Page 50 of Tender
Miles had no idea what to say to that.“You don’t even know me.Trust me when I say that I don’t have a good history of staying wanted for very long.”
Cosimo’s face shuttered, but Miles could see pity in his eyes.Or…maybe it was empathy, but that felt like wishful thinking.“I think you’ve known some very unkind people in your life, Miles.But we’re not asking any of us to make a commitment right now.”
“So whatareyou asking?” His voice was trembling. He could feel it. But the question had to be asked. What did this mean to them?
Emmett finally walked over and resumed his seat.His hands were on the table, and it was the first time Miles really looked at them.They were more delicate than Miles expected them to be—short round nails, thin fingers.The hands of a scientist, he supposed.The hands of a man who used them to give people what they needed.
He imagined Emmett touching him again, and his chest went warm.
“If you’re interested, let’s try it for a little while,” Emmett said.“And then, if you feel good, and happy, and comfortable, maybe you’ll let us keep you longer.”
Miles wanted to say yes. Desperately. He felt no hesitation, though logic told him he should.He didn’t even know thesemen.And they were responsible for raising the person who had emotionally tormented him for the last few years.
“I… I need some time to think,” he managed to get out.“And I know that’s not fair.I had all last night to figure out what I wanted, and?—”
“Miles,” Cosimo said, his tone stern. “Stop panicking.”
Emmett shot his husband a warning look, and Cosimo’s jaw snapped shut.Miles went hot all over, watching Cosimo instantly obey the unspoken order.Emmett took a beat, then turned back to Miles.“It’s more than fair to ask for more time.Like you said, you don’t really know us, and I wasn’t exactly forthcoming yesterday about what I wanted. Not everything, anyway.”
It was like they could read his mind.Miles nodded and stared down at his hands.“I want to say yes.Everything in me is begging to say yes.I…things have been rough for me lately.”
“It sounds like things have been rough for you for a lot longer than that,” Emmett said very softly.
The back of Miles’s throat went hot, and he cleared it.“Yeah. I guess so. This is all very new for me.”
“This is new for us too,” Emmett said.“But we had the luxury of having a chance to discuss it with each other—to figure out if this is really what we want before bringing it to you.”
Miles looked up, his gaze darting between them both.“And you seriously came to the conclusion that you want me?”
“Yes.”
“Me?”
“It wasn’t a hard decision,” Emmett said, his mouth twitching like he was trying to hide a smile.“You’re an easy person to want and a very easy person to like.”
Miles wanted to believe him.Truly, he did.But there was no evidence to support that theory.He’d known his whole life that if he didn’t want to be alone, he’d need to find someone whotolerated him at best. And he also knew he could find someone who tolerated him a little kinder than Selene had.
This felt like it was too good to be true.
Licking his lips, Miles slowly pushed up from his chair and let his fingertips rest on the table.He couldn’t look at either man.“What would you want from me?”
“If I was your Daddy?” Emmett asked.
Miles flushed all the way to the roots of his hair, and his cock thickened.Emmett sucked in a breath, and Miles knew then the man could see he was turned on.“Yeah.Like, what does that mean to you?I’ve always wanted it…but I’ve never, you know, met anyone I felt safe with before to explore it.”
“And you feel safe with us?” Cosimo asked. “Both of us?”
Miles lifted his gaze.“Yes.I do.”
Cosimo’s cheeks went faintly pink, and he shifted in his seat, then looked at Emmett.“Sir?”
Emmett’s entire demeanor shifted.He went stiff, but not in a tense way.His shoulders straightened and his posture hardened, and he looked taller, somehow.He didn’t speak, but he lifted a brow at Cosimo as if to ask him, ‘What do you need?’
Cosimo took a deep breath, then said, “I think I should let you two work this out before involving me.”
Miles could see conflict play out on Emmett’s face, and though he didn’t soften, something in the air shifted between them.“Go into the bedroom and kneel at the foot of the bed.I’ll be in later.”
Miles wanted to ask how much later, and what Emmett was going to do, but he wasn’t sure that was his place yet.He knew where he might fit in with Emmett, but where would he fit with Cosimo?
