Page 53 of Finley
But loved in a way he’d never known before. As a man. Andthisman made him feel like the best version of all of those people he had to be.
“Finn,” Brantley said as he brushed his lips over the top of his. “You slay me.”
Daniel’s fingers fumbled a little at the intensity of those words, and he wondered if Brantley could sense how much Daniel cared about him, even though it’d been such a short amount of time. He loosened the pants and ran his fingers under the elastic waist as he moved closer.
“So, is that a yes?”
Brantley rolled them across the mattress so he was on top and said, “Yes.”
When Brantley kissed his way down Daniel’s neck and sure fingers inched his boxers down, Daniel moaned and lifted his hips in an effort to hurry it along. Brantley raised his head and smiled, and Daniel couldn’t stop himself from rising up and recapturing that mouth with his own. He slipped his fingers inside Brantley’s pajama bottoms and shoved them down over his hips, and when he finally got his hands on his ass, the sound that left his professor could only be described one way—bliss. That groan was total bliss to his ears, so he squeezed him again, and Brantley dropped his forehead to the crook of his neck.
“God, Finn. Let me get out of these.”
Daniel reluctantly let him go, and they both kicked out of their clothes, their eyes locked, their breathing labored. When they finally came back together, every inch of Brantley lined up with Daniel, and he swore he could feel the pulse throbbing in Brantley’s cock as it rubbed against his own. He caressed all of Brantley’s bare skin, and when he got to his ass and squeezed it once more, Brantley grunted and nipped at his lower lip.
“Nothing else, huh?”
“Well, what’d you expect? I’m young and horny, and you feel amazing. I can’t help but— Oh, fuck,” Daniel said when Brantley placed his hands on the pillow by his head and started a slow body roll.
He parted his legs, and as Brantley nestled in between them, Daniel ordered himself to relax and enjoy. This wasn’t about sex for him; this moment was about getting closer to the man now running a hand down his arm.
“You’re so beautiful, Finn. A young, blond beach god with eyes the color of copper. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, and heaven knows I should tell you to go, but clearly, that ship’s sailed…” Brantley laid his head on Daniel’s shoulder and whispered, “I want you. And I’m selfish enough to keep you for as long as you let me.”
It was on the tip of Daniel’s tongue to say,Always,but he thought that it might freak Brantley out. So, instead, he wrapped his arms around Brantley’s waist and closed his eyes. As the weight of Brantley blanketed him, Daniel drifted off to sleep secure in the knowledge that if what he’d just said was true, then Brantley would be his—forever.
Chapter 16
BRANTLEY STARED AT his reflection in the bedroom mirror and told himself to stop overthinking. Stop overthinking and worrying about the couple of lines he could see on his forehead and around his mouth. He should start focusing on the fact that the man he’d wanted to come home for nearly a decade was waiting for him out in his living room. The same living room that man had pinned him to the wall of this morning.Shit.
He glanced at his phone, which was sitting on the bedside table, and thought about calling Jordan for a minute, but he shoved that thought aside because he’d be stuck on the phone for far longer than he wanted to be.
Come on, Hayes,he thought, giving himself a final once-over.You’ve got this. You’re the same man you were back then. Just with more…character.And with that, he forced himself to walk out the door and down the hall.
As he came around the corner, he spotted Daniel standing at the sliding doors, his hands inside his pants pockets as he stared out at the night sky. The lamp was casting a soft glow around the room, and when Daniel heard him and turned, Brantley nearly swallowed his tongue.
Damn.The man standing in front of him was both familiar and a complete stranger.A sexy stranger, but…wow.
Daniel had always been beautiful, but dressed in a lightweight grey suit and white shirt that had been left casually unbuttoned two down, he looked every inch the successful attorney he’d become. It was a side Brantley hadn’t seen until this very minute, and Daniel was so heart-stoppingly handsome that he took his breath away.
The other thing that was both new and arousing was that damn haircut. Brantley was so used to thinking of Daniel with the long hair that it was always a shock to see him with it short.
That by no means made Daniel look weird, as he seemed to think. In fact, the short hair on the sides only enhanced his cheekbones, and that full set of lips that Brantley had always enjoyed sucking and biting whenever he got the chance. And the longer spikes on top, which had been styled back with some product, still had the natural blond highlights in it, reminding Brantley that the sophisticated man standing in front of him was still the same Daniel he used to know. He realized he’d been staring and probably needed to say something, but honestly,How am I supposed to even think after being faced with all of that?
Seeming to understand his predicament, Daniel walked across the living room, stopped opposite Brantley, and brought a hand out of his pocket to finger the collar of his shirt. That was when Brantley caught sight of that leather strap around Daniel’s wrist again, and he wasn’t sure why, but it added to the sex factor too.
“You look,” Daniel started, and then bent to put his mouth to Brantley’s ear, “so fucking handsome. Jesus, Brantley.”
The cool, fresh scent of Daniel’s cologne made Brantley want to run his nose along his neck, but he turned his head and caught hold of the heated eyes locked on his instead.
“How am I supposed to sit across from you and eat?” Daniel asked.
Brantley ran a tongue along his top lip and then lowered his eyes to the open collar of Daniel’s shirt. He wanted to kiss him there.
“Especially if you keep looking at me like that.”
Brantley raised his eyes and then finally found his words. “I can’t believe you’re really standing here. I swear, sometimes, I think I’m dreaming.”
The wide smile Daniel used to flash at the drop of a hat appeared, and it made his heart ache.