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He melted against his chest and buried his face in Caleb’s neck and breathed in his scent. He felt Caleb’s chest rumble with another groan, and it rippled pleasantly over the surface of his skin. When he pulled back, Caleb hooked a finger under his chin.
‘Kiss,’ he mouthed.
Bodhi nodded and closed his eyes just seconds before Caleb’s lips met his own again. It was softer this time, but also held the edge of desperation. He could feel Caleb holding back and he wanted to tell him not to, but he understood why Caleb needed to take it slow.
“Stay here tonight,” Caleb said when he pulled back enough for signing space.
Bodhi nodded, sagging back into Caleb’s arms, and he let him walk them both to the bed. When Bodhi slipped back between the sheets, he turned to face the other man. “Will you stay?”
Caleb looked hesitant. “In bed with you?”
Bodhi shrugged. “Yes. I’d like to be held.”
Caleb’s lips parted and it took Bodhi a second to realize he’d let out a long breath. “I don’t know how you just say the things you want.”
Bodhi’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What elsewouldI say?”
With a small laugh Caleb shook his head as he walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers back to slip in. He didn’t move close enough to touch yet, but he turned on his side so they could face each other.
“Most people play coy,” he spelled c-o-y slowly so Bodhi could follow. “Pretend to be shy. Make the other person guess.”
Bodhi wrinkled his nose. “That sounds like a good way to not get what you want.”
“It is,” Caleb confirmed with a nod and a wide grin. He shuffled closer, making Bodhi’s heart pound. “I like that you tell me what you need.”
“To be held. To be wanted,” Bodhi answered. In truth, he probably wouldn’t have been so honest if he was more sober, but he wouldn’t have pretended with Caleb. He wouldn’t have expected him to just know.
“I can give you both of those things,” Caleb told him. He reached out again, drawing a firm touch over Bodhi’s hairline, then down the side of his jaw. “This might make me an asshole, but whatever this is between us, we should probably keep it quiet for now.”
“I don’t understand.”
“At work,” Caleb said. “With your brother. With our friends. I need to take things very slow. The entire world got involved with my last relationship as it was ending.” Caleb’s fingers were shaking the way Bodhi’s had been earlier, and a pang shot through Bodhi’s chest as understanding hit him.
“I don’t want to tell the world.”
Caleb laughed softly, ducking his head. “I know. But it’s complicated with us. I’m your boss.”
Bodhi nodded sagely. He understood power dynamics as a concept. He knew that in a lesser man—a crueler man—someone like Caleb could use the relationship to hurt Bodhi.
“I’m not ashamed of you,” Caleb went on, “but I want to figure out what all this means before everyone else starts giving their opinions.”
Bodhi couldn’t help but chuckle at that. The people at BrewBiz would get far too involved and while it was funny, it almost made him want to break out into a cold sweat. He’d just had his third kiss ever. He didn’t need to walk into constant sexual innuendos about him and his boss.
And if—no,when—Ravi found out, Bodhi would have to deal with his brother being an overprotective asshole. He needed time to brace himself for all of it.
He lifted both hands, then made a twisting-lock motion over each wrist.Lips are sealed.
Caleb brightened, then cupped Bodhi’s cheek and drew him in for a fourth kiss. This one was hotter, deeper, more powerful as Caleb moved his body with it. The force sucked the air out of Bodhi’s lungs, and he became suddenly and profoundly aware that his body was responding.
“I’m hard,” he told Caleb.
Caleb’s eyes widened, then his cheeks went a sort of dusky pink—something Bodhi had never seen before. He looked pretty with a blush. So much that he had to feel the heat with his lips. He peppered kisses over Caleb’s face until he was satisfied.
When he pulled back, Caleb’s mouth had softened into a small smirk, though he still looked hesitant. “I don’t think we should do more than this tonight.”
Bodhi almost laughed. “I know. I’m not ready yet. But you make me horny.”
Caleb looked vaguely stunned again, and Bodhi wondered if he was just too fucking much—the way he’d been warned he was by far too many people in his past. But Caleb didn’t push him away. Instead, he wrapped arms around Bodhi and held him close.
