Undeniable Heat

Ryan smiled, his hand remaining on Chris's tie. "Good. Because I don't intend to leave anywhere."

Chris swallowed, the tension between them shifting from flirtatious to something more, something it was impossible to ignore. The room was smaller, the air electric with unspoken words. Ryan's fingers fiddled with the fabric of Chris's tie, his eyes looking up, searching, waiting.

Chris might have stood back. He might have blown it off, laughed, turned away, like nothing had ever happened between them. But he didn't.

"Ryan…," Chris started, softer than he'd intended to say it. He wasn't really sure what he was saying at all.

Ryan pulled in close, his arm drawing around Chris a little tighter so Chris couldn't tune out the pressure. "Yeah?

Chris took a rough breath, chest rising against Ryan's. He could feel the whiskey aftertaste on Ryan's lips, the warmth of it, the proximity of him making Chris's heart race.

Before he could stop himself, he brought his hand up, covering Ryan's over his. He didn't pull it away. Instead, he stroked his thumb across Ryan's knuckles, an unfamiliar but not uncomfortable sensation grounding him.

Ryan's lips parted a little, his breathing a little more deliberate. "You want me to stop?"

Chris could have lied. Could have made it easy, could have drawn back into the familiarity of distance and denial. But he was tired—tired of pretending, tired of not seeing what had been growing between them for weeks.

He shook his head. "No."

That was all Ryan needed.

Before Chris knew it, he was pulling Ryan closer, bridging the last inches between them. Ryan hadn't time to consider before his lips plunged against Chris, firm but panicked. A quick breath escaped Chris as his hands wrapped around Ryan's waist and held him close as if he wasn't sure he wouldn't disappear if let go.

Ryan tilted the kiss deeper, fingers tangling in Chris's hair, tilting his head precisely that way so Chris gasped gently against him. It wasn't rushed, wasn't desperate—it was slow, deliberate, like Ryan was committing the shape of his lips, how he responded, how he quivered just a tiny bit beneath his fingers to memory.

Chris had not permitted himself to consider this—had not permitted himself to imagine what it would be like to be kissed so, to be handled with purpose and focus. But having it happen, he could not stop thinking about it.

Ryan's fingers slid down, tracing over Chris's back and settling on his hips, pulling him hard against him. Chris gasped an ugly breath at the contact, his body reacting instinctively, pushing into the heat, into the hard bulk of Ryan. His mind raged inside him, screaming that this was new, that this was alien—but his body refused to listen. It knew what it wanted.

And what it was hungry for was Ryan.

Ryan pulled away from the kiss first, just so that he could bring his forehead against Chris's, his breathing just a little wonky. "You okay?" he rasped, voice all rough, fingers still curled over Chris's hips.

Chris let out a wobbly laugh, his grip on Ryan's shirt tautening. "I don't know."

Ryan smiled, his thumb sketching the dip of Chris's waist. "Make me stop?

Chris exhaled slowly through his nose, shaking his head. "No," he whispered. "Not a little bit either."

Ryan laughed low and hard, his laughter vibrating on Chris's skin. "Good."

And then they were moving again—backing up until Chris's knees struck the cushions of the couch. He sat, Ryan moving effortlessly, straddling him without hesitation. Chris barely had time to catch his breath before Ryan was kissing him again, this time ravenous, his fingers creeping under the material of his dress shirt, teasing along his flesh.

Chris gasped softly on his lips, heat growing in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't used to this—to being wanted so openly, so aggressively. Ryan didn't hesitate, didn't play coy, didn't treat him as if he was something breakable or taboo. It was like a drug.

Chris's fingers made their way under Ryan's shirt, his spread fingers tracing the heat of flesh, feeling how Ryan tensed under his touch. He pressed his nails along the small of his back, feeling the faint shiver that it elicited from Ryan's lips.

Ryan pulled back just far enough to look at him, eyes dark, pupils wide. "You keep touching me like that, and I'm not gonna be able to take my time with you."

Chris arched an eyebrow, grinning against his will. "Who said I did?"

Ryan groaned, dropping his head to Chris's shoulder. "You're gonna kill me."

Chris laughed for air, rubbing his hands over Ryan's back. "Then don't stop."

Ryan didn't need warning twice.

Lips against Chris's neck, teeth scraping against tender skin, drawing an audible gasp from Chris. He explored slowly, finding each spot that made Chris shiver, that made him cling to Ryan harder. Breath was mixed, bodies more wild, more desperate.

Along the line somewhere from stolen pecks and muttered curses, Chris realized something. This wasn't lust. This wasn't about needing release or distraction. This was about trust.

He trusted Ryan.

That realization should have scared him. But all it did was make him hug Ryan tighter, his hands tightening in his hair as he gasped, "Don't stop."

And Ryan didn't.

Ryan's hands danced across the buttons on Chris's shirt, pushing the fabric aside as his lips moved further down, laying soft kisses down Chris's chest. Chris caught his breath, fingers tightening in Ryan's hair as he plunged into the caress. His entire body burned, every nerve heightened to Ryan's touch, every inch of his skin starved for more.

Chris pushed back, his back slamming against the chilly surface of the couch as Ryan towered over him, his own shirt now removed. The dark of the dimly lit room cast itself over Ryan's muscular frame, the figure of him taking whatever breath Chris still had.

Ryan dipped down again, his lips following lower, teasing, tasting, until Chris was shaking beneath him. "You're beautiful," Ryan breathed against his skin, his voice low, stunned.

Chris's fingers charted the planes of Ryan's back, the contact grounding him, preventing him from completely disintegrating.

Ryan captured his eyes, his face softer now, a soft inquiry in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

Chris did not hesitate. He nodded, his arms bringing Ryan in close. "Yes."

END OF CHAPTER 18