Page 55 of Tender
Miles offered him a sheepish smile, and Emmett’s chest rumbled with a laugh.
‘Shower?Nap,’ he signed and mouthed.
Miles was better at reading lips than several of the deaf people he’d met.It had been a survival skill in the system.He’d never been allowed to be lazy about it, and it was working for him now.
He cleared his throat and felt for the right way to place his tongue when he spoke.“Will you walk me there?”
Emmett lifted his hand.‘Yes.’He helped ease Miles to his feet and took his hand, but instead of tugging him toward the hallway, he lifted Miles’s knuckles to his lips and kissed them.Their gazes connected and Miles felt something in his chest.It was heavy, and profound, and completely unfamiliar.
It terrified him.
But he wanted more.
After a short forever, Emmett finally dropped his gaze, linked their fingers together, then led him down the hall.The guest bedroom had an en suite, and Emmett walked through the doorway, disappearing behind the wall as Miles stared down at the unmade bed.
Would he stay there again tonight?
Or was everything going to change?
His palms were sweating, so he set his implants on the nightstand, then turned when he felt a sort of pressure change.A moment later, he saw tendrils of steam coming from the bathroom.Emmett appeared a moment later, and before Miles could draw in a proper breath, he had him pinned to the wall, his soft, careful hands holding his face.
Their gazes connected again, and Miles could feel the press of all the words Emmett wanted to say.
“Ask me,” Miles encouraged.“I can read lips.”
Emmett licked his own, then ducked his head and stole a fierce kiss before leaning back so Miles could see him.“Overwhelmed?”
Miles wanted to laugh.“Yes.In the best way.”
Emmett’s face softened.“Tonight.”He spoke slowly, but not in a way that said he thought of Miles like some sort of child who was just getting a grasp on language.“And then tomorrow.”
And the next night after that, Miles finished in his head.And a little longer after.
But for the moment, it was still finite.
There was still an ending, until they were all certain that this was where they were meant to be.
Emmett kissed him again, but as he pulled away, Miles grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him in for a second one.
“For Cosimo.When he’s ready to receive it.”
Emmett’s face did something complicated, and then he nodded and stroked a touch down Miles’s cheek.He made a few signs Miles vaguely recognized, then he read the words off his lips.“Shower.Sleep.Wait for me.”
Miles nodded.Of course he would.
Nothing short of God himself would have him turning his back now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
COSIMO
A week had passed.One single week with this new dynamic, and it was clear that Miles was settling in. Cosimo still had no real idea what to do with him. He watched quietly as his husband kept him close, gave him rules, gently encouraged him to follow them, and praised the absolute shit out of him when he did.
That sort of thing would have set Cosimo’s teeth on edge. In fact, it often did whenever Emmett would praise him for things that felt mundane. He didn’t do it often anymore, but in the beginning, Emmett believed that the reason Cosimo was so prickly when it came to being complimented was a lack of that growing up.
Then he’d met Cosimo’s family and realized he was wrong. It simply was who he was.
Emmett shrank into himself a bit after that, and Cosimo hated that he couldn’t just suck it up and give Emmett what he needed.
