was going to jump out and frighten him, when his breath caught in his throat. It was the literary bracelet. But not the onyx one on display in the store that he’d been wanting for months. Spencer blinked away tears. This one was so very different. The beads were unlike any shade of blue he’d ever seen, and the owl was exactly the same but shiner, sexier.
“The literary collection is mine, Spence. I designed it. I was already in the process of making this one, but I knew I’d be changing the beads last night to blue lapis… after only one look in your eyes. It’s a pattern exclusively for you, baby. Every other bracelet made will have a white-gold owl; yours is the only platinum one with a diamond overlay. There’ll never be a duplicate in the world.” Cole took the bracelet from Spencer’s shaking fingers and put it on his wrist. “It’s a gift from my heart, made with my two hands. In hopes that it would mean something special to you.”
“Cole.” Spencer choked on the lump lodged in his throat. He squeezed Cole to him, praying he could feel what he couldn’t say out loud.
“I hope I’m not pushing you, Spencer. But I just needed to be with you today. Not just because of how you spoke about Christmas, but because of how I feel about this holiday too. No one should hate it. No one should have to be alone… on any day… but especially not this one. Especially not you. Ever since my big brother passed, our traditions seemed to have died with him. But it wasn’t until I spent time with you that I realized it’s okay to make some new ones. That I want to make new ones… with you.”
“With me?” Spencer wanted to believe it all, but fuck he was so afraid of hoping again.
“Come back to New York with me.”
Spencer gasped, and Cole’s eyes widened as he hurried to speak. “Just for a few days. I cleared my schedule until Wednesday. Let me show you my home, my city. Maybe I can enjoy New York again at Christmas because it really is nice this time of year. I wanna show you my studio, my art, my new designs.” Cole smiled shyly. “And I want to read the stories you write and fall asleep in your arms listening to Spencer’s Unimaginable Tales.”
“God, Cole,” Spencer said as a silent tear slide down his cheek, and he allowed Cole to kiss it away before it reached his quivering lips. “This sounds like a fairy tale. Hell, it even looks like one. We just met… how can we… what is going on?”
“I’m acting entitled, aren’t I? And you hate that.” Cole sighed, massaging Spencer’s naked shoulders, his hungry gaze traveling over his chest to his nipples that hardened under the scrutiny. “I just… I saw your post and—”
Spencer bit his bottom lip, stepping in closer, his hard cock nudging against Cole’s thigh. “Shhh. Stop talking.” He gently nipped at Cole’s stubble on his jaw. “It’s so much and not enough. And I want more and more until I feel like I’m going to explode. I want this feeling in my chest to keep growing until it fucking terrifies me.”
Spencer was barely able to finish his sentence before he was hefted off his feet. He quickly straddled Cole’s waist and pointed toward his bedroom while he shoved Cole’s heavy coat off his shoulders and went for his throat.
Eight
Cole
The moment Cole had seen Spencer’s post in his Facebook group, he’d told his driver and Axel to bring the car around. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he’d be waiting for Spencer’s call, and that’s exactly what he’d done. He’d stayed up half the night working on a project, then managed to convince his secretary to rearrange his schedule for next week.
Cole had to pull his hands off Spencer’s cheeks to allow him to remove his coat. It hit the hardwood floor with a thud, and he kept their mouths sealed as shaky fingers went for the buttons on his dress shirt. Spencer wasn’t the sure, cocky manager that’d worked him over last night in the lounge. This was the real Spencer. He ran his nose along his temple and into his messy hair as he waited patiently for Spencer to finish undressing him. Fuck, he smelled so good. Cole massaged those sculpted shoulders, and Spencer’s head fell to the side, his breath puffing sensually against his