Page 55

KEYS JINGLING IN the lock of his front door pulled Atticus from sleep.

He’d covered a shift at the brewery after Sammie had called him desperate for help, and by the time he’d come home, showered, and shoveled some leftovers into his face, his eyes had been drooping and his limbs had felt heavy as lead.

He’d flopped down on the couch, fallen asleep to the comforting vibrations of Vash purring on his chest.

Atticus lifted his head, barely coming awake as Kai opened the door. A burst of cold air slipped in with the other man, a shock against the bare skin of Atticus’ torso. He hadn’t even managed to get fully dressed after his shower, opting to nap in nothing but a pair of gym shorts.

“Hey,” Kai said, his voice soft as he kicked off his shoes by the door, unwrapping himself from his many layers.

It wasn’t even that cold out, but Atticus had come to learn that Kai had zero tolerance for any temperatures below sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

A thick outer coat, mittens shoved into the pocket.

A cozy, knitted beanie. An old red scarf.

Unwrapped himself just like a present. Atticus grinned wide.

“Hey,” he said. “How was the flight?”

“Long,” Kai grumbled, turning toward Atticus and revealing the sweatshirt he’d been wearing underneath all his winter gear.

It was an old one that he’d pilfered from Atticus’ closet a few weeks prior, branded with his high school team’s mascot.

More and more of Atticus’ clothes had been disappearing, only to show up on his boyfriend a short time later.

It made Atticus insane, seeing Kai in his clothes. They were always too big, always hung off of his smaller frame, hiding Kai in a way that made Atticus want to tear them away and reveal what was beneath. He’d never been patient when it came to unwrapping presents.

Kai trudged across the dark room. The sun had gone down while Atticus was napping, and the only light left came from a lamp in the far corner. Atticus reached out as Kai closed the distance between them, latching on to his thigh the moment he was close enough.

“Shoo,” Kai muttered, pushing Vash off of Atticus’ bare chest. “My turn.”

Their kitten wasn’t much of a kitten anymore. She’d grown considerably, her body long and lithe. Her eyes hadn’t changed though, still that same searing gold, just a shade off from Kai’s. She narrowed them at him as she leapt away.

Kai sighed deeply as he lowered himself onto the couch, curling up against Atticus’ chest as though he were a cat himself. Atticus wrapped his arms around Kai, holding him tight, letting his warmth seep into him.

“I heard from Theo on the way here,” Kai said, his words a light rumble against Atticus’ chest. “He started a group chat with me and Ori.”

“Oh yeah?”

Kai nodded. “He told us he’s going to propose. Said he’s been planning to for a while.”

Atticus twirled a lock of his boyfriend’s two-toned hair around his finger, the ends still the same soft pink that they had been for a while now, and chuckled. “Was he getting your permission? ”

“I think so, in a way,” Kai said with a shrug. “I think he was waiting for me.” He left the second half of the thought unspoken, but Atticus knew. Theo had been waiting, hoping , that in some way, even if it was small, their little friend group could mend the rift that had cracked between them.

“I think he’ll be happy to have you be a part of it all,” he said softly. Kai only hummed in response, and Atticus wondered if he was beginning to fall asleep.

He was proud of Kai. It had been hard, watching the man he loved struggle to have any sort of relationship with the people that had hurt him.

But Kai had tried. Really tried. Closure had done wonders for him, bringing out a more carefree side of Kai that made Atticus’ heart trip with affection.

And Atticus thought that he was better off for it.

He’d seen firsthand how letting go of the anger and bitterness had lit something within Kai that had been close to dying out.

Worry over Kai’s feelings for his ex had also ceased long ago.

Atticus heard the words I love you fall from Kai’s lips every day, felt that love in every touch, saw it in every expression.

Kai had let go of the things that had held him back for so long, and Atticus got to be the one standing next to him while he’d done it.

“I’m glad you’re back,” he said, smiling against the top of Kai’s head. Kai only let out a soft sound of agreement. It had been a week since they’d seen one another, a business trip taking Kai to New York. “Did you stop at home first?”

“Came straight here,” Kai mumbled. Atticus clicked his tongue.

“Interesting,” he mused. “It’s almost as if you don’t even need that place anymore.”

Silence from the man curled on top of him.

“It’s almost as if everything would be easier if you, oh I don’t know, moved in here.”

He felt a sharp pinch on his side and flinched away from the touch, laughing.

