Page 7 of Hot Chicken (Sunday Brothers #6)

Gage’s whole body shuddered as he let himself be pulled back against me, like he was as relieved by the contact as I was.

“I know about Boston. About the job.” He added quickly, “I wasn’t spying, I swear.

I went to print some stuff for the science booth from your laptop yesterday morning, and I saw the subject line of an email that said JOB OFFER and that it was from your old boss?—”

“Hey. It’s okay.” I held him tighter. “I don’t keep secrets from you, you know that.” I ran my nose up and down the side of his neck. The scent of our bodywash on Goodman’s skin settled something deep inside me. “I was waiting to talk to you about it when the time was right, that’s all.”

He turned in my arms, eyes stormy. “And when did you think would be the right time to tell me you wanted to move to Boston?”

“That I wanted to move?” I frowned, trying to follow his train of thought. “I didn’t. I don’t. I thought maybe you would. Short-term. ”

His eyes narrowed. “But… but… I don’t understand,” he admitted.

I shook him gently. “Next time you’re not spying , baby, read the whole email.

Rick’s offering me a three-month project, starting in August. I thought you might enjoy a change of scenery.

Or not.” I shrugged. “Either way is fine with me, but—hold up. What did you think was happening here? That I was… moving away and leaving you behind?” I laughed, not because it was in any way funny, but because the idea was so absurd.

“No! Of course not.” He placed his hands on my chest over my T-shirt and admitted, “In fact, my first thought when I saw the email was, ‘ Sorry, Rick, Knox and I are busy in Vermont, so you’re shit out of luck. ’”

I half smiled. “Exactly.”

“But then… then I heard you tell Betty Ann that change is necessary, and moving is the best idea, and I?—”

I slid my hands up to cup his jaw. “The best idea for Charlie . We were talking about her grandson.”

“I know! I got that. But the way you said it made me think.” His fingers traced patterns through my shirt front that were highly distracting, though he didn’t seem to realize what he was doing.

“You used to have all these plans, Knox, I know you did. Career plans, travel plans. And you only came back to Little Pippin Hollow because Drew needed you?—”

“And because I was having debilitating panic attacks,” I reminded him wryly. “Let’s not forget those.”

“And then I came to the Hollow, and we got together?—”

“Fell in love,” I corrected softly. “One hundred percent, incontrovertibly.”

Gage took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said softly.

Then, more confidently, “Yeah, we did. But being in love with me doesn’t mean all the other dreams you had went away.

So, I started to worry that deep down, maybe you’d been missing out on other stuff because you know the Hollow is where I want to be.

That I’ve been a selfish partner to you because it never even occurred to me to ask.

And that you’ve been feeling some kind of way and thought you couldn’t talk to me about it. ”

“Gage Goodman, that might be the silliest thing you’ve ever said,” I informed him, conveniently ignoring that I’d had nearly the same worries about his unfulfilled dreams. “And I’ll remind you that you once spent a six-hour road trip overexplaining the plot of every Fast and Furious movie to me, so you’re clearing a high bar. ”

He scowled and tightened his fingers in my T-shirt. “If you’re gonna pretend not to know why I say ‘Hit the noz’ when I speed up to pass a car, you can expect me to explain. In detail .”

I laughed. “I love you. I’m in love with you. You couldn’t be selfish if you tried. And you’re my best friend. I talk to you about everything.”

“I know you love me. Of course I do. And I love you.” He bit his lip.

“It’s just that sometimes we’re having these amazing moments—like last summer during the fireworks and last Christmas when you dragged me on that amazing sunrise hike—and I think, ‘Shit, I could not be happier right now,’ and I look at you and…

I feel like you’re holding something back.

” He wrinkled his nose. “Okay, just hearing myself say that out loud, I know I sound ridiculous.”

“Baby,” I began, but then I wasn’t sure what to say. He was right that I’d been holding back. Those moments he’d mentioned, it had been on the tip of my tongue to ask him to marry me, but it hadn’t seemed quite right. Quite… special enough.

“Anyway, I guess I just want you to know that if you did want to move… to Boston or anywhere… I’d be sad for a minute, but I’d do it,” Gage said firmly.

“That’s what I’ve been wrapping my brain around for the last twenty-four hours.

I love our life here, but I love you more.

And… basica lly, you’re stuck with me, and I’m not letting you get away, so suck it up, buttercup, because this is your life now. Got it?”

