Page 20 of Cedarwood Manny

“Not yet.”

He brushed his fingers across Nathan’s mouth. “What?”

“I want you and this. I’m happy working for you,” Nathan said. “But when we do this—get together—there’s no guarantee we’ll stay together. If we split, I lose my job.” He paled. “That sounded so asshole-ish. I mean, I don’t want to lose what we’ve started.” He closed his eyes. “I’m going to stop talking.”

Adrien appreciated knowing he wasn’t the only one who fumbled for words. “We could work out.” Still, guilt pushed into his mind. He didn’t want Nathan to feel ensnared.

“No.” He slid his hands down Adrien’s shoulders. “I meant, you and I are starting something special. If we don’t last, you’ll be hard to forget.”

“You’re not forgettable, either,” Adrien said. “We’ll go slow.”

“We will.”

He couldn’t deny the heat, though. The electricity between them each time they touched spurred Adrien on.

“What?” Nathan asked.

He tugged Nathan close again and kissed him. He guided Nathan between his legs. He craved the closeness. When he kissed Nathan, he memorized every nuance of the man. They bumped noses and he didn’t mind. Nathan was too good to miss. Blood rushed below his belt and he longed to rub his dick together with Nathan’s.

“Damn.” Nathan panted. “You’re addicting.’

“I try.” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for the food. I needed it. The kiss was the icing on the cake.”

“I love your sweetness.” Nathan didn’t budge. “I’m happy to feed you, too.”

“I appreciate it.” He slid his hands under Nathan’s shirt again. The rippling muscle and smooth skin were more than he could handle. He wanted to pull away and get to work, but why stop? “I should go.” If he didn’t put space between them, he’d invite Nathan to his bed.

“I should head upstairs.”

“You should.” He needed space and to clear his head. Still, he wanted to drag Nathan down the hallway, but he couldn’t—not yet.

“I need to clean up the kitchen,” Nathan murmured. He draped his arms around Adrien’s shoulders. “Like right now.”

“I need to pay bills.” He kissed Nathan again.

“Go.” Nathan brushed his nose along Adrien’s and sighed. “If we don’t stop, we’ll never quit. Go. I don’t want you to be up all night at the computer.”

“Yeah.” He disengaged from Nathan and left the stool. He wanted to look back, but didn’t dare. “Night.”

“Night,” Nathan called.

He paused in the doorway, then faced Nathan. “Thank you.” He wanted to hide his raging hard-on.Damn.He’d almost given in to Nathan’s magnetism. “Night.”

“Good night.” Nathan smiled.

Did Nathan have a hard-on, too? Adrien forced himself to return to the office. An odd feeling swept over him. He’d opened his heart and had hope. He could love again. He wasn’t sure he’d fall for Nathan, but the prospects were good. Sure, he had doubts about his future, but with Nathan, everything wasn’t bleak. They could be a team. Nathan needed stability, too. Nathan enticed and intrigued him. They had time to sort things out, but he wasn’t going to turn Nathan in to the training center. He needed Nathan for more than just his manny. He needed him to help heal his heart.

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