Chapter 18
Adriel
Adriel was at his desk when his phone rang.
He'd been staring at the same paragraph for ten minutes, his mind elsewhere; specifically, in his bedroom two nights ago, with Landen's hands on his hips and Landen's mouth on his skin.
The memory kept rising up unbidden, flooding his chest with warmth, making it impossible to focus on anything as mundane as manuscript notes.
The phone rang again. He blinked. Grabbed it.
"Adriel speaking."
"Can you come to my office? Bring the Harrison manuscript. I want to go over your notes."
Landen.
Adriel's stomach flipped.
"Sure," he said. "Be right there."
He hung up and stood, grabbing the manuscript from his desk as he did so. His hands were already shaking slightly, and he hated it, hated how obvious his body was, how it refused to cooperate.
This would be the first time they were alone in an office since this, this thing, had started.
He didn't know what was supposed to happen now.
Was he supposed to pretend like nothing had changed? Act as usual while a man who had been inside him just days ago sat across from him, discussing line edits and publication dates? Was he supposed to look at Landen's mouth and not remember what it felt like on his skin?
He reached Landen's office and knocked.
"Come in." came a soft reply.
He opened the door. Stepped inside. Pulled it closed behind him, the soft click of the latch loud in the quiet room.
He turned around and startled.
Landen was right there. Inches away. He'd crossed the room in complete silence, and now he stood in front of Adriel, close enough that Adriel could feel the warmth of him, could smell that familiar scent, could see the way his eyes had gone dark.
The next thing he knew, his back was against the door, slammed into it, the impact shuddering through him, and Landen's mouth was on his.
Landen's tongue pushed into his mouth immediately, claiming, demanding, and Adriel made a sound against him that he couldn't have stopped if he tried.
He kissed him like he was starving. Like Adriel was the only thing that could satisfy it. His hands were everywhere; in Adriel's hair, on his jaw, gripping his hip, pulling him closer. There was nothing gentle about it, nothing careful. Just want, raw and desperate and overwhelming.
Adriel kissed him back just as desperately.
His hands fisted in Landen's shirt, holding on, pulling him closer. The manuscript slipped from his fingers, landed on the floor forgotten.
Landen broke the kiss suddenly. His mouth descended on Adriel's neck, hot and urgent. His teeth scraped over the sensitive skin, then his tongue soothed it, then his lips closed over his pulse point and sucked.
Adriel's head fell back against the door.
His eyes closed. His mouth fell open on a moan that was too loud, too wanton, too everything. He didn't care. Couldn't care. Not when Landen was making sounds against his skin, low and desperate.
"Fuck." Landen's voice was muffled against his throat. "I need you. Fuck, Adriel..."
"We... can't... here..." Adriel stammered. The words came out broken, punctuated by gasps as Landen's mouth worked against his neck. "Oh my God..."
Landen found his pulse point again. Sucked the skin between his teeth; not hard enough to bruise, but close.
Without meaning to, Adriel's hands rose. Fingers slid into Landen's hair, tangled in the dark strands, pressed him closer. His head fell further to the side, baring more of his throat, offering everything. "Landen..."
Landen's thigh pushed between his legs. Pressed up against his cock.
Adriel's whole body jerked. He realized in that moment that he was hard; rock hard, aching, desperate. He hadn't even noticed it happening, hadn't felt the transition from zero to sixty. But now, with Landen's thigh pressed against him, he couldn't feel anything else.
A small whimper escaped his mouth. His hips twitching, a small, helpless movement.
Landen growled at the sound. Low and rough, vibrating against Adriel's skin. His hand came up, gripped Adriel's chin, forced his face up.
"So needy for me," he whispered. "So desperate." His eyes were black with want, pupils blown wide. "Fuck, you are perfect, baby."
Adriel flushed bright red. The words hit him somewhere deep; shame and pleasure tangled together, a knot he couldn't unravel.
Landen kissed him again. Softer this time, but no less intense. His tongue slid against Adriel's in slow, deliberate strokes that made his knees weak. Adriel clung to him, kissed him back, lost himself completely.
The phone rang, shattering the moment like glass.
Adriel jumped. His eyes flew open, wide and panicked. His brain, which had been drowning in Landen, came back online with a jolt.
Landen stepped back, walked quickly to his desk and picked up the phone. His voice, when he spoke, was slightly rough, barely noticeable unless you were listening for it.
"Landen Waters."
