Page 241 of Better When Shared
Kiaan went still, his expression shifting from hurt to confusion. “What did you just say?”
I pressed my forehead against his, our faces so close I could feel his breath on my lips. “I want both of you,” I repeated, the truth of it settling deep in my bones. “Yesterday, in that bathroom, listening to you talk about everything we’ve been through together, all I could think about was how much you mean to me. How much you’ve both always meant to me.”
We stayed like that for a heartbeat, two, breathing each other’s air, the tension between us shifting into something electric, dangerous. I released his wrists, letting my hands slide down his arms, across his shoulders, until I was cradling his face between my palms. His skin was warm and rough with stubble. I stroked my thumb along his jaw, feeling him tremble.
“Ryker?”
“I want to kiss you,” I said, tracing my thumb over his lower lip. “So fucking badly. I ache for a taste of you.”
His breath caught, and he didn’t answer with words; he just nodded. And I closed the distance between us, pressing my mouth to his in a kiss that was nothing like the one I’d shared with Skylar minutes earlier. Where that had been soft and exploratory, this was rough, desperate, years of unacknowledged desire crashing together at once.
For a moment, Kiaan froze, and I thought I’d made a terrible mistake. Then his hands fisted in my shirt, pulling me closer as he opened his mouth to mine. The taste of him—minty and clean, like he’d just brushed his teeth—sent heat flooding through me, pooling low in my belly, making my cock harden against his hip.
I groaned into his mouth, sliding one hand into his hair, gripping the soft strands as I deepened the kiss. My other hand moved to his throat, feeling his pulse race beneath my palm. He made a sound—half whimper, half moan—that shot straight to my groin, making me press him harder against the wall.
It was fucking intoxicating, this new discovery. The solid muscle of him beneath my hands, so different from the soft curves I was used to, yet somehow just as arousing. More, even, because this was Kiaan—brilliant, arrogant, vulnerable Kiaan who’d been my friend for six years, who’d seen me at my lowest and still stuck around.
I pulled back just enough to see his face, to make sure this was real. His eyes were dark with desire, lips swollen from my kiss, cheeks flushed. He looked wrecked, beautiful in a way I’d never allowed myself to acknowledge before.
“Fuck,” I breathed, trailing my fingers along his jaw. “You’re so fucking gorgeous. I can’t get enough of how beautiful you are.”
Something flashed across his face—doubt, fear, hope, I couldn’t tell. His hands were still tangled in my shirt, neither pulling me closer nor pushing me away. “I don’t understand what’s happening,” he said, voice rough.
“I can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to touch you. And then with Skylar this morning...” I trailed off, unsure how to explain the tangle of desire and confusion.
“You were thinking about me while you were with her?” The wonder in his voice broke something open inside me.
“Yes,” I admitted, pressing my forehead to his again. “When you walked in, I wanted nothing more than for you to join us. To kiss her, to kiss me.”
Kiaan’s breath hitched. His hand came up to cup my face, thumb tracing my lower lip in a gesture so intimate it made my chest ache. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me again. Instead, he placed both hands on my chest and pushed, gentle but firm.
“We can’t do this,” he said, though his body language contradicted his words, arching toward me even as he tried to create distance.
“Why not?” I kept my hands on his face, unwilling to let go now that I’d finally touched him.
“Because it’s fucked up. Because we’re both here for Skylar. Because I’ve never—” He broke off, looking away. “I’ve never been with a man before.”
I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips. “Me neither.”
His eyes snapped back to mine. “But you’re bi. You’ve said so.”
“Theoretical knowledge isn’t the same as practical experience.” I stroked my thumb along his cheekbone, feeling him lean into the touch despite himself. “I’ve thought about it. Wanted it. Just never found the right person to explore with.”
“And I’m the right person?” His voice was small, uncertain in a way I’d never heard from him before.
The vulnerability in his question undid me. This was Kiaan Malhotra, tech genius, self-made billionaire, the most confident person I knew—looking at me like I held some answer he desperately needed.
“I think you might be,” I said honestly. “You and Skylar both.”
He took a shaky breath, then stepped sideways, breaking contact. The loss of his warmth left me feeling unanchored, adrift. “I need to think,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “This is... a lot.”
I nodded, letting him move past me. “I understand.”
He sighed, raking a hand through his hair, then looked back at me. “Will you give me a little time alone with her? This afternoon.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“You’re not worried I’d do something to sabotage you?”
