His head tilted toward me, eyes closed, smiling in the direction of my voice. Then his eyelashes fluttered open. One of my hands rested on his shoulder, the other on the desk. What Dash tried to hide, I could still see written all over the concerned set of his handsome face. He was worried over the lengths his father was taking.
“I like your ball cap on backward. It fits your face. Reminds me of the night we met,” Dash said with fatigue still in his voice. He found my hand and threaded our fingers together. “You look tired.”
“I am. It’s been an exhaustin’ week. Did you find anything new?” I asked, taking a seat on the edge of the desk, forced there because Dash didn’t let go of my hand.
“Yes and no,” he said vaguely, slowly rising to his feet. “Dr. Harris contacted me today and wants to stop by our house tomorrow evening. I want you to be here to listen to what he hasto say. Does that sound all right?” he asked, swiveling our hand-hold until he began to pull me from the office. “You’ve been shouldering a lot—”
My sudden burst of laughter startled him, halting his ridiculous words and his steps. He pivoted around on the heels of his loafers, his quizzical gaze locked on mine. “What?”
“Nothin’,” I answered, no amount of talking could change his thoughts, I’d tried. I continued moving us to the bedroom. “You’ve been goin’ at it from mornin’ to night. You’re going to bed. I brought home pork and beans and hot dogs.” I winked at him to show my confidence, paired with an unwavering belief in my skill at creating a delicious homemade dinner for the two of us. “I’m on supper duty. I mastered my skill at makin’ a mean beanie-weenie while in my dorm room. I also make a pretty decent Kraft Mac & Cheese.”
Dash’s brows lifted in faux excitement as he circled an arm around me. We walked side-by-side toward the bedroom. “Mmm, that sounds delicious. I was thinking of ordering in from the dumpling house, but your idea’s good too. I guess. I’ve never eaten a beanie-weenie.”
Once we reached the bedroom, Dash released me, but I didn’t let go of him, drawing him into the circle of my arms. He automatically wrapped his arms around me.
“You need to take better care of yourself,” I said.
With a thump, his forehead hit my chest, a heavy breath exhaled slowly. “I’m honestly getting worried. I’ve sent messages to different law schools, none are responding. But that’s not the worst of it. If I lose this house…” He lifted his gaze to meet mine, his head falling between his shoulder blades. “I designed this home for us, envisioning years together here. Nothing’s going as planned. I apologize for everything.”
“Don’t say that,” I told him firmly. “You know what to do to stop all this.”
“Please don’t leave me,” Dash pleaded, cutting to the chase, his voice filled with emotion.
“It’d be the right thing to do, but I can’t unless you tell me to. And we see where that’s at.” I bent to kiss his lips and reached for the hem of his polo shirt, freeing it from his waistband. “Every day that I come home and you’re consumed with worry, that’s only there because you wanted a relationship with me… Dash, it’s hard.”
“I love you, and you’re right, I have to loosen up about all this. Tomorrow night we’ll form a good plan. I’ll do better,” he said.
He always took all the blame from me and landed it on his shoulders. “Stop. You’re perfect. We’ll eat dinner in bed, maybe watch one of the documentaries you like, and go to sleep early.” I tugged on his shirt, his arms flailed as I pulled it over his head. I tossed it to the nearby armchair.
He also gave me a cheeky, inviting grin.
“I think you’re trying to seduce me?” Dash unbuttoned the top button of my uniform shirt then removed my ball cap. “You’re so tanned.”
I ended up shooing his hands away. “Tonight’s all about making you feel good. Let me handle it. Why wear all these clothes when you’re home all day?” I aimed to release his belt buckle, eager to move him into more comfortable attire.
I knew he knew I was teasing. Dash dressed to impress all of the time. Apparently, I moved too slow, because his hands swooped in to finish my task. In a flash, Dash popped his feet from his loafers. His slacks were caught in one hand to be tossed over the chair. “I’ve gotta give you a reason to come home, right?”
Ridiculous. In a move I’d performed plenty before, I placed both hands on his biceps and backed Dash to the bed. About a foot away, I pushed, and he let out a yelp, landing down with abounce on the mattress. “What the hell, Brooks? You trying to seduce me or break my neck?”
His plump cock was a second or two behind the rest of him, landing on his lower belly with a bounce. I grinned, liking that a lot. “So dramatic.”
Sex hadn’t been on the menu tonight, but as I stared at his hard, toned body, I couldn’t stop from pulling off more of my clothing.
“I like to watch you undress,” Dash said, appreciatively.
“Yeah, me too.” I dropped my dirty clothes onto the floor where I stood, pooling around my work boots. They’d find their way into the laundry room soon enough.
“You like to watch you undress too?” Dash gave a thoughtful nod, teasing me. “That’s another thing we have in common.”
Dash gripped his shaft, pulling up and down. I couldn’t look away. My lip tucked between my teeth and my mouth watered as I zeroed in on the small bead of pre-come already on his tip. It had only been a few days since I’d felt my guy’s intimate touch, but man, I missed it.
I reached down to untie my laces and remove my boots. What should have been an easy task was made monumentally more difficult with the way my gaze continued to shift between Dash and my laces. “I thought I’d bring you to bed, maybe suck you, then cook dinner. I wanted you to be asleep by now.”
“Yeah, right,” Dash chastised. “I’m determined it’ll always be like this between us. Finish undressing and join me.”
Following orders, I unbuckled my belt, then let the shorts fall to my feet. “Now, turn around.”
Surprisingly, Dash listened and gave in to my request. Sure, I’d seen this view of his backside every day, but tonight felt different somehow. It was as if I’d finally committed to sticking around. He wanted me with him, and I wanted to be here too.
