Page 14 of Measure of a Man

“No one.”

Exeter made a pleased sound.

He worked his knee between Virtue’s legs and pressed his thigh into the gap. His mouth found Virtue’s neck as he worked his thigh against him.

No one had ever kissed him there before.

He’d kissed a woman’s neck but⁠—

Oh.

Good Lord, it was astonishingly pleasant.

“Awfully bad manners on my part, not to sort you out in the shop. Allow me to make amends to you now.”

“Christ don’t apologise for that!” He gave a shaken laugh. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“I very much do.”

Virtue wasn’t sure he wanted it to be tit for tat. It would be back to them one-upping one another.

“Have you done this before?”

Exeter’s gaze evaded his to study the red-and-gold swirls of birdcages and pagodas on the admittedly rather nice chinoiserie wallpaper that he’d pressed Virtue up against.

“Once or twice at Oxford. A couple of times after.”

Virtue had been the one to ask, but there was still a pinprick of discomfort at the answer. For a moment he felt that he did not know the man holding him. Who was this stranger with another life and how had he kept it hidden for so long?

They’d met when Exeter was two-and-twenty and had long since finished Oxford and established himself as a gentleman in society. Virtue had only been nineteen and rather cowed at first by how much more worldly and experienced his new acquaintance had seemed. His eyes were truly open now to just how many more things Exeter had done than he… and how brave he was.

“I try not to.” Exeter continued. “Hard to trust someone.”

“Understandable. It’s a never for me. I’ve never…”

“And you trust me?”

Virtue nodded with embarrassing eagerness.

The way Exeter’s smile broke across his face, it could almost be called sweet.

“Then where were we last time? Both of us had fewer clothes and your cock was rubbing up against mine.” He smirked. “I’ll play valet.”

Exeter tugged Virtue’s coat from his shoulders and flung it aside.

“I’m glad you’re not my actual valet. What would Mr Dibden say?”

“I know exactly what Mr Dibden would say.” Exeter’s grin widened. “Lucky bastard. About both of us. But don’t worry, he’ll keep his mouth shut. My secretary’s seen him down Vere Street with a bootmaker, so I doubt he wants to attract that kind of gossip. Besides, I went back and ordered an entire new wardrobe and said I’ll pay for it in quarters. Alas! No more Weston’s of Bond Street for me, I fear.”

It took a moment for him to digest that rather large titbit of gossip about Dibden’s preferences. It dawned on him that he might not be very good at reading people.

“Good thinking, but you didn’t need to as I’d already put down a deposit with him for the same.”

“That sneaking bastard!”

Exeter crushed his lips to Virtue’s as a fit of giggles threatened to spill forth.

Exeter hooked his gloved fingers under Virtue’s braces and worked his shirt free.