Page 133 of Hockey Bois
Nick’s heart leapt in his chest. If he were smart, he’d close his eyes and pretend to be asleep.
Nick was not smart.
Brady noticed him watching and instead of the crinkles in his brow deepening, he honest-to-God smiled. “Hey,” he whispered, as though he thought it would be profane to ruin the moment with anything louder.
“Hey,” Nick replied just as quietly. He wanted to ask if he’d slept okay or if they should check the weather, to sayanythingto break the spell they were under.
Instead, Nick said nothing, and Brady said nothing back.
The moment dragged on long enough that things should be awkward, but theyweren’t, and Nick marveled at that.
And then, despite his better judgment, his arm twitched. It moved of its own accord, freeing itself of the starchy blanket, crossing those last few inches, and finally resting over Brady’s hip. That was it, a relatively innocent touch over clothes. No caress, no dipping below the waistband of Brady’s boxer-briefs, no grabbing at the swell of his ass. No, simply his arm, draped casually but familiarly over him.
An invitation.
An opening.
Brady’s eyes went wide. He looked genuinely stunned by the move. Not unhappy or angry, just surprised that this was where they’d ended up on a rainy Monday in June when they weren’t even supposed to be here, separately or together.
Serendipity? Fate? Inevitability?
It didn’t matter. They’d made it.
It took all of five seconds for Brady to react. It was long enough for Nick to regret it and think he’d ruined everything. Brady was a skittish horse; how could Nick expect him to do anything but bolt?
He didn’t though.
He did the exact opposite.
That first kiss was too rough and messy to be enjoyable. It was also so distinctly different from every time Nick had ever imagined this moment. He was so in shock he almost didn’t reciprocate with more than a surprised gasp.
Their lips broke apart only for Nick’s instincts to finally kick in. He chased that broken kiss, and when their lips met again, he was ready for it. It started too fast, too desperate. Nick did his best to slow down and commit this moment to memory. He savored the feel of Brady’s lips, the taste of him, the way Brady mirrored Nick’s movements. They’d earned this kiss, and he was going to make the fucking most of it.
He sucked Brady’s bottom lip into his mouth, his teeth dragging across it and earning him a deep growl. He liked that sound and made a mental note to do that again later.
“Why now?” Nick breathed.
“Why not?” Brady countered.
Part of Nick wanted to push him back and hold him at arm’s length until he got a real answer, because damn it, this could have been themmonthsago!
The other part of him acknowledged, yeah, good point. If the choices were now or never, then could he really argue?
Brady kissed Nick again, this time working his way from Nick’s lips to his jaw.
He couldn’t help it; Nick giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Brady mumbled. He pulled away only far enough to remove his shirt and fling it across the room.
“Your beard tickles,” Nick said. It was half true. Definitely easier than admitting he was just so fuckinghappythat he couldn’t help himself.
“That a problem?” He still looked sleep rumpled, a little grumpy even.
Nick grinned so wide it hurt. “Best problem of my life. Kiss me again, yeah?”
“I think I can handle that…”
Chapter Fourteen: June
