“No. Which way to the bedroom?”
“The spare room’s down the hall on the left, opposite the bathroom.”
“Not the spare room, Nate. Yours.”
Chapter Ten
Jaymes
Nathan hesitated in the doorway to his bedroom, sensing the heat from Jaymes’ body at his back. An involuntary shiver trembled through him. In his mind, he still thought of the room as his father’s, even though he had redecorated and bought new furniture since his father passed away. He had also invested in a queen-sized bed, even though he’d shared the space with nobody since the purchase.
And right now, a man—a very attractive man—wanted to climb into bed and hopefully have sex with him. His stomach tightened and, as if hearing his thoughts, Jaymes placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
“Nate?” came the concerned voice.
“Are you absolutely sure about this?” said Nathan, without turning. “Because if we go the rest of the way, there’ll be no going back. Everything will change between us.”
“It will. But I think you’re questioning yourself. Areyousure about this?”
“Shit.”
Jaymes’ hand slipped from Nathan’s shoulder and he immediately missed the intimate warmth and connection.
“What is it?”
“It’s just—” Nathan breathed out a sigh and turned to face a concerned Jaymes. “Juvenile Jaymes, I can handle. This grown-up version is making me nervous.”
Jaymes released a deep chuckle, which helped to reduce Nathan’s nerves. Eventually Nathan felt a smile tug at his mouth too. Jaymes put a hand on each of Nathan’s shoulders and drew him into an innocent hug, which felt like a sigh of relief.
“Relax. You’re in good hands.”
Just the closeness and smell of Jaymes as he rested the side of his face against Nathan’s smoothed the tension from his body.
“I am?”
“You are. And in case you’re worrying if this is a first for me, it’s not.”
“I assumed you were straight.”
“Clearly. And admittedly, I have had girlfriends in the past. I just prefer—”
“Men.”
“You. But do me a favour. Let me take control, Nate. Can you do that for me?”
“Is this about to get kinky?” Nathan’s humour could not mask his nervousness.
“Do you trust me?”
Nathan paused for a second or two, pulling back and staring deep into Jaymes’ eyes before nodding. Clearly, this was not going to mirror one of his frantic, anonymous Saturday night hook-ups in Brighton. “Yes. But as we’re being honest with each other, you should know it’s been a while for me.”
“Then all the more reason to trust me. I promise this is not going to get weird and if you want me to stop at any time, just say so and I will. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Jaymes lifted Nathan’s arms in the air and slowly pulled the sweater over his head. When Nathan’s face reappeared, his hair falling back into place, Jaymes grinned and kissed him chastely. Nathan began to reach out for Jaymes’ clothes, but Jaymes stopped him by holding a forefinger in front of Nathan’s face.
“I said don’t move.”
