CHAPTER THIRTY
Sebastian closed his eyes and held on to Crawford—no, Luke—he thought hazily as he tangled his fingers in the hair at the back of Luke’s head and let himself be kissed senseless.
Luke delved his tongue into Sebastian’s mouth like he was desperate to taste him and Sebastian gasped against his lips, grabbing the front of Luke’s hoodie, hanging on tight as they made out like it had been weeks since they’d seen each other, not hours.
Luke hauled Sebastian closer, kneading his ass, his cock already hardening against Sebastian’s belly.
Sebastian was still feeling a little stunned by their earlier conversation, bewildered by the things Luke had said, confused by everything that had transpired. But being in Luke’s arms, feeling his tongue slide into Sebastian’s mouth, they felt right.
So Sebastian simply hung on.
“Where’s your bedroom?” Luke rasped a while later, when they were both flushed and panting, frantic for each other. Frantic to erase every bit of the space between them.
“My what?” Sebastian asked, licking swollen lips, not sure he’d heard him right.
“Bedroom,” Luke repeated. “I assume you have one. Even though we’ve never used it before.”
“I … yeah,” Sebastian managed as he stepped back. “Yeah, it’s back here.”
Sebastian held out a hand and to his surprise, Luke took it. He tangled their fingers together and followed Sebastian down the short hall to his bedroom.
Inside, Sebastian slid his hands under Luke’s hoodie, coaxing him to pull it off. He did, tossing it on the low upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. Sebastian could barely breathe as he glided his palms across the ink that stretched across Luke’s hard muscles.
He felt drunk on the scent of him, disbelieving that any of this was happening. And yet, the familiar smell of Luke’s skin, the sounds he made, the heat of his body, they all felt very real.
They felt familiar and right and Sebastian suddenly felt oddly emotional that Luke had come here. He’d come to the shop, and he hadn’t cared what anyone thought about it. And he’d done it because he hadn’t liked the way they’d left things last night, hadn’t wanted to lose him.
Sebastian let out a soft sound and pressed his lips to Luke’s shoulder, suddenly overcome.
“Thank you for coming here today,” he whispered.
Luke didn’t answer with words, but his hands—which had been roaming up under Sebastian’s shirt—stilled, and he pulled Sebastian even closer. “I’ll be here if you want me to be.”
And Sebastian nodded, his throat unexpectedly thick at the promise. He had a feeling that although Luke didn’t let many people in, he was deeply loyal to the ones he did.
At some point, Sebastian was going to have to deal with how this could impact his friendship with Nicky, but not right now. Right now, he just wanted to be close to Luke.
Without another word, Sebastian lifted his head, pressing his lips to Luke’s.
The rest of their clothes came off somehow, discarded wherever they fell, and Sebastian pulled Luke down onto the sheets with a sigh.
He hadn’t made his bed that morning and he shoved the bunched covers aside and let Luke press him down.
The heat of his skin and the weight of his body was comforting.
It made Sebastian gasp and pull him closer, their bodies so tangled together that Sebastian could barely tell where his ended and Luke’s began. They kissed for a long time, cocks hard between their bellies, gasping into each other’s mouths.
Eventually, Sebastian fumbled for the lube, finding it on the nightstand from where he’d cleaned up last night and angrily slammed it down, pissed about the argument.
But there was no anger in Sebastian now. No lingering resentment. Only relief that Luke was here. Sebastian didn’t know what to think about what they’d talked about earlier, what Luke had said.
Or even that fact that he was suddenly Luke, and no longer Crawford.
Now there was just heat and need and Luke’s big, strong hand wrapped around Sebastian’s cock and his facial hair tickling Sebastian’s neck as he kissed his jaw.
Sebastian made a sound of disappointment when Luke let go of his dick, but a moment later he was pressing Sebastian down into the mattress again, their cocks sliding together between their bodies.
All Sebastian could do was gasp and hold on to Luke’s back, digging his fingers into the thick slabs of muscle. They moved together, rutting against each other, frantically working together to reach their orgasm.
When the head of Sebastian’s dick finally grazed Luke’s just right, he cried out, gasping wordlessly as he came, the space between their bodies suddenly slick with his release.
And then Luke was coming too, panting gasps of hot air against Sebastian’s neck, rutting against him with jerky, desperate thrusts. Sebastian was still trembling by the time Luke collapsed on top of him, forcing the breath from his lungs.
He rolled onto his side, bringing Sebastian with him, and for a few minutes they just lay there, Luke’s mouth pressed to his skin. Sebastian held him close, not sure of what this meant or what they were doing, only sure that it felt right.
It felt right in a way it shouldn’t, and he didn’t know when that had changed. He didn’t know if he’d wanted it for a while and hadn’t realized it or if this was something new. So he stayed silent and trailed his palms up and down Luke’s arm, contenting himself with just touching.
“We good now?” Luke said eventually, rising on one elbow.
His hair was a mess from Sebastian’s hands, and he looked softer and more worried than usual, a little furrow forming between his brows. Sebastian reached out, smoothing a finger across it to make it go away.
“Yeah, we’re good,” Sebastian said softly, a little touched Luke still needed the reassurance. “What the hell are we going to tell my employees now though?”
Luke shifted onto his side and propped his head on his hand. “What do you want to tell them?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to you,” Sebastian said, suddenly missing the warmth of Luke’s skin. He reached down and pulled the covers up over him, belatedly realizing his belly was streaked with cum from both of them.
