“I think—” I paused, eyeing the monstrosity before looking back at him and narrowing my eyes. “—that you drive me fucking crazy.”
His lips twitched, and just a bit of uncertainty crossed his features.
It was enough to clear my head. I wanted the joy back. And not knowing how else to get it, I swooped down and kissed him without warning. He responded instantly, moving against me in a way that was both intense and languid, but I broke our connection after only a few moments to search his eyes. Behind the scenes, I performed rapid calculations, funneling through my instincts to both panic at the sight of Liem on such a machine and to respect his ability to take care of himself. I landed on some kind of medium.
“You’re being safe?”
He nodded and laid his tattooed hand on my chest, right over my heart. “I promise.”
“And you’ll show me how to ride it? And you’ll get special riding clothes for it? Jeans and jackets?”
His hand formed a loose claw as he etched the promise on top of my heart. “I will.”
It was enough. I took his helmet and let it dangle from my fingers, then grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs. Setting his helmet by the entryway as Liem kicked off his shoes, I took a moment to actually look him over.
“It’s lovely,” he said when he finished his once-over. “And it smells wonderful. Have you been baking?”
But I wasn’t done. I was still looking, and this bungalow was nothing compared to him. Nothing could be.
With his dark pants, a soft shirt that fell over his shoulder—horrible for riding any kind of motorized scooter—my hair elastic around his wrist, and a little braid woven into his loose hair, he was a vision. There were also his tattoos, fully on display, his piercings, his aura of pure sunlight.
“Yeah, I have,” I sighed. “And I don’t think I can do this, Liem.” My gaze was glued to his exposed shoulder.
“What?” he asked.
“The plan,” I said simply, accepting my redirected fate with arms wide open. Or rather, with an arm behind Liem’s back and under his knees as I scooped him up and carried him straight to the bedroom, basking in his soft gasp.
I kicked the door shut and sat on the edge of the bed, cradling him in my lap, then ghosted my lips over his bare shoulder.
But I couldn’t drown fully in him yet. Not until we discussed at least the basics.
“Liem,” I said, leaning toward him and taking his lips in a lingering kiss. “I want to be with you. Near you.” I paused, and after one more kiss, I met his gaze and whispered, “Inside you.”
He let out a desperate noise and squirmed on my lap, but I laid a hand on his thigh and pressed, steadying him as I went on. “But more importantly, I want to do everything with you. Everything, Liem. See every sunrise, some sunsets.” I kissed his face, any bit of skin I could reach. “Help at Ari’s, get to know your family more. Introduce you to my dad.” I ran my nose up his throat. “I want to consume you.” Burrowing into his neck, I breathed in his scent. “I have things I want to tell you. Things to show you, to make my intentions clear.”
Liem writhed on my lap, lithe and flexible despite the pressure I applied to his thigh. “You have always been clear to me, Cody.” He angled toward me, his dark eyes full of sincerity. “Always.”
I stood up then, easily taking the angel in my arms with me, and turned to deposit him on the edge of the bed. He fell back on his elbows, and I stepped between his legs, resting my open palms on top of his thighs, loving the way his muscles clenched under me. “I’ll work every day to deserve you. I want nothing else more than I want that.”
Those were most of the basics, the sum of the desires written in my notebook, which was now locked inside my fireproof box, alongside so much more.
“Cody…,” he said almost hesitantly, frowning at me, but I reached toward his face and stroked my finger down his cheek and across his lips, not ready for his argument against my proclamation.
“I have questions that can’t wait right now, Liem, if we’re going to do this.”
“Do what?” he asked, almost in challenge.
“If I’m going to fuck you.”
His eyes closed, and he tried to buck underneath me as he rasped, “Tell me, ask me,” his tongue snaking out to taste my fingertips that still lingered on his face. “Please,” he begged.
I retracted my hand after one more stroke and straightened, my control hanging by the thinnest of threads.
“How far are you ready for this to go tonight?”
Liem regarded me for a moment and then pushed off the bed to stand in front of me, flush against me. “Far,” he said decisively, that spark of mischief lighting his eyes as he added, “And hopefully quite deep.”
I choked on either a laugh or a wanton moan—who could say which it would’ve been?—but then groaned as he shimmied past me to move to the other side of the room.
