Page 19

19

Aran

My heart finally settles back inside my chest when Hex returns. He’s smiling and humming some kind of melody as he enters the lounge, but I can detect a hint of uncertainty under his good mood.

“Tien—”

“I know, I know! And I’m sorry that I didn’t pick up.” He pulls out his phone and shoves it in my face. “But I did it! With this, I can get us into that secondary network, I promise!”

I want to hug him. But I also want to shake him until his pretty head gets how worried he makes me when I have no idea where he is or what he is doing. It’s a character flaw of mine, I suppose, but it only ever gets so bad when it comes to him, which, in hindsight, should have clued me in ages ago about how deep this thing I feel toward him goes.

Taking a deep breath, I stand from the chair and ruffle his hair. “Good job. But keep me in the loop next time. If you can’t talk, send me a quick text… Anything.” I stifle down a sigh. Mostly. “I was really worried, and I didn’t know where to even look—”

His mouth shuts me up, hot and eager. His taste is sweet and dark at the same time, invading all of me as he prods past my lips with his tongue. I should stop this, but I can’t. It’s simply impossible. My body is alight within seconds, every nerve-ending singing as we deepen the kiss. Our tongues entangle, chasing each other like it’s a life-or-death matter. It’s the best feeling ever, the adrenaline and arousal within me mixing into something ten times more potent.

I’ve never experienced this—to be wanted so much and so absolutely. It’s head-spinning. His small, lean hands roam my back and then sides, touching anything they can get to. Mine follow suit, feeling him up shamelessly until I’ve memorized every curve that makes up his form.

His mouth demands more of me with every second that passes, greedy and unstoppable. He’s in control and I can’t fight it, not when I’ve wanted to taste him since I can remember. To have him in my arms, to know what his body feels like plastered against mine.

“Aran,” he purrs, his tenor like honey and silk. He breaks the kiss, and his mouth follows the angle of my jaw until it reaches my ear. “Touch me, please. I want to feel good.”

My breath catches, goosebumps rising all over me. My heart is beating so fast and loud that for a moment it’s the only thing I can hear. But then Hex nips on my earlobe, shooting a spark of desire through me. His hand slides from my shoulder down my arm, then flank, passing my hip and cupping my hard cock.

The touch is tentative, experimental. Uncommitting. Yet, it disables all my higher brain functions, reducing me to something led only by primal instinct which dictates I claim what is mine.

Groaning, I grab him by the neck and smash our mouths together, this time not letting him boss me around. It’s like a switch has flipped inside me, erasing all my self-control and common sense.

I want him. I want him too much to stop this. My hand is already kneading his ass as I walk him backwards toward the thick window and trap him between the cool glass and my burning body. He yelps in surprise and then moans as I flip him around and press my erection against his crease. My hand curls around his dick, gliding once from root to tip and ripping out of him the loveliest cry of pleasure I’ve heard anyone make.

“Yes. This. Very good. Please, keep going,” he rambles, trying to fuck into my hand.

He cranes his head to the side, half-burying his face into the front of my shoulder. His eyes are closed and he’s biting on his bottom lip.

Heat floods me, bringing with it a lingering hint of his sweet taste. The need to kiss him again overwhelms me, and I want to feel his slick hot tongue as it roams my mouth eagerly.

“I’ve lost my mind, Tien. I shouldn’t be doing this. None of it,” I whisper against his hair, inhaling him in. Letting things get out of hand earlier, and now this… It’s the biggest yet sweetest mistake in my life.

He shudders and the shivers flow through his body into mine. “Yes. Totally. You should’ve done this years ago.”

I can feel the little shit smile. It’s in his voice, in the way his body relaxes against mine. He’s happy, and that warms my heart despite everything.

Humming, I rub the outline of his erection with my fingers. When I reach the tip, I tighten my hold, making him groan and hiss. The sounds quicken my already elevated pulse, moving more of my blood south.

“I think the clothes are in the way,” he rasps, shaking his hips to get more friction.

I won’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing to that, even if I do. He might have me by the balls in a more literal sense now than before, but I won’t let this brat think he can boss me around just because I’ve humored him this far.

Then again, there is also something freeing about letting someone else be in charge. About letting go. I’m still not sure if I am doing the right thing, if there even is a right thing, but maybe getting it out of my system will help. Maybe once I’ve satiated that hunger in me for Hex, I will be able to go back to normal and be just his bodyguard again.

“Aran, please…” he whines, wiggling his ass against my dick. I bite down a moan. “Ooh.” I can hear the grin in his voice. “You liked that, didn’t you, huh?”

He shakes his hips again, chuckling. In that moment, I hate all the clothes between us as I crave to feel his skin against mine. I don’t think that’s smart right now—I fear I might not be able to restrain myself the moment we are both naked—so no matter what sweet promises he makes, I won’t give in.

But I also can’t deny myself what I want—it’s physically impossible. I need to make him feel good. Not because he asked or because he’s doing such a stellar job of seducing me. No, it’s not just that. I want to unravel him, to make him fall apart with my own hands, to show him how deep and bottomless my need for him is.

It’s an abyss that has almost consumed all of me.

Expertly, I undo his zipper and buttons and slide my hand inside his pants.

He keens, his entire body bucking, and digs his fingers into whichever part of me he can get to. “Oh fuuuck.”

I love that mouth. I’ve dreamed about it, and today it is mine.

Kissing the side of Hex’s forehead, I dip my hand under the hem of his boxers. His heated skin welcomes me, smooth and silky and wet. I swallow hard, my breathing kicking up a notch as I grasp his leaking cock. It’s hot and it’s hard, and, gods, I can’t believe I am doing this. But it’s too late, even as some deep, voiceless part of my brain tells me to stop. My hand moves on its own, needing to feel all of Hex as he writhes and whimpers and begs me to go harder.

He’s close, I can tell by the way his body tenses up. A few strokes from me is all it will take for him to climax, and the thought of it makes me impossibly aroused. It’s like tiny stars live under my skin, prickling and shocking me as I drive Hex closer to the edge.

Every pump of my hand rewards me with his lovely noises, and the more he makes them, the more I wish to be the only one to ever hear them. They are mine, just like he is. It’s wrong of me to think that, but I can’t deny what my heart craves now when all my walls have crumbled down.

I will do better tomorrow. I won’t be so weak, but for tonight, I can’t fight this anymore.

“Aran—” he cuts himself off, gasping. “I’m close.”

I quicken my strokes, kissing his cheek and neck as he tilts his head outward to give me more access. His body jerks a few seconds later, right at the brink.

“Come for me, Tien,” I urge, unable to stop the words from leaving my mouth.

That and a firm squeeze are all it takes for him to orgasm. The tremors of his body reverberate through mine, sending a delicious thrill down my spine that goes straight to my straining cock. To distract myself from the onslaught of pleasure, I angle Hex’s head and capture his mouth, kissing him as he keeps spilling in my hand.

I don’t know how long our kiss lasts, but by the time I end it, Hex is a boneless mess about to doze off with a huge grin on his face.

And if I am being honest, his smile infects me too as I clean him up and put him to bed. I take care of my raging hard-on in the shower, and as I get dressed, post-orgasm clarity hits me, bringing with it all the doubts I ignored.

Should I have done this or should I not? What does it mean that I did? Will we be able to go back to how things were before today? And we still need to talk about us, about this…

It’s too much, and it’s driving me crazy, so instead of tossing and turning on the couch all night, I simply watch Hex sleep while absentmindedly scrolling through all the information we’ve collected this far.