Page 67 of More than Need

“I would murder someone to hear that.”

“Do you want to hear it behind bars or at your trial?”

“I’m not picky. Can I record it?”

“No.”

“What if I say please?”

“Still no.”

They made short work of the dishes and then tried to work out where all the milkshake flavours went. Some of the cupboards were empty. The contents that should have been in there were probably packed away in some of the boxes scattered around the place. It didn’t feel like Gideon had quite worked out how to call the place home.

Understandable, considering the circumstances.

“Here,” Riley said, finding a tub around the other side of the counter that they’d both missed. “It helpfully says ‘milkshake ingredients’ on it.”

“Labels are so sexy,” Dawson said, giving an exaggerated shudder. He passed Riley each one, who then placed them in the tub like he was playing an intense game of Tetris and had to have the highest score.

Once they’d finished cleaning everything, they settled on the couch, thighs pressed together. They could hear Gideon and Hudson through the open door to the bathroom, the high-pitched giggles of a child, splashing, and Gideon’s deeper tone.

Dawson stole a glance at Riley and found him slouching, one knee lifted, foot turned to tuck under his opposite thigh, and his arm resting on it as he flicked through the channels.

“What?” Riley asked, without glancing in his direction.

“How do you know I want anything?”

“I can feel you looking at me.”

“Any other superpowers I should know about?”

The barest hint of a smile passed Riley’s lips, and Dawson couldn’t look away. He scrambled Dawson’s brain until he couldn’t think of anything but kissing those bowed lips, running his hands through that short dark hair, rubbing his cheek on that stubble. Have it scrape along his thighs.

“Look at me,” Dawson whispered.

Riley’s ice-cold blue eyes found his with ease. The colour wasn’t unfamiliar to Dawson; Sadie and her dad had them too. But these particular eyes made him feel a kaleidoscope of emotions. And he had prettier lashes than Sadie. He’d take that information to his grave.

Dawson lifted himself onto his knees and crawled across to Riley’s side. Riley’s gaze heated, and he let Dawson take the remote and fling it behind him, ignoring the clatter as it bounced onto the floor. He didn’t resist when Dawson lowered his knee,or when he settled himself on Riley’s lap. He spread his arms across the back of the couch, watching him with those stunning eyes.

They looked down to Dawson’s fingers as he undid his tie and slid it from his shoulders. There was something erotic about the way he didn’t say a word as Dawson worked on sneaking a peek of that warm skin. He wouldn’t undress Riley here, not with Gideon’s child here. That didn’t mean he couldn’t take a quick look.

He unbuttoned Riley’s shirt, fingers brushing against the revealed skin. He pushed both the shirt and the suit jacket out of the way so he could see that flat, chiselled chest. An absolute goddamn work of art.

“Do you work out? You look like you work out.” Dawson kissed under his collarbone, flicking his tongue.

“I occasionally box with Sebastian, and I swim when I can.”

Dawson traced Riley’s chest with his thumb, from his navel and up between his pecs, to the wet spot he’d created on his collarbone. Whatever restraint Riley had snapped as soon as Dawson flicked over a nipple. A hand yanked him down into a hungry kiss that he eagerly returned.

A hand, not Riley’s, slid over Dawson’s shoulder, and he broke away to stare, panting.

“He’s asleep,” Gideon said, running a hand through Dawson’s hair and kissing him softly. “But I don’t know for how long. He hasn’t been sleeping well when he’s here, because of the new environment. He ends up in my bed in the middle of the night a lot.” His face twisted in apology. “So I can’t—we can’t do anything. It’s alright if you don’t want to stay.”

“Because we can’t fuck you?” Riley asked bluntly. “Or because you don’t want us to be in your bed if he wants to sleep there?”

Red spread lightly over the tips of Gideon’s cheeks. “The first one,” he said slowly.

“Come here,” Riley ordered.