Chapter 14
RALEIGH
If there was one thing I’d learned about my best friend over the years, it was that he could avoid talking about something until he was blue in the face.
Our kiss last night could’ve easily been chalked up to being drunk. No, my judgment wasn’t usually impaired when I was drinking—you had to learn to hold your liquor when you owned a bar—but when two people killed a bottle of tequila on their own, you could expect some fuckery to go down. However, past fuckeries had never involved kissing my deeply committed best friend.
And this morning, we’d both been stone-cold sober. Come to think of it, I’d never actually seen Angel act intoxicated. The man had a tolerance I would kill for. But alcohol couldn’t be blamed for that scene in the kitchen. When he leaned against the door and watched me jack myself off in the kitchen, there was only one thing driving his decision to watch: lust.
Angel avoided me the rest of the day. I understood that what happened between us bothered him, but he said he didn’t want to talk about it. He was meeting up with Eli. Ryder was chasing some extra hours and was willing to cover his shift, and I couldn’t find a valid reason to deny him. Trust me, I looked.
Angel’s absence didn’t stop him from running through my mind all day long. I was so distracted that even Ryder asked what was going on—I weaseled my way out of his questions. Until I figured out what was going on between Angel and I, it wouldn’t do any good to talk to anyone else.
He was still gone when I returned to the apartment. Frustrated, I kicked my shoes off at the door and moved for the bathroom to shower. The sound of keys in the door stopped me before I stepped into the hallway, and I turned in time to find Angel stepping into the apartment.
“Hi,” I said. “Can we talk?”
As expected, he shook his head—and then stormed across the room. “I don’t want to talk,” he signed. He fisted the collar of my shirt, hauling me in for a toe-curling kiss.
I should’ve argued. I should’ve pulled back and demanded an explanation, reminded him that he still had a boyfriend. I should’ve asked if he still had a boyfriend, but—and I couldn’t stress this enough—I didn’t want to.
Angel speared his tongue through my mouth, and every damn inhibition, every sense of morality I had, flew out the window. I wrapped my arms around his slender waist, pulling him into me. He fit in my arms like the last piece to a puzzle, molding into the curves of my body. Angel’s kiss was the polar opposite of last night’s: hungry, frantic, like I would vanish into thin air if we parted long enough to breathe. My hands started to roam, into his hair, curling around his hip. I cradled his head, hoping the small gesture gave him a sense of security I knew that he needed. He clenched my shirt until he broke the kiss to catch his breath, and I didn’t give him time to voice any regrets.
“I’ve got you, darling,” I whispered, stroking his cheek with the pad of my thumb. To my surprise, it came away wet . I had a thousand questions about those tears, but that wasn’t what Angel needed at that moment. “What do you need?”
He whimpered, clinging to me even tighter. His answer was evident, despite the fact that he didn’t say a word. “ You. ”
“Okay, okay.” Tears poured down his cheeks, and I wiped them away as I gently shushed him, leaning in for another kiss. “I’m here.”
Our lips met, and I held him against me once more. Tongues tangled, the salt of his tears mingling with his natural taste. No longer afraid that I would push him away, he relaxed in my arms, winding his around my neck. With the difference between our heights, Angel had to tip his head back to kiss me.
It wasn’t enough. I needed more of him.
I moved, pushing him backward until his lower back hit the kitchen counter. Without missing a beat, I cupped my hands under his ass and lifted. He gasped, barely separating from the kiss before his lips were on mine again. After gently setting him on the countertop, I hooked my hands behind his knees and tugged, needing him flush against me. Angel moaned, breaking the kiss to tilt his head back, exposing his neck.
Don’t mind if I do .
I gratefully accepted the invitation, licking a stripe along the sensitive skin, and stopping to suck on the tender spot behind his ear. My tongue teased the tattoos peeking out from under his collar. My hands massaged his hips, which kicked forward to grind our hard lengths together.
“God damn , Angel,” I growled, nipping at his earring. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
A laugh rumbled from deep in his chest. I drew back long enough to take in the sight before me. Angel was thoroughly wrecked: His hair was a mess, his clothes disheveled. His lips were pink and swollen, and his eyes were equal parts lust and nerves.
