Page 36 of His Stepdad Wears Leather

“Morning, sleepyhead,” was the first thing Noah heard when he opened his eyes.

He gasped inwardly, blinking a few times in confusion. After a moment to let his brain catch up to what his ass had gotten him into the night before, Noah’s cheeks burned. His vision cleared and an image of the handsome man he’d spent the night with filled his gaze. He offered a sleepy, “Morning” and struggled to not turn an even deeper shade of red—especially as he felt the stiffness in certain spots on his body. He pressed his face into the pillow and inhaled.

It smelled of Brody.

Fire, leather, and whiskey.

“Are you being shy?” Brody asked, a trace of humor in his husky tone. A dash of sleep clung to the sound, and Noah imagined himself hearing it every morning when they woke up together, realizingthatwas impossible.

Noah laughed. He turned his head, eyeing the sexy older man beside him.Damn, he’s hot.“Maybe a little. I don’t make a habit of waking up in a stranger’s bed.”

A playful smile spread across Brody’s face. “A stranger, hmm? You know my name… where I work… where I live. There’s not a whole lot left.”

“Then tell me somethingelseabout you,” Noah murmured, resting his head on Brody’s shoulder. It felt better than it should have to lie there like that. “What do I need to know about Brody, the sexy bar owner?”

Brody chuckled, his chest rumbling against Noah’s cheek. “What do you want to tell?”

“Anything…”Everything.“I don’t see anything inside this apartment that can tell me a single, damned thing about you.”

Brody scoffed and gave him a downward glance. The scruff of his beard tickled Noah’s forehead. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

“You don’t like my place?”

“I do. It’s beautiful.” Noah turned slightly and gazed at Brody’s profile. “But there’s no photos. Nothing personal that I could see. So tell me something about you.”

Brody took a deep breath yet remained otherwise silent a moment. “I’ve already told you I own this place… I work there nearly every night. That doesn’t leave much free time to do much of anything else, especially with my—”

“Especially with mywhat?” Noah sensed hesitation. Brody tensed some under him. “Oh come on… you can’t leave me hanging like that.”

Brody sighed. “Especially with… my son.”

“Well, now I know you reallyarea DILF, daddy.”

Brody chuckled again, the sound low and pleasing.

“How old is he?”

“Soon to be a teenager.”

“Does he live here?” Noah asked, assuming no. He hadn’t seen any signs of a kid around.

“No. He lives with his mom, my ex-wife, an—”

“You were married? To a woman?”

“I was,” Brody replied with a slight grin.

“Bisexual?”

“Nope. Wholly homosexual.”

Noah scratched the side of Brody’s scruffy cheek. “Was she your beard?”

Brody barked with laughter. “No. It was… well, it was more a business proposition than a marriage, I guess you could say.”

“Oh?”

Brody was silent a moment before taking a deep breath and releasing a slow exhale. “I played high school and college football. Got hurt more than a few times, particularly my knee. Injuries ultimately ended my football career, and I lost my scholarship. I came home in a fit of rage. Angry at the world. Ended up destroying my knee doing something young and stupid. I needed a major surgery to correct it—and I had no health insurance at the shit job I was working. My wife-to-be hadreallygood insurance at her job and the desire for a kid. We worked out an arrangement.”

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