Page 147

“You like these?” Ash asked, his eyes glinting with playfulness.

Cass’s stomach swooped, and he nodded. “I do.”

Ash sauntered over around the couch and stopped just on the other side of the coffee table, out of Cass’s reach. Then, letting the towel fall to the ground, Ash did another slow turn. Cass’s heart raced even more when Ash hooked his fingers into the waistband of the shorts in a way that was now quite familiar.

He groaned as Ash paused with his back to him.

“They’re pretty comfortable, I guess,” Ash said casually. “But, like I told you yesterday, I prefer swim briefs.” He tugged the shorts down just enough that Cass could see a darker blue material underneath. “Do you want to see those now?”

Cass sucked in a sharp breath and nodded again, heat rushing to his cheeks. “Yeah, I do.”

Ash’s confident, seductive smile—one that Cass had gotten to know quite well from their video calls over the last few months—somehow felt more real, more captivating now that Cass was in the same room, only a few feet away. He held his breath, his hand pressing into his thigh and inching upward, as Ash bent over slightly. The bright blue of the swim trunks tightened over his perfectly curved ass before slipping down to reveal a pair of skintight navy swim briefs.

“Ohhhh.” Cass’s shaft throbbed, and his hand shifted upward to adjust himself as he inhaled a sharp breath.

Ash played it out like he often did on their video calls, bending all the way over to push the shorts to the ground, then stepping out of them slowly, running his hands back up the outsides of his legs and to his hips as he straightened.

Cass groaned as he watched, his hard length swelling under his palm. Ash glanced back at him over his shoulder, a tease still glinting in his eyes.

“What do you think?”

Then Ash turned around, letting his hands smooth up his chest and down again, slowly, taunting Cass with every inch. The briefs clung to his frame, dipping low enough in front that Cass could see the well-defined muscles in Ash’s abs and the V of his hips. Their eyes met, and Cass shook his head, unable to speak.

He lifted his hand and reached out toward Ash, an ache in his chest, and without any hesitation, Ash came to him. Their fingers threaded together, and Cass scooted to sit closer to the edge of the couch, looking up at his boyfriend. Ash’s smile seemed to soften, and he crooked his head a bit.

“They’re comfortable. Soft material,” Ash said, and his tongue peeked out of his mouth to wet his lips.

Cass swallowed hard again. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, here, feel.” Ash guided Cass’s hand to his hip, flattening Cass’s palm over the material. Cass closed his eyes and let Ash move his hand inward until he felt Ash’s straining erection throb under his palm. “There, see”—Ash pushed Cass’s hand down, stroking him over the top of the briefs—“good, right?”

Cass couldn’t speak, but he took over, leaning forward to rest his head in the crease of Ash’s hip and thigh as he stroked Ash again. With a grunt, Ash shifted both hands to Cass’s shoulders as though needing to steady himself.

“Oh, fuck, Cass,” Ash mumbled, and then with a groan, he tugged at Cass’s shirt. “Take this off.”

Cass straightened up and quickly complied, and at the same time, Ash’s fingers found the waistband of Cass’s sweatpants.

“These too.”

The neediness in Ash’s tone sent a warm shiver through him, and Cass tossed his shirt over the back of the couch and then immediately tugged off his sweats as well, leaving him in only his plain black boxers.

The next thing he knew, Ash was on top of him, pushing him to lie back on the couch. Ash’s knees settled between Cass’s legs, and he flattened his palms against Cass’s stomach, biting his lower lip as he rubbed upward. With a deep moan, Cass screwed his eyes shut and pressed his head back into the couch pillows.

God, he was hot, and the aching pressure growing in his groin throbbed with need.

He opened his eyes halfway, breathing heavily, and watched as Ash lowered his mouth to Cass’s neck. The wet heat of Ash’s kisses made him writhe with pleasure. “God, yeah. Right there,” he rasped, and he felt Ash smile against him.

Ash continued, touching Cass everywhere, using his fingers and his mouth and his tongue, and it was all intense and needy and sensual.

He loved it.

He loved Ash’s playfulness.

He loved Ash’s confidence.

He loved what Ash was doing to him.

And when Ash pushed himself up a minute later, gazing softly down at him, one hand now stroking teasingly over the straining bulge in Cass’s boxers, the words he’d known for so long but hadn’t let himself admit popped into his head.