I sat next to him on a corner of the sectional and reached for the remote. I scrolled through adventure flicks and comedies, reading the selections aloud in a feeble attempt to refocus and get my pulse under control. Gabe weighed in occasionally, but he didn’t seem to care what we watched any more than I did. We settled on Jurassic Park. I had no clue which number it was in the series. Hell, it could have been another movie starring a slew of dinosaurs. My concentration was shot. My senses were buzzing with awareness for Gabe. Tyrannosaurus Rex didn’t stand a chance.
“Do you want anything to drink?” I whispered.
“No, thanks. Why are you whispering?”
“I don’t know.” I swiped my hands on my jeans and then crossed my arms and uncrossed them. “I think I need water. I’ll be right back.”
Gabe hooked his fingers through my belt loop when I stood and yanked me backward, so I landed almost on top of him. I scooted back a few inches and licked my bottom lip, noting his hungry stare with a satisfaction that felt foreign to me.
He lifted his fingers and tentatively traced my jawline while his eyes roamed over my face, taking inventory or memorizing my features. He placed his hand over my throat in a proprietary grip that was borderline possessive before cupping the back of my neck and leaning in to brush his nose across my cheek. My heart slammed against my chest when he rested his forehead against mine.
“Are you breathing?”
“No.”
Gabe smiled. “Don’t pass out.”
“I’ll try not to. I—are you gonna kiss me?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I think so,” I replied in a raspy tone.
“I can’t kiss you if you aren’t sure.”
His words were laced with the perfect amount of humor. I let out a half chuckle and nodded. “I think I’m sure.”
He tsked and shook his head. “Not good enough. You have to be one hundred percent, absolutely, positi—”
I grabbed Gabe’s face and crashed my mouth over his. He grunted in response but recovered quickly, threading his fingers through my hair. I licked his lips in a wordless request for entry, then glided my tongue alongside his. He moaned into the connection, angling his head as he gripped my shoulders before pulling me on top of him. I didn’t break stride. I twisted my tongue with his, pausing to nibble his lips before capturing his mouth again.
He felt amazing underneath me. This was new in every way possible. He was taller than me with a slightly thicker build. I’d never been chest to chest, draped over another man, or had strong arms wrap around me, holding me close. But I liked it. I ran one hand along his side and arched my back, accidentally rubbing my jean-clad erection against his.
I broke the kiss and sucked in a gulp of fresh air. “Fuck, that feels good.”
“It feels better without the jeans,” he purred, biting my chin playfully.
I scrambled off him and held out my hand. “Come with me.”
We hurried down the short hallway to my bedroom, closed the door, and came together like a couple of magnets. I set my arms over Gabe’s shoulders and walked him backward until he hit the mattress. He kissed me frantically with his hands splayed on my ass. My breath hitched when he tilted his hips and rocked his pelvis against mine.
Gabe didn’t pause to ask if I liked it this time. He knew. He unbuttoned my shirt and then pulled the fabric from my jeans. I did the same for him. I tried, anyway. My hands were shaking like crazy. I’d never wanted anything or anyone as much as I wanted him. And when he rolled my nipples between his thumb and forefinger while he tongue-fucked my mouth, need and desire became a fiery, visceral thing. I didn’t just want him. I had to have him.
I pushed the red-and-blue striped duvet to the end of my queen-sized bed before shrugging my shirt off my shoulders. I automatically reached for my belt buckle but stopped to give him a searching look.
“Is this okay?” I asked.
“Fuck, yeah,” Gabe choked.
He pulled at my belt loop and batted my hands away, expertly threading the leather before unbuttoning my jeans. He paused to stare into my eyes, with his fingers on my zipper.
“Don’t stop. Please.”
Gabe slowly lowered my zipper and pushed the denim over my ass. Then he squeezed my cheeks through my boxer briefs and jutted his hips forward in a manic quest for friction. His heavy breathing and twitchy fingers indicated he was in the same frantic condition as me.
“Lie down, Der.”
I turned on the lamp next to my bed, then sat on the edge of the mattress and kicked off my shoes before shucking my jeans aside. My boxer briefs left nothing to the imagination, but the scrap of cotton covering my junk represented a last barrier. A gentle reminder that I could change my mind at any moment. Maybe he’d lie beside me and I’d finally snap out of this trance. Maybe this was a prolonged bi-curious episode and not the sexual awakening I thought it might be.