Page 52 of Finley
“I have to grade these exams. School breaks up for vacation at the end of next week, and these need to be done. Can you give me an hour or two? Is that okay?”
Daniel stood and unbuttoned his shirt, and when it was all the way undone, he lowered to the beach lounger over by the railing. He climbed on and lay flat on his stomach, facing Brantley. Then he winked and pulled his sunglasses down.
“That’s more than fine. I’m just going to lie here and watch you while I think about later. Isthatokay?”
Brantley groaned and pulled some exam papers out of the bag on the table, the same one he’d been carrying around for years. And when he looked over at him, Daniel caught the smile he’d fallen for the first morning he’d ever woken at Brantley Hayes’s home.
DANIEL SMILEDAS he tiptoed around the balcony that surrounded Brantley’s house until he got to the side where the professor’s bedroom was. It’d been a little over three weeks since that night he’dhad the best fucking orgasm ever with my teacher—and every night since, he’d been coming around to Brantley’s house after studying and climbing through the guy’s window.His fucking window,he thought with a grin.
He remembered the first night he’d finished up late and practically run down the beach, only to find that all doors had been locked. But that light, the same one Brantley had told him that he would leave on if he was home, had been on.
As quietly as he could, Daniel had walked around the balcony until he’d found the three rectangular windows with the curtains half drawn and spotted his professor asleep in the wicker chair shoved into the corner of the room.
He’d looked fucking beautiful that night. His feet were propped up on a matching ottoman, and he had a book open on his lap over the light cotton pajama pants he was wearing, and Daniel stood there for a few minutes just to watch him. If he hadn’t been invited, it might have been creepy, but when those gorgeous eyes opened to find him standing there, a smile spread over Brantley’s mouth that was so breathtaking Daniel’s heart just about stopped.
That was the night he’d fallen for Brantley Hayes. And now, his professor left his window open so he could come to him whenever he could. Tonight was no different.
When Daniel reached the bedroom, he nudged open the window and crawled inside. He spotted Brantley in the large platform bed and crossed over to it. As he kicked his shoes off, he swept his gaze over the man lounging back against his headboard and took in every detail he could.
The ever-present book across Brantley’s lap made Daniel smile. So did the silky line of hair trailing up from his pajama pants. Daniel couldn’t count the number of times he’d wanted to ask him to take them off, but he hadn’t wanted to push his luck. He still couldn’t believe he was allowed to be there in the first place. But there he was.
He pulled his T-shirt off and tossed it over the chair before removing his pants and walking around the side of bed, where he stepped up and then knelt down carefully, so as not to startle the sleeping man.
As the mattress dipped under his weight, Brantley opened his eyes and a slow smile curved his lips. He held a hand out to him, and when Daniel slipped his hand inside, he closed his eyes and savored the warmth of that touch. Not only the physical, but the much deeper connection it brought with it.
“Studying late again, I see.”
Daniel shuffled forward on his knees and yawned. “Yeah, but I got it done.”
“Mhmm. Such dedication,” Brantley murmured as he moved the book from his lap to the bedside table. “You must be tired.”
Daniel slid beside Brantley into the bed and wondered why it all felt so right. From the moment he’d met his professor, he’d sensed a connection and chased it down with the tenacity of a bulldog. But the overwhelming sense of security he felt when Brantley turned the light off and embraced him was what was so unexpected.
He didn’t come from a bad home. He had a fantastic family. A loving mother and a sister who drove him crazy. But Brantley…he filled something inside Daniel that he hadn’t even known was missing. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight. Usually, you crawl in here, wake me up, and don’t stop talking until you pass out. Are you okay?”
Daniel nuzzled his face into the dark hair beneath Brantley’s cheek and then kissed a spot over his heart. “Yeah. I’m just enjoying this.” Then he stretched his body along the side of Brantley’s.
He chuckled. “So I can feel.”
“You’re so warm,” Daniel said, tracing a line along the fine trail of hair that led to the drawstring of Brantley’s pants. “Can we…”
Brantley craned his head up to look down at him, and Daniel flirted with the bow tied there.
“Can we what?”
He made sure to keep his eyes on Brantley’s as he slowly pulled the end of the tie. “Can we lose the pants tonight?”
When one of Brantley’s hands stroked down his hair, Daniel arched back into it and let his eyes fall shut.
“Nothing else. I just want to feel you against me. Naked and warm.” He held his breath, waiting to see what Brantley would do or say. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought his other hand up to cradle his face, and Daniel worked out exactly what he made him feel—loved.
Not as a son.
Not as a brother.
Not as a friend.