Sundae's Best (Briar County 2)

When they entered the room, they let go of each other’s hands.

“Bathroom’s right there.”

Grady motioned to it, and Deacon went. He took a long piss, washed his hands, kept his brain turned off. He returned to the room, paced it, while Grady closed the bathroom door behind himself and took care of his business. When he came back, he said, “Lie down.”

Deacon got into his bed…another person’s bed, not his and Patricia’s.

Another man’s bed.

And he wanted to be there.

Grady turned the lights off. The bed dipped as Grady joined him, and then they wrapped up in each other’s arms…and went to sleep.

Chapter 15

Grady

He tried not to move when he woke up. Deke was soft and warm in his arms, his body completely lax and at ease. He was on his back. At some point in the night, he’d let go of Grady, but Grady still had an arm slung over him. Deke’s mouth was slightly open, and Grady could hear his quiet, even breaths. Grady shifted ever so gently so he could get a better look at the man. His beard was a bit longer than it usually was. He had a small mole next to his right eye, and a light scar in his left brow that Grady hadn’t noticed before.

He was sexy as hell. That was clearly something Grady had noticed before, but somehow, he looked even more beautiful in his bed.

Or maybe it was simply because Grady had gotten to know him more and because they’d been vulnerable with each other. In less than a month, this man had become so damn important to him, and he had to make sure he remembered that even though they’d slept wrapped up around each other the night before, that didn’t mean anything. Deke hadn’t told him he identified as anything other than straight, and he was still in love with his dead wife. Hell, he hadn’t been with anyone in at least three years. Grady’s attraction to Deke had to come second to their friendship because he really thought that somehow, he needed this man. The same way he’d known he needed Nathan.

He was aware it was too soon for those thoughts about Deacon to run through his head. That he had no business thinking them at all, and that the likelihood of losing Deke was big. He damn sure didn’t want to do anything to speed that process along.

He lay there, holding Deke and looking at him, because there was no way he could get back to sleep. It was early. Grady didn’t have to work today, but he had no idea if Deke did. Maybe he should wake him…but then, Deacon didn’t seem like the kind of man who would forget to set an alarm if he had to be at Sundae’s Best.

Grady didn’t have to question it for long, though. Before he knew it, the other man’s eyes opened—not slowly either, or Grady would have likely pretended he wasn’t gawking at him like a crazy person. They were just closed…then not. Grady didn’t move, wondering if he would see regret in Deke’s whiskey eyes, if he would jerk out of Grady’s hold or stare at him awkwardly with a what the fuck did I do clear on his face.

But he didn’t. He just cocked a brow as if asking, Am I interesting?

“Busted.” He grinned at Deacon, then averted his eyes. He had, in fact, been caught staring.

“Did I snore or something?” Deke’s voice was sleep-husky. “Were you waiting to smother me with the pillow?”

Grady tried to keep his thumb from brushing back and forth against Deke’s side. “I was seriously considering it,” he teased, happy they were going this route since he hadn’t known what to expect. But then Deacon sighed, and Grady couldn’t help but tense up.

He waited for it, for Deke to say how weird that had been, that it was a one-time thing, or to make sure Grady knew he was straight. Instead, Deke’s head angled down, his gaze too, in a move that was cute and bashful and made Grady smile. “Thanks, for last night.” Then he looked up at Grady, adding, “It felt good.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I wanted it as much as you did. It felt good to me too.”

“Don’t think I coulda done it with anyone else. Is that okay to admit?”

Shit, this man was going to kill him. Hearing things like that made Grady’s wires start to cross. “Yeah, that’s okay. I’m honored. And whenever…you don’t want to be alone, or just want to feel someone there, you can always come to me.”

Deke chuckled and shook his head. Grady’s arm was still over him. He wasn’t moving it until Deacon showed him in some way that he wanted him to. “Come to you when I want to be held?”