Page 16 of Find Me Again (KRK Security #3)

As Ryan fell onto him, completely spent, Neil grunted at the weight, but since he was still coming down from the high, he didn't seem to mind. He might even like it, if the way he slipped a hand into the back of Ryan's jeans and grabbed his ass to keep him close was any indication.

And Ryan let himself enjoy it all for the time being—the pleasure buzzing under his skin, the ease of his relaxed muscles, and the way Neil smelled, like cedarwood and warm skin, tempting Ryan to taste it, to lick into every dip of Neil's body and chase his scent.

He sighed, pleased with himself and the world, and felt Neil laughing under him before any sound escaped Neil's lips.

"I agree," Neil whispered into his hair and squeezed his ass in a way that really shouldn't be sexy.

And yet .

Scrunching his nose at the mess they were lying in, Ryan finally lifted himself reluctantly on all fours, careful not to fall off the seat, and looked at Neil, who was lying under him without care in the world, smiling softly and openly, as if nothing existed outside of this. Of them.

Which was a nice sentiment, even if completely untrue.

Ryan wasn't willing to snap out of it yet, though, determined to enjoy it while it lasted. He was in it already, after all. He might as well not sour it for himself by worrying and overthinking.

When he leaned in to press a short kiss against Neil's mouth, it turned into a slow and lazy slide of tongues, sloppy because of how wide their smiles were.

Way too soon, the clean-up became a necessity, however, so Ryan pulled away again and considered his options. He didn't want to destroy his hat or scarf, but they needed something to wipe themselves off—

"There should be wet tissues behind you in the door compartment," Neil told him, then added after a pause, "I went with my parents to pick up the Christmas tree a few days ago, and our hands were covered in resin and dirt."

Ah. Made sense . While Ryan had no right to wonder about any of the things—or encounters—his mind had initially pointed him to, it was still a relief to be proven wrong.

He wished it wasn't so, but that was a problem for another day.

Wet tissues definitely helped with the clean-up, even if it took some work to get them out of the packet, which was glued together with the resin. And Neil wasn't helping at all, instead running his hands up and down Ryan's thighs and distracting him.

Then they sat there, cleaned up and tucked back into their jeans, facing each other, and Ryan had no idea what to say.

It was Neil who leaned in, slowly, obviously giving him an out Ryan had no intention of taking. When their lips met again, he sighed into it, and let Neil lead.

There was no urgency in the kiss now, but there was still hunger, still a quest for more.

And Ryan was happy to give more and take just as much. As they kissed, his head was empty for a change, empty of anything other than this, right here, and the two of them in this exact moment. No past, no future, only here and now.

They kissed, and kissed, and kissed. Parting for breath was a brief pause, spent staring into each other's eyes—which was cheesy but also terrifying, as if they were about to jump from a cliff at any moment—or nuzzling each other's necks before working the skin there with teeth and tongue, not enough to make a visible mark, but enough to shatter any defenses Ryan had left.

When they finally sat back with some space between them, Ryan realized it was getting dark outside, which explained the shadows they'd been slowly engulfed in inside the car.

As he glanced at Neil, he saw him looking back with a smile, so maybe he thought about the same thing Ryan did—about how they used to do it all the time, getting lost in each other and often scrambling to get home to meet their curfew.

"I hope I still remember how to drive this road in the dark," Neil said, basically confirming Ryan's theory.

"You better, otherwise we're in trouble." He smirked. "Or you can let me drive, I'm sure I can manage."

"Uh-oh, now you've done it. There's no way my competitive spirit can let a challenge like that go."

"There was no challenge."

"Oh, please."

They both knew better, of course. Turning something into a challenge had always been the fastest way of getting Neil to do it, and apparently, it still worked.

"Either way," Neil said, growing serious, "I think we should get going before it gets really dark."

Ryan nodded, ignoring how his stomach fell. "Sure, yeah."

"I wish I could invite you to my place, but my parents are there, so it would become really embarrassing really fast."

Neil ran a hand through his hair, mussing it even more, and Ryan made a decision between one breath and the next.

"We could go to my brother's house," he said, trying and failing at nonchalance. "I have the place to myself, so at least we wouldn't give your parents—or mine—any ammunition to embarrass us."

Neil's face brightened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Ryan dropped his head to hide his grin in response to Neil's enthusiasm, but Neil cupped his face before lifting it up and dropping a kiss on his lips.

"Let's go, then," he whispered, yet instead of moving away, he dove in for another kiss, and another, and it couldn't be comfortable for him at that angle, but if Neil didn't mind, Ryan wasn't going to, either.

It took another few minutes before they managed to pull themselves apart for long enough to actually move to the front seats and get going. While the drive back was slow, Neil handled it just fine, and he was so proud of himself that Ryan had to laugh, amused.

Some things never changed.

Once they got to George's place, Ryan headed straight to the kitchen to put the kettle on. He'd been too distracted up there to notice, but now he was getting a reminder of how all the winter clothes were fine and good but didn't really change the weather. It was still freaking cold out there.

As he stood facing the counter and rubbing his hands together, Neil came up to him from behind and put his arms around Ryan's middle, fingers tangling low on his stomach.

"I swear, if you even think of putting your cold hands under my clothes, I'll put you down so fast," Ryan told him, even as he leaned back into the embrace. "Not a challenge, only a fair warning."

Neil laughed against his neck, huffing warm air onto his skin.

"I wouldn't dare."

"Smart." Ryan tilted his head so that Neil had more access. "This is good, though."

"Yeah." Neil kissed the tendon between Ryan's shoulder and neck. "This is great."

Closing his eyes, Ryan put his hands over Neil's, and they stood like that until the kettle was done.

They separated slowly— reluctantly , Ryan would dare to say—but not for long. Once they each had a big mug of tea, they headed towards the living room and nested on the couch with their backs to the opposite armrests and tangling their legs in the middle.

Neil went as far as tossing a blanket over them both, to Ryan's amusement.

"It wasn't that cold," he teased, although he still tucked the blanket on both his sides.

"Yeah, well." Neil pressed his mug close to his chest. "I spend most of the year in Georgia, so I pretty much forgot what true winters even are—or any normal seasons, really."

"DC definitely has seasons," Ryan said, pretending to ignore Neil's foot working his way under his ass. "But I'm not usually seeking out windy hills."

Neil smiled softly. "Only this one."

"Yeah." Ryan's heartbeat sped up at the mere look from this man. Jesus . He was so screwed. "Only this one."