Falling to the bed, Ryan tried to catch his breath. The mattress dipped and then Z was gone.
While he willed his heart to slow, he heard the sound of water from the adjoining bathroom, then the sound of the toilet flushing. A minute later, Z joined him in the bed once more, pulling Ryan into his arms.
It was then that Ryan gave in to the exhaustion that had consumed him, falling asleep—naked and sated—next to the man he’d vowed to stay away from. He now knew that was no longer a possibility.
TWENTY-FOUR
NEVER IN HIS ADULT LIFE had Z slept so soundly, but when his eyes opened, roaming the room slowly to find the clock, it took him a moment to remember where he was. When he noticed the sexy, tousled blond lying next to him, he instantly remembered.
He wasn’t alone in the bed.
Z smiled to himself.
It was ten o’clock and RT was still there, still sleeping. A damn good sign.
Remembering what had happened the night before, Z’s gaze strayed to the door. He listened but heard nothing from outside the room. Had everyone left? Or were they wandering around downstairs or possibly out by the water?
“Please, please, please, let them be gone,” he muttered to himself, sliding out of bed and pulling his shorts on. Because it was possible that someone was downstairs, Z also grabbed a T-shirt.
Leaving the room as quietly as he could, Z snuck down the hall and peered over the railing to the floor below.
Nothing.
Turning back, he noticed that all of the bedroom doors were open, which meant they’d likely been cleared out as well. With his heart beating with anticipation, he flew down the stairs, practically ran through the rooms, glimpsed out the back door, and then darted to the front.
There weren’t any people or cars in sight.
When he turned to go back upstairs, he looked up in time to see RT standing on the second-floor landing, wearing only his shorts and a smile.
“They’re all gone,” RT informed him, holding up his phone. “Bryce sent a text letting me know they cleared out.”
Z couldn’t find any words.
They were alone.
Finally.
Stalking up the stairs, Z didn’t care that he looked like a madman. He was finally alone with RT, and no one was going to interrupt them.
“I need to—”
Z cut RT off with a look. Before RT had a chance to convince (or order) him to do something else, Z made his way closer, not stopping until—
RT suddenly turned and bolted down the hall.
“Where are you going?” Z questioned, surprised.
“To brush my teeth!” he called out over his shoulder.
It took a second for RT’s words to process, but then Z laughed.
Brush his teeth.
Good idea.
While RT slipped into the room he’d originally taken, Z went back to his own. After a quick brush and a swig of mouthwash, Z practically tripped over his own feet in his haste to get back to RT. He knew the guy. Give him a chance to rationalize his own actions and this wouldn’t be happening.
Since RT wasn’t in Z’s room, Z traipsed across the hall, fully expecting to find RT in the bathroom, hesitating.
That was so not what he found.
There, lying prone on the bed and utterly, completely, beautifully naked was RT. Again words eluded him as he stared unabashedly at the sexiest man he’d ever seen laid out like a feast beckoning him.
When his brain flickered online briefly, Z thought to close and lock the door—just because no one was there now didn’t mean they wouldn’t come back.
In a flurry of motion, Z ripped off his T-shirt, then shoved his shorts down his legs before joining RT on the bed. His eyes continued to rove over RT’s exquisite form, slowly sliding back up to meet his eyes.
“In a hurry?” RT asked.
“Maybe.” No, he wasn’t, but he was desperate to get close to RT. He wanted to touch him, to taste him, to relive what they’d experienced on that one remarkable night that seemed so long ago.
While Z was on all fours, moving toward him, RT gripped his arm, yanking him close, causing Z to fall over, practically crushing him. RT let out a surprised “oomph,” but Z quickly silenced him with a kiss, reversing their positions so that RT was over him.
Gripping the back of RT’s head, Z slipped his tongue past RT’s lips, colliding with him from mouth to knee. The sweet taste of mint exploded on his tongue. So fucking good. While he sealed his lips to RT’s, Z’s other hand roamed RT’s back, feeling the muscles flex and bunch beneath his touch.
Z smiled against RT’s mouth. “You look so damn good on me.”
RT laughed, some of the tension Z had sensed vibrating through him slowly fading.
“I happen to like you on me,” RT muttered. “But this works, too.” With a gentle tug, Z pulled RT’s mouth back to his.
Z loved the way RT’s hands slid over his face, lazily exploring as he cupped his head gently. The kiss robbed him of all sense, made him delirious with need. After a few minutes fused to RT’s lips, tasting, teasing, exploring, Z pulled back, staring up at him, cupping his head. “Tell me this is real.”
RT’s expression turned serious. “It’s real.”
“Thank God.” With that, Z pulled RT’s mouth back to his, kissing him as though he’d been starved for the man for a lifetime. Sometimes it’d felt that way, especially over the course of the past few days. Z wanted RT with a passion he’d never experienced before.
With so much back-and-forth between them, Z hadn’t known what to expect, but that hadn’t stopped him from hoping. And now that they’d seemingly moved past all the issues between them, he wanted to claim RT as his.
Not just sex, either.
Something much, much deeper than the superficial joining of their bodies.
“I want to feel you,” RT whispered.
“I’m right here,” Z muttered, sliding his mouth down RT’s jaw. “Right here.”
“No, I mean…”
When RT trailed off, Z looked up at him once again, studying his face. “Tell me.”
“I want to feel you,” RT said softly, never breaking eye contact. “Inside me.”
“We’re gettin’ there,” Z assured him.
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just… I mean…” RT swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I’ve never…”
Studying him for a moment, it didn’t take long for Z to read between the lines. Z’s cock throbbed as all the blood in his entire body pooled in his groin, as he comprehended the full meaning behind RT’s words. “You’ve never? Like, never never?”
A small smile flirted with RT’s lips, his crystal-blue eyes sparkling. “You sound surprised.”
“Well…” Z hadn’t given it much thought, really. Z would’ve figured RT, at thirty-two, had experimented with his sexual desires, figured out what worked and didn’t work for him. He found it a little hard to believe that RT had never been on the receiving end. Then again, as far as Z was concerned, top, bottom, it really didn’t matter. Personally, Z was pretty damned flexible.
RT’s brow furrowed. “Never mind.”
“No. No, no. Not never mind. We need to…explore this. I’m more than happy to show you what you’ve been missin’.” Z grinned. The idea of being RT’s first was the equivalent of the first rush from a drug in his system.
“Okay, too much talking,” RT groaned, falling over onto his back.
“Nope.” Z was instantly on him, covering RT’s thigh with his own, propping his upper body over RT’s chest. “Don’t run from me now. I’ve finally got you naked.”
“Talking’s not supposed to be part of the deal.”
Those words hit a sore spot inside Z, but he attempted to mask his reaction. As far as he was concerned, talking was a huge part of this “deal.” Intimacy wasn’t merely two bodies joining, it required mind, body, and soul to play an active role. And this wasn’t just sex for Z. Not this time.
Definitely not this time.