AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, if he’s not willing to call you his boyfriend, do you really have him in the first place?”
Lake’s mouth opened and then closed when he realised that he had no idea what to say to that. Was Avery right?
Did he really even have Grady?
IttookGradyafew seconds to work out what had woken him. He squinted at the time as he fumbled to pick up his phone. His alarm clock said it was just before one in the morning. The fuck?
“Detective Donehue,” he answered, figuring that it had to be work related. He pressed the heel of his palm against an eye, trying to wake himself up.
“We should use handcuffs in bed,” came the slurred response.
Grady frowned, sitting up in bed. “Lake?”
“We could play bad cop,” Lake continued, “and you could use your detective voice to interrogate me while you rail me.”
Grady ignored the way his dick twitched at the idea. “Are youdrunk?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
“Why?” It was a Monday morning, which meant a workday. Lake was going to hate himself when he had to get up for his alarm in fewer than six hours.
“I miss you.”
It had been Lake’s decision not to see each other the previous night, so Grady didn’t even know what to say to that statement. He had messaged Lake, asking whether he wanted to come over for dinner, and Lake had said he wanted to spend a quiet night at home by himself. It had seemed strange to Grady because it wasn’t something that Lake had ever wanted before—the opposite, in fact—but Grady wasn’t about to tell him he couldn’t have that if he wanted it.
He shoved the blankets off and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Are you okay, Lake?”
“I don’t want anyone else. I only want you.”
Grady ran his hand through his beard, tugging gently at the strands. “Lake, what’s going on?”
“Why are you doing this to me?” Lake sounded like he was talking to himself more than Grady, ignoring Grady’s questions.
“I’m not doing anything to you.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Lake said bitterly.
Grady heard something that sounded suspiciously like Lake taking another swig of whatever he’d been drinking.
“Lake, baby, you aren’t making any sense. Are you at home?”
“When you aren’t with me, all I can think about is you. And when you are with me, all I want to do is touch you. Being near you feels like I can breathe, like I’m alive and here and real.”
Grady hopped into his pants one-handed. He didn’t know what to do with all the words that Lake was saying. Nothing. Because Lake was drunk. People said a lot of things they didn’t mean when they were drunk. Taking anything that Lake said seriously while he was this drunk was just asking for trouble. It didn’t matter that the words were settling inside his heart, that hewantedthem to be real.
By the time he managed to get through to Lake and confirm that yes, he was at home, Grady was at the door with his shoes on, grabbing his keys from the hanger beside it.
“I’ll be there soon, okay?” This late, traffic shouldn’t be too heinous. He could get there in record time.
“Okay. Are you—” Lake made a surprised sound, glass smashed nearby, and then the phone cut off abruptly.
Grady frowned and pulled his phone from his ear. When he tried to call back, no one answered.Fuck.
GRADY DIDN'T HAVE TO use his key to get into Lake’s house since the front door swung open the second his foot hit the porch. He had an armful of Lake a moment later, sloppy lips against his own. They were cold and tasted like blackcurrant and vodka.
Grady clasped the back of Lake’s head and took over, tracing the inside of Lake’s mouth with his tongue with sure strokes. He fisted the side of Lake’s shirt and dragged him even closer until there was no space between them.
Grady bit the underside of Lake’s jaw, sucking hard enough to leave a mark that he wouldn’t be able to hide. He dragged his lips back to Lake’s, unable to stay away for long. He cradled Lake’s face as he kissed him until he was at risk of pulling off his clothes and fucking him right there and giving his neighbours a show.
