Page 61 of Cover Up

“I’m gonna…I’m coming,” he managed to get out just before his back arched and he let go.

Wetness spread out beneath him as his stomach muscles clenched, and Felix rolled his hips harder and stroked him a little faster until it was all too much. Dei shoved him back with a firm hand, but he didn’t let Felix pull out.

Instead, he met his gaze and then gripped his chin. “Fuck my hole and come. Now.”

Felix’s eyes rolled back, and he began to mindlessly thrust, losing all rhythm until he collapsed, his whole body shuddering as the condom inside Dei went fat and hot with his release. Felix twitched hard, his breath hitching a little in his chest, and Dei held him close—a little out of fear that it was too much.

Seconds ticked into minutes, and before he could really panic, Felix finally lifted his head. His eyes were a little glassy and not entirely focused, but his mouth was curved up in the smallest, sweetest smile.

“Please tell me that was good for you because that was…I don’t even have words,” Felix said, slurring just a touch.

Dei laughed and gripped his chin, pulling him up for a kiss as Felix finally slipped out with a wet squelch. They both shared a groan, and then Dei laughed as he wrapped his arm around Felix and refused to let him move.

“We can shower together in a bit.”

Felix moaned softly and laid a kiss on his pec. “That sounds amazing.” He shifted to the side just a bit, and a few moments later, Dei felt him trace the edge of his neck tattoo.

“Admiring your work?”

Felix snorted a laugh. “I just like seeing my ink on your skin. Knowing it’s there forever…” He trailed off and pressed a little harder.

Dei ran his fingers over some of the abstract shapes on Felix’s ribs. “I like it too. I’d love to get more.”

Felix hummed, then pushed up on one arm. “Yeah? Like what?”

Dei shrugged. “Dunno. Always wanted some kind of owl. My grandfather used to feed one when I was little, so it hung around the property. A lot of kids were scared of it. My sister hated it. But I always kind of thought it understood me. It would sit on the fence right by the porch stairs and just…be with me. It didn’t want anything. It didn’t need anything. It just…was.”

Felix blinked slowly, then opened his eyes like he was struggling to stay awake. Dei knew they’d regret it if they slipped off before cleaning up, but falling asleep surrounded by the musky scent of their lovemaking wasn’t the worst thing in the world either.

Felix’s head dropped back down to his chest, and Dei sighed, holding him a little closer. He was dangerously happy—dangerously content. It felt like everything he’d ever wanted was being handed to him, and he was terrified that at some point, the universe would come asking for him to pay.

18

Felix felt a huge rush of nerves as he headed for the door of his old shop. It wasn’t so much the look of it that triggered his memory, but the smells of the taco truck a few feet away in the laundromat parking lot, and the ocean breeze coming up the street, and the sounds of rumbling cars from the locals since tourists rarely flocked to their neighborhood.

Bonsai was away from the hustle and bustle of shopping and fancy hotels and the Santa Monica Beach. This place was home in ways he knew that the Keys would never be—even if he didn’t feel compelled to go back there. But sharing a piece of him with Dei felt important, and that made his nerves even worse.

“You don’t need to do this, baby,” Dei murmured, leaning in close to the back of his ear. “You don’t owe anyone anything.”

Felix ducked his head and laughed. “I actually want to. I just didn’t think it would feel this strange to be back.”

Before he could open the door, it was wrenched away from him, and he was tugged into the arms of a man he only recognized from his absurd height and the way that his skin was blacked out from his wrists to his elbows.

“Holy shit, you look amazing,” Leif told him. He was the acting manager of Bonsai since the owner, Garrett, only showed up for his occasional appointments, then fucked off to do whatever rich business owners liked to do in LA. But Leif had been the one to hold the fort down whenever shit got ugly. He’d been the first person at Felix’s side when his seizure turned his life upside down.

And he’d been the first person to take Felix by the shoulders and tell him that he needed to go when Zeke showed up and asked Felix to uproot his life and get out.

Felix looked up at him and wished to god he could remember his face better. It felt like staring at a stranger with his light hair and temple tattoos and dark eyes. But his smile stirred nostalgia in Felix’s gut, and it put him at ease.

“You know who I am, right?”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Yeah, fucker. I couldn’t forget this ugly mess.” He flicked Leif on his arm right over his wrist, and Leif quickly flipped him the bird.

“Someday, you’ll have the balls, young Padawan. But I guess today’s not that day.”

Felix’s grin was so wide it was starting to make his cheeks hurt as he stepped back and beckoned Dei a little closer. “Uh. This is my…um. Boyf—er. My…”

“Boyfriend,” Dei said smoothly, extending his hand.

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