Chapter 22
Gavin
My eyes opened slowly, and I saw Cole standing at the window in his long-sleeve shirt and pajama pants. His hair was adorably rumpled as he braced one hand on the frame and the other lifted the slats of the blinds so he could see outside.
He glanced over his shoulder when I sat up. “It’s coming down hard out there.” His phone buzzed on the nightstand. He checked the screen and huffed a laugh. “And Dale’s not coming. Roads are iced over, so he’s stuck at home.”
“Is everyone snowed in?”
“Sure seems that way. I guess we’re playing hooky.” He smirked.
“You might be.” I climbed out of bed. “But I’ve got a book to work on.”
“I should probably work on a few projects around here anyway. How about I make us breakfast, then we can both get started?”
I nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
He headed for the kitchen as I made my way to his bathroom. Once I was done, I followed the scent of coffee and found Cole with a mug already waiting for me, prepared just the way I liked it.
“Thanks.” I wrapped my hands around the warm cup and took a sip of the sweet, creamy, caffeine-laden goodness.
“So, am I going to be allowed to read what you’re writing?” he asked, pouring a bowl of beaten eggs into a sizzling skillet.
“One day.” I grinned. “But not until it’s finished.”
“How’s that fair?” he shot back with a smile. “You get to see my work while it’s in progress.”
“That’s totally different,” I argued. “I’ve got a whole process to go through before my words are ready for public consumption.”
“You won’t even give a little preview to the guy letting you live with him?” He grabbed a spatula from the drawer.
I leaned against the counter. “Pretty sure I’ve been paying rent in ways that don’t involve a check. But tell you what, I’ll give you a signed copy once it’s published.”
He scrambled the eggs a little faster than necessary. “In that case, I’d better finish breakfast quickly and let you get to writing. I’ve got a book to look forward to.”
We ate at the small table, and I tried not to think too hard about how what we were doing was similar to scenarios I wrote about in my books: two guys in their pajamas, enjoying breakfast together as the snow piled higher outside.
Once we cleaned up our dishes and wiped down the counters, we each got started on our own project. I settled into the corner of the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with my laptop balanced on my crossed legs.
Cole came back through the living room with a toolbox in his hands. “Is it going to bother you if I fix a couple of things in the hallway?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Even if it gets loud, I have a pair of headphones I can use to drown out the noise.”
“Okay, cool.”
For a while, I was able to concentrate on the document in front of me, but when Cole began working on the light fixture at the opening of the hallway, my eyes wandered from the screen to where he stood on a step stool, a sliver of his well-defined abs peeking out of the bottom of his shirt as he unscrewed the glass globe covering the bulb.
As if he could feel the heat of my stare, he glanced over his shoulder and arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you have fictional people to focus on?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “But for once, I don’t have to be subtle about checking you out. Usually, when you’re working, there are other people around or someone shows up unexpectedly.”
“Good point. Here’s a better view.” He lifted his shirt a little higher and flexed.
“Now you’re just being cocky.”
“You like it.” He winked.
I sure did.
I was typing the final line of my current chapter when I checked the time display in the corner of my screen. It was just after noon, and I needed to take a brain break if I was going to be able to get any more work done. I closed my laptop and stretched until my back popped.
“You done for the day?” Cole asked, peeking over at me from the dining room where he’d started working about thirty minutes ago.
“No,” I replied, rolling my neck. “Just rewarding myself with a little break.”
“Rewarding?” He tilted his head to the side.
“Yeah, I bribe myself to hit word counts,” I explained. “Coffee, a snack, a few minutes to play a game on my phone. Whatever motivates me to keep typing.”
His eyes flared. “I think I can come up with a better reward than a snack.”
My stomach flipped in anticipation. “What are you thinking?”
He put down the screwdriver he was holding. “That kind that makes you forget what words even are.”
I barely had time to set my laptop on the coffee table before he closed the distance between us. The feral look in his eyes had my heart thundering.
“Strip,” he commanded.
My breath caught, but I didn’t hesitate. Standing, I peeled my shirt off and pushed my pants and boxers down in one quick move. He watched me intently, the corner of his mouth twitching as though he was fighting a smile.
Oh, someone likes being bossy.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared down the hall.
I used that moment to try to regulate my breathing, but I was too amped up and eager to find out what he had planned.
He returned with a condom and a small bottle in his hand. “Turn around and bend over the couch.”
Despite the warmth from the woodstove, I shivered and braced my palms on the back cushions.
He stepped up behind me, the heat from his body searing against my back as his hands slid down my sides.
“Been thinking about this all morning.” His hot breath caressed my ear. “Watching you sitting here, wrapped in that blanket, pretending you were working.”
“Pretty sure I was working.”
“Yeah, in between checking me out.”
There was no point in denying it, and he knew it. His touch drifted lower, over the curve of my ass, down the seam, until his thumb grazed where I wanted him most. I spread my legs wider, a silent invitation for him to continue.
He growled, then fabric rustled behind me. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see him shove his pants down and kick them aside, his shirt landing on top of them.
“Couldn’t let you be the only one naked,” he said, the familiar sound of a cap being flipped open followed.
The cool slide of his fingers tracing lazy circles over my hole before pressing in gently made me whimper.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he rasped.
He added another finger, working me open until I couldn’t stop pushing back against him.
“Cole, please,” I begged.
He withdrew his hand, and the sudden emptiness made me groan.
I heard him rip open the foil packet, and I imagined him rolling on the condom.
“Tell me you want this,” he said, his voice rough.
“I want it.” I dropped to my elbows to give him a better angle.
He surged forward, the sudden invasion making my toes curl in the best possible way. I exhaled a shaky breath as he began thrusting hard enough that all I could do was cling to the back of the couch.
“You feel so good,” he praised, his grip firm on my hips as he continued filling me over and over.
I couldn’t form words, so I just moved with him. The sounds of our bodies coming together echoed through the house. His pace ramped up, and I reached down to wrap a hand around my shaft.
He bent forward, his lips brushing the side of my neck. “You like it when I take you like this?”
“Yes,” I cried out. “Keep fucking me just like that.”
He cursed softly, but kept going, his breath ragged as his body leaned over mine. My orgasm hit without warning, pleasure coursing through me until I couldn’t hold back. I spilled into my hand, trying not to make a mess on the couch.
Cole’s movements grew rougher, his fingers tightening against me as he pushed deep and came with a shout. “God damn it.”
Once he stopped pulsing inside of me, I let out a weak laugh. “I think that might’ve been the best reward I’ve ever received.”