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Gavin raised an eyebrow at the quarter of a sandwich still on Dom’s plate. Then he popped the last bite of his into his mouth and pushed his stool back. “Me too.”

Dom scraped the remnants of their lunch into the trash and then carried their plates to the sink before turning around to look at Gavin. He was leaning against the back of his seat, arms crossed over his broad chest, watching him carefully. Dom’s gaze flicked toward Lucia, and he crossed the room and leaned over the portable crib. She was still deeply asleep, but that didn’t stop him from resting two fingers lightly against her stomach until he felt the steady rise and fall beneath her sleeper.

He stood and found Gavin still watching him. He seemed to understand that Dom seeing her breathe and knowing she was breathing were two different things. He crossed the room toward Gavin and the closer he got, the more Gavin’s posture changed. His arms unfolded and he rested his hands on his thighs, but he stayed where he was, watching Dom approach, leaving whatever happened next entirely up to Dom. Dom stopped between his spread knees.

Gavin tipped his head back to meet his gaze. “What are you doing?”

Dom rested a hand on Gavin’s thigh, and the muscle tightened beneath his palm. “Do you want me to move?”

“No.” Gavin’s answer was low and immediate. “Definitely not.”

Dom’s lips twitched, and he slid his hand higher, feeling the solid shape of Gavin’s leg beneath the denim. Gavin spread his knees wider to make room for him, and Dom stepped closer until their chests nearly touched.

“Good,” he murmured.

He moved his hand from Gavin’s thigh to his shoulder and slid the other around the back of his neck. Gavin’s hands closed around his hips, but he didn’t pull him closer. Every muscle beneath Dom’s palms was tight with restraint.

“Dom.” Gavin’s voice was rough, almost unsteady. “Tell me you’re sure.” His fingers flexed against Dom’s hips. “Please. Because I want this too much to guess.”

Dom moved closer and rested his forehead against Gavin’s. “I’m sure.”

Gavin exhaled sharply but still waited.

“Gavin,” Dom whispered. “Kiss me.”

Gavin’s mouth covered his before the last word was fully out, and there was nothing hesitant about it. One hand slid around the back of Dom’s neck while the other pulled him forward by the hip. Dom caught himself against Gavin’s chest, then fisted both hands in his shirt and kissed him back. Gavin angled Dom’s head and deepened the kiss. His tongue swept over Dom’s lower lip and heat tore through him so fast his knees buckled. Dom opened for him with a sound he would have been embarrassed by if Gavin hadn’t answered with one of his own.

He had imagined this more times than he wanted to admit, but his imagination had forgotten the rough scrape of Gavin’s day-old stubble against his jaw and the way Gavin’s fingers flexed every time Dom’s tongue met his. He tasted like basil and balsamic glaze, sweet and sharp beneath the lingering coffee. Dom chased the flavor, angling his head and kissing him harder as he pulled him closer. Gavin’s hand spread across the small of his back while the other slid beneath his shirt. Dom shuddered as rough fingertips dragged over his bare skin. Gavin caught his lower lip between his teeth, tugged gently and released it, and Dom broke away to pull in a breath.

“Do you want to stop?” Gavin voice was teasing, but Dom knew he would if Dom said yes.

“Shut up,” he said instead.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Dom kissed him again before he could say anything else. Gavin met him with the same hunger, the hand beneath his shirt climbing higher along his spine as Dom pushed closer. The position should have given Dom the advantage, with Gavin seated on a counter-height stool and Dom standing between his legs, but Gavin was so broad that Dom still felt surrounded by him. He wasn’t ready to examine why he liked that so much.

Dom slid both hands into Gavin’s hair and tugged until Gavin’s head tipped back. He kissed the corner of his mouth, then followed the rough line of his jaw to the spot beneath his ear. Gavin’s fingers tightened against his back.

“Dom.”

The warning in his name only made Dom want to hear it again. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Gavin’s throat and felt his pulse jump beneath his lips. Gavin stood so suddenly that Dom had to step back to give him room. One second, Dom had been leaning over him. The next, Gavin was crowding him toward the island. And there it was again, that unfamiliar thrill of feeling smaller than someone else. Gavin stopped when Dom’s ass hit the counter, his breathing uneven as he retreated slightly.

“Tell me if this is too much,” Gavin rasped.

Dom caught the front of his shirt in both fists and pulled him closer. “It’s not enough.”

Dom could see the moment Gavin let go of the rest of his restraint. His mouth came down on Dom’s, deep and hungry, while his hands found Dom’s hips again. Dom leaned back against the island and dragged Gavin closer until their thighs pressed together. The hard line of Gavin’s body against his pulled a helpless sound from the back of Dom’s throat.

Gavin swallowed it with another kiss and his palms moved beneath Dom’s shirt again, sliding over his sides and around his back. Then Gavin’s hand slipped lower, gripping Dom’s cock through his jeans, and Dom’s head fell back.

“Fuck.”

Gavin’s mouth found the exposed line of his throat. He kissed beneath Dom’s jaw, then scraped his teeth over the place where Dom’s pulse hammered. Dom tightened his hands in Gavin’s shirt and tried not to make another sound, but Gavin did it again, slower, and Dom couldn’t stop himself.

He shoved both hands beneath the hem of Gavin’s shirt. Warm skin met his palms, and the muscles in Gavin’s stomach contracted beneath his touch. Dom spread his fingers, learning the shape of him, and Gavin lifted his head. His pupils were blown wide and his mouth was damp and swollen from kissing.

“You keep doing that,” Gavin said, breathless. “I’m going to forget we’re supposed to be taking this slow.”