Chapter Thirty-Three

Good Morning Exercises

Vince

This time, I didn’t move away when I woke up just as the room was getting light, my front pressed tightly to Crossbody’s nude back and my arm slung over his waist.

Still half-asleep, I rubbed my nose against the back of his shoulder and pressed a kiss there, snuggling closer and breathing in his scent as I drifted back off. When I roused again, it was because Crossbody was stretching his long limbs as he came to, a sleepy groan vibrating against my chest.

He lazily shifted onto his back and slipped an arm around me, his eyes still closed as he nuzzled my cheek. My belly swooped with pleasure, and I pushed myself up onto my elbow so I could lean down and press a soft kiss to his lips. They curved into a smile against mine as he kissed me back, then sighed and reached up to rub his eyes before blinking them open.

“What time is it?” he asked, voice still hoarse from sleep, making my chest ache a little.

“Dunno.” I kissed him again. “But it’s morning. So. Good morning.”

My lips tilted into a wry, crooked smile as he looked up at me and caught on quickly, his mouth twitching.

“Good morning,” he repeated politely. My smile widened.

I was pretty sure this wasn’t the context Corey had envisioned when he’d asked us to do those stupid ‘good morning’ exercises. But at least we were doing them.

My gut suddenly tightened with a famished gurgle, which made Crossbody huff a laugh as I flopped down and rested my cheek on his chest.

“Fuck, I’m hungry,” I groaned, running my hand over his lean stomach as he threaded his fingers through my hair.

“We could go to the diner again,” he said hesitantly. “You were right. The food was very good. And there was a lot of it.”

“Yeah, let’s do that. But maybe we should brave the shower before we leave this time.”

I felt him shudder in exaggerated horror as his long legs tangled with mine. “But it’s several decades old. And pink.”

I chuckled. “I kinda like it.”

“I suppose it could be classed as chic in a retro way.”

Snorting, I pushed myself back up and shoved my messy hair off my face. “That is what I look for in cheap motel rooms with pervy incubi running the place.”

“Oh yes, I met him.” Crossbody wrinkled his nose as he sat up. “He was very… passionate.”

I found myself stiffening a little. “Did he hit on you?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” Crossbody pulled back the covers and shifted to the edge of the bed. When he stood and stretched, my gaze locked on his ass and my cock started to stiffen.

I was willing to admit at this point—maybe a little too late, but I was good at being stubborn—that I was unlikely to get enough of him anytime soon. We hadn’t been quite so manic and insatiable last night, taking it a little easier and actually getting some proper sleep, but I could’ve easily kept going. I could’ve kept going right now. I still wanted him.

A lot.

So much that I already wanted to ask him when we were next coming back here.

He had to want that too, right? We had to be on the same page. It wasn’t like we wanted to be together or anything, but we clearly wanted to fuck each other.

A lot.

I climbed out of bed and followed him into the bathroom, reaching for the new bar of soap and unwrapping it as he turned on the shower. It was just a given that we were getting in there together. Well, I mean, maybe it wasn’t to him, but it was happening.

My half-hard cock stiffened further when he climbed in and tilted his face under the spray, letting the water stream over his hair and turn it a deeper gold. He grinned when I got into the shower with him, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer for a kiss, which made my dick jerk against his thigh.

I wasn’t remotely surprised when, just a couple minutes later, I was stroking our pinned cocks in a soapy fist while Crossbody sagged against the shower wall, moaning breathlessly. His hips jutted forward, and his hooded eyes were locked on his cock pressed tight to mine as he clutched my sides, thighs quaking.

I watched him hungrily as his head tipped back against the wall, lips parted around his fast breaths and eyes closing as his brows pinched. He was so ridiculously beautiful, his features delicate but masculine, with high cheekbones and long lashes and a proud, straight nose.

With a shudder, he moaned low as his cock flexed against mine and spurted cum between us. It dripped over my hand, slicking my cockhead and making me stiffen as my fingers pressed harder against the shower wall beside his head. A grunt left me as I followed him over, pumping my fist up and down to spread both our releases all over us. Crossbody sighed in pleasure, his hips twitching as his frame relaxed against the wall.

