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Noah’s fingers had a slight tremble to them, but he did. ‘I don’t touch myself. Ever. I’ve had an orgasm but never because I got myself off. I’m a virgin in almost every way it’s possible to be a virgin, and I’m so wound up. Hell, I can’t even kiss you without losing it. It’s pathetic.’
Adriano’s eyes narrowed. ‘It’s not pathetic.’
‘It’s embarrassing.’ Noah looked like he wanted to turn his head away, but he had also learned enough about Adriano’s language to know he couldn’t—or shouldn’t.
‘I like it,’ Adriano reiterated, and he took another step back. ‘I like you.’
Noah’s face scrunched up like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t seem to have the strength for it. He looked exhausted and wrung out, and Adriano knew walking around with come in his boxers wasn’t comfortable.
‘Do you want to come back to my place with me?’
Noah blanched and shook his head. ‘I don’t know if I should. I have to be up so early.’
‘I can wake you,’ Adriano pointed out, but his assurances didn’t seem to matter. Noah still looked utterly and completely panicked. ‘Home, then. Your home,’ he clarified. ‘But I’d like to stay with you for a little while.’
Noah glanced to his right, then nodded. He started to pull away from the building, but Adriano saw the way his legs wobbled, so he slung an arm around his waist and bore some of his weight. Neither of them said anything. Noah just let Adriano help him, and they headed back the way they’d come.
The walk to the bakery wasn’t far, and Adriano waited patiently behind his new lover as Noah got the door open and began to ascend the stairs. It was dark, save for a faded bulb at the very top, and everything smelled like bread. He was reminded that Noah still had work to do, that Noah had put off work for him.
Noah was exhausted and had lost sleep just to eat pizza and share a small kiss at the door. If Adriano thought Noah would regret this—regret him—he would have walked away. But he didn’t believe that. He followed close behind, and he let his hand rest at the small of Noah’s back as they entered the apartment.
‘Make yourself comfortable,’ Noah told him, then grimaced as he pulled at the crotch of his jeans. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Adriano wanted to follow him, to touch him more, to see how worked up he could get the other man. He wanted to see if he could drag it out and delay the inevitable, but he also knew Noah needed to process. Right now, they were friends. They had kissed, Noah had come twice, and there was nothing between them that meant anything. No promises, no vows.
Adriano hadn’t felt this way about Eric when they’d first met. He’d been thrilled to have an interpreter who’d work on a porn set, and he’d been happy Eric didn’t seem judgmental. He liked that Eric was okay with his work and didn’t try to get him to quit.
He hadn’t realized the price for all that.
And he certainly had never been so smitten.
Flopping onto the sofa, he kicked one foot up, then pulled out his phone to send Liam a text, checking on Jude.
Adriano: Won’t be all night. I hope Jude is behaving. Will pay overtime.
Liam: Better than the humans in town.
Adriano chuckled, then set his phone to the side and startled when he felt the cushion to his right move. He glanced over to see the cat getting comfortable near his thigh. Pets either loved or hated him, and he had to admit it gave him a small thrill to know Noah’s fur baby had accepted his presence.
He shuffled downward and patted his chest, and the cat quickly made himself comfortable on the broad expanse between his pecs. He dug his fingers into the cat’s fur and felt the heavy vibrations of his purr. It was soothing and comforting in a way he hadn’t expected, and he felt himself drifting just a little bit until Noah appeared in his line of sight.
He had changed out of his date clothes, now in lounge pants and a t-shirt. His hair was fluffy and disordered, and his cheeks still carried a faint blush as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth like he didn’t know what to say.
Adriano took pity on him and tapped the cushion the cat had abandoned. Noah stared for just a moment—just long enough for Adriano to feel a prickle of fear that Noah might ask him to leave—before he crossed the room and settled down.
He was close but not close enough, though Adriano didn’t want to push it. ‘He’s sweet.’
Noah frowned, shaking his head, but there was amusement in his eyes. ‘He’d sell me out for five ear scratches and a can of tuna.’
Adriano laughed, probably too loud because Marshmallow stood up—claws deployed—and launched himself to the ground. He grunted under the stabbing claws but let out a breath of relief when Noah’s hand brushed down his shirt.
‘Sorry. He’s also petty.’
Adriano laughed again but softer this time, and he closed his fingers around Noah’s wrist, locking their gazes. He didn’t want to let go—not now, not ever. He wanted to lean in and kiss Noah again, wanted to pin him to the sofa and exist with him there and nowhere else ever again.
Reality was cruel, though, and crept around the edges of his fantasy.
‘I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,’ he finally signed, letting go of Noah’s arm.
