When I stepped out of the SUV and turned toward the house, I got the strong feeling this time was different.
This wasn’t a small rock cairn. It was a large, beautiful neon sign pointing in bright, beautiful lights toward a new beginning.
YOLO indeed.
14
Darius
When the doorbell rang, I wasn’t surprised. I only wondered which Miller would be on the other side. Would it be the heartbroken man crushed by his strong-willed grandmother or a happy one who’d worked some things out?
I didn’t have time to gauge his expression because as soon as I opened the door, he tackled me to the floor.
“Sorry, sorry!” he said against my lips. “Need this. Need you. Want you.”
We lay in a tangled heap on the rug in the entryway with crystalline ice flakes floating around us through the open door. Miller’s kisses were warm and plentiful, and I laughed in response to his uncontrolled enthusiasm.
“Merry Christmas to me,” I said before rolling over him and deepening the kiss.
We made out like teenagers until my body reminded me I wasn’t actually that young anymore. The hard floor under the rug and the frigid air from outside conspired to put an end to the delicious interlude.
“Sofa,” I said, yanking my lips off the hot skin of his neck. I stood up and threw the door closed before yanking him up by the hand.
Miller’s blond hair, normally perfectly styled, was in a messy swirl from where my hands had been, and his lips were wet and dark pink. His eyes were bright and happy, which was all I needed to see before sharing a wide smile with him.
“I take it things went okay after I left?”
Miller kept a tight grip on my hand and pulled me toward the sofa, where my blanket nest and glass of wine revealed the spot I’d been in when he’d arrived. He sat in the corner of the sofa and pulled me down next to him. We both turned to face each other, and I took a moment to throw the blanket over his legs and offer him a sip of my wine.
He took the glass and tipped it back for a healthy swallow. The light from the fireplace made him look like a golden boy.
“You’re so beautiful,” I murmured, letting my private thoughts escape.
He studied me while he took another sip. Then he set the glass back down on the side table and reached for my face with his hands. “Am I the only one feeling this?” he whispered. “Tell me I’m not alone in thinking there’s something here.”
I reached up and covered his hands with mine. “Not alone. And never will be again if I have anything to say about it.”
It was a leap of faith. I knew that. But it was one my gut screamed at me to take.
“Darius,” he breathed.
I leaned in and kissed him tenderly. My stomach tightened while my chest swelled. He was mine. I knew better than to predict the future, but right now, he was mine.
And that was all I needed.
Instead of asking him how things had gone with Tilly, I set those thoughts aside and continued kissing him, pressing him back into the arm of the sofa until he was prone beneath me.
He seemed to want this, want me, and I wasn’t in a position to argue. There would be time enough later to talk through everything else. But for now, it was Miller and me, the crackling fire, the low melody of a jazz holiday playlist on the speakers, and the peaceful, silent night outside the wall of windows.
I took my time undressing him, kissing every inch of skin that was revealed like I was unwrapping the best Christmas present I’d ever received, until he suddenly decided to turn the tables. We slipped down onto the rug between the sofa and the fireplace, and he pushed me onto my back.
“My turn,” he said. His sparkling eyes were full of playful mischief, and he was so relaxed and happy, it seemed like he’d ditched the heavy weight that had been on his shoulders before arriving here.
I watched him explore my chest and stomach with hands, lips, and nipping teeth. My dick throbbed with need until he put his hand around it and sucked it down. My brain blinked out as I arched back and groaned. He felt so damned good.
“Don’t stop,” I begged.
As he blew me, his free hand roamed over my chest until he found my nipple and tweaked it between his fingers. I grabbed his wrist to keep it there.
The sight of Miller Hobbs between my bent knees was incredibly hot. Watching his lips stretch around my cock made me wonder how much longer I could make it before pulsing hot and fast down his throat.
“Miller,” I warned in a rough, broken gasp. “Baby, I can’t…”