Page 179 of Should Our Stars Collide

“If the shoe fits.”

Ash snorts. “Brat.”

“Yeah, so? What are you gonna do about it?” There’s an expectant gleam in his eyes, but Ash can’t stop looking at his lips, the memory of what they felt like against his still so fresh in his mind.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

Kieran blinks, taken aback. Then he shrugs again, grins, says, “That works,” and in the next second he has his arms looped around Ash’s neck, dragging him down. No finesse, no warm up, just Kieran being his impatient self.

Ash loves it. All of it.

Kieran’s lips are warm and—yes, impatient. The kind of desperate that makes Ash’s chest tighten. He has kissed people before—had his share of easy, forgettable moments—but this isn’t that. This feels like sealing the deal, agreeing to a covenant that asks for his heart and soul.

He’ll give both away without a second thought if it means he gets to keep this. KeepKieran.

The kiss isn’t particularly dirty, despite Kieran’s valiant attempts to deepen it. He demands access when Ash playfully denies it, nips at Ash’s lower lip in defiance, trembles when Ash graciously gives him his tongue. But it’s mostly sweet and playful and so, so different fromthat angry kiss in Ash’s office.

Kieran makes a frustrated sound, slumping in Ash’s embrace.

“What?” Ash asks, sounding breathless to his own ears.

“Just… I’m really horny, and you’re giving me these gentle, knee-melting kisses.”

Ash arches an eyebrow and delivers another of those gentle kisses. “Is that a complaint?”

“Yes and no?” He curls his fingers in Ash’s shirt and gives it a tug. “Either way, let’s take this to bed.”

Ash holds his wrists. “Perhaps we should take it slow?” He’s fucking dying here, but this is not his run-of-the-mill hookup. On top of that, Kieran’s never been with a man, and while Ash can’t even begin to guess where all this eagerness and confidence came from, he still has enough brain cells to realize that eagerness doesn’t equal something's gonna work. Even if Kieran watched gay porn on repeat after realizing his feelings, and then decided this is definitely something he wants to try, thatdoesn’t meanhe’s actually ready.

“Take it slow? Dude, the last few weeks have been one giant foreplay.”

That’s…not completely inaccurate. “Still, there’s no need to rush.”

“Hey, no one says we have to go all the way,” Kieran tries to sway him. “Just gimme something. Please?” The Bambi eyes make a comeback. “I want to feel you. To know you’re really here, with me.”

Ash turns his gaze heavenwards—to Kieran’s streaky ceiling—and, after a long pause where he loses the fight against his dark side, he hooks an arm under Kieran’s knees and scoops him up.

“Hey!” Kieran screams into his ear, feet kicking.

Ash carries him to the bedroom, which, given it’s the only one, wouldn’t be hard to find even if he hadn’t been here before.

“You wanted to go to bed, yes?”

“Go, not be carried like a blushing br-ah!-ide.”

After depositing him on his back, Ash slinks over him and pokes his flushed face with the tip of a finger.

“You are blushing right now.”

Kieran, blushing harder, looks like he may or may not attempt to bite the finger off. “Yeah, well, you—you, uh?—”

Ash drags his lips over Kieran’s neck, placing a kiss just under his jaw. “Yes?”

Kieran squirms, the movement causing their hips to touch. He’s so hard that even the brief contact is enough to let Ash know how much he wants this.

Loving to see him writhe, Ash slots their fronts together and rolls his hips. Slow, deep, hard.

Kieran’s hands fly to his shoulders, nails digging into the skin there. The flash of pain sends a zing all the way to Ash’s toes.