wrists. It was all so new and exciting. He wanted to try everything Gabriel would allow to happen between them. Those rich brown eyes met his again. “The discomfort. It gets easier.”
With practice? Ben nodded. It better.
“What I was trying to say before,” Gabriel said, stroking his thumb on Ben’s cheek.
He sighed and leaned into the touch.
“…Is that there are other things we can do.”
His eyebrows hiked up, waiting, begging for an answer to calm this ball of energy ricocheting in his body.
Gabriel leaned in and kissed a trail up Ben’s neck, licking and nibbling between pecks. Ben swayed, drugged by the warmth and wetness of those lips against his skin. He exhaled a slow, steadying breath when Gabriel took a step back. “We can use our mouths. We can use our hands. Either or both. Or we can switch things up.”
What? Ben groaned when their mouths pressed together in a kiss and a hand cupped his growing hard-on. His mind was foggy, savoring the tongue sliding against his and the large hand rubbing him through the soft material of his sleep pants.
Gabriel pulled away, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth before releasing him from the kiss. “What do you want to do?” he signed, refusing to break eye contact.
“All of that,” Ben signed.
With a grin, Gabriel bent and wrapped an arm around Ben’s knees, raising him over his shoulder and hauling him out of the kitchen. The laughter rose through Ben’s body as he slapped Gabriel’s ass on their way to the bedroom. Gabriel braced the back of Ben’s legs and cupped the back of his head as he very slowly set him on the bed.
The laughter faded, replaced by a searing pain slicing through Ben’s chest. He pushed Gabriel away. Hard. “Don’t do that,” he signed, shaking his head and fighting the sting in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were hurting that—”
Ben shook his head as he swatted away Gabriel’s hand. “You’re being careful with me.” He pinned Gabriel with a glare and signed each word with equally hard hand movements. “Don’t. Do. That.” He fought to control the stir of everything swirling inside him. “Please.”
His ever-patient Gabriel sat on the bed, the mattress dipping as he slowly settled in place. He clasped his hands between his legs and waited.
Honesty was hard sometimes. Especially when it was tough to peg what was wrong. But deep down, Ben knew exactly what had triggered his reaction. “Everyone is always careful with me and I hate that.” He glanced up, begging for Gabriel to understand. “Don’t be like them. Please. Treat me the way you treat everyone else.”
“No.” That dimple made an appearance. “Because to me…you’re not like everyone else. You’re my Ben.”
Ben swallowed past the rock lodged in his throat. He scanned Gabriel’s features as each huff of breath came faster than the one before.
“You were right. I didn’t fight you when you were bossy last night. You know why?”
Ben slowly shook his head.
“Because you wanted something and didn’t back down. And that confidence is sexy as hell.” Gabriel stopped signing and leaned in, pressing their mouths together in a gentle, closed-mouth kiss. “I won’t ever complain or argue about that. Especially if what you’re wanting is me.” Gabriel’s expression darkened, the intensity in his gaze sending a ripple of heat up Ben’s spine. “Use your mouth, your hands, either or both. I don’t care as long as it’s on me. And only me.”
Ben’s heart was going to smash through his chest if it pounded any harder. The desire to experience everything new with Gabriel had shot to the top of his Must-Do list. But it wasn’t just the thick muscles and warm skin. Something else had happened last night, something other than just their bodies coming together.
And he craved that more than anything.
He flattened his hand against Gabriel’s cheek and pulled him into a kiss. He traced every curve of muscle down Gabriel’s torso until he reached the waistband of his sleep pants. Dipping his hand under the elastic, he gripped Gabriel’s growing hardness, stroking up and down, smiling into the kiss with every twitch of hard flesh in his hand.
Ben tore away from the kiss, his heart pounding against his chest like a caged animal trying to break free. “I want to know what it feels like…” He stopped signing and took a steadying breath, fisting his shaking hands. He exhaled slowly, then stared back at Gabriel. “I want to know what it feels like