Page 138 of Cohesion

Jericho cradled his face and kissed him, lips lingering until Peyton could breathe again. “I know, baby,” he whispered. “I already know.”

“If you ever need me, you know I’ll come.”

“I’d rather you be safe and happy. We have enough crazy idiots on the team. If we need more, there are plenty out there.”

“You do like recruiting off the side of the road.”

“Exactly. It works great.”

“It’s funny, isn’t it? I thought it was what I wanted.”

“In some ways, it’s something that you’re always going to want. It’s in your blood. That doesn’t mean it’s good for you, or that it’s a path you have to walk. Sometimes we have to live with that ‘what if’ and leave it alone.” Jericho gathered Peyton’s hair in one hand, coaxing his head back. “You’ll find where you belong, Peyton. And I’ll always be here. We all will. You don’t have to do it alone.”

“Stop being so romantic, it’s weird.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s okay, I guess.” It twisted his heart pleasantly. He just didn’t always know how to respond.

Jericho’s lips twisted into a more sinister smile. “You prefer it when I’m a little”—he bent, and his lips whispered down Peyton’s throat—“dirty? Want me to tell you how much I want to rip off your clothes and sit you on my dick?” He nibbled at the hollow of Peyton’s throat. Peyton’s breath hitched, a shiver running through him. “How hard I am whenever I think about you?” His tongue slid across Peyton’s collarbone, leaving tingles in its wake, setting Peyton’s entire body on fire with just a few touches. “When I think about all these fucking incredible muscles and thatmouth?”

“Both,” Peyton gasped. “Both is good.”

Their lips met in the middle. Jericho hauled Peyton to his feet, his hard dick pressed against Peyton’s stomach. He ripped Jericho’s shirt off his shoulders, discarding it carelessly on the floor before moving down to Jericho’s belt and making quick work of that as well. He finally got his hand around Jericho’s silky cock, and he moaned into Jericho’s mouth. Fuckyes.

Jericho lifted Peyton onto the kitchen counter, one hand skimming up his side to rest on his throat, tilting his head. He pulled back and lifted something in his hand.

The shell casing. “This? This doesn’t define you.” He kissed Peyton harshly until he was panting for breath and so hot that he had to be about to spontaneously combust. “We’re throwing it out.”

Peyton plucked it from his fingers and threw it, uncaring of where it landed, before diving back in. He lifted his hips when Jericho slid his pants down over them. They went on the floor with the rest of their clothes until Peyton was completely naked.

“We’re gonna have to clean the counter,” Jericho said, tongue flicking across Peyton’s bottom lip. “So unsanitary.”

“Shut up.” Fuck, Peyton didn’t care. If designers didn’t want people fucking on their furniture, they shouldn’t have made it a perfect height for it. He wrapped his legs around Jericho’s waist, locking his ankles together. “You want to be clean? Take me to the shower.”

“You want me to fuck you under the water?” Jericho bit down on the curve of Peyton’s neck as he picked him up, gathering him into his arms. “Want me to hold you against the glass and make you scream for me?”

“You can try,” Peyton taunted.

Jericho’s arms tightened. “Oh, baby, don’t threaten me with a good time.” He rolled his hips, and Peyton moaned, pressing down. “Making it a competition only makes it hotter. Think you can hold out?”

“Yes.”

“Never let it be said that I back down from a challenge.”

Peyton buried his face in Jericho’s neck, sucking his skin and marking him while Jericho walked them down the hall toward the downstairs bathroom.

“Before I’m done, these walls are going to vibrate with sounds that prove just how good I’m fucking you.”

“Promises.”

Will switched his phoneoff speaker and held it to his ear as he turned his Jeep off, slipping out and shutting his door. Will grinned, making his way up to Quinn’s front door while Harry, his younger brother, continued on his rant. Technically, was ithisfront door now. He and Peyton still needed to get their stuffand “officially” move in, but it was a done deal. So this was his address now and his home.

Fuck, he loved the sound of that. His heart burst with happiness, and he skipped a little going up the front stairs. Good thing they weren’t wet.

“—like you can talk,” Harry was saying defensively. “Remember what happened at that family-friendly tennis match?”

“Mum cheated.” He would die on that hill.

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