They’d had similar variants of the same conversation countless times at this point. When Atticus had first asked Kai about moving in, Kai had responded exactly how he’d expected. He had asked for time to think about it.

And Atticus was giving him time to think about it.

But he’d found that just because he was giving Kai time didn’t mean he had to keep his mouth shut.

In fact, Kai didn’t really seem to mind at all if Atticus kept bringing the subject up.

Almost as if he knew it was just Atticus’ way of keeping himself from getting too worried about it.

As long as Kai wasn’t flat out saying no , that was a good sign, right?

“I’m just saying, half your stuff is here anyway, and Vash doesn’t act the same when you’re not around, and you really are here most of the ti-”

Kai silenced him with a kiss.

It was searing, possessive and harsh, making up for all the days they’d just spent apart.

Atticus moaned softly, the sound pulling from his chest as Kai licked into his mouth before tugging his lower lip between his teeth and biting down.

Atticus’ hands found Kai’s hips, slipping under the waistband of his sweatpants, fingers digging into the soft flesh there as pain lanced through his lip.

Kai’s nails dug into his shoulders, clawed at the skin there as he moved lower, kissing and nipping along Atticus’ jaw, down his neck, across his chest.

“You’re just trying ah-, ” Atticus gasped out, cutting off with a choked sound as Kai’s teeth bit down on his nipple. He sucked in a harsh breath as Kai kept going, his mouth trailing lower and lower down Atticus’ body. “You’re just trying to distract me.”

Kai glanced up, meeting Atticus’ gaze. The look in his eyes was heated, something predatory that made fire coil low in Atticus.

“Is it working?” Kai asked, punctuating the question by pressing his palm to the bulge in Atticus’ shorts.

He squeezed, and Atticus threw his head back against the arm of the couch, another gasp ripping from his chest.

“Yeah,” he panted. “It’s working.” He wasn’t thinking about the question he’d asked Kai, not anymore. Atticus wasn’t thinking about anything at all, his focus entirely captured by every place where Kai brushed and burned against his skin.

Kai tugged at the band of Atticus’ shorts, pulling them down as he lifted his hips. Atticus’ dick sprang free, already half hard, and Kai leapt on him. Atticus saw stars as Kai licked at the tip, sucking it into his mouth before pulling away, running his tongue down the length slowly.

Atticus’ chest heaved with every breath, the air tearing from his lungs, searing his throat as Kai sucked at the base of his cock. It was painful, a twisted sort of pleasure, and something blazed in his mind knowing Kai was marking him somewhere only the two of them would ever see.

By the time Kai moved back up, taking the head into his mouth once again, Atticus had begun to lose control. His hips bucked of their own volition. Kai’s hands moved to press him down, fingertips digging into his hip bones.

“Don’t move,” he said, his voice low and commanding. His breath ghosted across the tip of Atticus’ cock, sending a shiver through him as Kai pinned him with a wide, feral stare. “Be good, and maybe we can talk about it when I’m done.”

The bossy tone that Atticus loved best, the side of Kai that only he got to see, the voice only he got to hear.

He fought to hold still, to keep his hips from rutting up again.

It took every ounce of his slipping concentration.

Kai’s touch on his hips turned soft, his fingers trailing gentle lines down Atticus’ thighs.

“Good,” he said, voice velvety, almost a purr. “Just like that.”

Atticus breathed hard through his nose as Kai returned his attention to his cock.

“Fuck,” he muttered as Kai took him in deep with one swift motion.

The whole scene was filthy, something out of his dreams. Kai, backlit by the low light of the lamp, the bobbing of his head slow, so agonizingly slow, hair falling out of the tie he’d pulled it back with, framing Atticus’ cock before it disappeared into his mouth again and again.

The wet heat of Kai’s lips around him was too much, and Atticus’ thighs began to tremble as he fought to keep himself still.

He clawed at the couch, desperate for anything to grab onto, anything to tether him to the moment. A hand wrapped around his wrist. Kai brought Atticus’ fingers to his hair, and despite the way all coherent thoughts had emptied from his mind, Atticus knew instinctively what to do.

His fingers tangled into Kai’s hair, gripping hard, pulling a moan out of him that vibrated through Atticus’ cock and brought him dangerously close to the edge.

His head banged back against the couch arm again, his grip on Kai’s hair tightening even more.

A hand wrapped around the base of his cock, smearing the spit and pre-cum that was leaking past Kai’s lips.

