Page 84 of Smoky Mountain Dreams

“People see you every night up on stage.”

“Not really. They see someone doing a perfectly fine job.You seeme. Besides, nothing about the idea ofsupporting you through all this scares me, Jesse. Well, not in the bad way.”

“Scared in the good way, huh?”

“Firebender scared.”

Jesse smiled. “Bungee-jumping scared.”

“Up-on-stage-in-front-of-an-audience-who-really-wants-Lash-Hinkinsscared.”

Jesse rubbed their noses together. “Wanting-Christopher-Ryderscared,” he whispered.

Christopher’s heart soared, and he hooked his leg over Jesse’ship as if he could keep him there forever. “Falling-for-Jesse-Birch scared.”

“Yeah?” Jesse’s smile lit his whole face.

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Then we’re in agreement?”

“We are.”

Christopher took Jesse’s hand, stroking his knuckles withhis fingers, his eyes lingering on their joined hands. He inhaled deeply, themint and citrus of Jesse’s shampoo and basil pomegranate of his aftershavepinging the base, visceral memories of their recent encounters. When theykissed, Jesse gripped Christopher’s hair and tilted his head to go deeper,tasting his tongue and sucking on his lips.

“In my room,” Christopher muttered as he pulled away tocatch his breath. “Now.”

Chapter Seventeen

BETWEENHUNGRY KISSES TO MOUTHS, necks, and any skin they could reach, they gottheir clothes off in the nippy air of Christopher’s room. They dove for thebed, sliding under the covers and shivering from the cold. Jesse rolled on topof Christopher, rubbing their dicks together and smiling down at him with anexpression so hopeful that it made Christopher’s entire body ache to give himeven more to be hopeful for.

“Brr.” Jesse blew the word against the skin of Christopher’sneck, making him shudder from both the sensation and the cold. “Chilly in here,babe.”

“Yeah, I keep this room closed off during the day. Keeps theheating costs down,” Christopher whispered against Jesse’s soft shoulder, andthen mouthed his way across his collar bones. “Sorry.”

“Just means we get to cuddle up,” Jesse said, tucking hishand under Christopher’s body to grab his ass and haul their pelvises together.“You feel great.”

Christopher agreed with that sentiment and spread his legs,letting Jesse get even closer.

Jesse moaned and buried his face in Christopher’s neck. “Yousmell amazing. Love your shampoo. And your skin. Wanna take a pair of yourboxers home so I can smell you all the time.”

“Boxers might not smell great.”

“Clean ones will. But a T-shirt would be good too. Even lovethe way your pits smell.” He ducked and took a whiff, and then laughed. “Whatdeodorant do you use? Your shampoo. Soap. All of it smells like someonedrinking bourbon in an old library after they rolled around in mint.”

“You sure you like it? Sounds like you’re complaining.”

“Hell, no, babe. Fucking love it. Makes me hard.”

“It’s Miner’s Mint aftershave and some soaps I get at SMD. Iguess I’ll keep using them.”

Jesse groaned and shoved Christopher’s arm up in the air andburied his nose in Christopher’s arm pit. He moved down to nip along his ribcage, making him buck and laugh. “Ticklish!” Christopher exclaimed.

Jesse kept moving down, nipping and kissing alongChristopher’s tender side, and then shifting up to suck first one nipple andthen the other, pulling the covers over his head and working them untilChristopher gripped his hair and pulled him up for another kiss.

“Stop teasing and suck me off,” Christopher whispered.