Page 12 of The Way Home

By the time his body came down from the mind-blowing orgasm, Caleb was already settling beside him on the sofa. One hand squeezed his thigh, while the other gently brushed curls from his damp forehead. He was saying something, but it sounded distant—muffled, like it was underwater.

Jamie blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from his head.

When he turned, Caleb was watching him. His face was flushed, color high on his cheekbones, and for the first time—maybe ever, with a man—Jamie saw real, unguarded adoration in his gaze.

Caleb’s rich brown eyes drifted slowly over Jamie’s features, like he was looking at something precious. His lips curved slightly, pressed together like he was holding back a smile.

“God, that was hot,” he murmured, voice low and a little rough,as ifhe’djust gotten a blowjob. He cupped Jamie’s jaw, thumb sweeping tenderly beneath his eye. “These are pretty.”

Pretty?

Jamie blinked. “My freckles?”

In answer, Caleb leaned in and kissed them. First, the ones on his right cheek, then the left, and then lower, down along his jawline and to the sensitive spot behind his ear. His lips were soft and unhurried, his breath warm against Jamie’s skin, and—good Lord, Jamie’s cock was already filling back up.

But alongside the arousal zipping up his spine, Jamie’s nerves surged right back in. Every clumsy alarm bell in his head was blaringyour turn now.

But Caleb didn’t seem rushed or expectant. He simply kept going, kissing down Jamie’s shoulder, then back up again, tilting Jamie’s chin with his fingers so he could reach the hollow of his throat.

Jamie took a calming breath, trying to quiet the mean voice that had started yelling things at him again, and focused on the lips now making their way up the side of his neck.

It felt… reverent. Like he was being worshiped.

Through the thick cloud of nerves taking over his body, Jamie felt a kernel of hope bloom in his chest. Had Caleb meant that? Would he want to go see the British Museum with him? Maybe even come to the library, too?

He quickly squashed that thought down and away. That’s not what this was, and he knew it. Caleb had picked him up from apub,and he should probably get along with offering his own blowjob now.

Jamie’s eyes drifted to Caleb’s chest, then his broad shoulders. If all they were doing was hooking up, maybe that wasn’tsobad.

Caleb was still fully clothed, but Jamie wanted him out of that T-shirt more than anything. He imagined sliding his hands under the soft cotton, tracing the definition of his abs, grinding himself against those thick, muscular thighs. He remembered the way that vein in Caleb’s arm popped when he reached for his drink back at the pub, and holy hell, he wanted to trace it with his tongue.

Before he could think of anything to say, the sofa cushion shifted as Caleb stood. He brought a thumb up to wipe his lips because, oh, that’s right, he’d just swallowed Jamie’s load.

Should Jamie offer him water? Would that be weird? In his own home?

Caleb offered a hand and gently pulled him to his feet. Jamie wobbled slightly, and Caleb steadied him with two warm hands on his hips before gently guiding him through a door, into a neutral-looking bedroom. A single photograph hung on the beige walls above a bed with an earthy-blue comforter.

Before he knew what was happening, Jamie was being guided to sit on a large bed.

“Do you sleep in sweats?” Caleb asked, bending over to pull off his own trousers, leaving him in his boxers. At some point, his boner had gone down.

“What? I—no.” Jamie frowned down at his naked body. His clothes were still in the living room somewhere. “Usually just my briefs.”

“Perfect.” Caleb gently tossed him a pair of briefs. Bloody hell, they weresoft.

After Jamie slid them on, Caleb eased him onto his back and pulled off his glasses from his nose. Extremely carefully, he closed the arms and placed them on the nightstand.

“Be right back.” Caleb caressed Jamie’s cheek with the back of his knuckles before disappearing out the bedroom door.

“Oh. Okay.” Jamie blinked at the door, trying to figure out how he’d gotten here. His hand reached up to brush the spot that Caleb just touched.

What… was happening?

When Caleb returned, he held out a glass of water. Jamie took it and sipped quietly, feeling like a complete arse for getting a blowjob and not giving one.

Not even ahand job.

“Do you—” Jamie cleared his throat.