Page 30

“Not much to look at.” Niall sounded almost apologetic.

“Disagree. And you are more than enough to feast my eyes on, my man.” Chuck closed the door behind them even though they were alone in the house.

They came together again, the kissing more purposeful now that they were in the bedroom. Chuck’s hands found the hem of Niall’s T-shirt. Niall raised his arms to allow Chuck to pull it off.

The sight of Niall’s bare chest—lean and hard, with a light dusting of dark hair—made Chuck’s mouth go dry. “You’re so gorgeous.” He ran his hands over the exposed flesh. “Like a prince.”

Niall blushed, the pink spreading down his neck to his chest. “Your turn.” He reached for Chuck’s shirt.

They undressed each other slowly, taking time to explore with hands and mouths as each new piece of skin was revealed. By the time they were both naked, they were breathing hard, desire making them both impatient.

Chuck’s voice went rumbly as Niall’s hands roamed over his back, his hips, his ass.

“I don’t care.” Niall pulled Chuck toward the bed. “Just touch me. Please. I want your hands.”

Chuck was more than happy to comply. He pressed Niall back against the mattress and covered the pale body with his own. Niall’s skin was cream under Chuck’s rough hands. Skin hit skin, and the mutual groan was glorious.

They moved together, finding a rhythm—slow then not—until Niall’s breath snagged on each stroke. Chuck wrapped his hand around both of them, the friction perfect, and drew a string of curses from Niall that Chuck would never have expected from the normally reserved bookstore owner.

“God, the mouth on you,” Chuck teased, his own breath coming in short gasps as pleasure coiled tighter in his belly.

“You have no idea,” Niall responded, and then demonstrated what his mouth was capable of by flipping their positions and working his way down Chuck’s body with lips and tongue and the occasional scrape of teeth.

By the time Niall took him in his mouth, Chuck had to grip the sheets to keep from bucking up too hard. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him like this—with appetite rather than the photo-ready flirting Jeremy had favored.

“Niall,” he warned after a few minutes of impeccable torture, “I’m close.”

Niall pulled off with a final, lingering lick that made Chuck shiver. “Not yet. Don’t you dare.” He crawled back up to kiss Chuck again and again.

They slid sideways themselves and dragged against each other, pinned by the kiss. Chuck’s hand found its way between them again, wrapping around both of them, the precum making the slide slick and perfect.

It didn’t take long after that. Niall erupted first, his body tensing and then shuddering as he spilled over Chuck’s hand with a rough, broken sound that yanked Chuck over the edge as well, right into heaven. They clung to each other through the shuddering aftershocks, trading lazy, sated kisses as their breathing slowed to normal.

“Well.” Niall’s voice was a contented murmur against Chuck’s shoulder. “That was worth the six-year wait.”

Chuck laughed, his body going boneless against Niall’s cool skin, his satisfaction humming like a plucked bow. “Glad I could help tap the sap.”

“‘Duck! It’s Chuck!’ indeed.”

“So you say, but you didn’t take a shot to the chin.” He touched his smiling lower lip.

Niall swatted at him halfheartedly. “Don’t get cocky. I wasn’t a monk.”

“No?” Chuck raised an eyebrow, curious against his will. The thought of Niall with other men shouldn’t bother him—they barely knew each other, after all—but something tenth-grade in him wanted to know their names and be taller and stronger than all of them.

“Okay, it’s possible I was,” Niall admitted with a self-deprecating smile. “But that was by choice. Mostly.”

“Their loss.” Chuck pressed a kiss to Niall’s temple. “And without a doubt, my absolute pleasure.”

They lay together in comfortable silence for a while, the sweat cooling on their skin. Chuck found himself tracing patterns on Niall’s chest, content to just lie there in the quiet aftermath.

“I should get going, I guess,” he said, though he made no move to get up. “Early start tomorrow with the treehouse.”

“You could stay,” Niall offered tentatively. “If you want.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “What about Winnie? Won’t she be back in the morning?”

“Not until after lunch. Her friend’s mom is taking them to brunch.”