Page 28 of A Christmas Harbor

Maybe it was still the only word Paul could think of, or maybe it was what he needed at a soul-deep level. “You can fuck me.”

David gaped at him. “Oh.”

Oops. Too much. Too soon. As usual. “If you want. No pressure.”

David hesitated, but he didn’t look away. “I don’t usually do that with someone I just met.”

“Me neither,” Paul said. “It’s fine.”

“Maybe next time?”

Whew, Paul hadn’t scared him away for good. “Next time. Absolutely. Next time. Or the time after that.”

“Or…” David let out a trembling breath. “Or now.”

Paul’s heart stuttered. “Now would also work.”

“I mean, fuck it, it’s Christmas, right?”

“Totally.”

David kissed him quickly on the cheek. “Hang on while I get what we need.”

Paul watched him climb out of the berth, admiring his…well, hiseverything, because all his parts were admirable, inside and out.

Rummaging noises came from the bathroom, a medicine cabinet door creaking open, then clicking shut. Despite his absorption in the here and now, Paul wondered whetherFuck It, It’s Christmaswould make a great book title and whether his publisher would let him get away with it.

David returned with a box of condoms and a bottle of lubricant. “It’s been so long, I had to check the expiration dates.”

“All good?”

“All spectacular.” He knelt on the bed beside Paul, hunching to avoid the ridiculously low ceiling.

“I have no doubt.” He swept a hand over David’s thigh. “But even if this doesn’t go perfectly, it’s okay.”

David blinked at him, as though the concept of imperfection were a foreign one. But then his face relaxed, his brow smoothing, just as it had in the first minute they’d met. “Thanks.”

The cap of the lube bottle opened with a snap…and Paul fell into a memory he hadn’t even known he’d stored, of He Whose Name Would Not Be Thought flicking a similar bottle open and shut with an offbeat rhythm, while Paul tried to name that tune from the cadence alone.

It was the sort of memory that should have carved a hole in Paul’s gut,wouldhave done so were it not for the light in David’s eyes right now. Though they’d met only three hours ago, they were anything but strangers.

Paul spread his legs with no hesitation as David shifted to kneel between them.

The shock of that first touch inside made him laugh. “Woo, little bit cold.”

“Sorry,” David said. “I tried to warm everything up. Should I stop?”

“No, no.” His next laugh sounded drunk, though he was long past sober. “Do not stop.”

David took his time preparing Paul, then himself. As he got into position, he met Paul’s eyes. “Now?”

“Now would be great, really”—his voice paused with his breath as David entered him—“reeeeeally great.”

“You all right?”

“Yes. Yes. God, yes.” Paul’s gaze stuck to the ceiling as he began to pant. “Very right.”

“Good.”

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