When he was done, he sat back on his heels. Jevon gazed at him drowsily. “Don’t go.”
“Go where?”
“Anywhere.”
“No?”
“No.” Jevon wriggled up the bed and drew the covers back. “Stay, Rhys. Stay with me.”
As if Rhys could refuse. He crawled into bed as Jevon muttered something else and rolled over, his long arm stretched over his head, his fingers tangled loosely in Rhys’s hair. His eyes closed, and the absolute peace radiating from him seeped into Rhys like a drug.
He slid his arm around Jevon and breathed him in. “I’m not going anywhere, mate.”
Six
Rhys was definitelynota morning person. Jevon steered clear as he stumbled around, gathering his clothes, and slipped downstairs to get the coffee on, trying to temper his amusement. Rhys’s grumbling was kind of cute, but also scary. Jevon didn’t stick his head above the parapet until the coffee was ready.
The bleary-eyed smile he got in return was well worth the wait.
“Thanks,” Rhys said. “Sorry for getting you up this early.”
“It’s okay. I’m going to the children’s home later to work with those Syrian kids some more.”
“Damn. What are you going to do with them?”
“Play.” Jevon peered out of the kitchen window. “Outside, hopefully, if the weather holds. I’ve never found a language that doesn’t translate duck, duck, goose, so I’d imagine there’ll be a lot of that.”
Rhys took a thoughtful sip of his coffee. “Do you ever find they just don’t want to play?”
“Sometimes. And it’s a constant worry when you go somewhere new—that it’s not the right place for us, that we’re insulting them by invading the worst time in their lives with drums and feather boas—but at the end of the day, kids need to be kids, man.”
“And I guess in situations like this, it’s all you can do for them?”
“Exactly.” Jevon slid off the kitchen counter. “I spend a lot of time paying outrageous compliments to pretty average artwork, and that’s just for the adults.”
Rhys’s smile widened a touch. He was close enough to slip effortlessly into Jevon’s personal space, and he did, his stubbled cheek scratching Jevon’s jaw as he nuzzled his face. For a fleeting moment, it was like he’d always been here, that they both had, but too soon, he pulled away. “I’d better go.”
“Okay.” Jevon chewed on his lip and trailed Rhys to the hallway, tracking him as he shrugged into his coat. “Are you working all day?”
Rhys stamped moodily into his shoes. “Yeah. Seven to five on paper, but I reckon I won’t get out till six. Never do.”
“What happens if you get a call that goes over your time?”
“We keep going till it’s done.” Rhys straightened up, and flicker by flicker, the lightness Jevon had seen in him last night fluttered away, like the skin he wore to work was slotting into place. “Um...”
He stopped and scratched the back of his head. Jevon raised an eyebrow and waited, but nothing happened. Rhys shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and whatever he’d wanted to say seemed to desert him.
Jevon took a deep breath and opened the kitchen drawer where he’d stashed his new set of business cards. He plucked one free of the wrapping and offered it to Rhys. “The email address goes to the office before it gets to me, but the phone number is mine. Maybe, uh, you could give me a call sometime... if you want?”
Rhys said nothing. Just stared.
Jevon’s heart skipped a beat and his fingers tightened around the shiny card. Last night—all of it, not just the mind-blowing orgasm—had been incredible, like fate had stepped in and brought them back together, but what if that was it? What if last night had been nothing more than a convenient coincidence? After all, it wasn’t like Jevon had shown Rhys a good time in the bedroom.You didn’t even make him come—
Rhys took the card, and with it, Jevon’s hand. He pulled Jevon into his arms and kissed him so soundly that the doubts cartwheeling through Jevon’s mind evaporated like they’d never been there at all. They’d be back, but in that moment, there was nothing but lips bruising lips, grasping hands, and snatched breath. For Jevon, there was nothing but Rhys.
They stumbled against the fridge. Magnets fell to the floor, breaking the spell. Jevon, who’d fallen slack in Rhys’s searching embrace, reluctantly pulled away. “You’ll call me?”
Rhys took a deep breath and squeezed Jevon’s hands. “Yes.”