Page 65 of Touch In Excess

Skye laughed and nodded, heading toward the lighted end of the corridor. “Yep. Come on.” Their hands met again, palms warm and soft as they touched, fingers grasping tightly. Skye felt a rush under his skin, and he wondered if he’d ever stop feeling this way when it came to Rami.

A part of him hoped so because this was a lot, and he wanted to get to the point where they simply just…were with each other. And a part of him hoped he’d always at least understand how lucky he was to know this man.

It only took a couple of seconds to reach the main open floor of the gallery, and Rami caught his breath, squeezing Skye’s hand before dropping it. August had been working there for years, and so much of his art was all over the walls now. There were a few sculptures he’d done in his past and a few paintings of the Sins that hadn’t made it onto the walls of the Tower.

And there were several of Stone—not his face, but in intimate poses that few people ever got to see him in. Skye’s favorite was him lying on his back on the deck of his hot tub, legs off, bare-skinned, eyes closed. He looked at peace. He looked in a way that Skye rarely ever witnessed, but he knew was more common now that he had August.

“I know this man. I saw him on the Discord when the Sins were leaked,” Rami said, walking over to the painting Skye had been musing about. Rami reached out and gently touched the frame. “His lover painted this.”

“How can you tell?”

Rami turned his head, and a smile played at his lips. “Because this is how I see you.”

Skye’s heart felt like it was going to beat straight out of his chest. He grabbed Rami by the wrist, tugging him close, kissing him deep and heavy, a little sloppy, but he was desperate to convey the way he was feeling with touch and taste.

Rami groaned loudly and surged into him. “Not here,” he said with a gasp. “Right? Not here?”

Skye laughed and shook his head, his whole body burning. “Not here.”

“And not yet.”

Skye knew instantly what Rami meant. They wanted each other in every way it was possible to have each other, and he had a feeling Rami was getting tired of waiting. Just like he was. “When?”

“Soon. Next week,” Rami said, his voice thready. “If you…”

“Yes,” Skye interrupted, not caring what Rami was going to say next. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.”

Rami bowed his head and wrapped his arms around Skye’s waist. “The bidding will go high.”

“I have enough.”

“But—”

Skye tipped Rami’s chin up to look into his face. “I. Have. Enough.”

Rami licked his lips. “I feel like a sugar baby.”

“If I could have done that and saved us the trouble of you worrying whether or not I’d win the bid, I would have,” Skye told him with a small smile. He cupped Rami’s jaw and ran his thumb over his roughly shaven, warm skin. “But I also kind of like the idea of taking you in front of everyone who wants you.”

Rami closed his eyes, letting out a trembling breath. “Me too.”

Skye bent down and kissed him again. “Let me show you around here while we wait. It’s quiet.”

“It’s art,” Rami said.

Skye nodded, frowning. “Yes. Is that…bad?”

Rami snorted and rolled his eyes. “I love art. I love art in every form there is. This is…my ocean. It’s my beach.”

Skye was hit with a punch of relief. He’d gotten it right. “That’s why we’re here. Sometimes we’ll do my ocean, and sometimes we’ll do yours. And we can start here.” He picked up Rami’s hand by the wrist and laid a kiss to his palm.

“I think I—” Rami stopped.

Skye knew what he was going to say, but he was profoundly grateful that he didn’t finish his sentence. Not yet. Not with this one last thing hovering between them. He closed his eyes and knocked his forehead against Rami’s. “Me too.”

“Yeah.”

Skye kissed him one more time. “There aren’t words now, but there will be soon.”

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