Painted On My Heart

“For trusting me.” Arik’s words made him smile, and the soft, sweet touches of Arik’s lips against his neck made him shiver. He could still feel the care Arik took with him, and his heart did a little flip-flop when Arik snuggled up behind him, wrapping him in his arms and drawing him closer.

Chapter 12

Kellus struggled to open his eyes as he burrowed deeper into one of the softest pillows he’d ever laid his head on. He was so comfortable he didn’t want to move, let alone wake for the day. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so well, and he didn’t want to leave his happy place.

Drawing one of the other pillows tighter against his chest, he started to roll to his side, but the weight and firmness of another body crowding against his back halted him in mid turn. Kellus’s eyes popped open, and his heart began to hammer against his chest. What the hell? He quickly scanned the room. Not his bed. Not his house. Kellus slowly shifted enough to look over his shoulder and watch as a sleeping Arik instinctively adjusted his body to align with his.

After the startling moment of finding himself still in bed with Arik, Kellus cautiously rolled to his side. His bed partner followed his move as if it were the most natural thing in the world. An arm and a leg draped over his body, holding him closer now as Arik’s nose nuzzled against his neck. The scrape of morning stubble grazed across his skin like an aphrodisiac, tempting Kellus, encouraging his cock to enjoy a morning stretch.

Now, completely wide-eyed, and fully awake, Kellus studied everything in the room, trying to think about anything and everything but Arik’s hard dick cradled in the crease of his still naked ass.

Never in his life had he slept with anyone so intimately. John wasn’t a toucher; he never snuggled or tried to hold him close, not even after they’d had sex. John even insisted on separate blankets most of the time when they slept.

After a solid minute of restlessly lying there, absorbing the comfort of a new bed, the unfamiliar body, and the sexy exotic scent that was all Arik Layne, Kellus lifted his head to see the alarm clock on the nightstand beside them. It read eleven fifteen in the morning. Damn!

What the hell? He hadn’t slept this late in years.

Well, technically he hadn’t slept for that long. They’d been up all night, but still, it was almost noon. Another thought came to mind: when had he decided to stay the night? Did people stay the night after a one-night stand?

Shit, what did that say about him?

Oh hell, his nervous energy magnified, tightening deep in his chest.

Shit. He’d just made this whole thing with Arik even more awkward than it already was. He shouldn’t have stayed. What the hell had he been thinking?

Kellus tried to move without jostling the man sleeping behind him. The panic attack building in his chest seemed to win over the temptations the bed offered. Unexpectedly, Arik’s arm locked around him and those sinfully full lips brushed against the back of his neck, adding a whole new emotion to the already volatile mix when they softly lingered after making contact. A shuddered breath escaped Kellus’s lungs. He closed his eyes, willing himself to stop freaking the fuck out and commit to memory exactly how much he enjoyed that sweet press of the lips against his skin. He needed to be able to remember this moment during the long, lonely drought that would come after last night.

Arik’s nose explored the length of Kellus’s neck, and those sexy stubbly whiskers scraped a path across his heated skin. The move helped ease his anxiety and desire began to edge out any negativity that had gathered. Thank God Arik seemed to want him there. Maybe he hadn’t overstayed his welcome after all.

The covers began to shuffle behind him. “Good morning,” Arik mumbled, his warm breath caressing the sensitive skin his stubble had left behind. Arik coaxed him to turn, moving him in such a way that, before he knew it, Kellus found himself facing the handsome man, staring into pools of molten gold. As he settled on his side, his lover’s strong hand circled Kellus’s already wide-awake cock and gave him a few long, toe-curling strokes.

“Good morning,” Kellus half verbalized, half moaned as he got the full impact of a just-waking Arik Layne. He wasn’t disappointed. As he’d suspected, there wasn’t any time that Arik wasn’t irresistibly handsome. His dick leaked in response to all the attention.

“Yes, it is.” Arik’s fingers tightened around him and those sinful lips pressed against his, stopping any polite conversation as Arik’s tongue invaded his mouth.

Kellus opened for him. There was no other choice. He craved everything this man offered. He shouldn’t. He didn’t deserve it—too many complications—but he was hopeless to fight against it. He sucked on Arik’s tongue, careful to maintain a semblance of his sanity and not become so caught up in his pleasure that he lost control.