Before I can question that, he steps closer, closing the space between us. One hand settles lightly at my waist, steady, familiar already in a way that shouldn’t be.
Then he leans in.
Not for my mouth.
His nose brushes just beneath my ear, along the side of my neck, slow and deliberate. The spark travels all the way into my dick, sharp and immediate, my breath catching before I can stop it.
He inhales lightly.
And for a second, my brain simply… stops.
“That’s not hamster,” he says quietly, his mouth close enough now that I can feel the words against my skin. Then, softer, a brief press of his lips just below my jaw. “That’s all you.”
That’s—
I swallow, very aware of the way my body has decided to react to something as simple as that.
“I think I might need to recalibrate my standards,” I manage.
His hand tightens slightly at my side, not enough to trap me, just enough that I’m aware it’s there.
“If you want,” he says, pulling back just enough to meet my eyes again, “I can offer you a shower.”
I let out a quiet breath that might almost be a laugh, if it weren’t doing something else entirely at the same time.
“That feels like a sensible suggestion,” I say.
“Does it.”
“Mm.”
“It’s big enough for two,” he adds with a cheeky wink.
“Right,” I say, because that feels like the safest word available.I guess we're showering together, then.
Chapter 6
Mark
The bathroom is toowarm by the time I switch on the shower.
Or maybe that is just me.
Philip lingers just inside the door while I adjust the temperature, jacket gone, looking around with that same wary amusement he seems to default to whenever life gets too strange.
I step back once the water is running.
“I had this pictured as significantly more romantic downstairs.”
Philip looks at me.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. In my head it was all effortless shared-shower seduction.”
“And in reality?”
I glance between him, the glass, and the alarming amount of clothing still involved.
