Page 27 of Touch of Innocence
It was nice to lie down, the soft mattress accepting him in, yielding to his weight. It was even nicer to have Sam lying there, snoring softly, but even in his sleep rolling to wrap his arms around Gunner.
They settled into it like they were born to do this. Sam’s big, tall body wrapped around Gunner, cradling him from behind. Someone like Gunner, stocky and muscular, rarely got to be held like this, and they fit together like it was meant to be.
So he would let this be enough, for now. Sam’s sleepy body offered him comfort like he’d never felt before, and he relaxed into it, ready to drift off to sleep himself.
“Hey, Gunner?” Sam’s voice was a soft, sleepy growl, and Gunner shook his head ruefully, amused with himself. It took so little for Sam to get him going. Even now, when he knew Sam was too drunk, that voice could make him hard.
“Yeah, babe?” Gunner replied, and he felt Sam’s arm slip around his waist, one hand on Gunner’s stomach, stroking the skin there lightly. None of which helped with the arousal which Sam could so easily bring to the forefront of Gunner’s mind.
“How did you end up with someone like that? Someone who would stalk you for breaking up with them?”
Gunner sighed softly, closing his eyes. He should have known that someone like Sam would be too curious just to leave that alone, to be satisfied with what Gunner had already told him. It seemed like he was going to need to share a little bit more.
“My parents kicked me out when I was seventeen. He took me in. Protected me, for a while.” And please, please, Gunner prayed to anyone who was listening, let that be enough. Let Sam be too tired and drunk to push any further.
“Oh,” Sam said, apparently considering that. “Well, I still think he’s a dick.”
Which sort of summed the situation up perfectly, Gunner had to admit. To his relief, that did seem to be enough for Sam, who pressed against him from behind, his chest to Gunner’s back. The arm draped over Gunner relaxed and became heavy, but never, not even for a moment, did Gunner consider trying to escape.
It felt too good. Like coming home, which was not a thought that he’d ever really had, not since he’d had to leave his childhood home because his parents couldn’t handle his sexuality. He knew that it wasn’t a safe thought to have, not when he and Sam couldn’t be anything more than whatever they were now, but it was a good thought to have anyway.
Maybe he didn’t have to worry about it as much as he was. Maybe, just maybe, he could allow himself to feel these things. Could he let this thing with Sam be what he wanted it to be? Was that possible?
For a moment, he didn’t even dare to breathe. The enormity of what he was thinking rolled through him, staggering him, making him glad that he was lying down because otherwise, he might just fall over.
What if he stayed?
He had a job here, and a place to live. Ben and Isaac would surely be willing to rent out this place to him. And he had this thing with Sam, this thing which was almost, but not quite, something very serious. Or that’s how it seemed to Gunner, anyway.
It was like the thought broke down something inside of him, some sort of wall that he hadn’t even known he had up. The very rightness of it overwhelmed him, brought a smile to his face, and stayed with him even as he drifted off to sleep in Sam’s arms.
