AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hayden was flooded, somehow, with tenderness, and now, he was the one holding Luke’s battered head in his two hands, kissing his hard mouth. “Did you notice me telling you to stop?”
Luke’s whole body went rigid. “You did?”
“No. That’s the point. I didn’t. Are you saying this was outside your normal pattern? That I shouldn’t expect this every time?”
“Yes. Of course not. I mean … bloody hell. Yes, you shouldn’t expect that, and no, that’s not me. I was rough, when I meant to be gentle. I’m careful. I know I’m strong, and I … I don’t even know why that happened. How it happened.”
“Well, I like to think it’s because I’m irresistible,” Hayden said, “and if you don’t stop apologizing, I’m going to lose my lovely buzz. That would be a pity, because I think you just rocked my world.”
Now, Luke went still for a different reason. “It was all right?”
“Well, I may have lost the use of my legs,” Hayden said, the bubble of hilarity rising, “but what a way to go.”
“I didn’t even take a shower,” Luke said.
“No. You didn’t. And neither did I.”
“Yeh,” Luke said, “but you smell good.”
Hayden laughed out loud. “So do you. You can stop worrying now. And if you can’t stop worrying …” He kissed Luke right on his battered ear. “You could take a shower with me.”
They did, and that was good, too. Kissing and touching and stroking, languid now, and so satisfied. When they were under the duvet, the blood running through Hayden’s veins like warm, thick honey, his body wanting nothing but to fall asleep, he forced himself to say, “We didn’t talk about your attitude in there. At the gym.” Communication was fundamental, after all.
“Oh.” Luke went still again, which Hayden had decided was Luke’s way of saying, “I am having powerful feelings.” He was pretty sure he was right, because that was all Luke said.
Hayden said, “I’m thinking that was concern.”
“Well, yeh. It was. I couldn’t believe it. I saw you in there, and I … I couldn’t believe it. But maybe I shouldn’t have done it like that.”
“Well, no,” Hayden still wanted to laugh, but he was oddly touched, too. “I’d say that wasn’t the best approach.”
“OK. What should I have done instead?”
That brought Hayden up short. “That’s your response? No defensiveness? No explanation of why your way was the only reasonable solution?”
“I’m a sportsman,” Luke said. “Can’t afford to ignore coaching, not if I want to get better.”
Hayden had to kiss him again then, didn’t he? And to run his hand down his arm, because, hello, muscles. “All right. I’m trying to think what a better way would be. I know there was one, because I was in the middle of a class. A class you interrupted pretty comprehensively, and I may never be allowed back. You could’ve waited for it to be over, of course, and told me later. There’s that option.”
Luke considered. Hayden could feel him considering. “I could’ve, but I did think you were hurting yourself. Didn’t feel safe.”
“And I could ask you why you’re qualified to judge for me, but, of course, you are qualified to judge. So inconvenient.”
Luke laughed, the first time Hayden had heard it all day. “Sorry, but you’re right. I am. That was dangerous, and I felt like I had to stop it. Also, because you brought it up—I didn’t go to relationship school anywhere. Pretty obvious, I’d have thought. Rough as guts, in fact.”
Hayden thought it over. “How about this, then? And by the way, this is the most bizarrely adult fight I’ve ever had with a lover. You could have come in—possibly without your brother, because that was over the top, though my friends are thrilled to bits, I’m sure, by the testosterone excess and the general levels of drama—touched me on the shoulder, and asked if you could talk to me outside.”
“Thought that was what I did.”
“I think it was more like, ‘Let’s go. You’re out of here.’”
“Oh. Well, maybe. Right. Got it. Polite request next time.”
“Yes. No commanding.”
“None?” Luke could be smiling, and Hayden had to smile back, didn’t he?
“Well, all right, in bed,” Hayden said. “But that’s all.”
