Page 166 of Under Construction

"Oh, that." Dennis lets his voice drift, distracted. "I haven't really been following it. There's been so much else going on."

A short pause, then Lancaster's laugh comes rich with amusement. "You must have a lot on your mind."

"Chris came back." Dennis injects a dreamy quality into his words. "He convinced me selling to your company is for the best. I trust his judgment completely."

"Is that so?" Lancaster's tone sharpens with interest. "How are you holding up? It can't be easy, taking him back after what he did to your project." The words drip false sympathy.

"I..." Dennis swallows hard. "He says he's changed."

"And you believe him?" A soft laugh, like sharing a private joke. "Love makes fools of us all, doesn't it?"

"Maybe I am a fool." Dennis meets Chris's eyes, seeing the muscle twitch in his jaw. He squeezes Chris's hand until their knuckles go white, relief flooding through him when Chris squeezes back just as hard. "But my heart chose him. I have to believe that means something."

"Of course it does." Lancaster's voice turns honeyed. "But if he ever... disappoints you again. Know that you can always call me and I'll be there for you."

"Thank you, Christopher." Dennis lets his voice shake. "That means so much."

The moment he ends the call, Chris is on him. His hands seize Dennis's face with a violence that speaks only of protection, of need.

"I would never," Chris presses the words against Dennis's mouth, pushing their foreheads together like he needs to fuse them into one being. "Never use you like that. Even pretending—" His voice cracks. "Makes me sick to my stomach."

"I know." Dennis pulls him closer until there's not a breath between them. "I know you."

"I don't give a shit what he does to me," Chris's voice roughens. "He pulls this crap all the time. Haven't been dragged back like that in years, but whatever. I'm used to it. I just—" His hands tighten on Dennis's face. "I can't be away from you again. Not ever."

"If you think I'm letting you out of my sight, you're more fucked up than I thought," Dennis says with forced lightness but his voice falters.

Chris tips Dennis's head back, marking up his neck with hungry bites that'll show tomorrow before claiming his mouth. Their eyes fall shut as their tongues seek together, relearning each taste and texture they've missed.

"Missed you," Chris breathes between kisses, plastering Dennis against his chest so Dennis has no choice but to take kiss after kiss, giving back just as fierce. "Missed this. Missed us. Need you now, can't wait," Chris's voice is rough and low.

"Me too, baby. Me too." Dennis tugs at Chris's bathrobe until it puddles around his feet, then shrugs off his own.

Chris stares like he's seeing Dennis for the first time, hands dragging down his sides, over his front, gripping his hips to pull them flush. Their cocks press together and Dennis gasps, fingers digging into Chris's forearms as the sensation hits too potent, too good after so long apart.

"Let me take care of you tonight." Dennis's fingers thread through Chris's hair as he knocks their heads together. Chris rubs their noses side to side, trying to catch Dennis's lips until Dennis laughs at his eagerness. "You deserve it."

Chris stays quiet but Dennis can feel his heart hammering under his palm, his cock hot and hard against Dennis's hip.

Dennis leads him to the bed with simple linked fingers. He sits on the edge, feet on the floor, and pulls Chris down until he's hovering over Dennis. Then Dennis drops back and rolls them so Chris is flat on his back, Dennis above him.

"Fuck," Chris breathes. "You're so hot it's actually stupid."

"Sit up. I want you to watch."

Chris scrambles up against the headboard so fast Dennis has to bite back a laugh. His eyes are huge, focused on Dennis like he's afraid to miss a single second.

Dennis crawls up for a kiss to start. Pecks Chris's nose as a promise for more. Then he's at Chris's jaw, working up to his ear, back down to lap at his throat. He feels every bump of Chris's Adam's apple with his tongue, sucking hickeys into the skin to stake his claim.

Chris's hands roam everywhere—Dennis's back, sides, thighs—touching like he needs to make sure Dennis is real.

Dennis moves lower, leaving purple-red marks across Chris's chest. He takes each nipple in his mouth, testing with his tongue, looking for what makes Chris's breath hitch and his muscles tense tonight. He does it again and again, building Chris's arousal into something that'll knock him out till morning—help him rest and recover.

When Dennis is on his knees sucking down Chris's abs, he feels Chris's muscles twitch, his cock slapping against Dennis's chin.

Dennis pulls back, looking up. "Everything okay?"

Chris groans, shifting like he's torn between staying still and moving. "It's your ass."

---