing else he wanted to do, no one else he wanted to do it with. His tongue slid against Adriel's in slow, deliberate strokes that made Adriel's knees weak and his hands grip tighter at Landen's shoulders. He kissed and kissed and kissed, and Adriel let him, gave himself over to it, let himself be taken apart piece by piece.
He felt Landen grow hard against his thigh. The awareness of it moved through him like something electric. A jolt that started where their bodies pressed together and radiated outward, through his chest, down his arms, settling low in his belly.
Landen wanted him.
The thought should have been terrifying. It had been terrifying, earlier. But now, with Landen's mouth on his and the evidence of that want pressing hot against his thigh, it wasn't terrifying at all. It was something else. Something that made him bold.
He thought about the office. About the way Landen had looked at him, that dark intent gaze. About Landen's thumb at his lip, pulling down gently, slipping in. About the thing Landen had said, about Adriel'spretty mouth.
The words had lived in his head since then. Had played on repeat in the quiet moments.
Pretty mouth.
He debated with himself for a moment.
The part of him that wanted, that had always wanted, that was tired of being scared. And the part of him that held back, thatwaited, that braced for rejection. They warred in his chest for a handful of heartbeats.
Then he gathered himself and slid down.
Out of Landen's arms, down his body, down to his knees on the hardwood floor. The transition was sudden enough that Landen's hands dropped, confused for just a second, before Adriel looked up at him from where he knelt.
Landen's breath caught. Adriel saw it happen. Saw the shift in his expression; surprise first, and then something darker, something hungrier, something that made Adriel's pulse skip.
"Adriel." His voice was rough. "You don't have to…"
"I want to." The words came out suprisingly steady. He held Landen's gaze for a moment longer, letting him see that he meant it, that this was a choice, that he was exactly where he wanted to be.
Then he reached for Landen's belt. His hands shook slightly as he worked the buckle. But he kept going, kept moving, pulled the belt free and set it aside. The button of Landen's pants was next, then the zipper, the sound of it loud in the quiet room.
He looked up again.
Landen was watching him. His chest was rising and falling faster now, his breathing audible in the space between them. His hands were still hovering, still ready, still waiting for permission.
Adriel gave it. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Landen's cock through his boxers.
The sound Landen made was low and rough and exactly what Adriel wanted to hear. He did it again, feeling the shape of himthrough the thin fabric. Landen's hand finally landed on the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair.
"Fuck," Landen breathed.
Adriel smiled against him. Small and private and pleased with himself. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of Landen's boxers and pulled them down just enough.
Landen's cock sprang free, heavy and hard, the tip already wet. Adriel looked at it for a moment; taking in the size of it, the shape, the way it curved slightly. His mouth watered. His heart pounded. He wanted this. Wanted it in a way that surprised him.
He leaned forward and licked. Just the tip. Just a taste. Salty and warm and distinctlyLanden. He heard Landen's breath hitch above him, felt the fingers in his hair tighten just slightly. He did it again, longer this time, dragging the flat of his tongue across the sensitive skin.
