Page 24 of Touch In Excess

Skye chuckled and tugged Rami into his arms, squeezing him exactly as tight as he needed right then. “I don’t blame you for wanting to stay distant from it. Some of the other Sins havemet their lovers when they were clients, but some of them have partners who are far removed from what we do. It’s okay to feel any way about it so long as you don’t ask me to give it up.”

“No,” Rami breathed out in a rush. “No. No. I kind of…” His ears heated. “I kind of like it.”

Skye’s grin widened. “Let’s get out of here before I burst through my jeans. You’re hot enough as it is, and talking about this…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Come on, we’ll grab lunch on the way, and I can give you a tour of my little house, and we can picnic on the floor before we make out until the sun sets.”

It sounded unrealistic and absolutely ridiculous.

But also like the best thing Rami had ever been offered.

“Let’s go,” he said and picked up his pace toward the exit, leaving Skye to trail after him, laughing his ass off all the way.

Seven

Skye was nervous.How was he nervous?Whywas he nervous? He already knew what was and wasn’t on the table. He knew what Rami was comfortable with, and he knew that Rami wouldn’t hesitate to stop him if he went somewhere Rami wasn’t ready to go, and he also had a feeling Rami would be very vocal about what Skye was doing right.

So maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe it was the fact that he was taking someone home for the first time since he’d moved onto the Tower grounds. He’d never had anyone except the other Sins and their partners cross the threshold of his space. He’d never felt safe enough.

He wasn’t as bad as Mauro and Avan, who kept apartments off the grounds to keep their work and personal life even more separate than it already was, but he’d never crossed the line. He’d never let anyone see him as Gluttony who wasn’t paying for it.

He had no plans to pull that cloak on with Rami, unless he asked for it, but this was toeing the line.

Pulling up into his parking space, he glanced around, but the grounds were quiet. He knew that Flint and Jet were probably working as they had clients who often requested daytimeappointments, but everyone else was likely either sleeping off their long nights or off grounds, running errands.

He knew that Stone and August were scouting out new studios for August to work in, and he also knew that Stone was hunting for a vacation beachside cottage that he insisted all the Sins were free to use, though Skye suspected it would become Stone and August’s forever home in the end. The thought made him a little sad but also grateful that the two had found each other.

Skye didn’t mind his job, but it wasn’t a forever thing. And it had nothing to do with the fact that people didn’t want to fuck a saggy old man. He just, at some point, wanted to live his life entirely for himself.

“Are you changing your mind?” Rami asked, shattering the quiet of the car.

Skye turned to look at him. “Not at all. Why do you ask?”

“We’ve been sitting in silence for two minutes and forty seconds. That’s kind of a long time.”

Laughing, Skye bowed his head and shook it. “Sorry. Um. This is kind of a first for me.”

“Bringing someone home?”

“Yeah. I’m glad it’s you, but I think I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be. My house is really normal, but it’s right here.” He gestured toward the back wall of the cathedral. “I’m afraid you’ll realize who I am and what I do and decide it’s not for you.”

“I already made up my mind,” Rami said like it was matter-of-fact. And hell, maybe it was for him. Maybe he wasn’t like Skye, constantly second- and third-guessing every choice he made.

He took a fortifying breath, then got out of the car and came around, offering his hands to Rami. He could feel parts of his palms where he was most calloused from his work, and he stroked his fingers along Rami’s hands as he stepped closer.

“May I kiss you out here?”

Rami nodded, ducking his head a little shyly, but he still leaned in, and Skye’s lips met his own. They parted, kissing him deeper than he had in the car—not too much, but a promise of what could come if Rami wanted it.

Skye could feel the rumbling vibration of Rami’s soft moan, and he had to force himself to pull back before he tumbled Rami against the car and rutted against him until he came. His cock was painfully hard behind his zipper, but he had no idea what Rami was going to be comfortable with, and he would be damned if he pushed him on anything.

“Mm. Nice,” Skye told him, breaking the kiss with a flurry of small pecks.

Rami laughed softly and gripped Skye tightly by the hips. “I really like the way you kiss.”

Skye felt flushed and even a little flustered, which was absurd, considering he did this for a living. He’d spent years learning to perfect seduction of all types of people—from easy to the most stubborn he’d ever met. And he’d been subjected to every single type of pickup line, fuck, and tease known to man. Or, at the very least, close to it.

So he had no idea why a simple kiss left him weak at the knees.

But here he was, and he wanted to bask in it.

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