Nerves, I noticed, but not fear . In fact, as I peered into the only pair of eyes I knew better than my own—eyes I’d been staring into for years—I saw something behind them that I sometimes took for granted.
Trust.
That look was reserved only for me. It made my chest warm, made my lips twist into a helpless smile. I loved being the one to take care of my best friend. That part was familiar, but there was something else in his eyes alongside it, and that part was new. It pulled all of the warmth in my chest downward.
Lust and trust. Was that what love looked like?
In that moment, I realized that he wasn’t the only one who wanted this. And if we were doing this, then I wanted to make it the best damn experience of his life.
Gently, I took his hand and brought the fingers to my lips, pressing a kiss to each tip. “Darling,” I cooed, “if you don’t want this, I need you to stop me now.”
I paused, giving him the chance to back out. Though I wasn’t sure he heard my words. His eyes were fixed on my mouth, where I teased each of his fingertips. When my tongue darted out to lap the pad of his index finger, he grinned and shoved the digit into my mouth.
Well, there was my answer.
I sucked the finger to the knuckle, happily taking a second one when he fed it to me and swirling my tongue around. I hummed around them, and he pushed deeper, pressing on the flat of my tongue. Seeing his reaction, I swallowed, suppressing the urge to gag. Angel moaned again and freed his fingers with a pop , tugging my head forward. He paused just shy of my lips, rolling his body against mine. His whimper sent a wash of warm air over my mouth, and I smiled.
“Did you think I could do anything less, my Angel?” I murmured, grazing my nose along his jaw.
Angel shivered and his hips rocked forward, seeking friction. I helped him out of his jacket, then worked my hands beneath the hem of his T-shirt and hiked the fabric up. He took the hint and threw the shirt aside. Taking a reluctant step backward, I shed my own top.
Despite the throbbing below my belt, I took a moment to admire the man in front of me in a way I never had before. Angel braced himself with his hands on the counter behind him, his torso exposed—mine for the taking. His chest heaved with each breath, giving his all-seeing eye tattoos the illusion of blinking. The words across his chest, “life will out,” flexed with each inhale. The diamanté bars through his nipples sparkled under the lights from the window. A matching stud glittered at his belly button, and I suddenly felt a need to have that particular piercing in my mouth.
“Fucking stunning,” I said, fisting my erection. It was hard and eager to unravel Angel piece by piece.
“Speak for yourself,” he signed, then he hopped off the counter. “Take me to bed.”
“With pleasure.”
I carried him. He yelped in surprise before winding his legs around my waist. He brought his forehead down to rest against mine, both of us taking a moment to catch our breath. Angel’s mouth opened and shut, almost as if he were trying to speak again.
I brushed his sweat-drenched hair from his face. “You don’t need to talk, darling. I’ve got you.”
I wrapped my arms tighter around him, reciting those last three words like a prayer as I peppered kisses across his neck and chest. I turned and carried him down the hall, kicking open the door to his bedroom.
Angel was light in my arms. Given the chance, I would’ve pressed him against the wall and fucked him until the plaster cracked—but that wasn’t what he needed. Angel thrived beneath my attention. He always had. Whereas his friends and family resorted to tough love, I’d always taken a gentle approach in caring for him. After the accident he hadn’t been able to walk, much less eat, and I was the one to eventually get him back on his feet. Angel required a delicate hand.
The bedroom was no exception, it turned out. I didn’t know much about his sex life, only that Eli was his first and only. This was a new experience, and I was operating on instinct.
Instead of throwing him onto the bed like I might a casual conquest, I gently laid him on the mattress, stretching myself over him and bringing our mouths together again. The pleased hum against my lips let me know I was headed in the right direction. I kissed him slowly, languidly. When his hips punched into mine, I met his with equal pressure. I held myself aloft by one hand, keeping most of my weight off of him. My other cupped his neck, thumb stroking his silky-soft cheek. His tongue slid along mine, mapping out every corner of my mouth. When he broke the kiss and arched toward me again, I listened to his body language.
