Page 86 of From Beijing, With Love

Unlike that first day, Yang didn’t look annoyed or surprised, just exhausted and sad.

But he stayed.

Daniel reached for Yang’s face. He had to. Yang didn’t turn away; instead, he planted a kiss on the palm of Daniel’s hand. That gave Daniel the courage he needed to pull Yang closer and kiss him. A soft kiss. The kind that asked for permission. When Yang kissed him back, Daniel felt a surge of relief that made him want to cry. Maybe it’d all be okay.

Trying his luck, he pushed Yang against the hotel door like Yang had done to him the day before. He wanted to remind him of better times. Of when they’d claimed each other’s bodies.

But Yang pulled away and looked at him. When he wouldn’t meet Yang’s eyes, Yang let out a sad chuckle.

“I’m going to head out.” Yang reached for the door handle.

“Stay.”

“Why should I?” Yang asked.

Those were the same three words Daniel had asked Yang at the train station when Yang asked him to come to Xi’an. Daniel had asked—demanded—honesty from Yang then, yet he was the one withholding it now.

“Because I’m …” The words lodged painfully in his throat. When he searched Yang’s face, expecting the telltale signs of frustration—a pinched lip, a clenched jaw—he saw none. There was a glimmer of what looked a whole lot like hope.

“I’m in love with you.” Daniel let the truth tumble out.

The air in the room stood still. He didn’t dare to breathe. When Yang’s face twisted, Daniel’s heart dropped flat on its stupid face.

“I’m sorry …”

Yang smothered his apology with a kiss, the lingering kind that promised everything. When he pulled away, he met Daniel’s eyes. “I lov—”

Daniel kissed him before he could say something that he didn’t mean—or worse yet, something that he did mean.

“Don’t. Please?” Daniel said as he pulled away. It wasn’t an order but a plea. “Don’t say it, because tomorrow …” Because Daniel was leaving tomorrow, and it would wreck him if he heard those three words from Yang’s lips.

Understanding dawned on Yang’s face, and he nodded. “And tonight?”

Daniel answered Yang’s question with a hungry kiss, pulling Yang against him. With their bodies pressed together, Daniel’s body made its desire known. That was all it took to flip a switch in Yang. Winding a hand in the collar of Daniel’s polo, Yang opened up to the kiss while his other hand pushed the polo up Daniel’s torso in a clumsy attempt to get it off.

From there, it was a frenzy of hands and mouths as they walked the few steps to the bed, leaving a trail of clothes behind. Yang pushed Daniel onto the bed and climbed on, straddling him. His own eagerness pressed hard into Daniel’s stomach as he kissed him into the bed. The first-aid kit clattered to the floor.

“I love you,” Daniel said between kisses, his voice cracking. He knew he wasn’t being fair, saying the words he wouldn’t allow Yang to say, but he didn’t care.

Yang’s lips curled into a smile. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” Daniel repeated, liking the taste of those words on his lips.

Rewarding him, Yang’s mouth found its way to his earlobe. The soft dip of his throat. His collarbone. Then trailed down to his solar plexus. Inch by inch, Yang explored his body like it was sacred. Something to be revered. Daniel arched underneath him, responding to each and every kiss.

“I need you to …” Daniel said through rushed breaths.

Yang looked up at him, his pupils large, like two bottomless pools of wanting. He rubbed his thumb across Daniel’s bottom lip before leaning in, his face softening. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give you.”

Lifting his lips to Yang’s ear, Daniel uttered the two words he had wanted to say for a long time now.

“Fuck me.”

Surprise fleeted across Yang’s handsome features like someone who couldn’t believe his fucking luck, chased away by a burning desire. His lips parted and then closed, as if he was holding something back.

“I haven’t …” he finally said.

“You haven’t?” Daniel couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. Yang had been more than adequate with everything they’d done, but Daniel was biased. He’d be happy doing anything with Yang.