The door to the bathroom opened, and Dan was glad Graham had already put on the T-shirt and briefs Dan loaned him. Not that Dan’s body didn’t respond to the way the shirt pulled ever so slightly over the muscles of Graham’s chest and abdomen, making the peaks and valleys stand out in relief. But Dan would have had a hell of a time controlling himself if Graham had stepped out half-naked.
Dan knew Graham worked out nearly every day, in addition to running at least four times a week. But in spite of his beautiful body and handsome face, Graham seemed clueless about how good he looked. It made Dan wonder about his past.
“Feel good?”
“So much better,” Graham said in his deep rumble.
“I’m glad.” Dan took a few deep breaths and willed the ache in his groin to subside. Graham needed him to take this slowly, even if it would take all his willpower not to jump Graham the minute he got into bed. “Care to join me?”
Graham nodded, but his momentary hesitation confirmed his guess. Dan offered him what he hoped was a reassuring smile and took his hand. Graham lifted the covers, then settled onto the pillow.
“We take this as fast or as slow as you need,” Dan said.
Graham yawned. “Thanks. I appreciate that. Right now, that nap is sounding awfully good.” He pulled the comforter over his chest. Dan wanted to hug and reassure him, the expression he wore was so open and vulnerable.
Dan’s cell phone buzzed, and he snagged it from the bedside table. “Sorry. I should take this.”
“No problem.” Graham rolled onto his side.
“This is Dan. Oh, hey Carmine. … He does? … Right. I’m sure Lacey would love to spend the afternoon. … Yes, of course, she’d love that. I’ll bring her over. … Great. See you in a few minutes.”
“Problem?” Graham asked as Dan set the phone down.
“Not at all. That was Carver’s mom.”
“Lacey’s friend?”
“Right. Lacey’s invited to spend the day with them at the pool and stay over for dinner.” Dan slipped out of bed. “I’ll get her dressed and bring her over there.”
“Do you need any help?”
“Nah, why don’t you try to get some sleep?” Dan said. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Sounds good.”
Dan leaned over and kissed Graham. Graham smiled and closed his eyes.
“IS Mr. Graham going to be here when I get back?” Lacey asked as Dan helped her into her bathing suit.
“I hope so.”
“Mr. Graham is going to be my other daddy.” She said simply.
Dan chuckled. “I think it’s too early to tell, sweetie.”
“I can tell.”
He dropped Lacey over at Carver’s house, thanked Carmine for inviting her, and headed back home. When he opened the bedroom door, Graham was snoring softly. Dan kicked off his shoes and slipped into the bed. Graham rolled over and wrapped his arms around Dan but didn’t seem to wake.
Dan savored the warmth of the contact before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to overtake him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
DAN rolled over and realized there was someone next to him in bed. Graham. Right. He smiled and focused on Graham’s hip pressed against his own as they lay, side by side. How long had it been since he’d awoken to a man next to him? Too long. He hadn’t expected Graham to stay when he’d invited him. Surely he knew where this evening might end.
“You awake?” Dan said and rolled over to face Graham.
“Just.” Graham smiled softly up at him. His sleepy eyes betrayed a hint of hesitation. But he didn’t move to distance himself from Dan or get out of bed.
“Feel better?”
Graham nodded. “A lot better. Thanks.”
Tension zinged through Dan’s gut and radiated upward to his neck and shoulders. He sat up, breaking the contact of their bodies. How ironic that he’d assumed Graham would be the one to pull away. He wanted this badly, but he’d let Graham take the lead. “I’ll go make us some lunch.” Before he could get out of bed, Graham took his arm.
“Please don’t leave,” Graham said. “Not yet.” Graham didn’t hesitate this time. He pulled Dan closer and kissed him. The heat where their lips met spread throughout Dan. His muscles relaxed and he leaned into the delicious warmth of Graham’s body. Dan sighed and closed his eyes. “You said you didn’t need to know everything about me. But are you sure this is what you want?” Graham asked a moment later. “There are things I’ve done I’m not very proud of.”
He brushed Graham’s cheek. “We’ve all made mistakes. What matters is who we are now. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true.” He was ready to move on and embrace a life without Benn, even if it still scared him a little.
Graham nodded. “I’ve never wanted… I’ve never considered anything more than just sex with another man.” He sighed, but his expression remained open, kind.
“And now?”
“Now I want this.”
Dan considered his words carefully. He needed to make this clear to Graham, but he didn’t want to scare him off either. “When we met in Wilmington, I’d have been just fine with a one-nighter. But I need to be honest here and tell you that I’m way past that now. You’ve become a good friend, and I really enjoy working with you.”
“You’re worried if we do this, that’ll be the end of our friendship,” Graham said.
“Something like that.”
Graham nodded. “I get that. But I meant what I said about giving things between us a try. As more than friends and colleagues, and way more than a pickup.”
“And if things don’t work out?”
“We go back to the status quo.”
Dan was quite sure that was impossible, given how closely they worked together, but he was already too invested to stop. “Sounds fair.”
“Good.” Graham kissed him again, and this time Dan pushed him onto his back and explored his mouth. This close, the fresh smell of soap mingled with Graham’s heady masculine scent. Dan gazed down at him and smiled. “There’s some unfinished business between us.”
