Painted On My Heart

With every breath, he drew Kel into his lungs and into his body. No one had ever held any sort of power over him—no one, that was, until he met Kellus Hardin. And now he knew without a doubt that Kel was the one who held all the cards. Arik dropped a hand to Kel’s jean-covered arousal and squeezed, swallowing Kel’s groan of pleasure with his kiss.

They were parked where security or anyone could happen by, but he didn’t give a shit who might see. The only thing that existed in this moment was the two of them. Kellus’s willingness to take a chance on him made Arik want to prove he could be a man worthy of his love.

Kellus bit and licked at his bottom lip, easing the sting from his teeth, then he reached across the console to rub his cock. Arik lifted his hips to press his arousal against Kel’s hand. The sports car’s tight confines forced them to keep things tame. Tame wasn’t what he needed right now, and from the hardness pressing back against his own palm, Kellus wanted to progress to hot and steamy as much as he did.

Arik drew back from the kiss, and when Kel’s gaze met his, he whispered, “Let’s go upstairs. I need you.”

Chapter 13

Arik navigated the streets of Kellus’s suburban neighborhood like he’d been there a thousand times before, never one time asking for a single direction. Kellus sat in the passenger seat, his almost-empty mug of freshly brewed coffee in one hand and Arik’s hand in his other. If Kellus was being honest with himself, neither of those things would be too difficult to get used to.

The turn into the driveway was quick, knocking him over to the driver’s seat where Arik swiftly dropped the gearshift into neutral and locked a hand around his bicep, keeping him close. “Right where I want you.”

Kellus bent his head, adjusting his angle to better accept the kiss coming his way. Arik was a tricky one and completely single-minded. Somehow, the guy had managed to knock away all his deeply ingrained defenses, and as dangerous as it was, Kellus finally stopped fighting, making last night and this morning one of the most special of his life.

Dammit, but it was such a turn on to be wanted, and Arik knew exactly how to make him feel very desired.

Like every one of Arik’s kisses before, this one turned passionate. Reluctantly, he pulled away, trying to untangle himself from Arik’s octopus-worthy hold. Every move he made, Arik countered with two of his own and kept him close.

“I could easily call in today,” Arik suggested.

“I can’t,” he said, lifting a hand to Arik’s face to slide a thumb over his full lower lip. “I should’ve been working all weekend.”

“Mmm, that dashes my hope for the day.” Arik released his hold and pulled a business card out of his suit jacket before handing it over.

“We’ll meet at my place for dinner by six, if not sooner?” Arik reaffirmed their plans with a nod as he tapped the business card in Kellus’s hand. “If anything changes, call me at any of these numbers. They’ll find me. I can even come pick you up when I get off.”

“I’ll be there.” From the corner of his eye, he caught Mrs. Johnson walking from her front door toward his house. He turned his head to look out the front window and watched her for several seconds. The peace of the last twenty-four hours slowly fled as dread took its place. Something had happened.

“What is it?” Arik asked.

Kellus looked from Mrs. Johnson to Arik. Old habits were hard to break, because regardless of whatever Arik thought he could handle, he was certain John could top that, causing him to want to shield Arik from whatever happened.

“Nothing.” Kellus reached for the door handle and pushed the door open.

“Are you sure?” Arik asked, gripping his forearm, stopping him from leaving the car.

“Yeah. If something had happened, my phone would have gone off. I’ll see you later.” Kellus gently but firmly removed his arm from Arik’s hold and got out then shut the door behind him. He rounded the hood, leaving Arik sitting there idling as he ate up the distance to the front door. Mrs. Johnson lifted a hand to shade her eyes as he met her on the porch. When he followed her stare, Kellus looked back over his shoulder to see Arik still sitting there with his window now rolled down. Kellus forced a smile and lifted a hand to wave, waiting until Arik backed out of the driveway before he ushered his neighbor closer to the door. When he started to use his key, he found the front door slightly open.

His heart sank as a deep exhale escaped. Shit. What the hell happened to the new alarm system he’d just had installed?