Page 123 of The Long Game

“You were figuring yourself out.”

“I was. And then I was nervous about what I discovered. It took me until I was twenty, and then once I started kissing boys, well…I wasn’t exactly looking for love and commitment, let’s just say that.”

Grady grinned. “I bet you were a sight to behold.”

“I was something, all right. Sex was easy, and later it was…simple, I guess, with René—the protector I told you about,” he corrected quickly. “It was a mutually beneficial arrangementthat worked for a while, but after about six months we decided to leave it as friends.”

“Friends?” Grady asked curiously.

“Yes. A good one, in the end,” Jack admitted, watching Grady’s face for his reaction. “We grew close over time. But it wasn’t romantic at all. People don’t really understand that, but he was smart and charming, and we actually had a lot to talk about.” Jack shrugged, because the few people he’d spoken to about this had found it, at best, weird. At worst, abhorrent.

Grady just nodded. No judgment.

“See, there you go, making it easy again,” Jack said with mock exasperation.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you accept what I say at face value. You don’t make assumptions about me or my past and how that’s impacting us here and now. You expect me to be honest and answer your questions and say no when I don’t want something. Youwantthat, even. It makes all this…” Jack stroked his hands down over Grady’s waist, his thumbs hooking over his hip bones, “…simple.”

Grady flexed his abdominal muscles, making his erection bob between them. “It is simple.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I do. But I have to be honest, it’s kind of my way.”

“I know. That’s the best part.” Jack slid his hands over Grady’s tight ass. “Easy.”

“I’m extra easy when you’re touching my butt, just FYI,” Grady said, clenching those muscles tight.

“Yeah?” Jack gave them a good squeeze and laughed at Grady’s shiver.

This wasn’t just easy, it wasfun.

Jack slid the fingers of one hand along the crease of Grady’s ass. “Someday, I want in here…”

Grady nodded, face flushed and eyes dark.

“But not tonight,” Jack clarified. “Tonight,Iwant to be the Mountie.”

Grady’s breath stuttered. “Shit, now I have an image of you in my dress uniform…” His words trailed off like he’d lost control of his brain’s speech function.

Jack glanced toward Grady’s closet, where the red serge in question was stored. “Well, we could…”

“Not tonight,” Grady gasped, walking Jack backward toward the bed. “We aresogoing to do that someday, but I swear to god I’d embarrass myself the second you put it on.”

Jack cracked up while making a mental note. Red serge sex was going on the To-Do List.

When the back of Jack’s knees hit the mattress, Grady cupped his cheek and drew him into a kiss. He opened for Grady’s tongue and groaned when the kiss went from warm and sweet to hot and dirty in the blink of an eye. Grady’s hands were everywhere, running over Jack’s back and ass and back up again.

Jack dragged Grady closer, bringing them into contact from chest to knees and shuddering at the brush of Grady’s thigh against his cock. Grady grabbed his ass in both hands, kneading the muscles and pulling the globes apart.

Jack felt needy, and empty, and dizzyingly aroused.

He had no doubt Grady would take his time if given half a chance, and while that could be amazing, it wasn’t what Jack wanted—hell,needed—tonight.

Their lips parted, both gasping for air while Grady nipped at his lips like he couldn’t make himself stop kissing Jack.

Determined, Jack fell back on the bed, towing Grady with him as he scooted back toward the pillows. The moment he settled, Grady was kissing him again. Jack groaned and wrapped his legs around Grady’s hips, pulling him in tighter, relishingall that warm skin and the heavy weight pressing him into the mattress.

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