Page 21 of Just A Little Magic

“Bear, I need to come.”

Whatever control I still held was slipping away fast.

“I know, baby,” Barrett responded, following his words with a powerful surge that wrenched a keening cry from me.

His fist jacked my cock, and within a few strokes, I spilled over his fingers. His mouth found mine once again before one final stuttered thrust sent him over the edge too. The condom prevented me from feeling the wetness of his cum, but I still felt the pulse of his cock in my ass.

Bear’s harsh breaths blew against my neck when he collapsed on top of me. He kept most of his weight off me, but it was enough that I felt enveloped by him. I vaguely remembered him cleaning me with a warm cloth, but most of it was a blur.

I should stay awake so we could talk awkwardly about how this changed nothing and we’d always be best friends. But I wasn’t ready to spew those lies yet, so I closed my eyes and deliberately let sleep overtake me instead. There would be plenty of time later to force myself to believe that nonsense.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BARRETT

I knew Owen better than I knew myself. He fell asleep almost immediately, but I expected that from him too. Whenever I forced him to go to the gym with me, he’d go home and, without fail, take a nap. The same thing happened when I forced him to go on a hike or visit the slopes. He reminded me of a cat with his need to sleep after any kind of physical activity whatsoever. Today, I was extra grateful because it meant I could hold him a little longer.

The words I knew he’d say were coming. He’d tell me he loved me and we’d always be best friends, but this was a mistake. He’d say that losing my friendship was too big of a risk. He’d remind me how bad mixing business, friendship, and fucking truly was, and if we were smart, we’d forget the last option.

What I couldn’t say was anything to refute his arguments because—I hated to admit it even to myself—all his points would be perfectly logical. It was a bad idea to mix business, friendship, and romance.

None of that changed the fact that I still wanted him.

We lay in bed until the sun started setting on the horizon, and he finally started to stir. I waited until the last possible moment to extricate myself from the tangle of his arms and legs. My body protested the loss of his warmth, but I didn’t want to force him to use the words that would shatter my heart. This goddamn pining was starting to annoy even me. I was still gonna do it though.

“Barrett, what time is it?”

“Around six-thirty or so.”

“Okay, I’m going to check on the kitten.”

Owen pulled himself out of the bed and grabbed his pants off the floor. I was hoping he’d stay naked, so I was disappointed. It was a shame, really, because I liked Owen’s ass a lot.

His wince and gait when he walked toward the bathroom had me worried. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt him. I was a big guy, and I didn’t know how long it had been. Owen was so secretive about who he dated that I’d never even met anyone he was interested in. Back in the day, I used to suggest double dates, but he was always quick to shut that down.

I gave him a few minutes of privacy before I followed him. The closer I got to the bathroom, the more I smiled. I heard him crooning to his new baby. He was singing him a little pop song about going home.

I carefully pushed open the door and found him sitting cross-legged on the floor with this new furry friend on his lap. The kitten startled at the noise and immediately went to its feet. Back arched, with fur puffed, he looked like an angry dust bunny. His hisses didn’t rank high on intimidation, but I could tell he was trying hard for it.

“Hey, little man, what’s the matter?” I moved slowly, and the little demon stared straight into my soul. His eyes tracked me, and I was not loving it.

When I got within three feet of Owen, the living hairball launched his attack. Within a blink, he was attached to my pant leg and trying his best to claw his way up. He never once stopped hissing.

“No, sir, Lucifer. You are supposed to protect me from actual bears, not Barrett.”

“How’d you get him to stop hissing at you?”

“He never did. Lucifer knows who loves him,” Owen said with a sing-song tone. He reached over and plucked the spawn from my pants. “Lucifer, be nice to Barrett, or he’s gonna make you go stay with the bear.”

“Awww, babe, I wouldn’t do that.”

It didn’t occur to me to not use the endearment, but Owen froze. He had a deer-in-the-headlights look, and I wanted to kick myself for bringing it up when we were both still raw. If I was smart, which I only was occasionally, I’d wait until Owen brought it up himself. But if I did that, I might wait forever.

“You don’t have to call me that,” Owen said in a defensive voice.

“I want to call you that,” I answered back.

“Do we have to talk about what happened?”

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