His stomach swooped and swirled at the very idea of asking, torn between worry that Mother would say no, or worse, that he’d say yes and then it wouldn’t turn out to be what Vasily wanted after all. But he pushed those fears aside and steeled his resolve.
They approached the row of cottages and stopped in front of Vasily’s front door. Normally there was a moment of to and fro while they decided who was staying with who, but not tonight. Not with what Vasily had in mind. He cleared his throat. “Will you come in?”
Something in his tone must have alerted Mother that this was different to his usual invitation. He raised an eyebrow, and Vasily felt the weight of his stare. “Did you have something in mind, Vas?” Mother’s gaze was dark with want, and he wondered if Mother was thinking the same thing he was.
He hoped so.
At a loss for words, he pulled Mother in for a kiss. The familiarity of it, the way Mother’s hands roamed over Vasily’s back and sides, his touch both tender and desperate, ignited a fire in his belly even as his heart thundered in his chest. He broke the kiss.
“I want…” He faltered.
Mother dropped his hands to his sides before pressing their foreheads together, and his voice was gravel rough when he said, “Anything, Vas.”
And with those two words, Vasily knew that hecouldask for anything and Mother would do his utmost to give it to him. He trusted Mother, and hewantedthis.
Still, his voice shook the tiniest bit when he clasped Mother’s hands in his, looked him in the eye, and asked.
“Make love to me, Bryn?”
ChapterEleven
“Make love to me, Bryn?”
Even though Mother had suspected what Vasily wanted to ask, the words still echoed around his skull, ringing loudly in his ears as he struggled to comprehend them.
Vasily’s eyes were wide and the moonlight showed a flush on his cheeks, one that Mother happened to know spread all the way down his chest when he was aroused. The taste of him still lingered on Mother’s tongue, and his hands were cool where his grip had tightened on Mother’s fingers.
It was obvious that Vasily was as nervous as a mouse in a barn full of cats, but he’d asked anyway, and the very idea that he was willing to take that step with Mother was overwhelming.
He couldn’t imagine refusing, not when he wanted the same thing.
Mother wrapped his arms around Vasily’s back and pulled him close, nuzzling at that spot under his ear that made him squirm in the best of ways before leaving a trail of kisses down the side of his throat. “Gods, yes.” Mother breathed the words against his skin, and Vasily relaxed in his arms.
Lifting his head, Mother pressed their mouths together. Vasily kissed him back with an urgency that hadn’t been there before, his tongue sliding along the seam of his mouth. Mother opened for him, letting their tongues dance and tease and twist together. His arousal grew as he pictured them tangled in the bedsheets together, skin pressed against naked skin, oil-slicked fingers teasing at his arse—
Wait.
He pulled back, his breathing shallow, and tried to gather himself. A shiver ran through him.
“Bryn?” Vasily peered at him in the dim light, a crease appearing between his brows.
“It’s bloody cold,” Mother said to cover his confusion. “We should get inside before our bollocks freeze off.”
Vasily grinned at that. “Good idea. Frozen bollocks could play havoc with our plans.” He unlocked the door and stepped inside, shedding his coat and moving over to the fireplace to stoke the flames to life, oblivious to the fact that Mother was having a major personal revelation.
Mother followed him inside, stripping out of his own coat and dropping it on top of Vasily’s on the kitchen chair as his mind whirled. He’d never really thought about being fucked—hadn’t thought much about sex at all before Vasily.
But once again, it seemed the usual rules didn’t apply where Vasily was concerned, because now he’dstartedthinking about it, he couldn’t stop. The idea of Vasily on top of him, pressing him into the mattress and fucking him deep, had him hardening in his trousers. But he knew that wasn’t what Vasily had meant when he’d invited him inside. How to suggest it without it sounding like a rejection of what Vasily was offering?
“Bryn?” Vasily said softly, trailing a fingertip down Mother’s cheek to get his attention. “Is this all right?”
Mother blinked and forced a smile. “Aye. But a man’s allowed to be nervous.”
Vasily bit his bottom lip, betraying his own nerves. “Me too. I mean, I have no idea if I’ll evenlikea cock in my arse.”
Well, if that wasn’t an opening, Mother didn’t know what was. He took a deep breath, and before he lost his nerve, said, “But I might.”
Vasily tilted his head. “Might what?”
