shoulder as Blake’s head rested on the pillow next to his, Blake’s arm and leg thrown over him as he lay on his back, Niall couldn’t help but smile with contentment. All the betrayal and heartache in the world couldn’t change the fact that Blake belonged exactly where he was, tangled up with him.
Niall drew in a careful breath, twisting to his side and trying not to wake Blake. Blake stretched and adjusted without fully awaking until the two of them lay facing in each other’s arms. The light of morning filtered through the curtains, illuminating Blake’s stubbly face just enough for Niall to memorize how beautiful he was in sleep. He stroked his fingers along the side of Blake’s face, feeling the roughness of his day’s growth of beard. Blake’s beard grew in faster than anyone’s Niall had ever known, but why that made him want to laugh with joy was beyond him. He continued studying Blake’s face with his fingertips, touching the sensual line of his lips and remembering how perfect they were for kissing.
“I’m afraid to open my eyes,” Blake murmured at last, proving he was awake after all. “If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”
“Neither do I,” Niall said softly. He moved his hand to Blake’s side, tracing lazy lines across his back and arse. They were already both half-erect, and for once Niall didn’t mind his growing arousal. The cat was already out of the bag. Might as well enjoy it. He shifted closer to Blake, kissing him tenderly as he brushed his hand over Blake’s hip to stroke his cock.
“I’m definitely dreaming,” Blake said with a hitch in his breath, reaching for Niall’s prick as well. “I wouldn’t be this happy if this weren’t a dream.”
Niall smiled as he kissed Blake, his heart lighter than it’d been in ages. The world seemed so quiet, for a change, without any of the usual noise or pressures of who they were or who they were supposed to be beating down on them. They took their time, touching, kissing, stroking, and pleasuring each other as if they hadn’t a care in the world. There was no desperation, only bone-deep pleasure when they each came, and when the post-orgasmic contentment settled over them, they drifted off into a half-sleep, hands entwined between them.
The subtle swish of something being pushed under the door startled Niall into full wakefulness an unknown amount of time later. He sat abruptly, knocking his elbow into Blake’s chest as he did, heart racing. His fear of being caught in a position that could get both him and Blake arrested and fill the scandal section of every newspaper in England left him after one terrifying moment when he spotted a small envelope on the floor by the door. Depending on what the envelope contained, they still weren’t out of the woods.
“What is that?” Blake asked exactly what Niall was thinking as Niall crawled over him to climb out of bed.
Niall snatched the envelope from the floor and tore into it, not caring what he looked like, standing there naked in the morning light and in desperate need of a bath. He unfolded the letter and scanned through it, pulse pounding, then read it aloud for Blake, “‘I know that you’re here and I know what you’re looking for. Meet me at Shell Cottage at ten o’clock this morning and we’ll talk.’ It’s signed ‘Annamarie’, and there’s an address included,” Niall added.
Blake threw aside the bedcovers, leaping to his feet and crossing to take the letter from Niall. He scanned it, then glanced anxiously around the room. “What time is it?”
Niall strode to the pile of his things from the night before and searched for his pocket watch. He hadn’t wound it before going to bed, but it was still ticking away. “Almost nine,” he said with a frown, hoping the watch was running fast.
“We need to hurry,” Blake said in a grave voice, heading to the room’s washbasin.
Niall tried not to be irritated that the hotel hadn’t updated its facilities to include indoor plumbing, but it was remote, after all. The best he and Blake could do with the time they had was to trade off at the wash table with the sponge and soap the hotel provided and to remove the evidence of everything they’d shared that morning and the night before. Blake didn’t seem to care, but Niall still felt like he needed a good, long soak in a