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CHAPTER ELEVEN

TAMERON

“He’s my boyfriend.”

That was the second time today I’d blurted something out, and both times, it had involved Dayton.

First, I’d offered on an impulse to be his wingman as he scored a hookup, and now I’d made him my boyfriend.

What the fuck was wrong with me? Why was my brain suddenly acting all weird when it came to Dayton?

“Boyfriend?” The guy looked from Dayton to me and then back. “I didn’t know…the market, babe.”

I missed some of that sentence, but it was probably something about Dayton being off the market.

And babe? Oh fuck, they knew each other? Jesus, what would Dayton do now? What would he think?

“Yeah, we’re pretty new,” Dayton said smoothly, sliding an arm around my waist. The casual touch sent sparks shooting through my body. “Sorry, Marcus. I wasn’t aware I needed to inform you of my relationship status.”

Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “You two don’t seem very coupley.”

Dayton’s arm tightened around me, pulling me closer. “We’re taking things slow.” His voice was warm and affectionate, and I had to remind myself this was all an act. “Tam’s still figuring things out.”

The nickname hit me right in the gut. No one called me Tam. Not even Nash. But coming from Dayton’s lips, it sounded…right.

“That true?” Marcus asked me directly. Luckily, he was facing me so I could read his lips.

I nodded, then realized I needed to sell this better. Following some instinct I didn’t know I had, I leaned into Dayton’s embrace. “Yeah. Day’s been really patient with me.”

Day? Where had that come from? But Dayton’s pleased smile told me I’d done good.

“Well, aren’t you two adorable,” Marcus drawled. “Prove it.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

“Kiss. If you’re really together, kiss.”

Was I reading his lips right? ‘He wants us to kiss?’ I signed to Dayton.

Dayton’s arm tensed around my waist. “We don’t have to prove anything to you, Marcus, let alone with a kiss.”

“No, you don’t. But if you don’t, I’m calling bullshit.”

I met Dayton’s eyes, seeing the question in them. He wouldn’t push this. He’d let Marcus call our bluff and deal with the fallout. Because that’s who he was—always putting others first.

But I didn’t want him to. Maybe it was the two beers I’d had, or maybe it was my bi-awakening earlier, or hell, maybe it was just being tired of fighting my attraction to Dayton. Whatever it was, I wanted this.

So I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him.

It wasn’t the gentle peck I’d intended. The moment our lips touched, something inside me ignited.

Dayton’s lips were soft but firm against mine, and when mine parted on a gasp, his tongue slipped into my mouth.

Heat exploded through me as I tasted a hint of the Coke he’d been drinking, but mostly pure Dayton.

His arm around my waist tightened, pulling me flush against him as he deepened the kiss.

I’d never kissed a man before, but holy hell, this was nothing like kissing women. There was no softness, no yielding. Just raw power and need as we devoured each other’s mouths. My fingers were still tangled in his shirt, and I used that grip to pull him even closer, wanting more. Needing more.

We broke apart, both breathing hard. Dayton’s pupils were blown wide, and his lips were red and swollen. Had I done that? Fuck, that was hot.

Marcus muttered something I couldn’t make out.

‘Get a room,’ Dayton signed to me.

Marcus wanted us to get a room? Well, so did I.

“Sorry,” Dayton said, but his voice was rough, gravelly. “Got carried away.”

I focused on Marcus so I could read his lips. “Yeah, I can see that. I guess I was wrong and you two are together. Well, enjoy yourselves.”

I barely registered him leaving. All I could focus on was the way Dayton’s arm was still around me, the way his body felt pressed against mine. The way his eyes had darkened with desire. I refocused on him.

“Tam…” His cheeks were flushed, probably as burning as mine. “That was…”

“Sorry about…”

“Don’t.” He swallowed hard. “Don’t apologize. But maybe we should talk about what just happened.”

We should. We really should. But not here. Not with this many people around and me having to sign. There was no way I could do this in ASL. ‘Can we get out of here?’

His eyes widened slightly. ‘You sure?’

‘Very sure.’

He studied me for a moment, then nodded. ‘My place or yours?’

‘Yours. Nash would never let me live this down.’

His lips quirked. ‘Neither will Dax, but at least he can’t hear us.’

Us. There was an us now. Holy shit, what was I doing? But for once in my life, I didn’t want to overthink this. I just wanted to feel.

