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“I don’t know if my back could take two nights on that couch, but thank you for the offer.”
Holden shrugged. “You’re welcome to half the bed.” When Greg opened his mouth, Holden held up a hand. “To sleep. That’s all.”
With a nod, Greg relaxed. “I’ll see what I can find tomorrow if the bus isn’t running to Aspen, but—” he shrugged. “—we’ll see.”
“That we will.”
IfHoldenhadhopedfor a restful night, it turned out to be a fool’s wish. Long after Greg’s breathing evened out and deepened, Holden lay on his side of the bed, staring at the ceiling. He was acutely aware of Greg lying next to him. How could he not be when he was afraid he would cross the no-man’s-land they’d established while sleeping and wake with Greg in his arms? Holden didn’t usually experience the luxury of having a man in his bed all night long, and he’d rarely woken up to find his evening’s hookup still there. It wasn’t that much of a hardship since Holden had never been a cuddler. Somehow, he knew it would be different with Greg, and not just because the man would be there in the morning.
As the minutes ticked over on the bedside clock, Holden rolled onto his side and stared at Greg. This attraction didn’t make sense to him. Or, rather, it did since Greg was beautiful and seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. But that wasn’t all of it.
They’d met, had the kind of meaningless conversation two people had when it was too loud to get into more substantial topics, and danced with each other. Though Greg had moved like a dream—his body wrapped around Holden’s caused fantasies to play like porn in his head—Greg hadn’t seemed to be on the same page, even though he appeared to be attracted to Holden. When Greg asked if Holden would go to dinner the following night, Holden had wondered if it were a brush-off. And when Greg hadn’t texted him, Holden became sure of it, inordinately disappointed that the sexy man from Neon wasn’t into him after all.
Holden wasn’t romantic enough to believe in fate, but ending up on Greg’s flight and then finding Greg in the lobby of his hotel had him sending a prayer of thanks to whomever was listening. He couldn’t help noticing Greg’s despair and frustration as soon as he’d seen him, which was why, despite the risk of talking to him in front of Brody, he’d done it just like he had on the plane. And once he’d discovered Greg had no place to sleep that night, Holden couldn’t help himself from offering to share his room. It hadn’t been an opportunistic or sexual offer. Holden merely wanted to help the younger man out of a difficult situation and had the means to do so.
Lying next to him now, Holden still felt the attraction, but there was also something much more complicated that he couldn’t define. Something about Greg called to him, made him want more than another nameless, faceless encounter. He wanted to get to know Greg. It was that simple. And the simplicity of it made it much more dangerous.
With a loud exhale, Greg shifted his position, rolling onto his side and facing Holden. At the same time, his left leg crept out from the covers, pushed them to the side, and settled on top. Greg had changed into a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top for sleep, which meant Holden found himself gazing at the long lines of Greg’s body, unable to look away.
Greg’s face wasn’t the only thing Holden found beautiful. Though he was long and lean, Greg had surprisingly muscular arms, nicely toned abs, and legs that went on for days with defined and shapely thigh and calf muscles. What Holden had seen and felt of the man’s ass hinted at perfection there as well, with firm muscles he could dig his hands into. He was fit in the way of someone used to being physical, not in the way of someone who’s muscles came from machines and weights. Add in the rugged lines of Greg’s face, the full lips, the thick eyelashes fanned across his cheeks, the…gah!Holden tore his gaze away from the sleeping man and stared up at the ceiling, counting slowly to one hundred in the hopes of falling asleep.
When Greg’s hips started moving, thrusting slowly forward and back against the fold of the blanket between his legs, Holden closed his eyes and prayed to keep his arousal tamped down. That hope proved in vain when Greg let out a soft moan, drawing Holden’s gaze right back to Greg’s face and his now parted lips.Shit. And when Greg’s tongue poked out to run along his upper lip, followed by another low moan, Holden was done for. He scrambled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom.