“ More ,” he told me without words. We didn’t need words. I could read him like a book.
I kissed down his jaw. Angel cried out and rolled his body with each nip. My mouth dipped lower, licking over one nipple, wetting the hard nub before moving across his chest. I sucked the other into my mouth, teasing the first with my fingers. My tongue worked the jewelry, swirling around the edges and pressing to find the bar through his skin.
While Angel couldn’t speak, he could still make noise. And fuck, the noises coming out of him were filthy, erotic—and music to my ears. I sucked harder, circling his other nipple with my finger until he yanked at my hair.
“Too much?”
He only nodded, urging my head lower. I licked and nibbled my way down his stomach, all the way to his belly ring. I rolled it around in my mouth, giving it a gentle tug with my teeth. Angel went wild, crying out and thrashing his hips. Before I worked his nipples into oversensitivity, I sat back on my haunches, my hands landing on his belt. I paused. Arching a brow at him, I silently asked for permission to continue.
The moment gave me another chance to admire Angel, to truly appreciate him. A flush extended over his neck and down his exposed chest, bringing the tattoos across his skin to life. They twitched and moved each time he trembled, glistening with the sweat sheening his torso.
The moment passed, and Angel rose onto his elbows, giving another slow bob of his head, eyes never leaving mine.
Without looking away, I undid his belt. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d discover piercings I hadn’t known about. “Am I going to find any more surprises down here, darling?”
His responding grin told me everything I needed to know. I eagerly popped the button on his jeans, and he was so hard that his zipper practically sprang open.
That’s when I slowed down. I leaned over and pressed a tender kiss to his lower belly. I wiggled him out of his jeans, though they were so skin-tight that I had to peel them down his legs. Not that I was complaining. Angel was worth it.
His tattoos continued down his stomach, disappearing behind the waistband of his boxer briefs. Those were the next thing to go, after I dropped his jeans to the floor. Angel’s hard cock sprang free, and I had to pause to collect myself. With a single finger I traced the vein that ran along the bottom of his length, right to the head, where a drop of precome clung to his own Prince Albert piercing.
“All this time we could’ve been sharing jewelry.” Unable to wait any longer, I caught the clear liquid on my finger and sucked it into my mouth. Angel’s taste exploded on my tongue. Delectable, as I’d suspected.
I wasted no time in ducking down for more, but the moment my tongue swiped along Angel’s slit and caught on his piercing, he tugged my hair. I looked up, blowing a soft breath across his heated flesh.
“I’m too close.”
I grinned, elated that I could bring him to the edge with hardly a touch. “Can you lay on the pillows for me?”
Angel scrambled to obey, eager to please. As soon as he was settled on the pillows, I crawled over him. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth and thrust his hips up and into me but paused when he noticed that I was still dressed from the waist down. Raising his brow at me, he glanced pointedly down at my lap.
I was more than happy to hop off the bed and strip down to nothing. My pants hit the floor, and Angel’s eyes found my hand where it was wrapped around my cock. He licked his lips, and my dick throbbed under the attention.
Testing a hunch, I commanded, “Touch yourself for me.”
Reclining on the pillows, eyes locked on mine, Angel teased a hand down the rigid planes of his stomach and wrapped his hand around his thick length.
“Just like that,” I purred.
He stifled a moan, then graced my ears with another sweet keening sound.
Kneeling on the bed, I tilted my head curiously. “Is this what you get up to behind closed doors?” I trailed a finger down his chest, relishing how responsive he was to my touch. “You’ve always been quiet about your sex life. Are you submissive, Angel?”
He grimaced. “I want to be.”
I took his hand, lacing our fingers together and straddling his lap. “What do you mean?”
His fingers slipped from mine to sign, “I’ve never done it before.”
“Huh…” Well, that was a new development, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. I leaned over him, lining up our dripping cocks. I wrapped a hand around both of us and gave a gentle squeeze, pulling another sweet sound from Angel’s lips. “That’s too bad. You’ve got ‘good boy’ written all over you.”