The drive back to his place was silent but charged with a tension I’d never experienced. Every time we stopped at a red light, I could feel Dayton’s eyes on me, and it took everything in me not to turn and kiss him again.

My hands were trembling slightly, and I couldn’t tell if it was from nerves or excitement. Maybe both. This was so far outside my comfort zone that I should’ve been freaking out, but instead, I felt…alive. More alive than I had in years.

When we pulled into his driveway, neither of us moved for a moment. Then Dayton turned to face me. ‘Are you sure you wanna come inside? It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind.’

I met his eyes. ‘I want to talk to you.’

He made the sign for okay, and we got out of the car.

Once inside, we headed for the living room, where Knives immediately came running.

Dayton picked her up with one hand and nuzzled her as he sat on the couch.

I hesitated for a moment, then put my hearing aids back on.

As always, it took a minute or so to get readjusted, but Dayton waited patiently.

“What happened today?” he asked. “You said you had a bit of a weird day?”

I hadn’t planned on coming out to him, but after that stunt I pulled, I had little choice. “We watched The Mummy . It was…enlightening.”

His eyes widened. “You had the classic reaction to that movie?”

“You mean, did I realize I was bi? I sure did.”

He slapped his hand in front of his mouth, but I could still see the laugh crinkles around his eyes.

“It’s okay to laugh.”

“You sure? Because you’re allowed to tell me it’s not funny.”

I shrugged. “Pretty sure that when I tell the others, they’ll laugh their asses off too. Even Nash had trouble keeping his composure.”

“You told him already?” Dayton’s eyes widened.

“I tell him everything, so yeah. Right after the movie. He wasn’t surprised at all.”

“And now you’re here with me.” His expression grew serious. “After claiming me as your boyfriend.”

Heat crept into my cheeks. “Sorry about that. I panicked.”

“No need to apologize.” His fingers brushed over mine. “But we should probably talk about what this means.”

“You’re not angry with me?”

Something flashed over his face too quickly for me to make out. “No, not at all. We’re good, I promise.”

“You knew that guy.”

“Marcus? Yeah, we dated. Years ago. And we run into each other from time to time.”

A completely irrational flash of anger burned through me at the thought that they’d been together. “He’s your type?”

“No, but he scratched an itch. We weren’t good together, but we weren’t bad either. Just…good enough, I suppose.”

“What’s your type? In men, I mean.”

He shook his head. “This is not about me. This is about you and your type, what you want to do with your newfound attraction to men.”

Well, my type was Brendan Fraser. And Dayton. But hell if I was telling him that. I’d already shown way too much of my hand tonight. I needed to keep at least some dignity. “I have no idea what my type is…other than Brendan Fraser.”

He laughed. “He’s everyone’s type, straight, gay, bi, pan, and anything else. If you don’t like him, there’s something wrong with you.”

“I guess I’m not special, then, but I don’t know anything else.”

“You didn’t like Marcus? He’s considered attractive, objectively speaking.”

I could barely repress a shudder. “He’s too…glib. He’s a player.”

“That he is. He’s arrogant, for sure. But most guys don’t mind if they’re just looking for a quick fuck.”

I had cockblocked him. It only now registered with me that I’d failed as his wingman. Instead, I’d forced him to return home…without having scored. “I’m sorry I ruined your chances tonight. For scoring.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t really feeling it anyway.”

That was strangely comforting to hear. “I’m sorry anyway.”

“I got to kiss you.”

My cheeks heated at the memory. That had been an amazing kiss. One of the best I’d ever received, if not the best. Or was that because he was the first man I’d kissed and it was still so new? “Yeah. That was…”

I vaguely gestured, not having a clue how to put that into sign. Hell, I didn’t even have actual words.

“It was a great kiss.”

I perked up. “Yeah?”

“You didn’t think so?”

“It was fantastic. Ten out of ten. Five-star rating.”

One of the things I missed most when not wearing my hearing aids was the sound of laughter. Dayton had a great laugh. Very rich, melodious. I was glad I could hear it.

His laughter died down, but his eyes remained bright with mirth. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did.” I hesitated, then added, “I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

His expression shifted, growing more serious. His hands hesitated as emotions flashed over his face. Fuck, I’d crossed a line. I shouldn’t have asked. Offered. He’d made clear he wanted to be my friend, not some kind of experiment for me to explore my newfound bisexuality with. “Is that a no?”

