Page 60 of Touch In Excess

Skye only just heard the words, and as much as he enjoyed sign—and as much as he was enjoying it even more now with Rami, who so effortlessly slipped into the language—he also really liked the sound of Rami’s voice. Picking up his plate, he moved two chairs closer.

“Is this okay?”

‘To hear me?’ Rami signed.

Skye nodded his fist, then grabbed the carafe and began to pour as he switched to English. “I like your voice in the morning. It’s kind of hoarse and thick.”

Rami’s brows furrowed, but he didn’t look insulted. Maybe just a bit confused. Skye had a feeling he wasn’t used to compliments like that. “Why do you like that?”

Skye shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s…” He struggled to find the right words, but then he thought of something August always said that fit. “A friend of mine calls it a happy brain scratch.”

Rami’s eyes went wide, and he nodded. “Yes. I…yes. I have that with a lot of things. You have that with me?”

Skye reached over and cupped his face, running his thumb over Rami’s lower lip. “Yeah, baby. I do.”

Rami closed his eyes and leaned in. “You’re my happy brain scratch.”

Skye felt those words. To an outsider, they were probably ridiculous. Sappy and cheesy at best. But he didn’t care. They were almost better than I love you. Not quite, but nearly. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before he spoke again.

“Being with you makes me feel really good, Rami. I know our situation is…”

“Different?”

Skye laughed. “Mm. Complicated. Definitely unusual, and probably not for everyone, but I haven’t felt like this before with anyone.”

“Yeah,” Rami breathed out. Skye couldn’t hear that, but he could easily read the words off his lips. “I can’t wait for more.”

The words made sense to him in ways he wasn’t sure Rami meant, but then again, maybe he did. Rami seemed to be the only person who really got him. Except for when he was with the Sins, Skye had always felt very, very alone. Like a square peg with a round hole, only just too small for him to fit into. If he twisted, he could fit one, maybe two corners past the edge, but that was it.

With Rami, he was the perfect shape to take all of him. The soft parts, the harder ones. The easy bits and the sharper edges that sent most people running. Everything that had been a deal breaker for Skye’s relationships in the past seemed to be everything Rami needed in his life.

And the same was true in turn. Skye had never felt so content. The fact that it was happening so fast did have him on edge because what if it came crashing down? What if he, like Icarus, was flying too close to the sun? He didn’t want to lose his wings.

But he liked Rami far too much not to take the risk.

“One more kiss before we eat?”

“Probably best to do it now,” Rami said, then leaned in. “The onion in the shakshuka is going to give you bad breath.”

Skye laughed as he cupped Rami’s jaw to guide him closer, used his lips to part Rami’s, touched his tongue with his own to taste him. He was fragrant with the spices he’d used for cooking, and his mouth was warm and lush and pliant.

Fuck, Skye was falling so hard.

“Thank you,” he said when he pulled away.

Rami’s eyes were very soft, and he hunched his shoulders in pleasure, nodding like he’d lost his speech again. Skye loved his voice, but he also didn’t mind the silence. In fact, he decided on a little more. Reaching up, he took his hearing aids out and set them beside his plate before pulling the dish of eggs closer.

He caught Rami’s grin aimed down at his plate, but very visible. He felt content now. And he wanted to chase this feeling with Rami for the rest of his life.

Fifteen

Even a few daysoff running had Skye struggling to find his conversational breath as he and Stone circled the park. It was an overcast day with the promise of rain, so he wanted to get his run in before he was relegated to the treadmill.

He certainly loved the gym at the Tower, but nothing beat fresh air in his lungs. They’d been running in silence for a while. Stone seemed to understand that Skye needed that for a bit, and all he’d done was cast the occasional grin as they followed the paved running path.

But about two miles in, Skye felt a little better.

“You, uh…you ever meet August’s family?”

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