Page 61 of Candy Hearts
Benji did. He licked over William’s lips with a near silent growl. Then their tongues were sliding together, wet and warm. Benji’s hands came down on William’s shoulders before skating up to his neck. William threaded one hand into Benji’s hair, cupping the back of his head.
Red-hot sparks flashed behind William’s eyelids and buzzing filled his ears. He kissed Benji with his whole heart. Kissed him like the world was disintegrating around them.
Slowly, sounds in the room started to filter through William’s haze. Laughing and clapping and people throwing stuff at them. William smiled against Benji’s mouth. Then, with an irrepressible laugh, William tipped Benji into a pseudo-dip, spinning him off his knees and backwards over William’s lap, never stopping the kiss. He quickly righted Benji and pulled back.
Benji swayed. He touched his lips in what appeared to be a bit of a daze.
William ruffled Benji’s hair and said, “Thanks, kiddo.”
Benji grinned and pretended to swoon back into William’s lap. William caught him and kissed him. Again. And harder.
Chapter Eighteen
When the kisses ended, Wren leaned across the circle to slap William’s shoulder. “Add that to your stupid criteria, William. Damn.”
William blushed, feeling suddenly exposed, and Benji scrambled out of his arms with an awkward laugh.
That list of dating criteria was a crock of shit. He had essentially described himself, which wasn’t dating criteria so much as an ego stroke.
The game broke up after that. Benji avoided him for the rest of the night, and Avi gave William his condolences on getting shot down by a younger man. Evidently, their secret was still intact.
William hoped their arrangement was as well.
That night, he snuck into Benji’s room once the house quieted. William had planned a seduction. He evidently didn’t need one because Benji leapt into his arms as soon as he crossed the threshold. Benji had commandeered a handful of candles to light the way and started a fire in the wood-burning stove. It felt like romance to William. He hoped it was romance.
They kissed. Or maybe they devoured. Whatever it was, they ended up pressed against the wall.
Benji let the red silk robe fall into a puddle at his bare feet. He lifted his arms, so William took his shirt off. They didn’t speak as they finished undressing. Whatever was happening was too big to talk about. Benji’s leggings hit the floor, and William’s breath caught.
Velvet and silk. Deep, rich red. William’s fingertips trembled over the fabric of their own volition, like his brain hadn’t caught up with what he was seeing beyond smooth, warm, indulgent. He had to touch. He couldn’t stop wanting to touch. Benji’s cock stiffened right before William’s eyes.
They were paneled briefs, with silk in the front and sides of velveteen. The velvet was rich under William’s fingertips.
“Beautiful.”
“Really?” Benji asked.
“God, yes. Of course, really.”
A blush darkened Benji’s cheeks, and he looked so painfully perfect that William’s knees went weak.
“Wish you could take another picture of me in these, but my phone died,” Benji said.
“Next time. Next time you wear them, I’ll take your picture.”
That statement sat between them heavily. Benji had never responded to William’s request for a date. William had no idea if there would be a next time. And yes, this statement was wrapped up in sex, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t real. That didn’t mean it wasn’t what William wanted.
Benji rested his forehead on William’s shoulder, and an unquenchable, unbelievable tenderness hit William in the solar plexus. He wrapped his palms around Benji’s hips, his thumbs hooking on God’s gift to hipbones, and pushed Benji into a miniscule version of the box step Avi had taught them.
Benji didn’t raise his head, but whispered, “I wanted to be dancing with you yesterday.”
“Me too.”
Stepping in a square was the extent of William’s ability, but Benji started humming a love song, so William kept swaying him through it. Finally, Benji lifted his head and gazed directly into William’s eyes.
The air was crackling with possibility and a hushed need. It felt like they were both on the brink of saying foolish things.
William opened his mouth. Drew in a breath. Pinched Benji’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.