“No. But we need to talk about this some more. Make sure we set clear expectations, that we’re on the same page. What do you want from this? From me?”

Those were all fair points, but I had no idea how to answer his questions. I dragged a hand through my hair. “I have no idea what I want other than to kiss you again.”

His eyes darkened. “That’s…very tempting.”

“But?”

“But I don’t want to take advantage of you when you’re vulnerable and still figuring things out.”

I snorted. “You’re not taking advantage of me. I’m a grown man who can make his own decisions.”

“I know that. But you’ve never been with a man before.”

“So? I’m not asking you to marry me. I’m asking you to kiss me.”

His lips twitched. “Just kissing?”

Heat pooled in my stomach. “Maybe more. If we both want that.”

“You want to explore your newly discovered attraction to men.”

And my attraction to him, but I wasn’t telling him that. I needed to know if I found him hot because I was into men now or if it was him specifically. It had to be the first, right? “Yes. Is that okay? Or is that wrong to say?”

“You think it’s somehow wrong to tell me you want to kiss me again?” His lips curved into a smile. “I’m not sure on what grounds I could possibly be offended by that.”

“Okay. I don’t know what I’m doing here, so I’m flying blind.”

His expression softened. “We can take it slow.”

“I don’t want slow.” The words came out before I could stop them. “I don’t want to rush into anything either, but… Fuck, I’m not making any sense.”

“You want to explore this new aspect of your sexuality without overthinking it.”

“Yes. Exactly.” I let out a relieved breath. “How do you always know what I mean?”

“Because I do actually pay attention to you.” His lips curved into a smile. “I’ve been paying attention since the day we met.”

Heat crept into my cheeks. “I was such a dick to you.”

“That’s in the past now. You were dealing with a lot, and I’m sure you had a hard time processing all those emotions. Grief is a bitch.”

Grief. Funny how that one label he chose fit so perfectly.

There had been anger, hope, acceptance, followed by more anger…

but all of it had been part of a grieving process for who I had been.

I would never hear again, never be a soldier again, never serve my country again.

The old Tameron was gone. Dead, in a sense.

And somehow, Dayton had captured that all in one word.

Grief. He truly understood. “Thank you.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For understanding.”

“You’re welcome. Can we now consider that topic closed? There’s no need to keep bringing it up. It’s done. You apologized, I accepted. Let’s move on.”

I couldn’t resist. “You’re that eager to kiss me again?”

He shook his head, rolling his eyes at me. “Sure, we’ll go with that.”

“If you’re not, I can find someone else who will?—”

My words were cut off when he wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled me in, covering his mouth with mine.

This kiss was different from our first one.

That had been all heat and passion, but this was slower, more deliberate.

His tongue traced my bottom lip before slipping inside, and I opened eagerly for him.

His hand cupped my jaw, tilting my head for a better angle, and holy fuck, the man could kiss.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. “That was…” My hands were shaking.

“Yeah.” His eyes were dark with desire. “Want to take this to my bedroom?”

My heart skipped a beat. “Yes.”

He stood, holding out his hand. I took it without hesitation, letting him pull me to my feet. As we walked to his bedroom, my nerves finally kicked in. What the hell was I doing? I’d never been with a man before. I had no idea what I was doing.

But then Dayton smiled at me, and all my doubts faded away. This felt right. This felt good. And I wanted more.

As soon as we were in his room, he closed the door behind us and turned to face me. “Are you sure about this?”

I nodded. “I want this.”

He stepped closer, his hands coming up to cup my face.

His lips met mine in a soft, gentle kiss.

It was a stark contrast to the heated kisses we’d shared earlier, but it was perfect.

I melted into him, my hands coming up to grip his shirt.

He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine, and I moaned into his mouth.

He pulled back, his breath coming in quick pants. ‘God, you taste good,’ he signed with one hand, the other still wrapped around my neck.

I smiled, my cheeks heating. Somehow, seeing him sign those words made them far more erotic than they would’ve been if I’d heard them. “So do you.”

He grinned, then leaned in to kiss me again. This time, his hands slid down to my waist, pulling me closer. I could feel his erection pressing against mine, and it sent a jolt of desire through me. I wanted more. I wanted everything.

I broke the kiss, my breath coming in quick pants. “Dayton…”

He looked at me, his eyes dark with desire. “Yeah?”

“I want… I want more.”