Staccato (Magnum Opus #2) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,82

soften where it was buried deep in his lover.

“Did I hurt you?” Nik asked. “I lost myself for a moment.”

Adam groaned and fell forward, and Nik felt a surge of panic before Adam’s hands reached for him, pulling him close, pulling him into a kiss. “That was,” Adam said, punctuating his words with soft presses of a half-open mouth to Nik’s cheeks and jaw, “the best orgasm I have ever had.”

It took a moment for the words to hit Nik, but when they did, he couldn’t stop a small, hoarse laugh. “You’re perfect, you know.”

Adam chuckled along with him. “Well…I try.”

Nik heard the deflection, but before he could call Adam on it, a warm hand touched his soft dick and removed the condom. He heard the soft sounds of the plastic bag moving before Adam settled back down, and he hooked one leg over Nik’s thighs as he turned to face him. Nik’s soft cock nestled against Adam’s hairy abdomen, and he felt more content than he ever had before.

“Thank you,” Adam told him.

Nik reached up, cupping his face, absorbing the feel of his rough stubble against his palms, of the way his cheeks stayed warm, of the way his lip was turned up in the corner. He knew smiles in sound more than he did in touch, but Adam’s expressions under his hands made sense in ways no one else’s had before.

“Was it okay for you?” Adam asked, when Nik had no words to offer. “I know it’s…different.”

Nik leaned in, guiding himself to Adam’s lips with the touch of his thumb, and he kissed him. “I meant it when I said you were perfect. Everything about you is. Different doesn’t scare me.”

Adam let out a nervous laugh, and he pressed his face against the top of Nik’s shoulder. “I know. Just…it’s always been more awkward than not. Even though I know, it…”

“I understand,” Nik told him, saving him from having to explain. After a beat, he eased Adam back, letting Adam look at him—knowing on a fundamental level that it was important. He touched Adam’s neck, cupping the side, his own version of eye-contact. “The only thing that scares me is the way I feel about you, but…it’s good. It’s…it’s like a piece of me that was missing for my entire life. I just hadn’t realized it wasn’t there until I met you.”

“That’s…sappy,” Adam said, another deflection.

Nik wondered what it was that made him hide from his feelings, but he didn’t want to push. “It’s the truth. All I mean is”—he took a breath—“I’m happy. You make me happy. Thank you for not giving up on me. On us.”

Adam hummed, and he held Nik a little tighter—almost like he was afraid. Almost…like he knew something Nik didn’t. But he felt too good, and he was too sated to care. So, he let the moment pass in favor of basking in Adam’s arms, and he could only hope that whatever it was, Adam would let them face it together.

Part II

To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts—such is the duty of the artist.

Robert Schumann

Chapter 19

Arpeggio

It wasn’t unusual any longer for Adam to wake in Nik’s bed by himself. The curtains were parted, the window open to let in morning air, and the side of the bed Nik usually occupied had gone cold. The big, mostly empty Victorian house was starting to feel more like home than his sister’s place, but he didn’t want to get comfortable.

Things with Nik had settled somewhat—he no longer feared that sinking deeper into a relationship with him was going to send Nik running for the hills—but Nik was still reluctant to move forward. The sex was good—more than that, it was amazing—but they hadn’t exchanged more than a handful of real feelings, and all of them were in the hazy glow of post-orgasm.

Adam didn’t doubt that Nik felt for him—was at least close to loving him—but he wasn’t sure Nik would ever be ready for something long-term. Which meant, with Cooper’s arrival in just two weeks, it was time to start looking for a place to live. He’d been scouring the papers, he’d stopped eating fast food, and had been walking instead of gassing up his car. Without having to ply his niece with Build-A-Bear three times a week, his savings started growing again.

He had enough for something small—a deposit on a one bedroom if he could find it, and some secondhand furniture to fill the space. He knew his sister would throw things