Devlin rolled to his side and admired the way Gradyn moved as the man walked to the bathroom and disappeared inside. The sound of the toilet flushing and then water running reached Devlin’s ears from through the half-open door, and he closed his eyes to better paint a picture of that sexy hulk of a man standing at the sink wiping Devlin’s cum from his belly.
Oh, sweet merciful gods. Devlin couldn’t keep the ridiculous cat-who-caught-the-canary smile off his face. I’ve been fucked.
And not just for the sake of it, not just to say he’d done it, as had been his original plan when coming to San Francisco. Rather, he’d been fucked thoroughly, properly, and well. By a somewhat scary looking, but sweet-as-hell under the hard exterior, guy.
I can’t believe I lucked into meeting him.
Gradyn reappeared right then, glistening with moisture, as if he had wiped himself down all over. “Here you go.” He handed Devlin a large towel, one half wet, the other dry. “Housekeeping didn’t leave us new stuff like we requested, so go ahead and use that to clean up with the wet side and then dry off with the other. We’ll make another call to have something sent up in the morning.”
Devlin worried his lower lip as he wiped lube from his skin and gently cleaned his tender hole. He used another portion of the damp cloth to wipe the perspiration from the rest of his body and then patted himself dry. All the while, he couldn’t get the implications of Gradyn’s words from his mind.
Just bite the bullet, Morgan. You’ve had the man inside you, for fuck’s sake, that allows you some liberties to ask questions.
“So we’re going to make this a whole weekend thing?” he blurted out as he thrust the towel back at Gradyn. “Is that what you’re saying?”
Gradyn paused mid-step to the bathroom; he took a long, drawn-out moment and openly looked Devlin over from head to toe. “Oh yeah, beautiful.” Devlin could have sworn the man’s cock twitched again already. “If you want to.”
Devlin’s heart fluttered like mad, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Gradyn. “I do.”
“Good.” After taking a second to toss the towel into the bathroom, Gradyn crawled back in bed and tucked himself against Devlin’s side. They lay in silence for a long time, and then Gradyn murmured, “That might have been your first time, period,” his lips brushed against Devlin’s shoulder, “but I have to tell you I’ve never experienced anything quite like what we just finished doing either.”
There went that crazy flip-flopping in Devlin’s belly and chest again. “It might not be fair of me,” he admitted, “but I like hearing that.”
Gradyn settled even deeper into Devlin, snuggling close. It took him all of two minutes of shifting, where he finally draped an arm and leg over Devlin, and then he started to lightly snore.
Devlin stayed awake for a long time afterward, just enjoying the weight of this big man clinging to him. He let the tips of his fingers run up and down the swirling indigo pattern running the length of Gradyn’s body, loving the peace and silence of them sharing a bed.
All the while, Devlin wondered how in the hell someone he’d met less than twelve hours ago could so immediately feel absolutely like he was meant to be in Devlin’s arms forever...
*
...Devlin awoke with a start to find himself holding his pillow against his chest, mimicking how he’d held Gradyn all night in that motel.
He remembered the quiet combination of confidence and vulnerability he’d constantly witnessed in Gradyn in San Francisco, and then mentally flipped backward to the hallway outside his apartment tonight and the absolute fear he’d seen drenching those wrong-colored blue eyes of Garrick’s.
He’s scared, and he’s hiding.
Devlin wanted to know why. He might be able to ignore the stranger Garrick was pretending to be, but no way in hell could he walk away from a frightened Gradyn Connell, no matter that they hadn’t talked in four and a half years.
They were the same man. Gradyn--Garrick--knew that Devlin knew they were the same man. Devlin had a thousand questions, and he did not intend to give up until he had answers for them all.
This isn’t over between us, Denny. Not by a long shot.
Chapter Six
Maddie usually works on Saturdays. Garrick reasoned that fact in his mind as he stared down at her home phone number lit up on his cell. And maybe he won’t even be home. You might get a reprieve. With his finger poised over the button, Garrick still didn’t let it drop to make the connection. Damn it. Stop being a pussy and just hit the damn Send button.
Garrick cursed himself for the hundredth time since waking up, after going back and forth for the better part of an hour about this call. “Damn it. Shit. Fuck.” He finally just did it, and hit the button that would connect him to Devlin.
He had to talk to the guy; he didn’t know what in the hell to say, or how much, but he knew he had to set up a meeting so they could have at least one more conversation. He owed Devlin. The question became: How much? Garrick knew sharing too much information could be detrimental to his own safety. A person like Devlin, who would certainly mean well, might let something confidential slip purely by accident, and set off a chain of events that could lead to Garrick’s demise.
This is why I never should have come here. It’s messy. And complicated.
However, those were also the reasons he couldn’t just cut his losses and run.
Garrick let himself out of his apartment and was in the process of locking the door when a decidedly feminine voice hit his ear with a winded, “Hello?”
Shit.
“Maddie. Hi.” Garrick’s heart rate kicked
