Something in the Way He Needs (Family 1)

“No more, Danny. You got all the dancing genes in our family and I’m beat,” Oliver said. “Let’s go back to the hotel.”

Asher pushed Daniel’s sweaty hair off his forehead. It looked darker than usual because of the moisture. He leaned down and spoke into his ear. “How about we go back to the room and you give me a little private lesson?” He rubbed his hand over Daniel’s arm, up his shoulder, and over to his nape, where he massaged his slick, hot skin. “I’d like to see you making some of those moves naked.”

Daniel licked his lips and bobbed his head excitedly. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

The three of them made their way through the sea of bodies out onto the street. As soon as they stepped out of the hot club, Daniel started shivering. His shirt was stuck to his chest and back, and his sweat-damp hair curled over his collar.

“Here, put this on.” Asher handed Daniel his jacket.

“I’m okay,” Daniel said.

“Now that you’re not expending all that energy, you’re freezing. That shirt you’re wearing barely protected you from the elements when you were dry. At this point, it’s practically soaked, so it’s doing more harm than good.” Asher frowned when Daniel didn’t respond. “I don’t want you to get sick,” he growled. “Put the jacket on.”

Daniel stood perfectly still and locked his gaze with Asher’s. After several long seconds, he nodded. “Okay,” he said through chattering teeth and reached for the jacket. “Thank you. It’s sweet that you’re worried about me.”

Sweet? Asher’s frown intensified to a full facial scowl. But then Daniel took the jacket from him, pulled it over his left arm, and waved his right arm in a windmill trying to get it through the sleeve. There was no way for Asher to do anything but laugh at that charming display.

“Honestly, sugar.” Asher shook his head and smiled fondly at Daniel. “You were practically doing somersaults out there tonight and now you can’t even get your jacket on.” He steadied Daniel’s arm and slipped the jacket on him, tugged the bottom and then buttoned it up. Then he cupped Daniel’s cheek and ran his thumb over the man’s lips. “I’ve never met anybody like you.”

“This is all very romantic, but I’m tired. Get in the cab, sugar,” Oliver said. He was standing at the curb, holding a taxi door open.

Asher flipped him off. “Calm down, we’re coming,” he said and led Daniel over to the cab.

THE light seeping in from around the edges of the curtains indicated that it was morning or maybe early afternoon. The pounding in Asher’s head indicted that he was hungover. Again. This trip had been murder on his liver. He was well past ready to get out of Vegas.

Come to think of it, he was leaving today, or rather, they were leaving today. He’d gone to Vegas for the weekend, seen more silicone than he’d have previously thought possible in one location, picked up a stranger with holes in his shoes, and now he was taking the man home. No part of that made sense, and Asher made an internal vow to never drink again. Well, not drink that much, anyway.

“What time is it?” Daniel’s voice was thick with sleep. He scooted into Asher’s side, burrowed his face under Asher’s chin, and threaded his fingers in Asher’s chest hair. Asher tried not to smile and failed. He glanced at the bedside clock.

“Almost eleven. Our flight is at two. We need to get up and get going.”

As close as their bodies were to each other, Asher could feel Daniel’s heart rate increase and his limbs stiffen.

“What do you want to do this morning? Maybe we can, uh….” Daniel shot up and wiggled off the bed. “Dance! You said you wanted to see me dance and then you fell asleep. I can dance for you now.”

Asher tried to keep up with Daniel’s change in mood from snuggly to fidgety while trying to remember the previous night. Had he really fallen asleep when there was a private nude dance on the table? That was so wrong, he would’ve denied it, but Daniel was wearing yet another huge shirt and boxers loose enough that they reached his knees, so he knew it was true. No way would he have let the man wear that ensemble to bed had he been conscious. No way would he have let Daniel wear anything to bed.

“We don’t have time for dancing right now. Sorry I crashed, sugar, it’s been a long few days, but we really need to get going or we’ll miss our flight.”

“We have lots of time,” Daniel insisted as he stumbled around the room. “I’m sure there’s a radio or something around here or, uh, I think my phone is charged, right? ’Cause I have some good music on there.”