Page 42 of How Not to Date a Griffin

Things had been so tense between them only that very afternoon. The dejection that had unraveled in him when Reid walked away had been more intense than Nolan was prepared for.

Nolan was already smitten with this man. Besotted with his kind eyes and dumb jokes and his transparent love of life. He was the fucking sunshine, casting rays of light along Nolan’s dreary life.

And that was scarier than any height Reid could fly them to.

The doors opened, jolting him from his thoughts, and he tugged Reid from the elevator, hands still clasped.

He only released him to dig his wallet out for the key, and swiped it over the circular lock. The beep echoed in the hallway, and he pushed inside to his room once again.

God, was it really only this morning that he’d left Reid sleeping in his bed?

Unbidden, his attention trailed to the bed in question, long since made up, pillows restacked by the cleaning crew. He hated the pinch of disappointment in his chest at the erasure of Reid, even though the very man was standing just before him.

“So… shower,” Nolan said, cheeks flushing as he suddenly floundered. “Do you want to go first?”

The silence was deafening.

“Sure,” Reid finally said, voice low and quiet and private, just for the two of them.

Something hot twisted in Nolan’s gut, and he swallowed, motioning to the attached room on the right, peeking in to verify that— “Yeah, fresh towels and everything. Uh, there’s a robe you can wear, or you can borrow something if you’d like—”

“Nolan,” Reid interrupted, and he stopped mid-sentence. “You’re freaking out.”

“I’m freaking out,” he admitted, turning to face Reid. Nolan’s head filled with white noise at the sight of Reid’s bare chest, the feathers creeping over his shoulders, and god—he swallowed—along his forearms, interspersed with the tattoos.

“Don’t freak out,” Reid said, stepping closer. He chuckled softly, gaze dipping to Nolan’s lips and—

“I didn’t invite you here for this,” Nolan blurted. Reid’s step paused midair, hesitation slowing his movements, and Nolan reached out. “I mean, that wasn’t my intention. I didn’t know, if after everything—”

Reid’s expression glowed bright with understanding, and he stepped forward again, pulling Nolan with him into the bathroom. “I know. I know.”

And then Reid’s lips were on his, and Nolan’s breath was weak, and his heart pounded so loudly he was certain it echoed off the enclosed space of the bathroom.

Nolan let the warmth envelop him, let himself relax into Reid. This was happening. Reid tilted his head into the kiss, lifting his hands and cupping Nolan’s jaw.

Nolan melted, and then Reid’s fingers were making deft work of the patterned button-up. When they parted for a breath, his gaze dipped down to the skin he’d exposed, and Nolan flushed even more, if that was possible.

Then Reid paused suddenly.

“Are these… little cats?” he asked, brushing a thumb over the fabric below a button.

Nolan nodded, discovering it was possible for even more heat to fill his cheeks.

“God, you’re… fucking wonderful,” Reid breathed.

No one had ever used that word to describe Nolan before, and it took him a few seconds to process the warmth in his chest.

Maybe once, as a child, had a teacher referred to him that way. The word most certainly had a different effect on him now than it had then.

Nolan knew he wasn’t a good person, had never entertained any fantasy notions otherwise. But with Reid’s lips shaping those words, he could almost believe it.

Instead of trying to find his own words to respond, he tilted Reid’s head up with a gentle touch and kissed him about it. Kissed him with the soft fluttering in his chest as Reid pushed his shirt off his shoulders.

Nolan lifted his hands, letting his fingers trail down the softness of his skin. He broke the kiss with a small smile. “I wanted to tell you, all day, that you looked absolutely devastating. Very smart.”

Reid glanced toward the door, the pile of his jacket and the plain tee beneath, then to his matching pants.

“I wanted to impress the rich men thinking of investing in your hotel. Do you think it worked?”