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Dmitri smiled, his lashes fluttering as his eyelids lowered. “You’re…charming.”
Raphael chuckled softly. “Am I?”
“Yes. Charming enough that I can’t even be annoyed that you and my uncle had some big fight about me.”
Raphael bit the inside of his cheek as he let his hand drift back down to his lap. “That was the other thing I was going to tell you.” He nudged Dmitri’s elbow until the younger man began eating again, and Raphael resumed his own meal. “I don’t want to cause problems between you and your family, and maybe it’s something we should discuss.”
“What? Jayden?”
“The differences in our age,” Raphael said carefully.
He saw the way Dmitri’s eyes narrowed. “No.”
“It’s only that…”
“No,” Dmitri said again. He pushed his bowl away and he stood. “I’m tired of people patronizing me. I’m quiet, and I didn’t speak up for myself before, but I’m not stupid. I know what I want, and just because Paxton had the physical advantage over me doesn’t mean I’m too naïve to choose the person who makes me happy.”
“That’s not what I was going to say,” Raphael said, trying to keep his tone moderated. He felt an uncomfortable itch right in his core, and a headache started to form at the base of his skull. He breathed through it, but he’d need meds, and he’d need to lie down.
Dmitri seemed to notice, because he offered a hand and reached for Raphael’s cane, which was leaning against the counter. “Do you mind if I shower before we do this whole thing?”
Raphael wanted to tell him there was nowhole thing—that it was not a fight, that he was not pushing Dmitri away. But he wanted time to gather his thoughts, and he wanted Dmitri to consider his words without getting angry first.
“I’ll meet you in bed.” Raphael cleaned up and put the soup away, then made his way to the bedroom where he slipped into flannel pajamas and a t-shirt. He could hear the shower going, so he dragged out his yoga mat and spread out on his back to get some of his stretches done in hopes that his body wouldn’t tighten up and make moving impossible the next morning.
He hated that stress did this to him. He hated that even the smallest conflict had the largest consequences. It was worth it for Dmitri, but he was so tired. His legs and hips felt better when he was done, and he swallowed back his evening muscle relaxant before climbing beneath the sheets, Dmitri joining him only a few minutes later in boxers and no shirt.
“I hope this is okay,” he said. “You’re like an oven at night.”
Raphael rolled his eyes. “I will never complain about my hot boyfriend being mostly naked in my bed.”
Dmitri’s smile softened as he crawled across the duvet and shoved his legs under the covers. “I’m sorry I snapped.”
“Don’t be. I trust your judgment. I trust that you want me—and that you know I will never take advantage of you.”
“The sex thing,” Dmitri said.
Raphael nodded. “If you want to explore with me—when you’re comfortable, I will always say yes. But that’s not why I want to be with you.”
“I get that. And I believe you,” Dmitri told him. “Jayden seemed pretty sorry that he was an asshole, and he’s kind of terrified now that you’re quitting.”
“Good,” Raphael said, and he didn’t really mean it, but his reaction had stung. It hit somewhere raw and tender, because he had worried that he was being a dirty old man loving this person beside him. Age was just a number, except when it wasn’t, and he never wanted to be the man who hurt Dmitri. “It’s still important that we acknowledge the truth of what’s worrying your uncle. I’m a lot older than you.”
“You are.” Dmitri shuffled down and leaned on his elbow, letting his hand rest on Raphael’s chest. “But you know me, and I know you. I loved you even when you didn’t want me to.”
Raphael chuckled, shaking his head as he rolled a little closer. “Du ist die große Liebe meines Lebens,” he murmured, brushing over Dmitri’s lower lip with the tips of his fingers. “The love of my life.”
Dmitri’s breath came out in a staccato rush, ghosting over Raphael’s skin as he moved even closer. “You trust me, right?”
“I trust you.”
“And you believe me.”
Raphael brushed a kiss to Dmitri’s lips and spoke right against them. “I will always believe you.”
Dmitri opened to him, his arms going around Raphael to hold him tight, his lips parting, welcoming Raphael’s hot, wet tongue. He shifted so his thigh was between Raphael’s, and he let out a soft noise of contentment when Raphael’s rock-hard cock brushed against him.
“I’m sorry.”