With the bathroom door closed, Holden leaned against the vanity and stared at his face in the mirror, cursing his reflection. What the fuck was he doing? Even as he chastised himself for extending the invitation for Greg to stay in his room, he knew he couldn’t have done anything different. What’s done was done, and now he needed to be an adult about it and figure out a way to cohabitate with the man currently dreaming in his bed. Dare he hope that Greg was dreaming about him?
Holden’s cock gave a twitch of interest at the idea, which only made Holden grimace and curse himself for being a fool. As much as he might want to jerk off to thoughts of Greg, he was old enough to be in control of his sexual impulses. He gulped down a glass of water, then headed back into the bedroom, where he got his laptop and headphones and proceeded to make the best of the remaining hours until morning by getting some work done.
“DidImovearoundtoo much?”
Holden took his headphones off and turned toward the bed, where Greg was sitting up, hair disheveled and dark stubble giving his face an even more rugged look. The tank top had shifted while Greg had been sleeping, revealing a view of his muscular chest and a perfect, rosy nipple buried in a nest of dark hair. Thank God, Greg’s view was obstructed as Holden’s cock gave a good-morning wave his sweats did nothing to hide.
“You were fine,” Holden said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat. “I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get some work done.” He indicated the laptop that sat on the coffee table in front of him, hoping as he did so that Greg didn’t notice it had been so long since Holden had touched the computer that the screen was black. Holden had sat down with every intention of getting work done, but Greg proved a greater distraction than he’d been capable of overcoming, and he’d ended up staring at the bed until Greg woke up.
Greg nodded, then reached for his phone. “Shit,” he said, and Holden had a pretty good idea he was looking at the weather app. The snow continued throughout the day, flights in and out of Denver International were severely delayed or canceled, and there was little likelihood Greg would make it to Aspen in the next twenty-four hours at least.
Holden already knew this because the meeting he and Brody were supposed to have at one had been postponed due to the storm and the inability of two key people to get to Denver. They would try again the next day, then go virtual if the storm hadn’t blown itself out. All of which meant Holden had an entire day free. He assumed Greg did too.
As Holden glanced at the man currently scrolling through his phone, he wondered if Greg would want to spend it together. Warmth spread through him at that thought. What would Greg want to do? When he had the time, Holden liked going to museums and bookstores. He also liked hiking, though he didn’t think the weather today would lend itself to anything in the great outdoors. While he could definitely see Greg being a fan of skiing or snowboarding, he wondered what else the man did with his free time.
Shaking himself out of daydreams, Holden focused on Greg once more. “You’re more than welcome to stay here another night,” he said. “Like I told you, I’ve got the room for a week, so…”
“Thank you. If I can find another place today, I’ll get out of your hair, but it’s nice to know I’ve got somewhere to stay if I need it.”
Insisting that Greg should stay rather than try to find something else was on the tip of Holden’s tongue, but he held back, even though disappointment left a sour taste in his mouth. He couldn’t force Greg to stay with him, no matter how much he wanted it.
“I’m going to…” Greg waved in the direction of the bathroom.
“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Leaning over his laptop, Holden tapped the mouse to bring the screen to life. “I’ve got some more work to do, so it’s all yours.”
“Great. Thanks.”
Do not look. Do not look. Do not look.Holden chanted the words silently in his head, but it was no use. Greg got out of bed, and Holden watched as the man stretched to his full height, the tank top riding up to expose the waistband of his boxers and a dusting of a dark treasure trail. Holden swallowed at the flood of saliva in his mouth, then nearly swallowed his tongue when Greg crossed the room and bent over his suitcase to retrieve fresh clothes and his toiletries bag. The man’s ass was absolutely perfect. Holden breathed a sigh of relief when the door to the bathroom clicked shut, and he ran a hand over his face.What the fuck was I thinking?
Chapter seven
Greg
Assoonashewas safely enclosed in the bathroom, Greg let out a huge breath. He turned on the shower, then sat on the toilet and opened up his texts. There were a couple from his mom telling him to stay put in Denver until the storm blew itself out. He texted back to let her know he had a place to stay and no intention of leaving the city until the road was clear, but he’d be there as soon as he could.
