Page 41 of Between the Lines

“I want—” Luca gasped, fingers tangling in Theo’s hair, gazing down at him with his heart beating right out of his chest.

Theo blinked up at him, breathless, eyes wide. Waiting. Luca had to spell out his desires for Theo, there could be no ambiguities—as if this whole thing between them wasn’t one giant ambiguity, because this, whatever it had become, was no hookup. Maybe it had never been. And Luca should be honest, he should say out loud what he was feeling. But he couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure himself and he couldn’t make any promises to Theo, not with the certainty Theo liked. The certainty Theoneeded.

“What do you want?” Theo put a hot hand on Luca’s shoulder. “Tell me.”

Luca leaned down to kiss him: his mouth, his jaw, the dip at the base of his throat. “You,” he whispered into his skin. “I want you, baby.”

Baby.

Theo’s “Oh” was little more than a breath and Luca kissed it away, as if his lips could reclaim the accidental endearment. He never called anyonebaby, but, God, the feelings rising in him tonight! He pressed Theo into the bed, their hips moving in slow, instinctive thrusts, and Luca’s cock slid into the beautiful hollow of Theo’s hip, while Theo’s pressed hard and hot against Luca’s belly. Fuck, it felt amazing. Theo felt amazing. Luca wanted to touch him everywhere, ran his hands along Theo’s sides, tracing the sharp curve of his hipbone, then back up to the cage of his ribs and across the spare muscles of his chest. When he dragged a nail over one nipple, Theo jolted, arms flailing so hard he landed a blow to Luca’s ear.

“Shit!” Theo gasped, going still. “Shit. Sorry.”

Luca smiled, kissed the apology away, kissed along the length of that wayward arm, lingering on the soft skin inside Theo’s elbow until he moaned and thrashed some more. God, he could touch him like this forever. Watch him come apart forever. It made him feel so alive, so powerful. And fierce. Fierce enough to take down anyone who dared hurt this beautiful man. When he reached the palm of Theo’s hand he pressed a kiss into it and then drew the tip of one finger between his lips, sucking hard, smiling at Theo’s sharp hiss. “I want you,” Luca said again, because he couldn’t say the other word fluttering in his chest. “I want you so much.”

“I want you, too,” Theo whispered and Luca’s brain went dizzy with the notion that this was a code they both understood.

I want you. I love you.

Madness. But Theo’s hands were clutching at his hair now, his kisses deep and urgent as he rolled them over, pinning Luca on his back. Theo stretched his lean body over him, muscles shifting beneath Luca’s hands. Fuck, but he loved the coiled power of the male body. Loved Theo’s especially, all that slender tensile strength. He let out a harsh grunt as Theo started thrusting jerkily against him, his breath hot and eager against Luca’s mouth, his throat, his shoulders. “Luca,” he said shakily. “God, Luca, I want—I want... Somuch.”

“Yes,” Luca hissed, sliding his hands along Theo’s glorious back, feeling it flex every time he worked his hips, their cocks sliding together and sending jolts of pleasure sparking along his spine. “Fuck, yes.” He tightened his hold on Theo’s hips, keeping him in place, thrusting up as Theo thrust down. It wasn’t graceful, but it was hot and sweaty and Theo’s eyes were squeezed shut, lips parted in concentration. He was close, Luca could sense it in Theo’s pent tension, in his quick harsh breaths.

And fuck, he wanted to see Theo come more than he wanted to come himself. “Yeah, come on,” he urged, thrusting hard against him. “So good, baby. You’re fucking beautiful.”

Theo gave a stifled cry, fingers digging into Luca’s shoulder. So fucking close. Luca slid his hand over the perfect curve of Theo’s ass and Theo groaned, pressing back against it. With a jolt that made his cock pulse, Luca knew what Theo wanted. His heart pounded, his own orgasm crowding the edges of his vision, deepening in the pit of his stomach, as he circled a fingertip around Theo’s entrance, teasing the tender flesh. With a deep, urgent groan, Theo flung back his head—“Jesusfuckyes!”—back bowing as he came hot and sticky across Luca’s belly. And that was all it took, Luca’s orgasm roared through him and he curled up against the force of it, gasping, then flopped back down on the bed, boneless.

But Theo stayed taut a few moments longer, sucking in breath after breath as he gazed into Luca’s eyes with spellbound wonder. Luca met him beat for beat and they stayed like that for a long time, lost in each other, until Theo’s lips curled into a shy smile. “Luca,” he whispered, eyes bright. “Luca, I canseeyou.”

Something caught in Luca’s throat, made his eyes burn. “I see you, too,” he said roughly, pressing a hand to Theo’s face. “I see you, too, baby.”

Then he wrapped Theo in his arms and pulled him close, kissing his temple, his shoulder, his hair. Anything he could reach. And they lay there together, silent in the aftermath, Luca’s hand stroking along Theo’s back until his skin began to cool and the need to clean themselves up became more urgent than the need to stay together.

Reluctantly, Luca levered himself out of bed, Theo’s hooded eyes watching as he padded into the bathroom and dampened one of the washcloths by the sink with warm water. He eyed himself in the mirror while he wiped himself down, trying to find an answer in his own face to the question thrumming through his mind.

Was this, whatever it was between them, worth risking his heart?

Theo had sucked a red mark into his chest, next to his shoulder, and he touched it with a fingertip. It would fade in a couple days, but he suspected something similar was branded into his heart and wondered whether that would ever fade.

Getting no answer from the mirror, he rinsed out the washcloth and returned to the bedroom. Theo hadn’t moved, still sprawled where Luca left him, moonlight playing over his skin. His hair wild, skin flushed, he looked thoroughly ravaged and Luca felt a thrill of pride.I did that.“C’mere,” he said, sitting down on the bed and nudging Theo onto his back so he could wipe the warm cloth over his stomach.

Theo’s eyes closed and he took a deep breath, smiling as Luca swiped the cloth across his belly, around his softened cock. He looked so content, sohappythat Luca leaned down helplessly to press an affectionate kiss to the damp skin of his stomach, unspoken words lingering on his tongue.

The kiss made Theo squirm away, laughing—ticklish?—and Luca started laughing, too, lunging in to try and kiss him again. And then they were half wrestling, half making out, creating a joyful racket until they were both breathless and he had Theo pinned down, wrists above his head, and the laughter between them faded into something different. Something warm, beating against the cage of his ribs.

Theo’s dark hair curled in the damp heat, his wide eyes cautious. When he spoke, he sounded hesitant. “Stay tonight?”

And despite his fears, despite promising never to sleep a single night under the same roof as Don Brennan, Luca couldn’t resist the tentative hope in Theo’s eyes; it was the same hope he felt pounding high in his own throat. Hope that this wasn’t a terrible mistake, that this thing between them was worth the risk. That, this time, love wouldn’t screw him over.

With a racing heart, Luca leaned down and kissed Theo’s beautiful lips. “I’ll stay.”

It felt like taking the drop on a fifty-foot wave.

Chapter Sixteen

By the time Theo headed downstairs in search of coffee the next morning, it was close to nine o’clock and the dining room was empty of all but one couple. Making a beeline toward the buffet, where the coffee pot sat, Theo stopped when Luca came in from the kitchen with a basket of baked goods for the couple by the window. He looked tired, but brightened, lips curling into a smile, when he saw Theo.

“Hey,” he said, coming over. “Good morning.”

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