Breathing hard, I released him, but only to wash the cum off my hand so I could run it over his softening cock, cleaning him while he lazily smoothed his palms up my sides. When I leaned in to kiss him, he smiled against my mouth and straightened from the wall with a groan.

We finished washing up in easy, comfortable silence and climbed out. I chuckled as Crossbody reluctantly and gingerly dried himself with one of the motel towels, trying to keep its contact with his skin light and brief.

“Too scratchy for you, your highness?” I said teasingly, swiping my own towel over my torso.

“Yes,” he admitted with a self-deprecating shrug. I laughed again as I dropped my towel over the edge of the bath and finger-combed my hair.

He was still peering into the mirror and trying to make his own hair look presentable when I went back into the bedroom and got dressed. By the time I was pulling my sweater on, he still hadn’t emerged.

“If you take much longer, I’ll make you return the room key and see the incubus,” I called, smirking to myself. “He’ll have lots of questions.”

“I don’t mind questions,” Crossbody said from the bathroom.

My brow rose. “No? Gonna give him a play-by-play?”

He finally walked back into the bedroom, still fiddling with his hair. “He did seem very… enamoured. He referred to you as the ‘sexy ghoul.’”

I laughed, watching him tug his briefs up his long legs. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. But I’m the one who spent the night with you, so…” He shrugged, pulling on his pants and buttoning them as he looked over at me with a smug smile. “Maybe I want to go rub it in a little.”

Damn. That kind of made me want to puff out my chest in pride.

With a stupid grin on my face, I shrugged and shoved my wallet and phone into my pockets. “Be my guest.”

“Shall I meet you at the diner?” He walked closer, buttoning his shirt.

“Sure. I’ll get us a table.” It felt as natural as breathing to lean in and kiss him before I turned for the door. Almost like this was our routine, easy and familiar. Which it kind of was. Or at least, that was what it was becoming.

Except if and when we did this again, I kind of wanted to go to his place. See what his house was like. I’d always pictured a big, stupid mansion, but now that I knew he was doing this all on his own, without his mother’s support, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

“See you there,” I said, kissing him again before heading for the door.

The day was already miserable and rainy when I stepped outside, but I was smiling.

—

Twenty minutes later, Crossbody and I were digging into our breakfasts at a booth in David’s Diner, legs tangled under the table.

The same ghoul waitress as before was working, but I didn’t know if she recognised us. Crossbody’s hair wasn’t a tangled mess this time, and he was wearing clothes that actually fit, whereas I wasn’t in a crumpled, twisted shirt that smelled like sweat.

I’d reluctantly washed that shirt toward the end of last week, but I hadn’t offered to return it. For some reason, I didn’t want to.

He hadn’t returned my sweater either.

I wolfed down my food much faster than him and sipped my coffee as I watched him with fond amusement. He ate so neatly, almost methodically. While I liked to shove a bit of everything into my mouth at the same time, he focused on clearing the scrambled eggs from his plate before moving on to the bacon.

The waitress came over to refill our cups when he finally sat back with a sigh, his plate empty. He gave her a polite smile in thanks and pulled his cup closer, looking relaxed and much more comfortable than the last time we were here.

He’d just taken a sip of coffee when I heard myself blurt, “So do you want to keep doing this?”

Heat rushed to my face as he froze, blinking rapidly. Then he licked his lips and lowered the cup while I tried not to fidget, before a blush stained his cheeks as he smiled.

“Yes.”

Even though that was the answer I’d been mostly expecting—and hoping for—my heart still gave a mighty thud of excitement.

I grinned back, spinning my cup between my hands on the table. “Okay. Yeah, me too.”

He was still smiling as he lifted his cup back to his lips and took a delicate sip, glancing outside to watch a tired-looking human couple bickering in the parking lot beside their car.

It gave me a chance to stare at him, which I’d suddenly found myself doing a lot. He was mind-blowingly beautiful. He almost didn’t look real.

I rested my elbows on the table and leaned in. He looked back at me, his cheeks still rosy with what seemed like happiness.

“What do you think Corey would do if we told him in one of our therapy sessions that we’ve been fucking?” I murmured, shooting him a sly grin.