He made a face.
Luke sat up with a grunt, disappearing out the door of Sebastian’s bedroom. Sebastian stared after him, confused, until he heard the sound of running water. A few moments later, Luke reappeared carrying a washcloth, water glistening on the solid planes of his body where it caught the light.
“Here,” he said, holding the cloth out.
Surprised, Sebastian took it. It was still warm and he wiped at his stomach and thighs, mopping up the mess they’d made earlier.
Luke took it from him when he was done and disappeared again. Sebastian heard the sound of running water again before he returned.
Luke slid into bed, slinging an arm over Sebastian’s waist. “Do we have to tell them anything?”
Sebastian blinked before he remembered that they’d been talking about how to explain to his employees why Luke had stopped by and why they’d disappeared into Sebastian’s apartment for over an hour.
“They’re probably gonna have questions,” Sebastian pointed out. “Rosaleen knew who you were.”
“Yeah, she’s Catherine’s niece, right? Took me a moment to figure it out, but …”
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah. Catherine was the one who suggested I hire her.”
“She doing well here?”
“She is,” Sebastian said. “Although I could use a couple more of her to work in the shop.”
“I know she’s got a shitload of cousins around the area. You could probably hire the whole O’Shea clan if you wanted. Well, the ones who aren’t involved in hockey, anyway.”
Sebastian laughed. “I might have to think about that.”
They fell silent a moment before Sebastian pressed on. “Rosaleen recognized you and Morgan did too and there’s no guaranteeing that they won’t tell Raul and Joe and they might tell other people too and …”
“You worry too much,” Luke said.
Sebastian shrugged. “Probably.”
“Well, cut it out,” Luke said gruffly, though the palm he smoothed over Sebastian’s stomach was gentle. “You don’t have to explain anything to anyone. I’m not asking you to hide the fact that we know each other.”
“But what if someone figures out what we’re doing? What if they put the pieces together?”
“That brain of yours never turns off, does it?” Luke asked.
“Not really,” Sebastian admitted with a sigh. “Though sex with you helps.”
“Glad I can be of service.” Luke shot him a crooked grin.
Another wave of emotion went through Sebastian, a sudden, dizzying sense of fondness for the big, gruff man in bed with him. Oh fuck, he was so screwed.
What the fuck he was going to tell Nicky, how he was going to deal with that whole mess, was a problem he hadn’t even begun to figure out. But for now, he was going to trust that Crawford was okay with a few more people speculating about their involvement.
“Okay,” he said, sliding a hand across Luke’s chest. “Okay. If you’re seriously not worried about what they’ll think then I won’t either. We’ll just let them wonder.”
“Sounds good to me.” Luke yawned, wide enough his jaw cracked. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Yeah, me either.”
“We could nap now,” Luke offered with another disarmingly crooked grin.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the idea. “You want to nap with me?”
“Sure. Unless you’re planning to kick me out.”
Sebastian smiled. “Planning to kick you out? No. But I should get back to work.” He sat up reluctantly.
“Okay,” Luke said, falling back on the pillow.
“Okay? Just like that?” Sebastian asked, surprised.
Luke tucked his arm behind his head. “You want me to beg?”
“No,” Sebastian said honestly. “I’ve just, uh, been involved with a lot of people who didn’t understand that work comes first for me most of the time.”
“Well, they’re not here now, are they?” Luke said gruffly.
“No, no they’re not,” Sebastian admitted. Besides, Luke was in a similar position, wasn’t he? Of course he understood. Hockey was Luke’s priority and Twig & Bloom Sebastian’s.
Sebastian leaned in and kissed Luke, let himself linger over it for a moment too, before he drew away with a reluctant sigh. “You wanna stay here and nap anyway?”
“You want me to?”
“Maybe I do.” Sebastian trailed a hand down Luke’s chest. “Maybe I want to come back up a little later and find you in my bed.”
“Then I guess I’m taking a nap here,” Luke said, already getting comfortable.
By the time Sebastian got tidied up and re-dressed, Luke was asleep.
Sebastian paused in the doorway of his bedroom and looked at him for a minute, taking in the big body sprawled across his sheets and the snuffling sounds of him snoring.
Sebastian shook his head, smiling for no reason at all, and went back to work.
Although Sebastian’s employees side-eyed him when he came down alone, no one commented. Sebastian resumed work on bouquets for the following day, although Rosaleen had finished a handful of them already.
He praised her work, offered her a few suggestions, then let himself get dragged into the comforting tedium of his workday.
He wasn’t surprised when an hour or so later, he heard the heavy thud of feet coming down the stairs, and the sound of the back door opening and closing.
Rosaleen arched an eyebrow at him but didn’t say anything.
Sebastian felt oddly deflated as he continued his work. Well, it was to be expected. Luke wasn’t just going to hang out here all evening, no matter what he’d said earlier.
So when the back door opened shortly before closing, Sebastian glanced up, expecting to see Joe checking in after the last of his deliveries for the day, and blinked at the sight of Luke carrying takeout bags up to his apartment.
Later, when he went upstairs at the end of his workday, the food was warming in the oven and Luke was on his phone, naked in Sebastian’s bed.
For a moment, Sebastian just stared at him, surprised and happy and a little confused by today’s turn of events.
But when Luke glanced up and smiled at him, Sebastian felt helpless to do anything but go over to the bed and kiss him.
They were really doing this, huh?