Adriel stayed where he was. Back still pressed against the door.
Breathing hard. Heart racing so fast he could feel it in his throat, in his temples, in every pulse point Landen's mouth had just been on.
He stared at Landen's back, at the set of his shoulders, at the way his hand gripped the phone a little too tight.
The manuscript was on the floor. He looked down at it. Somehow, his body remembered how to move, and he bent, picked it up, straightened just as Landen said goodbye to whoever was on the other line.
Adriel didn't know what to do.
Should he say something? Should he leave? Should he pretend this hadn't happened? The whiplash was disorienting; one moment lost in Landen's mouth, the next standing here in the silent aftermath, unsure of anything.
"I..." he started.
Landen turned and looked at him. His eyes were blazing. Dark. Pupils so wide they almost swallowed the color. He looked at Adriel the way you look at something you're about to devour.
Then he walked around his desk. Approached slowly. Stopped just inches away.
"I'm sorry." His voice was low. Rough. "I shouldn't have... not here..."
Adriel nodded, throat tight. Landen was so close again, close enough that he could feel the warmth of him, could smell him, could see the way his chest rose and fell with unsteady breaths.
"It's fine," Adriel managed. "I..." He looked away. Couldn't hold that gaze.
Landen's hand caught his chin. Gently this time. He pulled Adriel's face up until their eyes met.
"I'm not sorry for kissing you," Landen said quietly. "I'm not sorry for touching you." His forehead pressed against Adriel's. His mouth was a breath away. "I just shouldn't have done that here."
Adriel's breath stuttered as Landen's thumb swiped across his bottom lip. He whimpered at the contact, his lips falling open slightly without permission.
Landen hummed. Low and approving.
"I can't help it," he whispered. "You make me lose control." His thumb pressed against Adriel's lip, just barely. "I see this pretty mouth and all I can think about is how good it'd look wrapped around my cock."
Adriel moaned. His mouth fell open further. Landen's thumb slipped inside, lay heavy against his tongue. The taste of him, salt and skin and something that was just Landen, flooded Adriel's senses.
"You want that, don't you?" Landen asked. His nose dragged across Adriel's temple. Inhaled him.
Adriel nodded. Quickly. Eagerly. His lips closed around Landen's thumb and sucked, just once, but the sound Landen made in response was worth the embarrassment.
"Fuck." Landen's head fell forward, into the crook of Adriel's neck. "Such a good boy." His voice was wrecked. "You'll be the death of me."
Adriel thought it was the other way around.
If Landen kept going, kept kissing him like this, kept touching him like this, kept whispering these filthy little things in his ear, he was going to combust.
"Come to my place," Landen said suddenly. "Tonight?"
Adriel froze. The words didn't compute at first. They hung in the air, separate from everything else, requiring translation.
My place.
Adriel was silent for a long moment, shocked into stillness. His mind raced backward, through every relationship, every almost-relationship, every moment of being with someone and never quite being allowed in.
Zach.
They'd been together for over a year, and Adriel had never once been to his apartment.
Not once. He'd tried to bring it up, early on.
Casual suggestions, gentle hints. Zach always had an excuse; the place was a mess, he had bad roommates, it wasn't a good time.
And then, one time when he'd pushed just a little too hard, Zach had gotten angry.
Really angry. So Adriel had given up entirely, like the coward he was.
A year. And he'd never seen where Zach lived.
And now, barely a week since their first kiss, Landen was inviting him into his home.
Landen's hand touched his cheek. Warm. Gentle. Bringing him back to the present.
"Adriel?" His voice was soft. Questioning. "You okay?"
Adriel looked at him.
At this man who had kissed him senseless. Who had held him after and asked how he was and meant it. Who had just admitted he couldn't control himself around Adriel's mouth. Who was now looking at him with something like concern, like hope, like he actually wanted Adriel to say yes.
The word left his mouth before his nerves could catch up. "Yes."
Landen's eyes softened.
"Yeah?"
Adriel nodded. Swallowed. "Yeah. Yes. I'll come."
Landen smiled. Small and warm and real.
"Good," he said. Then he leaned in, pressed a kiss to Adriel's forehead, soft, tender, completely at odds with everything that had just happened, and stepped back.
"Seven o'clock," he said. "I'll text you the address."
Adriel nodded again. His legs felt unsteady. His heart was still racing. His lips still tingling.
He looked down at the manuscript in his hands, then back at Landen.
"The…" He held it up. "You wanted to…"