Page 86 of Night Call

“Right.”

Silence stretched between them, the dark road like a twisting serpent as it tapered away into a narrow country lane. They’d be home soon, and Pember found that he wanted to hold Blake’s hand for just a little longer.

There was also something they both needed to address.

“I… uh… I’m really sor—” He cut himself off. “I hope you’re okay. After yesterday.”

The tips of his ears were already burning.

Blake cleared his throat, letting out a steady breath. “I’m good, but what about you? Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“N-no, I just… Actually, yes, it does.” Pember dropped his head, pressing his lips together. “Not what happened, necessarily, just that it happened at work. I felt really out of control and I… You were there, and—” He closed his eyes,turning his face towards the window. “You made me—makeme feel safe, andshit, I’m really bad at this.”

Blake hummed, tugging his hand out of Pember’s and sliding it to the nape of his neck. He slipped his fingertips into the neckline of his shirt, tracing a pattern across the top of his spine. Pember leaned into the feeling, and without meaning to, let out a breathy sigh.

“Pember,” Blake said, his voice low and rumbly.

Pember swallowed, huffing out an awkward laugh as his toes curled against the footwell mat. He could feel his skin beginning to pebble beneath his clothes, his nipples pulling tight against the silky fabric of his shirt.

“Yes?” he whispered, squeezing his thighs together.

The alpha ran his fingers up the length of his neck, brushing his thumb into his hairline. Pember shivered.

“Sometimes, we hold on to people because we don’t have anything else,” Blake whispered.

The comment made Pember crack his heavy eyes open. “Is that what we’re doing, Blake? Holding on, because it’s all we’ve got?”

A car came past in the opposite direction, and Pember caught a glimpse of the alpha’s soft expression in the passing headlights. He was smiling.

“No. I’m holding on, because for the first time in my life, I look forward to coming home,” he said, thumb caressing the curve of Pember’s ear. “And I… Every now and again I catch myself thinking about the future, which is something I haven’t done in a very long time.”

Pember looked down at his hands, a strange heaviness filling his chest. “I look forward to coming home too, which is somethingIhaven’t felt in a very long time either. The cello in my living room… It’s my sister’s. We joined the school band as a way of avoiding home.”

Blake gently squeezed his neck. “You miss her.”

Pember glanced up with a sad smile. “Every day. If I ever have kids, I never want them to feel like they can’t come home.”

Rounding the corner, they finally reached Bell Lane. Blake pulled onto the driveway at the side of the house and turned off the engine. The headlights dimmed, leaving them in total darkness.

“They won’t,” Blake whispered, leaning across the gap to press a kiss to Pember’s cheek. His mouth lingered for a moment, his rough five o’clock shadow at odds with the softness of his lips. Pember let out a shaky breath before slowly turning his head to capture Blake’s mouth with his own.

Blake tensed, his hand gripping the edge of Pember’s seat. “Pem,” he whispered, their lips ghosting over one another.

“Yeah?” Pember breathed.

Without another word Blake leaned forwards, mouth parting and tongue sliding against Pember’s bottom lip. Pember inhaled, and within a breath their tongues were pressed together in a slow, sultry dance. They moved into it, Pember sighing softly as Blake nudged him back against the condensated window.

Both his hands slipped into the alpha’s hair, the tendrils soft and freshly washed, smelling of coconut and peach.

Their seatbelts clicked, then released, and Pember wound his arms around Blake’s neck. Blake’s palm slid up the length of his thigh, fingers skirting over his jeans until they rested just below his left hip.

Pember let out a trembling breath, uncurling one arm to press Blake’s hand between his legs. The alpha growled, thumb roughly pulling on Pember’s chin to open his mouth wider.

“B-Blake.”

Pember was shaking, not from fear or dread. But because Blake was gently squeezing his trapped cock between his thumband forefinger. It felt as though all his nerve receptors had crackled to life at once.

“Come here,” Blake whispered, hooking a hand behind Pember’s knee, the other around his waist, pulling him into his lap.

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