Page 55 of Saving You

He walked up behind Oz, loud with his feet so Oz wouldn’t be startled, and he put a hand on his shoulder. Leaning in, he spoke near the side of his head. “Want to take these off?”

Oz turned and smiled. “Yeah.”

“May I?”

The last time Ridge asked, Oz had told him no. And he was half expecting that same answer now. But tonight, Oz nodded, then tilted his head to the side as Ridge very carefully dislodged the magnets and tucked them into his palm.

‘Thank you,’ Oz signed as he took the processors from Ridge. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

‘I’m not here for you to entertain me,’ Ridge told him with stern hands. ‘But I do have an idea.’

Oz looked intrigued. ‘Okay.’

‘Go to your bedroom and strip down to boxers.’

Oz laughed, looking a bit more playful than he had been in the car. That was progress—maybe. Or maybe he was trying to distract himself. Either way, Ridge was going to be kind to the man’s body in whatever ways Oz wanted.

‘Anything else?’

‘Lay down on your stomach.’

Oz blinked, looking a little nervous now.

‘Not for sex,’ Ridge reminded him. ‘Trust me?’

After a long moment, Oz nodded. ‘I trust you.’

Ridge leaned in, his intent obvious, and Oz turned his face up for the kiss. He didn’t let it linger or distract him from his mission, but he didn’t pull away too quickly either. He waited for Oz to relax, and then he eased back and stroked a touch down the side of his neck before stepping away.

‘Go.’

Oz rolled his eyes, but he was smiling again as he turned and headed out of the room. Ridge took a moment to indulge inthe sight of him before he marched to the kitchen and began a thorough search.

The place hadn’t changed since Sunday night—not that he was really expecting it to. He hated that Oz neglected himself so thoroughly, and he wondered if it was a conscious or a subconscious thing. Whatever it was, he wanted to change that.

He’d been bound and determined to keep this thing between them casual, but the more time he spent with the man, the more he realized that maybe this was the person he’d been waiting for. He had no idea if Oz would be interested in something more than this, but he decided it was time to try.

Not yet, of course. Not tonight. Not while Oz was still working through this latest round of bullshit with his family. But he was no longer in this for pretend, and he was going to make sure Oz understood that before they slept together again.

He needed Oz to know how he felt.

Yeah, his life was a little complicated. He had a career that was both busy and dangerous. He had a kid who didn’t have another parent to take over part-time. There wouldn’t be nights like this all the time. He had babysitting help, but the truth was, he didn’t want to spend nights away from his daughter.

What he wanted was a partner who was looking for exactly what his life offered.

He had no clue at all if that was the life Oz had been looking for. Or if it was a life he could grow to want.

But he’d be damned if he didn’t try.

His search of the kitchen turned up very little. He’d been hoping to put together maybe a snack tray with some tea, but the poor bastard didn’t even own a kettle. He gave up, then headed into the guest bathroom, where he grinned in triumph.

There were three small bottles of body oil that were still in cling film. They looked like they’d been part of some holiday gift, and after checking that the dates were okay and theywouldn’t be rancid, he tore the plastic and selected the one with lavender.

Maybe it would help Oz relax a little. Ridge was very proud of his massage skills. He’d been good at it before he had a kid, and then he took a sleepy-time infant and toddler massage class, which worked wonders on his kiddo.

He had no idea if the same skills would put an overworked, depressed teacher at ease, but hey. It was worth a shot. He tucked the oil bottle under his arm, then glanced at himself in the mirror and cringed. He looked…not his best. Not a total wreck, but he had a black soot smudge on his cheek that hadn’t washed off in the super-quick shower he’d taken before he left the station. He hadn’t combed his hair, so it had a weird, misshapen tangle on the top, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

Maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t professing his feelings to Oz tonight.

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