Daniel lit the candles he had scattered on the counter, turned off the lights, and settled between Asher’s spread legs, resting his head on Asher’s chest. He moved his hands over Asher’s knees while Asher caressed his chest and stomach.
“So,” Daniel eventually said.
“So,” Asher responded.
“That was a spanking?”
Asher chuckled. “Yup.”
“I liked it,” Daniel whispered.
“I’m glad,” Asher said. He took a deep breath and squeezed Daniel tightly. “I like you, sugar. A lot.”
Chapter 17
“WHAT’RE you doing tonight? Wanna go get a beer?” Oliver asked Asher.
“You’ve been working late nights all week and now you want to go out? Don’t you want to go spend some time with Shirley? I’d think there would be a million things you need to do for the wedding this weekend.”
“Nah, Shirley has all the wedding shit under control. Unless we end up postponing it again.” Oliver gave one of his should-be-patented-with-as-often-as-he-used-them shrugs. “So whatta you say?”
“Yeah, okay,” Asher agreed. Oliver had seemed off lately, a little down, and the mention of yet another delay of the ceremony didn’t sound good, so Asher figured he could spare an hour to keep him company.
“Cool. Hey, I’ll call Danny and have him meet us at Rusty’s Grill. They make a good burger.”
And just like that, a beer had morphed into dinner. Oliver already had his phone out, so Asher didn’t bother trying to argue. He nodded. “All right. I just need”—he looked at the report he’d been working on—“fifteen and then I can take off, okay?”
“Perfect,” Oliver said. “I’ll go shut down and get my jacket.” Then Daniel must have answered the phone because Oliver started talking to him as he walked out of the office.
Rusty’s was right around the corner from the precinct, so Asher and Oliver got there before Daniel. They ordered their beers and settled into a booth.
“Things still good with you and Danny?” Oliver asked. For the hundredth time.
Asher thought about waking up that morning with Daniel tucked into his side, an arm wrapped around his chest, a leg flopped over Asher’s hip. Asher had a king-size bed, but Daniel always slept right up against him, partially on top of him, like he couldn’t get close enough.
When Asher started sliding out of bed, Daniel had taken hold of his dick, scooted down the bed, and in his half-asleep state still managed to blow Asher’s mind by blowing his dick. It was a very satisfying wake-up call, and not at all unusual now that he had Daniel living with him. The man seemed to wake up horny, so Asher had the pleasure of starting his day with a Daniel-induced orgasm most mornings. Morning sex was great. He hadn’t ever realized how much he was missing by fucking guys at clubs and going home alone.
“Yeah,” he answered Oliver. “Things are good.”
“Hey, that’s sick, man,” Oliver scowled at him. “He’s my kid brother.”
“He’s the farthest thing possible from a kid. And I just said things are good. How’s that sick?”
“It’s the way you said it.” Oliver shuddered. “I can only imagine what you were thinking.”
“Well, quit fuckin’ imagining my sex life, then. That’s a sure fire way to make both of us uncomfortable.”
“Agreed.” Oliver picked up his beer and clinked his glass against Asher’s as confirmation of their promise.
Out of the corner of his eye, Asher noticed Daniel walking up. He put his drink down and smiled.
“Hey!” Daniel said happily as he approached their table. He leaned over Oliver and gave him a hug and then sat next to Asher, completely ignoring any social norms about personal space, and tucked himself into Asher’s side. And, as if that wasn’t enough contact, he squeezed Asher’s knee and then rubbed his hand up and down his thigh.
“Hi,” Asher said, pushing Daniel’s unruly hair out of his face. When Daniel tilted his chin up, Asher bent down and kissed him. “How was your day? Did you….” He decided not to ask about Daniel’s job search, because so far it seemed nonexistent. Not that Asher minded. It meant Daniel was always around when he called and when he wasn’t working. Plus, there was always food waiting for him when he got home and he looked forward to seeing whatever new change Daniel had made in the apartment.
Asher figured that as long as he could afford it, he enjoyed taking care of Daniel. Though, surprisingly, having the man live with him hadn’t impacted his wallet. Probably because Daniel never asked him for money. He still refused to let Asher buy him any clothes, but the groceries and the accessories he bought for the apartment had to be adding up. He needed to talk with Daniel about letting him pay for things rather than buying them on credit or using up all of his savings. But he didn’t want to embarrass him, so he wouldn’t do it in front of Oliver.