The possessive edge in his voice made my heart race because he reminded me of… well, me , where he was concerned.

“You silver-tongued devil,” I teased. “So romantic.”

Gage wrapped his arms around my neck. “You like that, huh?”

“Mmm. It’s like if a stalker wrote Hallmark cards.”

He sighed. “My poetic genius is one of my best attributes and is sadly underappreciated around here.”

“Oh, I appreciate all your attributes,” I told him. I slid my hands down to cup his ass, which was firm and warm beneath the thin athletic shorts. “Some more than others.”

He gave an outraged squawk that might have been convincing if you weren’t close enough to see his teasing smirk or the heat kindling in his pretty, pretty blue eyes. Because I was, and because I could, I leaned in and kissed that smirk right off his mouth.

I’d intended it to be a quick kiss before we finished our conversation, but by the time I pulled back, we were both panting, and his eyes were unfocused.

“So… um. What were we talking about?” he asked breathlessly. His fingers crept up the back of my shirt.

I dipped my head and ran my tongue along the smooth, tan expanse where his neck met his shoulder. “Boston, I think? Something about that? I don’t know.”

“Right. Yes.” He tilted his head to give me better access and rubbed his growing erection against my hip.

“Fuck yes. Okay. We should… we should talk about that. Decide about that. Because if you… if you have dreams and… fuck, yes, do that again … and things you want to do in life… you tell me. Gage’s Dream Fulfillment Service. Limited clientele, open 24/7.”

There were all sorts of serious, mawkishly sentimental things I could have—and would much later—say in response to a statement like that, but at the moment, I couldn’t remember them.

“Come to think of it, there is one thing I want to do,” I growled instead, cupping him through the thin fabric. “And I think it will be very fulfilling to me, personally.”

“Yeah?” Gage’s hand slid up to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. “Tell me all about it.”

The invitation in his eyes was unmistakable, and I crushed my mouth to his, backing him against the wall beside the fireplace. His arms wound around my neck immediately, his body arching into mine like it had been more than a day and a half since I’d last fucked him.

Our kiss was a little bit desperate, a little bit relieved, and a whole lot devastating.

“Bedroom,” he gasped between kisses.

But I shook my head. “Too far. Seizing this dream right here.”

Gage’s laughter turned into a moan, and he thunked his head back against the wall as I dropped to my knees. “Oh, fuck. What has gotten into you, boyfriend?”

“You,” I said. One brief tug and his shorts surrendered to gravity. “It’s always only you.”

I took him into my mouth without preamble, loving the way he inhaled sharply and tangled his fingers in my hair. The salty, addictive taste of him, the breathy sounds he made, were familiar but more intense than usual, like every fucking sensation had been dialed up to eleven.

Apparently, a night on the couch was a powerful aphrodisiac.

“Fuck, Knox,” he groaned above me. “I need… I need…”

I knew exactly what he needed—and didn’t that make me feel ten feet tall, knowing I knew exactly what this beautiful man needed?

—so I released him just long enough to retrieve the lube we kept in the side table drawer.

Within seconds, I was on my knees again, working him open with my fingers and driving him crazy with my mouth until his abs were clenched and his thighs trembled.

“Oh, shit,” he breathed. “Shit. Knox, please?—”

I pulled off him just long enough to meet his gaze, the blue of his eyes so lust-bright it burned me. “You can take it, baby. Do it for me. Gage’s dream fulfillment service, hmm?” I tapped his dick against my tongue, and he whimpered. “Don’t come until I tell you.”

I lowered my head again, taking him deep and swallowing around his length while he muttered curses and obscenities that only fueled me. Because one of my favorite pastimes was figuring out exactly how to make the man I loved come apart on my tongue, on my dick, and in my ass.

When I was satisfied that he was right on the edge, exactly where I wanted him, I rose to my feet. His eyes were glazed, his cheeks red, his chest sweaty, like he’d been fighting a hard battle.

“So good for me,” I whispered, touching his cheek. Then I turned him and pushed his palms flat against the wall.

The sight of his tanned skin against the cream-colored paint he’d chosen when we’d first moved in— “I don’t know why it’s called Milkmaid White, Knox, and do not make it weird, okay?

”— did things to my stomach. Things that were beyond lust, and wanting, and even beyond the love I’d felt for him all those years ago.

Gage was part of my soul now. The very best part.

