CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Dom looked so relaxed, so peaceful that despite the insistent pulse of need in Shea's cock where it was pressed between his body and the sheets, he stayed in the same position.

He pressed soft kisses to Dom's hips, feeling the flutter of a vein under the fragile skin. He rubbed his nose along the vee there, taking his time to enjoy the spots he'd never been able to linger on.

Dom's legs grew heavier as Shea breathed in the rich, warm scent of Dom's skin.

It was enough to do this, to know that Dom was alive .

An orgasm would be good but it was less urgent than reassuring himself that Dom would be fine.

Dom's hand, still tangled in his hair, grew heavier too, his breathing softening into something smooth and even. Close to peaceful sleep.

Shea didn't want to move but although he wasn't a small man, he couldn't stay in that position forever, supporting Dom's weight while he slept, so he reluctantly shifted back.

Dom's grip tightened reflexively in his hair before his hand fell away. Shea pressed a kiss to his inner thigh, then gently eased his legs down to the mattress.

Dom awoke, just enough to blink at him and Shea soothed him with a quiet sound.

But Dom reached up, touching his face. "You didn't …"

"Doesn't matter," Shea said, settling on the bed beside him.

"It matters to me." Dom shook his head like he was trying to pull himself together, then slid a hand around the back of Shea's neck. "I want you to come. Please ."

It was the please that unraveled Shea, made him willing to do anything for Dom. Or maybe it was the memory of the vulnerability that had been a palpable thing last night, Dom's slurred voice confessing his innermost feelings.

Shea didn't know whether to be disappointed or grateful that Dom didn't remember. Grateful mostly, because Dom would have run.

Shea knew with every fiber of his being that if Dom remembered, he would have ended things between them, cut Shea out of his life and never looked back. Anything to protect himself from someone knowing the real him.

Anything to protect the frightened, scarred pieces inside him.

And Shea had tried to tell him the truth, he'd been prepared for that ending but Dom had said he needed him …

And Shea was only human.

Flawed and imperfect and aching for everything that Dom did willingly give him that he'd let himself be talked out of it.

Guilt settled heavily in Shea's stomach but as he looked into Dom's half-lidded eyes now, he knew that he'd make the same decision all over again.

Anything to have Dom in his bed looking at him like that.

Anything to have Dom's scent in his nose and his taste on his tongue and the feel of his fingers in his hair.

Shea rose to his knees, his cock bobbing in the air between them.

With a gentle sigh, Dom reached up and licked his palm, wrapping it around Shea's length. He tugged at his cock, meeting and holding Shea's gaze.

He still looked sleepy and content, and there was something soft in his eyes that Shea couldn't look away from.

And so he trembled, on his knees, gripping the headboard.

The physical pleasure was almost secondary to the way it felt to have Dom looking at him like that. Dom's eyes were more gray than blue in this light and when he licked his lips, it was like Shea could feel the flick of Dom's tongue against his own, despite the space between them.

The air felt heavy with something—anticipation, maybe—and Shea reached out blindly, his hand landing on Dom's knee.

"I …"

He couldn't even breathe, pinned in place by the slow, rough tug of Dom's hand and the look in his eyes.

"Yeah," Dom said, the word barely a breath of air. "You're almost there."

And Shea was . He was so close, trembling on the brink.

"My face," Dom urged and when Shea hesitated, torn, Dom coaxed, "Be selfish for once."

Shea cried out.

It was a short, sharp little cry and he bit his lip because they weren't alone in the apartment but the pleasure was so intense it felt like he was in a small boat, picked up and tossed by the waves, shattering on the shore into a thousand tiny pieces.

Chest heaving, Dom's grip tight on his cock, Shea came, coating Dom's chest and his throat. The last few spurts landed on his face, dotting his cheek and lips.

Dom slid his tongue out, licking the cum away and Shea gasped, fingers digging into the muscle of Dom's thigh.

Strokes slowing, Dom trailed his fingertips across the head of Shea's cock. Shea closed his eyes, throwing his head back at the painfully, exquisitely sensitive touch before Dom let go.

Shea collapsed onto the bed, his head landing on Dom's outstretched arm. He rolled onto his side and looked at Dom to find him gazing back.

There was a flicker of his eyebrows, a half-question on his face as if he was asking Shea a question.

Shea nodded, reaching out to brush his thumb against Dom's face, wiping away a shining droplet that clung to his beard.

Dom opened his mouth and Shea pressed his thumb inside, his breath catching at the soft wetness of Dom's tongue against his skin before he pulled away.

Dom just kept looking at him, staring with a dazed expression and Shea rose to one elbow.

There were no words. No words that Shea had, maybe no words in the world for what he felt now as he leaned in closer.

Dom's lips parted again and Shea's heart picked up speed.

Feeling like he was in a dream, Shea pressed his mouth to Dom's cheek. He licked a droplet away, his heart pounding madly, like it was trying to escape the cage of his ribs.

He held his breath, waiting to see what Dom would do. But he only let out a ragged little sigh and tilted his head, their mouths so close that Shea could hear the nearly silent rush of his breathing.