“Oh?” Graham raised a quizzical eyebrow. “And what might that be?”
“This.” Dan pulled down the briefs and straddled Graham.
“Phone?” Graham asked with a half grin.
“On silent. Lacey’s not coming home until around eight. That gives us plenty of uninterrupted time.”
“Second time’s a charm.” Graham met Dan’s gaze with a look of hunger and something else Dan couldn’t quite read.
Dan grasped Graham’s already hard cock in his fist and licked the tip. Graham inhaled sharply and his body tensed. Dan licked his lips for effect, then went back to work, exploring the slit before circling the glans. Graham’s cock was exquisite—long and arcing slightly toward his belly. He explored its veined surface with his tongue, taking care to follow that touch with his lips and licking the tip to taste the salty precome there.
In spite of his body’s response, Graham remained surprisingly silent. Graham’s eyes, as always, shone with emotion, as though an ocean hid beneath, to spill out if someone could bring down the dam.
Dan moaned as he sucked, willing Graham to show him even the tiniest opening, working his way up and down, combining teeth with lips and tongue. He ran his fingers over Graham’s athletic thighs, tracing their surface, circling but never venturing closer to the prize of Graham’s balls.
Come on, Graham. Show me what you’re hiding.
Dan increased the suction and at the same time, ran his thumbs between Graham’s legs and his sac, teasing him but not making direct contact. Graham tensed, his breaths coming in stutters, but still he remained silent. Dan was sure he was fighting giving in, and that made the whole thing hotter.
Dan released Graham’s cock and slid his lips down the base to Graham’s balls and sucked them gently inside his mouth. He reached behind and gently scraped the skin there, then moved on toward Graham’s hole, eliciting a gasp.
That
’s it.
He pressed gently on Graham’s opening but didn’t breach him. Instead he left his finger there along with the hint of pressure and continued to suck and lick at Graham’s balls. With his other hand, he stroked Graham’s cock, which was still hard and weeping.
That’s right.
Graham tensed and relaxed again. Dan turned his attention back to Graham’s cock, releasing the pressure from his finger and ghosting his hands over Graham’s thighs upward to his chest. He found one nipple, then another, and brushed them gently at first, then harder until he was pinching them.
“Holy fuck,” Graham hissed.
Dan smiled around his cock, but he didn’t slow down. He hummed happily, creating vibrations, and upping the pressure while he played with Graham’s chest, alternating between pinches and gentle rubs.
“Dan, you’re going to make me come!”
That’s the idea. Dan’s neck and shoulders stung with the effort, but he didn’t let up. Over and over he moved hands, tongue, mouth, and lips. Payback for leaving you high and dry before. He chuckled at the thought, sending more vibrations.
Graham shouted and shot into Dan’s mouth. He grabbed Dan’s shoulders and held on as though he’d fall into an abyss. Dan licked his lips and watched as Graham shuddered, then relaxed and fell backward onto the bed. The blissful relief on Graham’s face was more than worth the sore shoulders Dan would have in the morning.
“That was what I missed out on after the tri?” Graham said with a rumbled laugh. “Shit. I should never have let you go that easily.”
“I’m hoping someday I’ll live down that epic fail.”
“How about we up the ante?” Graham’s eyes smoldered.
“What’s the game?”
“Condom?”
Dan raised his eyebrows and inclined his head to the bedside cabinet. Graham got to his feet, giving Dan a view of his perfect sculpted ass. Training for triathlons is a beautiful thing. Graham’s muscled calves strained as he dug into the drawer and retrieved the condoms and lube Dan had bought in hopeful anticipation of this moment.
“What now?” Dan only half attempted to hide the grin that threatened to spread over his face.
“Now we have to figure out what to do about it.”
“Oh.”
Graham winked and ripped open the package. “I’m thinking maybe you might be able to do something with it.”
“What would that be?”
Graham leaned over and stroked Dan’s cock a few times, then playfully licked it. Dan exhaled as he worked thumbs and tongue down his shaft. God, he could watch Graham move all day long.
Graham was beautiful. But Graham’s chiseled jaw and perfect cheekbones weren’t what made Dan’s heart pound. He loved how Graham nibbled his lower lip when he focused on something. And the slightly awkward way Graham moved when he was aware someone was watching him was the sexiest thing.
Graham turned back to the bed, lips pressed together in a half smirk. “I’ve been working on this,” he said, and popped the unwrapped condom into his mouth.
“Oh fuck.”
Graham climbed onto the blankets and pumped Dan’s cock—as if it needed any help!—then leaned over and covered it with his mouth. Dan held his breath as Graham pressed the condom onto the crown and began to work it with his lips. And work it, and—
Graham spit out the condom and fell backward onto the bed, laughing. When Dan realized what had happened, he also began to laugh.
“And you thought you had Casanova in your bedroom.” Graham laughed and coughed and shook his head.
The words were perfectly geeky and just, well, perfect. Dan grabbed Graham and they both tumbled backward onto the pillows.
“Did you really practice that?” Dan asked.
“Nope. But I’ve always wanted to try.”