Wet fingers trailed past his balls, pressing against his entrance. Kai pulled away, lifting his face to hover over Atticus’ red and aching cock.

“Look at you,” he said, a small, sharp smile tilting up the corners of his wet lips. Atticus’ dick twitched as their eyes met, as Kai’s gaze burned all the way to his core. “Falling apart so fast.”

“Kai,” Atticus gasped out. He was close, so close, desperate for release. “ Please .”

Kai’s smile widened for a fraction of a second, a flash of teeth, before he took Atticus back into his mouth, sinking down onto his cock until Atticus could feel himself hit the back of Kai’s throat.

At the same moment, the two fingers that had been working his entrance open plunged into him.

Kai knew exactly where to press, hitting the spot that had Atticus’ vision flaring white in one fluid motion.

Atticus spilled down Kai’s throat, a cry tearing from him as his back arched.

Kai held his hips down with one hand, grip bruising, as he continued to rub his fingers against Atticus’ prostate, working him to the point of overstimulation.

Atticus moaned Kai’ name, again and again, until it became a prayer falling from his lips.

Kai finally pulled off of him, a choked gasp leaving Atticus as his boyfriend moved back up his body.

Atticus watched in awe as Kai came closer, his cheeks flushed and lips swollen, eyes gleaming in the low light.

Kai pressed a thumb to Atticus’ bottom lip, tilting his chin until Atticus’ panting breaths fanned out hot between their faces.

Lips pressed to his own, and Atticus tugged Kai closer.

Kai’s mouth opened, Atticus’ own cum spilling past his lips, and Atticus groaned as the bitterness filled his mouth, mixed with the taste of Kai, overwhelming his senses.

Their tongues met, Kai pressing into him, making sure Atticus drank in every last drop of himself.

The kiss turned rough, bruising, before Kai finally pulled away.

“So good for me,” he said, voice low and a little raspy. He brushed his thumb across Atticus’ cheek, expression considering, that small, feral smile still playing on his lips. “Okay.”

Atticus cocked his head to the side. “Okay?”

Kai nodded, nuzzling his face into the crook of Atticus’ neck. “I’ll move in.”

Atticus flipped them over, grinning wide as he perched on top of the smaller man. Kai was trying and failing to hide his own wide smile, and seeing it sent heat coursing low in Atticus once again despite the fact that he’d just received the best blow job of his life and was so thoroughly spent.

Kai had finally, finally agreed to move in with him. Atticus couldn’t keep the dumb smile off of his face as he rocked his hips, grinding his ass down on Kai’s still-clothed cock, pulling a wrecked laugh from him.

“We need to celebrate!” Atticus rocked his hips again, reveling in the way Kai looked up at him, eyes raking up and down Atticus’ body.

“Is that not what we already did?” Kai asked, voice catching as Atticus continued to grind against him, hands wandering up under his sweatshirt.

“Doesn’t count,” Atticus said simply. “I didn’t know you were gonna say yes this time. Gotta celebrate proper now.”

Kai laughed, the sound of it light and full of cheer and if Atticus never heard another sound in his life, well, that would be okay.

Because hearing Kai so happy, seeing him let go in a way that he really only did for Atticus, it made something in his chest swell so large he thought he might pop like a balloon.

“Okay,” Kai said, reaching up to tug Atticus down, pressing their lips together lightly. “Let’s celebrate then.”

Heat flared back to life in Atticus, coiling low in his abdomen as Kai kissed him, as he pictured the way he was about to look while Atticus rode him. Things were just starting to heat up once again when they both heard a sound that had them breaking apart, eyes wide.

“No,” Atticus said breathlessly.

They heard it again.

Mrrrow .

The small meow came from outside, barely audible. Vash had walked over to the back door, her head tilted to the side knowingly.

“ No ,” Atticus said again. He couldn’t believe it .

Kai moved suddenly, pushing Atticus’ bulk off before scampering across the house, his socked feet sliding across the wood floors as he hurried to stop and pull the back door open.

Atticus was fully naked, and it was chilly outside, but he followed anyway, popping his head through the doorway.

It was already too late. Every protestation, every reason he could think of to not take in another one died on his lips.

Kai stood on the back patio, a tiny black kitten curled in his arms. The look on his face as he stroked the wispy fur told Atticus that the decision was already made.

“Come on,” he said. “Bring it in.”

Kai smiled wide, and Atticus couldn’t help but grin back at him.