Page 37 of The Sweetheart
“Just want Daddy to fuck you to sleep?” That was new to Nolan, but damn if it didn’t turn him on. Kai nodded. “Alright, close your eyes.” Nolan let go of his cock, and Kai burrowed into his neck.
“Come inside me. I want it,” Kai mumbled against him.
“Whatever you want, baby.” Nolan tried to control his pace, tried to give Kai enough time, but he was so damned close already. Kai’s body was lax, somewhere between asleep and awake. His eyes were closed, but the pleasure on his face never changed, his breath hitching with every thrust. With a groan, Nolan stopped fighting his orgasm, his hips picking up speed against his will. Drowsy eyes blinked up at him.
“I’m close.” Kai gave him a half-asleep kiss, his eyes drifting closed just as Nolan fell off rhythm, his orgasm crashing down on him with force.
Nolan caught his weight on his forearms, resting his forehead in the warm skin of Kai’s neck as he tried to catch his breath, the last aftershocks of his orgasm trembling through him. Kai smelled like Nolan’s bodywash and something else he couldn’t name but was distinctly Kai. He wasn’t really sure if thatwas a real thing or some trick of his brain but, to him, it was true. He pressed his nose against him, breathing him in, enjoying the smooth feel of his skin and the gentle thump of his heart against his chest. He felt the exact moment that Kai fell asleep. He wanted to hold him close, just to keep reminding himself that he was safe, but he knew he should let him rest. Plus, he had left his phone on the couch, and Myles must have already come by.
He sighed, easing off of Kai, who shifted in his sleep but didn’t wake up. Nolan grabbed a pair of boxers and Kai’s dirty clothes from the bathroom. If Kai had to work in the morning, he’d need something to wear, and there was no way he could go to work in the condition he’d come home in.
“Hey!” Nolan’s heart almost skittered to a halt, but it was just Myles in the corridor, holding Kai’s jeans and sneakers slightly aloft. Nolan cursed, gripping his chest as Myles grinned back at him.
“I guess there’s a story behind these? I was just about to go throw them in the washer. Thought you might be otherwise occupied.” He smirked, eyeing Nolan’s half-dressed body. Nolan rolled his eyes but snatched Kai’s gear out of Myles’ hands, making a left towards the laundry room. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, man. If he said, I didn’t hear it.” Myles snickered and Nolan shot him a mildly irritated look. “It’s not like that. When he showed up, I was just fucking relieved.” Nolan wrenched the washer door open, shoving Kai’s shirt and his worn-out boxers inside, about to do the same with his jeans before remembering to check the pockets. When he pulled out the contents, he was holding a fistful of Lego and a wadded-up wet napkin with the restaurant logo from their lunch date. The number he’d scribbled on it was barely discernible, now just a smear of blue ink. Well, that answered why he hadn’t called. The knot in his gut plaguing him earlier twisted back to life. Kai notbeing able to reach him when he needed to was not a situation Nolan was going to allow to happen again.
“Phone number on a napkin. Old school,” Myles said like he wasn’t sure what to make of this development.
“It’s mine. That’s why I needed you to run that errand. What did you get?” Nolan nodded to the boxes in Myles’ other hand. Myles hesitated but placed the boxes on top of the washer. Nolan could feel Myles’ eyes on him and his hackles immediately rose.
“Just say it.”
“I don’t give a fuck about an iPhone. I care about how deep you’re in already,” Myles said quietly.
“You don’t trust my judgment?” Nolan couldn’t keep the defensive note out of his voice as he slammed the washer door and stabbed at the buttons.
“You gave me a chance when I needed one. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t let Kai have that. You see the good in people and you’re generous.To a fault. I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”
Nolan’s shoulders slumped, all of the fight going out of him all at once. He couldn’t deny that he’d made poor partner choices in the past, and he was definitely guilty of sticking around after love and respect had left the table, always hoping that it might come back. Maybe he’d leaned on that gift love language a little heavily and been disappointed when it didn’t yield the result he was hoping for. He’d made mistakes, but how did you get to thirty-three without making a few of those?
Nolan sighed. Myles might work for him, but he was also a friend and a confidante. He didn’t hide much from Chris, but he hid almost nothing from Myles. He was the one person that needed unfettered access to his life to make it run smoothly, and he’d proven, a thousand times over, that he could be trusted.
“Listen, I’m not going to say that there isn’t a reason for concern. Kai has admitted to making some questionablechoices. We talked about it, and I’ve been clear that this can’t work if I feel like I can’t trust him. I need that to be enough for now. Plus, I need you on my side. Chris is already talking about background checks, especially with Kai and Katie spending time together.” He met Myles’ gaze. His expression had turned serious as Nolan spoke, but after a moment, he gave him a sharp nod.
“Thank you.” Nolan looked down at the fistful of Lego on the counter, and his heart tightened in his chest. He knew it didn’t make sense being this attached this quick. That tiny voice in the back of his head that kind of sounded like Chris questioned his judgment just a little. Was this feeling of rightness just him deluding himself? He didn’t know. He did know that he wanted to take the risk, and if that bit him in the ass down the road, he’d cross that bridge when he got there.
16
Kai startled at the sound of Nolan’s alarm going off and made a low whine of protest, burrowing back into Nolan’s chest even as Nolan stretched to turn it off. Fuck, he was exhausted. His body hurt from two days of hard work, and his feet still hurt from the long-ass trek from his boss’s place to Nolan’s. A sick sense of dread opened up in his belly thinking about having to get out of bed to do it all again.
Nolan enveloped him in his arms again, holding him close, massaging his hot skin and pressing kisses to his face, neck and shoulders. Kai melted against him, relishing the way Nolan’s beard scratched against his skin, and the way his plate-sized hands took up so much surface area as they rubbed over his body. It was wildly unfair for anyone to expect him to leave this behind to go towork.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” Nolan murmured into his ear. Kai protested again. “Come on now. You need to get ready. I’m gonna run downstairs and make you coffee.” Coffee sounded amazing, but the price felt steep. “If you’re quick about it, you can nap in the car.”
Kai blinked his eyes open, giving Nolan a reproving look formaking him wake up. He liked it better when Nolan used his dick as an incentive, but he was honestly too tired for even that. The smile Nolan gave him helped ease some of the dread that had pooled in his gut. Nolan shifted them so that Kai was on his back, and Nolan hovered over him, still holding him close as he brushed a kiss over his mouth.
“Morning.”
“Morning,” Kai responded half-heartedly.
“Come on. Sooner we get started, the sooner I’ll get you home again.”
Kai perked up, some of the sleep receding from his brain.
“I’m coming back here tonight?”
“Yes. You owe me a date, boy.”
