Page 22 of Our Bright Christmas Town
He laughed softly, so very bright in the dim room. The sound tapered off into a moan when I took him back in, fingers splayed to catch each flex and shift of his stomach muscles. I could tell he was close by how his legs tensed around me, hips moving in tiny, helpless twitches, so I pressed him even deeper into the mattress for another slow, deliberate pass.
His back arched off the bed, voice voice scraped raw as he gasped my name. “Ashby,Ash, fuck.”
A warning, maybe, and I pulled back just enough that I wouldn’t choke, my hand wrapped around the base of his cock for a couple of final twists. He fell apart in seconds, unravelling under my touch like a knot tugged loose. Fuck, he was a masterpiece. His taste warm and a hint salty on my tongue, not exactly pleasant—real, though.Real. I shoved a hand between my thighs to hold off from following him right over the edge, let him ride it out, my chest hot, my heart still thudding heavily even as he caught his breath.
Slowly, I moved up his body—lips catching on the coarse trail of hair starting below his navel, nose brushing over a nipple. He tightened his hold on my hair to tug me up into a hot, messy kiss, sharing his taste.
“Jesus, Ash,” he mumbled, words caught in the space between one kiss and the next. “That was—I… Wow.”
“Did I blow your mind?” I asked, half-laughing, couldn’t stop myself from grinding down against his thigh. White sparks shot through my veins.
He blinked up at me with a little smile, face flushed, hair stuck to his forehead. “Sorry, what? My brain’s still offline.”
“That’s all right, babe.” I sat up, thighs bracketing him in as I finally,finallygot a hand around myself. “You just lie there and look pretty.”
“Dream on.” He reached for me, thumb brushing across the head of my cock. Oh, bloody hell. I was trembling already, pleasure coiling tight, years of hopeless desire rushing out.
“Kieran,” I started, not even sure what I was trying to tell him.
“Yeah,” he said as though I’d asked a question. His gaze slid down my body and back up. “Show me what you like?”
“I likeyou,” I said, which—cheesy. True, though, and his mouth curved up into a fond, sweet curve.
“Youloveme.” It held a teasing lilt, and then he wrapped a hand around me, his grip sure and steady. Every sensation sharpened.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I managed, our banter as familiar as breathing. Still us, just more.
“Speaking of…” He twisted his wrist. “I want you to fuck me.”
My head was a galaxy, new stars flaring, exploding into blinding bursts of light. Sweet surrender as my orgasm slammed through me and left me gasping, folding into the crook of his neck as he held me through it.
For maybe the first time in a decade, my mind went truly quiet.
“What did it?”Kieran asked much later, slightly muffled around the spare toothbrush I’d found for him. The glimmer of my neighbours’ light show, softened by the frosted bathroom window, danced across his features.
“What did what?” I slung an arm around his bare waist, and he leaned into me, easy as breathing.
“What convinced you I was for real?”
“It wasn’t just one single thing. More a combination of stuff.” I leaned past him to spit and rinse before I continued. “All of it, I guess. You being you. Perfectly happy to give up a big opportunity for me, and I could tell that you meant it. How Dom and Ezra didn’t seem surprised at all—and that you told them and Jude, just like that.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He sounded genuinely confused. “I mean, even if you’d decided you were too much of a wuss to give us a chance?—”
“A wuss?” I cut in, and he turned his head for a gleaming smile.
“A scaredy cat. A tottering chicken. A certified wimp. Need I go on?”
“I hadlegitimateconcerns,” I began, only for him to make clucking noises.Idiot. God, I loved him. Didn’t stop me from going for the ticklish spot just below his ribs.
“Anyway,” he said once he stopped laughing, sagged against the sink, a tad out of breath. “Point is that even if you had decided I’m not worth the risk—well, I love you. Why hide it?”
“You’re talking to someone who’s done just that for a decade,” I reminded him.
Everything about him went soft. “Yeah,” he said, drawing me in. “But not anymore.”
“Not anymore,” I agreed, throat a little tight with happiness. I let him fold me up, relaxing into the circle of his arms. Just breathing for a minute. “I think,” I said then, “the final piece—like, what made me kiss you? It was exactly that—realising you weren’t about to hide this. Like, when we’re with our families tomorrow, I know you won’t hesitate for a second to kiss me in front of them.”
“I won’t.” He paused, a sudden grin shining through his voice. “So it wasn’t my smokin’ body, then?”
