Page 76 of Oh, Sacred Dark
It was…gentle. Warm. Exhilarating. Tyler’s mouth drew away and then returned again, and again, and again, until Roman made a protesting noise and wound his arms around Tyler’s neck, pulling him closer. His hands were still wet, but he ignored them dampening the back of Tyler’s shirt.
The first brush of Tyler’s tongue was electric, another sound spilling from Roman, making Tyler’s hands twitch where they held him. The slight wetness made him dizzy, caressing instead of devouring, like sinking into a warm bath bit by bit.
Roman’s head spun as they parted, breath coming in quick pants. His eyes blinked open blearily, taking in Tyler’s happy expression.
“Can we do that again?” Roman whispered and felt light shine through him as Tyler’s smile widened.
“We can do that whenever you want,” Tyler replied.
They stumbled to the couch, Roman ending up under Tyler, blanketed by all his hard muscles and warmth. Roman didn’t know how long they stayed there, making out like teenagers until his lips and cheeks were sore with stubble-burn, his brain a pile of mush.
“Tyler,” Roman murmured, and Tyler made an answering sound back, hand brushing Roman’s neck, his shoulder, going further down to slip under his shirt.
Roman’s abdomen jumped at the touch, but it went no further than that, just Tyler’s large, hot hand on bare skin.
Want pooled in Roman’s stomach, but he was glad that kissing was all they did, separating eventually to breathe fresh air.
Tyler changed their positions so Roman was draped over him, his face tucked in the Dom’s neck, gasping him in.
“I liked that,” Roman admitted softly.
Tyler wound his arms more securely around him. “I liked that too.”
“Do you think…we can do this during scening? And. You know. Go further, if you want to?” Roman suggested, his voice barely audible.
“Yeah. We can do that. Taking it slow, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
A calm quiet fell over them. Roman’s whole body was lighting up with firecrackers bursting in the night.
**********
Roman hadn’t known that contentment could be sustainable. Not every moment, of course, but it’d stopped leaking out of him throughout the day. He didn’t have to scoop it up desperately, didn’t have to try to grasp at something intangible. Even when he was home alone, he didn’t constantly feel crushed by his past.
He could breathe most of the time now. Healing didn’t feel like running away anymore.
Roman had kept a close eye on Tyler the past few weeks, making sure the Dom was being taken care of. It was a strange role reversal, having to comfort him for a change, but doing so had done more for Roman’s recovery than any one thing so far. He didn’t know if that was fucked up, the fact that, at some level, he was benefiting from Tyler’s distress, but he couldn’t help but feel empowered by his new role.
It was hard to doubt how Tyler felt for him when the Dom was vulnerable enough to show his worry. No other person, let alone Dom, had ever cared about him like that. Every horrible moment Roman had survived, he’d carried alone, an isolating experience.
Now, there was Tyler, experiencing things right beside him.
They started scening again slowly, kisses turning into kneeling, almost turning into more.
Roman made sure to always praise Tyler in the beginning, smoothing the process into dynamic space for both of them.
Roman got to his knees, resting his cheek against Tyler’s knee and blinking at him. “Thank you for encouraging me to get the job,” he said quietly.
Tyler smiled. “You deserve it. I’m so excited for you, Ro.”
“You take such good care of me,” Roman murmured.
Tyler gripped the nape of Roman’s neck securely, and Roman felt subspace swim up to meet him, a comforting and warm place that was all Tyler.
“You always look after me. I wanna be right…here.” Roman tipped his head back, exposing his neck. “Kiss?”
Tyler leant in, pressing their lips together, slow and soft. Roman hummed contently.
