Page 68 of Moonstruck
“You’re a very cute drunk,” Asa said, reaching up to cup Zane’s face. “A very cute drunk who has zero ability to gauge what’s sweet and what’s borderline abusive behavior.”
Asa was the cute one. No, not cute. That was such a weak word. Asa was…hot. There was no other word for it. He was supermodel, thirst-trap, next level A-list celebrity hot. And he wanted Zane. He wanted everybody to know Zane belonged to him. It just didn’t make sense. Zane’s own family hadn’t wanted him. How could Asa Mulvaney?
Maybe this would be some kind of marriage of convenience. Maybe Asa was taking one for the team because Zane knew their secret and Daddy wanted to keep him close. Marrying him was far more palatable to Thomas than killing him was cold comfort. He did his best to stuff all his insecurities deep down where he couldn’t think too much about them, but the vodka laid them bare.
“Am I out of your league?” Zane asked suddenly, unable to stop the words from bubbling up. “Or are you out of my league? Whatever. Like, are you too good for me? Am I not good enough for you?”
Asa barked out a surprised laugh that made Zane feel small somehow and had him choking back tears. “What?”
Zane swayed backwards slightly as the room tilted on its axis. Asa gripped his shirt and pulled him back until he hovered over him once more. But Zane couldn’t let the thought go. The vodka had dissolved what little filter he had. “Like, are you just with me because I know your secret? To keep me quiet or whatever? ‘Cause I would never tell on you guys. You can be honest. I mean, I probably wouldn’t even say no to marriage anyway. It’s not like men were beating down my door before you got bored and took me home.”
Asa tugged him forward until Zane had no choice but to lie down on top of him, tucking his bare legs between Asa’s pajama-clad thighs. He rested his folded hands on Asa’s chest, then dropped his chin on them, feeling like he was screwing everything up.
Asa wasn’t smiling anymore. He studied Zane for a long moment. “You think that’s why I took you home? I was bored?”
Zane shrugged, looking away to stare at the coffee table with its untouched copies ofArchitectural Digest. “I don’t know.”
Asa sighed. “You definitely weren’t my usual type.”
Zane’s face burned, his insides curdling, at Asa’s bold statement. He started to squirm away, but Asa’s arm came around him, holding him still until he stopped moving.
“BecauseI usually went for cheap hookups with himbo types. All muscle, no substance, wanted the same shallow quickie that I wanted.” Asa stroked Zane’s cheek with his knuckles in that way that made his insides shiver with pleasure. “But you were…pretty. That was the first thing I thought. Rockstar pretty. That you had amazing hair and gorgeous eyes, and that I wanted to see those perfect lips wrapped around my dick.”
Zane couldn’t fight the smile that crept across his face, so he buried it against Asa’s chest.
“I thought you were beautiful. I also thought you were playing me. That you were trying to seduce me into a story.”
Zane blinked up at him. “I was…”
Asa laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
Zane was so in love with this man. The thought hit him like a school bus, stealing his breath and making his heart pound until he was sure Asa must be able to hear it. He loved him. Even if it was only one-sided. Zane had never loved anybody before. Still, he forced the thought out of his alcohol pickled brain. “Why’d you take me home if you thought I was playing you?”
Asa shrugged. “Because I had to. You called my bluff. And once I thought about chasing you down and breeding you, there was no way I was going to say no. I had to know what it felt like to have you underneath me, to bury myself inside you. And you were so fucking perfect. You played the game so well. You made me work for it and it made my reward even sweeter.”
Zane could feel himself flushing even more, if such a thing were possible, his cock throbbing almost painfully at the heat in Asa’s gaze. “You should chase me and fuck me right now.”
Asa grinned, running his thumb along Zane’s bottom lip. “I think that’s probably a bad idea.”
Zane frowned. “Why? You don’t want to fuck me?” He closed his lips around Asa’s thumb, sucking it suggestively, his tongue tasting the tang of salt on his skin.
Asa tugged his thumb free, pinching Zane’s chin and forcing his gaze upward. “Just so we’re clear, there will never be a time when the answer to any question will be because ‘I don’t want you.’ But at the moment, you’re very drunk.”
Zane batted Asa’s hand from his face, then propped his chin up on his hand, his elbow wobbling with each breath Asa took. “I promise I’m fully consenting.”
Asa shook his head. “I’m more concerned about your coordination than I am your consent, Lois.”
Zane began to rock himself against Asa in what he hoped was suggestive and not sloppy. “Do you think I’ll fall off your dick or something? You can be on top. You know I like you on top of me, especially when you tie me up. I like when you take what you want.”
“Jesus, Lois,” Asa rumbled before taking a deep breath and letting it out. He was hard—Zane could feel it pressing against his hip—but Asa seemed content to play with the curl spiraling over Zane’s forehead. “And I love being on top of you and inside you any way I can get you, but I think we’ll save that for when you’re not quite so glassy eyed. I would be very sad if you died.”
Zane’s eyes went wide. “You would?”
After a moment of heavy contemplation, Asa nodded. “Yeah, Lois. I think I’d be really fucking sad if you died. Inconsolable even.”
Zane felt like his heart would explode from happiness. “That’s really…nice.”
Asa chuckled, his fingers pushing through Zane’s curls in a way that made him want to purr. “I’m glad you think so.”
