Ramsey’s other hand dug into his hip like he could press all five fingerprints into his skin andclaimhim forever, and that was all it took to send him over the edge. Nate shuddered as he watched stripes of come land on Ramsey’s chest.
Marking him right back.
They’d belonged to each other before this, but it felt likemore.
Not just the sex, but that they’dacknowledgedthe owning of it, now.
“Damn,” Ramsey said as Nate gazed down at him for one more second, saving this view for every time they were apart. Of course if he had any say in it, he’d get a lot more views just like this.
Then he collapsed gently onto Ramsey’s body, cradling his face with a palm.
Ramsey sighed, a happy exhale of a sound. “I’m not moving.”
“Didn’t ask you to,” Nate murmured into his shoulder. He pressed a kiss in. Wanted to see that on his skin too. Not to prove to anyone else who Ramsey belonged to, but sohecould see it.
“Good,” Ramsey said smugly. He hesitated. “Eventually, though. ’Cause Barty’s gonna freak out and I’m gonna have to deal with it.”
“I thought you said that text was enough. No three point plan necessary?”
“Oh, it’snot, but let’s just say it’s not like me to skip it.”
Nate had known it. Had also known what Ramsey throwing all his normal chess-mastering to the wind meant.
Tucked that knowledge soft and sweet against his heart.
“You gonna tell me you let it go for me?” Nate teased.
Ramsey rolled his eyes, but he looked pleased and happy and in love, and that was all Nate had ever wanted. “Are you gonna be insufferable if I say yes?”
“Pleased, yeah? Insufferable, no.” Nate leaned in and kissed him. “I’m gonna go take a shower. Come join me whenever you’re done with Barty.”
Sure enough, when Ramsey retrieved and checked his phone, there were three successive texts from Barty under his initial text.
????
how do I know this is even you?
doesn’t sound like you. the new you?
The new you, Ramsey thought as he stared at the screen.
How to tell Barty that this wasn’t anewhim, but instead therealhim. The person he’d long buried behind the walls that had made up the foundations of his self for so long that for a minute hehadactually wondered if what everyone was seeingwasnew.
But no. The guy who’d emerged with the advent of Nate into his life wasn’t new at all, but old.
He dialed Barty’s number, hoping that in the last half an hour he hadn’t magically gotten busy—orbusier.
He detoured into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and to talk to his agent,again.
“Oh, so now you can talk to me,” Barty snarked into Ramsey’s ear as he leaned against the counter.
“Sorry,” Ramsey said unapologetically. “We had to re-renegotiate and that took . . .time.” Less than five minutes, actually, but Barty didn’t need to know the detailed breakdown between the negotiation and the sex they’d needed to have after about it.
“Sure,” Barty said, a knowing edge to his voice. “You going to tell me about this personal problem anytime soon?”
“There’s not much to tell,” Ramsey said lightly, even though that wasn’t true at all.
“Please,” Barty insisted. “You were sure you wanted me to trade you to the Leafs—which was fucking crazy, by the way. Sure, I could’ve done it—”
