Not good.
Liam went for the one weapon he had at his disposal. His words.
“Don’t use your strength on me,” he snapped. “That’s not okay, you fucking bully.”
Mike’s eyes burned with a dark amusement. A slight smile edged up one corner of his mouth. Liam’s cheeks heated. Yeah, Mike had felt Liam’s first response, the one that spoke of sexual interest, and he probably knew—because of that damned mind-link thing—of Liam’s secret longing for light dominance.
“You’re in no danger,” Mike said.
The soothing tones did nothing but annoy Liam and burn away his embarrassment.
“That’s not the point,” he said crisply. Wait…wasn’t that what Dylan had said? Trust Mike to push boundaries. “Assclown.”
Mike tipped his head fractionally to the side. “It’s okay for you to use your hands on me, even though I’m in no physical danger?”
Ah, fuck. Liam’s temper drained away like a bucket with a hole that someone had filled with water. Christ, he’d put hard hands on his lover. What the fuck had he been thinking? Who was the boundary-pushing assclown now?
His gaze dropped from Mike’s to stare at the throat hollow beneath the whiskered chin. “No, it’s not. I’m sorry.”
“Look at me.”
Liam shook his head. He was too ashamed of himself.
“No secrets between us, adnama. Look at me,” Mike urged.
Mike didn’t sound angry. Nor did he sound amused. He sounded hella serious. The coaxing for visual contact pressed on Liam. He looked up and saw himself in Mike’s eyes. No condemnation, no judgment, only curiosity and concern.
“You’re upset,” Mike stated instead of asked. “What has hurt you?”
“You don’t know?”
Mike shook his head.
“You can tell I’m upset, but not why I’m upset?”
“I’m telepathic and empathic not clairvoyant and you’d shut yourself away,” said Mike. “Sure, I could feel your tension and unease, but I won’t disrespect your wishes and slam into your head when you’re wanting privacy. And if I did, that’s not only insulting, but it’s no replacement for communication. Why won’t you talk to me?”
Liam realized Mike sounded wounded. What the… “What are you talking about? I’m right here talking to you.”
Mike blinked, squinted, then stepped back and released Liam’s hands as he did. A look of understanding filled his expression.
“Ah, I get it.”
“You do?” Maybe Mike would fill him in?
“Culture clash.”
“Huh?”
“Your people are reliant on verbal communication, but mine are reliant on mental communication.” Mike rubbed his chin with knuckles, as if working out a problem in his mind.
“You wanted to hear from me. I waited for you to reach for me. We both, unwittingly, drove each other into a wall.”
Okay, yeah, that did make a cold sort of sense. Guilt and concern swept Liam, his and Mike’s, no doubt. He and Mike were in the same place and puzzled over a simple but critical question.
Was it possible to apologize and comfort at the same time?
It didn’t surprise him to realize Mike had a hard time doing both. Fortunately for them, Liam had the ability to bend into a relationship’s storm winds. He cupped Mike’s chin and slid his hand across the whiskers to his cheek.
Mike’s eyes darkened. He tensed.
Liam smiled. “I don’t want to be a psycho stalker.”
Confusion drifted into Mike’s expression again.
“My people are bonded by emotional ties,” he said. “Now, so are you. We do not feel shamed by the need that urges us to reach for comfort, passion, or confidence. As my adnama, it’s your right to reach for me. It’s my privilege to give. It’s—”
“So I’m the weaker partner?” Liam broke in.
Insulting, that’s what that was.
“It’s also,” Mike forged on, despite the interruption, “my right to reach for you. Hopefully, you feel it is an equal privilege to give to me.”
The lack of conviction in the last statement was minute but telling. Complex was his adnama, but sweet and vulnerable beneath his gruff exterior. Mike’s heart beat true.
Commitment radiated from him.
Liam offered the same. No hesitation. No timidity.
“Of course it is,” he said, then covered Mike’s mouth with his own.
The rush he always felt whenever they touch blazed through him. Passion roiled between them intense and bright. Mike went still, startled. Then he groaned and deepened the kiss, tugging Liam tight against him as he did.
Cinnamon and musk filled the air.
Liam was harder than he’d ever been in his life.
::Christ, you smell good.::
::For you.::
Their mouths merged, teased; their tongues twined, tasted. His heartbeat surged in his chest with a pagan tempo. Mike pulled his mouth from Liam’s and used the tip of his tongue to tickle one corner. A tug on his hair sent Mike’s mouth down the curve of Liam’s arched neck and bared throat.
Impatient and demanding, Liam moved closer until their bodies touched. He reached down with one hand and pressed his cock against Mike’s.
Dick to dick, Liam stroked both shafts with that one hand.
Mike’s dick sweated a lubricant. Liam played the moisture along their cocks. He pumped both, causing his breath to tangle in his throat and sparks to shimmer behind his eyes.
Pleasure zinged through Liam’s brain. He jerked his hips forward in an elemental demand. Mike’s hands swept down Liam’s back and ribs to his ass, which he clutched and kneaded with a wordless yearning.
::Ah, God, Mike…::
He wrapped his hand around Liam’s and followed Liam’s mental guidance and tempo as he, too, worked their cocks.
::You think of amazing things.::
::You’re amazing.::
Well, if Mike thought he was amazing with a hand job, Liam was willing to educate the guy about his blowjob skills. He released their cocks, tugged Mike’s hand away, and knelt.
Mike’s breath caught as he fluttered his hands alongside Liam.
Tentative, he rested one hand on Liam’s crown. With his other, he caught his straining dick. He worked his cock with slow, languid draws on the skin.
::I won’t break, babe. Don’t be shy about touching me.::
::It’s possible.::
::You can’t hurt me.::
::Yes, I can.::
Okay, yeah, Mike’s people were hella strong.
::Not unless you want to.::
“I don’t. Liam…”
The mouthwatering
