Page 47 of Touch In Excess

He kept those words to himself. It was far too soon.

Instead, he said, “I brought the toy.”

Rami choked on a bit of bread and hummus, and he gulped down water and wiped his fingers on his napkin before he turned to face Skye. “Oh?”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt that out in the middle of dinner. It just, uh…felt like there was no good time, and I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do.”

Rami licked his lips and pushed his plate toward the center of the table. “I don’t have a live tonight.”

“Yeah, I know.” Skye bit his lip, then said what he’d been worried about all afternoon. “I wanted to bring it over early because…what if you hate it?”

Rami blinked at him. “You chose it. I won’t hate it.”

“What if you don’t get enjoyment out of being penetrated,” Skye clarified. “What if it’s too much? Or it hurts? I don’t want to ruin the video for you.”

Rami’s brows furrowed, and then he nodded. “I understand. But it’s the same risk with anything. My viewers are paying to see my honest reactions. Some of them are…different. I think they might like it if it doesn’t feel good.”

Skye felt something twist in his chest. He never shamed kinks. Ever. And he probably wouldn’t have cared if people were getting off on that sort of thing if it wasn’t Rami on the other side of the camera. He took in a shaking breath and let it out.

“I won’t tell you how to run your show. But…” He hesitated, then said, “Could I be there when you do it? I won’t be on film or anything. But I’d like to be with you after. In case it’s too much.”

Rami’s eyes went bright. “Oh. You’d…want that?”

“Yes, but I will fully accept if you say no. I swear,” Skye said. “I won’t stand in your way.”

Rami shook his head, then cleared his throat loudly. “Yes. I want that. I really want that.”

Skye couldn’t help himself—he gripped Rami around the back of the neck and urged him into a kiss. “Okay. And before your next live, can we do other things together?”

“Yes,” Rami said. “Tonight. Can you stay with me?”

Skye went hot all over, his dick thickening behind his jeans. He shifted in his chair and picked up Rami’s hands, kissing over both knuckles. “If you want me.”

“I want you,” Rami said, almost too fast.

Skye grinned and leaned in again. “Then I’m all yours.”

Twelve

Anxiety wasan old friend for Rami. The world was loud for him—and overwhelming. It was often too bright and brash and sharp. There were days it was easier to bear, and it often gave people the impression that it wasn’t as bad on those days. They didn’t understand that sometimes he just had the ability to manage it better than others.

But it was always the same.

Nothing was ever quiet. Or soft. And rarely was the world kind.

He used to viciously envy Ahmed for his deafness. The idea that he didn’t have to deal with all the noise was Rami’s dream. He would miss music, of course. Music had been important to him growing up. Being away from Beirut, their parents had attempted to instill a sense of home in their children through food and song and language—and Rami appreciated it for what it was.

When he pulled up a sense memory of his childhood, it was the sound of his dad’s records, and the smell of his mom’s cooking, and the sound of laughter and chatter in Arabic that was kinder on his tongue than English ever had been.

But outside the walls of his house, very few things brought comfort. And nothing ever brought stillness.

Until he met Skye. Rami had been trying to work through how the man made him feel since he’d tumbled into his yard, and it was tonight that he realized for the first time ever, he felt safe with another person. At least, another person who wasn’t related to him.

Skye’s presence alone calmed his heart. His laugh calmed his breathing. His smile made his skin heat and his fingers tingle. The way he touched Rami made him want to melt bonelessly into the bed and let Skye love all over him for hours and hours.

He might have asked for that, too, if he didn’t know that it was an irrational request, and Skye had better things to do than spoil Rami’s mind, heart, and body all day. But it was a nice thought.

This was enough though. It was the look in Skye’s eyes when he said he wanted to be there for Rami after the live that made him feel like a bunch of Skye’s keys fit perfectly into Rami’s locks. Skye was protective, and maybe if the request had come from someone else, Rami might have wanted to run.

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