"You don't see it, do you?" he asked.
Adriel just looked at him, unsure what to say. Unsure whatitwas. Unsure of anything except the warmth of Landen's fingers still on his chin, the way the air between them had gone thin and charged.
See what?He thought about asking. The words were right there, on his tongue, ready. But before he could speak them, before he could form the question, before he could do anything at all…
Landen's lips were on his again.
Soft at first. A pressure so light Adriel might have imagined it, might have dreamed it, might have conjured it from the wanting that had lived in him for months.
Then Landen's hand tightened on his chin and his mind went blank. Everything fell away. The cold air seeping in. The hours of panic, the tears, the spiraling. All of it just…gone.
His body started shaking.
A fine tremor ran through him, head to toe, as if every nerve had woken up at once and didn't know what to do with the input. Hishands hung at his sides, useless. His eyes had fluttered closed without him telling them to.
Landen made a sound at the back of his throat and.shifted closer.
His other hand came up, found Adriel's jaw, cradled it, holding him like he was something precious, something fragile, something worth being careful with.
Adriel's breath hitched. And then something in him let go. It was like a string snapping. His body went slack.
A sound slipped out of his throat. Small. Broken. A moan he hadn't known was coming, hadn't been able to stop, hadn't even recognized as his own until it was already gone.
Landen swallowed it. His mouth opened over Adriel's, his tongue pushing past his lips, and the kiss deepened. Became something more. Became heat and want and the taste of him, clean and faintly familiar, finally here, finallyhis.
Adriel made another sound. Higher this time. He didn't care. Couldn't care. His hands finally moved, coming up to grip Landen's shirt, fist in the wrinkled fabric, holding on like he might fall if he let go.
Landen kissed him deeper.
Slow but not gentle anymore. There was hunger underneath it now, something barely controlled. His tongue slid against Adriel's, explored his mouth, tasted him like he was memorizing the shape of him.
Adriel's knees went weak. He felt it happen, felt them buckle slightly, felt his body start to give. Landen caught him. One hand slid from his jaw to the back of his neck, holding him up.The other dropped to his waist, fingers spreading over his hip, gripping like he wanted to hold on forever.
Adriel kissed him back.
Harder now. Desperate. His hands fisting tighter in Landen's shirt, pulling him closer.
Landen groaned against his mouth. The sound vibrated through Adriel, low and warm, settled somewhere deep in his chest. He wanted to hear it again. Wanted to be the reason for it. Wanted to pull more of those sounds out of him, wanted to know what else he could make Landen feel.
Landen started walking him backward.
Slow at first. A step. Then another. Adriel went easily, trustingly, let himself be moved. His back hit the front door harder than he expected; a thud that ran through him, that made him gasp against Landen's mouth.
The door slammed shut.
Chapter 14
Adriel
Adriel felt like he was being consumed, devoured, taken apart piece by piece and put back together differently.
His back was against the door. The wood was hard and cool through his thin shirt, a contrast to the heat of Landen's body pressed against his front. He could feel every inch of him. The broad chest, the solid thighs, the weight of him pinning Adriel in place like he was exactly where he belonged.
Like he was wanted there.
Landen's tongue slid against his again, slow and deep, and Adriel made a sound he didn't recognize. Something high and desperate, swallowed immediately by Landen's mouth, absorbed into the kiss like fuel.
Adriel's hands were still fisted in Landen's shirt, wrinkled fabric twisted around his fingers. He'd been holding on like a lifeline, like the only thing keeping him upright, and maybe that was true. His knees weren't reliable anymore. His whole body had gone liquid, molten, held in place only by the door at his back and Landen at his front.