The fine, golden threads of him were woven so inextricably into the fabric of my family, my world, my life , that I couldn’t pluck them out if I tried.

He was it for me, forever. There would be no moving on, no matter what happened.

And maybe I wasn’t the best at telling him that in words—he was the serial-killer-poet of the two of us—so I needed him to know it now .

“I love you, Gage,” I whispered as I lined myself up and pressed into him slowly. “Always. Always. ”

“Yes,” he hissed, pushing back against me. “God, yes.”

Our style was usually playful and affectionate, with Gage sometimes laughing and teasing me until I came my brains out.

And that was perfect. Usually .

But right then, I knew neither of us was in the mood for that…

which was fucking convenient since I didn’t think I could have slowed down to save my life.

Something primal was spurring me on, urging me to claim the fuck out of this man.

My hands gripped his hips so hard I knew I’d leave bruises, and my mouth worried love bites into his shoulder and neck. Mine, mine, mine , always.

Based on the stream of nonsense coming out of Gage’s mouth and the frenzied way he was working his dick, he was feeling the same.

“Harder. Just like… oh, fuck, Knox. Yes. Yes. Fuck. Own me. Fucking ruin me.”

I was happy to oblige, driving into him with enough force to make everything on the mantel rattle. I wrapped one arm around his waist, knocking his hand out of the way, and found his cock hard and leaking. I gripped him firmly and stroked him the way he liked.

“C-close,” he warned, bracing his forearms on the wall as his body locked. “So fucking close.”

“Come for me,” I gritted out. “Let me feel it.”

Obedient for once, Gage came with a shout, his ass clenching my dick so hard that I couldn’t hold back either. I clung to his waist as my vision went wonky, trusting him to keep us upright… or at least upright-ish.

We stayed like that for a long moment, locked together, chests heaving, my face buried in Gage’s neck and his arms taking the brunt of our weight.

“Oh. My. Fuck,” he slurred. “Am I dead? Holy shit, I am. I’m dead. Damn. But you know, I’m okay with that. He died as he lived, thoroughly fucked.”

I laughed, though it sounded a bit wheezy. Figured Gage couldn’t go for long without teasing.

I carefully withdrew and turned him in my arms. “I love you. In case I didn’t mention that.”

“You did mention it.” Gage kissed me and pulled back, his face flushed. “Several times. In fact, you might say it was pounded into me.”

Laughing again, I admitted, “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Guess it’s just my lucky day,” Gage sighed.

Then he blinked, and his eyes met mine.

In unison, we turned our heads toward the mantel.

The fucking rooster stared back at us, his golden eyes glinting in the morning light. And I could’ve sworn—though I’d never admit it out loud—that the damn thing had moved to watch us.

“No,” I said out loud.

But it was too late. Gage’s eyes had widened and lit. “Oh my God! Is that what Hawk was talking about? All Jack’s little get-lucky comments?”

“ No .”

“The Cock of Good Fortune!” Gage crowed. “He specifically called it?—”

“Goodman.” I gripped his jaw. “I love you more than my life, but we are not calling it that .”

“Your brother gave us a sex chicken!” he said, delighted. “Is the fourth anniversary the Sex Chicken Anniversary? Way better than paper products.”

I shook my head. “Gage, I do not need a sex chicken in order to fuck you, and I resent the implication?—”

“Shhh. Don’t offend him.” Gage pushed his hand through my hair and held my hair back from my forehead. “I don’t want to know what happens when the Cock of Good Fortune gets angry.”

I rolled my eyes… but couldn’t help giving the rooster a sidelong glance that had Gage cracking up again… and his sweaty, naked, delightfully messy body pressed against mine. My spent dick gave a hopeful twitch.

“We should probably finish talking about Boston,” I said reluctantly, giving him a quick kiss. “Or not-Boston. I want to know what you want.”

Gage smiled against my lips. “Boston can wait. What I want… is a nice shower and possibly a round two. With you , in case that wasn’t clear.” His grin widened. “Because you and me together, in any capacity, is my idea of perfection.”

I stared at him for a long moment. Gage was right. Totally and completely right, as he so often was, though I didn’t always admit it. Him and me… that was perfection.

And when I really thought about it… there was nothing more special than every fucking day that we spent together. So what the hell kind of perfect moment was I waiting for?

“Boston can wait,” I confirmed, pulling him tightly against me. “But I’m warning you now, if you want a round two, we’re turning the damn rooster around.”