He set down his cup and leaned in too, smiling back at me. “Probably convince himself that it was all his doing. Start calling himself the office matchmaker.”

I laughed, wanting to lean right over and kiss him, even though I’d never been a big fan of PDAs. I wasn’t counting that kiss he’d laid on me in the parking lot the last time we were here, because… well, it wasn’t like I was ever gonna pull away when he kissed me. And only that stunned trucker had witnessed it.

“I forgot to ask, did the incubus say anything weird when you checked out?” I sat back and drained my coffee cup.

Crossbody huffed in amusement. “No. He was passed out on the desk.”

I snorted. “Yeah, he was last week too. Stroked himself into a coma, I guess.”

Crossbody wrinkled his nose, which made me laugh as I pulled out my wallet and shifted to the end of the booth.

By the time I got back from paying, he’d already left a tip on the table and stood to wait for me. For some reason, I almost found myself threading my fingers through his to lead him to the door, but I refrained. I didn’t hold hands with people. That was weird. I couldn’t even remember a single time my mom had held my hand when I was little, and Uncle Robbie always used to let me ride on his shoulders until I was too big for it.

As we stepped out of the diner and into the cool drizzling rain, the realisation that Crossbody didn’t have any family here suddenly thudded into the pit of my stomach. I mean, I didn’t have much—only Rob, but he was enough for me. I didn’t include my mom.

Did he get lonely? Did it bother him that his mom didn’t support him or his life choices? It had to, surely. Rob supported me in everything I wanted to do, everything I shared with him, so it was hard for me to imagine.

A surprising wave of anger toward Crossbody’s mom washed over me. Were her crown and title all she cared about? If he didn’t conform to what she wanted, she had no problem with just cutting him off? Her own son? From the small things he’d shared with me, it seemed that way.

I actually admired him, I realised. He’d rebelled and tried to forge his own path in life, away from the wealth and luxury that his heritage and title automatically afforded him. He’d left Otherworld to become a professional wrestler, for fuck’s sake. I was pretty sure I could confidently assume that there wasn’t a single other fae prince who’d done what he had.

“Thank you for breakfast,” he said when we reached our cars, and my belly tightened with a mix of affection and arousal. Those good manners of his weirdly turned me on.

Everything about him turned me on.

“You’re welcome.” I grinned at him as I unlocked my car. “See you at work.”

“Yes.” He moved closer, then hesitated, so I cupped his chin and tugged his head down for a kiss. One more PDA couldn’t hurt.

I licked my lips when we parted. “How are rehearsals with the Ghastly Boys going, by the way?”

“Fine. They’re quiet and don’t seem to get irritated by Hogbody’s constant yelling.” He smiled at me, jangling his keys in his hand. “Should be a good match. Lots of flying around the arena, just like Holt wanted.”

“Nice.” I grinned. “Looking forward to watching it.”

Neither of us moved at first, until Crossbody finally unlocked his car and turned to open the door. But then he froze, and his hand shot back to grab my arm.

“Vince.”

“What?” I realised he was staring at something across the parking lot, so I followed his line of sight and chuckled. “Of course.”

The incubus from the motel was climbing out of an old, beat-up car, scratching his chest and yawning as he locked it. He turned and saw us, almost dropping his keys as his entire face lit up.

When he started striding toward us eagerly, almost powerwalking, I snorted and gave Crossbody a gentle nudge. “Better hurry.”

As he opened his car door, the incubus’s expression fell. Then he started running.

“Oh shit.” I gave Crossbody another gentle shove. “Go, go!”

Tearing open my passenger side door, I dove into my car and scrambled across to the driver’s seat. Crossbody grinned over at me as he reversed out of his space. The incubus was waving his arms, already looking winded. As he got closer, he clutched his side with a wince and started limping.

“Fucking stitch. Wait up, you beautiful bastards! Give me the details!”

I was snorting with laughter as I hurriedly backed out of my space.

“At least tell me you’re coming back!” he yelled as I followed Crossbody out of the parking lot.

I glanced in the rearview mirror, in time to see Pervy Motel Incubus Guy drop to his knees in the middle of the lot and throw his head back to cry out, “ Whyyyy? ”