Page 19 of Unicorn Unashamed

“Oh! Yeah, no, of course. Do you want to take a shower or something?”

“That’d be nice, yeah.” And a good idea besides, as long as he kept quiet.

“Okay, sure, let me grab a towel for you. And uh—” Josh stopped and looked Raymond up and down.

“What?”

“I’m trying to think of what I own that you could borrow. Since you’re actually sleeping here.”

Raymond swallowed. Stupid wolf. Stupid instincts. Stupid wanting to leap at the chance to wrap himself in something soaked in Josh’s scent.

Shower. Shower was a good idea. “Well, you’ll have some time to look.”

“Yeah.” Josh nodded. “I’ll figure it out by the time you’re done.”

“Sounds good.”

The first thing Raymond did once he was alone in the bathroom was bend himself over the sink and take the time to breathe deep for a moment, trying to clear his head. Fuck, how did Josh not know how edible he was?

He shed his clothes quickly and, after getting under the spray, braced against the wall with one hand and fisted himself with the other. He got himself off hard and fast, choking down on a grunt as he came, and then washed away the evidence. It took the edge off some, and he was able to continue on with soaping himself up without thinking too much about the fact that he was using Josh’s chosen scents.

He didn’t want to linger though, feeling antsy and out of his depth with Josh so close and yet so far. So Raymond rinsed down and turned off the water. Remembering that Josh said he wanted to provide clothes, he left the bathroom with his towel slung around his hips.

“All done,” Raymond said, catching Josh’s attention.

“Oh.” Josh’s eyes widened as he turned. He coughed. “Um, yeah, great. Okay! Feeling any better?”

Raymond wanted to kiss him—pull down the collar of his shirt to mouth at his neck. He took a deep breath. Control. Control. “Yeah, a little.”

Josh cleared his throat, cheeks red. “Okay, good. Great. And I’ve got something for you.”

“Okay?”

Josh held out an eye-searing pajama shirt covered in rainbows and unicorns, along with a matching pair of drawstring pants. Both were oversized enough that they’d probably fit but...

Raymond stared at the set, torn between amusement and horror. “What the hell is this?”

“About the only thing I own that’ll fit you,” Josh said, starting to grin. “It was a gag gift from my sister last Christmas. We try to get each other the most hideous things we can find. She tends to make hers unicorn themed.”

“Wow,” Raymond said, still staring at the clothes. “What’d you get her?”

“A nutcracker that looked like a snowman, but with murder in its eyes. I’ve got a picture of it somewhere. I’ll show it to you.”

“Thanks, I think,” Raymond said as he took the pajamas. He was a little put out by the fact that Josh had clearly never worn them. They smelled clean and fresh at least, but they definitely didn’t have any signs of being used. “I’ll just—” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder.

“Yeah—yeah.” Josh nodded quickly. “You go ahead. I’ll just finish setting up the couch.”

“Sounds good,” Raymond said, trying to sound normal before he turned and headed right back into the bathroom. He was usually fine with stripping down around people, but right now he was glad for the extra degree of separation. What kind of stupid idea had it even been to walk about in a towel anyway? Probably his hind brain wanting to posture. Idiot.

“I’m going to be up doing a little more work, I think,” Josh said after Raymond had come back into the living room, “but I’ll be in my bedroom, and I’ll keep it as quiet as I can. Couch is all set up for you, and feel free to watch TV or something or help yourself to the kitchen.”

Raymond tried to smile at him. “Thanks.”

Josh nodded. “Good night. And let me know if you need anything, okay?’

“Okay. Thanks,” Raymond said again. “I mean it.”

Josh smiled and ducked into what was presumably his bedroom, and left Raymond alone in the living room on a couch covered in blankets.

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