Page 26 of Leo, My Partner

He yawns again so hard I think he’ll dislocate his jaw. “Very sure. Come on. Make me the little spoon.”

Chuckling, I strip down to my boxer briefs and climb in behind him. My arm tucks around him, pulling him closer to me so I can breathe him in.

“Are you sniffing me?” he mutters with humor.

Holding him tight, I burrow my nose in his neck and draw in a long breath. A high-pitched laugh bursts from Ty’s throat as he wiggles against me. “You’re crazy,” he says as he giggles, tucking his head to cut off my access.

“You smell good, kotenok.”

He’s still giggling when he says, “Thanks. You do too.” He turns onto his back, looking at me with those beautiful eyes. “Is this crazy? That I’m okay with you killing people?”

“No,” I mutter, placing a hand on his chest and resting my chin on it. “It’s better that you accept it. I don’t think you would have liked being handcuffed to my bed until you came around.”

Ty searches my eyes with an incredulous expression. “You’re serious.”

With a grin, I answer, “Deadly.”

He scoffs, shaking his head with a smile. “Yeah, you’re crazy.” His eyes sparkle as he looks at me. “I think I like it. It’s definitely something I’m not used to. Then again, I’m accustomed to assholes that only want to fuck me. The one relationship I had was in college, but neither of us was ready for anything serious.”

When he pauses to take a breath, I bend to touch my lips to his. Ty sighs against my mouth, wrapping his arms around my neck. The kiss is slow and searching, my tongue probing so I can commit his taste to memory. Ty doesn’t try to deepen it, seemingly content to following my lead.

I don’t want anything from this kiss. I simply want to have my mouth on his. Our kisses earlier were packed with heat and lust, done to get a rise out of each other. Now, they’re gentle and slow, the touch of our mouths meant for seeking, for learning.

Ty sighs again when I pull my lips from his. “Did you only kiss me so I’d stop talking?”

“No,” I tell him, dragging a finger over his plump bottom lip. “I told you, I like listening to you. I just wanted to kiss you.”

“If it does start to bother you, let me know. I can try to stop.”

“It won’t. I don’t want you to change a thing about yourself.”

Ty nods, but he doesn’t look like he believes me.

“Did something happen? Did someone say they didn’t like it?”

He nods jerkily. “Yeah. The last guy I went on a few dates with. After we had sex, he told me he could finally stop pretending my rambling was cute because he got what he wanted.”

Ty wears his emotions on his face at all times, never hiding what he’s feeling. Staring down at him, I read embarrassment, shame, and hurt. I don’t fucking like it.

“What’s his name?” I ask casually, hoping he doesn’t catch on to why I’m asking before he answers.

“Evan Hayes. Why?” His eyes grow wide. “Leo, no.”

“What?” I ask, mirroring his expression. I’ve become quite adept at mimicking what others feel. I’ve had to in order to survive. I’m sure I’m not nailing the innocent look I’m going for this time, but I keep it up.

“He’s an asshole, but he only hurt my feelings. He’s not one of the people that deserves to die.”

Loosing a dramatic sigh, I give him another kiss. “Fine. If you change your mind?—”

“I won’t,” he says quickly, making me laugh.

“Okay. Come on. Let’s get some sleep. How’s your head?”

Blu said the aftereffects of the tranquilizer should wear off before the end of the day.

“Better now. Thanks.” Ty turns over, slotting his ass right over my cock. “Good night, Leo.”

Kissing him gently behind his ear, I whisper, “Good night, kotenok.”

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