Page 161 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

“You got an extra helmet?” she asked as she sat up, looking more interested now.

“In the back,” he said as he put his gear away for the day. “It’s old, but—”

“So am I,” Maggie said, beating him to the punch.

Ben locked up his gear and said his goodbyes to the rest of the crew on his way out the door.

Maggie didn’t live far, but when he got close to her house, she asked him, “Mind if we go around the block one more time?” He didn’t mind at all. He took her over a few small hills, across a bridge, and then made the long circuit back. In the end, the ten-minute ride turned into just over an hour, but Maggie was beaming when he let her off at her front door.

“You don’t look so tired anymore,” Ben said as he took the helmet from her.

“I haven’t ridden in years—decades,” she said. “I should just hire you to cart me around from now on. I forgot how good it feels.”

“Just say the word. I’ll give ya a lift anytime you want.”

Maggie turned for her door, but she said over her shoulder, “I’m taking you up on that!”

He hoped she would.

Before he pulled away from the curb, Ben felt his phone go off in his pocket. Gavin had texted him.

False alarm. Come home soon.

So no baby today. That was okay. The kid would get there eventually, and Ben supposed he might as well get used to unpredictability.

He put the visor down on his helmet and turned his bike toward home.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Gavin

Gavin finished all the prep work for dinner and set the chicken back into the fridge. His timing was perfect. Just as he finished wiping the counters and stowing the trash away, he could hear Ben’s bike coming down their street. And how silly was it that even after four years together, the sound of Ben’s bike still made his heart beat a little faster?

He ran down the hall to their bedroom, flicking off lights as he went. The sun was still out, but Gavin wanted to set the mood as much as possible. He lit a few candles in their bedroom and stripped off his clothes before jumping onto their bed. They’d been interrupted earlier, so Gavin wanted to make this one count.

“Babe?” Ben called out from the living room. “Gav? You home?”

Right. His car was missing, so Ben would assume he’d gone out.

“In here!”

He listened to the sound of Ben’s footsteps on the hardwood floor as he sprawled himself back against the pillows.

“Why is the house so dar—” Ben stopped cold in the doorway. “Oh,” he said as he dropped his jacket where he stood. “Hi.” It didn’t take Ben long to figure it out. He started to undress right there, halfway into the room. “Where’re the girls?” he asked, kicking his boots off at the same time as he jerked his shirt off over his head.

“I sent them to the movies,” Gavin said, watching Ben take off his clothes, his skin splashed in candlelight and shadow. “I told them to go out shopping and for dinner after,” Gavin went on, grinning as Ben stripped out of his jeans. “I gave them the emergency credit card.” Gavin stroked himself as he said it, hoping to distract Ben enough so he wouldn’t lose his fucking mind—in a bad way—over the admission.

“Call them,” Ben murmured as he slowly crawled up onto the bed. “Tell them to stay in a fancy hotel tonight.”

Success.

Ben moved slowly over Gavin’s body, leaving a trail of hot kisses in his wake. He slid his tongue over Gavin’s hip bone, then grazed with his teeth. But when Ben shifted and pressed his face against Gavin’s neck, he whispered, “Would’ve been cheaper for us to just get a hotel room for the night.”

Gavin couldn’t help his moan as Ben ground his hips against him, his erection thick and heavy against Gavin’s. “That would’ve been rude,” Gavin said, his voice hushed out of habit now. “My way, we’re treating them to a night on the town.”

“Fair point.” Ben skimmed his hand down Gavin’s side, grabbed his ass, and pulled him closer with another grind of his hips. “Since we’ve got the house to ourselves, we should’ve started in the kitchen.”

A small, wanting sound broke in the back of Gavin’s throat. “Wish I’d thought of that,” he whispered, spreading his legs as he pulled Ben on top of him, wrapping them around Ben’s waist. “I don’t really wanna move this now, though.”

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