Page 32 of Heat Haze
Toro grips at my waist, sliding his hand up so the shirt I’m wearing—which is his—moves with it. It’s my turn to tremble as he grows more confident in his actions, his face going for the crook of my neck so he can leave even more love marks there.
It’s a lot, maybe too much, so I put my hand over his and just whine. Without missing a beat he’s immediately pulling his face away from my neck, staring at me with worried eyes.
“Okay?” He asks simply, brows raised in concern. “Nico, okay?”
“I’m okay,” I affirm. “Just… New to me. It’s all really new to me.” It feels so lame to admit it, but it’s true. Nobody’s ever wanted to touch me this way, not before Toro.
Toro nods, clearing his throat before pulling himself in to cuddle some more. His hands aren’t exploring anymore, just holding me tight instead. His cheek rests against my chest, and I hear him start to yawn before I see it.
I genuinely laugh at how quickly he calmed down. “You’re tired now?”
His gaze darts up to meet mine, a mischievous grin on his face. Toro goes back to nuzzling against me, shutting his eyes and seemingly ignoring me. I know he isn’t. I know what he wants, too.
With all the strength I can muster I pull him up again, noting how he starts to smile mischievously. He’s so annoying in the best way possible. He probably wants me to kiss him, or hold him, or something soft and sweet like that.
But I have a better idea.
Doing my best impression of him, I don’t say anything and instead lunge forward to begin planting hickies all over his neck. He stiffens the minute my lips make contact with him, and after a few seconds of stunned silence he utters out the cutest little squeak.
Shit. Did I go too far? I jerk back, instantly going back to my usual self as I stare at him with concern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you—”
His eyes are misty, and before I know it he’s just bawling. Toro throws his arms around me, crying into myshoulder. I have no idea what to do at first, but he begins to speak and I don’t dare interrupt him.
“...Yours.” He says between cries, freeing me from the hug and bringing one of his fingers up to where I left the hickey. He touches it as though it’s something sacred, before slamming his lips against mine.
He’s not crying because he’s upset… he’s crying because he’s happy. He’s crying because he’s happy that I gave him a hickey. That’s as cute as it is silly, and now I feel likeIwanna cry.
Instead I kiss back, the kiss a lot more hungry and clumsy than the one before. When he pulls away he’s a huffing and puffing mess, sniffling while staring at me with those big brown eyes I’ve grown to love so much.
“Mine,” I say while wiping his tears away with my thumb. “Don’t cry.”
Toro groans in response, clearly unable to stop the tears from flowing. Instead he tilts his head up, exposing his neck to me. “More,” he all but demands while pointing to the few marks already there. “Please, more.”
Why does it feel like I’ve made a really big mistake?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
When the sun finally rises and the birds are chirping, Toro and I have already been awake for an hour or two. I was reading that book to him, the romance one. He absolutely loves it, and whenever they doanythinghe insists we do it too.
Which is why we’re currently on our way to the kitchen, wooden floorboards creaking with each heavy step Toro makes. He might be cute but he sure is loud. Either way we finally make it only to see Lucio sitting there with a mug of coffee.
With baggy sweatpants and a white t-shirt, he must be absolutely exhausted, looking up at us with disinterest painted all over his face. “Mornin’.”
“Hi,” I reply while Toro keeps himself glued to my side. We shuffle over to the fridge, and I take a few eggs from the basket while Toro grabs himself an apple.
He bites into it, and only after a split second does he shove it in my face as some sort of offering. I chuckle softly and take a bite, before turning my attention to the stove.
It’s one of those big scary old stoves, with knobs so old they’ll probably pop off if I’m too rough. I hesitantly twist one, watching the flame jump before immediately calming down. Toro already has a pan ready, setting it down atop the element.
“Thanks,” I say while Toro drops a slice of butter down, immediately sizzling up when faced with the intense heat. We go through the motions of making some simple scrambled eggs, working surprisingly well together.
It’s not the first time we’ve done this, so it makes sense that we sort of got used to each other’s kitchen habits.Not that I had many to begin with, I used to survive off of food delivery and iced coffee.
I catch a glimpse of Lucio eyeing us, but he immediately turns away as if he got caught doing something he shouldn’t have. Once everything is done we take a seat at the little breakfast table, the blue and white tablecloth having seen better days.
“So y’all just in love, then?” Lucio asks, voice laced with something that almost sounds resentful. “Don’t know how you wake up next tothatmug every damn morning…”
Toro and I look at each other. He doesn’t seem upset, giving me his signature dopey grin. He knows that I love waking up next to him in the morning, no matter what anyone says. We instinctively move closer, sharing a chaste kiss.