His chest tightened.

One heartbeat … two … Shea let out a muffled groan of relief when their lips touched.

Dom made a sound, a tiny sound that was nearly swallowed up by the ambient noise in the apartment, and he trembled, his lips barely brushing Shea's before he pulled away.

"You've never kissed me before," Shea whispered, hating to break the moment but needing to be sure it had actually happened. That he hadn't dreamt this.

"You've never saved my life before." Dom licked his lips. "Do you want to do it again? Kiss, I mean."

Shea hesitated, wanting it more than anything, but terrified that admitting it would make Dom shy away.

Finally, he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Dom brushed his fingertips along Shea's cheek before he leaned in. His mouth was soft, warm. Less hesitant now.

Shea nearly sobbed with relief, reaching out to touch Dom's chest, to reassure himself that this was real, his fingers coming away sticky and wet.

Dazed, he pulled away long enough to grab a warm, damp cloth from the bathroom and dab at Dom's skin.

Dom's gaze never left his face. His eyes were wide and vulnerable looking, like the usual barrier between him and Shea was gone.

Shea didn't want to hope for anything but what he'd already been given, but it still rose in his chest, a pressure that filled his throat, something too big to put into words.

When Shea was done and the cloth was taken care of, he looked up to see Dom still watching him.

"Come here," Dom whispered.

So Shea did, stretching out on his side.

Dom shifted, pain making the spot between his brows furrow, but when Shea slipped a knee between Dom's thighs, it smoothed out.

Dom shifted, nudging at Shea's mouth and Shea pressed their lips together again.

He closed his eyes and sank into the kiss, delirious with the pleasure of Dom's mouth against his, the soft little nips of his teeth, the way he coaxed his tongue between Shea's lips.

It was so much, almost overwhelming, especially after Shea had spent so long imagining this. Wanting it.

It felt like Dom gave and gave, so much that Shea's head spun with it, overwhelmed.

He cupped Dom's cheek, feeling the soft prickle of his facial hair, the flutter of his pulse where Shea's fingertips rested against his throat.

They kissed until Shea couldn't breathe, gasping against Dom's mouth, afraid that if he pulled away, it would all disappear.

When Dom drew back, Shea let out a sound, a little whimper of displeasure, but Dom still looked relaxed, his head resting against Shea's pillow.

"I'd almost forgotten how good it feels," Dom said. He sounded almost drugged, but this time it was in a good way. In a way that made liquid heat spread through Shea's chest and made him pray that he wasn't dreaming.

Shea trembled. "I know."

Because he'd kissed people. Kissed clients. Kissed hookups and dates and random people at clubs, just because it was fun to do.

But he'd been twenty the last time he kissed someone he loved.

He'd been in college, still limping around with a brace on his knee on his way to his kinesiology class when he met Keira and nearly tripped over her book bag.

She'd apologized and bought him a coffee and they'd dated and fallen in love. They'd gone their separate ways eventually but before then he'd loved her and he'd spent hours kissing her, tangled up on her dorm room bed in the late-afternoon sunshine, making out like he had nothing else to do.

Those kisses had never felt like this.

They had been heady and intense and all-consuming but they'd never carried weight the way these did.

They hadn't made Shea feel like he was falling and drowning and being brought back to life all at once. They hadn't felt like the kisses that could ruin a man's future and drag up his past and make him do reckless things.

Kissing Dom felt like everything and more.

So he leaned in, took control, teased at Dom's mouth until he opened, until he gasped and pulled Shea closer.

The slow gliding of their tongues became more desperate, more eager. Dom met him with equal fervor, showing no interest in stopping or doing anything else, just cupping Shea's cheek to deepen the kiss and gasping against Shea's mouth when Shea tugged at his hair.

And then slowed, softening, growing lazy and almost indulgent. Slow, flickering brushes of their tongues and gentle pecks of their lips.

Eventually, Dom drew back, smiling.

"We should sleep. You have work tomorrow," Dom whispered.

"Just a little longer," Shea pleaded. He tangled his hand in Dom's hair and brushed their lips together, shameless but uncaring.

Dom laughed softly but he kissed Shea again, tracing his thumb across the shell of his ear and making him shiver.

Shea bit at Dom's lip and tugged his hair, loving the way he moaned and gripped Shea's back tighter.

But eventually, even Shea's desperation slowly faded until their foreheads were pressed together and the kisses were soft, barely there brushes of lips, and they were sharing the same air.

"Sleep," Dom whispered, running his hand down Shea's back. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Shea smiled, probably too big and honest of a smile, but he couldn't help himself.

But rather than gather Shea into his arms and pull him close like Shea had expected, Dom flipped onto his other side. He grabbed a pillow, wedging it between his knees and got comfortable.

"Why are you so far away?" he grumbled, reaching behind him.

Shea smiled helplessly, sliding forward, letting his chest settle against Dom's back.

"Yeah, that's better."

Shea rested his forehead against the back of Dom's neck, breathing him in.

He should have told Dom. He should have.

But if he had, he might not have had this moment. He might never have had it.

And although he should be sorry, he wasn't.