He didn’t want to embarrass Graham, but Dan felt pretty good knowing Graham was comfortable enough with him to try. “You can practice on me” was all he said.
A minute later, armed with another condom that he managed to put into his mouth with the open side down, Graham did exactly that. It took four tries in the end, but each try felt amazingly good. When he’d finished, Graham looked up, and this time he grinned.
“Bravo.” Dan chuckled, but the lighthearted mood fled quickly as he locked gazes with a very focused, very serious Graham. A very serious, hot as hell Graham.
Graham snagged the lube and slicked up his hands. With one, he worked Dan’s cock, and with the other, he began to work himself open. Even as he moved, he never stopped looking at Dan, who shivered and licked his lips. The way Graham could shift so quickly from big, silly kid to completely focused, in-control man fascinated Dan. There was something deep to discover beneath Graham’s confident veneer, as though he hid an essential part of himself from the world.
Graham said nothing, but he leaned over and snagged Dan’s lips as if to say “I am the center of your universe right now.” Dan willingly obliged and grabbed ahold of Graham’s upper arms. Graham’s face lit with a brilliant smile that created tiny lines around his beautiful green eyes. No wonder he was falling for this man….
Graham settled slowly onto Dan’s cock, his expression changing as momentary pain blossomed into pleasure. Again, Dan sensed a hint of fragility beneath the take-charge attitude, a silent Do you want me? punctuating strength and determination. Dan sighed and let himself drown in Graham’s eyes as he seated himself fully.
Dan held tight as he began to move. “So good.”
His lips quivered, but his face remained impassive. He leaned in and licked one of Dan’s nipples. Dan sighed his approval as Graham picked up the pace.
Dan dug his fingers into Graham’s biceps and willed himself to ride the wave and not give in to it. Not yet. He lifted his hips and drove into Graham with the next movement, surprising Graham, who whimpered and moaned. God, he could learn to love it when Graham let himself go like that!
Over and over Dan moved with Graham, at the edge of climax, tiny silver specks scattered over his vision. “So tight,” he gasped. “So fucking good.”
Graham tightened with these words, sheathing Dan in heat. Sweat beaded on Graham’s brow, and his breaths grew faster. His cock reasserted itself, stiffening as they moved in tandem. Dan grasped it at the base and slid his thumb and forefinger over the tip, working it in rhythm.
“Yes.” The word seemed to surprise Graham even more than Dan, because he blinked and stopped breathing for just a second before a smile that reached his eyes spread over his face and shone bright. “Harder. Please. Harder.”
Dan happily obliged and squeezed even as his own orgasm reached a crescendo. He came in an explosion of pleasure as Graham spilled over his fist. For nearly a minute, they didn’t move; then Graham grasped the condom before it could spill its contents. He was back a moment later and pulled the covers over them both.
He’d been drawn to Graham for so long, and satisfying his physical need had done nothing but stoke his emotional one. He wanted Graham to stay longer than the night. What if he stayed around forever?
Chapter Twenty-Three
GRAHAM looked up at the knock on his office door. “Come.”
Terri held up a stack of reports as she walked inside. “Quarterly is due to the accountant at the end of the week.” She dropped the reports on his desk.
“Good news?” Graham asked.
“The best. Revenue is up nearly 20 percent over last year at this time. Our caseload’s up too, but with Dan and the new hires pulling their weight, even the support staff seem to be pleased.”
“I’d like to give out bonuses this year.”
She stared at him. “Three years now we’ve argued about this, and now you tell me you want us to do bonuses?”
He laughed and shook his head. “You just said it. The firm’s doing well and revenue’s up. Now’s the time to make sure our folks don’t feel inclined to take all that hard work and move on.”
“I know, but—”
&nbs
p; “But you figured we’d at least have to argue about it.”
She nodded and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “I’m speechless.”
“That would necessitate not talking,” he pointed out.
She glared at him, but she was still smiling. “What the hell happened to my partner and who the hell are you?”
“Would you feel more comfortable if I grumble?”
“Something happened,” she said and crossed her legs.
“Why would you think—”
“You and Dan. That’s it, isn’t it?”
He laughed.
“I’m right. You and Dan, you did the deed?”
“He and I are dating,” Graham corrected. “The rest of it is none of your business.”
“Fair enough. But… shit, Graham, when did this happen?”
He silently congratulated himself that she hadn’t figured it out.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said before he could answer. “You’re thinking you pulled one over on me.”
“Just because you like to talk about the women you date over drinks,” he said with feigned indignance, “doesn’t mean that I have to do the same.”
She stood, picked up a report, and hit him over the head. He laughed until he had to wipe tears from the corners of his eyes. Then she did something totally unexpected. She threw her arms around him and hugged him.
“I can’t think of two better guys,” she said when she released him from her embrace.
“We’re dating, Terri. Not getting married.”
“Good. Because that’d take the wind right out of my sails,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t see why….” He stared at her. “You… and Beth… you’re…?”
“Have I ever told you how great it feels when I finally out-talk the smoothest talker I know?”
“Terri….”
“Yes.” She grinned. “Beth proposed, so I’ll be needing a best man.”
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