Page 55 of Loving You

Christ, how long had he been out there? As Monty scrambled for the door, he checked the time the message was sent and realized it was only a few minutes. Relief hit him as he yanked the door open and watched as Bronx slowly climbed to his feet.

He stretched, lithe and graceful. Monty’s mouth immediately began to water. “I thought I was going to have to camp out for the morning,” Bronx said. He crossed the distance between them and bustled Monty into the nook of the entryway before kissing him.

“Did you really bring a beach chair?”

“Mm. Yes I did. Two of them, in fact. I also mapped out the shortest route to a secluded cove if you don’t have too many big plans this afternoon.”

Monty pulled back and stared at him. “Not joking?”

Bronx frowned. “Have I ever joked like that? It seems mean.”

He hadn’t. And Monty realized right then he wouldn’t. And this was why his heart was tripping over itself to get to him. “I don’t go to the beach very often.”

“Can you swim?”

Monty scoffed as he pulled Bronx inside and closed the door. “Yes, I can swim. But I’m a little bit afraid of the water now that I tend to fall unconscious with little warning. That’s not how I want to go out.”

Bronx kicked his shoes off and followed Monty to the kitchen, brushing past him to get to the coffee maker.Monty couldn’t help but wonder how long the man had been awake. He seemed a little jittery.

“How do you want to go out?”

Monty raised his brows. “I don’t think I’ve ever given it a lot of thought. I suppose…kindly. Quietly. A hundred and ten years old, in my sleep.”

Bronx hit the button to start a pot of coffee, then yanked Monty close by the loops on his jeans. “I can get behind that.” He kissed him again, then groaned as he pulled back. “Sorry. I know this is not what we agreed to.”

“You missed me,” Monty said.

Bronx nodded, looking directly into his eyes. “I missed you. I thought we could spend the day together. Gage and Lucas are babysitting for a couple of the guys, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to see the ocean. I didn’t get much of that back in Pigeon Ford.”

Monty’s heart warmed. He’d half suspected Bronx had come by to sleep with him—and he wouldn’t have said no. He could think of worse ways to spend a morning and an afternoon. But the fact that Bronx simply wanted to be with him felt like…something else. Something deeper.

“As long as you promise to make sure I don’t drown, I’m in.”

“I will never let you drown.” Bronx grabbed two mugs out of the cabinet and poured. He pushed one of the mugs toward Monty, then sipped his own. Monty loved that he took it black. “Now, drink that. We’re having breakfast by the water.”

It took Monty twenty minutes to finish his coffee and get ready, but only because Bronx kept stalling him to kiss himuntil his dick throbbed and his toes curled. But the kisses weren’t leading anywhere, and Monty was becoming consumed with the idea that he could have more of this. That this could be his all the time life.

He was starting to see what the fuss was about when it came to relationships, and his fears were fizzling into nothing every time Bronx swiped a hand over the back of his neck, or nibbled at his lower lip, or did something small—like pay him a compliment or help him find his missing shoe.

It would be complicated, connecting their lives. Bronx had a child, and although Lucas was nearing eighteen, Monty knew that there would need to be space for Lucas until they took their last breath.

Fortunately, that didn’t scare him.

It only made him envious that he never had anything like that growing up.

His father couldn’t wait until he was unburdened with his children. The only reason he kept them around now was his need for control. It was one of the reasons Monty refused to take anything from him. His student loans were his. His mortgage was his. Every utility and credit card payment—all his.

He was beholden to no one, and while that had been another big reason he’d avoided getting involved with anyone before this, now he found himself wanting to share the burden of those things with someone else. Someone he trusted.

Someone like Bronx.

Monty blinked sleepily when he felt Bronx running fingers through his hair. He turned his head on the headrest and smiled. Bronx’s gaze was on the road, but his lips were turned up in a small grin. “Was I drifting?”

“A little. I hope I didn’t drag you out too early?”

“Mm. I woke up hoping you’d crawled through the doggy door. So no, this is perfect.”

Bronx’s shoulders shook with his laugh. “I gave it a real hard think, darlin’, but I decided I didn’t want to face fire and rescue with my ass in the air on a Sunday morning.”

---